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by Lauren Alan
06/06/25
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The next day Dina had a ballet recital. As Paul drove her to the academy, he was still in a trance of sadness. When they got into the parking lot near the academy, Paul was still in his daze. Dina's best friend, Annie Lucas, was waiting for her near the curb. Annie saw the look in Paul's eyes. A few minutes after Dina got out of the car, Annie whispered to her, "Dina, I see that your brother looks kind of depressed. Is he OK?"

"He's sad, but he'll be all right," Dina whispered back. "He and his girlfriend broke up yesterday."

"I bet you're glad about that," Annie said softly. "I know you couldn't stand Bridget."

"She certainly wasn't as bad as King Ahab's wife, Queen Jezebel, but she was not very nice," Dina replied in a low voice. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were the most wicked rulers of Israel. Dina and Annie had read all about their lives in 1 and 2 Kings. "I'm glad she won't be coming over to our house anymore, but I'm sad that Paul is sad. I'm praying that he will be happy again and that Jesus Christ will bring him a nice girl."

Annie swung her arms around Dina's shoulders. "You're such a good sister," she said. "Sometimes I like being an only child, but most of the time I want siblings. If I had a sister, I'd want her to be just like you."

"Thanks, Annie." Dina smiled and gave her best friend a hug. She and Annie went inside. Miss Sally Trow, the ballet instructor, announced that the ballet lesson was just about to begin. They would be dancing to music from Mikhail Baryshnikov's performance in the Kirov Ballet. Dina and Annie's ballet class would be performing Baryshnikov's exact moves at the Paramount Theatre during the summertime.

When class was over, Paul came into the academy to pick up Dina. He still had a depressed look in his eyes. Miss Sally noticed the expression on his face. "Hey, Paul, are you all right?" she asked.

Paul looked at her. "Uh, yeah. I've just had a lot on my mind."

Dina, who had been talking to Annie, saw her brother. She went over to him. Paul stood behind his little sister and put his hands on her shoulders as they faced Miss Sally.

"I can understand why you'd be tired," Miss Sally told Paul. "You've got a lot going on. You're graduating soon, you're going to Princeton, you're becoming a lawyer---you're a busy guy. "

Paul nodded. "Plus, I have track practice every day, so I'm really tired." He sighed heavily. He didn't want to talk about Bridget in public. "I'm sorry, but I'm really tired, and Dina and I still have a lot to do." Paul and Dina had to go to a diner that provided take-out meals to pick up hamburgers, French fries, and milkshakes. That was their dinner for the evening. After they ate dinner, Paul and Dina would have to clean the kitchen table before they finished their homework.

Miss Sally said goodbye to Paul and Dina. Annie thought of telling Paul that she was sorry about him and Bridget, but she had a feeling that he didn't want anyone to know about it, so she didn't say anything. Paul put his arm around Dina's shoulders, and they walked outside to his car.

That night at the dinner table, Dina tried to tell Samuel and Mallory about her upcoming performance at the Paramount Theatre. As usual, they were too busy talking about work to listen. By now Paul was getting too caught up on his depression to be excited about anything, so all he said was, "That's cool, sis." Dina felt bad that her brother hasn't shown a lot of excitement. On the other hand, she knew what he was going through. Once again, she prayed that Jesus Christ would help Paul to be happy again and to find a nice girl.

When everyone had finished their dinner and every inch of the kitchen table had been cleaned, Paul and Dina each went into their bedrooms to do their homework. Dina finished all of her homework in exactly one hour, but Paul didn't even finish half of his homework. His depression was making it too hard for him to concentrate. He kept staring up into the night sky and praying that Jesus Christ would take his soul while he slept.

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