Fiction

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After the meeting was over, Charles and Angie headed toward her apartment. "It seems you look familiar to me," Charles said. "Am I right? Have I seen you before?"

Angie nodded. "I used to be a waitress in a coffee shop near my college. I saw you and your friends at a sit-in. I'm sorry for my boss's behavior."

"It's OK," Charles said. "It's not your fault. He made you give up serving us. I remember what happened now." Then he smiled. "I'm so happy you're participating in the movement, Angie."

Angie smiled. "You remember my name, too!"

Charles nodded. "Do you remember mine?"

Angie nodded. "Charles Williams." Suddenly she shivered. "Gee, it's chilly," she said.

Charles slipped his blanket halfway off his shoulders and wrapped the part he slid off his shoulders around her. "Here you go," he said. "We can share it."

"Thanks," Angie said, feeling herself blush. She felt so excited and shy about being so close to this man. She'd met other men before, but none of them made her feel the way Charles did. Some were lax about their faith, and others didn't believe in equal rights.

When Charles got Angie to her apartment, both of them were relieved to see that no one was standing outside watching them. Charles was a little flustered about standing there alone with this woman. She was so beautiful, with her long, wavy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her strong faith and her heart for desegregation also turned him on. He had an overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms, hold her close, and kiss her passionately on the lips, but he knew it would be inappropriate considering this was the first time they'd seen each other in a few years and they had never kept in touch. So all he said was, "So, this is your apartment, huh?"

Angie nodded. "Thank you so much for walking me home, Charles. That was really nice of you."

"You're welcome." Charles kicked a small stone that was lying on the porch to the side as he tried to think of something else to say. "Wow, I'm really amazed. Many people pass their own prejudices down to their children, and their children have those same prejudices when they become adults. But you were exposed to all kinds of racism and scare tactics, since your father was a Klansman, and yet God gave you the wisdom to know that all those things are evil."

"Yeah. My dad just never really had the relationship with God he always said he did." Angie sighed and gritted on her teeth. "It makes me so mad, the whole Klan thing. They think that only white Protestants are pure, but their scare tactics and their hatred are just two things that show they're not pure in their hearts."

"The Pharisees were the same way, remember? They thought they were holy and pure because they knew the letter of the law and thought they observed all of it shunned whoever didn't, but inside their hearts were ugly and full of hate," Charles said.

Angie agreed. "What matters to God is not what's on the outside, but what's on the inside."

Charles could see how much he and this lovely woman had in common. He just had to ask her out on a date! He put his hands on Angie's shoulders. "Angie, do you want to get together for a picnic that's two hours north of here?" he asked.

"Sure," Angie said shyly.

Charles smiled. "Great. I'll pick you up tomorrow at six, when everyone's still asleep."

"I'll be ready," agreed Angie.

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