Maritez was an attractive young
single woman with no attachments (i.e. man or children) who just turned 39.
She opted to take a job right out of high school instead of college and
without a degree she has done well for herself up until now as she has hit the
glass ceiling at work which has become frustrating. She is a BAB (born again Believer) and was
very committed to her church until about a year ago when she decided to take a
break from everything including her purpose, the Hospitality Team, even though
she felt somewhat guilty behind her decision.
To be honest she has been indecisive about many of her decisions lately
and it wasn’t until recently that she discovered why everything was off
kilt. It’s only been three months since
her break up with Chez, her sex-mate, I mean soul-mate, or at least that’s what
she thought he was.
Everything about Chez was perfect,
so perfect that her girlfriends joked about him being too good to be true but
she ignored them and the warning signs. that (in hindsight) were screaming at her at full volume a couple of months after they started getting sex-rious, I mean serious. It all started when they met at a business mixer one evening
where Chez was featured as the guest speaker. His presentation was quite impressive (e.g. his
knowledge of the hospitality industry, his aura, confidence and his sound
almost made her melt). He used to tell
her that he was hooked from the first time he laid eyes on her which made her
melt every single time he said that to her.
She would agree that there was something about him too but it wasn’t the
same feeling, it was something else, she just couldn’t put her finger on it at
the time. As “fate” would have it he
lived out of State but was in the Bay so often that his firm leased a very
upscale apartment for him in Emeryville, California right above PF Chang’s
Bistro. It was lavishly decorated in
modern furniture, he had a spectacular view of the Bay and all of the amenities
you could think of in walking distance (with an exception of a grocery store
but that was easily solved with www.safeway.com’s delivery service or the short
5 minute drive from his apartment).
Initially she turned his lunch/dinner offers down but she wasn’t firm
enough with her “no” answers, which gave Chez permission to continue pursuing
her. He had never been turned down by a
woman so it made the pursuit all the more challenging and to be honest she
liked the pursuit. Two months later he
finally got a commitment to lunch at the restaurant of her choice and it was a
wrap from that point on. They didn’t have
sex, he was a perfect gentlemen.
Unbeknownst to Maritez, the restaurant she selected was owned by a
friend and business partner, Bobby Flay who happened to be in town. She was floored when he introduced her to
Bobby who insisted on taking her for a tour and introducing her to the
chef. It was clear to Chez at that
point, he had her, not because of the lunch experience, but because she gave in
and met him for lunch. Everything else was
icing on the cake.
To her credit she was very clear
about her commitment to Christ and in spite of him wining, dining and wooing
her she remained faithful to her 10-year celibacy commitment. He had great morals and values, he was
chivalrous, polite, well versed, had an amazing body and praise Jesus he professed
to be a Christian though he rarely talked about his “faith” but he knew the
word. Maritez was so blown away by all
of the other amazing qualities that she intentionally overlooked that last
quality, his faith, or the lack thereof.
He slowly became her support system, not in an obnoxious or controlling
way but he encouraged her to pursue her dreams of completing her degree and opening
her own restaurant. He even went as far
as offering to pay for her class expenses as a gift or a loan, whatever made
her the most comfortable. She declined
and opted for the tuition reimbursement program at work. When class got rough Chez was right there to
help her with assignments, if not personally he connected her with people in
the industry that could help her.
Roche’ was an entrepreneur that
provided consulting services to small business owners but he also had a very
flexible “day job” with great benefits and perks. He too was single with no children. He was engaged to an amazing woman, Megan
that he met in college. She was a
resident at California Pacific Hospital and despite the long hours she loved
her work, but not more than her Roche. Theirs
seemed to be a match made in heaven. He
proposed but they decided that she would finish her residency before getting
married. They spent as much time as they
could together as challenging as it was but neither of them cared because it
added a different spice to their relationship which kept it fresh. Roche had a flexible schedule for work and as
long as he had internet connectivity and his cell phone handy it didn’t matter
whether he was in the office because he telecommuted and only went to the
office when they had mandatory staff meetings once a quarter. This gave them the flexibility to be creative
and meet for late night dinners, sunrise breakfasts or walks on the marina in
the middle of the day.
Neither of them had any children or
baggage from previous relationships because they were both workaholics prior to
meeting each other. They discussed
moving in together but decided against it because statistically the divorce
rate for couples that lived together prior to marriage was 50% higher than that
of couples who had not lived together.
They both decided it was worth the wait, however, that didn’t stop them
from purchasing a small home which Megan decorated so well that it felt like
their home in no time. She even created
a man cave for Roche in the upstairs loft.
Both of them believed in God but
they didn’t profess to be BABs (born again Believers). Roche was raised in the church, saw a lot of
things that turned him off and caused him to decide he didn’t want to be a part
of an organized religion for reasons that he guarded. It didn’t matter much to Megan because she
had decided church wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be after witnessing
her paternal uncle (and Pastor of their church) verbally abuse his wife for
years (at home) and pretend to be holy and loving in public. She was a kid and the adults tried to talk
above her and her cousins but they knew what was going on. She loved God, but didn’t want to have
anything to do with people who lived one way and acted another. She knew it was a disappointment to her
parents that she didn’t attend church, but she had her own life to live and
refused to be guilted into going to church.
Besides, her work schedule was so unpredictable she rarely had a Sunday
off anyway. The straw that broke the
camel’s back was when her uncle (the Pastor mentioned above) acknowledged her
inability to attend service physically but suggested she still give her tithes
and offering, right in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner. Rather than let him have it like she wanted
to do, she reminded him she was a starving student and asked if he could give
her a donation to help with school – with a straight face. He quickly changed the subject as he asked
for more turkey which was a little muffled amidst the giggles and gasps.
Now that her residency is just
about complete Megan and Roche began to finalize the wedding plans they began making months ago, nothing
big and elaborate, they wanted a simple ceremony in their beautiful
backyard. Three weeks before the wedding
Megan and her bridesmaids met at the dressmakers for their final fitting. On the way home, Megan was hit by a drunk
driver and she died on the scene. Roche
was devastated. He had done all of the
right things, he had never been arrested, didn’t father any children, earned
his Masters, honored his parents, didn’t use drugs or alcohol, found his soul mate
and honored her by not living with her before they were married and now
this. It was more than he could
take. What kind of a God would kill such
an amazing woman?
I’m out of time, we’ll continue tomorrow.
In His New and Excellent Service
Tania
Not Tanya
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