The Broad Way (The Two Gates) Read online

  Shelly resented her husband's smug remark about his planning ahead. He never acknowledged that she had brought to the marriage a very large trust fund, which paid yearly sums which would have allowed them to live a very pleasant life style without one penny of the income he earned. It was her money that had set him up in business. It was her money that paid for the house, it was her money that paid for Malachi's college, and would pay for Ann's college as well. Yet he lived under the delusion that she contributed nothing except an ability to cook and vacuum. "Oh well," Shelly thought. "This was hardly the time to worry about that." Instead she forced her mind to try to grasp the full meaning of what Fredrick had so matter of factly suggested as a way to deal with Ann's yearbook crises. She was certain he had said they would destroy the journalism teacher in charge of the yearbook; that Ann should start a terrible rumor about Alice Wilson; and that Fredrick himself would start rumors that would at least give Andrew Wilson a big financial set back. Shelly considered throwing up right at the table. Instead she said weakly, "Ice cream anyone?"

  At Shelley's words, Fredrick and Ann looked at each other, and then burst out laughing.

  "Don't pay her any mind Ann," Fredrick said. "Your mother just isn't able to grasp anything beyond the kitchen and the house. Oh by the way, we better get you an immediate makeover, and I will see about upgrading that car of yours as well. Your mom will take you shopping for a new wardrobe, but if she can't help you get your wardrobe right, I will get my secretary to go with you. She does know how to dress. Actually, I will have her set up a few appointments with the right people to give you the makeover too. You have good bone structure. I’m sure you can be made up to stand out in any crowd.

  Shelly, listening to her husband's cruel words, felt the strangest sensation growing inside her heart and her head and her stomach. The sensation was one of relief. Blessed relief, pure and simple. Shelly didn't know what had just happened, but something had changed. Something was over. But one thing she did know, from this day forward, her trust fund was once again hers. And she would order pizza for supper anytime she wanted to from now on. No telling what else she might do either.

  "I think I will go for a walk and leave you two to finish your conversation," Shelly said firmly. Shelly got a sweater and walked out the door. She was going to see what was going on in the neighborhood. Maybe she would find a smiling face.

  Malachi

  Mal was convinced something was going on at home. So he decided to make a surprise visit for the weekend. He really hated to go because he liked seeing Belle on the weekend. Mal decided to give her a call on her cell phone and see if they might be able to have dinner tonight on short notice. He knew women didn't like to have dates made on short notice, but they had been seeing each other long enough he hoped it would not bother to be asked out at the last minute.

  Belle was agreeable to dinner, but suggested they just meet at a restaurant instead of Mal coming by to pick her up. She chose a place located between his apartment and her home. It was typical of a place Belle would choose, medium price range. That was her idea of choice. She didn't really care what they served as long as it wasn't too expensive. Mal made a note to explain to her that she could order most anything she wanted on a menu when they were together. He could afford it.

  Mal arrived at the restaurant 15 minutes early. Belle, not one to be fashionably late, was 5 minutes early. It was a nice arrangement.

  They order a pitcher of tea and appetizer to begin with. It was pretty amazing that you could order cheesy fries with real bacon bits at almost any restaurant of any price range.

  Watching Belle munch on the fries Mal was struck again by how much he just liked to watch her. He tried several times to say something, but his throat didn't seem to work well tonight for some reason. It didn't seem to really matter that Mal wasn't able to speak. Belle was able to carry the conversation all by herself.

  "You know Mal," she said, "I guess it is about time I told you something about myself that you seem to have missed entirely. I usually don't have to tell people. They usually just pick up on it. But you are a guy, and guys are sometimes a little slow to pick up on something out of their ordinary thought patterns."

  Mal heard her speaking, but he really wasn't listening. He was really watching her speak. He liked to just watch her.

  "What was that you said Belle?" Mal asked.

  "I said I have something to tell you?"

  "Huh? Nothing bad I hope," Mal said apprehensively.

  "Well, it isn't bad for me. In fact it's wonderful me, and for anyone else who is interested."

  "Ok Belle, just spit it out. You have my full attention." Mal tried to put on a brave face, thinking he was going to be dumped. Instead Belle started talking about God.

  "Mal, I am what is currently known as a Fundamental Christian. I believe the Bible to be the inspired word of the God of creation. I believe that is the final authority on any subject. It is without error and it the foundation stone for building anything good and lasting, both in this life and the next."

  "You do?" said Mal in a voice as calm as possible.

  "Yes I do. And if we are going to go any farther with this relationship, you are going to have to believe it as well."

  "I have to do what? I can't believe that outdated stuff. It is fine if you want to. I won't try to stop you, but it is just too old fashioned for me."

  "I was afraid you might see it like that Mal, but I have news for you. It isn't outdated. It is up to date. The Bible records history BEFORE it happens. That is one of the ways the power and authority behind the Bible are authenticated. If you study it deeply enough you will see that. And not only that, but there are codes within the text that verify certain historical facts. That has really only been discovered with the availability of the computer."

  "Ok Belle, lets both take a deep breath and order some food. I think your hypoglycemia must be kicking in. You will feel better after you eat something. We could change the subject and talk about this later. How about that.?"

  "Yes, Mal, we can change the subject in just a minute. I have been thinking, and yes praying, about exactly how to approach you with this subject; because it is very important to me that you come to an understanding of the truth. And I believe you will come to know the truth. But before we change the subject, I need to say a couple of things. A thinking person will come to the conclusion that design proves a designer. Well look around you. The world was designed. There may be surface chaos here and there, but the core principles that make everything work were specifically designed. So there has to be a designer. The Bible tells us who that designer is. It says "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth". So we know who the designer is.

  Mal interrupted, "Ok for the sake of argument lets say you are correct, God created everything. But that still doesn't explain why he would care about the individual, or why he would care about a place like earth that is in such a mess."

  "Mal, it doesn't matter WHY God cares. What matters is that the He DOES care. The Bible repeatedly tells us that God cares about us. And before you and I can become any closer we have to come to an agreement on that subject. One more thing, and then we can change the subject. I would prefer that you show me enough respect to take my belief in the Bible seriously. I would like you to put some time into study on your own. If you give it an honest chance, you will come to the same conclusions that I have reached."

  “Now, do you have a Bible?

  “Well no,” Mal answered. ‘”But I went to Bible School one summer for a week. I don’t remember much about it though. They gave me a New Testament and I still have that somewhere.”

  “I thought you might need a Bible, so I brought you a study Bible. I also brought a couple of companion books for you as well. Are you willing to give it a chance?”

  "Ok Belle, what ever you say. Now let’s order some food."

  4th Demension

  stratigic operations

  Cabiri was both livid and elated at the s
ame time. He was livid that Raphael was interfering with the Jones situation by sending more of the unseen to assist Malachi and his mother Shelly. He was elated that Ann and Fredrick were following his plan as though they were reading a script from a play.

  Stellar Dominion Outpost

  Command Center

  Raphael had sent several extra of the unseen to guard Malachi, Belle, Shelley, and anyone associated with them. That meant Belle's sister Amelia as well. He knew Cabiri would stop at nothing to destroy or at least side track Malachi. And Cabiri new from experience that the death of a loved one was an excellent way to at least delay someone from full surrender to God. Of course that strategy occasionally backfired, and the bereaved person would throw themselves fully into God's plan for his or her life. But usually it worked in Cabiri's favor. Drunk drivers were one of his current favorite tools of destruction. But disease was another favorite, too. Anyway, Raphael was taking no chances. He had instructions to guard those people well, and that is what he was going to do.

  Chapter 3

  Ann

  Ann skipped school the next day. She actually felt ok about going back. Now that she and her father had decided how to handle the situation she really was looking forward to the rest of the year. Plus, she really wouldn't have to see Alice or anyone else. She could find a way to avoid study hall and she wouldn't have to see any of the seniors. But she decided to take the day off and get started with a trip to the beauty parlor. He dad had called his secretary already. The secretary had set up an appointment at a salon that not only had a reputation as being good, it really was good. Ann decided to drive herself. It would have been polite to invite her mother because her mother certainly could use a makeover. But if her mom was content to look like a frumpy old lady, than that was her business. Actually, Ann was beginning to resent her mother for not helping her more with her hair and clothes to begin with. If Shelly had done her job in the first place none of this might have happened.

  Ann left the house early. She wanted a little time to drive by a few car dealers and see what sort of car she might want. She would have to ask her dad if she was trading in her car or not. Ann guessed it would be a good car for her mother. Her mother's car was older than Ann's so that might be the way to go. Shelly didn't care what she drove anyway.

  Ann just drove slowly through the new car dealerships on the way to the salon. She wanted to get a general idea of what was available. Next week she would compare what was on the school student parking lot to what was on the car lots. She knew she wanted to get something that would obviously be better than what most of the other students were driving.

  Arriving at the salon, she went in and introduced herself. Apparently her dad's secretary had done a good job of explaining what they wanted accomplished. Three staff members were assigned to Ann for the day. They started with a computer program that put Ann's face in any hairstyle or hair color imaginable. It also offered an almost infinite variety of makeup styles and types. The program also offered clothing style and color hints based on Ann's size and coloring.

  Ann decided to alter her hair color only slightly, just a few highlights. The stylist had suggested that as being easier to maintain. Also, Ann's hair was quite thick and had a lot of body to it, so she didn't really need anything but a good cut and a little highlighting. Ann also had very clear skin, so makeup was pretty easy as well. Clothes were not that hard either. Ann was a nice size. Her posture was good. Her teeth were straight. She had a natural easy walk. By the end of the day Ann had spent several thousand dollars on clothes and accessories. She walked out of the salon in a new outfit and had the rest of the things she had bought delivered to the house. She just needed her new car to be a complete new woman. "Maybe dad and I can narrow it down to a few cars this weekend. I don't want to make the final decision on a car until I check out the school parking lot one more time."

  After Ann left the salon one of her personal attendants was heard to remark, "She really is a very pretty girl; all she really needed was a smile to be quite striking in appearance."

  "Maybe she just needed something to boost her confidence. I hope this will do the trick," said the salon manager.

  Malachi

  Mal had listened to Belle talking about being a Fundamental Christian without becoming too concerned until she had said that for their relationship to go any further he would have to come to the same conclusions she had reached. He wished she had told him that sooner in their relationship, in which case he thought he would have just stopped seeing her. Now he was in a little too deep to just drop it without at least considering her beliefs as having some merit or validity. For one thing he was pretty attached to her already. And second, he did have a genuine respect for her intelligence. So it was possible she was on to something. He knew he hadn't been taught anything about the Bible at home. His mother thought everyone was just supposed to be good and if you were good enough you would get into heaven. She really did not have a standard by which to judge ‘good’, but that was her deeply held belief. His dad thought the entire matter was garbage. Fredrick said flatly that everyone should get all they could out of life because that was the only chance anyone would get. Mal had never really thought about it himself. Why should he? He was young, healthy, and well - rich." His mother had faithfully put 20% of the money from the yearly income from her trust fund into an account for Mal from the year he was born. It was re-invested wisely and over the years it had become quite a substantial sum.

  But now Belle had asked him to think about something he really had not planned to consider until he was at least 80 years old. So Mal went home and began to read the books Belle had given him. He looked up the web sites Belle had written down for him. He was quite startled to discover the number of prophecies that had been accurately predicted hundreds and even thousands of years before they were fulfilled. The number of prophecies providing proof that Jesus Christ was the messiah was overwhelming. The virgin birth idea bothered Mal until he realized that the God who created the first man from dirt without a father or a mother would have no problem creating a baby without an earthly father.

  Mal stayed up much later than usual reading and following threads from one web page to another. Finally, exhausted he went to bed. He had reached no final conclusion except this. Either the Bible was a very elaborate hoax, or it was true.

  4th Demension

  stratigic operations

  Cabiri was following Ann's progress with delight. First he had planted the idea she was plain and maybe even ugly. She had believed it. Then with only the slightest changes to her appearance he had given her the idea she was beautiful and she had believed that. Cabiri was almost certain she would be one with whom he could communicate in person. He was excited. Through the ages he had been much more satisfied and he thought done a better job when he was able to actually appear to his protégé's and speak with them. He hoped to arrange a "meeting" soon. He wasn't sure of how to bring it about, but he was certain the opportunity would present itself.

  He would have liked to arrange an accident for Ann's brother immediately, but that was impossible with the unseen protection that had been arranged. But, Cabiri didn't dwell on what he could not do. He decided to just watch Malachi for weak spots and try to neutralize him in that way. Mal didn't drink or use drugs, so that was out. Neither did he chase women. So that was out. He wasn't greedy either. Well, Cabiri would assign watchers. Mal was human, therefore he had human weaknesses. Something would turn up.

  Stellar Dominion Outpost

  Command Center

  Raphael was delighted with the interest Malachi was showing in the Bible in general and prophecy in particular. Prophecy had been the instrument by which a great number of people and come to be believers. To Raphael it was very hard to understand why everyone didn't believe. Raphael acknowledged that he personally believed because he had "seen". People had to believe by faith, because they had not seen heaven. But he also knew that the evidence was all around them. The conclusion wa
s that like the angels who fell from grace during the cosmic war, it was not a case of people not believing. Instead it was that they did not want to surrender to a sovereign God of creation.

  Raphael's thoughts turned to Malachi again. He was showing signs of conviction with only a few hours of Bible study. Sometimes it took years for someone to come that far. But then the time was growing short.

  Chapter 4

  Ann

  Ann was thinking about Alice Wilson while she was waiting for her dad to take her car shopping. Shopping was fun. She could get used to it. And fortunately, there was money to shop almost anywhere she wanted to shop. That was just one of those things. Ann had gone from feeling sorry for her self the week before to a full understanding that she was one of the elite, born to good things. Some would say that was simply chance, but Ann had the feeling that she was somehow special, even chosen. She knew she was born with certain privileges that come with having money. Now she wanted influence as well. Ann knew influence could be used in a lot of ways. Her dad was going to use influence to cause Andrew Wilson some problems. Ann wanted to cause Alice Wilson some problems as well. She was thinking about it, but hadn't really come up with a plan. Alice was stuck up, and obviously vindictive. So Ann wanted something that would really take her down the social ladder all the way to the bottom. Ann knew the world in general was pretty tolerant. But people were not really that tolerant specifically. For instance abortion was acceptable generally speaking, but if a girl had it done she usually didn't want anyone to know about it. Alice was one of those nuts who had made a point of saying she wasn't sleeping around. She hadn't really given any reason except she was afraid of getting a disease. Her boyfriend had accepted that; at least they both said they had agreed on it. Who knew what went on when they were alone. Anyway, they had made a big deal out of at least saving sex until they were older. So, if Alice were to have an imaginary abortion, she would be discredited. But how to start that rumor without getting her name involved?