Backslidden Christian

by Casey Cullum

Overview

After receiving probation for getting busted for drugs, Gary Froman tries to straighten up his life and keep a promise he made to his pastor when he was just a young boy. Though, without his new friend Jimmy Barnes, taking him to and from church, it may have never been possible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481709309
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	02/13/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Casey Cullum was born on May 6, 1994 and lived in Galatia, IL his whole life.

In Jr. High School he became deeply interested in car racing and ATV riding. At age 15, he wrote his first novel, "Backslidden Christian." Through High School, he continued to write other books and playwrites that remain unpublished and unproduced.

Read an Excerpt

Backslidden Christian

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By Casey Cullum

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2013 Casey Cullum
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4817-0929-3

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Chapter One

(22 years earlier)

"Hahaha, haha," children laughed as the played in Sunday school.

"Hey, hey Gary," said Reverend Bill Mason. "Come here. I would like to speak with you about something."

"What is it Pastor Bill?" Gary asked.

"I don't know if you know this or not but you are probably my best student."

"Really?" Gary replied with an excited smile on his face.

"Oh, but I don't want you to go around telling everyone this."

"Okay, Thank you Pastor Bill," Gary said in an excited rush.

"Oh, no, no, wait. I wasn't finished yet." Reverend Bill said as Gary got up to walk away.

"Sorry Pastor Bill."

"It's quite alright. I just wanted you to promise me something," Reverend Bill said in a strong but calm voice.

"What is it?"

"I don't think it will be very hard for you Gary, but I want you to promise me that you will work hard to keep a strong relationship with the Lord throughout your life," said Reverend Bill.

"Okay, Pastor Bill. I can promise you that," Gary replied.

"Alright, thank you, Gary," said Reverend Bill. "Now, you can go play with your friends.

"Okay, thanks, Pastor Bill."

(Present Day)

"Hey, hey buddy. Watcha doin' there?" Gary asked a person that was walking down the sidewalk.

"Nothing," the man said.

"Where you goin'?"

"Nowhere. Just out for some fresh air, ya know. Just trying to relax a little bit," he said.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know watcha mean," Gary replied.

"Why are you asking?"

"Well, because if you really want to relax ...," Gary looked around and whispered, "this whole bag is only fifty bucks."

"Oooh ... I don't know. It's been years since I quit that stuff. I don't want to get back on it again."

"Yeeeah, but that was a long time ago," Gary said trying to con the man into buying the drugs. "Don't you wanna know what it feels like again ... to have no worries and no bad news that could bring you down?"

There was a pause, almost complete silence in both of their minds. It was like someone had closed up their ears, leaving only a tiny opening to hear anything.

"Fifty, you said?" the man asked as he was reaching for his wallet.

"Yeah, fifty," Gary said in a slow and quiet voice.

The man took out two twenty dollar bills along with two fives. He gave them to Gary one by one, almost as if he had obsessive compulsive disorder. When Gary finally had all of the money in his hands, he gave the man his bag of drugs and they both continued on with what they were doing.

Just minutes later, a random guy walking down the sidewalk stopped him.

"Excuse me, sir," the man said.

"Yes?" Gary asked.

"I noticed you selling something in a bag to that man. You remember? Just a few minutes ago."

"Yeah," Gary replied. "What can I do for ya?"

"Well, I was wondering what it was."

"Why? You a cop or somethin'?"

"No ... But uuuh, if you were selling ... you know 'relaxants' we'll say," the man said with emphasis, "I was wantin' a little some of it. My girlfriend just broke up with me and I needed to get my mind off things before I go crazy," he explained.

"Well, yeah it was. How much you wantin'? I got three sizes. There's a small bottle for thirty bucks, a bag for fifty, or a big bag for seventy-five. Or if you ...," and about that time, Gary heard sirens wailing.

"I'll just take it all off your hands. How about that?"

"Gary Froman, you're under arrest for possession and intent to distribute illegal narcotics," a police officer said from behind Gary as he was slammed up against the side of a police car.

"Agh, aaaagh. I thought you said you weren't a cop?" Gary yelled as he was cuffed by the officer.

"I'm not a cop." the officer said. "I'm off duty."

Gary continued to scream and yell as the police shoved and forced him into the police car. He kept grunting and hollering all the way to the police station.

After arriving at the police station, Gary wanted to stay inside the police car. Seeing how his hands were cuffed behind his back, it seemed rather difficult to withstand all the strength of all the men.

Making their way back to the prison cell wasn't a walk in the park either. Gary twisted, turned, and struggled but he just couldn't break free.

"Ha," the officer said as he threw Gary into the cell and locked the gate. "I guess we know what's happening when you die. Devil's gunna be real happy when you enter his house."

Suddenly, Gary felt a sharp pain shooting through his body.

(flashback)

"I want you to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"I don't think it will be very hard for you Gary, but I want you to promise me that you will keep a strong relationship with the Lord throughout your life."

"Oh, yes Pastor Bill. I promise you that."

(present)

The lovely memory faded, but it stuck in his heart like a knife that wouldn't come out.

A few days went by, during which all of them, he thought about what the officer had said to him and his memory as a young boy.

Still thinking about it a couple of days later, Gary found himself doing something he would never think of doing. He was tracing a cross on the bars that were imprisoning him.

The next day, Gary could still not get it out of his mind.

"Excuse me officer," Gary hollered out.

"What?" the officer said in a mean way.

"Can you tell me if Reverend Bill Mason is still preaching?" he asked the officer.

"Yes. Yes he is," the officer explains. "In fact, I go to the same church where he preaches. Why are you asking?"

"Uuuh, no reason. I was just wondering," he lied.

"Oookay?" the officer said in a slow and curious voice as he walked away looking at the expression on Gary's face.

"Thank you."

The officer paused, looked back and smiled. "You're welcome."

Gary took his arms out from in between the bars and laid down on his bed. He didn't do anything the rest of the day. All he did was think of the promise he had made as a young child. He didn't know how he was going to keep his promise, but he would have to somehow. Without meaning to, he drifted to sleep in the same position.

He woke up the next morning laying on his back with his arms crossed, the same position from when he fell asleep the night before. Some other officer came by and hollered at him about breakfast, then walked on. He came by again about noon to tell him about lunch, but Gary was still in the same position.

Around three o'clock, the officer that Gary had talked to the day before had come in to take over the shift. Gary could hear them from down the hall.

"You might want to keep an eye on Gary Froman in cell 37. The only muscle he's moved all day was his hand."

"What did he do?"

"He lifted it up to wave me on at lunch. He's just laying there on his bed starring up at the ceiling. He kinda acts like a kid that don't know what to do. I think that whatever drugs he was on really messed him up. It's really weird," the officer explained.

"Alrighty, will do."

Gary heard the officer going down through all the cells checking on the inmates, but he seemed to skip Gary's cell. About ten minutes later, the officer opened Gary's cell and walked in. Gary looked up at him wondering what he was doing.

"Whatcha need?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk is all."

"Oh, okay."

"Now why are you just sitting here?" the officer asked.

"I don't know. First, I think I should figure out what I'm doing sitting in this jail cell. The six days I've been in here, I realized I threw a lot of my life away.

There was a pause but he still starred at Gary even when he stopped talking.

"What?" Gary finally asked.

"Nothing. I'm just listening to you is all," he answered.

"Officer, do you ...," Gary started to say as he was interrupted by the officer.

"Gary, my name isn't officer. It's Jimmy. You can call me Jimmy."

"Jimmy?"

"Yes, Jimmy," he replied.

"I once knew a Jimmy. But that was a long time ago. I can't remember where or even when I knew him. I think I was like nine or ten ... or it was something' like that," Gary explained.

"Oh, really? That's cool. Was he a good kid?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, I think I remember him being an alright kid. But then again, I can't even remember his last name."

"What were you going to ask before I interrupted you?"

"Oh, yeah," Gary continued. "Do you remember last night when I asked you about Bill Mason and that whole conversation?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well when I said that I was just wondering, I kinda lied," Gary admitted.

"Yeah, well I kinda figured that you did."

"How did you know?"

"It was just that expression on your face," Jimmy replied. "I'm really good at reading people. It's part of the job, ya know."

"Oh."

"You want to tell me what was on your mind last night?"

"Yeah," Gary said. "I was thinking about a promise I made to Reverend Bill. Aaand I really think I should keep it."

"What did you promise him?"

"I'm not going to say it, but I know there will be serious consequences if I don't keep it."

"Gary," Jimmy asked," if I could get permission, would you be interested in going to church with me and my family on Sunday mornings?"

"Could you really do that?"

"Well, I could certainly try."

"Yes! Yes! That would be the best thing that ever happened to me. I would love to go back to church."

"Well," Jimmy explained as he opened the gate to walk out, "I will try to make arrangements for it. I'm gunna have to get back to work now. I'll see ya later."

"Thank you."

Gary couldn't get much sleep that night. He dozed off a few times, but he just woke right back up. He was thinking of how good it would be to get back into church again. But when he did fall asleep for the final time that night, he had a happy and hopeful smile on his face.

The next morning, he woke up, only it wasn't morning anymore. It was already afternoon. He slept through breakfast and lunch both. As he sat up on his bed he heard someone running down the hall.

"Gary!" Jimmy said excitedly. "I got permission! You can come with me and my family to church on Sundays!"

"YES! That's just what I was hoping for!" Gary yelled in excitement. "How many days away is Sunday?"

"Sunday is two days away. Today is Friday."

"Thanks, Jimmy," Gary said with a happy smile on his face.

"If you need something just give me a holler," Jimmy said.

"Ok."

Jimmy started to walk away, but Gary yelled at him,

"Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Come to think of it ... what am I going to wear? I can't go into a church wearing these orange cover-all things ... whatever they are."

"Gary, I'm sorry but I really don't know what to tell you about that," Jimmy replied.

"Okay. Thanks anyway."

"You're welcome." Jimmy said as he walked out to check on everyone.

Gary sat there looking at the three uniforms given to him, trying to decide which one would be the nicest to wear to church. One uniform had a hole in the right leg of it, and another had a bunch of stains all over it. The last pair was in the best condition. They were a little faded but they were going to have to work.

A couple of hours later, Jimmy appeared at the gate, but he was just checking up on Gary.

Gary asked him, "Hey, Jimmy! You think you could get these washed up for Sunday?"

"Yeah, sure. I guess I can."

"Thanks."

"Not a problem."

Jimmy took the uniform down to another officer and told him to get it washed up. Gary waited patiently for his good uniform to get done. He just sat on his bed thinking about Sunday. He really couldn't wait any longer. About three hours later, Jimmy was at the gate with his uniform.

"Here you go," Jimmy said. "All clean and ready for Sunday."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now don't wear these until Sunday," Jimmy pointed out. "You don't want to get them all dirty."

"Oh, no. I hadn't planned on that at all."

"Good." Jimmy said.

"Okay, well I'm gunna head to bed now. I'm pretty tired."

"Now Gary, I don't work tomorrow or Sunday, so I might not be here," Jimmy explains as Gary puts his uniform on the foot of his bed. I might come in to see you, but I just don't know."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow or Sunday."

"Goodnight."

The next morning, Gary awoke to find a nice breakfast sitting on the side of his bed. He had two eggs, three strips of bacon, a sausage patty, buttered toast, and a glass of orange juice. When he finished, he saw a note with only the corner sticking out from under the plate that he'd missed. The note read:

Gary,

I decided to get you something to eat today, just because it's Saturday. I figured you kinda get tired of that ol' prison food. Plus, I see people bringing in things for their relatives all the time, so I brought you a nice breakfast. I've went shopping for you and I'm gunna bring you back some clothes for church tomorrow. I hope you enjoy your breakfast, and I'll see you in a few hours.

Jimmy

For the first time in a long time, Gary felt like he actually had a friend. He finished drinking his orange juice and waited for Jimmy to get back.

"I wonder what he's gunna bring me?" he whispered to himself, looking at the floor with his head held low.

"Well why don't you take a look and see?" Jimmy asked Gary as he walked around the corner.

"How did you hear that?" Gary asked as he jerked his head up to see who it was.

"How did you not hear me until I was opening the gate?"

"I guess I just wasn't paying any attention. I do that every now and then," Gary replied.

"Oh, okay. Well, here is everything I picked up for you. It's not much, but it's a whole lot better that old ratty uniform."

"Wow! It's awesome! It's incredible! It's ...," Gary softly shouted. "I don't know what else to say!"

"Well you certainly are excited about it all."

"Yes. Yes I am. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Jimmy had bought him two polo shirts and a blue and white, long-sleeved button-up shirt. In another bag, there was a pair of blue jeans and a pair of khaki pants. And in a third bag, there was a pair of nice dress pants.

"Now you know to only where these clothes to church, right?" Jimmy asked.

"Oh, yes. I know. These clothes are way too nice to ruin in an old prison cell."

"Oh, and thank you for the wonderful breakfast. I can't even remember the last time I had a breakfast that good."

"Oh, you're welcome," Jimmy replied. "But unfortunately, I can't take the credit."

"Why not?"

"My wife cooked it."

"Oh," Gary said as they both laughed.

There was silence between both of them. Gary just sat there on his bed looking at all the clothes that Jimmy had bought for him. He was very happy with what all he had been blessed with.

"Well don't just sit there looking at them all," Jimmy said. "Try them on and see how they fit."

"Okay."

"Just give me a holler when you're done changing," Jimmy said as he walked out of the cell. "I'll just be around the corner, here."

"Alright."

Gary undressed himself, wondering if the clothes would fit him or not. Oddly enough, when he was completely dressed, shoes and all, the polos and jeans fit him perfectly. The shoes were slightly too big for him, but it wasn't a very big deal.

"Okaaay," Gary hollered. "I'm all ready."

Jimmy came back around the corner and took a few glances at him. He couldn't believe how well the clothes fit him.

"Woooow! Fits better than I thought they would," Jimmy said in a surprised way.

"Yeah, the shoes are a little loose but that's quite all right," Gary said. "I'd rather them be too loose than too tight. Then they would make blisters on my feet."

"Yeah, that certainly wouldn't be too good," Jimmy said as they both laughed. "Okay, well go ahead and try on the long-sleeved shirts and the khaki pants. I want to see how they fit, too."

"Okay."

"Holler when you're done."

Gary changed out of the polo shirt and blue jeans and into the blue and white long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants. They fit him just a well as the other outfit did.

"Okaaay," Gary hollered again. "I'm all ready ... again."

"Well, I can't see much of a difference in how they fit," Jimmy said.

"Yeah, and the shoes fit the same, too," Gary said with a smile on his face.

"Oh you're just hilarious aren't you?"

"Well, thank you ... but I already know that," Gary said as Jimmy shook his head and laughed.

"Now Gary, I want you to know that if you try any funny business," Jimmy continued for a while explaining the consequences, "then I will be fired from my job here at the police station, and you will never be allowed to come to church with me again. There's also no telling what kind of trouble you will get into when you get caught. So if you had been planning this all along, you better just stop yourself right now."

There was silence for about five seconds, but Gary finally spoke, "Well, aren't you just hilarious? Why would I run away from the best friend I've had in who knows how long? I finally have a chance to do something with my life. Even if it 'is' just going to church and back to this cell. Why in the world would I run away from it all?"

"Okay, well I was just telling you just in case," Jimmy replied.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Backslidden Christian by Casey Cullum Copyright © 2013 by Casey Cullum. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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