A SAINT IN SIN CITY

MARCELLA KNIGHT-STORM-SALLIE

CHAPTER 5

FORSAKE FOOLISHNESS AND LIVE, AND GO IN THE WAY OF UNDERSTANDING (Proverbs 9:6)

How strange. It was love at first fight, rather than love at first sight during my early days with Saul Sallie. But it wasn’t actually a fight, but a heated exchange. And forgive me, but all of the heat from our verbal exchange came from Saul.

However, my point is, it was after Saul stormed off that I felt a strange sense of loss and loneliness. I had only felt this way once before, and it was when I was taken away from my drug addicted mother as a little girl. So I was confused at first. Then I realized that I was in love with Saul, and didn’t want to lose him, even if it was only as friends. However, my love of the truth, my love for Jesus, was far more important to me than romantic love.

Until Saul, I never even considered the possibility of romance. I had been the victim of human trafficking, and as a minor, forced into prostitution. So although I am physically attractive, my psyche was made ugly. I was severely, and I thought, permanently damaged. But never underestimate the healing power of the Lord Jesus. Nor God’s ability to put the right people into one’s life path.

It was really odd to me. The fact that Saul and I are both Christians is our strongest bond. Yet it was spiritual differences that seemed to be the biggest divide early in our relationship. Saul and I had hit it off so well from the beginning, and I could tell his interest in me went beyond my appearance. My interest in him also went beyond the physical.

Here is an example of what I mean. One of Saul’s teammates who didn’t like him, I’ll refer to him as Bruce, called us the beauty and the beast. Now Saul is not movie star handsome, but he is definitely not homely. As a matter of fact, you can see the family resemblance between Saul, his Uncle Seven, as well as my adoptive father, Brock Storm. Now these are a couple good looking men. Saul just has a bigger nose and a weaker chin. But his combination of gentleness mixed with masculine confidence, I have come to find irresistible.

Bruce was movie star handsome, yet had, forgive me, a rather ugly personality. I know this firsthand because he unsuccessfully tried to woo me away from Saul three times. On his third strike he even got very crude with a verbal assault that would easily be considered sexual harassment.

I didn’t tell Saul about Bruce contacting me until he was out of our lives. But the deliberate barb in our hearing, I couldn’t ignore, even though Saul patiently and impressively did. Saul’s teammate and friend Mason Maxwell also overheard the insult. When I had a chance, I asked Mason about Saul’s relationship with Bruce.

“Mason, can ask you something?” I began.

He looked puzzled at first. I rarely had said anything to him before, and never apart from Saul. But then he shrugged and said, “Sure.”

“Does Bruce bully Saul all the time?”

Mason chuckled. “You mean try to bully Saul.”

“Yeah, I know Saul tries to ignore him, but it must be hard.”

“So Saul must not have talked to you about what happened yesterday?”

“No, that barb about the beauty and the beast was two days ago.”

Mason chuckled some more. “Leave it to Saul not to brag.”

“Brag about what?” I inquired with a puzzled frown.

“Yesterday he put Bruce in his place, and then some,” Mason replied with a satisfied grin. “And it wasn’t the beauty and the beast comment. Bruce simply called him Howard, you know, after the ‘Big Bang Theory’ character.”

“I told him he should cut his hair,” I interrupted. “It’s that early Beatles hair style, with his, well, kind of big nose, that got him the nick name Howard.”

“It’s funny you should mention the Beatles,” Mason said. “Because I always thought Saul looked more like Ringo than the actor that plays Howard.”

“I don’t know which Beatle is which. I just know they had the flopping brown haircuts.”

Mason fiddled a few seconds with his phone and found a picture of the iconic 60’s rock band. It didn’t take long to notice the one with the biggest nose. I pointed to one of the three that wasn’t Ringo. “Which one is that?”

“Paul.”

“I think Saul looks more like Paul, only with a bigger nose.”

“Maybe,” Mason shrugged, and pocketed his phone. Today’s technology, right at our fingertips, and small enough to put in a purse or pocket amazed me. It made me think of Daniel 12:4, which tells us in the time of the end, knowledge shall increase. It also tells us that humanity will run to and fro. Wow, you don’t see that on the interstate highways, do you?

Another thing occurred to me. Wasn’t Paul, I mean the Beatle, not the apostle, referred to as the cute one? Leave it to humanity to say Saul looked like Ringo because of his big nose, rather than Paul, whose eyes resembled Saul’s. But I needed to stop pondering, and get back on point. “So tell me what happened, Mason. I find it hard to believe that Saul would retaliate over being called a name.”

“He didn’t,” Mason explained with a mischievous smirk. “Somebody asked Saul why he puts up with Bruce. Only he used rather colorful language.” Saul snorted a laugh, and continued. “So Saul calmly replied, and I know he was just being genuine, that if Bruce can live with himself twenty four-seven, I can tolerate being around him the little bit of the day that I am.

“So Bruce goes off! He starts swearing at Saul, gets in his face, and shoves him. Saul calmly, but sternly, told him not to ever touch him again. Bruce puts his hands on his hips, and mockingly says the sticks and stones thing. Saul, once again calm and composed says, “Correct, only it will be your bones breaking if you try to get physical with me.” Bruce says, “Is that right?” Right before he shoved Saul hard on the chest.

“But the next thing we know, Bruce is on his knees, and Saul has his wrist and hand contorted in an unnatural position. Bruce howls in pain, and Saul says, “You don’t believe me?” Bruce says, “Yes, yes, please, yes.” Saul says, “Are ya gonna mind your own business from now on?” Bruce says, “Yes, yes, absolutely.” Saul lets him go, and then goes about his own business as if nothing happened.”

“Wow,” was all I could manage. I stared at Mason dumbfounded for several seconds before asking. “So what did Bruce do afterwards?”

“I’ve never seen anyone more humbled, and contrite in my life,” he said, and then chuckled. “We’ll see if it sticks.”

Later, when Saul and I were alone, I gave him ample time to tell me about the incident with Bruce, but he didn’t. So I asked him about it. His face fell, and his jaw tightened. He quietly said, “I didn’t know what else to do. He was harassing me more and more, but it was only words. When he put his hands on me, I felt like that crossed a line.”

He shook his head sadly. So I told him, “Look Saul, you didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t actually break his wrist, did you?”

“I wanted to,” he said, and shook his head in self-disgust. “I don’t recall the apostles retaliating with violence.”

“It’s not like he didn’t deserve it,” I tried. “And is twisting an arm really all that violent?”

“It was just his wrist.”

I almost said that the wrist is part of the arm, but it would defeat the purpose of helping him forgive himself, even though I didn’t feel he needed it. So I said with an encouraging tone, “See.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know how I’m gonna face everyone at the team’s services Sunday.”

“So come to church with me tomorrow on the real Sabbath,” I teased. We had already had a few brief discussions about the Sabbath, among other things.

“Ya know, I think I will,” he replied cheerfully.

“Great!” I responded happily, hooking my arm through his, and leaning my head into his shoulder.

He kissed the top of my head, and I closed my eyes contented, and hopeful. But twenty four hours later, church would be over, and I would be watching him storm off, wondering if I would ever see him again.