Discover Love(2)

         

 

His mother straightened at the refrigerator, the forgotten hot dog package still in her hands. "Are you sure?"

 

Pushing his thick glasses up on his nose, he pursed his lips. "Well, not for sure … but if you come see what I've discovered, I think we may have something before the next symposium. Want to take a look?"

 

The hot dog package landed on the counter as Phoebe rushed after her husband, back into the study.

 

Luke watched them leave, a sigh escaping as he moved toward the counter to fix the hot dogs. As he stood at the sink, he heard a noise from next door. Glancing out the window, he saw Chris at his grill. With a grin, he grabbed the hot dogs and ran outside.

 

"Chris!" he called out.

 

"Hey, Luke, you back so soon?" the friendly greeting met him. Looking down at the package in Luke's hands, he shook his head. "Your folks hard at work again?"

 

Stopping in front of Chris, Luke looked down at his shoes. "Yeah," he said dejectedly. "I thought you might like some hot dogs and I don't mind sharing if you don't mind them cooking on your grill."

 

Patting Luke's shoulder, Chris nodded. "No problem, buddy." Adding the hot dogs to his own fare, he jerked his head toward the lawn chairs. "Got some time to kill?"

 

Luke loved talking to his neighbor-he never felt judged even though Luke knew he was a nerd and Chris was definitely not. "Sure."

 

"So tell me about school," Chris said, after they settled into their seats.

 

Heaving a sigh, Luke twisted his face into a grimace. "I like school. I like learning. But I hate being called a nerd."

 

"Yeah, I used to hate being called that too," Chris acknowledged, earning a sharp glance from Luke. Chuckling, Chris continued, "I didn't always look like this. I was the skinny kid who always loved to read, but got made fun of a lot."

 

Eyes wide, Luke stared, unable to picture the massive man in front of him the way he described.

 

Leaning forward, his forearms on his knees, Chris pierced Luke with his gaze. "There's nothing wrong with being smart. Your parents are super smart-"

 

"Yeah, but they're boring-"

 

"No buts. Now you listen to me," Chris admonished. "Your parents are right for each other, even if you think they're boring. They're connected with their love of old books … and their love for you. Your parents are smart and even though they might be a little absentminded, they're good people, right?"

 

Nodding, Luke agreed, so Chris kept going. "I didn't have money to go to college, but I loved to work with my hands. So, I applied my brains to what I liked to do. Just 'cause your parents like ancient languages and history, doesn't mean you have to. But you need to discover what you like and then apply your intelligence to that. No matter what it is."  

 

"I like math. I like computers, also," Luke said, his face scrunched in thought. "I'm really good in those." Then, huffing again, he said, "But I hate being called names." Grinning, he added, "That's why I'd like to learn what you're teaching me … so I can beat up on them!"

 

"Kids are rough on each other," Chris agreed, "but you gotta stay true to yourself. You know, the moves I'm teaching you aren't to be used lightly. You don't use your body to go after someone unless they're coming after you."

 

Shoulders dropping, Luke acknowledged, "Yeah, I know."

 

By now, Tina had joined them in the yard, plopping down in the other empty lawn chair. Smiling at the young man, she said, "Do you know anything about St. Luke?"

 

Luke's gaze jumped to the pretty woman and he rolled his eyes. "Oh, believe me, I've heard it all." Rotely reciting, he said, "St. Luke was Greek and was educated in languages and was a physician. He was an apostle and a historian as well as a writer of gospels, and some even consider him to have been an artist." He grimaced at his neighbors' expressions of mirth and added, "Yeah … I was named after an ancient nerd."

 

Chris threw his head back in laughter at Luke's description. Tina, unable to hide her smile, giggled as well.

 

"You know," she said, "St. Luke is also the patron saint of students. When I was in school, I attended St. Luke's High School and our principal always told us that we needed to be the best we could be … in whatever we chose to do." The smile slipping from her face, she leaned forward in her chair capturing Luke's gaze.

 

"You can be anything you want to be, Luke. You're smart, sweet, strong. Own that. Live up to that. And then continue to learn and discover all that you can.