Health, Wealth, and Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

for commitment.” Sean made eye contact with Jane.
    She smiled, but hoped he wasn’t getting at what it sounded like.
    “When you’re young and you move around a lot, those lasting connections just don’t forge. When it’s time to settle down, these things get a lot easier.” This time he gave Jake the intense eye-contact treatment.
    Jake lifted an eyebrow.
    “You know where I’m going with this, I can tell.” Sean chuckled and turned back to Jane. “So, what’s holding you back?”
    Hints. Innuendo. But always the same. That pressure to get married that seemed to underline all of the church activities she had taken part in after hitting her twenties. “I’m fully committed to outreach, Sean. I swear. I’m just learning how to fit it in with a busy work-and-school life.”
    Sean grinned, the crinkles radiating from his eyes when he smiled the only sign that he was pushing forty. “I believe that, for sure. I was thinking of that guy.” He jerked his thumb toward Jake. “Every week you bring Jake with you, which is cool, because he’s a cool guy. But he does live across town.”
    Jane gripped the edge of her paper plate.
    “Sean, you know I’m d oing my best to take her off your hands.” Jake smiled one of his lighthearted, disarming smiles.
    “It’s not that I’m asking you guys to rush, but…” He rocked back on his heels. “Listen, I care about you guys. But it has sort of come to my attention that you are acting more or less like you are married.”
    “What?” Jake leaned forward and frowned.
    “You guys come here together, work the same neighborhood together.” He chewed his lip. “Hey, I don’t want to judge, I swear, but I’ve heard that Jane has been staying over.” Sean blushed slightly. “I can’t know what is going on with the two of you, if you don’t tell me. But if you are ready to face life as a pair, then you should make it legit. And if you aren’t…” Sean turned his head slightly and looked in the direction of his wife. “If you aren’t ready to face life as a pair, you should cool it.” He sighed. “I hate convos like this. I really do. They make me feel like a heavy, and that’s not what I want to be.”
    “Then don’t be.” Jake lowered his voice.
    “Listen, I think you need more…information.” Jane shrugged. The conversation was embarrassing, even though the general noise level in the room meant that no one could hear them. “We’re not…you know. I just…and we’re not, um, pretending to be married, you know?”
    “I don’t know. But we have a missional community in Jake’s neighborhood too. You guys are dating, and that’s cool.” He shrugged. “But it’s not marriage. You aren’t part of the same neighborhood, so being in the same missional community doesn’t really make a lot of sense.”
    Jake stood up.
    Sean did too, and laid his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “I don’t want to kick you out of the family, brother. I just need to keep us all on the straight and narrow.” He offered his hand to Jane, to help her up, but she ignored it and stayed seated.
    “Listen, guys, there are college groups, singles groups, Sunday school classes. There are a lot of ways to be in fellowship together. But this group…you gotta save something for marriage, you know?”
    Jake took a deep breath. “Are you saying that only married people can be in your missional community?”
    Sean laughed. “No! Not at all.”
    A rock had settled in Jane’s stomach. She couldn’t digest this conversation. She slowly stood up and spoke, her voice low and calm. “He’s saying that you need to go to your own neighborhood missional community if you want to do this, not mine. Unless I marry you and you move into the apartment. He’s not saying it to be mean, or strict, or anything, because above all else, Sean is cool. He’s saying it for our own good, to keep us pure.” While she spoke she collected her bag and jacket. She picked up her barely touched paper