She had been expecting something fancier. It would be understandable that Calvin would try to trick them into joining him for drinks, but Kerry started to wonder why he hadn’t gone to a little more effort. He was cute enough, charming even, but without any sign of the surprise he had promised. Kerry was starting to think about finding a way to leave. It would have been easier except that Zoie seemed to be having a genuinely good time. She was usually bored by all of the other Christian guys Kerry introduced her to, but not Calvin. Then again, who knows why he was at the concert. He never raised his arms during the praise songs and didn’t echo any of the ‘amens’ either. Maybe Kerry had been wrong to presume he was a Christian all this time just because she met him at a church. They hadn’t covered this scenario at the “How to Avoid Non-Christian Guys” workshop she attended. At least Zoie was with her, otherwise Kerry would be starting to feel pretty unsafe.
Finally she noticed a lull in the conversation and interjected. “So Calvin, we’ve been sitting here for about half an hour, and there hasn’t been any mention of this surprise you talked about. When are you going to tell us why you brought us here in the first place?”
Being quite familiar with the passive aggressive nature of Christian girls like Kerry in these quasi-date settings, Calvin knew she meant business, so he began to explain. “Did you guys know that John went to Bible college right around the corner from here?”
“Of course,” said Kerry. “He got a Certificate of Church Music there before he went off to study in the States.”
“Even I knew that,” laughed Zoie. “We were paying attention at the concert.”
Calvin corrected himself. “Right, they did mention that, but they didn’t mention that this coffee shop was his favourite hang out spot? He came here three or four times a week.”
“Wow,” said Zoie. “This was his study spot?”
“Actually,” chuckled Calvin, “John didn’t study much. He came here with his roommate mostly to get away from the dorm.”
“Wouldn’t it be great if he dropped in here after he was done at the church?” asked Kerry.
Looking at the smile on Calvin’s face, Zoie knew something was up. “Is he coming here Calvin? There’s no way you brought us here just to show off your John Kraybill trivia.”
Wanting to believe Zoie, but not sure if she could trust Calvin, Kerry looked him in the eye to see if this was some kind of trick.
“You see that guy in the parking lot?” asked Calvin, pointing to the driver of a black sports car that had pulled in moments before.
“Oh my word,” exclaimed Kerry, “that’s him!
“How did you know?” asked Zoie. She may not have been his biggest fan, but his alluring voice and his rock star good looks were enough to even make a girl like her quiver at the chance of meeting him.
“I was the roommate” said Calvin as he got up to greet his old friend. Meanwhile the girls tried discreetly to check if their hair and makeup looked right.
With the handshakes and pleasantries out of the way, John asked Calvin, “Who are the chicks?”
“Still the same old John.” laughed Calvin. “They sat beside me at the concert. I figured they’d like the chance to meet you.”
“I hope they want more than just an autograph.”
“Actually,” explained Calvin, “that’s how I convinced them to join me here. One of them was filling in a ballot for one of your autographed posters, and I told them I’d get them one better.”
“‘Attaboy,” said John, giving Calvin a jovial shot in the arm. “I’ll do my best.”
“Just try to share the spotlight a bit tonight John,”said Calvin, almost under his breath. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
When they arrived at the table with John’s coffee and donut, Calvin gave the formal introduction. “John, this is Zoie and Kerry.”
“Wow,” said Kerry as they shook hands. She was trying not to sound too overwhelmed by his presence, and trying to show a little of her own cleverness. “You two were roommates and your names are John and Calvin? You had the John Calvin room. It’s like it was meant to be.”
Not sure if Kerry herself understood the irony of what she just said, Calvin prepared his response to the joke that had been pointed out more than once by their Bible college friends. “We prefer to the term ‘predestined.’”
Calvin couldn’t help but chuckle at his own joke. It was after all the last bright spot he would be allowed in the conversation.
