Flaurie, having come from a lone island of isolation, comes to the United States with her new boyfriend Halberder. They plan on getting married. The first wondrous thing that this woman discovers in the United States is the traditional high school cheerleader. In a unique fetish, Flaurie covets a cheerleader uniform so much that it gets in the way of her walk with Christ, herself being a new convert to Christianity. And the betrothal is at risk because of her backsliding.
THE BETROTHAL—A SEQUEL
By Mr. Morgan P. McCarthy
The loner girl, no longer alone in life on her own island, was riding a black horse upon the vast waters with her new boyfriend Halberder. She had been alone; he came for her from afar; she was going back with him to his world of other people. His black horse’s hooves were magically galloping across this vast waters. His raven, in front of them, was flying in the air, leading the way for him. Her arms were around her boyfriend’s waist as she sat behind him. And so novel romance come upon her lonely life now tingled in her heart and stirred her up in her insides. Her name was Flaurie, and she was on a journey to the rest of the world out there somewhere beyond this great waters that had once been the borders of her lone island. Flaurie said, “Halberder, you have a name; I have a name. Does your black horse also have a name?”
Halberder said, “Yes, he does. His name is ‘Fury.’”
“Fury,” said Flaurie. “I like his name.”
“He does run with a fury,” said Halberder.
“And does your raven also have a name?” she asked.
“That he does,” said Halberder. “His name is ‘Flight.’”
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“Flight,” said Flaurie, liking the name. “That makes sense.”
“Flight flies fast and fleet, Flaurie,” said Halberder.
Flaurie now looked down upon herself at the apparel that covered her body. It was her everyday outfit all her years on that lone and happy island. It was given her by God. It was of three outer pieces: a blue harem girl pants down to the feet, and a green harem girl skirt over that that reached to her ankles, and a green harem girl top with short sleeves above that. She loved to put this on everyday on the island in the days of her life. And she could tell that Halberder liked what it looked like on her, also.
She asked, “Halberder, this place you call home, where other people are, are there others like you there?”
“Do you mean, ‘Are there other men?’” he asked.
“Are there other men there?” she asked. She had never seen other men beside her Halberder
before anywhere. Indeed until just the other day, when so-handsome Halberder had come for her from far, she had no idea what a man looked like. But now she knew, and this drew her woman’s heart toward Halberder with a woman’s urge.
He said, “There are other men there, Flaurie.”
“Do they dress like you?” she asked. She took in his masculinity as she sat behind him by gazing upon his shirt and his pants.
“They do,” he said.
Then Flaurie asked, “Are there also others like myself over there where we are going?” she asked.
“Do you mean ‘Are there other women?” he asked.
“Are there women in your land?” she asked.
“Yes, Flaurie,” said Halberder.
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“Do they dress like I do, Halberder?” she asked.
“Not so much,” he said.
“Do they dress in shirts and pants like you do?” asked Flaurie.
“Indeed,” he said. “And often times in skirts and dresses, too.”
“Do you think that I would look out of place with the girls in your land the way I dress from being on my old island?” asked Flaurie.
“You are a stunning woman in a stunning outfit, girl,” he said. “You need not feel out of place looking like you look and wearing what you wear.”
With a contented sigh, Flaurie said, “Oh good. I can continue wearing this even into my new life with people.”
“Did your island have a name?” asked Halberder.
“It did not,” she said. “Does your land have a name?”
“Yes,” he said. “It is the ‘United States.’”
“Back on my old island, on my last day there, when we first met, we were talking about getting betrothed,” said Flaurie.
“Yes. And I meant it,” he said.
“I was talking about that with you, too,” she said. “I meant it, too, Halberder.”
“Do you still desire a betrothal, O fair Flaurie?” he asked.
“I do, dear Halberder,” she said.
He then said a literary line of prose, “And they got married and lived happily ever after.”
“That came from a story or a poem. Didn’t it, Halberder?” asked Flaurie most astutely.
“Yes. That is always the end of fairy tales,” he said. “And lots of times it is about princes and princesses having fallen in love.”
“I can make your life with me as happy as one of those fairy tales, Halberder,” promised
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Flaurie.
After a while longer of galloping across the surface of the great waters, the black horse began to
splash up water from beneath the surface of the great waters.
“What’s Fury doing now all of a sudden?” asked Flaurie.
“The sea is getting shallower now,” said Halberder.
“I see a land broad and wide and deep,” said Flaurie, “a brave new world so much more so than
my old island.”
“Fury, canter now,” said Flanders. And the big black horse slowed down as his hooves now reached down into the water to the seabed below.
“I see Flight slowing down now, too, Halberder,” said Flaurie.
“Flight, return,” commanded the master. And the black raven came back, and Halberder raised his left arm, and the bird lighted upon the left wrist.
And in mute awe Flaurie said no more until the black horse climbed up onto the shore of this new world. Halberder commanded, “Fury, whoa.” And the horse stopped. The master then said, “Flight, at ease.” And the raven rested and flew off back to home. Then Halberder dismounted and helped Flaurie to dismount right after. The master then said, “Fury, at ease,” and the black horse indeed sauntered off back toward home.
Then Flaurie took her first good look at the United States with her feet firmly upon the land of the United States. She saw a most verdant and landscaped place of short green grass and some trees and strange accouterments like unto wooden furniture scattered here and there. “What is this place, Halberder?” she asked.
He said, “It is a park. This one is called ‘Auld Lang Syne Park.’”
“What is this strange seat with a board upon which to sit?” she asked.
“It is a park bench,” he said.
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“Why a girl and her cute guy could sit here and pray to God together,” she said.
“A most satisfying prayer meeting indeed, girl,” he said to her.
“And what is this wooden thing that looks like a table, but with benches along both sides?” she asked.
“That is a picnic table,” he said.
“A pretty girl and her boyfriend could sit here and take turns praising and thanking the Saviour of the world,” said Flaurie.
“Ah, indeed a fellowship of fellowships,” said Halberder in reverie.
“Have you been here before?” she asked. “Do you know all about this park?”
“I come to Auld Lang Syne Park in the summers here and enjoy my prayers and my Bible studies alone with God all of the time here,” he said.
“Prayers can be done all by oneself and not with others?” she asked.
“Those are the prayers that I do alone with God here in my quiet time with God,” he said.
“Why, just think, now that I am born again like you, Halberder, I can start praying here now,” said Flaurie. “And I can do quiet time prayer here alone with God, or I can do prayer meeting prayer here with you and God together.”
“We can read our Bibles here, too, at this park—again, either alone with God in quiet time or together in a fellowship of boyfriend-and-girlfriend-in-the-Lord,” said Halberder.
“That’s the second time that you mentioned that word–’the Bible,’” she said.
“The Good Book that God wrote,” he said. “The King James Bible.”
She narrowed her eyes in dreamy rumination and enlightened contemplation. Then she said, “I might have been reading this Bible as you call it back in my old life on the island.”
“You know about the Word of God, then,” he said.
“It was single verses or a few verses at a time,” she said. “God dropped down from Heaven
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just for me back there index cards with sentences that spoke right to my heart and that had the power of
God’s Holy Spirit. I think now that they had come from this Book that you said that you studied from at this park.”
“The Holy Bible,” he said. “’Therein it is written, ‘Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?’ Jeremiah 23:23.”
“God and His Word were with me on that lone island, and God and His Word are with us here in these United States,” said Flaurie.
Then Halberder said, “If the idea of spending time with me at this park sounds like fun for you, Flaurie, maybe you would also like to spend time with me at Sion Baptist Church, as well.”
“Sion Baptist Church?” she asked.
“Uh huh,” he said with a justifiable confidence of a “Yes,” from her.
“Is church as fun as praying and Bible-reading?” she asked.
“It is every bit as important to any born-again believer as praying and Bible study,” Halberder promised her.
And she eagerly gave forth the anticipated, “Yes.” And Flaurie said, “I will be glad to come to church with you, Halberder.”
“I have to show all of my brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ my beautiful new girlfriend,” he said.
Then she asked, “What is church?”
Halberder did a double-take. Then he understood his new girlfriend even better now because of what she said. Of course. And he said in answer to her question, “A good church is a group of born-again Christians gathering together on a regular basis to worship God and to serve God and to share God in the unity of the Holy Spirit.” He then said, “This same word ‘church’ can also mean ‘the complete aggregate of all born-again Christians everywhere.’ With this definition, Jesus Himself is called in Ephesians 2:20 ‘the chief cornerstone of the church.’ He is more often referred to as ‘the head
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of the church’ in reference to this same universal definition.”
“Who is it who will marry us, Halberder?” asked Flaurie.
“Pastor,” said Halberder. “Pastor Epistle at our Baptist church.”
“Is he a good man?” asked Flaurie.
“He’s the best,” said Halberder.
“I would like to meet him,” said Flaurie. “And I would like to meet the rest of your church that thinks the same way about God as we two do.”
“Would you like to meet my best friend and his girlfriend-in-Christ?” asked Halberder.
“A real other guy and a real other gal,” said Flaurie.
“Yep! He’s the church usher, and she’s the church clerk,” said Halberder.
“Could I see them the very first of any other people that you know of to introduce to your new fiancée, Halberder?” asked Flaurie.
“Would you allow me the honor to introduce them to you tomorrow here at Auld Lang Syne Park?” asked Halberder.
‘Are they good people, too?” she asked.
“They are very good people, Flaurie,” he said to her.
“I will make that time all the better for me by isolating myself from everybody but you for the rest of today,” said Flaurie.
“Till tomorrow, girl,” said Halberder.
And the two betrothed came home to Halberder’s place, and when the day waned, Halberder slept in his bedroom, and Flaurie slept in the spare room.
And the next day came for Flaurie—her first full day to come in her new life in the United States. She, again dressed in her three-piece harem girl outfit, and her handsome fiancé walked to Auld Lang Syne Park, hand-in-hand.
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The two sat down upon a bench in front of a wooded area of weeping willows. “Do you feel anxious, Flaurie?” he asked her.
“No. I feel eager,” she said. “Where are they?”
“Here they come now,” he told her. “There they are coming from the little shack.”
“I can see them both,” she said. “That one definitely looks like a guy, as you do. And that other one definitely looks like a gal, as I do.”
“The second and third people whom you have ever met in your true loner girl’s life, Flaurie,” he said. The engaged couple now sat up from their bench. Halberder came up to them and said, “Welcome, Brother. Thanks for coming, my sister-in-Christ.”
And the two brand new people coming into Flaurie’s life said, “Maranatha, Brother-in-Christ.”
And then they turned to Flaurie and said, “Maranatha, good and Godly Flaurie.”
She greeted them back in like, and she leaped off of the bench and approached them and her boyfriend there by a park sandbox.
The man bowed before her and said, “My name is ‘Flanders.’”
And the woman curtseyed before her and said, “My name is ‘Duchy.’”
Right when Duchy curtseyed in her young woman’s attire so different from Flaurie’s young woman’s attire, the girl new to the United States and to people was mesmerized by what Duchy had on. Truly this lady’s clothes were the kind of clothes that Flaurie felt that she needed to have for herself.
And Flaurie said, “Hello, Flanders. Hello, Duchy. You know my name.”
Then this most novel first woman that she had met in her life actually went and said to her, “Love your outfit, Flaurie.”
“I love your outfit, Duchy,” said Flaurie. Duchy had on a long-sleeved sweater, all of maroon and white and some blue. And it had cuffs at the end of the sleeves. And it had a word sewn on that read “Redbirds.” And it had a pattern of stripes and partitions and fields of those aforementioned
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three colors. And it reached all the way down to her waist. And it had a hem along the bottom that hugged the girl down there. And it was bright and vibrant in its design across this front. And Duchy also had on a skirt, one that was down almost to the knees and not nearly as long as her own skirt. And it was all maroon with a white stripe running along its hem at the bottom. And all around Duchy’s hips, this skirt was full of vertical folds of material that folded over to one side. Indeed the luster of this skirt was shinier than the luster of the sweater. And this girl from these United States also had clothes covering her feet. On the inside were a pair of tubular coverings that ran all the way from her feet up to nearly to her knees. And on the outside, covering only her feet were clothes that had on top little ropes running through little holes, all tied up fancy. And this first girl that Flaurie had come to see also had in both hands big fluffy balls of maroon and white and that swished as she shook them. And she also had in her brown hair pieces of fabric that adorned her head.
Flaurie finally spoke and asked, “Do all the women in these wonderful United States dress as you dress, Duchy?”
“No. Only we cheerleaders, Flaurie,” said Duchy.
“You are a cheerleader?” asked Flaurie.
“Uh huh,” said Duchy. Then the cheerleader put her arms akimbo, holding those big colored swishing things to her sides, and she kicked up her right leg, and she said, “Go, Redbirds!”
“What you just did right now,” said Flaurie spellbound. “Was that a cheer?”
“That was a cheer, Flaurie,” said Duchy, loving this attention from this woman of far away.
“What do you cheer for?” asked Flaurie.
“I cheered for our high school football team back in my day,” said Duchy. “Just think, that was already five years ago.”
“Did it work?” asked Flaurie.
“Sometimes. Sometimes not,” said Duchy.
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“Does that mean that when you cheered on your Redbirds, that sometimes they won the game and sometimes they lost the game anyway, Duchy?” asked Flaurie.
“Yeah,” said Duchy.
“Your cheerleader outfit. It’s wonderful,” said Flaurie.
In reply, Duchy shook her pom poms above her head, kicked up her left leg this time, and cheered, “Win one for Braisher Field!”
“Your cheerleader uniform. It’s marvelous,” said Flaurie.
“Flaurie,” said Duchy, “it’s football season for my old high school. Would you like to go to a game with me sometime?”
“Are there other cheerers there cheering like you cheer, Duchy?” asked Flaurie.
“Uh huh,” said Duchy. “Lots of them from both the home team and from the visiting team,” promised Duchy.
“It would be the most exciting thing to happen for me since I got born again second only to finding handsome Halberder coming for me on my lonely island,” said Flaurie.
The next day Halberder and Flanders and Duchy were giving out salvation tracts to people at Millennial Park, another park in town.
Flanders said, “I wish that Flaurie were here with us as we tell the world about Jesus.”
“Where is she, Halberder?” asked Duchy, also missing the new girl in their group.
“She told me that she had something that she had to do, but she did not tell me what it was,” said Halberder. “And she said that she couldn’t make it out with us today, but that she would come with us here the next time.”
“Nice blue jeans, Duchy,” said Flanders. “I never saw you in blue jeans before.”
“Why, thank you, Boyfriend,” said Duchy. “The time came for me to do my laundry.”
“Brother,” said Flanders to Halberder, “when my girlfriend says that she is doing her laundry,
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she really means that she is washing and drying her cheerleader uniform.”
“I was wondering why you did not have your usual clothes on, Duchy,” said Halberder.
“They are all washed now. Now they are in the dryer,” said Duchy.
“I gave Flaurie all three of our phone numbers, if that is okay,” said Halberder. All nodded in assent.
“And I gave her all three of our addresses,” said Duchy, “if that is okay,” All three again nodded in agreement. “She already knew your address, Halberder.”
“She said that she is looking for an apartment to rent until our betrothal,” said Halberder.
Then they came up to an older man walking with a cane in this park. Flanders came up to him, reached out a salvation tract to him, and said to him, “We three are from Sion Baptist Church. This booklet will tell you how you can go to Heaven, sir.”
This older man said to him right back, “I already go to the Catholic church.”
In truth, Flanders said kindly to this man, “I am not trying to get you to leave your church; I am sharing with you how you can go to Heaven.”
This man then huffed and said, “I was born a Catholic, and I will die a Catholic.” And then he turned his back on Flanders and walked away. The tract was still in Flanders’s hand. And this man was going to Hell.
Next a lady walking an Irish Setter came close to the witness-warriors. Halberder said to his fellow laborers-in-Christ, “I’ll take this one.” He smiled upon her in Christian compassion, reached out a salvation tract toward her and was about to speak.
But before he could say anything, this woman most eagerly took the tract from his hand, and she said, “Thank you, sir.”
He then said, “We are from the Baptist Church in town. This booklet tells of the good news of Jesus Christ.”
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This woman with the dog said, “I didn’t know that Baptists did this kind of thing.”
Halberder said, “Jesus died for our sins and rose again the third day.”
Just like that, upon hearing the Gospel thus, the woman said, “Let’s get out of here, Red.” And she and her Irish Setter hastily scampered off.
Duchy said, “I saw that tract still in her hand.”
And Flanders said, “There is still hope for her soul.”
Then three college-aged women came up to them, and Duchy approached them in her turn at soul-winning at Millennial Park. She proffered them each a salvation tract. The three hesitated to reach out and to take them. Duchy said to them, “I would like to invite you to Sion Baptist Church.
This salvation tract tells how to stay out of Hell and how to end up in Heaven.”
The one college woman said right away, “But I’m not interested in Heaven.”
The second college woman said, “But I want to end up in Hell where all of my friends are.”
And the third college woman said, “God is dead.”
Despite their hard hearts, they did each take a tract from Duchy’s hands; but at once they began to laugh most disrespectfully; and then they walked away in conviction, whispering among themselves about “those weird Baptist people.”
In indignation, Duchy said, “They were laughing at Jesus!”
Halberder said, “People did the same thing to Him when He was dying for them on the cross.”
“It is written, ‘So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it,’” recited Flanders good witness-warrior’s Scripture.
Halberder agreed and said, “Indeed God’s Word given out today by us three soul-winners will not return unto Him void.”
And Duchy, reassured, said, “God’s promise to us of Isaiah 55:11. Well said, Flanders.”
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The mighty and young laborers-for-Christ continued giving out the Gospel of salvation at this park for another couple hours. And though they never got to lead a searching soul through the sinners’ prayer this day at the park, they all knew that they did God’s work in God’s way to God’s glory. And they encouraged one another in the Lord. Then they ran out of tracts. And their work was done for the day. And they had a short prayer meeting. Then they rested from their work, sitting down at a picnic table by the river.
Just then a mysterious cheerleader came walking toward them the playground section of this park. All three at this picnic table saw her at once all at the same time.
“She looks like someone I know,” said Flanders, her form still some way away.
A little later, Duchy said, “She’s dressed just like I always dress,” her form now closer to them.
And a little later, Halberder said, “Why, that’s Flaurie!” Her form was now readily discernible.
“Hi, guys,” said Flaurie in her new cheerleader uniform. And Halberder’s woman came up to them, and she pirouetted, and she cheered, “Score a touchdown! Score a field goal! Score an extra point!” This woman from far away had quickly learned much about American football.
And now she knew all about cheer leading apparel.
Flanders said, “You do look cute in that, Flaurie. I like the new you.”
Halberder, suspicious, asked, “Where did you get that, Flaurie?”
And Duchy said, “Flaurie, that’s my cheerleader uniform!”
“I found it. I wanted it. I borrowed it,” said Flaurie.
“You sneaked into Duchy’s home. You looked for it. You stole it,” said Halberder the truth.
“You could have asked first,” said Duchy, her feelings hurt.
“Flaurie, you did wrong to my girlfriend, I now see,” said Flanders.
Halberder said, “You’ve got a fetish, my fiancée,”
“Is that what it’s called?” asked Flaurie.
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“You do look quite good in it on yourself,” said Duchy. “Do you promise to take extra good care of it while you have it on?”
“Oh, I do.” promised Flaurie.
“I forgive you then, Flaurie,” said Duchy.
“And I forgive you, too,” said Flanders.
“And I forgive you, too,” said Halberder. “But I’ve got two Scripture verses that I need to tell you about your cheerleader uniform fetish. Hear me out. Consider them. And promise to pray about what you did in stealing them from Duchy’s dryer.”
“I promise to do that,” said Flaurie, not feeling so good now about what she went and did.
“The first one is I Corinthians 6;12, which says this, ‘All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any,’” quoted Halberder the first of the two Bible verses. Then Halberder said, “And the second one is I Corinthians 10:23, and that says, ‘All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” Thus the second of these two Bible verses.
Flaurie was convicted of her sin. And she said, “I must take this off and put back on my harem girl outfit.”
“Where is your harem girl outfit now?” asked Halberder.
“On Duchy’s dryer lid,” said Flaurie.
Then Duchy went and said, “That harem girl outfit. It is quite wonderful. And it is quite marvelous.”
And Flaurie then said, “I can maybe take this off and put my old outfit on again later on this day.”
“Later on today would be good.” said Halberder.
“Could I maybe do it tomorrow, Boyfriend?” asked Flaurie.
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“Tomorrow would be okay with me,” said Halberder.
“Do you like what I put on this day?” asked Flaurie.
“I surely do,” said Halberder.
Then Flaurie asked, “How did soul-winning go for you guys here at the park?”
“Nobody got saved that we know of,” said Flanders. “But the Word of God went out.”
“I’ll come out with you guys next time,” said Flaurie.
“Tomorrow is church day,” said Duchy.
“I’ll come along,” said Flaurie.
The next day came along. And the four gathered at Flanders’s place to travel to church together.
Of course, Flaurie was still in Duchy’s cheerleader uniform. But now Duchy was in Flaurie’s harem girl outfit! “I feel real comfortable in this, Flanders,” apologized Duchy. “Do I look okay to you?”
“Yeah?” he asked. “Yeah!”
“Brother, our women are having an identity crisis,” joked Halberder.
“I think that I like the change,” said Flanders.
“I think that I do, too,” said Halberder.
“Don’t worry about me, Flanders,” said Duchy. “I still know whose girlfriend I am.”
“And I, also,” said Flaurie. “I am still your darling, Halberder.”
“I cannot wait to come to church this time,” said Duchy.
“I will come to church this first time for now,” said Flaurie.
“This won’t be the last time. Is it, Flaurie?” asked Halberder. “What are you telling me?”
“I don’t want a pastor telling me what to do and what not to do,” said Flaurie, putting her hands to the bottom hem of her cheerleader sweater and pulling it down comfortably over the top hem of her cheerleader skirt.
“Are you afraid that Pastor will tell you that you should not have my Duchy’s cheerleader
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uniform on?” asked Flanders.
She turned her face away and would not look at the three with her now. Then she said, “I like it too much.”
Duchy said, “I am not afraid if Pastor preaches and says that I should not wear your harem girl outfit like this. I will keep coming to church no matter what is preached from the pulpit.”
Flaurie said, “I don’t like church anymore.”
“You still want to fellowship with me at Auld Lang Syne Park. Wouldn’t you, Flaurie?” asked Halberder.
“I don’t think that I like Bible study and prayer meeting anymore,” said Flaurie.
“My betrothed!” exclaimed Halberder.
“Are you still coming with us this Saturday and giving out tracts at Millennial Park, Flaurie?” asked Flanders.
“I think that I have changed my mind about that,” said Flaurie. “I feel too good in this new outfit to do things for Jesus now.”
“Alas!” cried out Halberder upon hearing all of this spoken by his Flaurie so new in the faith. “’He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depth of the sea.’ Micah 7:19.”
“I am not one of those backsliders,” said Flaurie, indignant.
“’I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.’ Hosea 14:4, my Betrothed,” recited Halberder all due Scripture.
“You’re not going to lose me, Halberder,” said Flaurie. “It’s just that being a cheerleader feels better for me than being a regular Christian like yourselves.”
“I may not be losing you, but you are losing me,” said Halberder.
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
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“The Good Lord forbids spiritual Christian men from marrying carnal women,” said Flanders.
“I want my fiancé to tell me that to my face,” said Flaurie.
“’…,Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.’ Revelation 18:4, O stunning Flaurie,” said Halberder. “I cannot marry a backslidden woman.”
“You can’t, or you won’t?” asked Flaurie.
“I cannot, and I will not,” said Halberder, making a stand for Jesus.
“I was good enough for you when I was your harem girl. But now I am not good enough for you as your cheerleader,” cried out Flaurie.
“The cheerleader uniform has somehow taken your love away for the Lord. Your harem girl outfit did not take your love away for the Lord,” said Halberder. “I do not understand all about this. I just know that something went wrong that moment I introduced you to my two friends, and you took one look at Duchy, and you positively gawked at what Duchy had on.”
“You guys should pick on Duchy, instead. She did the same kind of thing that I do. Look at her. She’s in what I always used to wear. And you men have not said anything to her about this,” complained Flaurie.
“I’ll take off your harem girl outfit if you’d like, Flaurie,” proffered Duchy, “and put on other things, if it makes you feel better.”
“Would you take if off if God told you and keep it off for forever?” challenged Flaurie.
“If it is the only way that I can keep on enjoying fellowship and worship and things at the parks,” said Duchy.
“Well,” said Flaurie. “Whatever you do, do not take it off.”
“It is time to go to church,” said Flanders.
“Are you still coming this time, Flaurie?” entreated Duchy.
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“Only if your promise to take me to the football game to see the cheerleaders like you said that you would, is still good,” said Flaurie.
“I t is still good, Flaurie,” said Duchy.
“Let’s go to church then,” said Flaurie.
And the four went to Sunday Morning Worship at Sion Baptist Church down the road a way. And Pastor began his sermon for the day: “Covetousness…what is it? Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines ‘covetousness’ as ‘marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another’s possessions’ or ‘having a craving for possession.’ The tenth commandment says in Exodus 20:17, ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.’ In the book of Joshua in chapter six, the Word tells us of a man who fell into the sin of covetousness. His name was Achan, and he coveted what God called ‘the accursed thing.’ Just before the battle at Jericho, God told His troops of Israel not to take of any of the spoils of battle. God said, ‘Save all of the spoils for Myself this time.’ Well, as you know, God knocked down the wall, His nation conquered Jericho, and Joshua won his first conquest in the promised land. But one of the soldiers, the man Achan, discovered a spoils all for himself. It looked good. He wanted it. He took it. And what this all was was a handsome Babylonian garment and about eighty ounces of silver and about a twenty-ounce gold wedge. This was God’s ‘accursed thing’ that he had told Achan and all of the others not to take for themselves. Achan took it secretly for himself. This one man sinned, and all of the people suffered for it, and the Israelites lost their next battle. Because of Achan Joshua lost his first battle of the promised land at the city of Ai. Achan confessed to his sin of covetousness, and he and his family were stoned to death, and Joshua went on to win his second battle of Ai. My people, have you ever wanted a thing forbidden by God so much that you took it even though you knew that it was wrong to do so?
Is there in your life anything like unto Achan’s accursed thing? Do not go after it. It shall become a
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curse to you.”
Pastor went on to preach further, saying, “Take, for example, the sin of Gehazi, the useless servant to the prophet Elisha. In II Kings chapter five, God’s Word speaks of a man named Naaman, the captain of the host of the King of Syria. The prophet Elisha, through the Word of God, healed Naaman of his leprosy through the power of God. And Naaman came to Elisha to pay him for his good deed done for him. But Elisha, in his faithfulness to God, turned down this man’s present, and Naaman began to leave. Well, Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, heard all about this. And he came to covet in his heart this gift that his master had turned down. And he went after Naaman to get it for himself. And when he came up to this bearer of gifts, he lied to him and said, ‘Behold, two prophets have just been here.
Could I have seventy-five pounds of silver and two outfits to give back to them?’ And Naaman said, ‘Sure. Would one hundred fifty pounds of silver plus two outfits be good enough for them?’ And Gehazi agreed and took them for himself. He thought that he had gotten away with this. But the prophet Elisha, his master, had Holy Ghost wisdom and knew all about this. In II Kings 5:25-27, it is written about what came after, ‘But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him,
Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.’ Gehazi was punished by God for his sin of covetousness. God judged coveting in those Old Testament days, and He judges coveting in these New Testament days. Is there anyone you know that coveted anything like a
‘a goodly Babylonish garment’ or ‘two changes of garments’ as the Holy Bible calls them in these two cases of covetousness I have preached upon? Turn back to God. Confess your sin to God. And repent of that. And God will forgive you and cleanse you and receive you back into His fellowship.”
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Just like that, Flaurie got up, walked out of church, and vowed to herself to never come back. Upon seeing this, Pastor had a word of prayer for his first time visitor. Halberder feared losing his betrothed. Flanders wondered if he were to see this fascinating friend from afar again. And Duchy examined her own heart.
After church, on their way back home, all three were silent with personal prayers of thoughts.
Halberder was praying now about life as a single man for the rest of his life. If it were a sin for him to be unequally yoked together with an unsaved wife, it were also a sin to be unequally yoked together with a saved wife who was backslidden. As for Flanders, he did not quite understand this fighting over his girlfriend’s cheerleader uniform. This that was a good thing for Duchy must have been a been thing for Flaurie. Was it all a fetish for this girl alone on an island all of her life? And about Duchy, her thoughts to God now were, “May I have my cheerleader uniform back, O Lord?” And she promised God that the first thing she’ll do when she get home was to take off this harem girl outfit that belonged only to Flaurie, and that she would put on a dress instead. (And that she did when she arrived home.)
It was Friday night for the Redbird varsity football team and for the Redbird varsity football cheerleaders once again at Braisher Field right behind the high school. Flaurie, still in Duchy’s cheerleader uniform of five years before her time here, and Duchy, wearing a dress and not feeling quite comfortable in it yet, were almost there on a long walk together. The two women had become reconciled. And as Flaurie would be in reverie of what will be for her in cheer leading future, Duchy would be in reminiscence of what had been for her in cheer leading past.
“There’s my old high school, Flaurie,” said Duchy.
“Oh, the colors that I am going to see tonight,” said Flaurie in passions about today’s apparel like unto her own.
“You’ll have a great time tonight, Flaurie,” said Duchy.
“The greatest time of my life, Duchy,” said Flaurie.
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Duchy walked fast to the ticket booth. Flaurie ran to the ticket booth. Duchy looked for a seat closest to the Redbird cheerleaders. Flaurie ran to the seat closest to the Redbird cheerleaders. Duchy
sat down on the lowest seat of the stadium. But Flaurie remained standing. Duchy saw that these cheerleaders did not wear the styles that she had worn back in her days right here. She looked at her best friend Flaurie. She still did not sit down. She seemed vexed. And her face was filled with aghast disillusionment. She stared upon these contemporary high school cheer leaders as they stood there cheering before the start of the game. What Duchy saw in Flaurie’s features was shock. She was far from having the greatest time of her life. In fact, it was for Flaurie like unto when a loved one passes away.
Duchy cried out, “Flaurie, what’s wrong?”
Flaurie, still staring at the Redbird cheerleaders of these modern times, said to Duchy, “It’s different. It’s all different.”
“What is?” asked Duchy.
“The cheerleaders. The cheerleaders are all different,” said Flaurie.
“What’s different?” asked Duchy, almost crying for Flaurie in her strange grief.
“The skirts, Duchy,” said Flaurie. “They are not anything like mine. I don’t see lots and lots of pleats on these cheerleaders’ skirts. In fact I do not see even one pleat anymore anywhere here.
They are no good. They are all no good at all. I would not be caught dead wearing anything so unattractive as those. Cheerleader skirts are supposed to be magic; these here are no better than rags!”
“I can see that my old high school must have changed their football cheerleader uniforms,” said Duchy. “I am sorry for you, my best friend.”
“And the cheerleader tops,” said Flaurie, not without bitterness. “Don’t they make cheerleader sweaters anymore? These are all sleeveless and are of dull fabric.”
“We call them ‘cheerleader vests,’” said Duchy, trying to cheer up her good friend. “Our
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basketball and wrestling cheerleaders always wore them in the warmth of the gymnasium. “They are also called ‘cheerleader shells.’”
“I can see their belly buttons. Why these vests only go halfway down their torso,” said Flaurie in discouragement of dashed dreams.
“They changed things in cheer leading now since my days, Flaurie. Belly buttons are in now with the fans,” said Duchy.
“Those cheerleaders are in my eyes utterly incomplete with what they have on up there,” said Flaurie in the worst disappointment of her life. “I will never put on anything like a vest like that.
I would feel ugly in it.”
Her patience being tested by this lengthy complaining, Duchy resisted comment, for fear that she might snap at her worldly Christian friend.
But then Flaurie sat down, and she wept. And Duchy felt her mourning. And Duchy put her arm around her shoulders and said nothing, but held her tight. And after a short while, Flaurie stopped crying. She wiped her eyes, and she said, “I’m all right now, Duchy.”
“I care for you, Flaurie,” said Duchy in true Christian compassion for a sister-in-the-Lord who was also a new best friend in life.
“Duchy?” asked Flaurie.
“Yes, Flaurie?” asked Duchy.
“Could I have my harem girl outfit back?” asked Flaurie.
“Could I have my cheerleader uniform back?” sang out Duchy in joy.
“Yes, you can,” said Flaurie.
And yes, you can,” said Duchy.
And the two girls hugged.
“Let’s get out of here. There’s nothing for us to see here anymore,” said Duchy.
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“Let’s go back home and be what God had called us two girls to be,” said Flaurie.
“It is written in I Corinthians 7:20, ‘Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.’ And again it is written in I Corinthians 7:24, ‘Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.’” recited Duchy two Scripture verses.
“Or in our case, ‘every woman,’” said Flaurie in understanding.
Once back home, Flaurie again became the harem girl lady that God had called her to be for Halberder, and Duchy again became the cheerleader lady that God had called her to be for Flanders.
And when Flaurie quickly came back for Flanders, she confessed all and told all and apologized all to him. And he forgave her all, because she repented all. Indeed, in the ensuing weeks, he found her to be what God had wanted her to be as his girlfriend. She at once began going to church with him every time the doors were open. She at once began to fellowship with him alone again at Auld Lang Syne Park, filling many hours at the benches and at the picnic tables with Bible studies and prayer meetings with him alone with herself. And she joined the three witness-warriors all the time as they gave out tracts at Millennial Park. And she proved herself the fiancée that God wanted her to be for Halberder. And Halberder now knew that she indeed was the betrothed that God had wanted for him.
And Halberder asked her, “Is our betrothal still your greatest desire, my Flaurie?”
“Our betrothal is still my greatest desire, O Halberder,” said Flaurie.
“Let it be tomorrow,” said Halberder.
“It shall be tomorrow,” agreed Flaurie with all of her heart.
That day of betrothal came into their lives. The bride was in her ravishing harem girl outfit of green and blue. The groom was in a black tuxedo. The best man Flanders was in a white tuxedo. The maid of honor Duchy was in her cheerleader uniform of maroon and white and blue. Pastor was in a gray tuxedo. And all of the brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ were all here at the wedding in their Sunday best clothes. It was taking place at Sion Baptist Church. And the whole flock was rejoicing with the
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bride and groom.
According to the wishes of the bride and groom, the traditional wedding song would not be played. And also there would be no exchanging of wedding rings; neither saw such a thing as jewelry of any kind to be romantic. And their wedding vows would be Words from the Holy Bible. And not only would they kiss, but they would also hug. And the betrothal vows spoken by Pastor Epistle would be most traditional. And after, the flock of this Baptist church would be treated to dinner at Kentucky Fried Chicken by the married couple.
Flaurie gave her vows of love for Halberder first, saying the following love passage to her dear betrothed: “What is my beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is my beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” Thus were the love words of the Shulamite unto Solomon in Song of Solomon 5:9-16.”
Then Halberder spoke of his love for Flaurie, vowing this poem from God’s Word to his beloved betrothed: “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an
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armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.” Such were the words of Solomon speaking of his love to his Shulamite woman in Song of Solomon 4:1-6.
There at the altar of the Baptist church Pastor approached the betrothed couple. And he asked the groom, “Halberder, in the name of God, do you take Flaurie to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to lead, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?”
“I do, O Pastor,” said Halberder.
Then Pastor turned to the bride, And he asked, “Flaurie, in the name of God, do you take Halberder to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to obey, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?”
“I do, Pastor,” said Flaurie.
Then Pastor Epistle said, “In the authority of God and of the law of the land, I now pronounce you to be man and wife.”
The time for the kiss had now come upon the two of this betrothal. Neither had ever kissed one another before. Indeed neither had ever kissed another before ever. But they both wanted to kiss now for their very first time. And they drew their faces toward each other, closed their eyes, and touched lips. And they got it just right in this first time in their lives. This kiss was as sweet as wine.
Now it was time for a hug. Yes, they had never hugged each other before. And yes, they had never hugged another before in any romance. This would be their first embrace, as well. But a first embrace was easier to get right than a first kiss. And they wanted to do this right now. And they drew their forms toward each other, spread out their arms, and wrapped them around each other. And they
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got their first hug just right, also.
Pastor then went on to say, “I now conclude this betrothal ceremony. Come up and congratulate the newly betrothed couple.”
And everybody came up to the altar and said good and godly things to the betrothed.
Then Flanders said, “Kentucky Fried Chicken!”
And Duchy said, “Let’s eat!”
“I like dark meat!” said Halberder.
“I like white meat!” said Flaurie.
‘Uh oh. Trouble in paradise,” teased Pastor.
And all laughed together, the betrothed couple loudest of all.
It is written about betrothals by wise King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:9: “Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.”
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