A Love Worth Having

Chapter 1 - Crazy Life

One Year Earlier

Saryah stepped off the bus and into the terminal. She hadn’t been back to her Podunk hometown since she graduated high school and went off to college, followed by finding a decent paying job in Augusta.

She spent her days at work, her nights catching up on any and everything she may have not finished that day. Social work was an entity all its own. She worked with special needs families, and soldiers who had returned home after having been wounded in battle. She was glad she had a deep and applicable faith basis, or she would’ve left after the first week. Being a social worker had its perks, but it was also very demanding and difficult some days.

She glanced around for her sister, Sonya, who was supposed to be picking her up.  Hopefully, she didn’t forget. Sonya had a tendency to get preoccupied and forget her more pressing engagements.

“SARYYYAAAH! OH MY GOSH!” She’d remembered. Thank God. She could hear her very loud sister across the suddenly quiet bus station. Who was that with her?  “Come give me a hug, sissy!” They had always been very close, considering they were twins. Saryah was the older of the two, and sometimes much more responsible, but Sonya had her good qualities. She’d come to visit in Augusta, but they had not seen each other in at least two years.

The visit back to Paxton, Georgia, was not a happy one. Their mother had been diagnosed with cervical cancer just the week before, and was about to undergo several aggressive treatments. More and more women were surviving it, but it could be a sneaky disease and make a person think it was all gone and then rear its ugly head with a vengeance. Most cancers could be that way.

“I want you to meet someone, sis. This... this is Mike.” Uh-oh. The way she introduced him, Saryah could tell her sister was past infatuation stage. Sonya always talked about him, but Saryah didn’t take her too seriously. She fell in love all the time. This one was different. She looked at him with eyes so full of love and joy, Saryah knew this was Sonya’s “one.”

Saryah had given up on that. She loved her work, and threw herself into it. Having a man in her life would only complicate matters. Not that she was opposed to a romance here or there, but she just didn’t want a commitment that could possibly force her to stop doing what she loved. At 23 years of age, she was very happy where she was.

“Saryah, say something; don’t just stare at him!” Sonya broke into her reverie, pleading for Saryah’s manners to takeover.

“My apologies, uh, Mike. It’s very nice to meet you! I’m Saryah.”

The blond man with bluer eyes than she’d seen in a while smiled an amazingly handsome, dimpled smile and stuck his hand out to shake hers.

“It’s finally nice to put a face with all the hilarious stories.” Mike said, with a mischievous grin, and a chuckle in his voice.

“None of which are true, I assure you!”  All three laughed as they started walking towards the baggage claim area. This was going to be a very crazy week. Her sister was known for pulling adventurous stunts, and they had given their mother more than a few gray hairs in their teen years.

“So, what do you do, Mike?” She couldn’t believe her sister was into this guy. He was model-licious, with the perfect physique, and apparently a too-good-to-be-true personality on top.

“I’m a carpenter by trade, but I sing in a country band on the weekends.”

“That’s how we met.” Sonya volunteered. “I was auditioning for the keyboard/piano position. The whole group is amazing. It’s not your typical rock band, for sure.”

Mike jumped in. “It sure isn’t. We’re all a clean living, God-loving group of southern guys and ladies, and we usually do gigs for churches and schools. We’re not out to be famous, but if it happens, we’ll be more than happy to give God the glory.”