Free The Calling by Deborah A Hodge

Cate’s.
    Cate, disarmed by the tone in which he had answered, turned her gaze slowly toward David. Hearing him say that she was beautiful caused her to look into his dark brown eyes to seek to discover any indication as to why he’d answered as he had. As she caught a glimpse of David’s face, she wasn’t sure what she saw. She only knew that she had to try to understand what she had heard. As her eyes met David’s, the spell of the moment was broken as Matthew continued, “See, Cate, it’s unanimous. You are beautiful. You might as well admit it.”
    “I dare say that a lady admitting she is beautiful would make her less so.” Cate hoped that she had covered up her reaction to David’s words.
    “She’s got you there, Matt,” David said. They all laughed.
    “Cate, I’d be glad to show you your classroom and give you a tour of the school, or if you’d rather, we could wait until tomorrow,” Matthew said.
    “Well, I’d hate to make Miss Janet and Kim wait while we did that.”
    Cate looked at David as he replied, “Go ahead if you’d like. I’ll be glad to escort the ladies home. Matt’s dying to show you around.”
    She looked at Matthew, “Okay I’ll have the ten cent tour please. David, I guess I’ll see Sarah and you tomorrow at church.”
    “Yes, you will. You two have fun,” David replied.
    Matthew offered Cate his arm; she smiled and said another goodbye to David. As Matthew ushered her through the door, Cate turned her head to catch one last glimpse of David as he walked toward Miss Janet and Kim.
    Matthew’s tour of the school was very informative. He talked about the school and its mission as a proud parent would talk about his child. Cate realized how much he loved what he did. She also found out that his father had established the mission agency and school thirty years earlier and had served as its director/headmaster. He retired from the position because of illness, and he and his wife returned to the U.S. for his medical treatment. Since the time of his father’s retirement, Matthew had been the director/headmaster.
    Cate asked about his upbringing and found out that he spent most of his life in Ecuador. He had earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina and his Masters at Dallas Theological Seminary. After seminary, he returned to Ecuador to help his father at the mission school.
    “Enough about me,” Matthew said, “I want to hear about you.”
    “There’s not much to tell.”
    “ That , I do not believe,” Matthew answered.
    “Well, there’s not much that you don’t already know.”
    “Tell me about your family,” Matthew probed.
    “My family lives in Kansas. I have two older brothers, who are both married and have two children each. My father is a pastor. He’s been the pastor of Bethsaida Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kansas for the past twenty-seven years.”
    “So you’ve basically lived in Kansas all of your life,” Matthew added.
    “Yeah, basically,”
    “May I ask a very personal question?” Matthew asked.
    Cate narrowed her eyes, “Sure, I guess.”
    “How come such a beautiful girl like you isn’t married?”
    “I was married. You know that,” Cate answered, honestly.
    “I know you were married. David told me that before I hired you. He also told me how your marriage ended.”
    “David told you about that?” Cate felt a lump in her throat.
    “Yes, he did. David and I have been friends for years and I specifically asked.”
    “Of course, you did,” Cate replied, “you'd want to know what kind of person you were hiring.”
    “That’s right and I found out.”
    “You found out that you were hiring one with a lot of baggage,” Cate looked away, unable to meet his eyes.
    “We all have baggage, Cate.”
    “I guess, so, but not baggage that disqualifies.”
    “Disqualifies you from what?” Matthew asked.
    “Oh, nothing; I was just thinking out loud.”
    “You’re not the only person ever to get divorced. You’re