No Longer Alone

By Norman O'Banyon

Amid the distraction of business success and incredible wealth, a more mature Max and Sarah remain simply wonderful and wonderfully simple as they construct a future of meaning and satisfaction. The restoration of the old mansion is symbolic of their preparation for fullness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532023514

Norman O'Banyon

This story is the first in the Winter Trilogy, which is an account of three siblings, Michael the Marine, Christina the troublemaker, and Ward the educator. From the disadvantage of a dysfunctional family to adult fulfillment they are a model of redemption, faith and affection. Meet Ward Winter, the youngest, who endures the foster-home maze until he discovers love and courage. He finds a creative use of a small piece of candy.

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Copyright © 2017 Norman O’Banyon.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-2350-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-2351-4 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 05/10/2017

Contents

No Longer Alone

Max

Dottie’s Foundation

Christmas Eve plans with friends

George Fox College

Christmas Eve Dinner

New Rings

Greenbrier Terrace

The Old House

Sean

George Fox Revisited.

Tri-X

Hospital Visit

Reno Deal

Second Hospital Visit

Home and Garden

Max offers to Quit

Clarifying worship

Jeff

An expanded job title

Dr. Rita Rogers

Advertising Campaign

A Matter of trust

An unmistakable lesson

Best Man

Eddie and Hank

Stephaney Powers

Mountaintop worship

Bret and Liz Brunch

Sale!

Construction Begins

Move in

Counselor Grace

Spencer Yost

Open House

Suspended!

Rehearsal Dinner

The Wedding

New Beginning

About the Author

No Longer Alone

S arah climbed the stairs of the Aloha Congregational Church. The office of Pastor Eric French was her destination, but she recalled how heavy the big door was to open. She had associated that door with the many other significant doors of her past. She clearly remembered the door to Miss Linn’s shelter home, and Miss Grace’s condo that had been a refuge for her as well. She had a painful memory of the elegant front door of the Bowen’s, which she had last seen in broken fragments. She could happily recall the back door of the orchard house, and dad Dalton’s warm welcome. She could remember the condo door where Max lived and worked, and her office door that was a large satisfaction. She was confident that this big door would become a happy memory as well. She tugged it open and entered for her appointment.

After a very brief wait, Pastor Eric opened his door to invite her into his office. That will probably become another good memory door, she thought. After a greeting hug and a bit of catch-up small talk, Sarah filled in her friend with the details of her second meeting with Max’s parents. This time they had all met at the Chart House, one of her favorite restaurants. Mrs. Wall, Sue, had been very gracious, with overflowing compliments for her accomplishments. Mr. Wall, Stan, had given her praise for finishing her MBA before most people her age were just getting started. Sarah said it was difficult to get to know the family when they kept asking her questions about her business or the orchard. But it is curious to understand that I am finally going to be part of a large normal family, she said with a grin. It’s going to be more than just Trixy and me now.

There was a bit more to hear about Max’s family, but finally Pastor Eric brought her to the subject of their meeting. He asked, Well how did you guys like the ‘Love and Respect’ book? This is our solo appointment, so if there are any issues you would like us to explore apart from Max, now is the time to do that.

With a cordial smile she replied, I know you well enough to be honest. There are no issues with Mr. Max, or his family. Her smile was radiant. The book was interesting, but we enjoyed the communication test a whole bunch more. That had some surprises. Max found out that under normal conditions he is a director that changes into a harmonizer under stress. I wasn’t surprised to be an analyzer under ordinary conditions, but the change into a director under stress was a fresh thought for me too. She chuckled softly. I’m not big enough to be a director.

Yeah, I remember you made a trip to Costa Rica to rescue your foster sister. That sounds like someone who is big enough to me. But tell me what was just interesting about the book?

The first book you recommended for us to read, Gottman’s Why Marriages Succeed or Fail, seemed to have solid research behind it, as did the communication test from OSU. But we found too much generalization in this last one. Frankly Max is more rewarded by affection than recognition or respect, and my needs seem to be strongly oriented toward respect and accomplishment. To be sure we both need affection, but there was too much over-simplification for us.

Before he could respond, she continued, I remember that during our first conference with you, we were told that a lasting marriage has four basic supports: trust, respect, loyalty and openness. Together those make the experience we call love. As I recall, you used the illustration of a chair with four solid legs, saying that those are common to everyone. They shared a satisfied smile.

Are you suggesting that all folks communicate alike, or would you agree that men and women have different styles? Eric asked.

Of course I agree that they are different Sarah answered with a grin. My only suspicion is that not only men and women, but every individual has a unique style. Some girls are passive and others are assertive, while some guys may be bold and others reserved as can be. She wanted to make sure she herself was not being assertive. I just think to be a good communicator, a person must be sensitive to the style most receptive by the listener. I think it is sort of like we all speak the same language, but we have differing dialects of it.

I like that thought a lot, Pastor Eric said after a moment. I am reminded that to speak to the congregation effectively, I must not use the seminary dialect that only proves that I went to school. Then staying in that quiet tone, he asked, What dialect have you found that works best with Max?

He has taught me so much, she said brightly. You know how helpful he was in helping me work through the assault. Eric nodded gently. He also helped me frame my understanding of the faith. He was so patient. She was quiet for a thoughtful moment. I suppose he has taught me that I must not wait for him to talk about matters of the heart. I think I was sort of old fashioned, thinking that he would do all the romance work. Now I see that the dialect of affection must be shared by both of us. I almost lost him, or at least I dreaded that that had happened, when he went back to Virginia. He wants me to be as motivated as he is in our romance, and as involved.

Pastor Eric asked the standard counselor response, And how do you feel about that?

She sort of giggled, Really great! He has encouraged me to have a voice in our future. He welcomes the kisses or hugs that I initiate. While I haven’t tried it, I think he will also welcome any of my questions or fears about intimacy. I think there might be some old ghosts hanging around that subject, but I know he will help me through it. Her smile was endearing as ever to Pastor Eric.

You challenged us to write our own wedding vows, she continued. In doing that, we have decided to use the words ‘partner, lover, friend’ instead of ‘spouse,’ except where the state says we must use ‘husband and wife.’ Sometime the business-like dialect of a partner exchanges information most clearly. Sometime the playfulness or tenderness of a lover can communicate as nothing else can. Above all, we have agreed to remember always that we are talking with our best friend. That makes such a wonderful difference.

Sarah that is such a positive orientation! As long as you continue with that understanding you will be near the deep sense of the meaning of marriage. You two are not just getting along; you are supporting each other’s hopes and aspirations. I guess that’s what I mean when I say your purpose is to honor and respect each other.

He continued, Very often marriages forget to keep that positive orientation. Because of complacency or neglect, or just plain laziness, their emotional compass takes on a negative orientation. I remember a day that dad took me salmon fishing at Newport. We were trolling east in Yaquina Bay for two or three miles when I asked him if I could play some tunes. It was getting a bit foggy and I was a bored teenager. He agreed and I set my disc player on the dashboard, neither of us thought about the magnetic impact the speakers were having on the compass. Finally when the fog got pretty thick, dad suggested that we turn around and make our way home. Suddenly the depth sounder warned him that we were in shallow water. Instead of heading back to town, I had unintentionally directed us into danger. It only took him a second to realize the mistake and we removed the player. It took some navigation skills on his part to get us back safely and, of course, I apologized all the way back to Portland. But it was a great teaching moment. If you are going somewhere, regardless of the speed of your progress, you must continually make sure it is in the correct direction.

He made his point. People are dynamic, never static in one place. If that negative orientation is allowed to run the marriage into danger, there is a predictable degeneration of the relationship. It is never about whether the toilet lid is up or down, or whose turn it is to do the dishes. There are deeper, hidden issues that fuel these superficial conflicts and make them far more urgent, like our confused compass was as it guided us into disaster. If a conversation begins with criticism or sarcasm, which is a form of contempt, there is the first sign of a confused or negative compass. Because we are dynamic people, that hurtful beginning almost always leads to defensiveness, which is the prelude to isolation. Someone separates themselves from the discussion. By the way, studies show that men are the evaders 85% of the time. They are the one to disengage from the conversation. Overwhelmed by the negativity of the other, a fracture occurs in the relationship that if not repaired, will only grow worse in time until there is no longer a viable relationship.

Wait! Sarah broke in, Are you saying that a criticism over the toilet lid can break up a marriage?

Most marital squabbles begin with just such silly insignificant issues and could be solved by a simple word of grace, Eric said softly. I recall hearing that the average house fire could be extinguished with a cup of water, if discovered in the first minute of combustion. Sadly all too many marital houses burn down for lack of that one cup of grace. Once they begin to follow the negative orientation the distance between them only grows wider, larger, less repairable. It may take months or years, but a sad conclusion is nearly always inevitable if in the beginning their compass is pointing in the negative direction.

Then that cup of grace, Sarah said softly, is pretty darned important. Now I wish Max was here to share this conversation.

He will be covering the same stuff in his session on Thursday. But you are making my objective really easy. It may seem obvious to you, even to the point of being ridiculous: people, who are happily married, like each other. They are best friends and want to even improve on that. But fondness and admiration can be fragile unless you remain aware of how crucial they are to the friendship that is at the core of any great marriage. By simply reminding yourself of your mate’s positive qualities – even as you grapple with each other’s flaws – you can prevent the deterioration of your happy marriage. The simple truth is that fondness and admiration are antidotes for contempt. If you maintain a sense of respect for your mate, you are less likely to act disgusted when you disagree with him, which avoids the fracture in your relationship.

So you are telling me that a great marriage still has room for a squabble, even a slightly noisy one? Sarah’s smile was playful.

Well of course, Eric answered with equal brightness. But when you recall that the person with whom you are at odds, is also the one who shares your secrets, your mind, body, and soul, those little speed-bump problems are easily worked out. That being said, it is only logical that anything that improves your friendship or relationship, improves your ability to understand his dialect, and he yours. Have we said enough about that? When Sarah nodded her head, Eric concluded, You must know how delighted Grace and I are with your phenomenal growth. We feel like you are part of the family.

They chatted about her business and plans for the cherry season. He told her a bit more about his new pastoral opportunity, then conveyed a greeting from Grace, her former counselor. They finished the session chatting about the details already decided about their wedding in the barn. After a prayer, it was time to schedule their next appointment and get back to the office while there was still a bit of the afternoon to finish a project.

When she finally turned out the lights, snug in her bed, she was still pondering some of the questions raised by her reading assignment. She understood that kissing Max so boldly had lit a warmth within her, but was that what the author meant by arousal? She could imagine that having her back or feet rubbed would be soothing, but she had never experienced that and wondered if it would be part of it too. The notion of having a favorite time of day for lovemaking made her smile. She had to admit that this was foreign territory for her, but fascinating. It was a warm fuzzy way to go to sleep.

Max

S ince the first of November, when Max had finally been shown the depth of deception crafted by Crenshaw, life had taken on a demanding pace. Through Liz Watts, his FBI contact, he was given accounts of interest to the agency. Many of them were fraud or identity thefts situations; some were suspected criminal activities of drugs, or either prostitution or pornography, and some were matters of national security. Max never lost sight that he was only a contract account, and there was an army of agents with responsibility to care for the real issues, but he was becoming an awesome hacker. Now equipped with a brand new powerful computer, which he still called Michael, he felt that he was serving a righteous purpose. The new hardware was amazing. The military grade programs allowed him access into back doors of security passwords and codes. For his safety, Michael was routed through the Department of Justice server, which left a clear and complete trail of his activities for accountability, but also made him invisible behind all their firewalls to anyone who might try to trace his activity. Also for his safety, his capture payments from the FBI were direct deposited into Cyber Solution’s account, not as income but as service rewards. Sarah had impressed upon him the difference between federal rewards, and personal income, for which he paid the necessary taxes.

His Vampire program was still his number one tool because it could go into another computer, make modifications and erase all trace of the activity, even the hard drive history. For the fraud cases, however, he had developed a second override macro that not only deleted the information on the computer, it devoured all operational systems code, making the equipment completely useless. He called it Cannibal because it was so lethal. He had traced several fraud complaints to three coffee shops in Liberia. With only a keystroke, their servers were disabled. They were out of the scam business until they replaced the expensive equipment. Then he would just do it again, something like pulling weeds.

He had spent the entire morning comparing the VIN numbers from cars destroyed in the area wrecking yards with those reported stolen, and those numbers recorded by the port authorities on the cars being exported for foreign sales. Liz was right; there were pages of matches. They were stolen cars, wearing the VIN number of metal scrap, and they were on their way to Asian and European sales far from detection. Finally he cleared out the bank accounts of eleven car exporters who were involved, leaving the tag, FBI seized evidence pending trial. If Liz was right about this too, there would never be legal representation to answer the subpoenas to reclaim the funds, and the Justice Department would process the evidence as abandoned. His compensation would be a small percentage of that, which still meant another very fat pay day.

That’s how it had worked for the condo and the old house downtown. Just as Liz predicted, they had been seized as evidence, and then released to him by General Services as abandoned. Since he possessed the deeds, he was able to pay the back taxes, and then take care of transferring title to his name. Even the title of the BMW had been transferred. Not a day went by, not even an hour, without Max giving God thanks for the wondrous way that had all turned out, when it could have been so terrible. Most of all he gave thanks for Sarah’s affection, and her determination to share her future with him.

He looked at his watch knowing that he still had a couple hours to work on Cyber Solutions, whose only current project was the perfection of Tri X. He would then drive out to Aloha to have his session with Eric.

The pizza was gone and the ice tea was on its last round. Max and Sarah were reviewing this last session with Eric. Sarah said, I think it’s amazing that we each answered twelve of the other’s list properly. Doesn’t that mean by Eric’s scale that we have a thriving friendship?

What’s even greater than that is the fact that we both wanted to answer all of the questions, and agreed on over half of the whole batch, Max said shaking his head in wonder.

Let me see how you answered 57, she asked. What personal improvements would you like to make? You look pretty perfect to me right now. Once again she giggled.

"I think it would be really fun if we could take a