"Horrible," he said. He was shivering so hard he could barely speak. His chattering teeth gnawed at the air. "This bug really got me hard. Some kind of a.tropical fever." "Can I get you anything?" "I'm okay," he said. "Have a seat." I sat in the chair that had been turned to face the bed. Eric's surfboards, he'd brought two, were leaned against the wall. "Things going okay over at QUT?" "Good," I said. "We're making a lot of good connections." "You're all doing good work," he said. "I'm glad you're a part of the team this summer." He paused and nodded, a movement that appeared intended for him, not for me. He cinched the blanket tighter and said, "Listen, we need to talk about something. Some of the things you say, especially around the women, aren't so .. . " appropnate. "Sometimes my mouth gets away from me," I said. "Well, Paul says in Ephesians 4:29: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. If you're going to come back for the year, you'll be mostly on your own. You'll be the whole show at QUT, and an ambassador of Christ. You'll have to keep after yourself." It was the rebuke I'd been waiting for. I felt my face and neck flush with shame. I was twenty-two years old, getting my mouth washed out with soap. 1 could have insisted 1 wasn't the only one with a wayward tongue, but that would have been even more sophomoric, and I was too angry with myself to consider anyone else's failures. "I'm sorry," I said. "I'll try harder." "Give it over to God," Eric said. "Trust him to help you. His kingdom needs you." He lay back on the bed and worked his socks beneath the covers. I helped him unravel the twisted sheets and pulled them up to his chest. He pulled everything to his chin, the beige blanket still wrapped around his head. He couldn't get warm enough. "Thanks," he said, and looked up at me. "I meant what I said
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DAVID MCGLYNN