My Love Story ~ Part Eleven

For previous installments of my crazy love story, click here. Thank you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things moved along much more quickly now that Bumper had approached my father. The visit didn't go as well as Bumper had planned, but the door of conversation with my Dad now had a crack in it. It was a start. We talked at church, at bus meeting and I went to Taco Bell after church sometimes to visit with him. It was now the end of March, and that means birthday time for me!! I was hoping to get together with Bumper, but I wasn't sure how. I didn't want him to think it was a date.
I discussed my upcoming birthday with my parents. I was turning nineteen, and I wanted to have some sort of party. Most of my girlfriends were married or gone, so that didn't leave anyone to invite to a party. Mom and Dad said I could invite a few friends, and Bumper could be one of them. Hmmm. Who else was there? The only people that were my friends at church were Bumper (but only recently), my Pastor's son, Ben and a guy I'd gone to school with since kindergarten, Bobby. Well, I had a few other friends that were single girls, but (clears throat) they were all Bumper's former girlfriends and wouldn't feel comfortable at a small party if he was there. There was one poor girl that approached me one day as I was leaving the auditorium to get on my bus. "Congratulations." She said, as she reached to shake my hand. "Um. Congratulations for what?" I asked her. "I heard you and Bumper like each other." "OH!" I said, tossing my head back in laughter. "You heard wrong! No, I don't like Bumper! He says he likes me, but I'm not fallin' for it." I said with a wink. Yes, it was strange how many gals went for him. You can see that this limited my guest list quite a bit. So, I did it. I invited all boys to my birthday party. I hadn't given much thought, however, to the fact that I had invited all boys until they had all arrived at my house! Yes, folks, I'm a little slow.
It was me, my Mom and Dad, Bumper, Ben and Bobby for the big event. I also worked to be sure the names of my guests were alliterated. I seated everyone alphabetically, too! (Just kidding everyone! I'm weird, but even I have my limits.)
When the party (which was just eating good food and visiting) began, I suddenly felt a little strange having all boys there. What if word got around that I was a flirt? What if word was already out that I was a flirt?? I mean, that girlfriend of mine had lied and quoted me as saying I could have any guy in the church...was this why?! Because these guys were my friends??? I was friends with everybody, it's just that the girls left me. I had friends of all shapes and sizes. I had a Downs Syndrome girl on my church bus route that clung to me at every service! Surely they didn't really think that I was a flirt?! As this was racing through my mind, I felt my pulse increasing. Sweat was forming on my back. Should I stand up and scream "WAIT! WE CAN'T HAVE THIS PARTY!" and make them all leave? Or, should I forget about it and not care what everyone else thought. These guys knew I wasn't a flirt. That's all that mattered. I decided not to care. Boy, that was a relief.
We all sat around the table. Mom made a delicious meal and I helped serve. Bumper came and sat across from me. Ben sat to my left and Bobby was beside Bumper. Bobby and Ben knew my parents very well. They were just extensions of our family. But Bumper was an "outsider." He sat there, squinting. He didn't say anything unless someone asked him a question. In the course of conversation, we found out that he had been repairing the washer in the boys dorm when some water - containing bleach - had squirted into his eye. He went to the ER and they had given him eye drops, but the pain was still severe. He could barely keep his eyes open. "Great." I thought, "this is just what I need!" This party was sort of a test run for Bumper. This was his big chance to impress my parents. It was his opportunity to show them his wit, his intellect, his ability to communicate. So far, he was failing miserably. I looked over at his slumped form, at how he had to rub his eyes constantly and how he squinted at everyone that was talking to him. I felt sorry for him. I was also a little disappointed that his "big chance" was overshadowed by this accident.
My Mom made a wonderful dessert cake for my birthday. It was a regular sheet cake with a layer of vanilla pudding, a layer of cherry pie filling on top of the pudding and a layer of cool whip over that. There is only one word for it: DIVINE. Mom served the cake. As she placed a piece in front of Bumper, he said, while looking down because of his eyes, "I hate cake." He said it monotone. No inflection in the voice. No "no thank you", just "I hate cake." WHAT? Had his eye injury now bled into his brain?? How could he say something so rude to a hostess? My birthday was turning into a nightmare. My Mother felt terrible (she didn't tell me, but I know my Mom). She quickly removed the cake and apologized to him!!! I glared at him from across the table. Unfortunately, he couldn't see me glaring because he was temporarily blind.
At this point, the evening could not get over with fast enough. We all finished dessert and I bid my guests good night. I thanked my parents for the party. As I headed to bed, all I could think was "Hyles-Anderson College...you are calling my name!!!" It was nice to have a guy interested in me, but I could see that it would take a miracle for this relationship to work. I had to acknowledge that there was absolutely no way - humanly speaking - that this was gonna happen.
The only thing I did not consider, however, was that I know Someone who is in the miracle working business.