The Voice - Part 21

Peter found himself whispering back to the Lord. “Mom calls You Lord. I guess I can, too. Lord, if all these things are true, how can I not choose You. How could I not want to follow You. I take You at Your word, but I admit, I’m scared.” Just as he spoke the word a gentle peace fell over him. God called him to sleep. He would finish the conversation in the morning.

Unknown to Peter, Margie was crying herself to sleep. Lance had long ago left, but now Margie’s pain was two-fold. She would be losing her son in a few days forever, and he once again had seemingly rejected Christ. Margie didn’t know that as she lay in tears interceding for her son that God had already answered. Her night remained in turmoil.

Friday morning arrived on a sun-bathed scene over the city. Margie’s only hope was that God would hold back the rain for yet another day. She turned on the Weather Channel. To her extreme disappointment rain was still in the forecast for the evening. The hours passed slowly. Then the phone rang. Lance was checking in.

Margie cut him off. “Lance, forget all the formalities. Can you clear your schedule long enough to join us for supper? I know what’s coming. I just want to enjoy one last meal with two of my favorite men. We’ll make it early. I know you have to be at Medford Alley later – please.”

“Yeah, sure! I’ll be there, Marge. Say 4:30?”

The next few hours continued to crawl along. In one way Margie was glad. It seemed as if she had more time to spend with Peter. She only wished she could enjoy their last moments together. She was beginning to be overwhelmed hiding her feelings. She began to feel as if she was betraying Peter, but she was also purposed to keep her promise to Lance. About 3:30 Peter came downstairs.

“Mom, you cooking supper already?”

“I am! Lance is coming over and we’re going to eat early so he can get back to work.”

“Mom, you know it’s not like me to openly share my feelings, but I wanted you to know I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior the other night.”

“You what!”

“I did, Mom. I really did. I understand now what you’ve been saying all along. I’m at peace after all these years of torment – I’m finally at peace! I don’t care if we never find my attacker. God knows all about it, and He has it all under control. What’s for supper?”

Margie could only think, “Wow, God is amazing!” She sighed a silent sigh of relief, just as the doorbell rang. “Peter, will you get that, please?”

In a short time, Peter returned ushering Lance into the kitchen. Margie was sitting at the table with a mixture of tears in her eyes – some of sorrow for Peter’s soon exit from the present world; some tears of joy over Peter’s new found life in Christ.

Lance’s first reaction was, “Margie, what’s wrong? In the back of his mind, he was thinking, “Oh no, Margie. You told Peter what’s going on.”

“Peter just told me he accepted Christ into his life. Isn’t that wonderful, Lance. Let’s celebrate. Let’s celebrate life here in the present and life in the future.” Lance was quick to catch the double meaning.

“Let the celebration begin!”

The first raindrops began to tap on the window. Margie’s countenance quickly changed. Raindrops were forming in her heart as well. She looked over at Peter, then at Lance.

“This is a night I will remember for the rest of my life. I’m so proud of you both. Thank you for being such a vital part of my life.

“Peter, you’ll forever be loved by your mother. You’ve made me so happy watching you grow into the young man you’ve become. Lance, I don’t know where I’d be without you. You’ve been my rock in shaky times. God blessed me with two of the best men in the world.”

The raindrops in Margie’s heart were beginning to surface as tears in the corner of her eyes. She excused herself and began loading the dishwasher. Lance headed back to the station to prepare for Peter’s final exit. Peter left for his bedroom where he lay silent – that was until The Voice began to speak.

By now it was all too familiar to Peter. The rain. The ritual. The Voice. The triplets began in his mind. “Kill Peter. Kill Peter. Kill Peter. The secret. The secret. The secret. Medford Alley. Medford Alley. Medford Alley.” Faster and faster they echoed through his empty mind. The Voice was in control.

“Mom, I’m going out for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

Margie choked over his statement knowing that he would never be back. “Let me look at you one last time. I want to remember this moment.”

“Mom, don’t go sentimental on me. I’m just going out for a few minutes. It’s not like I’m leaving forever.”

Margie gave him a last hug and watched him walk through the door. She wanted to stop him. She wanted to warn him. She wanted what was best for her son.

Margie’s cell interrupted her thoughts. “Margie, it’s Lance. Peter’s on the move. I’m coming by to pick you up. We can watch from Jackson.Street”

The rain began to pour harder, and the blowing wind drove the rain harder into whoever or whatever was in its way. The night was no different than the night Peter was attacked and left for dead. This was Peter’s weather. This was his moment.

There would be no Bobby or Lance waiting to follow him through the portal this time. Special agent Ronald Thompson would take him on the other side, and Peter would be gone forever from the present to live out his life in the future.

Margie rested a little easier as she focused on the promise that Peter would be well taken care of, but she knew as did Lance, that she could only hide her emotions so long. Eventually, they would spill out like a cup running over with pain, and there was no way to stop it – but for now Margie was intent on her last look at her only son as he was about to leave her world.

Lance got the signal from Chris. “He’s a half block away and running fast. This is it!”

Margie looked down the street. Peter was running at a torrid pace driven by The Voice. In an instant, he made a sharp turn into Medford Alley and was gone. In a flash of light, Thompson was true to his word as he shut down the portal. There would be no more entries or exits. The portal had accomplished its purpose. The past was the past. The future would be. All Margie had was now, in the present. She collapsed into Lance’s arms.

The raindrops in her heart turned to floods of emotion. Just like any true mother, it was more than Margie could handle. Lance held her tight wishing he could do more, but he knew he could never fill the emptiness that had just come upon her. The following days, they both knew, would be long.

The weekend made it even more difficult. The fast pace of the week was considerably slower now, allowing more time to dwell on the void left by Peter. So many questions – How did this happen? Why did this happen? How could things have been different? What now?