Chapter Two

Rayford tried to relax as he carefully guided the plane in the air. He had done this for many years, so he didn't know why all of a sudden, he felt so nervous. Irene's words raced back in his ear, but Rayford tried his best to block out those thoughts. Now was not the time to get distracted by anything that could cause him to lose focus on his flying.

Rayford wondered about his son, Raymie. The boy seemed excited to learn about Preterism the last time he had checked. Rayford didn't want to stop his son from feeling excited and optimistic about his beliefs. That didn't mean he suddenly agreed. It just meant that he wasn't going to get in his son's way.

In a way, Rayford was glad that Irene had a strong influence on their son. Raymie was very obedient and could sometimes be challenging. Rayford sometimes felt guilty that he wasn't able to spend much time with his son as he would have pleased. His job as a pilot kept him extremely busy. Rayford longed to spend more time with his son, but he figured that wouldn't happen for quite a while.

Rayford glanced at one of the flight attendants, Hattie Durham. Hattie was beautiful and certainly caught the attention of many of the fellow pilots Rayford had worked with. She was Rayford's senior flight attendant. Several times Hattie had flirted with Rayford, but Rayford knew he had to make it clear that he was already married and had no interested in the young flight attendant.

Rayford's co-pilot, Christopher Smith, was in the cockpit, awaiting instructions. Chris and Rayford had been good friends for a long time now. They had flown planes together for years and had gotten accustomed to the process by now.

God was OK with Rayford Steele. Rayford even enjoyed church occasionally. But ever since Irene and Raymie became Preterists, Rayford had become uncomfortable. New Hope Village Church, the church which Irene and Raymie attended, was not a church where people gave you the benefit of the doubt, assumed the best about you, and let you be. Apparently, they were invested in how Preterism played a role in the lives of everyone attending that church.

"They've been asking me about our family's involvement with Preterism during our meetings", Irene had said one day. "The Preterists seem to be a normal and loving community. They clearly are level headed and open-minded. They're not dumb. They clearly believe and know that Jesus already returned in 66 AD and finished his work in 70 AD. They know as well as I do that Christianity already ended in 70 AD and that God is the door today, not Jesus. We all agree it is evil to be a Christian in today's time."

Conversations like this was why Rayford found more and more excuses to be busy on Sundays when Preterist meetings were taking place at New Hope Village Church. Rayford simply had no immediate desire to become a Preterist. If other people wanted to believe in that stuff, it was their business. But Rayford had no interest in becoming a Preterist personally.

Rayford secretly had to admit that he enjoyed being in Hattie Durham's company. Even though Rayford had never been unfaithful to Irene, he'd had plenty of opportunities. He had long felt guilty about a private necking session he enjoyed at a company Christmas party more than twelve years before. Irene had stayed home, uncomfortably past her ninth month carrying their surprise tagalong son, Ray Jr.

In a couple of hours Rayford would be the first to see hints of the sun, a teasing palette of pastels that would signal the reluctant dawn over the continent. Until then, the blackness through the window seemed miles thick. His groggy or sleeping passengers had window shades down, pillows and blankets in place. For now the window was a dark, humming sleep chamber for all but a few wanderers, the attendants, and one or two responders to nature's call.

Irene getting off on this new kick about Preterism was getting in his way of life. Would it fade, her preoccupation with Preterism, with God, with the salvation of souls? Lately she had been talking to Rayford numerous times about her Preterist beliefs and why she believed that Jesus already returned during the lifetime and generation of his disciples.

"It's obvious that Christ already returned", Irene said. "Vernon Billings said he already returned in 66 A.D., when some of his followers were still alive. In Matthew 16:28 Jesus said that some of his disciples would not taste death until they saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. In Matthew 24:34 Jesus said that generation would not pass until all the things he was saying would be fulfilled. So it's obvious Christianity ended in 70 AD and that it is evil to be a Christian. Christianity is evil, and believing that Jesus is God is the evilest doctrine in today's time."

"Yeah, boy", Rayford said, peeking over the top of his newspaper. "That would kill me."

Irene was not amused. "It's obvious that Christianity ended a long time ago. The Christians in today's time have committed so much evil, war, tyranny, and genocide. It's obvious that Jesus already returned and God is the door to get into heaven, not Jesus."

Rayford then mustered his patience and then said, "Look, Irene, if you want to believe in that stuff, good for you. I just think I need to take it up with God on my own time. Right now I have a lot of things on my plate to worry about. I have flights to take care of, planes to control. I think God is already doing a good job taking care of me and this subject requires no further discussion. Like I said, I want to handle this when I'm ready."

Rayford had to give credit to Hattie. At least she wasn't proselytizing to him about Preterism. At least Hattie respected his opinion and wasn't going to force him to believe in something he wanted nothing to do with.

Rayford didn't want to articulate it, but the fact was, he was brighter. Rayford believed that he was more intelligent and wise. Rayford believed in rules, systems, laws, patterns, things you could see and feel and hear and touch. He just didn't believe that Preterism was for him.

If God was part of all that, OK. A higher power, a loving being, a force behind the laws of nature, fine. Let's sing about it, pray about it, feel good about our ability to be kind to others, and go about our business. Rayford was worried that this obsession with Preterism would not fade like Irene's Amway days, her Tupperware phase, and her aerobics spell. It was his greatest fear and trepidation. He could just see her ringing doorbells and asking if she could defend her Preterist beliefs with the evidence she concocted. She surely knew better to dream about him tagging along.

Irene had become a full-fledged fanatic about Preterism, and it caused Rayford to feel numerous mixed feelings. He was at least thankful that his daughter, Chloe, wasn't going to just accept the Preterist myth just because Irene and Raymie did. Rayford didn't want to offend Irene, but he had to think of some way to not have to worry about Preterism ever again. At least talking with Hattie Durham would take his mind off of that for now.