The Promise I Kept by Jackie Madden Haugh

Author:Jackie Madden Haugh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WriteLife Publishing
Published: 2018-01-23T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Back to Church

After seeing Father Warwick out the door, I went back to the family room to check on my dad. He faintly smiled as he watched his winged friends outside. It was the same smile he gave when he was in awe of God’s beauty in the world—serene and at complete peace.

“Do you feel better?” I asked, sitting in the chair the priest had just vacated.

“Oh, honey, thank you! Yes, I feel so much better.”

“Good. Would you like to continue to listen to your book? I think you’re at the part where David Kennedy loses his life to drug addiction.”

With his blue eyes staring thoughtfully, I could tell he had something on his mind. Maybe he wanted to tell me about the woman, or maybe he had another story to share from his childhood. Whatever it was, I’d be a captive audience, as always, despite the fact that I should’ve been heading to the office.

“I’d like to talk to you about something,” he began beseechingly.

“Sure, Dad. What is it?”

“I want you to go back to church.”

As if I’d just been told to eat a big chunk of liver with no condiments, I grimaced. Why did he have to spoil this lovely moment with talk of church? Couldn’t he see I was doing just fine without it?

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for battle.

“I don’t need to go to church to feel close to God. Now let’s put those headphones on.”

“It would make me so happy.”

“Would you like a cookie to go with your story? We still have some.”

“When was the last time you went?” he needled.

“I think there’s a baseball game on tonight. We’ll have to be sure to watch it together.”

“Jackie . . .”

Knowing there was no way to skirt this topic, for he seemed intent on converting someone who had already been converted at birth, I sighed. “I just can’t go, Dad. You need twenty-four-hour care. I can’t leave you alone.”

He arched his eyebrows as we stared at each other.

“You can leave me alone for forty-five minutes. You don’t have to stay until the end. Just receive communion and go.”

I thought about his will, I held the power of attorney, which meant I was not only responsible for his finances, but his health directive as well. It was a job I took very seriously.

“Dad, I can’t do that. What if something happened while I was gone, like an earthquake or fire? I’d be held accountable for what happened to you.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“You don’t know that. An earthquake could happen at any time. And you already experienced one fire in your home.”

Tilting his head, he tapped his chin with his index finger. I could tell by the look in his eyes he was calculating his next move, as if I were a pawn on a chess board and he was the knight coming to knock me off the board completely. When it came to matters of religion, he was relentless.

“Dad! I’d be charged with elder abuse if anything happened.

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