When God Writes Your Love Story – The Finale

“I like that hug,” Luis thought as he watched Carrie and Rhianwen drive away. He started his car and leaned back in his seat replaying bits and pieces of the conversation from the tennis court back through his mind.

Confidence. That’s what he felt. He felt confident about how he handled the questions Carrie threw his way. She had a lot of them. He felt like he was in the hot seat a bit but a good hot seat, if there is one.

As his oldest son would say, he was able to rizz her up a bit. Back in his day, they called it “mackin’”. While he wouldn’t go as far to say he was mackin’ on Carrie, there was some mack-action. Mack-Louie wasn’t completely dead. It had just been so long since he even exercised that muscle.

He hadn’t expected the conversation to be mostly about him. He knew he had a habit of being somewhat closed off and came across as shy. Therefore, this was the perfect opportunity to show more of his personality. He wanted to get to know the girls and have them see him for the man he is today, not the guy he used to be. They were always trying to set him up with someone. But after their conversation, he thought there was more to Carrie than he originally thought.

When they first met, he didn’t know much about her other than she was Rhianwen’s friend. After their first tennis lesson, he started noticing her around church. From the discussions the girls had on the court, he and Carrie seemed complete opposites of one another. She was a professional woman while he was blue-collar. She seemed kinda churchy and he didn’t think she would relate to his street background. He also thought she was successful, and he doubted if she would ever date a guy with a different economic status than her.

She was friendly and nice to him on the court and had this sure, matter-of-fact way about her. She was always direct and got straight to the point. She was nothing like the manipulative California girls he was used to. Her personality was bold and strong. She had this infectious laugh that echoed all over the court. She talked fast with a country accent that added emphasis to every story she told. He couldn’t always read her facial expressions when they were around each other but her face, especially her eyes, always said more than what he heard come out of her mouth.

She and Rhianwen were always talking or laughing about something. Luis would lay low and listen, sometimes a bit unsure if his jokes would be inappropriate or funny. He wanted them to see him as a brother in Christ, not some predator simply trying to prey on them.

That was the old Luis.

The new Luis had one goal- be her brother in Christ. That’s it. He had to remind himself of this goal during a couple of their sessions. Carrie always wore cute workout gear, and he liked what he saw but couldn’t allow his eyes to wander. When he was teaching her how to serve, he repeatedly shifted his eyes upward. He wanted her and Rhianwen to feel comfortable in his presence. They were there to play tennis. Nothing more.

As Luis drove home, he prayed, “I kinda like her. Lord, is this what I’ve been praying for?” A lightness along with a sweet excitement settled in his spirit. “Can you send me confirmation, God?”

The next week at church, Luis went into the bookstore to catch up with Carrie as he had been doing regularly for the past few weeks. She walked up to him smiling with bright eyes and asked if he had made plans for Easter yet.

“Uh, no. My family hasn’t said what they’re doing yet.”

“Okay, well, Rhianwen and her hubby are coming over for dinner after church. Did you and the boys want to come too?”

Luis was slightly surprised. He recalled her mentioning in their last lesson how she was inviting Rhianwen and her husband over for Easter, but he didn’t think he would be invited as well.

Lord, is this my confirmation? He wondered. Receiving this invite felt like the confirmation he was waiting on to move forward with asking her out.

But he didn’t want to blow his chance. In his next one-on-one with Minister Otis (aka Min. O), a spiritual father who discipled him, he brought up the idea of asking Carrie out.

He and Min. O had been praying for a year and a half about the woman God was going to send Luis’ way. Min. O gave him practical advice about how to best manage his waiting season. The advice included realistic tips on how to read his Bible and digest what the Lord was saying through His word. He instructed Luis to sit closer to the front during Sunday service and show up as the man a woman he prefers is looking for. This meant dressing nicer, working out, and getting spiritually and mentally prepared to be with a woman of God. Min. O’s straight-shooting approach to godly living taught Luis about leaving old, sinful behaviors behind and surrendering to God’s will for his life. He also emphasized the importance of prayer, getting into sincere worship with God, and presenting himself as a viable option for a woman of God.

“I think I want to ask Carrie out,” Luis shared as soon as he sat across from Min. O. His smile stretched from ear to ear. “What do you think about that?”

“Okay, okay,” Min O. patted his desk and chuckled, “Carrie leads the bookstore. And she comes from really good people. You’re going to have to approach her the right way. You can’t disappoint her or her family. You hear me?” Min. O seemed excited about the idea of Luis asking Carrie out. He shared a few more details about what he had observed about Carrie over the years. He kept nodding but then looked Luis right in the eye. “You’re going to have to come correct. But I’m going to help you.”

He knew that Min. O wouldn’t steer him wrong. Everything Min. O shared about Carrie was what Luis had observed. She loves the Lord. She’s about her business. She is loved by many. And she is not to be played with. All things he realized he admired and valued about her even before their conversation on the court.

Now, he just had to ask her out. It had been so long since he approached anyone or attempted to ask a woman out. Mackin’ on the tennis court was different than asking someone like Carrie out. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself. He also didn’t want their friendship to get weird or their tennis trio dynamic to disappear if things didn’t work out.

First, he needed to pray for God to guide him and give him the words to say. He heard Carrie talk about the importance of a confident man, so he didn’t want to come across as weak or simple. He wanted to be polite but not basic. Holy but not corny. Courageous but not cocky.

He decided to test the waters by texting her first.

                       Hi Carrie. How are you today?

He double-checked his spelling before hitting send. He’s heard about how women get easily turned off by how a guy texts. He wanted to leave a good impression from the beginning.

                       Hey Luis. I’m good. What’s up?

That’s good. I’m just knocking out some stuff for

the tennis coach position at the boys’ school.

                           That’s cool. I hope my referral helped.

It did! I appreciate you sending that over.

                           Sure thing.

How was work today?

Carrie took a while to respond. He wasn’t sure if she was busy or if she found it odd that he was texting her since they normally only talked about tennis. He stayed close to his phone so he could see when she responded.

                      Work was good. Still knocking out a few things while

                      waiting on my mom to finish dinner.

Cool. Well, I’ll let you get back to it.

See you Sunday.

Sunday didn’t come soon enough. Luis woke up with a smile on his face, excited to see Carrie. He fell asleep replaying what he wanted to say and thinking about what he was going to wear. He wanted everything to be perfect. As he got dressed, he continued thinking about where he should do it, how he should do it, and what he should say. He tried to hide his nervous energy from the boys but was rushing them so they could be extra on time to church.

Carrie always sat on the lefthand side of the sanctuary with her parents. He spotted her as soon as he walked in. She was standing, swaying, and clapping to the worship song the praise team was singing. Luis gave her a small wave with a smile as he walked by. She looked so pretty as she worshipped. Her eyes seemed brighter than normal.

After service, Luis immediately looked to where Carrie was sitting, hoping to walk with her to the bookstore. However, she was already gone. He waved at a few folks as he made his way straight to the bookstore.

But as he passed the café, he saw Carrie sitting at one of the tables close to the doorway that connected the bookstore to the café.

“Hey, Carrie.”

“Hey Luis!” she smiled. “You look nice. Is that a new shirt?”

“Oh, nah. I just figured it would be a good day to wear it. How are you?” he asked.

“I’m doing well. What’s going on?” She was drinking tea and waved hi to someone else who had walked by. “Wanna have a seat?”

“Yeah, sure, “Luis sat down across from her. “Did you enjoy service?”

“I did. Always on point,” she responded.

“Right? Worship was good today.” He made a few more comments before recalling what he had practiced. “Have you seen that new Jesus movie?”

“Jesus movie? Is this the one you were telling me and Rhianwen about?”

Just as Luis was about to begin his explanation of the movie which would lead to him asking Carrie to join him at the movie, one of the ladies from the bookstore came in to grab her because the staff needed her help.

“I’ll be right back,” she said as she disappeared through the door.

While Carrie was away, Luis saw a young lady from the young adults’ group he used to be in, so he got up and went over to catch up with her while he waited for Carrie to come back in. He cracked a couple of jokes about something they used to laugh about and had her laughing with him. When he glanced to the side, he saw Carrie standing in the doorway. He wasn’t sure how long she had been standing there. Her head was tilted to the side and he quickly saw a flicker of an expression across her face, but it was gone quicker than she was. He turned to quickly close his conversation and when he turned back around, the doorway was empty.

He rushed into the bookstore. However, Carrie was nowhere to be found.

He walked out of the main entrance to see if she was in the lobby. He didn’t see her there either. He quickly cut to the left and rounded the corner toward the women’s bathroom. Maybe she went in there and he could catch up on her way out. But the hallway was clear and there was no trace of Carrie.

His shoulders slumped a bit. Where could she have gone so fast? He wondered as he peeked in the bookstore one more time. As he turned around, he saw her coming out of the bathroom.

“Hey, there you are?” he said. Relief washed over him. “I was looking for you.”

“Really?” Carrie smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Everything he had practiced left him and his thoughts were jumbled. “Yeah, I was talking in the café and realized I must have missed you coming back in.”

Carrie nodded and shifted her eyes to the side. He was losing her.

It was now or never.

“You want to play tennis this week? I’m off work so any time will work.”

“Um,” Carrie hesitated.

“I can come your way, so you don’t have to come out here.”

Okay. I’m available on Tuesday, but I don’t think Rhianwen can play on Tuesdays.”

“I was actually just thinking you and I could play. Just let me know where I can meet you.”

“Oh.” A flicker of something else crossed her face but she put her head down and fiddled with her clothing before answering. “Cool. Just text me what time you’ll be able to make it, and I’ll let you know if that works with my schedule.”

“Okay! I’ll do that. Have a good day.”

“You too.” Carrie was already walking away while Luis stood grinning ear to ear. He couldn’t wait for Tuesday.