Free Manila Marriage App by Jan Elder Page A

and engaging? I suspected the cause to be a remarkable mix of mom and dad, a traumatic childhood, with a pinch of his superior intellect thrown in. Brianna would approve of my astonishing insights.
    Sorting completed, I gave the sticky dresser drawer a good tug. It squeaked open, and I started to toss in a few rolls of socks—that is until I noticed the beady-eyed beasty hugging the back corner.
    It was hard to tell who was more stunned—the lizard or me. Maybe three inches long, a pale tan color with brown spots, he was a diminutive fellow. For a split second, our eyes locked and then he vanished. I couldn’t remember ever seeing one of God’s precious creatures move so fast. If I hadn’t just peered into those glassy, brown orbs, I might have wondered if I’d dreamed him up.
    With everything now in its place, I shifted gears and sat down to paint my toenails a bright, shiny fuchsia. As I primped, I reached down to scratch my ankles yet again. Drat. Three huge red welts and a fourth forming on my elbow. If I ever made it to heaven, one of my first questions to God would be why He’d created mosquitoes.
    I’d completed all of my projects, but it was still only eleven. I changed into something pretty, moseyed on down to the religion building, and decided to sit in on Timothy’s theology lecture. He’d invited me to stop in any time, and today was a good day to take him up on it.
    I sneaked into the classroom and dropped into a seat in the back row. Within the space of two heartbeats, every head rotated in my direction.
    Up at the front, Timothy quaked, amusement written all over his handsome face. “Ladies and gentlemen, please let me introduce our special guest.”
    My cheeks flamed, heat climbing all the way up to my ears. I wanted to dissolve through a crack in the floor.
    “Shay Callahan has come all the way from the United States to visit us. Let’s please welcome her.” Timothy clapped, and the class followed suit. He threw me another one of his mischievous grins.
    After the hubbub died down, he got back to business. “OK, back to one of my favorite theologians. My favorite quote by Paul Tillich is ‘Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith…’”
    I squished down in my chair and listened with half an ear.
    Timothy was a gifted speaker, energizing the classroom with his commanding personality. The subject matter wasn’t very exciting, but watching the affect he had on the female students captured my interest. Every face enthralled, the women strained forward to catch each pearl of wisdom. Timothy held them in the palm of his hand, and he didn’t have the slightest clue.
    By the time the class ended, I wished I were one of his students. I would come early to every class, pay strict attention to the subject matter, and stay late to ask questions. I’d focus my full, undivided concentration on the teacher.
    Timothy passed out homework assignments at the door as the students filed out, many with reluctance. Then he centered his attention on me. “I was so happy to see you walk in the door. I hope you enjoyed the class discussion.”
    “You’re a charismatic teacher.”
    He held out a hand and helped me to my feet. “Thanks. I have one more thing to do, and then we can rendezvous at the office and get going on our date. Sound good?”
    Timothy and I were dating? It seemed appropriate since we were going to be married. I chuckled at my own joke—married, ha!
    As we ambled out of the building, a football hurtled through the air in Timothy’s approximate direction. With a hustle I wouldn’t have expected from such a brawny man, he zoomed off like a 747, launched himself into the air, and floated down with the ball. On nimble feet, he pivoted, firing the football across the campus in a perfect spiral. Who knew the man possessed such a gift?
    I