The Love Letter (Part 2 of 2)

Click here if you haven't read Part 1

Pastor David’s face lit up when Bobby and Alexis entered the Crib. David was a newly married man in his mid-thirties. He had well-gelled hair and oversized black glasses. He stopped playing table soccer with some kids.

“Lexi,” David said, walking over to give her a warm hug as he usually did. He liked to call Alexis Lexi but Bobby was still called Bobby. He gave Bobby a fist bump. “We’ve got talking to do. But not before you recite last week’s memory verse.”

Bobby scratched his head. “I forgot.”

David frowned and pointed at Alexis. “Hit it.”

She smiled and rattled off the verse at once. “1 Samuel 16:7. But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

“Free orange juice for you!” David cheered.

While Bobby felt ashamed of himself. At the same time, he was proud of Alexis. She was always more serious about this God stuff.

Alexis opened the fridge and took out a can of orange juice to quench her thirst. She let out a satisfying, “Ah”.

Bobby took a can for himself also. He was supposed to pay $1 for the drink they took but Alexis pulled out a coin to pay for him.

“Thanks but I didn’t get the verse right,” Bobby said.

“That’s called grace. Getting what you don’t deserve.” Alexis smiled.

David grabbed Bobby’s shoulder. “May I borrow him for a while?”

“Sure, I’ll go give the kids some tuition,” Alexis said.

David led Bobby to his office which looked as if a hurricane just swept through it. “Please sit.”

There were a stack of books and empty pizza boxes on the chair. Bobby pointed to it and David said,” Just put it somewhere else. I’ll handle it later.”

Bobby was not a neat freak by any standards but David’s office made him cringe. He placed the stuff aside and sat down in the grimy chair.

David sat on the edge of the table and took his ukulele to pluck a worship tune. “A love letter huh? Didn’t think of you as the romantic sort. I also didn’t know you had an interest in Alexis though. Are you serious about her?”

Bobby paused too long and made it seem as if he didn’t mean it.

“You know Lexi has had a crush on you for the longest time?” David continued as he plucked a tune.

“Really? She is always scolding me.”

“That's because she likes you dummy and expects more from you.” He laughed.

Bobby found it hard to laugh along. This was a revelation. Alexis would be truly devastated if she knew the truth.

“What’s on your mind? You don’t seem at peace with your decision.” David always read him like an open book.

Bobby looked at the door to make sure it was closed and locked. He saw Alexis teaching some kid through the glass panel and he knew he owed it to her to tell the truth.

“I have a confession,” Bobby said. “Please keep it a secret?”

David nodded.

“I gave the letter to Alexis by accident. It was meant for another girl I like. But I’m stuck now because I don’t want to hurt Alexis’ feelings.”

Bobby slumped in the chair and wished the ground would swallow him up.

David still seemed composed.

“So you don’t like Alexis?”

“It’s not that, I like her as a friend. Just not like a girlfriend.”

“Why not?” David asked. “What’s your criteria then? Looks? Intelligence?”

Bobby thought about it. Kate had the looks and that’s about it. She wasn’t even a Christian or a nice person.

“The looks I guess,” Bobby said, with a tinge of embarrassment knowing he was at fault.

“Remember the memory verse?” David said with a sigh. “Samuel looked for the appearance, not the heart. But God looked at the heart and chose David as king. The inside is more important than the outside.”

Bobby clutched the arm rests of the chair as if the Holy Spirit was probing his heart. David was right. But how could he go on forcing himself to like Alexis if he wasn’t that attracted to her?

“Should I tell Alexis the truth?” Bobby asked. “I think she’ll be really angry and sad.”

David said, “Proverbs 24:26 says an honest answer is like the kiss of friendship. Though I don’t want you to go kiss her literally. Every relationship must be built on trust. “

Like a kiss? Bobby’s mind drifted again to Alexis’ kiss earlier. She wasn’t super pretty but she was still pretty in her own way. “What’s wrong with me!” Bobby screamed in his mind. He wrestled with the decision to tell her or not.

I’ll leave it to you,” David said, “I'll be praying for you. But don’t take too long”

Bobby nodded and left the office. He told Alexis, “I need to go home as I’m not feeling well. Thanks for the drink” Indeed, he really felt terrible now. He hated himself for not being honest with others just to appear like a nice guy.

Alexis smiled and said, “See you in church!”

---

Bobby couldn’t sleep well that night. The very thought of telling Alexis the truth made him break out in cold sweat. He checked the time - 10.45 pm. He snuck out of bed and knelt beside it to pray for wisdom.

He hardly prayed much before but he felt the intense desire to get right with God.
“Lord, help me to do the right thing,” he prayed. His spirit still was unsettled. Bobby left his room and went to his grandpa’s room.

Grandpa Jack was 85 years old and wheelchair bound but his mind was sharp as a knife. Bobby always could get wise advice from him.

Jack’s door was ajar and a yellowish light was glowing inside. Bobby kicked gently.

“Come in,” Jack answered in a low raspy tone.

Bobby entered and saw Jack reading a thick book on his desk. “What are you reading?”

“I’m doing my night prayers from the Book of Common Prayer before I go to sleep. What’s up boy?”

Bobby nervously related to Jack the whole story from the start to the present dilemma with Alexis. A great burden had lifted from him now.

“My love letters to grandma? That’s fascinating,” Jack said, stroking his chin. He paused then added, “I gave that letter to many girls in church. Grandma was the only one who responded to it.”

“So grandma wasn’t the only one you wrote to?”
“Of course after some time, I wrote only to her. But listen Bobby, she wasn’t the prettiest, wasn’t the richest but she was the best godly girl for me.”

Bobby listened attentively, mining the pearls of wisdom. “The inside is more important than the outside?”

Grandpa nodded in agreement.

“So what should I do?”
“I think you know what to do, you just need God's strength!” Jack laughed and rummaged through his drawer and pulled out another of his love letters.

“When you've decided that she’s the best one for you, give her this letter. Copy it word for word as I want it back. If it doesn’t warm her heart, she’s not for you.”

Bobby took the weathered letter as if it was an ancient treasure. He read aloud and saw it was based on Proverbs 31 - the characteristics of a noble wife. It was a touching letter that brought tears to his grandpa’s eyes. God was truly the matchmaker.

“Thank you grandpa.”

Jack prayed for him and then turned back to his desk.

---

Church was awkward as Alexis sat next to Bobby in the youth service. She hardly sat with him. He grimaced inwardly, knowing that after the service, he was going to tell her the truth.

David was giving the sermon and his topic was somehow directed at him.

“Don’t look at the outside, look at the heart,” David preached with conviction as he paced on the platform. “Don’t judge a book by the cover. Neither a person. Ask God for wisdom in your relationships.”

David looked straight at Bobby a few times. Alexis was writing notes in her moleskin furiously and was quite irritated that Bobby just sat there with his arms folded.

The message was hitting home and Bobby said to Alexis, “I need to talk to you after the service.”

Alexis peered at his face. “Why so serious?” She was wearing a fitting polkadot red dress, quite different from her usual T-shirt and torn jeans. Bobby was rather pleased at how she looked.

It reminded him of Proverbs 31. After the service, a few church youths congratulated them and took selfies with them. Alexis was bursting with joy but Bobby was quite reserved. Their relationship might be over by today.

They had a simple sandwich lunch at a nearby deli. Bobby munched on the food as Alexis told him all the museums and activities she planned for their future dates. Bobby ate in silence, adding small grunts of acknowledgements.

“So you wanted to tell me something?” Alexis said, wiping her mouth with paper towel.

Bobby cleared his throat and said, “I need to tell you that...the letter wasn’t for you.”

“I know that, it’s your grandpa’s writing to your grandma.”

“No, it was meant for Kate but I put it into your book wrongly.”

The tension was thick in the air and the space between them grew.

Alexis’ pretty smile faded and curled downwards. “Kate told me that but I refused to believe her.” Her eyes lowered to the empty plate. “Thanks for being honest. We’re still friends right?”

“Of course,” Bobby replied, thinking that Alexis accepted it amazingly well. “You’ll always be my friend.”

She forced a smile. “So are you going to give the letter to Kate now? I can return it to you.”

Bobby shook his head. “I’ve changed my mind about Kate. She’s not even a Christian. Look, please keep the letter as a mark of our friendship all these years.”

Alexis nodded, her face shades paler than before. “Ok, see you at school. Thanks for lunch. I got some work to do at home.”

He wanted to give her a hug but she didn’t look like she was in the mood. She rushed off before Bobby could say goodbye.

---

The next few weeks before Prom, Alexis seemed to be avoiding him at school and church. It was really strange.

Weren’t they still friends? Bobby noticed Alexis pouring herself into giving tuition at the Crib and to the music band at church. She became busy and unresponsive to his text messages and he felt so lonely again.

Bobby found Kate in school one day to discuss the Prom details. After that, he asked her, “Is Alexis doing all right? I’m quite concerned about her.”

“Concerned?” Kate said incredulously. “After what you did to her? Why did you break her heart by telling her the truth?”

Bobby was dumbstruck. “Because it was the right thing to do. Relationships must be built on trust.”

Kate sneered. “Whatever. The day you told her, she was crying and talking with me till 3am.”

“I didn’t know that.” He thought Alexis was the tough kind who seemed to be unfazed by this type of stuff. It was rather useless talking to Kate as she didn’t understand his values.

It took about 2 weeks for Alexis to start talking to him again though it was rather superficial things - how’s your studies? Are you going for Bible study?

The more he observed Alexis, the more David’s and Jack’s advice rang so true. The inside is what matters. God looks at the heart and so should he.

Alexis had a good heart and was so beautiful both inside and outside. He knew what he had to do. He retrieved Jack’s letter on Proverbs 31 and copied it.

---

It was finally Prom night and Bobby met his classmates all decked out in their finest clothes. Kate was stunning in a long black dress that revealed too much of her thighs and bosom. A lot of guys were chatting with her.

Alexis was in a red dress with frills. She looked prettier to him now than before and he took the chance to compliment her. Her face was glowing. The awkwardness had more or less melted away.

“Looking sharp in your suit too!” Alexis said to Bobby. “I almost couldn’t recognise you.”

“You look splendid too in your dress,” Bobby replied. “I hope you win best dressed tonight.”

“Nah, Kate would get that. Prizes aren’t the most important. It’s the people you’re with.”

“Well it depends on the prize,” Bobby said, his hand touching his coat pocket where his letter was. “I got one for you too.”

“Really?” Alexis said. They queued up for the dinner spread as loud music blared in the hall. Bobby helped Alexis scoop the food for her. He felt so nervous now just talking to her. Somehow his feelings for her had changed since the time he told her the truth a few months ago.

The emcee Lee announced from the stage, “Hope you all are enjoying the Prom! And the Prize for best dress is...Kate!” Everyone started cheering wildly.

The girls gave Kate a hug and she swaggered up the stage to receive a glass trophy. Fred was making cat calls and Alexis glared at him sternly. He stopped in fear.

“Last but not least, the Prize for the Most Consistent or rather most boring,” Lee announced with a smile. “...goes to Bobby!” Alexis cheered and slapped Bobby on the back.

Bobby walked up the stage to receive the trophy and said to Lee, “Can I say a few words?”

“Sure.” Lee passed him the mic. “Don’t take too long or I’ll have to ask Fred to tackle you.”

Bobby took the mic and looked at his classmates, spotting where Alexis was. “I think the Prize of Most Consistent should go to my friend Alexis. She has consistently been my friend even though I hurt her feelings.”

The hall became quiet. Alexis looked rather uncomfortable, unsure what he was going to say next.

“Though I gave a love letter wrongly to Alexis a few months ago, my feelings for her have changed since then. Now, I want to give another love letter to her intentionally.” He pulled out the letter from his pocket and waved it in the air.

Alexis’ mouth was agape in shock. Her face was blushing and she buried her face with her hands.

“Let me read this letter for Alexis.” Bobby began reading the Proverbs 31 letter and dedicated it as a prayer for her. Kate’s face looked perplexed as he read the Bible verses.

“...and so the inside is much more important than the outside." Bobby said, his voice trembling with emotion. "Will you give me another chance Alexis?” 

With tears welling up Alexis' eyes. she ran up the stage and threw Bobby the biggest hug ever.

END