God and Girl–Chapter 5

God and Girl is my first novel, written in 2015. I'll post it, a chapter a day, over the next few weeks.

“Honey, you need to get up. We need to leave in 10 minutes.” Dad said knocking on my bedroom door.

At first, I was clueless what he was talking about but then I remembered I had promised Dad nearly a week ago that I would go with him to WQSB and sit in with him at a talk show.

I shot out of bed, showered, and grabbed a honey bun as we walked out the door.

Dad and I arrived at the radio station right on time, a few minutes before his scheduled air time. Scott Larkins, the talk show host, met us in the reception area.

“Hi Scott, this is my daughter Ruthie. She is an important part of the Church’s exercises and I like her to be in the trenches with me as much as possible. She will be in the ninth grade at Boaz High this year.” Dad said.

“Hello Ruthie, and nice to meet you. I’m glad you came. Are you open to fielding a question or two this morning?” Scott said.

“Well, uh, I hadn’t really thought about that. I just came along to be with Dad and to learn more about the issues as seen by your callers. But, I guess I could, if you and Dad think I can handle it.”

“Great, let’s go on in and get set-up.” Scott said as he led us into the studio where he handed headsets to Dad and me. I felt my stomach turn over when I set down across from Scott and besides Dad with a microphone in front of me.  I wished I were anywhere but here.

Scott then told us how his Call-In Talk-Show works: “Laura, my assistant, is behind the scenes, so to speak, fielding the calls before they reach us. This is to make sure, or hopefully make sure, that we don’t get surprised with some lunatic and or vulgar call. When we are ready for our next call, and assuming she has one waiting for us in queue, Laura will tell me—you won’t hear this over your headsets. She will say something like, ‘we have Jim with a question on line one.’ I will press the line one button on the phone and we will be live with Jim. Please keep in mind that we are live and the listening in world can hear everything anytime that sign up above me is lit up.”

I looked up and saw the large “On the air NOW” sign on the wall up behind Scott. I looked over at Dad and he mouthed “no sweat, piece of cake.” Easy for him to say. Has he totally forgotten that I am a child? I also found it interesting that Scott hadn’t given us any advice whatsoever about what to say and what not to say. I guess that shows the reality of live radio.

“Okay, here we go.” Scott said as the bright green “On the air NOW” sign came on filling the studio with what I suspected were a zillion photons. I imaged this is how a person feels in a hospital operating room when she is lying there waiting to be cut open.

“Good morning to you and thanks for tuning in to Straight Talk here at WQSB Radio. Today we have Joseph Brown and his daughter Ruthie. Joseph is the lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Boaz. Ruthie is a ninth grader at Boaz High School. We are talking today about homosexuality and the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that gays and lesbians now have a constitutional right to marry. And, of course we are interested in how this affects churches and pastors. Now, let’s take our first call.

Good morning Thomas. Welcome to Straight Talk.  What’s your question?”

“Pastor Brown, will you perform gay and lesbian marriages?” Thomas asked.

“Hello Thomas and thanks for your question. No, I will not. First, let me say that my position is not because I hate homosexuals. I do not.  I, in fact, love them because they too are God’s children, made in His image. But, I do not condone homosexual behavior. The Bible says it is a sin. The Bible is God’s Holy Word, and I believe the Bible.” “Our next question is from Tina.” Scott said.

“Pastor, I have heard and read that homosexuality is not just something someone chooses to be.  I’ve heard it said that it is caused by a gene.  How do you reconcile your belief with this?” Tina asked.

“Hi Tina and thanks for your question. The Bible says homosexuality is a sin. This tells me this type conduct is something someone chooses to engage in and they have a choice. I am not a scientist, but I question whether your gene question has been proven. What you have heard is just someone’s opinion. I believe the Bible is clear, as we see in the book of Romans, people can become blinded to the truth and do all sorts of things that are not in keeping with God’s will. Thanks again for calling Tina.”

“Okay folks. We are going to take a commercial break and be back in two minutes.” Scott said.

The “On the air NOW” sign is no longer lit.

“Your answers are clear and concise Joseph.”

“Here is everybody a bottle of water.” Laura said as she came in and handed Scott a note.

“The next caller, has a question for Ruthie. You up to it?” Scott asked me.

“I guess so. Hopefully, it won’t kill me. Do you know the question?” I asked.

“Yes, your Dad says he won’t marry gays or lesbians. Do you think your Dad would allow you to have gay and lesbian friends and secondly, do you think your Dad would marry one of your siblings if they were a homosexual?” Scott said.

“I guess I can try to answer that.”

“Welcome back everyone to Straight Talk. We have a question for Ruthie from Daron.  Hello Daron, what is your question?” Scott said.

“Do you think your Dad would marry you and your female partner if you asked him to? Obviously, this is just an assumption. I am not saying you are gay.” Daron asked.

“Hello Daron. I truly don’t know what my Dad would do in that situation. I love him and know he loves me and his family. But, I also know he is a man of principal and is fully committed to God and His Word. I suspect my Dad would try to counsel me and show me that I was acting more from emotion than anything. Whatever he decided, I believe we would still be father and daughter. I can’t see that changing.”  I said.

Straight Talk continued for another half hour or so with the most common questions being whether the Supreme Court’s ruling would lead to a deterioration in religious freedom, and the government forcing pastors and churches to marry homosexuals. And, it came up again, the question of whether a person is born either heterosexual or homosexual.

After the program, we chatted with Scott a few minutes and drove home. The only thing Dad said about the program was that he was very proud of me for coming with him and answering my question the way I did. He told me he loved me very much.

Dad dropped me off at home and didn’t get out. He was needed at Church and said that he would see me tonight at supper.

It was almost 9:30. Sarah’s Mom, along with Sarah, Lisa, and Ryan, would be here soon. We were going to Guntersville Lake for the day. Since middle school this had been an annual event—kind of a celebration. Our last real fun day before school starts back. Today, it felt more like a funeral. I kept replaying the question I was asked at the radio station. What played most in my mind was my response to the caller’s question.

I heard a car horn honking just as I closed the front door behind me. I looked out and saw the gang was right on time. I went to my bedroom and grabbed my bag and headed out.

“Where’s Ryan?” I asked, getting in the back seat with Lisa.

“He didn’t complete his chores yesterday, so his dad wouldn’t let him come.”  Sarah said. 

As we drove to Guntersville, Sarah’s mom, Mary, asked me if I had completed my Biology homework. I told her no, but that I had plans to do that tonight. She also asked what my parents thought about the evolution book. I told her I haven’t even told them.

“That surprises me Ruthie. You better show that book to your dad and mom. I suspect they will have quite a bit to say about it.”

“I will. What do you think my parents will say?”

“I suspect your dad will be rather upset. You know Christians don’t believe in evolution. It is totally contrary to the Bible. And, you know how your dad feels about the Bible.”  Mary said.

“I guess you are right. I don’t really know anything about evolution. All I have heard is that it says we came from monkeys.” “Did you bring your pink bikini?” Lisa asked.

“Yes, of course. You know my parents would let me have a two-piece bathing suit. Especially with these boobs.”

“A one-piece, bottoms only, would serve you best most righteous Ruthie.” Sarah added.

“Okay girls, let’s grab a bucket of chicken and fixins and y’all will be set for food.”  Mary said.

After she bought lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken, she drove to the City Park along the river.  Mary let us out and said she would be back by four.

Lisa, Sarah, and I spent the day wading in the river, sunbathing on the man-made beach, and eating a ton of chicken and biscuits.

“Apparently the river and the Guntersville City Park doesn’t attract any good-looking guys. All I have seen all day were toothless grounds keepers.” Lisa said.

“Well, guys are over-rated anyway.” Sarah added. But, that hot babe over there in your pink bikini would light up anyone’s world.” Sarah said looking at me.  

“She does have an awesome body but the type of special friend we are talking about needs much more than that. I say boys, or as Sarah thinks, girls, have something to offer that guys don’t. And that is heart. You know girls have real emotions and can share their feelings. I like that.” I added.

“Well, it’s obvious for sure now. Ruthie is gay.” Lisa said.

“Don’t say that. I am not gay.” I blurted out in defense. If I didn’t deny this before my best friends who would?  In the pit of my stomach I felt like I had just lied on the witness stand, in the courtroom where Jesus was on trial, and the prosecutor was questioning me to find out if there was enough evidence to convict me of being a Christian. I felt like I was going to throw up.

The rest of the afternoon moved like a snail.

“Sarah, I’m here.” I heard Mary yelling through the pine trees. We gathered up our things and walked to her car. The ride home was quiet. I couldn’t say anything. But, I did think. I thought a lot about that girl in her pink bikini.