The Way of Things

Four

Four

One year later . . .

St Kitts, West Indies

Ahasuerus

"Is everybody ready?"

"Yeah!"

"I said, is everybody ready?"

"Yeah!" the crowd yelled even louder.

"All right then, here we go!"

Ahasuerus Qin shifted the twenty-passenger open-air shuttle bus into gear and pulled out of the parking lot, waving to another shuttle driver as he began the three-hour tour route. Ahasuerus loved his job and had started Ahasuerus of St. Kitts Tours a year and a half ago. After attending law school and running his own practice in the States for two years, he never expected to be back in the place of his birth running his own tour business, but the Lord had had other plans for him. The cut in pay was significant, but with the decreased stress level, he could not be happier with his career choice. Plus, it was a beautiful summer, as always!

As Ahasuerus drove, one of the slightly-inebriated female tourists seated directly behind him started making suggestive comments, flirting shamelessly. Shaking his head slightly, Ahasuerus forced himself to smile and politely sidestepped her comments. He was used to this sort of thing happening and had learned to carefully mask his expressions.

At thirty-five years old, standing at six-foot-two, with handsome Asian features–black wavy hair hanging past his collar, warm hazel eyes, and a lean, tanned, muscular physique–Ahasuerus was a very handsome man, and no matter where he went, he was noticed. Even the tropical island shirts he wore daily could not downplay his features. Many times, he was offered money by forward female tourists for 'private tours.' In his past life, he would have fulfilled a few of those fantasies, but he was no longer that man.

For many years, Ahasuerus lived in a way that would have made his mother and father ashamed, but a month after he moved back to St. Kitts, he gave his life to God, undergoing a life-altering transformation. Gone were the days of drinking and immorality. And truthfully, he had only lost himself in that life as a way to forget just how lonely he'd always felt.

After taking a few minutes to point out more things of interest, Ahasuerus looked in the rearview mirror, letting his gaze move two rows back. To her.

Ahasuerus had watched the beautiful woman from afar for over six months now, but this was the first time she had ever been on his tour bus. He'd learned from a friend that she had moved to St. Kitts from the mainland. She opened a martial arts school and was an excellent teacher. His friend's son was currently taking lessons from her. Ahasuerus had finally asked her name.

Hadassah Kingston.

Ahasuerus had almost laughed out loud at the irony. They were both named after the royal couple in the book of Esther. What were the odds?

He continued to glance in the mirror, wondering about her, about her life and what brought her to St. Kitts. He noticed her look had changed within the time she'd been on the island, her thick, shoulder-length auburn hair now in dozens of braids accented by a few small silver and gold braid cuffs. Her brown skin shimmered in the afternoon sun. She was a beautiful woman, and though he could see vulnerability in her gaze as she took in the passing sights, he could tell that behind those gorgeous brown eyes stood a will of iron–there must have been for her to have made such a move. He longed to know her, but the two had only ever greeted each other in passing. Now she was on his tour bus.

Ahasuerus knew he could not let the opportunity pass to speak with her formally.

~~~~~

Hadassah