RELATIONSHIPS May 2, 2005 Issue

LET GOD TELL IT!

TARN WILSON

I LOVE STORIES: I read books, watch movies, and listen to my friends' tales of their lives. Also, I've had the habit of collecting stories by eavesdropping. Until recently, that is.

My husband would tease me about this, especially when we'd be out for dinner and he'd notice I was no longer listening to him, but leaning toward a nearby table. I'd concoct elaborate scenarios, such as: "It's their first date. She's openhearted but a little too needy. She'll scare him away." And so on.

For a long time, however, I'd had the nagging feeling that this habit of creating stories for others was not a harmless pastime. I saw it clearly one day when a friend and I met in a coffee shop. Soon after we arrived, a woman in a tailored business suit came in, followed by a slouching teenager. They sat down at the small table next to us. I realized that the woman was interviewing him for a prestigious college. I couldn't help listening to the unfolding drama.