The Father Who Could Not Say It
Chapter One: The Chair at the End of the Table Jesus prayed before the sun had fully risen. The house was quiet except for the low hum of the refrigerator and the distant sound of tires moving over wet pavement beyond the neighborhood. A soft gray light pressed against the kitchen window. On the counter sat a cake still covered in plastic, a grocery-store Father’s Day cake with blue frosting around the edges and the words Happy Father’s Day written in slightly crooked script. Beside it were paper plates, unopened napkins, and a card in a white envelope that had not yet been signed. The table had six chairs, but only one chair had been pulled out from the night before, and Jesus knelt beside it with His hands folded, His head bowed, and His face calm in the presence of the Father. In another room, a man named Aaron Whitaker sat on the edge of his bed with his work boots in his hands, though it was Sunday and he had promised not to go in. He had told his wife he was only going to...