SELFLESS OR SELL OUT?

CHAPTER 6

Wednesday April 16, 1980

A GOOD NAME IS TO BE CHOSEN RATHER THAN GREAT RICHES (Proverbs 22:1)

            Mary Jean did not feel like being in Abby’s company this evening. Quite frankly, she was disturbed that the sixty-five-year-old woman wanted seventeen-year-old Mary Jean to call her sixty-one-year-old brother. Especially after Mary Jean confirmed that John McQueen not only had romantic interest in the teenager, but marital interest practically the minute after she turned eighteen.

            True, John reneged on the offer of marriage two days after he literally proposed the arrangement. And true, Abby’s intention was spiritual rather than carnal. She wanted the young lady to befriend her brother in hopes of a spiritual transformation, rather than wed him for his hopes of procreation and the extension of the McQueen name.

            But she knew Abby would ask if she called her brother, and she just wasn’t in the mood to discuss her waffling emotions. Besides Mary Jean figured that John McQueen had little to no interest in friendship with a teenage girl. Although he seemed a decent enough man, who wanted to do things proper, his interest in Mary Jean seemed to be in her ability to provide him heirs.

            So she called Millie and asked if she would switch days with her, of which her older counterpart gladly accepted. So a couple hours after school, Mary Jean found herself entering her best friend’s bedroom instead of her employer’s house.

            She and Sylvia were about the same size. Both were around five foot nine, and one hundred and thirty-five pounds. But that was where the similarities ended. Whereas Sylvia had black hair and dark eyes, Mary Jean was strawberry blonde hair with light colored eyes. Sylvia had angular facial features with a lean, athletic build. Mary Jean was cute, soft, and feminine, but deceptively strong. Sylvia was bold and brash, while Mary Jean was shy and timid. But the two girls had been best friends since grade school.

            “So you’re playing hooky from the rich lady’s maid?” Sylvia asked, as she and Mary Jean plopped onto her bed.

            “I guess,” Mary Jean shrugged, not liking the description of Abby, but saying nothing.

            “So what’s got you in a funk?”

            Mary Jean knew she was out of sorts and probably couldn’t hide it, and actually wanted to talk about it. But ironically, now that the opportunity came, she was reluctant to share her dilemma with a third person. The first two being her mother and Abby. So as she reined in her chaotic mind, she just shrugged.

            “Come on, talk to me,” Sylvia pleaded, nudging Mary Jeans foot with her own.

            “What’s been going on the last few days is pretty weird,” Mary Jean offered.

            “I like weird,” Sylvia laughed. “When have I not kept a secret?”

            True, Sylvia kept secrets. However, she sometimes had a way around them, which was a concern. But Mary Jean wanted to get her tale of both intrigue and woe off her chest with someone her own age. So she spilled the beans. Sylvia’s mouth gaped open so far, she spilled saliva down her chin.

            After wiping her lower face with the palm of her hand, Sylvia asked, “What are you gonna do?”

            “What do you mean what am I gonna do? Did you miss the last part where Mr. McQueen put the kibosh on his proposal?”

            “I heard the last part as Abby giving you his private number.”

            “I’m not gonna call him!”

            “Why not?”

            The two young ladies stared at each other for a long moment. Mary Jean thought Sylvia would be creeped out by the thought of yoking with a man three times her age. But she seemed to be giving a different vibe. Hesitantly, Mary Jean asked, “Why should I?”

            “Oh, I don’t know?” Sylvia responded sarcastically, as she rolled her eyes. “Maybe because you could become an instant multi-millionaire by simply saying, I do.”

            “You really think it’s that simple? Marriage is a serious thing! It’s about love, and I can’t just force myself to love someone because they’re rich and want me to have babies with them.”

            “Do you realize what you just told me?”

            “Huh?” Mary Jean responded with an anguished frown.

            “You said after what he just did for your family, even though he cancelled his proposal, your feelings for him shifted.”

            “Yes, but more like fondness, not, you know, falling in love… I don’t think.”

            “See!”

            “See what?”

            “You’re heading in that direction.”

            “So, are you telling me that if you were in my place, you’d marry him?”

            “You’re darn tootin’ I would! He’s not your average old guy with a beer belly and bald head. As a matter fact, I’m a little offended he chose you over me. After all, we go to the same church, and I’ve known him ever since I can remember.”

            “What about your boyfriend?”

            “Do you see a ring?” Sylvia replied, showing Mary Jean her left hand. Then Sylvia shrugged. “I guess it’s probably that I feel like a relative to him. You know, like a niece or something. My family has been to his place numerous times. As a matter of fact, you went horseback riding with us at least once.”

            Mary Jean nodded, her emotions churning more than ever.

            “Girl, you need to go for it before it’s too late. Call him!”

            “It’s already too late. John McQueen doesn’t waste time. I’m sure he moved on to someone else already.”

            “Maybe that’s true, but I bet he hasn’t married them yet. Therefore it is not too late.”

            “Look, Sylvia, he decided against me for a reason. Besides, even though his ending things gives me pause, the reality of committing my life, do you hear me? My life to a man I hardly know in less than two months is quite a leap of faith.”

            “And you are the most faithful person I know. As a matter of fact, I bet you have been praying earnestly over this matter.”

            “Of course I have!”

            “Yeah, and look, you are not only still anguishing over the matter, you clearly haven’t felt a clear no. As a matter of fact, it seems you are more willing than ever to tie the knot with John McQueen.”

            “Listen, Sylvia, I’m gonna talk slowly. He ended things, he likely has moved on to someone else.”

            “Then why aren’t you moving on?”

            “I don’t know.”

            “That’s why you need to call him and at least tell him you want another chance.”

            “But you don’t seem to get that I don’t know that I do. I mean this all happened so fast. A man suddenly pursues me to the point of offering marriage. Two days later he basically says, ‘nope, you’re not the one.’ It’s probably more of the why of the rejection, than the lost opportunity itself.”

            “Is it? Mary J, how long have we known each other?”

            “Pretty much our whole lives.”

            “So we know each other pretty well, right?”

            “I guess,” Mary Jean replied with a shrug.

            “You guess? How about you know we know each other really well. Now, we can’t always see ourselves, and best friends can give us an extra set of eyes outside of ourselves.”

            “What’s your point, Dr. Sylvia?”

            “I know you really don’t want to go to college. There was actually a side of you that seemed quite pleased that you were forced to get a full-time job after high school. Now that John McQueen has paved the way for you to pursue higher education, you don’t want to go down that road.”

            “You do make a fair point, but that’s no reason to marry him.”

            “No, it’s not the reason, but it’s a reason. Here’s another reason. You will instantly become a multi-millionaire.”

            “That’s an unfair point. One should never marry for money.”

            “True but being secure is certainly a factor. Look what your own dad did to your mother.”

            Mary Jean pursed her lips and nodded.

            “Here’s the big one. You have always wanted to be a mother. Remember when you and the moronic nerd broke up? Your biggest lament to me was the fear that you would never find a decent guy to father your children. I know firsthand that John McQueen is an upstanding and decent man.”

            “Yeah, and also, once again, three times my age!”

            “Nothing is ever perfect. You can’t look at one negative when there are so many positives.”

            “Well, it’s a pretty big negative. I’d say it counteracts five to ten positives.”

            “Seriously? It’s a variable. John is what? Sixty.”

            “Sixty-one. And at least sixty-two when our first child would be born.”

            “See, you’re coming around,” Sylvia grinned.

            “Huh?” Mary Jean frowned.

            “You said ‘when,’ not ‘if’ your child is born. This is meant to be, girl.”

            “I said ‘would be,’ not ‘will be.’ Besides, what if the reason he couldn’t have kids was his fault, and not his wife’s? The I’m stuck till death does us part with an old man.

            “Well, find that out. If he wants to resume things with you, you’re not getting hitched instantly.”

            “It feels like it.”

            “And back to him being old, being variable. He’s got a full head of hair, he’s trim and in great shape, he’s handsome, so he’s really more like, say, thirty-five. And you have always been the most mature girl in our class. So you’re more like, say, thirty. So you two are really more like five years apart.”

            Mary Jean frowned. Didn’t Abby say something similar?

            “Yeah, I bet that’s what everyone’s gonna say if they hear I married a man in his sixties two minutes after I graduate high school?”

            “So that’s it, you’re afraid of what people will think?”

            “Well, yeah, especially my mom.”

            “Since when have you worried about what people think?”

            “Since I’ve never heard of anyone as young as me marry a man over sixty who wasn’t wealthy.”

            “Tell me this. Would you be marrying him just for his money? Is that why you’re feeling regret.”

            “No! He already put my family and me in a position to not worry about money. What I didn’t realize when he put a stop to the potential arrangement was how much I liked the idea of being a mother.”

            “Let me throw a hypothetical at you.”

            “Sylvia, I hate hypotheticals. I’m all about reality. That’s why I follow the Bible rather than the theories and traditions of men like so many churches do.”

            “Mary J, don’t go down a theological path on me.”

            “I’m not, but that is another factor, our differing religious beliefs.”

            “Why? You’re a Christian and he’s a Christian. You and I’ve been best friends forever and I go to his church, not yours, right?”

            Mary Jean recalled what Abby said. How resuming a courtship, or at least a friendship, would be an opportunity to open up the light of Bible truth to John McQueen. Mary Jean had that same impression as she prayed earnestly over this whole situation. So her reply to Sylvia was simply, “Right.”

            “Okay, so indulge me with a hypothetical.”

            “Go ahead,” Mary Jean said with a sigh.

            “So, pretend it’s the same situation, only McQueen has a fraction of the money. He’s not millionaire, but quite comfortable. An acreage with horses, a modest ranch house with no mortgage, and a hundred thousand in the bank. Would you be willing to marrying him and have a couple babies?”

            Mary Jean shook her head. “This is why hypotheticals are ridiculous. The truth is, I never would have gotten to know John McQueen if it wasn’t for his money. I initially considered his offer primarily to give my mother a good life. Free her from debt and make it so she didn’t have to work two jobs. That’s the reason I ended up getting to know him, and finding out he wasn’t a dumpy old rich curmudgeon, but rather a distinguished, handsome gentleman with values.”

            “Girl, you just have to shift your imagination a little bit. Pretend he was a member of your church, and you’ve known him for years. But like I said, comfortable, not mega rich. Would you consider his proposal?”

            “Money is still a factor with your hypothetical, just not as much.”

            “You just said you are all about reality. Are you gonna tell me the security a man brings isn’t a factor in choosing a life mate? Even if its simply a younger man with drive?”

            “Fair point.”

            “So answer my hypothetical. Would you marry an older man under the circumstances I just laid out?”

            “I would,” Mary Jean said with a lift of her chin.

            “Then just call McQueen, and say you’d like to continue your, shall we say, friendship. Not instantly marry him, just get to know him better. Do you have his number with you?”

            Mary Jean dug in her skirt pocket and revealed the number. Sylvia snatched it, took her best friend by the hand, and led her to the kitchen phone. As Sylvia began to dial, Mary Jean pushed the receiver hook and said, “No.”

            Sylvia removed her hand and said, “Yes, you’ll thank me later.”

            It happened so fast that Mary Jean didn’t have time to be nervous. But when she heard John McQueen’s soft, deep voice say hello, her pulse quickened as she said. “John?”

            “Jennifer, hi. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. What do you think of my proposition?”

            Jennifer? Proposition? Mary Jean’s first instinct was to hang up. But instead she froze and listened to awkward silence for several seconds until Mr. McQueen spoke again, “Jennifer?”