Step to the Side

This was all too strange. But far stranger was when he caught a glimpse of himself in a large wall mirror. He was the one dressed like a butler this time, right down to his white gloves. He then looked over and noticed that it was James sitting in the master’s seat somehow and just finishing up a meal. James was impeccably dressed as he ate.

Billy was confused. James was supposed to be the butler and Billy was the master. A switcheroo? He had to get to the bottom of this. “What is going on here? Shouldn’t you be waiting over me while I eat?”

James turned in sudden, slight anger toward Billy. “That is a rather cheeky statement for a butler to make.”

“Butler?! Who dreamed this up?”

James casually dropped his napkin onto the table next to his gold leafed plate. “Apparently, you did. In this house, I am the master and you are the butler - - and you seem a rather bold one at that.”

“This isn’t how my dreams are supposed to be.” Billy looked around the room and then at himself.

“Well, I am the master of the house in this dream. And by the way, I want to thank you for giving my house a more cosmopolitan sense of style than those traps that you dreamt yourself in.” James made a grand sweeping gesture to this strange-looking domicile. It was very modern in a Mediterranean way. “Do you not agree?”

Billy thought the room was weird, but he wanted to say something nice. “I do like the watery light effect.”

James seemed dismissing toward that particular comment. “Visually stunning perhaps – but dreadful for reading. Fortuitously, we are not here to read. We need to relocate anyway. Come with me, Billy.” James rose up from the table to face his new manservant. “But before we go any further, I would like to congratulate you on your recent promotion.”

This confused young Billy. He had no idea what James was talking about. “Huh? Promotion? What promotion? Going from a rich dude to some stiff butler?”

“Of course,” James said with a celebratory smile. He began to talk and lead Billy into the next room. “Billy, my boy, there are many things that you need to learn. One of them is the merits that accompany a servant’s heart…”

Billy followed James like a student receiving instruction.

“From an immature point of view, becoming wealthy and having people do all your work for you is a desirable thing. But in the end, a person can become lazy and mentally soft. Understand that I am speaking in generalities; this is not always the case. But more often than not, that is what occurs. Recall your Scripture…”

At this point, Billy had to interrupt James with a lightly sarcastic comment. “That’s just great. Now even my former dream butler is going to be telling me about what the Bible says.”

James spoke with excited energy. “And why not? The Bible gives us the perfect example. Upon meeting God’s Son, we should all rightfully get down on the floor and worship. But at the same time, He declared that one of His purposes in arriving was not to be served, but to serve. What a tremendous pattern for us all. He healed the sick. He fed the multitudes. He even washed the feet of His followers. This does not sound like the actions of a king – and yet, He is the greatest King of all.”

By this time, the two of them entered what Billy instantly recognized as a large personal library. Hardback volumes filled the shelves with visual harmony. In front of the bay window sat a small table with two chairs sitting opposite each other. Something was resting on the table under a large handkerchief. Billy stepped past a large globe which he gave a gentle turn.

James crossed over a large Oriental rug and hardwood floor toward the table and expected Billy to do the same. “Jesus served his disciples and now you will perform a service for me.” He lifted the handkerchief up in the air revealing an exquisite chess set. The board itself was part of the table and consisted of black granite and Mother of Pearl inlay. One player’s pieces were made of gold and the other out of jade. He noticed that they possessed strategically placed gems. Billy picked up a knight and noticed that small rubies burned in their eyes. Beautiful. He marveled at how handsome this set was. This could be the most expensive chess set on earth.

Billy smiled. “Wow! That’s dope!”

“Oh, I know that it is a little humble looking for your fastidious tastes, but the same rules of the game apply. I am guessing that you still know your way around the board. Please have a seat and brace yourself for a great game.”

“I’m really not so sure that I want…”

“SIT DOWN!” James cried.

Intimidated and a little startled, Billy sat and looked up at him.

“Young man, do not treat me like one of your little high school chums. I am challenging you to perhaps the greatest game of all time, dating back fifteen centuries. All that history, all that tradition, generations of chess masters, it has all led us up to this climactic moment. Mankind itself is hinging on what we are about to do. Today, we play Chess! Not only that, but we shall play precisely the way they did it in the days of yore. That means none of this parley business! We play TO THE DEATH!!!”

“WHAT?!”

James laughed as he sat. His voice resumed its friendlier tone. “Good grief, child. People don’t play Chess to the death. Where is your sense of humor?” At the sight of a somewhat comforted Billy, James waved toward him. “You have the opening move.”