Crossing kingdoms las ve.., p.6
Crossing Kingdoms--Las Vegas, page 6
“How did you know that?” she asked surprised.
“I texted you and your friend Kat replied and said you were busy with your date,” Dante answered, recounting in his mind the moment that triggered the chain of decisions that landed him there in the hospital. His memory was returning like a flood.
Beth’s surprise grew at that revelation; she didn’t know Kat had used her phone. She was also surprised that Dante seemed so bothered by the fact that she was on a date. It wasn’t a big deal to her; just a group of friends going out together for fun, which was fairly typical with the youth within her church.
But she realized Dante may not be aware of the casualness of group dates that she was used to. If he considers dates to be an indication of romantic involvement, no wonder he would be upset about her being out with someone else. They had not defined their relationship, but their behavior together strongly suggested they were more than friends. She felt bad this had hurt him and resolved to clarify things with him soon. This didn’t feel like the right time for that conversation though.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know Kat did that. Yes, it was a group date but nothing special,” she emphasized that last word. “We were out driving and as we came up to the park, we saw a fight. Well, three guys on one isn’t really a fight,” anger clear in her words.
“We pulled over to try and help. As we came running up, the guys took off,” she became painfully quiet. “You were lying face down. I didn’t realize it was you until they rolled you over.” Her voice caught and eyes glistened, “You were barely conscious.” Taking a deep breath, Beth continued, “We all carried you to the van and laid you across the bench seat. I sat with you as we drove to the hospital.”
Dante recalled lying in the van; he also remembered the feeling of someone stroking his head. That was Beth. He closed his eyes and sighed, relaxing at the memory. Her touch was the only thing that had pulled him out of the agony, allowing him some comfort.
“Thank you,” he whispered, turning his gaze to her again. She smiled warmly at him, gently squeezing his hand. They looked at each other in silence for a while until a nurse came in to check on him. She said if he can stay awake for the next hour, and if his vitals remain steady, he can then go home to his family.
Before Dante could say anything, Beth told the nurse, “Oh, I mentioned to the triage nurse when we got here that his mom is out of town for work, and he will be staying with my family.”
Dante looked at Beth in confusion; she squeezed his hand urging him to be quiet. Beth knew his mom always worked on Saturday nights and, from what Dante had said, it’s very hard to reach her at work. Furthermore, she is barely functioning on Sundays; he shouldn’t be left home alone in his condition.
The nurse smiled at them. “I bet you are going to take real good care of your guy,” she said to Beth.
“Yes, I am,” Beth said with conviction, giving Dante a shy grin.
Before leaving them alone again, the nurse informed them that there was a police officer in the hall waiting to talk to Dante. Now that he was awake and more alert, the officer wanted to question him about the incident. Dante agreed, taking as deep a breath as his constricted chest would let him.
Dante explained to the officer that he had been out for a run when the three guys approached him in the park. They were trying to antagonize him, even though he was attempting to walk away. They first started shoving him, then things escalated quickly as insults and punches began to fly – Dante leaving out the part that he was the first to throw a punch. He said he had blacked out as they were kicking him on the ground.
The officer took notes of Dante’s testimony and asked one final question. “Do you want to press charges against them? You have a solid case for assault.”
Dante pondered for a moment before deciding, though he was unclear why he was choosing this outcome. “No, I don’t want to press charges. But,” he grinned slightly, “you can scare them. Put the fear of God in them. These guys are long term jerks and deserve to be shaken up.”
The officer chuckled, nodding and affirmed, “I’ll see what I can do. You take care, Dante. Call me if you change your mind.”
Two hours later Dante was released into the care of Kim Black with instructions on how to care for his cracked rib and stitched up wounds; they also needed to keep him awake late into the night to monitor his mild concussion. Of course, Beth said she would stay up with him.
By the time they got him back to the house and settled in the family room, it was after 9:00pm. Dante was starting to hurt again and realized he was starving. Because of the damage to his face, he couldn’t chew anything, so Kim made him a protein shake with his next dose of pain meds.
“I’m so sorry for all this trouble,” he apologized to Kim. “I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow.”
“Oh no you won’t!” Kim replied. “Beth told me your mom is away for work. You will stay here until she is back.”
Dante tried to argue but they would hear nothing of it. He looked at Beth with concern clear on his face. She just shrugged and gently said, “It’ll be ok.”
When Kim left the room, Dante whispered, “Beth, you can’t lie to your parents. You need to tell them the truth. Even if that means I go home alone you have to be honest with them! I can’t stay here with them thinking I’m something I’m not.” His words were filled with pain. After the awful things the guys said about Beth during the fight, Dante was debating if she’d be better off if he stayed away from her. He hated the thought of that, but felt it wasn’t fair to ruin her reputation. “Beth, please,” he pleaded. He could see the anxiety on her face as she agreed.
“Ok. I’ll be back soon. Don’t go to sleep!” He watched her walk down the hall toward her parents’ bedroom. She paused, took a deep breath, and knocked. The door opened and he heard her quietly say, “I need to tell you something.”
Dante closed his eyes and found words forming in his mind. Dear God. Please help this be ok. I don’t want to lose her. Please. He realized he had just prayed for the first time in his life and really hoped God could hear him. Between the building pressure in his head and his anxiety about what was happening with Beth and her parents, he had to fight the pull to drift off into oblivion.
About ten minutes later, Beth and her parents came into the family room. Beth sat at the other end of the couch from where Dante was propped up; her parents sat across from them. It was awkwardly quiet for a moment.
Eric, spoke first. “Beth tells us you come from a difficult family life,” Dante slightly nodded as Eric continued. “She shared what your mom does for work to support you, and explained how you are often treated because of that. She also said you insisted she tell us about this tonight.” Dante couldn’t help but look down.
“Dante,” Eric continued, “we recognize this is very difficult for you and we really appreciate your desire to be honest and to have Beth be honest with us.” Eric looked at his daughter with a bit of a scolding expression at her previous dishonesty. “And we feel we need to be honest with you.” Dante saw an unspoken exchange between father and daughter.
“Dante, we like you. We can see that Beth really does too.” Dante smiled at Beth’s blushing face. Eric grinned in amusement, then continued, “We are happy for your friendship with our daughter. We trust her and want her to be happy. And safe,” he added earnestly.
“However, we do have some concerns. As you know, we believe in and adhere to a moral code that is very distinct from what you have been raised with.” Eric was trying to choose his words carefully but there wasn’t an easy way to address the vast contrasts between the two families.
Dante nodded solemnly again. He didn’t know a lot of specifics about Beth’s life, but he knew enough to realize they lived in two different worlds. Even though Dante was not like the stereotyped escort’s child – wild and promiscuous – unless people took the time to really get to know him, they would always assume the worst. He began to steel himself to hear Eric tell him they wanted better for their daughter, and that he was not right for her.
“Also, your mom’s line of work is dangerous; for her and for you,” Eric waved his hand at Dante’s beaten body as evidence. “And possibly for those you associate with too.” He looked directly at his daughter for a moment; his point clearly understood.
“I don’t know why you were in the fight today, Dante, and I don’t need to know. We are happy to help you and you are welcome to stay with us while you recover. We understand it may be too difficult for your mom to give you the care you need to heal – though we have no doubt she will desire to,” Eric added, not wanting to sound overly critical. “Your mom is also welcome to come to our home and visit you.”
Dante was very surprised. He figured Beth’s family was being polite in how they were treating him, but he never expected that they would welcome his mom into their home. That offering brought him a small sense of comfort.
“We need you to know this,” Eric went on, “we have hopes and dreams for our Beth; she is a treasure to us. She has hopes and dreams for herself too. We also have rules we expect her to follow. However, we believe that the greatest gift we have been given by God is our ability to choose for ourselves how we live our lives. We are trying to find a balance between letting Beth make her own choices, and our desire to protect her.
“And here is where I am going to be very blunt,” Eric continued looking between Dante and Beth, causing them both to hold their breath in nervous anticipation. “We have taught Beth our moral values, and she has been taught them at church too. We will support the two of you if you choose to have a romantic relationship, but this is what we expect ...” Eric paused for effect, “Absolutely no sex.”
“Dad!” Beth exclaimed in horror.
Eric lifted his hand, trying to calm her reaction. “We know what it is like to be extremely attracted to each other; we still are.” Eric and Kim looked at each other with warm smiles; Beth grabbed a throw pillow and smashed her face into it groaning.
Dante was stunned, embarrassed, and slightly grateful for the honesty. The burden of hiding the truth about himself was lifted, and the relief of their acceptance of him was almost overwhelming. He wasn’t going to lose Beth because of this! Dante looked at Beth, hoping to share a smile, but she was still hiding behind the pillow completely mortified.
“We also know what leads to sex ...” Eric persisted, “a lot of passionate kissing starts the ignition and that drives down to the road to sex.”
“Dad! Stop saying sex!” Beth yelled at him. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she murmured feeling mortified. She couldn’t even look at Dante.
Eric persisted, unphased by his daughter’s outbursts, “We think, and we hope, that Beth will choose to live by these standards. Dante, we expect you to respect that, respect her. And do not pressure her or even put her in a situation where it becomes hard for her to make her own decisions about what happens with her body.”
“Mom! Stop him!” Beth pleaded. Kim just smirked at her daughter and shook her head.
“We also expect you to not put her in danger. Will you agree to this Dante?” Eric looked at Dante with intense expectation.
Dante was speechless. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, he nodded and managed a “Yes, sir.” Beth gaped at him, surprised he was going along with this. Dante managed a swollen grin in her direction and shrugged his shoulders. What else was he supposed to say?
“Now, Beth,” Eric redirected, “we expect something from you as well.”
“I know Dad!” she was getting really irritated.
“It’s not what you think, sweetie,” Eric paused to get her attention. “You are not to pressure Dante into joining the church.”
“What?” she reacted in confusion.
Beth, Kim, and Dante were all surprised by that change in direction.
“As much as we love sharing the Gospel and seeing people come to know Christ, and we would be thrilled if Dante chose that,” Eric emphasized while subtly nodded at Dante before turning back to Beth, “you are not to pressure him into it. It can be a major challenge in a relationship if you don’t share the same beliefs. But it is doable, sometimes. You have to be respectful and allow each other to walk your own paths. So, no pressure for sex,” he pointed at Dante, “and no pressure for Church,” he pointed at Beth. “Agreed?” he asked and waited. Beth and Dante looked at each other, not knowing what to do. “Agreed?” Eric repeated, firmer this time.
“Agreed,” Beth and Dante said in awkward unison.
“Ok, I now pronounce you allowed to date. You may, or may not, kiss my daughter, if she so chooses,” Eric concluded. Kim burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing she had heard in a long time; Eric leaned over and kissed his wife.
Beth threw the pillow at them and yelled, “Go away!”
As Eric and Kim got up to leave, Kim said to Beth and Dante, “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come get us.” She kissed her daughter on the top of the head and gently touched Dante’s shoulder, “Goodnight.”
Beth and Dante sat in uncomfortable silence for what seemed like forever.
Only a few minutes later Dante started tentatively, “Beth?”
She interrupted him, “I’m so sorry Dante! I didn’t know he was going to do that.”
“Beth,” he said again ignoring her apologies, “what do you want?” That came out more forceful than he meant it to.
“What? What do you mean?” she asked, unsure of his intent.
“All of this is up to you. Us,” his bandaged hand signaled between the two of them. “I would like to know what you truly want,” he clarified.
“Why is it all up to me? What you want matters too. Do you want ...” she paused feeling her stomach flip over and pulse race, “an Us?”
The sincerity in his smile was evident even through the swelling of his face. “Yes. I want to be with you, Beth. That hasn’t changed from the beginning when you kissed me.” She blushed at the memory of her boldness while he continued. “But, you have so much more at stake; your faith, your friends. Your reputation,” he added that last one bitterly, causing Beth to wonder why he suddenly sounded irritated.
“I am not going to lose my faith, or my friends. And my reputation will be fine,” her confidence was unwavering.
Dante was shaking his head, “I don’t think you understand how cruel people can be and some of the brutal things they will say. You might be better off if you stick with those guys from your church.” He hated the thought of it, but she deserved much better than him.
“Dante, I don’t want them.” She took a breath preparing for vulnerable honesty, “I want to be with you, and I don’t care what other people say.”
“Beth,” he tried to interrupt to reinforce his point.
“No. I want you to listen to me,” she insisted. “You have asked me what I want. Now let me tell you.” With another deep breath to solidify her confidence, she sincerely yet firmly continued. “I want you to stop coming up with reasons for me to not be with you. I want you to stop telling me the bad that will come if we are together. I want you to let me care about you. I want to choose you, Dante.” She moved from the end of the couch and knelt on the floor beside him, resting her hand gently on his shoulder, “Let me choose you,” she declared with tender determination.
Their eyes held each other as he considered her argument. When he finally nodded with a smile, Beth leaned in for a gentle kiss, very careful of his injuries. Pulling back briefly to ask the question she knew the answer to but wanted to hear it again, “Do you choose me?” she whispered. He reached up to her face, pulled her to him, and kissed her more intensely. He didn’t care about the pain it brought his face.
Despite their exhaustion, neither wanted to say goodnight yet. After putting on a movie, Beth sat on the floor in front of where Dante was stretched out on the couch. His arm rested on her shoulder, and she reached up linking their hands. With gentle squeezes and strokes of their fingers, they silently let each other know they were more interested in their physical connection than what was happening in the movie.
Midnight came and Beth went through the recovery checklist, giving Dante his next dose of pain medicine. She waited on the couch while he shuffled to the bathroom, hugged a pillow to her chest, and tucked her smile behind the softness as she closed her eyes in delight.
Dante moved slowly, unstable on his feet. He stood in front of the bathroom mirror, hardly noticing his injuries beyond the smile that spread on his swollen face. He couldn’t form clear thoughts, but he felt an unfamiliar contentment and knew it was all because of Beth.
As he came back into the room, Beth peeked up from behind the pillow with sparkling eyes and an illuminating smile, then helped him to the guest bedroom. Once he was settled in the bed, she gave him a soft kiss goodnight, and floated down the hall to her own room.
Sleep washed over Dante like a flood. In his mind he uttered a heartfelt, thank you, God, and then he was out.
Beth had a harder time falling asleep even though she was exhausted from the events of the day. It had started out with her doing her regular Saturday chores before going on the group date, having a picnic, and going for a drive. That’s when they found Dante. Everything seemed like a whirlwind after that; and now here they were. Dante was safe and sleeping in her house! And they were together, officially together. And that made her incredibly happy.
CHAPTER 8
The next morning, Beth’s family went to church while Beth stayed home to care for Dante. His cracked ribs made it difficult for him to move, and his head injury left him dizzy when standing, which provided a good excuse for Beth to be close while helping him. She made a simple breakfast for them to eat in the family room so he could still be comfortable and upright.
They spent the morning talking and learning more about each other. Beth’s parents had turned on their usual “Sunday music” playlist while they had been getting ready for church and left it playing for Beth and Dante to wake up to. “Sunday music” included classical pieces, hymns, and a mixture of songs about spiritual topics. When Beth and Dante weren’t talking, they both simply relaxed listening to the music. Inevitably, they would catch each other subtly staring, which always elicited warm smiles.
