Fidelity
Summary: Two people sat at a bench in the dentist office. One was a man. One was a woman. Both had different ideas about religion. By the end of the day, they would have the same. Story is better than summary, trust me. One-shot.
A/N: So, I had the idea for this story about a year ago in the dentist office. (Yes, the dentist office.) I wrote this story down after I got home, but then the computer I saved it on started acting weird for a couple of months so I used a different computer. Anyway, I was looking through this computer one day and I found this story and I was like…hey. This could be pretty good. Why don't I publish it? So, I did. It's a tiny bit rushed, and it may get confusing, and I probably have a lot of typos, and I bet I messed up some of the Evolution stuff, but all-in-all it's a pretty good story. If it wasn't, I wouldn't post it on here, would I? So, go ahead and read! And PLEASE leave a review! I love constructive criticism! :) And I like compliments, too. Who doesn't? Hah. :)
BTW, this is a Christian story. But I think everyone should read this. It has quite some useful information:)
So, read and review please! Thanks! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible, National Geographic, Christian's Digest (If that exists…I think I made it up), a dentist office, Evolution, Charles Darwin, or God. God owns me. :)
Two people sat on couches in the dentist's office. One was a man. One was a woman. Both were reading magazines. The man was reading Christian's Digest: Do You Believe? The woman was reading National Geographic: Darwin's Solution.
The man closed the magazine for a second and glanced at the woman across from him. They were the only two people in the office, besides the woman sitting at the front desk, scribbling away on her clipboard. Out the window, little snow flurries were slowly fluttering down from the sky. It had snowed pretty hard that morning, but the snow had lessened considerably, however, there was still a fair enough amount on the ground, but not enough to cause you to crash your car – unless you didn't drive safe.
The woman had long, auburn hair and glasses at the brim of her nose. She looked young – probably in her twenties. She wore no jewelry (except for some delicate looking pearl earrings), and wasn't married, for she had no ring on her finger. She was dressed in a wrinkle-free business suit, as if she had just come from work. She looked very prim and highly professional, and seemed completely engrossed in her magazine, frowning ever-so-slightly as her eyes comprehended the words on the pages.
The man frowned at the title and spoke, "What are you reading?"
The woman looked up from her magazine and looked at him quizzically. The man had been right about her being highly professional. The woman's name was Kate, and she was an all-work, no-play kind of woman.
She observed the man sitting across from her. He seemed middle-aged – maybe in his late thirties or early forties – and looked a little disheveled, like he hadn't shaved in about a week. He wore a brown hat, and a brown coat with an orange sweater and trousers. He seemed calm, relaxed, and at ease, his bright blue eyes looking at her kindly. Still, she found it highly illogical to ask strangers what they were reading, but, not wanting to seem rude, showed the cover to the man.
"Ah," the man said, frowning slightly. Then he turned back to his magazine.
Kate would never admit it, but the man had her curious – and a little mad. How dare he make a conversation with her and immediately drop it? Rude. She cleared her throat. "Well, what are you reading, then?"
The man showed her the cover of his magazine, and she couldn't help but snort slightly.
The man raised an eyebrow, but instead of looking mad, he looked amused. "Is something wrong?"
Kate smirked. Whenever she smirked, it meant, 'I'm way more superior than you.' "No," she said. "Nothing's wrong. But…you do realize that all of that Christian stuff doesn't exist, right?" she snorted again.
"Are you sure about that?" the man asked, still smiling.
Kate nodded, the smirk never leaving her face. "Oh, yes."
"Well," the man said, his smile growing wider. "What if I was to tell you that all of that 'Charles Darwin' stuff didn't exist?"
Kate's smirk faded for a moment. She glanced at the cover of her magazine. "Charles Darwin," she said slowly, frowning, "was a very smart man."
"I never said he wasn't, ma'am." The man replied politely.
"He was much smarter than whoever invented Christianity," she continued, smirking again. "Anyone can write down some silly words into a big book, but Charles Darwin…he was a genius." She declared proudly. "And anyway…Christianity is simply illogical. None of that stuff could happen – there is simply no way."
Instead of getting angry, the man just smiled, his bright blue eyes twinkling. "It seems bizarre, doesn't it?" he laughed, and then paused. "However, what you believe is just as bizarre as what I believe," he continued, his eyes still twinkling.
Kate was not fazed. "How is that?" she snorted.
"Tell me exactly what you believe, and I'll tell you," the man replied.
She snorted again. She couldn't believe she was arguing about something as stupid as this. Finally she sighed and spoke, "Okay. I believe that man evolved from apes."
"Okay," the man nodded. "What did the apes evolve from?"
"They didn't exactly evolve," snapped Kate, getting a teensy bit frustrated. "We came from primordial soup, which overtime became more complex, becoming simple cells. The cells became more and more complex, and eventually (over a very, very long time) becoming apes. And everyone knows that we humans are very much like apes. And that's what we evolved from. And of course I'm making it sound highly unprofessional, but that's because I don't have the time to sit here and explain years and years in only a few short minutes."
The man nodded and didn't say anything for a while. For a moment, Kate thought she'd won, and that he was going to leave her alone, until he spoke again. "Do you know the laws of science?"
She snorted. Does this man think I'm stupid? "Yes," she said coolly, her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Well, if you know the laws of science, then you must also know that they are always true. Always." He added. Kate rolled her eyes and nodded, but still said nothing, giving him a steely glare. "Well, one of the laws is that things become more chaotic overtime."
Kate raised a confused eyebrow. "So?" she snapped.
"So," the man imitated,"your theory doesn't make sense. This goo – "
"It's called primordial soup," Kate snapped.
"Which is goo," the man insisted, abruptly cutting her off. Then he continued, "The goo," he glared at Kate before she interrupt him, "could not have become more complex over time – it would have become more chaotic."
Kate paused, and this time, it looked as though she really didn't know what to say.
"Do you have any kids, ma'am?" the man asked. Kate shook her head in reply. She wasn't married, and hadn't dated anyone in about three years. She was a bit of a loner, but she didn't mind much. "Well, you were a kid once, weren't you?" Kate raised her eyebrows, as if to say "duh." "Well, remember when your parents would tell you to clean your room? And when you cleaned it, it would stay clean for a while, right?"
Kate paused, then slowly nodded.
"But what would happen to your room over time?"
Now, she was silent.
"It would get messy."
Again, Kate was silent.
"Another one of the laws of science, is that every living thing comes from life. So this goo –"
"Primordial soup," murmured Kate.
The man went on as if he hadn't heard her, "Would have to come from somewhere."
More silence.
"So, where did it come from?"
There was a long pause. Finally, Kate sighed. "I…I don't know."
The man leaned back in his chair, and it looked as though he was finished. But in fact, he wasn't. Far from it. He leaned forward again. "There's also another form of evolution. The big bang theory." He paused, and Kate nodded. "Two molecules crashed together (by accident) and the world and everything was created (by accident). This could be very possible. But, have you ever seen the sun set over a lake, or the ocean? Have you ever looked into the wonderful, blue sky?" Here he paused, and when Kate didn't say anything, he continued. "Have you ever seen someone give birth to a new-born baby, and see them hold that baby in their arms, and see the beauty – the wonder – of that precious moment?" He paused to let Kate reflect on this, and then continued, "I tell you now, with 100% assurance, that none of this could ever be an "accident."" The man finished, using air quotes around the word "accident."
There was a very long pause, so quiet you could hear a pen drop.
"Okay." Kate began slowly. "Okay. Say, then, that this…that all of this 'God' stuff…this 'Christianity'…is real. How come I've never seen this 'God'? How come I've never met him? How come no one has?"
"Oh, ma'am, surely you've seen God. I have. Lots of people have – millions of people. Some see Him everyday." He said, smiling kindly.
Kate pursed her lips. "I haven't seen him," she said sourly.
"But you've seen His work. His miracles. Remember when your brother lived next door to you, and got a job out of town? He had to leave very early in the morning to get to work, and it took him a while to get there. He worked late hours, too. Remember that he got a job offer closer to home? Remember how you were so relieved that he decided to take it? And then his old work place, the one out of town, closed the next week, almost right after he'd taken the job. And neither of you had no idea that was going to happen."
Kate gasped. "How…how did you know that?"
The man smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "That wasn't a coincidence. That was a miracle. A miracle from God."
Kate paused, still baffled that this man had known that. Is he a stalker? She observed the man once again, and his kind eyes twinkled. He doesn't look like one…
Finally, she spoke again. "Okay, so I've seen 'God's' miracles. But you still haven't explained why I've never seen God. If he's so amazing, why haven't I ever seen him?"
The man smiled. "Because you don't believe."
Kate (once again) was silent.
"Think of all the beautiful things in this world. The sun setting –"
Kate suddenly laughed. "Oh sure," she said sarcastically. "God makes that happen? That's a laugh! The sun orbits the earth everyday. At nighttime, it's at the other side of the world. God doesn't make that happen – it's supposed to happen."
The man smiled. "Yes, it is supposed to happen. But someone has to make it happen, don't they?"
Kate paused. "Well, gravity…"
"Who makes the gravity?" The man demanded.
"Oh, gravity isn't made!" Kate snapped in a huff, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Are you sure about that?" The man asked again, his eyes twinkling.
Kate glared fiercely at the man, but didn't answer.
"Are you sure about that?" he repeated.
Silence.
"Are you –"
"Stop!" she finally screamed.
Instead of looking surprised – or even angry – he looked amused. His eyes twinkled once again, and his lips slowly curled into a smile. "I'm taking that as a no?"
Kate mumbled something under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Yes, that's a no," she spoke louder through gritted teeth.
The man chuckled. "Someone's feisty."
Kate rolled her eyes.
The man leaned back in his chair for a while, and Kate tugged at the end of her jacket, staring at the cover of the magazine she had discarded on the table until her vision blurred.
"I think you need some answers, don't you?" Kate looked up at the man, who was smiling kindly at her. He was holding out his hand, and in it was a black leather book. On the front cover in gold script were the words Holy Bible.
"But –" she stammered.
The man gently grabbed her arm and made it take the book. "No charge," he said, winking.
Kate stared at the cover. Her mouth felt dry, like cotton.
"I believe the words you're looking for are thank you." The man said, winking again.
She looked up at him and stammered something not even she could understand.
"You're welcome," the man chuckled. Then he slowly stood up.
Finally, Kate found her ability to speak actual words. "You're leaving?" she squeaked out.
The man smiled and nodded. "Afraid so. I really must be going."
"But wait…what about your dentist appointment?" Kate asked, confused.
"What dentist appointment?" he asked, smiling. Peggy began to stammer again, causing the man to chuckle. "Bye, Kate," He said, shaking the woman's hand. Numbly, she shook back. "God bless you," he said in a whisper. And then, with a tip of his hat, he was gone. Kate simply stared at his back as he walked out. She couldn't help but notice the tip of something white sticking out of his jacket. And they looked like…
Wings.
Kate blinked twice. I must've been imagining it.
"Goodbye, Kate." His words echoed in her head. It wasn't until he was out the door that she realized she'd never told him her name.
She let out a long sigh and stared around the dentist office, which was completely silent except for the woman at the front desk scribbling something down on her clipboard, oblivious to the entire conversation that had just been held.
Suddenly, Kate noticed something on the seat where the man had been sitting. His magazine. She hastily grabbed it and rushed out into the parking lot. "Hey! Mister!" she shouted as the door slammed behind her. "You forgot your –"
She stopped in her tracks.
The parking lot was empty.
Surely he couldn't have left already? She thought, scanning the parking lot one more time. Not a soul in sight. She looked down at the snowy ground. Not a single footprint.
Kate stared at the bible in her hand, her auburn colored hair blowing off her face slightly from the cold wind, snow flurries falling down gently around her. The gold lettering on the cover shined in what small sunlight was shining down in the dentist parking lot.
"Perhaps I do need some answers," she said to herself quietly, and then realized that was the first time she'd ever talked to herself since she'd turned sixteen. She'd always thought it was weird and completely illogical.
Screw illogical, Kate thought with a smile as she returned to the dentist office, settling back into the couch.
And for the first time in a long time, Kate read something different.
A/N: I actually think this turned out pretty good. :) BTW, all that laws of science stuff is completely true, and some people do believe that we came from primordial soup (AKA goo, which is what it basically is). Which is basically impossible, because the primordial soup HAS to come from SOMEWHERE.
(And no, I'm NOT trying to insult ANYONE who believes that. I'm just saying the TRUTH. So if you found any of those comments offensive, I'm sorry.)
And the man that Kate was talking to in the dentist office? He's an angel, in case you didn't get the hint. ;) Also, FIDELITY means FAITH, for anyone who didn't know that. I named the story Fidelity because there's a song by Regina Spektor called Fidelity and I really like that song:) Look it up on YouTube. :)
And I know this probably has a lot of mistakes, but oh well. And if you ever saw the name Peggy in this – just pretend it's the name Kate. Kay? :)
Anyway, PLEASE review! They mean lots to me! And tell me if I screwed some of the evolution stuff up, cuz I don't know lots about that. Heh. xD
Thanks, and have a good day! :D
~.Becca.~