The Novice

By R. R. Emmett

Because of the kindness of his wife Peggy to forgive his conduct of the previous six years Bob Garrett repents, and pledges to try to return to being the husband and father he was before turning away from God. As a result of their Marriage Encounter Bob and Peggy begin presenting programs in which they can be helpful to other couples. Through one of those programs they are introduced to a lifestyle of simplicity which renews their interest in giving of themselves to the less fortunate, the common objective that originally attracted them to each other. When health problems arise because of over involvement the couple reduce their activities to the one service which eventually leads them to accomplish the goal they had sought throughout their wonderful relationship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463434908

R. R. Emmett

R. R. Emmett expresses his delight about getting to this stage of the chronology. The three and a half years he and his real life wife Peggy spent serving the street people are considered the most rewarding of any of the many volunteer activities they performed over a period of eighteen years. In the next novel, The Outcasts he intends to share many more of the actual experiences they had while making trips to the inner city two or three times a week. Emmett continues to state that having Peggy with him in the story does somewhat ease the pain of losing her. He says he prays each day for the mental and physical strength to be able to complete his original plan.

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© 2011 R. R. Emmett. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 7/26/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-3489-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-3490-8 (e)

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Other novels relating to the subject

matter of this chronicle:

The Access

The Bennie

The Concept

The Darkness

The Excerpt

The Fervent

The Gentle

The Homestead

The Insight

The Judgment

The Kinship

The Lament

The Mending

To Peggy, my forever love in heaven,

and to Georgie K. and Mary F., long time friends

who have become recent enthusiasts.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Six

Epilogue

About the Author

Prologue

There is no doubt in my mind that agreeing to make a Marriage Encounter saved my marriage. The initial weekend led me to recognize how stupid it was for me to blame God for every thing that happened that was not in my control. During that weekend I shared with Peggy how displeased I was with the person I had become. I went to confession the evening of the second day and this time I asked the priest to help me beg the Lord for forgiveness for disrespecting Him. From that moment on I felt I may have also saved my soul.

For the next several months Peggy and I spent every minute I was not at work, or we were not involved with the children learning more about the steps we were taught on the weekend that promised to improve our relationship. In addition to using our alone time to dialogue we joined with other M.E. couples every other Saturday evening to share the joy we were experiencing. Our two teenagers were so fascinated with what they saw happening to their parents that they canceled any personal plans they had for those Saturday nights so they could care for Michael while Peggy and I got together with the other couples.

It was because of the intensity of our efforts to recapture the relationship we had for so many years before Thom’s death, and the encouragement we got from the other couples and our children that we decided to take the next step in the program.

Chapter One

Upon returning to work after our original Marriage Encounter weekend in early December I concentrated on making certain the bank’s records were in order so the year end closing could be done without any errors or irregularities. Expecting that at least one of the regulators would be in for an examination I cautioned each of the employees regarding the importance of accurate postings.

Rather than interfere with anyone’s personal plans, including my own, I hosted a party for just our staff after closing on Friday, the twenty sixth. Peggy and I were blessed by all of our kids coming to our home for the holiday. Jamie and her family came on Christmas Eve and stayed over. The party for the staff seemed to help each of the bank’s employees to recover from the activities of the big day. I was very pleased with the way we closed out the books for nineteen seventy five on January second.

Although the operation of the bank was important to me, being with Peggy was more important. All aspects of our relationship were fantastic. Even when the examiners from the F.D.I.C. came I didn’t let their presence distract me from what Peggy and I were accomplishing during our alone time. The preliminary report we received about the examination indicated the bank was operating efficiently, with the only negative being there was a need for an increase in earnings. The result of that report was a statement by our Board Chairman that I was being too conservative in my loan approvals. Since I didn’t agree with his opinion I made no effort to change the procedures I was following; procedures I knew from experience were necessary to maintain a credit worthy portfolio.

During the January Board meeting, on the fourth Thursday of the month, an unusual resolution was proposed and passed. The Board Chairman and whomever he may choose to participate would now be authorized to approve loans. Documentation would be at his and their discretion, and would only need to be reported at the next Board meeting, which meant I would have no involvement in the approval or turn down of the loans.

In February our commercial loan outstandings increased almost fifty percent due to the new plan. The unfortunate thing in my view was all of the loans were to personal acquaintances of the director granting the loan and the documentation in file was limited to an application and a current financial statement. There was no record that a credit report had been obtained or even requested.

Not being permitted to discuss my concerns with any of my staff, and certainly not with any Board member, my only outlet was to mention my concerns to Peggy. When I did she informed me she had heard that there was a Sharing Weekend coming up at Alverna Retreat Center and asked if we should sign up to attend it. To me it was the perfect solution to help me make a decision on what to do about this issue, plus it would give me the opportunity to trust her with the one remaining subject I’d not been totally honest about in my disclosures during our original weekend. The next day while I was at work Peggy called and enrolled us as participants in the Marriage Encounter Sharing Weekend. It was scheduled for March nineteenth through the twenty first, which would be three and a half months from the date of our original Encounter. We once again asked Moe and Patrick to watch over Michael while we were gone.

The several weeks leading to the Encounter passed quickly because I busied myself at work continuing to instruct my staff about the importance of being thorough in the processing of all activity. On the Friday involved I left before the bank was closed and went straight home. Unlike my actions that attempted to delay going to the original weekend I was excited to have the chance to share my feelings with my beautiful wife, while at the same time anxious regarding how she might react to what I wanted to confess to her. Assured that Moe and Patrick and Michael would look out for each other Peggy and I got to the retreat center at least a half hour before the required time. We were thrilled to see a number of couples we had become acquainted with gathered at the site. Some were also there to become participants, but the majority told us they were there to encourage the participants in their efforts to increase their new found relationships.

In the initial session the lead presenting couple informed us that after the social hour we would go to our rooms and once again write a letter to ourselves in which we should address whatever issue we deemed most important to share with our spouse. It might be something joyful or something we had not yet disclosed to our loved one. This time there was no requirement to wait until the morning to do the sharing. We could read our letters to each other whenever we were ready, then spend as long as we wished doing the dialogue of how the disclosures made us feel.

As we entered our room I had the feeling Peggy sensed that whatever I had to share with her would be difficult. As soon as the door was closed she pulled me close and told me how proud she was about what we had accomplished in the past three months.

It didn’t take either of us long to write our letters. Mine was only two short paragraphs, the first disclosing I had been unfaithful to her several times while I separated myself from God, and the other pleading for her forgiveness. When she told me she was also finished I asked her to read her letter to me first. She nodded and agreed to do so.

"My letter was very brief, Bob. This is all I wrote.

As I begin this initial step on the occasion of another chance to rediscover the affection I’ve had for Bob, I am of course excited about that possibility, and yet I feel a sense of apprehension. Bob seems nervous, which is so unlike how he has been the past three and a half months since our original Encounter. And so, I pray to the Lord that whatever the cause of his nervousness is, I be given the strength to help ease any concern he may have.

I thanked Peggy for reading her letter, acknowledged that I was nervous, then read what I had written in order to explain my nervousness. As difficult as it must have been for Peggy to hear what I told her, when I pledged that nothing like that would ever happen again she thanked me for my honesty and stated she did forgive me. For the next hour we discussed how we might start anew to return to seeking the lifestyle we had stated was our plan during the early stages of our marriage.

The remaining sessions of the weekend and our discussions after each one gave us additional support for what we must do, including what the first step should be. This coming Thursday, the twenty fourth was the March Board meeting. Although I was not invited, I would appear and inform the members I was taking the week’s vacation I had earned, and resigning effective month end.

Moe and Patrick and even Michael were once again pleased with how we appeared when we came home from the weekend. The other five phoned from Fort Wayne to ask how the weekend went. Both Peggy and I spoke with each of them and stated it was even better than the first one.

Returning to work was difficult because I had genuine feelings for each of my employees, and yet I couldn’t tell any of them that I would be leaving the bank Thursday evening. I spent the work hours of Monday through Thursday trying to be extra nice to every one of them.

As the employees closed out the day and the Board members began arriving Thursday, like the other staff I said goodnight and went to my vehicle. Unlike the others I simply sat in the limo until I was certain all members were on hand and the meeting had probably been called to order. At that point I used my key and entered the building. The Board Chairman reacted to my presence.

You are not involved in these meetings, Garrett.

Oh, I’m very much aware of that, which is why I chose to join you and inform you while the meeting is in session that I will be on vacation until the close of business on Wednesday, the thirty first, and am resigning as of that date. As is the present practice I will expect my full month’s salary to be deposited to my account that date.

Without saying anything further I placed my keys to the bank’s systems on the table and walked out the door. I had removed all of my personal belongings earlier in the week.

I was in my vehicle and about to leave the parking lot when one of the directors, a local doctor, knocked on my driver’s side front window. I rolled the window down and awaited his comment.

You can’t just up and leave, Garrett! What are we supposed to tell the regulators?

Oh, just tell them the same thing I’m going to tell them. I was no longer permitted to attend the Board meetings of a bank where I was the President, and that I was in opposition to unsecured loans that were being granted by Board members who had little if any training in granting loans.

I rolled up my window and drove away.

The first thing I said to Peggy after greeting her was that I did accomplish what we had planned for me to do. Knowing we would discuss the issue in depth during our alone time Peggy simply nodded her approval. For the first time since coming home from the Sharing weekend I was totally relaxed.

During our alone time I explained to Peggy that when my final pay is deposited next week, with what we already have in the regular portion of our account and what is still in the reserve portion we should have enough funds to get by for a couple of months, even if I don’t get another job in the meantime. I did promise I would be contacting Mister Hunt, and might even talk to my Dad regarding the mortgage he offered. Peggy promised her support for whatever I chose to do. She added that she was really excited about the two of us possibly getting actively involved in the M.E. program as we had discussed in an earlier dialogue.

On Friday I did contact Hunt. He was initially surprised, but when I went into detail about my reasons for leaving he thanked me for bringing the matter to his attention. He also promised to do as he had in the past to let it be known that I was available.

The weekend was quiet. Patrick and Moe both went to a school function Saturday evening, but not together. They traveled in different crowds. Peggy and I stayed home, and since we had dialogued when the two teenagers could watch over Michael, when they were gone we elected to spend time with our youngest, trying to keep him happy. He seemed to enjoy being with us as much as we enjoyed being with him.

On Sunday Peggy and I dialogued after lunch while the kids were together. After that we all watched television until supper. The teenagers went to their rooms to do homework, Peggy and Michael worked on some kind of a project in the living room and I excused myself to work on a resume’ in case Hunt wasn’t able to work his magic lining up a job for me.

With all three of the kids who lived with us in school from early morning until three or later in the afternoon Peggy and I were able to do more than the normal M.E. procedure during the hours they were gone. From Monday until the next Friday we planned how we should approach the Encounter leaders about our interest in wanting to help out in whatever way we could. Our plans kept being changed because we had this one major deterrent that had to be addressed first. I needed to have a job so we could spare the time to do volunteer work. By Friday evening during our alone time I asked Peggy if we could hold off on dialoguing for a couple of days so I could concentrate on making a list of places I might consider attempting to contact regarding work. Peggy thought that was a good idea and said she had an additional suggestion. She said we could call Jamie and see if they would be open to us coming for a visit on Sunday. I told her I’d really like to do that.

When Peggy called Jamie to see if they would be home if we came Sunday afternoon, Jamie told Peggy her family would be sure to be there and she would contact the other kids to see if they could also drop by. Despite the fact that the family was only together for three hours on Sunday the trip was exactly what I needed to restore my resolve to persist in finding a new job.

After returning to Indianapolis and normal dialogue procedures on the three days following our family visit, I made phone calls to local banks each day, offering my assistance wherever they had a need, and suggested if they were interested in my services they could contact the D.F.I. and the F.D.I.C. regarding my credentials. It would have been easier to start looking for employment elsewhere except Peggy kept encouraging me to continue seeking a position in the kind of work in which I’d proven myself to be so proficient. That encouragement came in an even more unique form on Wednesday evening.

Peggy had suggested that we go to a movie for a break, but then suggested I looked very tired and should take a nap instead. I was tired and a little frustrated that despite having at least four bank officials expressing interest in checking with the regulators about my abilities, no one had gotten back to me about coming to talk to them, so I decided to take the nap. Peggy said she and the children would clean up the kitchen, and she would come join me whenever they were finished.

Even though it was only six thirty five I removed my outer clothing and climbed into bed. I wasn’t particularly interested in going to sleep for the night; I simply wanted to shut my efforts to find a new banking job out of my mind.

I have no idea how long I’d been asleep or what made me wake up. Perhaps it was her breathing as she lay within inches of my face. Peggy didn’t touch me or speak to me when I opened my eyes, but her smile and the sparkle reflected in her own eyes told me something very special was about to happen. She turned and reached behind where she was laying, then turned back to me and handed me three sheets of paper with writing on both sides. It was a letter that she must have just finished writing because at the top of page one was that day’s date of April 7, 1976.

Obviously I was being silently directed to read the letter. As I looked more closely that was confirmed. The salutation was to me in a most endearing form. I nodded to Peggy and began reading the letter to myself.

Dearest Bob,

You’re sleeping here by my side, not as peacefully as I wish, I’m afraid, because you’re beginning to stir restlessly. I’m afraid the peace you need so badly isn’t coming, because of this new problem. However, I am so hopeful that if God’s plan for us is for you to stay by my side for many beautiful love-filled years, the strength and courage to get through the next few weeks will be given to you and the peace you long for and deserve will surely follow, as surely as I love you, and I do.

Your sleeping next to me right now is a sure sign of your love for me and it thrills me just to think of it. A week ago if the same conditions existed as existed tonight we would have gone on to the show despite your feeling it might not be too wise, because you would’ve been afraid of disappointing me. It makes me feel fantastic to know that in our new found love we can be completely

honest and open with each other. It shows so much growth within our coupleness. It’s an occasion for me to say Praise God! And mean it.

As I look at you sleeping by my side my heart gets so full I’m sure its going to burst and I can only say Thank God; thank you for giving back to me the only one I could ever love, or who could ever really love me. God gave us a gift of love to share and to cherish and nourish many years ago. We tried to take care of it for Him and to make it grow and mature. Somehow or other and certainly unintentionally we neglected it, didn’t quite know how to take care of it properly, or maybe just got caught up in other things. I’m not really sure what happened. But like a plant that seems to droop and lose its grasp on life, only to perk up and flourish again when it’s once more given the proper light, water and atmosphere, our gift has been restored to life. It lives again like the glorious blossoming trees of Spring that only days ago seemed dead and barren of any life. Then because of God’s love and as part of His plan new life surged into their branches coming from down deep inside their buried roots and they burst forth in greater beauty than ever, and with God’s sunshine and life giving rain they will grow to maturity as sure as the light of day will follow tonight’s darkness.

You asked me not to put you on a pedestal and I won’t. I know you are the same person you were several weeks ago, only now I know who you are. I really never knew you before and it’s so exciting to me; I mean really exciting, Bob. I actually get excited physically just thinking about you. I want to be with you, want you to hold me close to you, let me feel your love enveloping but not

smothering me. That’s the way I hope my love comes to you, not in a stifling way, but pouring into you in a steady even flow. I hope the steadfastness of my love will help you get through the trials you are facing now. I don’t know, wouldn’t even begin to guess how things are going to turn out for us jobwise. I only know whatever happens is what God wants to happen, and it therefore has to be good. Sometimes, as we know, very painful experiences are good. It’s only natural not to want pain. Even Our Savior asked the Father to take away the pain. And I certainly don’t want you to suffer any more pain. But I know since you’ve given yourself so completely to God in return for His having given Jesus and His Spirit to you, you will be able to accept the pain if He chooses to send it. I only ask you to let me share it. Please don’t try to shield me but let me help carry whatever cross He sends you in this matter. Remember, there are three of us in this thing together now, and we’re a pretty darned good combination if you ask me.

I’m going to come to bed now, lover. I can hardly wait. I won’t even wake you. I just want to be next to you and thank God for letting it be that way because that’s where I belong.

I love you, Bob. Your Peggy.

I can’t begin to express the emotions I felt as I set down the letter, but it was evident Peggy knew I was deeply touched by the wonderful gift she had given me. Neither of us said a word. We simply embraced and began to express the depth of our love for each other in the manner God designed such affection should be expressed.

Chapter Two

The wonderful letter and Peggy’s expression of affection for me did indeed help me to rekindle my efforts to find another position in banking. The efforts were short lived because on Thursday morning as I returned home from taking the kids to school Peggy informed me I had received a phone call from a man who said he was the President of a bank in Noblesville, Indiana. He asked Peggy to have me call him as soon as I got home.

Lloyd was one of the four bank executives that had expressed an interest in me and had stated he would check with the regulators regarding my credentials. I called the number he left with Peggy and he himself answered. I gave him my name and stated I was returning his call.

Hey, Garrett, thanks for getting back to me. Are you still available?

That depends on why you’re asking.

Well, I have a job for you. It may only take a couple of days, but it might also lead to another project, and I’d like to know if you can come tomorrow, or if you are obligated to be elsewhere.

I have nothing tomorrow and if necessary could also work Saturday and Sunday. After that I’m not certain if I’m going to be available.

It certainly wasn’t a lie. I just wanted Lloyd to think I might have someone else wanting my service this coming week.

I checked with both regulators. They were both very definite in their opinion of your capabilities. The D.F.I. guy I talked to said that regardless of the problem he felt you could solve it for me.

That’s nice to hear. What’s your problem?

I’m not comfortable discussing it over the phone. Can you come up and talk to me? And yes I’m aware you charge your thirty dollars an hour portal to portal.

I told him I would, got his bank’s location at Tenth Street and Main and promised to be there in the next hour or so. Little did I realize at that moment that this would be the beginning of a long and enjoyable employment relationship.

When I was finished talking to Lloyd I went to Peggy to let her know what was happening.

"Well, honey your prayers may be about to be answered. As soon as I clean up a little I’m going to drive up to Noblesville and interview for a job. It may only be for a couple of days, but the man said it could lead to more work. If it pans out I’ll stay there and start right in, but I’ll make certain I leave in plenty of time to pick up the kids. I’ll call you