The cup in her hands was warm
and comforting. She brought it slowly to her lips as she starred out the window
of her apartment. She usually loved this time of year. Fall brought out what
she considered was the most amazing display of colors, but for some reason
today just seemed…off. Well, there was the fact that…but that was two weeks
ago…she swallowed and tried not think about it.
It was interesting to see people walking around
on the streets below, carrying about their life as if nothing had changed. But
it hadn’t changed for them, just for her. They seemed so happy though. A father
chased his toddler daughter around the front lawn, she had the most amazing
toothy grin on her face. In the middle of the lawn an old couple sat, talking
and just taking in the view. She wondered, were they married, or just old
friends? Did they know that man with the little girl? Maybe they were
grandparents?
She let out a slow breath before placing her cup
down on the window sill. She wished it would rain, then maybe she wouldn’t feel
so…the sound of her phone ringing broke through her thoughts. She reached over
to look at the number and sighed. She could not answer the call from her
mother, but then if she didn’t, she knew she would only call back more worried.
That’s how her mother was, if she didn’t call back within a certain time frame
she would just assume something was horribly wrong. She’d grown to accept that
about her though. She took a deep breath before answering the call and bringing
the phone to her ear.
“Hi Mom” she replied. “Hi baby, how are you?”
She picked at the paint on the sill. “I’m okay. Just…taking care of stuff.”
“You should go outside, take a walk or
something.”
“I’m fine mom.”
“Did you talk to the pastor I told you about?”
“Mom I said I’m fine!” Silence followed her
response. She didn’t usually talk so briskly with her mother, but she was tired
of being offered useless advice. She sighed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to
yell.”
“I’m worried about you.”
“I know.”
“Do you want me to come over?”
“You say that as if you live right around the
corner.” Her mother lived thousands of miles away. But that was her mother, in
spite of the distance she would still drop everything if she told her that she
needed her. She needed to sound happier. It was the only way to get her off her
back. As much as she loved her, she also knew she didn’t have the money to fly
over to see her, especially because it meant she would need to bring the
younger kids with her. “I think I’ll go for a walk actually, the weather looks
nice outside. It would do me some good.” There. That made her sound like she
was being more proactive.
“I love you.” Her mother’s voice was oddly quiet
in a sad kind of way. There was something empty about it, it was as if she
wanted to say more but was tired. Tired of having the same conversation with
her perhaps? “I love you too.”
“Are you coming down for the Thanksgiving?”
“I’m not sure.” She didn’t know if she was ready
to face her family just yet. Why did she feel like such a leper? Get it together!
“I need to check my work schedule.” It was a lie. She was pretty certain if she
asked for it her job would give her the days she needed to come down.
“It’s a US Holiday Candace. Shouldn’t you
already be off?”
“Yes…I mean…I’d have to fly down before Thanksgiving
though mom.” At least now it could look like she was trying. “You should come
even if you have to fly on Thanksgiving.” Her mom was not going to let it
go. She sighed. “Ok mom. I’ll be there.”
“Let me know when you’re coming.”
“I’ll let you know when I know.”
“And Candace?”
“Yes mom?”
“I’m your mother, as annoying as it may be
sometimes, it’s my job not to give up on you.” She almost cried. In fact, she
felt like if she said anything right now she still might. “Jonathon, take that
out of your mouth this instant!” The sound of her younger brother broke through
the tender moment. She was never so happy to hear his voice. She hated crying.
It made her feel vulnerable in a way that didn’t sit well with her. “I’m going
to let you go mom.” She finally managed to get some words out. “Tell Jonny I
said I love him.”
“He misses you, you know?”
“I know.”
“So do the others.”
“I know.”
“Jonny has them all calling you Candy now.” Her
mom laughed. She was grateful for a change in direction of the conversation.
“Jonny had all the kids at summer camp calling me Candy.”
“I think he really looks up to you. When you’re
here, it’s like no one else is here.”
“It’ll be great to see everyone again.” She
tapped at the window sill. In the back of her mind she was just looking for a
way to get off this call. End on a happy note. “Kick a ball?” Thank-you Jonny!
Those words were his way of saying he wanted to go outside and play. “Kick a
ball? Kick a ball?”
“I’m going to let you go mom. Sounds like little
Jonny is ready to go out?” She added a chuckle just to make sure her mother
didn’t think she was trying to get rid of her. “Kick a ball?”
“Sounds like. I’ll let you go then. Promise me
you’ll do something today?”
“Promise.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.” She hung up the phone and leaned against
the window. Why was that so exhausting? For some reason that conversation left
her drained. Oddly enough, despite the fact that she felt drained, she felt
like she really did need to take a walk. It took her a few seconds to get her
body to move and then she was on it. Undress. Brush teeth. Shower. Lotion. Put
on clothes. Comb hair. Grab keys. Out the door. It was almost mechanical in a
way, but she suddenly felt a push from a place inside of her that she couldn’t
describe. Take a walk,
it said. She didn’t know where she was she was going, but she would walk
aimlessly until she figured it out, figured herself out.
She pressed the button for the elevator and it
immediately opened as if it was just waiting for her. She looked at it oddly
before stepping on and pressing the button for the first floor. The elevator
stopped on the eighth floor and she watched as a young guy came on with a black
tee-shirt, jeans, and tattoos all over his arms. The tattoo peeking out from
under the neck of his shirt suggested that he may even have them all over his
chest as well. His hair was spiky, but not spiky like the way some people do
when they create those tall spikes on their heads. It was more like he had wet
his hair quickly, slathered in some gel and quickly ruffled it. He had earrings
in his ears. Not the normal kind where you make a small hole and put earrings
through. More like the kind that literally put a giant hole in your ear. She
looked up from his tattoos to find him oddly smiling at her. She quickly looked
away at the opposite corner as the doors of the elevator closed then looked up
at the elevator panel as the numbers decreased. She felt like she was being
watched.
Seventh floor.
Why did being in an elevator with a stranger
make her feel so awkward? Did other people feel this way? She glanced at him
from the corner of her eye.
Sixth floor.
It’s like she didn’t know whether to engage the
person conversation completely or to just ignore them. A quick peek. He seemed
harmless.
Fifth floor.
The longer you were in the elevator the more
obligated you felt to have a conversation. Was he like a biker guy or
something?
Fourth Floor.
Was it rude to not engage in conversation? Right
after she had that thought there was a jerking movement with elevator. It
stopped between the fourth and third floor.
“Hmm…” She looked towards him fully when he
spoke and crossed her arms over her chest. This wasn’t happening. Why did she
listen to herself about this stupid walk? Breath of fresh air my but. Now she
was stuck in an elevator with Mr. Tattoo. Breathe. Give it a second, it’ll
start again. She watched as he reached over and pressed the button to call for
help. Huh. Why didn’t she think of that? It was an awkward moment of silence
before someone finally picked up. “Can I help you?” A woman with a sweet voice
answered. “Yeah, the elevator just stopped,” He replied. “How long have you
been in there?” He scratched his head and looked at her before responding. “It
just stopped less than a minute ago.”
“Is everyone okay?” He looked towards her. “You
all right?”
“I’m fine.” She shrugged, averting her eyes. She
wasn’t about to share her feelings with a complete stranger. “We’re both okay.”
“All right. Sit tight. We’re sending someone to
get you guys out of there.” Great. Just great. Well, this turned out to be a
bust. She could hear movement from her side and she turned to see him now
sitting on the floor. “May as well get comfortable.”
“I’m fine standing.” She really wanted to sit.
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged his shoulders. Another awkward moment of silence
and she sluggishly sat down on the opposite corner of the elevator, purposing
not to look at him. He chuckled. “What’s so funny?” She crossed her arms.
“You.” He smiled. She turned away. “Did you know
you’re worth dying for?” There was a moment of silence before she whispered
words she didn’t expect to let come out of her mouth. “I’m not worth dying
for.”
“Why, are you dying?”
“Yes.”
“You look like it.”
“Excuse me?” If only she could learn to harness
the power of killing with her looks. “Well you sure aren’t living.”
“You don’t even know me!” He shrugged. “Actions
speak louder than words.”
“So do appearances.” She didn’t mean it.
“Sorry.” He laughed. “It’s cool. I’m used to it.”
“Did it hurt?”
“What?”
“The earrings.”
“The process is called gauging, and yeah…a lot.”
He laughed. “Then why did you do it?”
“Stupid decision.”
“Then why don’t you take them out?”
“The holes are permanent I’m afraid…still trying
to figure out how to move on.”
“Oh.” Silence. “So…how long do you have to
live?”
“Excuse me?”
“What’s your expiration date?”
“Don’t you think that’s a little personal?”
“You brought it up.”
“No I…”She paused in thought. “Well I didn’t say
I wanted to talk about it.”
“I’m dying too by the way.”
“Are you now?” She arched her brow.
“Yup.”
“When’s YOUR expiration date?”
“I don’t know.”
“Uh-huh.” Where were those elevator people?
“But then again…aren’t we all dying?”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t know what the big deal really is. Why
do we all fuss about dying?”
“You’re not really dying are you?” The power of
death at a single look. She was sure her look right now was close. He just
laughed.
“Think about it. We could die while trying to
get off this elevator. We could die crossing the street. We could get shot and
die in a grocery store. No one really knows when they’re going to die.”
“Hmph.”
“O death, where is your sting?”
“What?”
“I Corinthians 15:55.”
“Oh. You’re one of those.”
“One of what?”
“You know.”
“Sure don’t.” She narrowed her eyes. “Enlighten
me.”
“You’re not one of those church people?”
“Do I look like one of those church people to
you?”
“I have to admit you don’t look like what I
normally expect…”
“Why do you hate church so much?”
“What makes you think I hate church?” He arched
his brow and smirked at her in this way that almost felt like he was just
piercing right through her. Seeing her. She sighed and bowed her head. “I don’t
feel like I belong there.”
“Why not?”
“I have HIV.” Where did that come from? She
needed to get out of this elevator.
“OK.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me how I got it?”
“No. Why, is that important?”
“No…I… I guess…not.” She looked at him oddly.
Everyone always just assumed that she…“When did you find out?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“How do your parents feel?”
“I’m adopted.”
“Yeah, you’re adopted, but I know your real
parents.”
“You don’t know me. How would you know my real
parents?”
“Forgive me if I sound like a church person when
I say this, but the truth is that God is your true father. He created you, then
gave you to your birth parents to watch over you for a little while.”
“That’s what my mom says.” She paused. “But it
doesn’t make sense. If I believe that what you’re saying is true, then why did
He give me up? Why did my real parents give me up?” Her lips trembled a little
and she turned away before he had a chance to see her eyes.
“I’m not going to pretend for even a second to
know the answers to everything. But I don’t think that was the original plan.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She crossed her
arms over her knees and buried her face there.
“Our great grandparents kind of messed up. You
know, what we do matters, not just to us, but to the next generation. When they
messed up, they messed up for everyone.”
“That sucks.”
“Yep. It does.”
“You’re talking about Adam and Eve?”
“Don’t get all churchy on me now…” He looked at
her expectantly.
“Candace.” She smiled. “Candace. I’m Peter,” He
paused. “And God told me I’d meet you today.”
“Bullshit…sorry…I mean…” He smiled and it
reached all the way to his eyes. “It’s okay, I’ll let that one slide.”
“I thought you said you weren’t a Christian.”
“Correction, I told you I wasn’t one of those
churchy people.”
“There’s a difference?”
“You’re not one of those racist people are you?”
He laughed and she rolled her eyes. “You never told me what you meant by that?”
She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I really want to know.”
“You really want to know?” She looked at him
oddly and he just smiled and nodded. “OK. Well…you walk in, and they hug, but
you can feel their eyes on the close you wear. They tell you they love you, but
they never reach out. When you’re in a conversation with them, they manage to
find a way to talk about the good things that they’re doing. They say amen when
the pastor preaches, but outside the church you see them making the same
mistakes or worse, than you. They act like they’re saving you from yourself
when sometimes they look like they need to be saved from something. The people
who are supposedly leading the church seem to get away with the most stuff. I
mean, they do things that anyone in a normal fu-“ She gave him a sideways
glance and noted his arched brow. “I mean, in a normal job, would get fired
over, and yet in the church they use forgiveness as some kind of crutch to just
dismiss inappropriate behavior. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Wow. Tell me how you really feel,” He laughed,
she shrugged. “You asked.”
“Would it surprise you if I said that I agreed
with you?” She scrunched her brows. “I…why? But you’re a Christian? Don’t you
go to church?”
“Yeah I do. But you have to understand
something. What is the purpose of church?”
“Got me.”
“Permission to go ‘churchy’ on you?” She
laughed. “Permission granted.”
“Jesus talks about the church like it’s a
sheep-fold with a shepherd. You familiar with a sheep-fold?”
“Kind of.”
“Well, it’s literally just a bunch of sheep that
are brought together in a closed space by a shepherd who takes care of the
sheep, feeds them, all that stuff.”
“OK.”
“Now, let me ask you this question, what makes
it a sheep-fold?”
“Well, they are in a gate, so I guess the gate
makes them a fold?”
“And that’s where you’d be wrong.” He smiled.
“It’s actually the shepherd that makes them a sheep-fold. I mean think about it
realistically. Shepherds sometimes take their sheep out for a walk outside of
the gate right?”
“Yeah I guess.”
“So it’s the same with the church. The building
doesn’t make it a church. It’s a Pastor chosen by Jesus bringing people
together that makes it a church.”
“Okay, but why does that matter? You still
haven’t explained why they need to be in the ‘sheep-fold’ in the first place.”
“For one, everyone wants to belong to something.
No one truly wants to be along. Also, we all need vision to belong to. Without
it we run wild in any direction. The ultimate vision is supposed to be the love
of Jesus Christ and what He did to show that love. Granted, each pastor has
their own vision that gets at this, but in the end, love is the key. Their job
is to show the people in their fold how to love, and I mean really love. So
when do things fall apart?” He paused. “Well, we’re human. Even Christians
are.” He shrugged his shoulders and laughed. “Sometimes we forget, forget that
it’s not about the clothes, about anything on the outside so much as it is
about the inside…and what’s supposed to be on the inside is unconditional love.”
“What am I supposed to do with that?”
“Whatever you want to do with it. It’s always
been your choice.” She scrunched her brows again and picked at the laces on her
shoes. “Just…don’t be so hard on ‘the church’, you’re right, they need to be
saved just as much as the next person. And yeah, some of them are going to get
it wrong on occasion, but that doesn’t mean that they all do. If you go to a
church, and right off the bat you don’t feel comfortable, and I mean, that
something really feels off about their message or the way they act towards
you,” Here he shrugged, “try another one. There’s a church for everyone. Just
be careful you're not being picky just because you want to be. No church is
perfect. Also try talking to the pastor. Sometimes it may seem a church is a
certain way just because you happened to talk to the one person in that church
who's got everything backwards.” It was silent for a moment as she thought
about what he said. No one had ever talked so real with her before and she
wasn’t sure how to process it.
“Hello in there? You guys all right?” She looked
up to the doors, trying to figure out exactly where the voice was coming from.
“Yeah, we’re fine.” Peter replied. “Sorry it’s taking so long. The mechanic is
checking out the situation and we’ll keep you posted as soon as we know more.
If you hear a weird noise above you it’s probably him on the roof.”
“All right thanks!” Peter replied. It was silent
again before she spoke. “What do you mean by God told you’d meet me today?”
“Ah. Well, this is going to sound very…um…odd,
to you.” She arched her brow. “Odder than this conversation?” He shrugged.
“Well, God doesn’t necessarily speak to me with a voice, though He did once, a
long time ago. Sometimes he sends me dreams, and sometimes I just feel
something in my spirit.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well...I was talking with him this morning
about being intentional about trying to share His love with someone else
today.”
“Okay.”
“You may or not believe me when I say this, but
I guess that’s not important, but…I saw you before I got on the elevator.”
“You saw me?” he nodded. “Yep. Not in person of
course…in my head.”
“Okay.”
“So when I got on the elevator, and you probably
didn’t notice this because you were staring at the tats-“
“I wasn’t staring!” He raised his brow. “Fine. I
was staring.”
“So you probably didn’t see the surprised look
on my face. I actually wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.” He shrugged.
“You shrug a lot.”
“So sue me.” He laughed. “Anyway, I was trying
to think of the words to say. I mean, you can’t really have a long conversation
on an elevator. Most of the time I don’t say anything at all. I mean, is that
considered rude?” She laughed. “I was thinking the same thing…about staying
quiet that is.”
“I know right?” He chuckled. “So anyway, I’m
scrambling to figure out what to say, the floors are going by and all I can
think is I am about to really blow this opportunity…and then the elevator
stopped.”
“And then the elevator stopped.” She gave him a
weird look. “Did you stop the elevator?”
“No!” He laughed. “Even though you purposed to
be very anti-social, don’t think for a second I didn’t know you were watching
me, tattoos and all.” She smiled. “Busted.”
“Funny thing, the last thing I thought was that
we’d be having this conversation stuck in an elevator.”
“And what exactly were you expecting?” He
shrugged. “I don’t know. After I saw you in my head, I felt something in my
spirit tell me to take a walk, just figured I’d be walking somewhere.” She
paled slightly at those words. No way. “What’s wrong? You okay?”
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.” She turned away. Was
God really seeking her out?
“Okay…um…another weird moment…and you might
really think I’m psycho now…but, I just felt this…you asked a question. I don’t
know what it is, but the answer is yes.”
“I want out of this elevator right now!” Should
stood up just as a thump on the roof was heard along with some voices. The
mechanic had finally arrived. “Hello down there! It’s just me, Jay, the
mechanic. I’m working on the situation and I promise I’ll have you out as soon
as I can.” His announcement was followed by silence. She turned away. She
couldn’t look at him just yet, but she also shouldn’t be mad at him. He’d been
nothing but nice to her. It wasn’t his fault that she’d been in a dark place
lately. Breathe. She slowly sat back down.
“After I got off the phone with my mother this morning,
I felt something inside me say to take a walk.” Her voice was barely above a
whisper. She was thankful for the fact that he hadn’t responded. “Just now I
asked if God was really trying to find me.”
“It’s still bothering you isn’t it?”
“What?”
“That you have HIV.” Her silence was his
response. “You know, I meant what I said. It’s really not important when you
die. In comparison to eternity, the time we spend here on earth, in this body,
is meaningless. What’s important is what we do while we are here, and what happens
after that.”
“Am I going to hell because I have HIV?” He
looked at her incredulously. “Of course not! Where did you ever get an off the
wall stupid idea like that?” She shrugged. He turned his head as if something
suddenly clicked. She could see it in his eyes. “How did you get it?”
“I thought you said it wasn’t important?”
“It’s important if it’s important to you.” She
shrugged. “Slept around...a lot.”
“And you think that what you’ve done
automatically means you’re going to hell?”
“Doesn’t it?” He laughed. “No. It doesn’t.” She
crossed her arms disbelievingly. “That’s the thing about Jesus, it doesn’t
matter what you’ve done, it matters what you do next.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that if you ask him to fix you up, all
of that goes away.”
“How can it go away? It’s not like I can just up
and forget about it!”
“Just because you choose not to forget about it,
doesn’t mean He won’t. When you ask, He forgives, and He forgets, but it’s your
responsibility to forgive yourself.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“But then I’ll be just like one of those church
people, getting forgiveness for something they keep doing.”
“The process of forgiveness isn’t real unless
the thing you ask for forgiveness for, you actually want to stop doing. Yeah,
you might slip up now and then, but what matters is that you really, really
want to stop. Do you want to stop?”
“Yes.”
“Then let it go.”
“It can’t be that easy.”
“Well, you can choose to make it hard, but it is
that easy.” She scrunched her brows. “You scrunch your brows a lot.”
“You’re more real than most people I meet.”
“Thanks. I think.” She paused. “Sorry for the
mean things I said.”
“What mean things?”
“I called you Mr. Tattoo.”
“No you didn’t.”
“I didn’t say out loud.” This time they both
shared a small laugh and only paused when they heard a small creek followed by
the voice of the mechanic. “Okay guys. I figured out the problem. Let me just
get off this bad boy and I’ll have you guys up and running faster than you can
say elevator.”
“So…”
“So…”
“Have you found a church yet?”
“My mom’s been trying to hook me up with a
church nearby.”
“Ah. Good.” He smiled. “I’ve noticed that you
call her mom.”
“We’ve been together for a while, been through a
lot. She may as well be. There’s actually six of us all together. Me and my
little brother, who calls me Candy, and four kids from other families.”
“Can I call you Candy?”
“Nope.”
“Ah, but Candy…” She glared. “Your family sounds comfy. So, you going to go to the
church your mom suggested?”
“Maybe.”
“I have a feeling that you will.” He smiled as
the elevator suddenly jerked and then started moving again.
Third floor.
They got up off the floor. “We can go back to
looking at our separate corners if you want.” He said.
Second floor.
“And try to figure out if it’s rude to not
talk?” She replied with a smile.
First floor.
The doors slid open and they walked out. He
reached out and grabbed her hand with both of his. “If I never meet you again
Candace, I pray right now that you find what you are looking for.”
“What’s that?”
“True love.”
------
It was three weeks before she could muster the
courage to go the church her mother had told her about. In fact, she felt so
frazzled and anxious that she didn’t even tell her mother she was going. She
still somewhat self-conscious about what she was wearing. She didn’t have much
and her job didn’t really give her room for new robe choices. But it shouldn’t
be about the clothes right? She stared at herself in the mirror. Was her skirt
too short? Maybe she should just wear jeans? She changed again for the fifth
time, finally settling for jeans, a plain red t-shirt, and sneakers. She
shrugged as she grabbed her purse. It would have to do.
Her nerves, anxiety, and everything inside her
bundled up as she left her small studio apartment and walked to the church. She
didn’t have a car, but a mile didn’t seem to be too far. Besides, she liked
walking.
When she was a block away she
paused. Fear starting to get the better of her. They’re just going to judge you. They’ll take one look at you and treat
you like you’re not worth the time. She swallowed. The butterflies in her stomach flipped
so many times and her hands felt clammy. What was wrong with her? It was just a
building. No, the building didn’t matter. But she did want to know what it
would feel like to be in a fold, the right fold. She took a deep breath and
managed to get her feet to walk the rest of the way. At the doors she was
greeted by a black elderly man with a huge smile.
“Hi! Welcome to our church. You’re new here
aren’t you?”
“Yes.” She replied nervously. “Awesome!
Sometimes I’m not good with faces. But yours is so beautiful that I can’t even
imagine I would have forgotten it.” She was pretty sure she was blushing so hard
that it was going from ear to ear. “I…thank-you.”
“Here’s a little pamphlet about our church. To
tell you more about what we believe.” He showed her the pamphlet, turning the
pages with shaky fingers. “Our Pastor is Peter Gabriel.” She swallowed. No way.
It must be a coincidence. “Let’s see, there’s a picture here somewhere…I think
it’s on the third page.” She listened nervously as he continued. “You know most
churches put the pastor’s face on the first page of their pamphlet and I keep
telling Pastor Pete he needs to do that but that boy is so shy. He’ll get it
eventually…ah, here it is, fourth page.” Just as she saw the picture she heard
a deep voice call out her name. “Candy!” He ran across the aisle and picked her
up, swinging her around in a huge hug before putting her down. “You came!”
“You didn’t tell me you were a pastor.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“Did my mom put you up to this?”
“I promise I don’t know your mom.” He laughed.
“Though I do know your dad.” She rolled her eyes. “Did you know I was coming?”
“I promise I didn’t, though I did think it was a
possibility.” He smiled. “Keep an eye on this one Georgie, we definitely can’t
let her go.” She turned to the elderly man and pointed with her thumb. “Is he
like this with everyone?”
“Unfortunately.” They both shared a chuckle.
“Hey!” Peter laughed. “By the way, I’ll save you
the best seat in the house. Right up front!”
“Ask him where he sits.” Georgie chuckled. She
eyed him wearily. “Where do you sit?”
“Uh… in the back.” She crossed her arms. “So why
should I sit in the front?”
“Okay fine…sit where you want.” He smiled wide.
“I’m just happy you’re here.”
“Why is that? You only met me once.”
“Because, it means you’ve made the decision
already. You just don’t know it yet.”
“Decision? What decision?”
“Don’t ask Candy. Can I call you Candy?” She
shrugged and sighed as Georgie looped his arm through hers. Apparently Jonny
didn’t even have to be present for his influence to be felt. “Let me show you
to your seat.”
-----------
The end.