Wedding Week - Wednesday

Chapter 19 A Wing and a Prayer

"Isn't that what Postables do?" Shane's question echoed in his head as they finished their disagreement about why she'd promised Jessica to find her mother. While he knew she may be right about Jessica's mother being local and that Shane may have had the best of intentions, he didn't understand her tendency to jump into a situation with both feet before having a safety net.

"You always jump in with a wing and a prayer…" Oliver said looking at Shane slightly bewildered.

She could tell even though they'd finished their disagreement it was her impulsivity that he found confounding. "At least I've learned the prayer bit." Shane responded trying to lighten the mood unsettled by the look he was giving her. "I used to jump in with just a wing," Shane said sassily trying not to smile.

He smiled back at her fondly and she knew they were back on an even keel, "Yes. You have, haven't you." Oliver paused before asking, "What did you want to do for dinner this evening?"

She looked at him regretfully, "With Norman and Rita losing their minister to the measles, the schedule for the week got…well rescheduled. I'd love dinner but I'm going to have to pass. I've got things I need to get ready for the wedding and our girls' night to have time for taking Rita out to shop for…items she needs for this weekend."

Oliver had become accustomed to having dinner with her most evenings and hadn't realized he'd started taking it for granted they'd be together. As she turned away to pick up her coat the look on Shane's face and her hesitancy to mention what they were shopping for brought his conversation about the movies with Norman to mind. He remembered seeing the feather boa at Shane's and again Monday morning when he walked in on their discussion of Rita's last week of being single. "Shane…" he said taking her hand, "while you're shopping keep in mind…er…"

"Yes, Oliver?" Shane looked up puzzled as to what possible shopping advice he might be so uncomfortable delivering.

Oliver didn't want to break Norman's confidence but didn't know what Shane knew. He remembered Shane giving Rita a makeover for the Special Delivery Pageant that Rita hadn't been overly comfortable with nor ready to embrace. "Well…Keep in mind…every relationship…ah…every person in the relationship…is unique." Seeing how uncomfortable he was and how extremely vague he was being Shane suddenly grinned as she realized what he might be trying to say.

Squeezing his hand, she said tenderly, "You really are quite protective. Rita's like my sister. Oliver let's just say I know every flower in a garden blooms at its own time. I wouldn't put a flower in a bigger pot when it wasn't ready." He smiled ruefully knowing she got his message loud and clear. "I wouldn't throw any fertilizer in the garden that didn't belong." He shook his head at her continuing. "Like a family pet." She said with a grin.

"You're really never going to let me live that down." Oliver said ruefully. He was afraid she was going to keep going with the gardening analogies and seeing no other way to get her to stop leaned over to kiss her.

"Why Mr. O'Toole…" Shane said delightfully surprised as he let go.

"Good night Shane." Oliver said as she picked up her purse.

"Good night Oliver." She patted him on the cheek as she left.

Oliver returned to his desk to finish a few items before packing up to leave. Instead of driving home he found himself driving by his church. Not completely sure what he was doing there he entered and sat halfway up the sanctuary in a pew. He hadn't been there long when the pastor saw Oliver sitting staring at a stained-glass window. Sitting down in the pew in front of Oliver he asked, "How are you doing Oliver?"

"Fine. I mean…well fine." Oliver responded uncertainly.

"Usually, people stopping in mid-week have something on their mind." Pastor Jeff mentioned looking at Oliver searchingly. "I'm here if you want to talk or if you need time, I can give you space."

Oliver sighed, "Some of my best friends are getting married this weekend. I'm incredibly happy for them and they're made for each other." The pastor could hear the "but…" hanging in the air.

Knowing Oliver had been married and divorced the Pastor attempted to feel out what was bothering Oliver. "Oliver as a pastor I spend a fair amount of time at weddings and counseling people that are about to get married. Weddings tend to remind people of their successes or failures in previous relationships. They also make people in current relationships that haven't talked about marriage feel incredibly awkward. Encountering any of the above?"

Oliver smiled ruefully, "All of the above. Shane said the same thing the other day about the awkwardness. I've been thinking more about why my marriage fell apart. I…care about Shane. I don't want to make any of the same mistakes with her."

Jeff looked at him thoughtfully not realizing their relationship had gotten to the point Oliver was considering a long-term commitment. He'd noticed Shane had started coming to church with Oliver occasionally but still hadn't gotten to know her that well. "Every relationship takes two people making a concerted effort to keep it working. Can you say you and your wife started out on the same page and continued to work on your relationship? I've never spoken to you regarding details but from what I've heard it's hard to work on a marriage when one party isn't even present."

"Things were starting to fall apart before she…er…disappeared. We rushed into things and didn't see who the other person was. We saw who we wanted them to be."

"How long have you known Shane?"

"A couple years. We worked together before we started dating. We're incredibly different but somehow still became friends."

"When you think about Shane do you see her faults as much as the characteristics that drew you to her in the first place?"

Oliver started laughing ruefully, "We just had a disagreement before we left work. She impetuously committed us to something that completely floored me. I told her I didn't understand how she always jumped into things with a wing and a prayer. She immediately told me 'at least I've learned the prayer bit. I used to jump in with just a wing.' The very things that I find fascinating about her are what sometimes drive me to distraction. I've never known someone that has an answer for everything like she does. She can make me laugh even when she's absolutely infuriating. Mostly because she's frequently right and she just sees things from a completely different angle."

Jeff smiled, "So, you haven't rushed into anything with Shane, you've gotten to know her before you even started dating. It sounds like you're aware of who she is. Oliver I'm a little confused as to where the concern about repeating past mistakes is coming from?"

"I don't think I could handle it if I failed her." Oliver replied softly looking away.

"Let's take a step back from being afraid of the worst outcome before even getting started. Everyone has a different version of what success even is. Every marriage goes through highs and lows. No marriage is perfect because the people involved aren't perfect. Besides not ending in divorce, what would a successful marriage look like to you Oliver? What would you want out of a marriage?"

"Sharing my life with someone that has the same priorities and purpose in life. Being able to share some of the same interests but valuing each other enough to allow the other person to grow in different directions. Companionship with someone I respect and… love. Knowing that person will be there through the good times and the bad."

Having seen the two together, Jeff was confident that love was already present. "Then I think you may want to spend some time thinking about if you already have that with Shane. From what I've seen your lives are already very…entwined." Jeff grinned before saying, "And Oliver if all else fails you could always pray for guidance. The big guy upstairs is an extremely good listener. Sometimes we have to take the time to hear the response." Jeff patted him on the shoulder before walking away to give him time to think.

Oliver sat for a few more moments before leaving for home. After eating dinner, he looked through his bookshelf before he found the book. He pulled down his grandfather's bible sitting in his chair by the fire to read and pray.