The Space Between You and I

Chapter 1

Using his teeth to pull down on the coffee tube, Henry Hart filled his coffee cup at Mama P’s Coffee Shop with their house coffee and then proceeded over to join his father, Jasper, at a table. The smell of fresh coffee lingered in the air that early February morning. Sounds of hushed conversations filled his ears as he journeyed toward the only father he had ever known, even if he wasn’t blood-related. He was almost to the table when a woman in line at the counter dropped her keys a few feet from him. Stopping, he turned and saw her with a baby on her hip. Moving closer, he bent down and retrieved the keys for her.

     

Henry rose to his feet and handed her the keys.

“Thank you, sir. It’s sure been one of those mornings!” Adjusting the baby on her left hip, she flashed a friendly smile and took the keys.

 

“Have a nice day, ma’am.”

 

Continuing to his father’s table, Henry was greeted with a warm smile. Pulling out a chair, he hung his coat on the back and sat down. A smile grew on his lips and in his heart as his father folded the newspaper he was reading formerly to his arrival. He loved seeing his dad, an occurrence that didn’t happen as often as he had hoped since he moved out of his parents’ house six years ago.

   

“Hey, boy. It’s good to see you. That weather is a bit bad this morning.” Jasper took a deep drink of his coffee.

 

“Yeah, I think I heard thirteen degrees on the radio on my drive over.”

 

“Yep. Hey . . .” His father leaned in slightly across the table with raised eyebrows.

“Your mother and I don’t see much of you unless it’s Christmas. What’s going on with that?”

  Taking a drink of his coffee, Henry set his cup down on the table and rubbed the rim lightly with the side of his thumb. He nodded lightly. “Work has been busy, Dad. You know all those new renting houses regulations I told you about a few months back?” His father nodded. “They finally rolled out to the production server and it’s a mess. One of the new testers on our team marked a ton of things as useful when they weren’t. We had to roll the entire update back and slowly release bits and pieces at a time. Lots of cleanup, and that means long hours of work and work.”

     

Raising a hand, Jasper shook his head. “I don’t know what most of that means, but I believe you, Son. Just give your mom a call occasionally and let her know you care. Would you?”

   

Henry nodded in agreement. “I can do that.”

 

Silence fell across their conversation for a few moments. Then his father changed the topic elsewhere.

 

“Any word on scholarships to get into Bible college?”

 

He shook his head. “I’m going to have to let that dream go, Dad. If I focus hard at my current job and dedicate it all to the Lord, He will bless that. God will just have to use me where I am.”

  “That’s the right mindset to have about it. If it’s God’s will for you to attend Bible school, you will.

 “I know.”

   

“How’s Noelle?”

   

Henry stifled in his seat. He knew the basic reason of his father’s question. Noelle wasn’t just any girl in Henry’s life but the girl, according to everyone but him. Henry and Noelle had gone to high school together and had been best friends for six years. A year ago, she had started attending the same church as he did, First Baptist. This last year, he had seen her more and more because of it. Their friendship had deepened and tilted back and forth on the fence toward a relationship, according to everyone around them. But Henry didn’t want more than friendship when it came to Noelle. He feared a relationship would only mess up their friendship, and he couldn’t put something so lovely at risk.

 

Clearing his throat, Henry nodded as uneasiness rose within him.

   

“She’s good, Dad. You know she and I aren’t ever going to happen. You and Rachel and Mom should all just give it up.”

“Is it because she’s black and Nigerian, son?”Jasper took another sip of his coffee.

“Geez Dad, I’m not racist.” Henry chuckled

“Then what exactly is the problem, son?” Jasper leaned to hear his son’s next words.

“Dad……uhm how do I start….”

     

“Son, listen.” Jasper interrupted his son, his voice lowered, and grew more serious. “Women like her don’t come around very often. She’s God-fearing, never been married, sweetest girl in the works and she’s single. You’ve been her friend for years, and that’s a very good start, but only a start.”

 Henry  smiled politely at his father’s words. “I know . . .”

 

A moment passed, then Jasper glanced away for a moment. His gaze came back to Henry. “What else is going on?”

 

Taking a sip of his coffee, Henry remembered his upcoming schedule ahead of him. His eyebrows furrowed. “We have a business meeting tonight at the church.”

   

“Oh, yeah?” His dad took a drink of his coffee. “You don’t seem too excited about that.”

 

to be proposing more money going to that homeless camp in Campside Park across the

   

there’s nothing wrong with that. We have to

 

know, and we do. First Baptist already does so much for the poor. Believe me. Even that particular homeless camp, we’ve done a lot for it as it is right now. I just don’t feel we need to keep pouring money into helping those people when they want to be there in the first place. If we keep giving them stuff, they’ll never need to better their lives. Some tough love might

 

for the needs of the poor is Biblical, Son. There is no way around it, and you know that. It’s a good thing your church is doing with these people who are in need. That homeless

 

and money. You know what else is good? Using your own personal finances to do it, not the church’s money. You know what Terry did last week? He bought a BMW. Then tonight he’s going to come beg for more money to go into the homeless project. Something

all this time. He only

 

that about Terry

 

Jasper asked, “Is your heart in the right

with God and wanting to be a good Christian of his resources given to the church.”

that’s true, why did you apologize to me?”

 

was rude and it upset you.”

 

your

 

don’t get what you’re saying, Dad.”

 

set his coffee to the side and scooted closer to the table. Folding his hands on the table, he peered directly into Henry’s

 

away from me, Son. Look at me. Don’t turn away

   

and looked with difficulty into his father’s eyes even though

 

leaders. Sure, you might be sorry for what you just said about him, but that doesn’t change the heart issue going on inside you.

 

and letting them trickle down into his heart. Jasper had been beyond what a typical dad was to a child throughout the years. Jasper had been Henry’s spiritual leader. Through his father’s instruction, he had been taught what it meant to be a true man of God. His sister, Rachel, was taught what it meant to be a woman of God from their mother. He had caught most of the teachings handed down by his father, but

 

  Henry had always sensed a deep division in the depths of his soul but had assigned it all to the fact that Jasper and Priscilla weren’t his biological parents. Jasper had found him in a manger when he was but three years old on Christmas Eve. Swaddled in a blanket and incoherently unconscious, possibly from his mother drugging

to be his

 

“Okay. I’ll think and pray about my

 

Smiling, Jasper nodded and took a drink of his coffee. “Real men conduct their battles from their knees, not from their

   

   

 

         

   

   

*

     

    That evening, Henry slipped into the sanctuary at First Baptist moments before the final song of worship ended. He found a seat near the back and set his Bible and coat down on the long bench. He joined in the singing of the last chorus and then took his seat in unison with the rest of the congregation. Terry took to the stage. Just seeing him up there warmed the fires of uneasiness within him. In

around like you’re some spiritual guru, but when it comes to supporting the homeless, that’s all on the church? Give me a break, guy.

 

Terry surveyed the audience with a smile on his lips. “Lord’s good, isn’t

 

of ‘Amen’ lifted from

   

woman. “This is Mary. She’s our guest of honor tonight. She comes from the camp across the street, and I want to tell you a little bit about

 

the sanctuary at other people to pass time as Terry went on and on about the woman. After he was finally done talking, he read the church announcements. Henry listened to the announcements, and then Terry asked everyone to bow their heads to

 

over these tithes and offerings. May we give back a portion of what you’ve been so gracious to give us. It’s only through Your grace , mercy and goodness that we

 

way he felt toward Terry but didn’t feel as if he had any power over it. He felt the man was actively working his own worklist in the church and using God’s people and their financial 

 

of the back of Noelle’s head a few rows up, Henry’s concern over Terry melted away. His heart warmed and suddenly, everything was fine inside him. She was his favorite person in the world and the only woman besides his mother and sister whom he had ever loved. Everyone wanted him to date Noelle but he

finished collecting the offering, Pastor Jacob took to the stage.

we’ll jump into the Word of God.” Before the pastor could even

 

smile that lit up Henry's face and made everything else seem not important. Her dark skin

 

jokingly, “It’s my first time

 

laughed and then embraced in a long hug.

 

still on for dinner at Bips after this

 

before church to bat off the hunger to make it to a fast-food joint for dinner. I hope

 

curled into a smile. “What fun is normal? Plus,

 

in her voice. “If you didn’t take naps at work, you would be able to get out of there at a decent

 

both laughed.

   

including his boss from work who was one of the elders in the church, Paul. After shaking hands, Henry returned to his seat near the back. His eyes still on her, he watched as she talked and laughed with Mary, the woman Terry had introduced earlier. He loved Noelle's personality and the fact that every person who knew her

pulpit in the front of the sanctuary. “I love to see you all playing

 

prayed over the sermon and then asked everyone to turn in their Bibles to Judges, chapter eleven.

His utmost purpose. Though I don’t match Jephthah’s beginnings, I have my own rocky past and start. Many of you know I lived the party and club life for many years before coming to Christ, and it wasn’t until late one night when a man found me passed out in an alley behind a bar that my life changed forever. That man was a Christian. I’m not talking about a ‘went to church on Sunday’ Christian, or a fire insurance Christian, but a real Christian. A Christ follower. He helped me get home that night, then he called me daily after that and even met with me weekly for the next six months. He taught me all about God, all about Jesus, and all about a thing called the Bible. He didn’t teach me religion. He taught me relationship. He sat and listened as I told him about my struggles, and that man prayed with me. His name was George . . .” Pastor Jacob paused for a moment. His voice became shaky and his eyes glossy. “Three days ago, he went home

 

shared with me years later that a man whom he didn’t know had done a similar thing for him, which led him to Jesus too. I’m a pastor now, but my start was in an alley behind The Spark. You see, brothers and sisters, God can use us no matter where we are in life, no

   

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