I stood and motioned for her to take my seat. “Not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. I think Todd has some questions you’d be better at answering than I.”

GRACE

THAT NIGHT MARKED the beginning of a roller-coaster relationship between Zoe and Todd. The two of them spent two hours that evening discussing Zoes cancer, Todd’s mother, and how God fit into both scenarios. Later that week Todd took Zoe out on a date, although Zoe confided in me that she was apprehensive given that he was not a Christian. Another date the following week made Zoe even more unsure of this new relational development. When she came back at midnight and found me still awake in the living room, reading, she threw herself into the sofa beside me and groaned.

“That man,” she began in measured tones, “drives me absolutely nuts.”

I smirked. “Oh yeah?”

She smacked me on the arm. “Not in a good way.”

“Uh-huh, you just keep telling yourself that.” I winked. She glared. “Okay, so what did he do?”

“One minute he’s an absolute prince; the next he’s a horror. Completely inconsistent. Same with his reaction to God; one minute he’s totally into it, sounding like he’s going to take the plunge, but the next minute he’s bad-mouthing the whole thing and saying it’s all a crock. What is his issue?!”

“You should talk to Jack. He’s known Todd a long time; maybe he can shed some light on it. Same with the God stuff; Jack was sort of the same way; maybe he can give you some insights into what he’s thinking.”

Zoe did just that, and continued to see Todd a couple times a week. Jack and I knew it was only a matter of time for both of them. “A matter of time” turned out to be six long months of Zoe returning from dates and being annoyed, frustrated, irritated, and yet inexplicably driven to go out with him again.

“Look, are you guys dating or what?” I demanded one night after a particularly long play-by-play of yet another frustration-filled date.

“Um”—she bit her lip—“I think so.”

“Well, if he bothers you so much, why do you keep going out with him?”

“Because,” Zoe began, then stopped. She frowned, thought a moment, and then shrugged. “Because I feel like God keeps telling me to.” Then she winked and said with a wicked smile, “Besides, he’s hot.”

During this time Jack and I had continued to host our weekly Bible study, and to our surprise, Todd began to attend as well. One night, as guests began leaving, Todd led Zoe to the backyard, where they stayed until nearly eleven o’clock. Jack and I were shutting off lights on the ground before retreating upstairs for the night when the two of them burst through the back door.