(This phone call between Brad and Joel to open Chapter 14 showed a maturity in their relationship that we haven't seen anywhere else, but unfortunately, it didn't make the cut.)
“So what’d he say?” Joel asked as soon as his brother answered the phone.
“After he finished choking on his salad, everything was fine,” Brad said. “I figured it would be, but…”
“You can thank me for softening them up for you.”
“True. After ‘my brother wants to marry an unwed teenage mother’ and ‘my dad has a son from his affair’, dropping out of law school is no big deal.”
“So what do you do now?”
“Talk to the law school office, find a job, and start getting my admission information together.”
“Can you intern in a church or do you have to wait until you’re actually in seminary?”
“I have no idea. I’m going to talk to Glen. Right now though, I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted. Relieved, but exhausted.”
“Yeah, I need to get some sleep, too. I think I may bring Abby home the next weekend Dad has Jack. That may take some of the spotlight off her with him running around, and he can help entertain Ryan.”
“Maybe so.” Brad yawned. “Like I said, bedtime. Thanks for praying, Joel.”
“Thanks for asking me.”