Chapter 100: Educated Guesses

Sunday, May 30, 1982

I’d let Mom and Dad know I wanted some time to talk with Dr. Ott after the service. They, of course, had no problem with that.

I walked over to the church office a bit after the service, going to Dr. Ott’s office and knocking at the open door. He looked up from his papers. “Why, Steve! This is a surprise! Come in, please!”

I did, taking a seat in the chair opposite his desk. I was nervous, of course, but far less nervous than I would’ve been without my first go-round experiences. But, then, without those experiences this meeting would never have been necessary, now would it?

“I have an interesting situation at school, Pastor, and I’d like to share it with you. I’ll warn you that some elements of it are ... problematic ... from a doctrinal standpoint. Still, the core of this story is the juxtaposition of religion and secular society, and I know that’s one of your interests.”

“You have been paying attention, haven’t you?” He chuckled. “You’re certainly one of the brightest youth we have right now. I’m well aware of that. I’m surprised you’re having any trouble at school.”

“It’s not precisely trouble at school. A group of us — some who are close friends of mine, some who I barely know — were elected to Student Council for next year. Some of the kids we defeated are complaining. Two of the accusations are about unfair campaigning. One of those is aimed at me. I, of course, disagree.” He smiled at that. “The third, and the more problematic one, is that one of our group is being attacked on ... moral grounds. The school rules are quite vague as to what creates an issue of morality, and none of us agrees that she’s immoral, though the church would take issue with her.”

“Most interesting. I could hazard a guess, but it might be wrong. Tell me the whole story, please.”

I explained the whole thing, starting with our group coming together and going through the issues, including the cheerleaders endorsing us, my speech, Lizzie’s speech, and Lizzie’s character overall, including her being a lesbian. Dr. Ott nodded as we went. He shook his head slightly when I said she was a lesbian, but that was it.

Once I’d finished, he steepled his hands for a bit, thinking, then nodded. “On the first two matters, I don’t think I would have much to say. I can’t understand why it would be wrong for a group of students to champion one of their members, nor why challenging every candidate to work for all the students could be wrong. And, of course, you would know that I disapprove of your friend’s lifestyle and, if I were her pastor, there would be much to discuss.

“I have counseled people who felt that they were homosexuals before, many times. While I personally do not believe that God would create someone that way, I can’t claim to know the mind of God. I believe God challenges us all to do our best to follow His teachings, which means someone who feels they are homosexual cannot continue to act on that. However ... it is not the place of man to judge. Not yours, not mine, not the legislature’s, not the School Board’s.”

He steepled his fingers again, paused, then went on. “My thought is that morals are best left to religion. If someone’s behavior is objectionable, there should be a clear rule and a secular reason for that rule. The state has laws against homosexual conduct, but I believe those are ... incorrect. In the case of your Ms. Vinton, I don’t know what her conduct might be, and I would never ask. I don’t believe it would be appropriate to discuss that. From what you have said, she sounds like an excellent friend and team-mate and role model in other ways.”

He paused, then continued. “If the state can rule that homosexual conduct is criminal for no reason other than morality, there is no check on the state changing its mind and next week declaring that heterosexual conduct is criminal. If the school board follows the morality of one religion one week, what prevents it next week from requiring Islamic or Jewish head coverings, or meals suited to one religion or another, or ... well, you see where I am going. How can a secular School Board favor one religion over another? And, while I am firm in my belief that homosexuality is wrong, my peers at many other branches of our shared faith — some of whom were and are friends of mine, some of them even people who trained with me at the same time in the same seminary — believe differently.”

He shook his head. “I am ... as you know,” he said, chuckling softly, “more than happy to tell my parishioners what I believe the Bible teaches and what I believe God wants from us. And I could tell you that God does not want you to associate with someone like that, but ... I don’t believe that. How can we be witnesses for our faith if we only associate with those of like mind? Who would enter our door if they faced only condemnation? Remember, all — all — have fallen short. No one is saved by works, by following the Law. Salvation is through faith alone. You know all of that, of course.”

“I do know that, Pastor. I did my best to pay attention in Confirmation Class.”

He chuckled. “I know you did. I never worried about that. I also knew you would be one of the rebellious ones. Yet, you are too smart to simply rebel for the sake of rebelling. That doesn’t mean you can’t falter, of course. Lucifer must be one of the most intelligent beings ever created, after all. Yet I have high hopes for you, young man, even if I know you will test things over and over.”

“Thank you, Pastor.”

“I would like to address your School Board, if they will have me. I cannot, of course, promise that you will like everything that I say, yet I believe you will approve of the entirety of it.”

“The meeting is at 7pm, Tuesday, at the Spring Branch ISD offices.” I gave him the address.

“Thank you for discussing this with me. The easier path would have been to remain silent, I am certain. Few wish to discuss friends they believe I would disapprove of. Yet, is not one of our core teachings to refrain from judging the faith of another? That is for God. God will determine if they stand or fall, not man. We should disengage from people who actively try to corrupt us, but simple friendship is our way of engaging with those who have not yet come to God.”

I smiled. “You’re welcome, and thank you ... for being who you are. You’re right. There are things I question, things I will test. But I have always had the greatest of respect for you as a pastor and a teacher and a leader.”

“Which is all a simple man of God could ask for.” He rose, offering his hand. I rose, too, and shook it. “You should go. I’m sure your parents would love to get to lunch!”

“I’m sure they would, too. Thank you, Pastor.” Inwardly, I was chuckling. A man of God Dr. Ott was, no question of that. Simple? He was anything but simple.

“And thank you, Steve.”

In the car, Dad asked something I was a bit surprised that he hadn’t asked before. “I’m curious. Of course, you don’t have to share, but I’m wondering why you wanted to talk to Dr. Ott.”

I smiled. “It’s about the School Board hearing. I believed that Dr. Ott would feel that ‘morality’ isn’t so much the domain of the School Board, or at least not morality from the perspective of some religions. I wanted to discuss it with him.”

“And?” Mom asked, eyebrow raised.

“I was right. He said that, if the School Board could decide one thing one day from the perspective of some Christian denominations, or even all of them, what prevented them from deciding the next day to follow Jewish or Islamic teachings, or those of some other faith?”

“Interesting point!” Dad nodded. “That sounds just like him. You know, I’ve seldom heard him say anything at all about secular politics.”

“I don’t think he agrees with churches that involve themselves in politics,” I said, knowing full well he didn’t, or wouldn’t in the future, anyway.

“This wasn’t just philosophy,” Mom said, chuckling softly.

I shook my head. “Nope. He’s planning to visit the hearing and ask to speak.”

Dad grinned. “Oh, my! That will be very interesting!”

Angie giggled. “I’ll be happy to hear him speak an extra time this week, I’m sure.”

“So will I!” Mom declared.

After lunch we headed over to Mike’s. I felt a bit nervous. This was Sue’s day, after all. She couldn’t know how long I’d known her, of course, but even with just our relationship this time, it mattered a great deal to each of us that the other be happy.

Jasmine met me outside. “Hey, boyfriend!” She bounced into my arms, hugging and kissing, which I returned eagerly.

“Hey, girlfriend!”

She giggled. “The difference is that boyfriend is always romantic, while girlfriend is your non-sexual female friends, a lot of the time. It sounds just a bit weird coming from a guy, even my boyfriend.”

I shrugged. “I can be just a bit weird.”

“Damn! I walked right into that one! Yes, yes you can.” She giggled and hugged me again. “So, how was yesterday?”

“Good. Very good. How was your yesterday?”

“Also very good. That girl is curious! And eager! And hot! We had a good time and I’m sure you two will, too.”

“Good to know. I’m nervous.”

“Of course you are. Just don’t be too nervous.”

“I won’t.”

We held hands, walking in. Rita greeted us at the door. “Hi, y’all! How’d your classes work out?”

“Great, I think!” I said. “We won’t see final grades for a few days, but it’s hard to imagine they’re not good.”

Jasmine nodded, grinning. “I know I did really well, thanks in no little part to this study group, which means thanks to you, Rita.”

“Aww! That’s so sweet! I’ve got more than enough house and it made Mike happy, and helped his grades, both of which make Anderson happy. It’s great all around!”

“The best things are often that way,” I said, nodding. “Often things are a win for everyone. Yet, sometimes, people just see that it’ll be some extra work and don’t realize how much they’ll benefit from giving some of their time.”

Rita nodded. “That’s surely true! People are sometimes too lazy for their own good.”

“We’re all trying to avoid being lazy. Having friends who’ll get on you if you’re too lazy helps.”

“It really does!” Jasmine added.

“Well, you can be lazy today! No classes for a while!”

We headed downstairs, greeting the others with hugs. I could see how relaxed everyone looked. Before, I wouldn’t have said we all looked stressed out, but I’m sure we did. Everyone was really sweating finals this year. We would be next year, too. Senior year? I imagined there’d be at least a bit of senioritis, though not too much.

Sue arrived just a few minutes later. Jasmine had settled in my lap. As she came over, Jasmine winked to her, then got up. Sue blushed — not too much — then hugged Jasmine and sat in my lap. We weren’t mentioning Sue’s other experimentation to the whole group just yet, but no one was going to miss that she wanted to experiment with me. Sue’s choice and — of course — I was fine with it.

“Hi, Steve,” Sue said, looking shy.

“Hi, Sue.”

She looked up, then kissed me, softly. I kissed right back. After the kiss, I could tell that most everyone had been watching and trying to pretend they weren’t. That just amused me, but I was sure it would embarrass Sue.

Mike — who was, happily, continuing to assert himself a bit more as host — stood up after everyone had arrived. “Hey, y’all! Just wanted to say — we did it! And, also, thank you, to all of you. This is a great group because of each of you! We’ll be out of town in July. I know many of you will be, too, so we’ll shut down then, picking up August 1st. We’ll keep doing Sunday and Tuesday but I know many of you will miss some, and that’s just fine. It’s just nice having everyone over! Oh, and not this Tuesday. I think we’ve all got somewhere to be. But tomorrow we’re having our Memorial Day party.”

Everyone cheered at that. I hadn’t known for sure that everyone planned on attending the School Board meeting, but of course they did. I wondered if the meeting room would be insufficient. On the other hand, other topics must have drawn crowds in the past.

“That’s all I’ve got. Everyone enjoy the day!”

Sue winked, then whispered to me, “Planning to. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

“Nope.” I smiled and hugged her gently. “I’d have let you know in advance if I had.”

“I figured you would.” She hopped up. “Straw time!” The usual suspects were gathered to draw straws. No one seemed surprised at Sue joining them, except for Andy, who glanced between Sue and me, bemused. I just smiled back at him.

To no one’s surprise, Sue wound up with the first turn today. I was certain it was rigged, and just as certain that no one cared. Sue grabbed my hand. “C’mon! Now!”

I resisted the urge to chuckle, getting up, holding hands, and heading out. Angie winked. So did Jasmine. Sue blushed a little, but not too badly.

We walked over to the guest house. Sue blushed a bit more as we entered, but steered us right to the guest room. “I ... um...” She closed the door. “Okay. I want to get you naked. You maybe want the same thing.” I nodded, making her giggle. “Maybe we alternate pieces of clothing?”

“Works for me.”

Sue unbuttoned her blouse and tugged it off, revealing a lacy pale blue bra. It was very much the kind that’s intended to be seen. She giggled as she set her blouse aside. “It’s not like you haven’t seen, but ... it’s different.”

“It is,” I nodded. “Before, it didn’t mean quite the same thing to you to be seen.” I unbuttoned my shirt and took it off as we talked.