Chapter 28

<Callie Stevens>

To say I was surprised to see Jasper's dad at church of all places would be the understatement of the century. I'd only ever met his dad once before and that meeting had driven me to tears. Maybe he was drunk or high that time, but that meeting doesn't really give me much hope for this one. I search the parking lot for my parents only to find that they've already gone inside to get us seats, so now I'm in the awkward position of having to escort Jasper's parents inside.

We're some of the last people into the sanctuary and when we walk in, the room practically goes silent as people catch sight of Mr. Coven. I hear biting whispers from throughout the congregation and I can feel the dirty looks of the passerby, even though, they aren't intended for me. I finally catch sight of my family in the second row of pews and walk towards them, ignoring all of the looks and gossip. My dad, his friend and my mom all stand up to let us pass and reach the empty middle of the pew. Man, this is what Jasper has to go through every day.

A lady in the pew in front of us snuffs indignantly as if Jasper's parents are somehow defiling the church by being here. I tap her lightly on the shoulder and she turns around, completely avoiding having to look at either of Jasper's parents.

"Ma'am, we're all Christians here and we're all trying to earn forgiveness, so unless you're perfect, I'd kindly appreciate it if you'd stop judging everyone else." I say in the politest voice I can muster and the lady turns back around without so much as another word.

Jasper catches my gaze a few seconds later and mouths the words 'thank you' as he gestures for everyone to stand up for worship.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see." Jasper sings and strums on his guitar. "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed."

I see him brush a tear from his eye as the congregation continues to sing.

~~~~~

"Today's sermon is on judgement. No, not the judgement that will come at the end of our earthly lives, but the judgement we seem so intent upon passing on everyone who lives this earthly life with us. I have a verse from chapter 4 in the book of James that I'd like to read to you. It's verse twelve."

He looks out on the congregation as the rest of us open our Bibles to the proper verse. Once satisfied, he begins to read.

"There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you- who are you to judge your neighbor?" Pastor Tate says seriously as he closes his Bible gently. "Guys, we're all human; we all sin and God understands that. He doesn't judge us or condemn us for our sins; he just loves us. But we are still only human and what right do we have to pass judgements on the sins of others when we sin ourselves?"

The congregation nods, the atmosphere becoming tense.

"We need to love our neighbors, even though they sin, in the same way that God loves us even though we sin. Judgement, condemnation and punishment are all things we must reserve for God, because what right to we have to judge others when we aren't perfect ourselves? Judgement cuts you off from others; it puts up a wall between you and the rest of the world. It creates hostility and causes you to stray from your duty as a Christian. Your duty is to love others and forgive them as God's forgiven you and to then bring them closer to God. If you spend all of your time judging them, all you are doing is pushing them farther away from the Lord."

Pastor Tate pauses and draws in a deep breath before continuing his sermon.

"Another verse that I think really speaks to this topic is John chapter three, verse seventeen." Pastor Tate says through the sound of ruffling pages as people search for the verse. "For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Pastor Tate closes his eyes as the meaning of the words seeps into the congregation.

"Guys, if God doesn't want to condemn us, then why do we feel the need to condemn each other." Pastor Tate folds his hand and looks out at us with a smile. "Let's pray. Lord God, help us not to judge each other; help us to love and forgive one another as you have done for us. We do not know everyone's story and we do not know your plans for them, but help us to realize that you love each and every person on this earth and that they are all here for a reason. Please bless us and protect us as we go forth this week; keep us safe and help us to serve you. Amen."

We all open our eyes and I see Jasper back at the mic stand for one final song. He strums on his guitar and the lyrics are projected on the screen as the rest of the congregation stands up.

"Bless the lord, o' my soul, o' my soul, I'll worship his holy name. Sing like never before, o' my soul, I'll worship your holy name." He sings in his raspy voice as the rest of the congregation joins in. "The sun comes up, it's new day dawning, it's time to sing your song again. Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes."

~~~~~

"And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come, still my soul will sing your praise unending, ten thousand years and then forever more." Jasper sings and then the congregation begins to sing the chorus again.

Once the song is over, Pastor Tate releases us, which means it's time for the usual Sunday routine of milling around and talking to every single person inside of the church. Jasper sets his guitar down and hops off the stage before walking towards me. He grabs my hand and kisses my forehead as his mom comes over to compliment him. She hugs him tightly and kisses his forehead as she applauds how great he looked on the stage. I feel him tense up when his dad comes over. I rub his hand comfortingly as his dad rubs the back of his neck nervously.

"You did really great, Jasper." He says and looks like he wants to hold out his hand to shake Jasper's, but then thinks better of it.

"Thank you, sir." Jasper replies in an indifferent tone as the conversation tapers off.

Thankfully, my parents come over to introduce themselves and the family friend that flew in to stay with us for the week.

"I'm Richard Tier, record producer out of L.A." My dad's friend says as he shakes Jasper's hand. "And may I be the first to say, what you did during the service today, showed immense potential. I really liked it."

"Wow, thank you, Mr. Tier." Jasper replies in a stunned tone.

"I think I'm going to mention you to my label; they've been talkin' about how they're in dire need of a fresh voice. So, if you get a call from this number, you might wanna pick up." Mr. Tier winks and hands his card to Jasper before he goes to introduce himself to Jasper's parents.

~~~~~

It's been a few weeks since my dad's friend went back to L.A. Jasper said he'd received a call from him and that he had to send in a demo for the record company, but he hasn't mentioned it since then. Despite this, I have faith that whatever comes from this will be for the best.

"No, Callie, not like that." Jasper chuckles, bringing me out of my reverie. "Put your fingers here and here."

He corrects my fingers on the guitar fret for what must be the hundredth time since we sat down at the train tracks. He's spent the last hour trying to teach me to play the guitar and I'm about as close to mastering it as scientists are to putting a satellite on Pluto. I sigh and try to listening to Jasper's corrections. I strum and the noise doesn't sound as bad as it did the last time, but it's nowhere near pleasing. Jasper smirks and takes the guitar from me before strumming a perfect G-chord.

"How do you make it look so easy?" I ask and shake my head slowly.

"Practice." He winks and hands me the guitar. "Now, we aren't leavin' until you master at least one chord."

"Okay." I sigh and set up the chord as best I can.

Jasper shifts my fingers a little and then lets me strum slowly. The sound that comes out is a complete 180 from the last sound I made; it's almost pleasurable.

"See you're already doing better, baby." He smirks and pulls his ringing phone out of his pocket. "Hello?"

He stands up and turns his back to me as he continues to talk to the person on the other end of line. His voice sounds happy, which means good news. I feel a smile spread across my face as I wait for him to get off the phone so I can find out what this news is. I hear him hang up and he turns around with a huge grin.

"I got the deal." He all but shouts as he pulls me up from the ground and into his arms.

"That's amazing!" I squeal and wrap my arms around his neck. "I'm so happy for you."

"I wouldn't even have this opportunity if it wasn't for you, Callie, I can never thank you enough." He says as he releases me.

Instead of replying, I place my lips on his and feel him pull me closer as we continue to kiss. We release each other a few seconds later and I lean my head on his shoulder as we take a seat on the ground again.

"So, when do you leave?" I ask as if this is the most normal thing in the world.

"In a week; he said my plane ticket's in the mail." Jasper says and takes my hand in his.

"I guess you'll have to get packing then." I smile and try my best to be positive.

This is what's best, even if it means losing him.