Heathens Need Love Too - the Final Chapter

"I can't thank you enough for doing this for me, Pastor Mitchell," Marcus said into the phone early Sunday morning.

"She must be one special young lady," Pastor Mitchell replied.

"She is, but she doesn't know it."

"Well hopefully today will change things, son."

After their brief conversation, Marcus looked at the clock. It was 6:25AM. Anxiously, he began to pace back and forth across the floor of his studio apartment until he finally heard the much anticipated tap on his door.

"You came," Marcus said to Heather after opening the door.

"Honestly, I thought of at least fifty reasons why I shouldn't," Heather noted. "Why did you have me come here instead of to your house?"

Marcus motioned for Heather to enter and closed the door.

"Heather, have a seat," he said, directing her to his daybed with his eyes.

"No that's okay, I'll stand," Heather insisted.

Marcus let out a sigh.

"Look Heather, this is my house. I mean, it's my apartment. I live here and have lived here from day one."

Heather's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "So the beautiful guest house you had me in - what was that all about?"

"That was about me being afraid to tell you the truth about where I live," Marcus admitted. "I asked my brother to let me use the house for a while. I did it because I wanted to impress you."

"What? Impress me with lies?" Heather asked angrily. "I guess you impressed my sister too, huh?"

Marcus looked up at the ceiling in frustration.

"Here we go..." he said. "Look, today is about starting over Heather, and I want a chance to start over with you. We got off on the wrong foot and I want to make things right. I met Mary first - at the bank - but I didn't hook up with her until after I met you."

"Well that's comforting!" Heather replied sarcastically.

"No that's -" Marcus took a deep breath and exhaled. "That didn't come out right. Look Heather, I met Mary and thought she was attractive, but even once I had her number, I wasn't doing back-flips. I didn't even call her. During my first date with you though, the chemistry just felt a little off between us and I was frustrated. Mary called me later that same night."

"I was just looking for a good time," Marcus continued. "I didn't know that Mary was your sister and I never set out to have a relationship with her. Nothing happened when she came over - I swear. She offered me sex and I hadn't had any in months, so yeah, I was tempted. But I couldn't go through with it."

"Oh and I'm supposed to believe that? You've already proven that you're not trustworthy," Heather stated.

Marcus was silent for a moment.

"Okay Heather. I guess I can't change your opinion of me. But I'm at a point in my life where I'm trying to do the right thing. So it's important to me to at least tell you the truth. You can do what you want with it after that. I live here, in this apartment. I work for Verizon. I'm saving up my money and in a few months I'll be able to move into a better place. Oh, and I don't have a house that's being built like I had originally told--"

"I don't know why you couldn't have told me all of that from the start," Heather interrupted.

"I also never attended service at your church," Marcus continued. "I came late and waited in the lobby for you that day until service let out. I haven't attended a church service since I was a kid."

Heather's breathing intensified along with her anger.

"Stop it!" she said, holding her hand up to keep him from continuing. "I don't want to hear any more of this." She stormed toward the front door, but Marcus ran in front of her and pressed his back against the door.

"Oh, so now you're going to hold me hostage in your apartment?" Heather asked.

"No. I have no intention of keeping you here," Marcus answered. "I need you to come with me somewhere, and after this, if you never want to see me again, then I'll just have to accept that."

"I don't even want to see you now," Heather retorted. "I don't even want to look at you Marcus. Let me out, right now!"

Marcus considered the possible repercussions of keeping Heather there against her will and concluded that it was best to let her go. But something inside of him just wouldn't let him do it.

"Heather, I'm asking you to please come with me," Marcus pleaded. "I won't hurt you again. I need you to hear me out."

Heather searched his eyes for assurance that he meant what he said. She folded her arms and shifted her weight to one leg. For what felt like an eternity, the two of them just stood there looking at each other as Heather fumed and Marcus hoped.

"Whatever," Heather finally gave in. "I'm probably going to regret this, but I came all the way here so let's just go."

Heather gave Marcus the silent treatment as she sat on the passenger side of Marcus's car while he drove. When he pulled into the church parking lot, she looked puzzled.

"Why are we here?" she asked.

"Because this is where life began and ended for me," Marcus responded. "And you deserve to know the truth."

Reluctantly, Heather followed Marcus into the church. Pastor Mitchell was in the lobby, waiting for them.

"You made it!" the pastor said to Marcus. "I was getting worried son."

"I'm sorry we're late, Pastor Mitchell," Marcus replied. "I know you have to get ready for service in a little while. This is Heather."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you young lady," Pastor Mitchell said as he extended his hand to Heather.

Heather shook the pastor's hand and managed to crack a half smile. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Heather, Marcus has asked me to share a little bit of history with you today, and I agreed. We both prayed that you would come here with an open mind and heart. Shall we go have a seat?"

Pastor motioned for Heather and Marcus to go with him to the plush chairs that were in the far corner of the lobby. Once they were all seated, he continued.

"I have been the pastor of this church since its inception. This has been my church for the past 35 years and I have loved almost every moment of being here. My congregation is fairly small - I only have about 300 members - but they are faithful and have helped me build a church that I can be proud of."

Heather had a confused look on her face as she wondered where all of this was leading.

"Marcus had been coming to this church with his mother and brother ever since he was a baby," Pastor Mitchell continued. "And when he was old enough, he joined our youth choir and had the most amazing voice we'd ever heard. Everyone looked forward to him singing on Sundays."

Heather's eyes lit up as she visualized Marcus as a child.

"I couldn't have been happier with the way my church was growing during those early years. But one day something happened that turned my world upside down. My church made headlines in the news for a heinous crime that had been committed right there in that room."

Pastor pointed to the doors leading into the area of worship. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. He handed the paper to Heather. She unfolded it and saw that it was a photocopy of a news article from the Chicago Sun-Times dating back to 1993. The headline read: "10-Year-Old Boy Attacked by Gang Members; Left for Dead in Church."

Heather made the connection after the first few sentences, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Two of Marcus's church friends had joined a gang," Pastor Mitchell explained. "They had always been jealous of Marcus, who used to sneak into church unbeknownst to his mother and me, and spend hours here singing, praying, or dreaming about the future. They followed him here one night and this was the end result."

As Heather read on, her hands began to tremble.

"Oh God," Heather cried softly as she looked over at Marcus. "I can't believe this happened to you."

Marcus sniffled as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

"Marcus asked me to meet the both of you here this morning because he believes that you are a very special woman and feels badly that he deceived you. He wanted to ask God and you for forgiveness. I assured him that God has already forgiven him, but I cannot speak for you."

Heather nodded in agreement but couldn't find any words to say in response.

"I don't want to put you on the spot Heather," Pastor Mitchell went on. "You have a right to be angry, and if you do not wish to have a relationship with Marcus, you are perfectly entitled to make that decision. But Marcus tells me that you are a Christian woman, and as a man who spreads the word of God, I feel it is my place to at least remind you of how important it is to forgive."

Heather blinked hard and nodded again.

"Shall we go inside and have a moment of prayer?" Pastor asked, rising from his chair.

Without speaking, Heather slowly got up from her chair and Marcus followed suit. They walked silently behind the pastor as he led them to the altar. Then the pastor turned around to face them.

"Let us bow our heads," he began. Marcus and Heather did as instructed.

"Lord, I stand here before you today, with two broken hearts that need healing. A wonderful young man and beautiful young woman desperately need to feel your love, protection and grace. I ask you to be with Heather and Marcus on their individual life journeys, and if it is your will for them to build a life together, may you bless them both abundantly with the love, patience, and strength needed to build and sustain a relationship."

"These are difficult times that we live in," the pastor continued. "But I know that you are more powerful than the evil that seeks to divide your people. Show us your mercy Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."

"Amen," Marcus and Heather replied in unison.

"Well I'm going to leave you two here to talk," the pastor said. "But I do hope to see you again Heather, and may God be with you both."

"Thank you," Heather responded softly.

"Thanks Pastor Mitchell," Marcus chimed in.

When the pastor was gone, Marcus turned to Heather. "Thank you for going through with this," he said to her.

"I don't know what to say," Heather replied.

"Just say that we can start over Heather," Marcus urged as he took her hand in his. "I've never tried harder to connect with any woman before in my life. I've been clocked in the head, kicked, and publicly humiliated - all for you. Your sister sure is violent!"

Heather snickered as flashbacks of the incident at her job ran through her mind.

"I even sang at your sister's wedding, and I hadn't sung in years!"

"And I never got a chance to tell you that you have a wonderful voice, Marcus," Heather commented. "I felt like you were singing to me instead of my sister."

"I was!" Marcus admitted.

They both laughed.

"Look Heather, I know that we have a lot to learn about each other, but I'm ready to just be with one woman and I want that woman to be you."

Marcus gently wiped away the tears that were beginning to fall from Heather's eyes with his two thumbs and then caressed her smooth cheekbones with his hands. "Give me a chance," he asked, his eyes pleading with hers.

Marcus held his breath as Heather closed her eyes for several seconds. Then slowly, she placed her hands over his.

"I will," she replied in a barely audible tone. Marcus kissed Heather softly on the lips, then stopped.

"Can't get carried away; this is the house of the Lord," he said jokingly.

"Well even when we leave here, we need to chill. Remember, I'm celibate," Heather reminded him.

"Oh yeah - I forgot you celebrate. Me too!" he joked.

"Marcus, be serious!" Heather laughed as she playfully punched him in the arm.

He kissed her again and then took her into his arms. They held each other as they both prayed silently for a brighter future - one that they were hopeful they would share together.