| OCR Text |
Show C2\ , vpg wasn't so his eyco d i f f i c u l t as i t has once seemed. I was no longer fraid to let him see my s e c r e t thoughts and feelings, the shadows f doubt that I had once hidden. "You know, what amazes me most is that you insist on sharing yourself with everyone ~ in spite of all the pS^pIe wh0 w o u l d 15-ke *° h o r d e y°u f o r themselves." He smiled t i g h t l y , a n d glanced f u r t i v e l y at my mother. I knew he was thinking of her objection to his recent marriages, of her declaration that we must observe 'moderation in a l l things.' "You know the parable of the t a l e n t s , " he said quietly. "The Lord expects us to invest ourselves." I breathed deeply to c l e a r away the hitch in my chest. "Then you've earned thousands in i n t e r e s t alone," I said, shocked at the cutting edge of my own voice. I s t i l l had not accepted his magnanimity. Even now, as I thought of i t , i t seemed he had been trying to insure his own exaltation at the expense of my damnation. It was a kind »f selfishness that was almost beyond comprehension. And yet who cwld fault him for i t , anymore than anyone could fault Jesus for taring paved the way to salvation? Without his expansive grace, I Wldn,tIfeVhen clu|hti Vthe double meaning of my words, he seemed intent •ignoring i t . He slipped an arm around my shoulder as we surveyed 'lie stone fireplace in the livingroom. "Everything y o u ' l l need will be here. Heat and l i g h t and food. We're prepared." I f e l t that I was wrestling myself. I must not give in '°the temptation, the i n v i t a t i o n to lean too heavily on him. ^ad leaned once and he had not been there. I had fallen, h» + +>,« -floor, not knowing what far- I smiled frozenly and stared at the floor, no ^ ^ tosay. I wondered i f my father knew or sensed that Brian ^talked of- |
