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*Unanswered Prayers*
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[Author Note: Song by Garth Brooks] At a hometown football game A few nights ago my wife and I went to a football game here in Harmony. Of course, my first stop was the food line. I looked at the long line before me and winked at my wife. She was so excited to attend Harmony High’s homecoming game; in fact, all of the alumni were here from years past. I couldn’t wait to see the big game against the Castleton Cougars! “Luis, do we REALLY need nachos?” Sheridan whined. She wanted to sit, not that I blamed her. She was five months pregnant and standing had become quite painful. Sighing, I decided to forgo the nachos. “No babe, we can live without nachos,” I laughed and got off line. Taking her hand, we headed for the cold metal bleachers. That’s when I saw her. “Hey Luis!” My old high school flame “Hi Beth!” I smiled. Sheridan grinned politely, never having met Beth before. In fact, I hadn’t known Beth was back in town. She hadn’t been in Harmony for the last nine years at least and seeing her now was like going back in time. The past came back to me And I couldn’t help but think of The way things used to be “Who is this lovely lady?” Beth asked, looking over at Sheridan. I put my arm around her and my free hand on her stomach, rubbing soothing circles as our son or daughter kicked against my hand. “This is Sheridan, my wife. Sher, this is Beth…” She didn’t need me to tell her that this was an old girlfriend. Sher and I rarely needed words to convey things. We spoke with our eyes; that was our connection. But looking at Beth, her once long brown hair cut short and her sparkling brown eyes filled with such happiness, I wondered about the past. I remembered going to similar games with Beth, but we were students then. She was always on my arm and we were king and queen of everything. In fact, we had been the best of friends for life…so we swore.
That I had wanted for all time I had loved Beth. She was the woman of my dreams, or at least she had been at seventeen. She and I were inseparable and I planned on marrying her. But she never talked about forever and that scared me. Why was I so hooked when she wasn’t? That God would make her mine And if he’d only grant me This wish I wished back then I would never asked For anything again I would go to bed praying that God would make Beth realize she wanted to spend forever with me. I promised that I would never ask for anything, not even for a passing grade on a test, if he would give me Beth for life. If he allowed me the woman I saw forever with, then I would disappear and never beg again. I wouldn’t take him for granted. But as the end of our senior year approached, I realized she wasn’t going to attach herself to me, especially when she decided to go to Florida for college. I was staying here in Harmony and visiting with her twice a year made me realize that our relationship was never going to work…so we broke it off. I remembered in my dreams Looking at Beth again, I noticed a lot more than I hadn’t before. She had a tattoo on her arm that read “Bitch,” not something my Beth would have ever done. Listening to her chat with Sheridan, I noticed how negative she had become. Every other word out of her mouth was a swer and constantly she was saying what a waste it was to hope for things. I had hoped back then that she would be mine and, yes, that was a waste. But it had given me Sheridan. What had happened to the optimistic teen that had left for school years before? Had she really changed that much? “So how are you Luis? What have you done with your life?” She looked me over and I could tell she noticed I was more muscular than I had been before. I was definitely dressing better, though not much, and I could tell by her clothing that she was thinking I didn’t do so well as a layer…except I wasn’t a lawyer. In her eyes too it seemed “I became a cop,” I replied, noticing her eyes dull. I had talked about becoming a lawyer when Beth and I dated and I would have, had Miguel not become ill my freshman year at college. Papa was gone, Beth knew that, and Mama couldn’t afford to take care of him. I dropped out of college and moved back in with my family, getting part time jobs to support us all; that’s when Sam Bennett told me about the job at the station and when I went to school to become an officer.
There wasn’t much we could recall Looks like the Lord knows what he’s doing Afterall She didn’t comment and I decided to move on, bringing up high school. We tried to talk about Hank and his many girls, but Beth kept fading off and the conversation would change. I tried mentioning the jokes we had back in high school, but there weren’t many we remembered. In fact, I don’t think I remember more than one. I guess in the ten years I’ve been out of school I had changed. After all, I had met Sheridan when she was speeding down the Old Coast Road and now we were married, though it had been an interesting journey to get here. Beth seemed to grow tired of trying to remember the past and just smiled, though weakly. “The game’s about to start, I better go,” she motioned to the stands. “I’m here with Hank.” “Oh, did you two plan to come together?” Sheridan asked. Hank and I were still good friends. He had been the best man at my wedding and would be the godfather of our son or daughter. “No, we bumped into each other before. He’s with his girlfriend too. Guess all the guys I knew moved on,” she glanced at Sheridan’s stomach. “And some more than others. Congrats by the way. You’ll make great parents.” “Thanks Beth.” She nodded and left.
I looked at my wife Then and there I thanked the good Lord For the gifts in my life Sher waddled off and headed for the bleachers, but I took a minute to thank God for one thing: Sheridan. I guess I didn’t realize it all those years ago, but Beth just wasn’t the right one for me. Sheridan, she was amazing. She had given up a lifestyle of money and fame to be the wife of a cop. Sheridan wanted nothing more than to give birth to our child. “Thank you God,” I mumbled. “Thank you for Sheridan and our child.”
For unanswered prayers Ever since then, I remember to stop and thank God for the things he didn’t give me that turned out being the worst for me, like Beth. I’ve made a list and decided that his making me a cop was better than allowing me to be a layer, I have more time for my family and I never have to go away. I’m always in Harmony. I also constantly thank him for giving me Sheridan. She’s the best wife I could ever have hoped for. She’s even better than the angel-like memories I have of Beth. Sher and I are soul mates; no one can take that from me.
To the man upstairs That just because he doesn’t answer Doesn’t mean he don’t care I’ve realized that God has a plan for all of us and Sheridan was just where my life was directed to go. God didn’t stop me from making Beth mine because he was cruel and didn’t care. Instead, he had made Beth leave so I could be open for the real woman in my life. For the person I was meant to be with… As my sister would say, it was fate.
Are unanswered prayers Someone asked me what the best gift I had ever received was and I answered them with these two words: Unanswered Prayers. Because it’s true. The best thing I had been given was my life with Sheridan and it all comes down to God not granting the wish of a stupid teen that wasn’t thinking ahead.
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