Author and Novelist Glynn Young
“I was afraid, Dad,” Jason said, “if I said what had happened, then you or no one else would have wanted to adopt me.”
“My son,” Michael said, “while it may have shocked us to know, I don’t think it would have changed our minds.”
“I think I know that now, Dad,” Jason said, “but I was afraid you’d make me leave.” He paused. “Sometimes I feel I don’t deserve you and Mom.”
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Her eyes widened.
“My time in San Francisco with Michael and Sarah made me realize that you and I are more than just two people living together and sharing a bed,” he said. “We are a life together, and I want it to be an official life together, recognized by God and man.”
“Have you talked with Michael about this?” she said.
“No, I haven’t,” he said. “I haven’t talked with him about my finding faith, either. Although I think he suspects.”
“And now I’m truly stunned,” she said. “Stunned speechless.”
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What Was Jason’s Motivation?
“I don’t think Jason was setting up a stable of thieves and prostitutes,” Michael said slowly. “I think he reached out to these kids, odd as that sounds. They all needed protection of some kind.” He paused. “And something I found out today, strictly by accident. Jason has the makings of a first-class artist. When I came home at lunch, Sarah was painting, and Jason was sitting there, drawing a picture of her working. And it was incredibly good.”
“These children are full of surprises,” Father John said, “and not just bad ones.”
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She was sitting two rows down the amphitheater-like lecture hall and four seats to his right. Soft brown hair with blond highlights, tied in a ponytail. A white starched blouse like a man’s dress shirt. Jeans. Slender almost to the point of thinness. High cheekbones. Light makeup.
She’s beautiful, he thought. Who is she? She must be new; I’ve never seen her before.
His heart pounded. He felt his ears become hot. He looked at the syllabus in front of him but couldn’t see anything. He looked up again. She was still there. This wasn’t his imagination.
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At the British Museum
An older American couple stood in line ahead of them. “You have a beautiful child,” the lady said, turning toward them.”
Sarah smiled. “Thank you. Right now, I’m thankful he’s chosen to cooperate and just stare at all the pictures.”
The lady smiled and then looked at Michael. “I suppose people have told you how much you look like King Michael.”
Michael laughed. “I think I’ve heard that a few times.”
Photograph by Grant Ritchie via Unsplash. Used with permission.
“It’s Michael’s voice that’s remarkable,” said Father John. “He seems rather soft-spoken in everyday conversation, but his voice carries fully in the sanctuary. You can hear him as plainly in the back as the front, even without the microphone. It resonates with humility and sincerity. You hear him speak, and you know he believes what he says, you know you can trust what he says and that he speaks with authority. It’s a gift that very few ministers or speakers have.”
An award-winning speechwriter and communications professional, Glynn Young is the author of three novels and the non-fiction book Poetry at Work.
