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  He gave Rose a hug then followed Willy out the kitchen door to the deck. It was a cool morning and most of the deck was still in the shade, which made the hot coffee that much better. Max took a sip and looked out over the lake which looked like a sheet of glass. The only sound was a light breeze blowing through the evergreens around Willy’s house. It was a perfect morning.

  “Congratulations on the win last night, Max. Read all about it in the paper this morning.”

  “We almost gave it away, but I’ll take a win any way we can get it. We’re going to have to get better on defense though.” They’d beaten Springdale 45-42. It would have gone to overtime, but after driving sixty yards in five plays at the end of the game, Springdale’s kicker missed a 37-yard field goal as time expired. Max hadn’t watched the game film yet, but he was sure he was going to see more evidence of Dave Turner making very suspect calls on defense.

  Rose brought out a tray of hot cinnamon rolls that were dripping with icing. “Max, you’ve got to try these. Rose makes the best cinnamon rolls you’ve ever tasted. The best!”

  “My mouth is already watering,” he said as Willy handed him the plate.

  “Lord, thank you for a beautiful morning, for our friend Max and for these delicious cinnamon rolls. Amen,” Willy said. “Now take a bite and tell me that’s not the best thing you’ve ever tasted.”

  The expression on his face must have said it all, because Willy said, “I told ya! Rose is the best!”

  There were lots of things Max wanted to talk about, but several minutes later, he’d hardly said a word. He was too busy helping himself to a second cinnamon roll. Willy’s mouth was full too, so it wouldn’t have done any good to ask a question.

  In between bites, Willy finally asked, “How’s it going with Michelle? Have you had any contact with her?”

  “Well, it’s not good, but I guess it could be worse,” he said. “We talked briefly. I asked her to think about coming home.”

  “And?” Willy looked hopeful.

  “Said she’d think about it.” Max licked icing from his lips.

  “Rose, would you come out here?” Willy called.

  She opened the sliding glass door and stepped onto the deck, still wearing an apron covered in flour. She sat down next to Willy who immediately took her hand in his. They exchanged a glance. Max could tell they knew what it meant. He had no clue.

  “Max, after I retired as a teacher, I would still spend some time at the junior high as a volunteer,” Willy said. “There was this one particular program that would come to the school once a year and talk to the kids about abstinence, about waiting until they were married before having sex. As you can imagine, it was a tough sell.”

  Max nodded as if he understood where this was going, even though he had no idea.

  “As part of the program, they would show kids pictures of sexually transmitted diseases. It would turn your stomach, Max. It really would, but we wanted those kids to know what risks they were taking. No one else was telling them about the potential consequences of their behavior.”

  Max kept nodding while hoping he hadn’t already missed the point.

  “After a medical professional explained all the pictures, we’d break into groups and ask the kids questions or answer theirs if they had any,” Willy said.

  “Okay,” Max said.

  “What I always told my group was that we were taking something away from them,” Willy said. “Do you know what it was, Max? What were we taking away from those kids?”

  He thought for a moment and guessed, “Their innocence?”

  “Well, I guess you could say that was taken away from them, but I suspect most of them lost their innocence long before seeing those pictures,” Willy said. “No, what I told them had been taken away from them was their ability to ever say, ‘I didn’t know.’ Once we showed them those pictures and explained all about those diseases, they couldn’t ever say they hadn’t been told.”

  “I see,” said Max, “but what does this have to do with me?”

  “Max, we’re going to share something with you that, well, it’s very powerful,” Willy said. “I believe you heard Rose ask me about it the other night.”

  “You mean the secrets?” Max said.

  “Yes, the secrets,” Willy said.

  “I wasn’t sure if that was just a little joke between the two of you,” Max said.

  “It’s no joke,” Rose said with a look that was both serious and excited.

  “Max, there’s a principle at play in the universe that states ‘you reap what you sow,’” Willy said. “It’s all around us. Sow corn and that’s what you’ll reap. Sow anger and you’ll reap anger. Sow kindness and you’ll reap kindness.”

  Max sensed another pop quiz coming.

  Rose and I are going to share some principles with you that we’ve learned over fifty years of marriage. They’re powerful. When you sow them faithfully, you reap from them in abundance.”

  “I understand,” Max said, not totally sure that he did though.

  “Of course, they’re not really secrets, but they might as well be,” Willy said. “Most folks don’t seem to know them, so it’s like they’re secrets hiding in plain sight.”

  Max nodded as he took a bite from his third cinnamon roll.

  “But just like with those kids, we’re going to take away your ability to say you didn’t know,” Willy said. “You will be accountable for your new-found knowledge.”

  Max could see Willy and Rose were serious about this stuff.

  “Now Max, before we get to the details, I need you to understand something. Sometimes a marriage can be so far gone that only a miracle can bring it back to life. What I mean is that sometimes one spouse may have neglected the other for so long that these secrets don’t work. Or they don’t seem to, I should say. And what we’ve discovered is that God doesn’t just step in and overrule someone’s free will.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you,” Max said.

  Willy looked at Rose and then back at Max. He seemed reluctant to tell Max what he was thinking. “Here’s the thing—we can share with you what we know, but it doesn’t mean Michelle will necessarily respond. We hope she will. We can pray she will. But there’s no guarantee she will. Just like she hoped you would behave differently over these past few years.” Willy paused. “I’m sorry if that sounds harsh. I don’t mean it to.”

  “Don’t worry, I see what you’re saying,” Max said. “I can do all the right things now, just like Michelle has been. From her perspective, nothing she did worked to make our marriage better. So even though I might do the right things now, it doesn’t mean she has to respond the way I want her to.”

  “That’s right,” Rose said. “We hope she will. We’re praying she will, but God won’t force her to.”

  “I understand,” Max said while whispering a silent prayer. Please God let her respond. Don’t let it be too late.

  “Alright, then,” Willy said, “when we refer to the marriage secrets, what we’re saying is that a husband and wife have each been given certain things they can do that will have a supernatural effect on their spouse.”

  “Can I add something here?” Rose said.

  “Of course,” Willy said.

  “Well, something you just said reminded me that there’s an exponential effect that occurs when the husband and the wife do this together,” Rose said.

  “That’s right,” Willy said, “Listen to her, Max.”

  “If just one spouse uses these secrets it has a limited effect, but if both spouses are using them, it’s the difference between addition and multiplication. If only one spouse is doing it, it’s like adding one plus one plus one plus one. But if both spouses are on board, it’s like multiplying two times two times two times two. When both of you do it, it unleashes a lot of power.”

  “I think I see,” Max said. “Michelle was only able to add. If I’d been doing my part, we would have been multiplying.”

  “That’s it,” Willy s
aid. “And our hope is that you and Michelle will still get the chance to see the multiplication effect in your marriage.”

  Rose poured more coffee for each of them. Steam rose from their mugs into the cool morning.

  “There are three secrets for each of you, Max. We don’t have time to cover them all, so we’ll just talk about one of the six this morning. It’s the most powerful of the husband’s three.”

  Max realized he should probably be taking notes, so he quickly excused himself and got his briefcase from his truck. He was about to open the door and step back onto the deck when he saw Willy leaning over to kiss Rose. She caressed his face and their eyes remained open as their lips met. He didn’t want to interrupt or stare, so he stepped away from the door for a moment and wondered if he and Michelle would ever again enjoy a moment like that.

  A minute later, Max tried again and saw Willy and Rose holding hands and talking. He stepped outside and sat down. “Okay, so you were going to tell me about the strongest one for the husband.”

  “That’s right,” Willy said. “Now before I get to it, you need to know that each of the six secrets are meant to have a bonding effect on the hearts of a husband and wife. That’s what will happen when you use them—you’ll feel more connected, more bonded to each other.”

  “Of course, they can also be used between two people who aren’t married,” Rose added.

  “And that can be very damaging,” Willy said. “That’s where affairs start.”

  The trees whistled as a cold, north wind suddenly blew across the yard. Max shivered and pulled his jacket shut.

  “Now Max, this first secret will sound overly simplistic. Your tendency will even be to dismiss it, to think you already understand it. Like I said, these secrets are hiding in plain sight.”

  “Don’t over simplify,” Max said quietly as he wrote those words on his legal pad and underlined them.

  “Alright, here it is,” Willy said. “Love sacrificially.”

  Love?

  He didn’t say it, but he agreed with Willy’s assessment. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it was something more than that. He knew Willy wasn’t going to say something like “x-ray vision” or “mind reading,” but he was expecting something more than just love sacrificially.

  “I told you,” Willy said. “Too simple, right?”

  “Well, I have to confess it does sound a little elementary,” Max said.

  “Marriage 101, right?”

  “I guess there’s more to it, huh?” Max said.

  “Oh, you have no idea,” Rose said as she patted Willy’s arm.

  “Max, what makes Michelle feel loved?” Willy asked.

  It had been many years since a teacher had called on him in class, but all at once the feelings rushed back. He could feel his face flushing and his ears ringing. The wind had stopped for the moment, so it was eerily quiet. It felt like he’d just been asked the square root of ninety-eight to the third decimal, which of course, he didn’t know. Max looked at Rose for a little help, but she was just grinning at him.

  “Max, I’m not trying to put you on the spot,” Willy said. “Well, okay, maybe I am, but I need you to see there’s a lot more to it. It’s one thing to say we love someone, but it’s a completely different matter to know how to express it in a way it will be received.”

  Max was writing down as much as he could.

  “It will be very helpful for you to think of love as a verb, not a noun,” Rose said. “We’re not talking about a feeling. We’re talking about actions, about things you do.”

  “Love…is…a…verb,” Max said as he wrote it down and underlined each word.

  “I know this all sounds very simple, things even a child would know,” Willy said. “But I assure you it’s powerful stuff.” Willy was quiet while Max continued writing. “I think that’s enough for today, Max. But I do have a homework assignment for you.”

  Max was ready to write it down. “Go ahead,” he said.

  “Come up with a list of ten actions that communicate to Michelle that you love her,” Willy said. “But keep something very important in mind; we’re not looking for actions that you think make her feel loved. We’re looking for actions that actually do make her feel loved.”

  “Alright, I think I can do that,” Max said.

  “You’ll need to put your detective hat on,” Willy said. “Think about your relationship. Look for clues.”

  “Max, it’s also not cheating if you ask Michelle for help,” Rose said with a smile.

  Max offered to help clear and wash the dishes, but Rose wouldn’t hear of it. He thanked them for breakfast and for all their advice. On the way home, it was dawning on him just how difficult his homework assignment was going to be.

  If the answers were obvious, Michelle probably wouldn’t be a thousand miles away at the moment. He knew he had a lot of work to do, but he also thought about Rose’s suggestion, which seemed like a good place to start.

  As soon as he got home, he sat down at the table, pulled out his legal pad and numbered one through ten on his marriage game plan page. And then he called Michelle.

  Chapter 35

  It was a beautiful Saturday morning at the beach. Michelle had been walking along the water’s edge for almost two hours. She passed a few runners and several fishermen, but mostly the beach was deserted. Other than the waves rolling onto the beach and the seagulls scavenging for food, it was quiet and peaceful. She wondered about the latest forecast on the storms headed west across the Atlantic.

  While the morning was calm, her mind was anything but. Her time with Chris felt magical, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to suppress the nagging sense of guilt that seemed to hang over her whenever she was with him. At first, blaming Max had worked, but that strategy was becoming less and less effective.

  She picked up a piece of driftwood and flung it as far as she could and watched it splash then disappear in the foamy water. If Max hadn’t ignored her for so long, she never would have sought Chris out. But the more she tried to rationalize it, the worse she felt.

  It was almost noon and she was getting hungry. Most boardwalk businesses were already closed for the winter, but the Sawmill was still open. She reached for her phone to let Chris know she was running a few minutes late. It buzzed as she pulled it from her pocket.

  It was Max. She let it continue to buzz until it finally stopped and went to voice mail. He was probably calling again to see if she was ready to come home. That was a conversation she wasn’t ready to have. And maybe never would.

  A few minutes later, Chris pulled into the parking lot just as she arrived. She felt her phone buzz again. Just once though, indicating a text. It was from Max. She desperately wanted to ignore it. There wasn’t anything he could say right now that she cared to hear. What she cared about was lunch with Chris. He was here. He cared about her. Max had his chance. And he blew it.

  She was about to slip her phone back into her pocket but swiped the screen to bring up the message.

  What makes you feel most loved?

  “Hey, Shelle,” Chris said as he gave her a hug. “You look beautiful today.”

  “Thank you.” She felt a tingle run through her.

  Chris took her hand as they walked up the boardwalk together. In her other hand, she still held her phone, which buzzed again. She swiped the screen with her thumb and glanced at it, trying not to let Chris see…

  I’m trying.

  And then she noticed the text she’d ignored from the day before. It was a picture of a wrecked car.

  Chapter 36

  Monday, September 23

  The rest of the weekend was spent working on game plans. And the assignment from Willy, which was proving to be much harder than anticipated. It would have been easy to simply throw a few thoughts on a piece of paper, but this needed to be a meaningful list. Plus, he suspected Willy and Rose weren’t going to let him get away with going through the motions. And that’s not what he wanted to do anyway. He
wanted to do this right.

  He was disappointed Michelle hadn’t called back or texted him. He was trying to make things better and wanted her to at least acknowledge his effort. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he had no right to expect her to respond. He didn’t even want to think about how many times she had tried with him and had expected at least an acknowledgement. Way too many to count, he was sure.

  How could I have been so selfish?

  By Monday morning, he at least felt some hope returning. Circumstances hadn’t changed, but he felt like he was on the right course. The win against Springdale was huge. A win against Rogers would get them to 2-2. He would have to talk with Dave Turner though. They might not win another game with the way he was coaching the defense.