Broken (Endurance) by April Thomas Read Free Book Online

see if Samuel was still there.   She was relieved to see he’d left.
    "But what?" Max asked.
    "It's hot.  Let's sit somewhere cooler like on the outskirts." Mei pointed to a table next to a large open window.
    "Looks good." He headed for the table.
    Mei held Uriel close, whispering into his ear how much she missed and loved him. They sat down on the bench and Mei went through Uriel's baby bag to find his formula. "Babe, can you get some hot water?" she asked Max as she handed him an empty bottle.
    "Yeah, what do you want to eat?"
    "Chicken salad and a Sprite."
    "Okay, be back."
    Mei laughed and played with her son while Max took some time ordering their food.  She noticed a couple with a little girl approaching her. The young man and woman both smiled at Mei and gestured to the space next to her. "You can take it." Mei said.
    "My name is Karen Howard and this is my two-year old bundle of joy, Lily Smith.  This guy over here is my fiancé, Calvin Smith."
    “Hi, this is my son, Uriel. My name is Mei and my husband, the guy walking towards us, is Max," Mei said quickly standing and putting Uriel to stand on his feet as she walked over to help Max with the trays.
     
    Max smiled at Karen and her family as he sat down. He nodded to Calvin recognizing him from the dorm room across from his. "So this is your wife?" Max asked.
    "No, well, not yet. We get married next year," Calvin replied.
    Karen looked at Calvin, obviously offended by the way he’d answered the question.
    Calvin seemed to not even notice her cold stare.
    "So, Lily, meet Uriel." Mei said talking to Karen's little girl.
    "Uriel? Isn't that the name of an angel?" Karen asked.
    "Yeah, it is," Max replied.
    "Wow. When I was pregnant with Lily I was told to name her after an angel in a dream, but I didn't think it was real so I didn't do it. I figured I’d just eaten something bad that night or something," Karen said nonchalantly.
    Max and Mei sat there in shock. They couldn't understand how someone could get a message from God and not take it seriously.
    "Karen is now learning about the spiritual. Please forgive her ignorance," Calvin said to a speechless Max and Mei. "Honey, can you get us something to eat?" he asked Karen as he gently rubbed her back.
    Karen got the hint and handed him Lily before silently walking off to get some food.
    "It's okay, we understand.  When Max and I got together we didn't know what was going on." Mei laughed, visibly trying to ease the tension.
    "I come from a family that is really serious about spiritual warfare and it's hard for me because she isn't," Calvin explained.
    Max didn’t know how to respond to his statement and judging by the stunned expression on Mei’s face, neither did she.  Everything came so naturally to them. After a long, uncomfortable pause, Max simply nodded and changed the subject.  Being a typical man, he figured he’d bring up sports. It was killing Max that there was no football at this school. "What sports do you play?" he asked.
    "Football, well I mean soccer. My family is from Aruba. I was born in America."
    "Yeah? My father is from Trinidad." Max said with a smile.
    "I have some family there." Calvin laughed. "What a small world."
    Mei smiled as she ate and took time to feed Uriel between bites. She listened in on the men’s conversation. Though pleased to see they were getting along so well, she suddenly found herself missing her best friend, Cora, from back home.
    "So, how is married life?" Calvin asked both Mei and Max.
    "Great!" They answered in unison and laughed at themselves.
    "We have our disagreements, but we are learning to compromise," Mei said.
    "Yeah, everything goes her way. That’s a compromise," Max joked.
    "Oh, whatever." Mei laughed.
    Everyone was laughing when Karen came back with two trays of food. She placed them down on the table, still visibly upset with Calvin.
    "Hey, Karen, are you okay?" Mei asked.
    "Yeah, just... it's a long line." She said not wanting to say what was