Four That Became One

 

            The birthing center at the local hospital sat in absolute silence, while the nurses, the doctors, and the receptionists milled around the nearly empty premises, doing their best to remain busy, cleaning when necessary, interacting with the two patients who had recently delivered children the day before. When the head doctor realized that little to nothing was taking place and what seemed to be busy work was adding nothing of value to their day, he called a meeting in the conference room.

               “Hello, everyone, thank you for coming in,” he said. “It is pretty obvious that we have nothing to do, other than caring for our two patients and their newborns. Everyone please choose somewhere comfortable to sit, enjoy one another’s company and hopefully we will see more patients arrive before the evening comes to an end. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

               As the room slowly emptied, the doctor glanced at his watch and noticed that they had only three hours left in the evening before the birthing center would be closed. The mechanical whirring of the front doors stirred everyone’s attention, to reveal a pregnant woman and a panicked husband hurrying toward the front desk. A gurney was brought from a back room, upon which the woman was laid and whisked into a delivery room.

               The frantic husband was cornered by a nurse to complete the necessary paperwork, offered a chamomile tea and given a place to sit while his wife dilated to her full ten centimeters. Thirty minutes later another frantic couple hurried through the front doors, to be followed thirty minutes later by a third couple and then an hour later by a fourth couple.

               “Wow, do you believe this?” the head doctor said to his staff. “Looks like our passion for work to do has been fulfilled. Everyone stay attentive, be ready for four deliveries in the next few minutes. Nurse Johnson, I believe now would be a good time to call in the local priest. It is times like this that his kind of assistance and encouragement is particularly helpful.”

               Four frantic husbands wandered around the waiting room, exchanged words of concern, offering words of encouragement, and discussing their shared experiences. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I could really use a couple shots of tequila right now and at the same time, I know that this wouldn’t be a good idea,” one man said. The whisking of the front doors drew all of their attention, to watch a Roman priest casually enter the waiting room. The man drew near to the four of them, encouraged them to join him in a circle of seats in order to share a few words.

               “The important thing to remember gentlemen is that you are here to encourage and be strong for your wives,” he said. “It is times like this that they need you, your strength, and your support. We need to receive permission from the nurses for all of you to be with your wives as they deliver.” The priest then rose from his seat, disappeared into a side hallway and returned with the head nurse to encourage the men to find their wives and support them.

               Within one hour of his arrival, the priest moved from room to room, visiting each mother who had just delivered their child and spoke a single word as he gazed upon each infant. “Wisdom,” he said as he looked at the first child. “Courage,” he said, as he looked at the second child, “Purity,” he said as he looked at the third child, and “Humility,” he said as he looked at the fourth child. He gathered the four fathers in the waiting room. “Remember those words gentlemen,” he said. “They will be the primary characteristics of your children. I felt something special and peculiar when I entered a few minutes ago. I believe that these four children will be connected in a special way and will act as one to positively impact those around them.”

               As he finished his final words, he excused himself and left the building to return to his empty home. The four men exchanged names, exchanged phone numbers, email addresses, and schedules. Five years passed and the four families remained in contact, to eventually see all four little boys begin attending the same elementary school. One more year passed, then five years, and then six more years passed to see all four boys intimately connected to graduate together with a beautiful, warm friendship between them and their families.

               In a small celebration of the four families, the four husbands recalled the words of the priest about each boy’s primary characteristics. “It really is remarkable,” he said. “That odd little priest was exactly right in his four words of our four sons. I am excited to see where they go after this, what they accomplish, and how they impact everyone around us. I know my son is planning on attending university for a vocation in social work.”

               The celebration ended, the four families departed to their homes, and each one had an identical conversation upon arriving home. “Dad, Mom,” each boy said, “all four of us having been talking and we are all planning on going to the same university. We have basically become like one person and cannot imagine being separated for the next four years. We have all made plans to stay connected, do more, be more, and create a better world.”

               The next three months of summer passed, the four boys all met at the train station with their luggage, said goodbye to their parents, and traveled several hours away to begin their next journey in life. The train stopped at the station and Moses, the largest of them all, led the way toward an Uber ride that he had ordered to bring them to the university. They rode in silence for about twenty minutes, emerged from the vehicle, found their dorm, received their roommate instructions, happy to learn that the four of them would be in two rooms in the same hallway.

               The two groups of two boys each separated into their rooms, began unpacking and joined together to find the cafeteria for lunch. Moses, the largest and bravest of the four of them, stood as a guardian and protector of them all, creating an air of control and courage, communicating to any and all around them that these four were not ones to be messed with. Maximus, the smallest among them, carried within his head and heart a wisdom that far surpassed his years.

“Let’s finish our meal, find our class schedules, and see if we can make some connections with other students,” he said. “We don’t want to be seen as oddballs or outcasts. The more friends we have the better.”

“That is a great idea,” Paul said with his typical humility. “We need to be careful in how we interact, how we present ourselves, and do our best to become well known, understood, and respected. Okay, it looks like we’re all done eating, let’s go find our schedules, other students, and make some connections. This will definitely be interesting.”

The four boys rose from their seats, with Moses in the lead, standing eight or nine inches taller than the rest of them. They emerged from the cafeteria, crossed the open grassy patch of lawn before them, entered their dorm, and found the dorm head to obtain their schedules. They took the stairs to the third floor, milled around the hallway, spoke to several other students, and Samuel did his best to avoid eye contact with the many girls that frequently approached him. “Guys, this is really difficult,” he said. “Why do the girls always hunt me down? I simply want to focus on my studies, on helping others, and being a positive influence on everyone else.”

“Yes, Samuel, we understand your plight,” Paul said. “There is something about your that seems to draw the girls over. I wish that was a problem I had. But no, you and your insistence on purity, chastity, and waiting until marriage is all good and right. But I really don’t think all of these girls are going to stop looking for your attention. We’ll do the best we can to help you out of this struggle you have always faced.”

Four years of university passed, Moses remained the massive, imposing, protecting guardian of his three friends. At the same time, Maximus continued to speak words of wisdom, guidance, and good advice, when his friends were faced with problems or struggles. Paul remained the one with a level head, always working to bring an air of humility for himself and his friends, reminding them that not everyone has the type of friendship they enjoy or the loving, healthy families in which they grew up.

Graduation day came, all four families converged on the university, the four boys took four different jobs in four different cities. Within five years, Moses married, Maximus married, and Paul married, leaving Samuel alone with his commitment to chastity and devotion to doing good for others. Moses, Maximus, Paul and Samuel remained in contact, maintaining an unusual connection that seemed spiritual on some level. They synchronized their vacations, introduced their wives, and made a consistent effort to meet many times each year.

Moses, Maximus, and Paul could all see the loneliness, the emptiness, and the seeming lack of direction in Samuel. They knew that suggesting marriage to him was a fruitless effort, for he was committed to chastity and purity. As each man succeeded in his particular vocation, they began a combined effort to build a company that provided work opportunities and philanthropy for those in need. As their families grew and as they grew old, they watched their combined efforts grow into something beautiful and productive.