Between You and Me

With Mitch back in Odyssey, he and Connie spend nearly every available moment together. They share hot chocolate, go swinging in the park, plan movies, and delight in the smallest details about each other. Connie also manages to give Mitch a paper cut, kick him accidentally with a flying shoe, drop a microwave on his foot, spill coffee on him, and poke him in the eye. Mitch jokes that being close to her may leave very little of him intact.

Their excitement begins crowding out other responsibilities. Connie arrives late for work and admits that her private time with God has become irregular. Whit understands why she and Mitch want to make up for the time lost during the witness-protection crisis, but he warns that God still deserves a place in her days. Connie insists that she can manage her own priorities and that everything is fine.

At Whit’s End, Connie and Mitch take a magazine’s silly compatibility quiz while Bernard tries to clean around them. The questions are designed so obviously that almost every answer matches, and Connie happily declares them perfect for each other. They trade affectionate compliments while Bernard adds ridiculous ones of his own. The couple’s delight is genuine, but they scarcely notice anyone else around them.

The next Bible study centers on asking God for what people desire while remaining willing to accept what He knows is best. Connie is supposed to lead the discussion, yet she and Mitch completely forget the meeting and go bowling. Even Bernard, who expected their distraction, is disappointed. Whit recognizes that Connie’s relationship means a great deal to her but is troubled that it is replacing commitments she once valued.

During dinner, Mitch finally tells Connie what has been occupying his thoughts. Agent Bourland has praised his intelligence and instincts and invited him to join the FBI. Accepting would require training in Virginia and another long separation from Connie. Mitch has not decided and only plans to gather enough information to make a wise choice, but Connie immediately fears losing him again. After all the grief of believing he had died, she silently pleads with God not to let him leave.

Connie tries repeatedly to reach Whit for advice. He does not return her late-night message, cancels their regular breakfast, goes fishing with Tom, and leaves only a note about cleaning gum from chairs. Each time she nearly reaches him, he is busy with someone else or hurrying away. Mitch also cancels their evening plans to meet with FBI leaders. Feeling abandoned by the two people she most needs, Connie breaks down alone at Whit’s End.

When Whit finally returns, Connie tearfully tells him that Mitch may leave and accuses Whit of putting her behind everything else. Whit asks how it feels to be pushed to the edge of someone’s life. He has deliberately made himself less available to show her what she has done to God. Connie has blamed God for allowing Mitch to leave, return, and perhaps leave again, yet she has barely sought God’s guidance because all her attention has gone to Mitch.

The lesson stings, but Connie understands it. Instead of immediately asking Whit what she should do, she decides to pray first. She spends time honestly seeking God before meeting Mitch by the lake.

Connie admits that she has been praying only for the outcome she wants. She now asks God to do what is best for Mitch, even if that means the FBI takes him away from Odyssey. She also realizes that her relationship with Mitch has become more important to her than her relationship with God. Mitch recognizes the same neglect in himself. They agree that no matter how important they are to each other, neither can take God’s place.

Rather than end their relationship, Connie and Mitch decide to slow it down. They will continue dating and spending time together, but not constantly, leaving room for God and the other responsibilities in their lives. Their future - and Mitch’s decision about the FBI - remains unsettled. For the moment they share a picnic, where a hidden toothpick in Connie’s enormous sandwich gives Mitch one more small injury and one more reason to joke that loving Connie can be painful.