In Search of Fate

Chapter 22: Consider How the Lilies of the Field Grow

Eve’s eyes brightened with recognition as she smiled and replied, “I know. I’m with you in this, remember.”

“You can read my mind now; or you’ve been reading St. Paul?”

“He’s been quoted to me before, more than once.”

“Now you’re mocking me.”

Eve smiled again. “No, though your plan still makes me a bit uneasy. At least we’ll always have each other . . . and Abel won’t be alone.”

“And what about a real family,” Adam asked? Nuzzling her hair, he inhaled her scent as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Tilting her head back, she momentarily fixed Adam in her gaze and then cuddled closer. “Let’s not talk about that right now. I’ve settled that matter for myself.” Adam could see in her eyes that she had resolved that question. But he was concerned about her apparent apprehension.

Adam held Eve close to his chest while gently caressing her arm. Softly, he quoted a passage he thought reassuring, “‘Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be given you besides’.”

Eve sat up and turned around to face Adam, “You‘re quoting the Bible, right?”

“Yes, I am: Matthew, Chapter Six, where Jesus asks his disciples to consider how the lilies of the field grow.”

“I’m not following you. What do the lilies of the field have to do with the kingdom of God and his justice? It all sounds too otherworldly compared to our dilemma of finding justice here and now.”

“But the kingdom of God is within each of us; and we create justice in this life by pursuing His justice—‘the moral law within’—each day of our lives. You, my love, are that lily arrayed in singular beauty and created in His image. The choices you’ve made, the risks you’ve taken for both of us define who you are and manifest the divine I see in you. It is my great privilege to spend my life beside you and to seek justice in an imperfect world with you, my soon-to-be missus.”

Eve cradled Adam’s face in her hands and kissed him on the lips gently and lovingly. “I never imagined I would be marrying such a religious man.”

“But I’m catholic with a small ‘c,’ no different than an ‘Everyman’ who lives mostly unaware that he plants his feet in eternity. Tomorrow you’ll be married by a truly religious man.”

“I’ve been married to you since that first night in our cave sanctuary. I respect Father Abbot, but I don’t need his blessing for our union.”

“I love you, my little heathen.” Adam again pulled Eve close and whispered in her ear. “We should get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a very full day for both of us: we’ll become officially Mr. and Mrs. Wyman-Questor.” Adam started to reach for the sleeping bag.

Eve held his arm back and spoke in a hushed tone. “I just need you.” Nestled together in the softly dancing light of the candles, Adam and Eve drifted into a shared waking dream state and subsequently into peaceful slumber. As the dwindling light of the candle surrendered to the night, darkness enveloped them in its fold, hidden from all outside threats. They were on the cusp of a new dawn.

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