Free Tiger Lillie by Lisa Samson Page B

and all. Sure. But how to do that? That’s the biggie, isn’t it? And sometimes, I think it’s the “enjoy” part that really trips me up. Who am I to enjoy the almighty Creator of heaven and earth? Huh? Tell me that.

4
    Tacy
    I hated lying to my mother, but there was nothing else to be done. How could I tell her I’d already been dating Rawlins for two years? As Rawlins said, we’d never get their blessing on our relationship if they found out we’d been forced to keep things a secret for so long. I kept wondering, though, if the blessing would actually mean anything with two years of deception as our foundation. Of course, Rawlins did have a point when he said that, being my intended, he was the head of our “household” and as such, I could follow his lead without worry. God would judge him, not me, and he was willing to bear the responsibility, if indeed, what we’d done was truly deception. “Think of Rahab, the harlot, dear one. Now there’s someone who kept a secret.”
    “She lied, “Rawlins.”
    “Yes, She did. And God used that lie, didn’t He? Who are we to question His dealings?”
    That sounded a little weird, only I didn’t know why exactly or what to say because what happened at Jericho happened, and the Bible never editorialized word one about Rahab’s lie to the soldiers of the town. No, Rahab was only praised and given the immense privilege of being an ancestor of Christ. See, things like that in the Bible confused me. I thought of Joseph’s brothers selling him as a slave and how the Bible said, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” And it didn’t say God allowed it for good, it said meant. As in, “I meant to do that” or “I meant to say that.” Purposeful. And that confused me. I struggled so much with the good and evil and God questions. And Rawlins was no help there. He told me to leave the spiritual aspects of life to him. But people have always struggled with that, for thousands of years, and not one person has come up with the defining answer. At least I didn’t. Or Rawlins either. As I lay in my bed, knowing I’d introduce Rawlins to Mom and Dad the next day, performing the role of my life, I realized that in the end you accepted God as the truly indefinable being He is, or you muddled along in frustration. I never thought He ever expected us to stop wondering though. I really didn’t, despite What Rawlins said. “God doesn’t mind our questions,” Dad always told us. “And He is more than capable of rendering an obvious scenario, obliterating the need for faith altogether.” I looked out my bedroom window at the dome of the night blue sky and saw something beyond fathoming but so worthy of the pursuit.
    Being called Rawlins’s “intended” also did something for me. I knew then our relationship was destined for permanency. Of course, he reminded me that my lie to him started the whole ball rolling.
    A week later, as we sat out on the brick patio behind the manse, Mom and Dad fooled blind, Rawlins said, “You’re so beautiful and sweet and trusting, Anastasia. You’d be an easy target for someone who wants nothing more than to take advantage of you.”
    “Yes, Rawlins, I know.”
    “Predators take many shapes, dear one.” That’s what he said.
    Lillie
    We try our best at Extremely Odd to blend in with the occasion. I should have asked Pleasance to pencil on my eyeliner, but she was so busy readying the female attendants, dressed like priestesses, that I did it myself. One line meanders upward from my eye, the other wanders downward, lending me an air of confused surprise. And no matter how hard I tried, each attempt worsened the effect. At least the tunic flows loose and comfortable, hiding my padded hips a bit.
    I don’t really think of myself as an Egyptian princess, but more like Memnet, the nursemaid to Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments. Oh my, when she pulls out that bit of Levi cloth and shows it to Nefertiri, my heart