Chapter 13 (Eugene’s Story)

EUGENE WAS SIXTEEN when he went to church camp. It changed his life. First of all, he met Rachel.

He’d known her in school. They’d talked to each other. They’d even worked on the sophomore homecoming float for the football game together. But something about the atmosphere of the camp—what they called the Senior Institute—was just different.

Of course, there were lots of worship activities, but there were some really fun activities, too, like drama classes, music classes, and art classes. Eugene decided to try the drama group while Rachel was very into the art group. They both sang in the choir. In the evening, before vespers, they played games in the cabin, rented by the church for twenty teens and several adult chaperones.

As the week wore on, Eugene and Rachel grew closer. They spent more time just walking around the grounds, talking about life. Both were feeling drawn to a life in the church.

On Friday night, Eugene accepted Christ as his savior and committed his life to becoming a minister. Rachel had been at the altar next to him and they’d received communion. The rest of the evening was to be spent in quiet reflection and prayer. They left the service under a covenant of silence until morning. Neither seemed inclined to return to the cabin immediately, so with a couple of gentle nudges, they headed down toward the lake just to walk next to each other along the shore.

Without a word, their hands touched as they walked. At first it was just the backs of their hands that brushed against each other. Then they held the contact. Then their fingers laced together and they leaned against each other, just enjoying the night and the silence and the contact.

When camp was over on Saturday, it was still two weeks before school started, and Eugene wasn’t sure what their relationship was. Rachel didn’t live close to the school like he did. Of all the stupid things, he hadn’t even gotten her phone number. They went to different churches that had joined together to rent the cabin at Senior Institute. He’d never been so excited or fearful of the first day of school.

The fear was put aside as soon as he saw her smile. They had three classes together and met after school for a few minutes before her bus boarded to take her home. In that few minutes, he got her phone number and promised to call her that afternoon.

He called as soon as he got home but, of course, she didn’t get home until half an hour later. Her mother, who answered the phone, told him in no uncertain terms that she most certainly would not call him back. It wasn’t proper for a young woman to call a man. He could call after four and she would probably be home if she was interested in talking to him.

She was. Their excitement was tempered only by not really knowing what to talk about. Some things just seemed to need looking into each other’s eyes while they were said.

Not that they were ready to pledge their love or lives to each other, but there was a powerful draw toward being together. They agreed to go to the football game Friday night. Eugene was going on his first date.

There were complications. He didn’t have a driver’s license yet. Rachel agreed to stay in town with a friend until the game and meet him at the gate. Eugene’s father agreed to pick them up after the game and take Rachel home. It was old hat to Wallace Holbrook. He’d raised three children before Eugene and all three were married and on their own. Eugene needed to get a driver’s license soon.

Eugene and Rachel made their way into the stands and sat with friends. It seemed perfectly natural to them to hold hands, even though it was officially only their first date. They were the brunt of a few jokes about how fast they took each other’s hands, but they weren’t even embarrassed about it. It was just right. They laughed and joked with classmates seated nearby, stood and cheered for the team, and cuddled more closely when it got a little chilly near the end of the game.