A portion of the fifth chapter of my WIP, tentative title: Seeing . . .
They ate in silence, a covert solitude between strangers whose lives had intersected. Micah rarely had a companion traveling with him. In fact, it had been several years since his sister accompanied him on a quick day trip, and his pastor rode with him a couple of times in the last two years on day trips. This was something else entirely, and if he gave the specifics too much thought, they’d no doubt shake his resolve.
A woman living in his house. With him. How did this happen? So quickly. Didn’t matter. He had no real qualms about it, sensing this is what God had wanted of him. Strange as it might seem to others, Micah had given up on viewing occurrences as strange. His life reeked of strangeness. In order to handle it, he accepted the unusual, rarely questioning the oddities in his life.
“Why are you doing this?” Her voice was timid and sounded more like an echo bringing him out of his meditation.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Do you always do ‘the right thing’, Micah Jones?” There was a hint of a smile in her voice.
“Hardly,” he answered, glancing over at her.
Quiet filled the cab again. A voice barked over the CB, and Micah reached up to turn it down. The trucker was letting him know there was a “plain wrapper” up ahead. Micah checked his speed and thanked the other trucker.
“You’re a God person?”
Micah couldn’t stifle a laugh. “A what?”
“You know, like a Christian?”
“Oh. Yeah.” He smiled over at her. “Yeah, I’m a Christian—a God person.”
Her swollen lips formed a brief smile in the glow of the dash lights. “So you think I had this coming then? Like because of my many sins?” Her voice took a sarcastic turn.
“Of course not. Why would you say that?”
A long silence filled the cab.
“Isn’t there a saying like ‘You reap what you sow’ or somethin’ like that?”
“Yes there is, but it doesn’t mean that a guy gets to beat up on a girl. Rest assured he’ll get his.”
“You really believe he will?”
“I know he will. We might not get to see it or even know what happens, but there will be justice. Eventually.”
“Even if I hit him first?” Her voice was soft, and he sensed regret.
“I’m sure you had your reasons. Doesn’t matter anyway. He’s twice your size, and he’s a guy for cryin’ out loud. Anyone who justifies what he did to you belongs in jail right beside him.”
The miles led them on until Micah saw a motel sign in a town not too far from where he had to go to get his backhaul. He took the exit and pulled into the back lot where there were two other semis parked.
“I’ll get you a room for the night. I’m well out of hours and my eyes are burnin’. I’ll stay in here, but if you don’t mind, I’ll wash up in your room tomorrow morning.”
“You don’t have to pay for a room, Micah. I can sleep here in this seat.”
“Uh, no. I don’t mind, and you need to rest. Stay here, and I’ll go get a key.”
Father, thank you for every word. Every inspiration, idea, thought process, result. If anything I do is good, it comes from you. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.