The Inheritance Paradox
Fourteen (Eugene’s Story)
SUMMER BROUGHT more opportunity for the two to get together. They’d joined a volunteer service corps through their church and each day the church bus would take a crew to another elderly or shut-in person’s house to clean the yard and grounds, weed flowerbeds, and on a couple of occasions, even paint the houses. The group of teens always met before their assignment to pray and sing, and they prayed with the person they were helping before they left.
They returned to Senior Institute in August, spending most of their free time walking hand-in-hand and talking about their futures. Eugene had become more committed to becoming a minister. He was sure this was his calling.
“I think it is a perfect calling for you, Eugene,” Rachel said. “You will be a wonderful minister. I want to make jewelry. I won a prize at the fair for the earrings and necklace set I designed. It’s… I feel called to that, just like you do to the ministry.”
“You are so talented. I loved what I saw at the fair,” Eugene said, not quite knowing how else to respond. Rachel was really talented. “You know God gives us talents and expects us to practice them, perfect them, and use them. I know you’ll find a way to serve Him with your talent.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about that, Eugene. I don’t think that creating jewelry would keep me from being a good minister’s wife. I love you,” she said.
Aside from references in some of Eugene’s poetry and signing birthday cards “With love,” it was the first time the words had been said aloud. They sat next to the lake and began to dream of the future together.
“We have such a long way to go,” Eugene said. “You know how much I love to kiss you, but it is so hard not to rush to the next step. It’s too soon for us to get an engagement ring or to make announcements. We haven’t turned eighteen yet. But I feel like we are going to have a long and happy life together.”
“We’ll just keep asking God to help us not lose control. You know it’s not because I want to restrain myself. I just know it will be so much better if we wait for now.”
“Our love is a precious flower, and I do not want it to wilt and die. I will care for this flower and nurture it. I will pay attention to it. I will see that it has light and air in which to flourish. Forever, I will cherish our love.”
“You need to write that into a poem, Eugene. I’ll embroider it on a hanging.”
In school that fall, they dated much the same way their classmates did, going to ballgames and school dances. They declined invitations to parties where they suspected there would be alcohol or other substances and got a reputation quickly as being ‘too good’ to hang out with their other classmates.
“We’ll never be the same as all the others around us,” Eugene said. “Our commitment to each other and our love of God set us apart.”
“We’re just a couple of unicorns in a world of horses,” Rachel laughed. “I know it is a little lonely at times. That’s what happens when you’re different. We’ll find our community—others who are like us.”
“It seems that even the kids in our youth group kind of take their faith lightly. They don’t live up to their commitment,” Eugene said.
“I don’t care. We’ll be unicorns forever.”
The phrase was used on the birthday card Rachel gave Eugene in September when he turned eighteen. It was signed, “With all my love. Unicorns Forever. Rachel.”
At Halloween, they came up with an idea for matching ‘costumes’ that would establish them as unicorns forever. Eugene worked on crafting horns with a strap they could wear on their heads. Rachel sewed gloves to look like horse hooves. They’d worn them to school, and everyone dubbed them the unicorn twins.
The next day, the temperature started to drop, and it rained most of the day. Three days later, they had an inch and a half of snow. It didn’t stop falling. It was a harbinger of bad news.
Rachel’s mother, Miriam, had been sick on and off for a few years, but it worsened that fall. The doctor tried several remedies, but couldn’t really identify the problem, passing it off as ‘woman problems.’
It was Friday, the last day of school before the Christmas holiday, when Eugene brought Rachel home so she could help get the house ready for Christmas and take care of the kids.
“I was really nervous,” Eugene said. “I’ve read my poetry in speech contests, but never in front of all our classmates. And to think they did an entire school assembly for the play just before we took off!”
“It was fun and funny. And you still got the message across,” Rachel said as they walked into the house. “I’m so glad I got to be in it and work with you on it. Mom?” she called. There was no answer. “Mom?” she called louder.
They walked into the dining room and saw Miriam lying on the floor. A partially wrapped Christmas present was on the table, the paper and scissors lying beside Rachel’s mother.
“Mom!” Rachel screamed and rushed to her. Eugene knelt beside her and quickly felt for a pulse. The body was cold to the touch. “No! Mom!” Rachel cried.
Eugene did the only thing he knew to do. He reached for the phone and called his own mother.
“Mom, Rachel’s mom… We just got to her house and her mom’s on the floor. I don’t know what to do.”
“Is she breathing?”
“No. I… I think she’s dead.”
“Don’t move her. I’ll be there in five minutes. Just hold Rachel and comfort her.”
His mother hung up and Eugene quickly knelt beside Rachel who was crying uncontrollably.
“Bonnie, it’s Louise. Miriam Erickson has passed away. Eugene and Rachel are at the house. The kids don’t know what to do. Dispatch an ambulance and cruiser. Oh, have Earl swing by and pick me up on the way. The boy has my car. The little ones will be home on the bus soon and someone needs to be there for them.”
“I’ve got it, Louise. Earl’s on his way to you and the ambulance is on its way to the house. God! Those poor children.”
“You don’t have a phone number for George at work, do you?” Louise asked as she quickly jotted off a note to Wallace, so he’d know where she was when he got home.
“I’ll find it. You go out and meet Earl at the curb.”
Louise rushed out to the curb just as the police cruiser pulled up. She jumped in and they sped out to the Erickson house. True to what she’d told her son, she was at the house in five minutes.
There was the typical amount of chaos for a death scene. Earl checked the body and confirmed she was dead just as the ambulance screamed up. Dr. Adams arrived just a few minutes later to officially pronounce the death and estimate the time. He listed the cause as heart failure.
When the elementary school bus pulled up in front of the house, Louise rushed out to meet Lemuel and Dorothy, Rachel’s younger siblings. She held them and comforted them, explaining gently that their mother was going to the hospital and that she’d stay with them and fix them a snack. Despite the cold, they stayed outside until the ambulance was gone, then the two children rushed to Rachel in the house.
Eugene saw a side of his mother he’d never witnessed before. He knew she was a loving and caring mother, even if she wasn’t a Christian. He loved her intensely. But he saw his mother pour her love out on Rachel, her brother, and her sister, sitting with them, holding them, and feeding them. When George got home, he’d been to the hospital and confirmed that his wife should be taken to the funeral home. His eyes were as red as his children’s. Wallace got home soon after that and rushed over to the Ericksons’ when he found Louise’s note. He put an arm around George’s shoulders and helped organize calling his sister and Miriam’s brother. They called the pastor at their church and when it seemed things were at least partially settled, Wallace, Louise, and Eugene left the grieving family with food and instructions to call if they needed anything.
“Son, your girlfriend is going to need your care and understanding. It’s not just about the grief of losing her mother, but Christmas is Monday. She has to help keep the family from getting too depressed. You have to help her,” Wallace said as he sat with his son that evening.
“I know, Dad. I feel like I should be there right now.”
“It’s a difficult time. You need to read how much she needs your presence and how much she needs to focus on her family. Just remember it is about what she needs, not what you need. This is part of being a man. You have to be her pillar of strength when and where she needs you.”
“Thanks, Dad. I mean, you and Mom just did what was needed. I didn’t know what to do. You know Miriam took me in last Christmas and just treated me like one of her own kids. I really loved her, too,” Eugene said.
“We already knew they’d have you over as much as possible before we agreed to go to Virginia that week. And I think you’d have been unhappy if you weren’t there. The thing is, now you know more about what needs to be done if you are in that position again. You’ve decided you want to be a minister. Well, it’s not something I’d have wished on you, but if you continue on that path, you are going to be counseling and comforting people in grief for your entire career. Learn all you can from this experience and make sure you just love that family more than anything.”
“Yes, sir.”
It took a while for the message to completely soak in, but eventually, Eugene realized that not all good people were Christians. He tried to remind himself of that frequently—especially when he wanted to evangelize them.
It started snowing that night and the temperatures dropped—a harbinger of a hard winter ahead. Eugene sat in his room looking out the window and wondering what would become of them now.
Out-of-doors, the fleece is flying
Bouncing on the window panes
Snowflakes dying
Old man North’s heavy breath blows
The trees commence their sighing
In gusts of wind the clouds burst forth
Frozen tears they’re crying
The funeral was the day after Christmas. The minister preached a nice sermon in the front of the church where Miriam’s casket had been closed. Eugene sat with the family—little Dorothy held between him and Rachel. Her brother, Lemuel was sandwiched between Rachel and her father.
They went to the cemetery where a grave had been scooped out of the frozen ground. They wept as the casket was lowered into it and the minister said a final blessing on the family.
Eugene’s mother had coordinated with the women of the church to help with the funeral dinner at the Ericksons’ farmhouse. The house seemed awfully big and empty without Miriam in it, even with the dozens of friends and neighbors who stopped to eat or to share a dish with the others. It was exhausting for everyone.
It was still snowing. Nearly four inches since Miriam passed away.
People left, but Eugene and his mother stayed to help clean up the mess from people traipsing in out of the snow and dirtying plates. The food had all been packed and put in the refrigerator before the church ladies left. Louise waited for Eugene to say goodnight to Rachel and then took him home.
“I love you, Mom,” Eugene said as he rode in the car. “I don’t think Rachel had a chance to tell her mom that. I don’t want to miss any opportunity.”
“I love you, too, Eugene. We really shouldn’t pass up an opportunity to tell our loved ones that.”
“Thank you for helping and doing so much for Rachel’s family. I know it meant a lot to them.”
“We can only do what we can do,” Louise said.
It was more for Eugene to contemplate.
Of course, life moved on. School started two weeks later on January eighth. Eugene stopped by to pick up Rachel and her siblings to take them all to school. He couldn’t drive every day because he didn’t have his own car. Most days he walked to school and the Ericksons took the bus. Some days, George drove his old truck to work and left the car for Rachel to take the kids to school. On those days, she picked up Eugene.
Their after-school activities were necessarily curtailed. They no longer worked together on the school newspaper or ball games. Rachel had to take care of the children. George tried to make sure they had one night each weekend for a date, but it was obvious he had depended on Miriam to raise the children and was a little lost when it came to getting them to bed at a reasonable time.
Rachel thought he had been drinking one night when she got home and was worried about the children. After that, Eugene often spent one or two evenings during the weekend just sitting at home with her while she got the kids off to bed. Then they would play a game or watch television. They kissed a little but were careful not to get carried away where the younger kids might see them.
Eugene received his acceptance letter to Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids. It was his first step to becoming a minister. Rachel celebrated with him but then gave him disheartening news.
“Honey, Dad is moving us to St. Louis after graduation,” she said on a rare occasion when they were alone in the car. “He says he needs the help of his sister who lives there. I’m not real fond of Aunt Sylvia, but I need to be there for the sake of Lemuel and Dorothy. And, well, you’ll be up in Grand Rapids anyway. I’ll figure out a way to come back in a year.”
“You can come to Grand Rapids with me! I’ll find us a place to live near campus,” Eugene said. “Rachel, will you marry me?”
“Oh, Eugene, of course I will. But we can’t do that yet. You have six years of school to get through and what could I do to support us? I love you so much. I want to be with you. But I have to take care of my brother and sister, too. Life feels so unfair!”
“We have to have faith that God has a plan for us. This is just a test of our faithfulness. Oh, Rachel, we have to make it,” Eugene sobbed.
“Please love me, Eugene. Tell me we will never have to be parted in the future.”
“I will move mountains to be with you. This is temporary. I’ll find a job at school and as soon as I’m stable up there, I’ll send for you. We don’t have to wait until I graduate. Remember, the Bible says, ‘It came to pass,’ not ‘It came to stay.’ I’ll send for you as soon as I can and you can leave your brother and sister and father in the care of his sister. We’ll make it. Some way, we’ll be together.”
They went to the high school prom in May and pretended they were dressed formally for their wedding. The theme was “Deep Sea Dreamland” and they had to enter the gym through a cave that gave the impression of being under water. They stopped to have their picture taken and each ordered a copy. At midnight, they left instead of going to the after-prom party. Eugene drove the Impala all the way to Lake Michigan Beach where they parked and simply held each other as they slept in the back seat.
They went considerably further in their kissing and petting than they had ever gone before, stopping just short of undressing and making love. When the sun came up, they walked along the beach, hand-in-hand, stopping often to kiss some more. They stopped for breakfast in Kalamazoo before finally getting home mid-morning. They kissed again at her door and for the first time since they had started dating, they skipped church to go to their beds and sleep the rest of the day.
The time was set for the move to St. Louis. George held a sale at the farmhouse and got rid of almost all the furniture. The week before graduation, he loaded as much as he could of what was left in the farm truck and took the two younger kids to St. Louis. The last week before graduation, Eugene and Rachel could spend more time together. Their classes were done. They spent a lot of time finishing packing the few things Rachel had left. There was no place to sit in the house because all the furniture had been removed except what was in her bedroom.
The bed, the empty house, and the impending departure proved to be too much temptation for them to resist. The kissing became more passionate. They had crossed some previously impenetrable lines after prom. The remaining lines seemed insubstantial. They soon found themselves in the bed rather than on it. Their clothes had been pushed aside and then discarded. They opened themselves to each other.
It was not long before they moved together and were no longer virgins, as they cried and kissed and loved each other.
Eugene stayed the night, not wanting to leave his lover for an instant. Graduation would be the next day and then Rachel would be gone. They made love again before sleeping and again in the morning. As they lay together petting each other and kissing, Rachel sighed.
“I’m sorry,” Eugene began. He had a pang of guilt for not having maintained their chastity.
“For showing me how much you love me?” she asked. “I’m the one who is sorry. I can’t just stay here with you and start our married life together today. But I made you something. I was going to give it to you after commencement, but it seems more appropriate just now.”
She slipped out of bed and Eugene watched her naked figure as she went to her purse and pulled out a small jewelry box. She brought it to him.
“But I don’t have anything to give you!” he moaned.
“You’ve already given me the greatest gift I could ask for. This is just to remind you that I will come to you soon.”
He opened the box and found a silver chain with a pendant on it. He lifted it and looked carefully.
“It’s a unicorn! It looks almost like a coat of arms. You even put a motto on it,” he said.
“It will be our coat of arms. Our family emblem when we have one. Unicorni in Aeternum. Unicorns Forever,” she said, kissing him again. She took the chain and put it over his head. “I made the chain long, so you don’t have to show everyone you’re wearing a necklace. And it will be closer to your heart.”
“I love you, Rachel. You are the love of my life.”
They kissed and made love again before finally dressing and getting ready for commencement. Eugene had to go home to change clothes. His parents were coming to the commencement.
The first thing Eugene saw when he got to the school for commencement was Mr. Erickson’s farm truck, already loaded with the remainder of the things that had been in Rachel’s room. Eugene rushed into the school to find Rachel.
“I’m sorry, Eugene. Dad says we’ll be leaving right after commencement. He wants to be in St. Louis early enough that he can get some sleep before he has to go to work. He already has a job,” Rachel said, hugging Eugene tightly.
They sat next to each other, ignoring school rules by holding hands all through the ceremony. Eugene proudly wore his unicorn emblem outside his gown. After commencement, the classmates milled around getting photos with friends and family. Rachel and Eugene stayed close beside each other.
Eventually, though, George found the two of them.
“We need to be moving,” he said. “I’ll give you two minutes to say your goodbyes.” He got in the truck and Eugene and Rachel immediately embraced.
“I will treasure the past day with you for the rest of my life,” Eugene said. “I love you and will be waiting for you.”
“I love you, Eugene. Unicorns forever!”
They kissed passionately until George touched the horn. Then she got in the passenger side of the truck, and Eugene watched sorrowfully as they drove off.
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
