Excerpt
She leaned her head on my chest and simply rested there for a moment as the song blared on. It was a beautifully tender moment. I could feel such trust from her; such peace from the troubles of her own life and mine. Hell, now that I think about it, this series of events is why we were both late to work that day. We became totally consumed in the moment; totally unaware of time or anything happening around us. That was until she played one more song that she said reminded her of me. Unfortunately, I never asked her the title of this one, and it was in Cyrena’s first language, Spanish, so while I didn’t understand what it was saying, I contextually picked up that it was a love song because it was slow and sweet. Worth Holding On To
That, coupled with her actions of simply silently resting there with me, holding my hand and caressing it as she did, basically decoded the lyrics for me. Strangely enough, though the sun was still shining brightly that surprisingly cooler August morning, large rain drops began to fall. An idea hit me instantly because there was so much that – prior to my presence in her life – Cyrena had not experienced so with this idea I was ‘shooting from the hip’ in the hopes that this would be another memorable first for her. While the heavy rain poured down, for however brief a time it did, through the sun, I sprang up from my seated place next to her and ran around to her opposite side now completely exposed to the pouring rain. “Ant, you’re so crazy! What’re you doing?!” she questioned. I answered her question with one of my own: “Do you trust me?” To which she replied, “Of course!” “Good,” I said, “come here, then!”
Opening her car door for her like the royalty I believed she was, I took her hand and swiftly pulled her up from her seat and close to me. She took a deep breath as the rain drops hit us both. I pulled her even closer, lifting her up off the ground in a hug and kissed her there in the rain. She was beaming from ear to ear and started giddily laughing, only then to say, “Cheesy, but definitely romantic!” “Thank you,” I replied, “I try.” Eventually getting back in her car after a few more moments embracing and simultaneously becoming soaked, we noted the time, but both of us knew it was well spent despite how late we’d be to work. Off we went. Worth Holding On To
How To Purchase
“Worth Holding On To” and all of Anthony’s books can be purchased through our bookstore.
About The Author
Anthony M.J. Maranise, Obl.S.B. is a research scholar in the Department of Religion & Philosophy affiliated with the Master of Arts in Catholic Studies Program at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. He is an Oblate of the Order of St. Benedict in the Catholic tradition, having dedicated his life to academic research and instruction with specializations in the intersection of Sports, Spirituality, and Religion, Catholic Spirituality, and Benedictine Monasticism.
As a Certified Sports Lifestyle Coach, recognized through the International Sports Professionals Association, he happily serves student-athletes as a sports chaplain at various institutions throughout the Southern United States and is the author of the book, Sport & the Spiritual Life: The Integration of Playing & Praying (Amazon Affiliate Press / Order of St. Benedict, 2013).
