A Heart of Faith – Chapter Three
Time. Some think it’s something of which they have lots. But we never can know how much we do have, until it becomes jeopardized. That’s a lesson the Meltsner learnt the hard way, when just that happens to Eugene Meltsner.
All of a sudden, time seems to be slipping away for him, quicker than anyone could have expected. Will the situation be able to be turned around before time is completely gone for good? Only time and faith will reveal what God could possibly have planned for them—of what use the situation could be. And maybe, as the saying goes, “One man’s loss, is another man’s gain.”
Although the events prove to be a fright for the family, and even their close friends, they are all able to find that they can have Hearts of Faith that God will take care of them and their every need.
Early afternoon found Eugene standing in an air-conditioned chemistry classroom, almost every students’ eyes being on him. “Now class, I ask you to take out your Analytics of Chemistry textbooks and turn to page 380,” He began, taking out part of his lesson notes. “You will be taking a few minutes… to…”
It was suddenly happening again. “Read t-to… page… erm…” The dizziness was causing the teacher’s thoughts to become scrambled, while still trying to simultaneously keep his balance. “Professor Meltsner?” A student called out, waiting for Eugene to finish his sentence.
Upon holding onto the edge of his desk for support, Eugene caught a glance at his lesson notes. He’d written down the classroom assignment of the students reading from page 380 to 400.
Taking as deep and steadying a breath he could, Eugene managed to give out the rest of the instruction. “Page… four-hundred.” He then slowly sat down at the desk, before saying, “… Commence.” With the class now reading, Eugene had a brief moment to collect himself—removing his glasses to hold his head in his hands.
Two students, who had noticed their professor’s odd behavior, exchanged glances with each other. They leaned closer to each other. “Does Professor Meltsner look alright to you?” Both glanced back at him again. “Not really…”
“Should someone ask if he’s okay? Just to make sure?” The first wondered, with the second student volunteering, “I’ll go ask.” The first student watched as his friend got up from her seat, and quietly made her way up to the professor’s desk.
Eugene was quietly panting where he sat as he tried to take a proper breath again. The dizziness had already begun to subside once he’d sat down. A quiet voice caught his ear. “Professor Meltsner?” Picking up his glasses, Eugene put them back on. One of his students was standing in front of the desk. “…Yes?”
“Are you alright?” She quietly asked, looking a bit concerned. “I’m quite alright… thank you.” Eugene took another breath. “Please return to your seat.” The student nodded, and did as she was asked. Not long after, Eugene caught his breath—finally collecting himself, able to continue teaching the class.
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Just as Katrina had predicted that morning, Eugene arrived home before her. Buck did too, as the two met in the driveway. “Howdy, dad!” He greeted happily. “Oh, greetings Buck.” Eugene greeted in return. He then asked, “How was your day?” The teen gave a bit of a shrug, and hummed. “It was good.” Buck replied, walking alongside his dad to the front door. Once Eugene unlocked it, the two entered the house.
Sparky, having heard the keys in the lock, had already hurried to meet the two at the door. The dog barked excitedly, as Buck went to give the dog some love and attention. “Hey, Sparky!” Setting his backpack aside, Buck knelt down to the dog’s level to give him some belly rubs. Sparky instantly got onto his back in anticipation. “Who’s a good boy?” The dog barked happily. “Yeah, you are!” Eugene smiled at the sight, before continuing past the boy and his dog.
Entering the kitchen, Eugene set his briefcase on one of the table’s chairs. He then turned his attention to the oven. Setting it to preheat, Eugene went to take the premade casserole from the fridge. Seeing as the oven was still preheating, he set the casserole on the stovetop in the meantime.
While waiting on the oven, Eugene sighed. Suddenly, he was feeling oddly tired out. Most likely fatigue catching up with him. Pulling up a chair, Eugene sat down for a moment as Buck entered the kitchen for a glass of water—Sparky trailing him. “You okay, dad?”
“Hmm?” Buck opened the cupboard door and took out a glass. “Oh, yes. I’m ‘okay’, to say the least.” Eugene assured him. “Why do you ask?” While heading to the kitchen sink with his glass, Buck answered with, “You just seem tired, I guess. Are you?” He wondered, turning the tap on. “I suppose you could say that.” Eugene confessed. “I merely had a late night, nothing more.”
“Oh, okay.” Buck hummed. Taking a sip of his water, the teen then went to retrieve his backpack before heading upstairs to his bedroom—having homework assignments to do.
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