After a moment Luke got up from the steps and sank into a chair on the porch. "Does lust mean what I think it means?" he asked.
"Guess it does," Charley said.
"Well, back when I could lust, I wouldn't ever have lusted her."
They watched her get in and drive off, head still down in an attitude of prayer, eyes up so she could drive. The car reached the other end of the main street, followed the road into the trees, and vanished.
Charley stared contemplatively across the yard at his outhouse.
"Work of the Devil, huh?" he mused. "Well, now doesn't that beat all! I bet Heaven would kick that prayer right out of court!"
"No," said a firm voice. "It was heard."
The three old men turned and saw a tall, handsome, blond young man, dressed in a neat and utterly clean white suit, standing in the center of the yard. His face wore an expression of perfect peace and abounding love.
Actually, he wasn't quite standing in the yard yet. When they turned, his feet were about four feet above the ground. As they watched, he floated slowly down until he was standing straight, and tall and smiling a little.