Katelyn’s Choice

Chapter 1

“Katelyn! I’ve got to see you right away. Can you meet me at the side door in five minutes?” John’s voice was stressed.
“Sure, what…?” It was no use to ask any questions, because John had already hung up. As Katelyn replaced the receiver on the phone, she stretched her left hand out to let her beautiful diamond catch the light and sparkle brightly. She never tired of dreaming of the time when she and John would be able to spend every minute of the day together. It did not seem possible that they had been engaged for a year and a half.
. She glanced quickly in the mirror. Her beautiful blonde hair was turned under or gently flipped on the ends. Every hair was always in place. Her complexion was clear so makeup was not really necessary, but she always added a touch of pale pink to color her lips. As she grabbed a sweater, she glanced at her figure in the mirror. She was of medium height and not what you would call a knock out, but her inner peace brought a lovely sparkle to her clear blue eyes.
Katelyn headed for the side door of her apartment building. She watched as the restored copper-colored 1965 Chevy convertible rounded the corner and came to a halt near the curb. She ran out and hopped in the door that John had pushed open for her.
There he sat, impeccably dressed in khakis and a loose fitting polo. He had short jet-black hair, a beard that looked like a five o’clock shadow by two in the afternoon, and a gentle cloud of Canoe aftershave surrounded him at all times.
“I felt an urgency in your voice when you called. What is it?” she said as she greeted her fiancé with a peck on the lips. The serious look on his face caused a sense of panic to rise up in her. He handed her a letter that was opened. The handwriting was slightly familiar, and the return address confirmed who had written the letter. She drew the stationery from the envelope and began to read. There was a long silence. She looked at him with tears in her beautiful, big eyes. John’s dark brown eyes had begun to pool also.
“What in the world can we do?” John was obviously beside himself with grief. His ever-present air of control, the attitude jocks always carry, had slipped away.
The tears began to slide down Katelyn’s cheeks as she gently told him that there was only one thing that they could do. “I love you far too much to allow this to happen to you.” She slowly slid the gorgeous diamond off her finger and reached out to place it in his hand. This was the ring that to her symbolized love for a lifetime. Why was God allowing this to happen to them?
“John, family is far too important to each of us for you to give up your parents,” said Katelyn.
He replied, “I don’t understand why Mom feels so strongly about this.”
“She is telling you in this letter what I have sensed for a long time but refused to admit to myself. Remember the first time that we stayed overnight at your parents’ house after we got engaged?”
“Yes, I thought we all really enjoyed ourselves.”
“Remember that your mother insisted that I come with her into the master bedroom, and she showed me a candle she lit every day and the prayer she said? It was the prayer that stated her wish that we never marry.”
“That was so long ago, I thought she had worked through all of this.” John looked as if his heart would split in two. How could he live without Katelyn? She was so full of life itself. He knew she would be a dedicated wife and mother. What real difference did it make that they were of different denominations? There is only one God.
“Your mom was never happy with each of us leaving our own denomination and joining another church together.” Why did his mother so detest the fact that Katelyn was a Methodist and not a Catholic like John? It wasn’t as if she and John had not talked about their differences.
There was a long pause. When John spoke again, there was pain in his voice. “For someone so ‘dedicated’ to her faith, this letter does not seem like something God would want anyone to write. How could she say that unless we break our engagement, I do not need to come home again? She would never want to see her own son again? This is not fair!”
Katelyn did not really know what to say to ease John’s pain. “John, nothing in the world is worth losing your family over. I could not allow you to give up your parents for me. We would both suffer in the end. I guess this is why my mom always said not to date a person of another denomination; you never know where things are going to lead.”
“Katelyn, I cannot accept this ring. I gave it to you to wear forever. We must spend forever together. I don’t know what to do. I am so torn between my loyalty to my parents and my love for you.”
Katelyn glanced out the window onto the rolling Iowa hills where her apartment complex was situated. She had lived in Iowa all of her life. The late September evening was unseasonably warm. She turned back to John. “There are so many challenges in marriage without trying to go through your whole life without your parents. Remember, I am an only child, too, and there is no way I could face the rest of my life without my parents. Parents are your ‘set point’ in life, the place you can always return to, to reclaim your calm. Parents are persons who (as the saying goes) know all about you and love you anyway. I have known you for two and a half years, and I love you very much, but they have known you for twenty-two years. I can only imagine how it would feel for you to never be able to go home again.” The tears were now rolling down her cheeks as she spoke. “You and your dad are so close. I love him as much as I love you, in a different way, of course, but I know his heart would be broken if you never came home again.”
“Please take this ring back tonight, and we can sleep on this and talk again tomorrow,” John said as he started the car.
She turned to him and said, “I cannot take the ring back. That would just make it harder tomorrow. We must really pray about this, but obviously your mother has prayed too, and she has decided we must not marry. She must feel as though you are choosing between God and me, and she feels God is the only way.”
“Do you want to go for a ride?” John asked, trying to change the subject.
“No, John, I think I need to be alone just now.”
“May I call you in the morning?”
“If you like, John. I love you. I will always love you. You are a very special part of my life. I’ll miss you, and I don’t know how I will get through this, but God will give each of us strength.” As she said this, she heard that still, small voice saying, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
John walked her to the door of her apartment. He slowly drew her into his arms and held her for a long time. He put his hands on her shoulders and drew her away from him to gaze deeply into her eyes, eyes that until this moment had been for only him. “I will love you forever,” he said, and he gently kissed her.
Katelyn closed the door behind her and leaned on it for support. The tears rolled down her cheeks and this time the sobbing began. She ran to her bedroom, threw herself on the bed face down, and cried her heart out.
The only thing that slowed her tears was the constant ringing of the phone. She decided the person on the other end of the line was not going to give up, so she rolled over and picked up the receiver. She heard the voice of her best friend.