“He’s not the worst person to sound like, I suppose.” He pulled into the parking lot that serviced the Angel Oak park and began to search for a spot closest to the entrance. When at last he found one and cut the ignition, he turned toward Abigail and said, “He loves you like crazy, you know.”
She nodded. “I know.”
And so do you, she thought. Because the fact that Gavin wanted her was definitely insane. Couldn’t he see that she wasn’t going to be ready for a long time—if ever? Why not move on to somebody else?
Chapter 32
Abigail
The Angel Oak was a true Lowcountry treasure. People came from all over the world to see it, but as is often the case when a treasure lies buried in your own backyard, Abigail hadn’t paid it a second thought until Gavin brought her today.
The massive tree stretched clear up to the sky and in every direction besides. Some said it looked creepy with all those heavy, tangled branches reaching every which way, but Abigail liked to stick with the angel metaphor. Though if memory served, the name “Angel” came from the original owners of this land and not the heavenly host of beings.
“It’s like this one tree is trying to hug the whole world,” she murmured in awe as they walked a slow circle around its trunk. “Or at least all of Charleston.”
Gavin nodded and put an arm around her shoulder. “I feel connected here. To the past, present, and people who are too far out of my reach.”
“Like to Susie and Millie?” Abigail asked, remembering the sorrow that had reflected in his eyes when she told him his story of love—of a family—lost.
“Yes,” he said, his face remaining neutral for once as they continued their walk. “The last several times I’ve come out, it’s been for them.”
He stopped and turned toward Abigail, then grabbed both of her hands and swung them loosely between their bodies. “This time I’m here for you, though. Actually, both of us. We’re here for us.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. Fear filled her chest. Surely he meant to discuss their romantic feelings and possibilities again when she still wasn’t anywhere near ready.
He looked up toward the top of the tree, which they couldn’t see from where they were standing. It appeared as if the Angel Oak ascended forever into the heavens.
“For the sake of argument, let’s say this tree is actually fifteen hundred years old,” Gavin said before lowering his gaze to look at Abigail once more. “If you round our ages up to thirty, this tree has still lived fifty times longer than either of us. It makes us seem so short-lived by comparison. Doesn’t it?”
“You sound like my father again,” she teased in an effort to lighten the air of seriousness that now hung between them. “I’m sure he’s used this argument in one of his sermons about Methuselah.”
“I sound like me,” he said without the slightest bit of humor. “This is all of me talking to all of you in front of all of this.” He motioned widely at the tree.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Abigail whispered. “The tree does make me feel small. In size, too.”
“Small, but not unimportant,” he corrected. “More like there are things that are bigger than us out there. There are things that are bigger than us right here.”
She nodded, unsure of where he was going with this.
“Now assuming we’re still thirty, think about what one day of your life so far represents. You’ve lived over ten thousand days and still have many more to go. What I’m asking for is three hundred and fifty of them.”
Nearly a year. What could he possibly want with that? She didn’t follow. “I don’t understand…”
“Abigail, I love you,” he said bluntly but made no effort to kiss or embrace her. “I don’t think I ever stopped.”
She hung her head. Why had he trapped her here for this? She didn’t want to hurt him, but she had nothing she could give, either.
Not yet.
Gavin continued, “But we both need time to heal, to rebuild our friendship. That’s why I’d like to offer you a deal. We ran into each other again, after all those years, on the day after Christmas. I think—if you’re willing—we should take any talk of a relationship off the table for one whole year. Until next year on that same day. Let’s focus on being there for each other as friends, on helping each other heal. Then on the day after Christmas, we can meet here at the Angel Oak again and decide once and for all what we mean to each other. It’s just one year—a little less—but I think it will go a long way to healing us both.”
He hesitated before grabbing her wrist and directing her eyes toward his. “What do you think?”
A million questions shone in his eyes, but only one that mattered. If you don’t love me today, do you think you might tomorrow? Do you think you can love me within a year?
The idea of delaying that conversation for a full year both terrified her—because that would mean that it was still coming—and relieved her. Now she just had to decide which reaction was stronger, and whether she’d be willing to give his plan a try.
Chapter 33
Abigail
As silly as it seemed at first, taking the prospect of a relationship off the table for one full year was just what Abigail needed to get past her hang-ups about spending time with Gavin. Over the weeks that followed, their friendship grew.
And so did the puppies.
Now their ears stood straight up like true Chihuahuas, and those huge ears combined with those tiny bodies made them that much cuter. Abigail still favored Mama Mary most of all, but as it turned out, she had room in her heart—and during her days—for each and every one of those pups.
Most nights, Gavin joined Abigail and her father for dinner at the kitchen table. They shared about their days, laughed, talked, and sometimes even caught a movie at the local cineplex.
Each morning, Gavin would text Abigail a status update about her baby. Every day brought a new fact about little Owen’s development and about pregnancy and childbirth practices around the world. At twenty five weeks, her son was apparently the size of a rutabaga—though he was starting to look like an actual infant and even growing hair. She marveled at the changes happening inside her body. An entire life was growing inside of her. It wouldn’t be long until little Owen was his own person, and that revelation shocked and amazed her each and every day.
On Valentine’s Day, Gavin showed up with tacos—Abigail’s number one pregnancy craving as of late—and a gift for her father, of all people. “First, we eat, then we have to take a little trip,” he told them with a smile so big it spread around the entire room. Abigail guessed her baby might also be smiling in her womb, such was the infectiousness of Gavin with a surprise.
“What are we doing here?” her father remarked when Gavin drove them straight to the Eternal Grace Church and parked next to the two other cars in the lot that evening. “Not that I’d ever complain about the chance to spend time in God’s house, mind you.”
“You’ll see,” Gavin said, leading them toward the sanctuary.
Neither of the three ever missed a Sunday service now, but spending Valentine’s Day with her father and with God… Well, that was a new one, all right.
The church secretary met them outside the double doors dressed in a becoming crushed velvet dress that graced her knees elegantly. Her hair was twisted into a neat and tidy updo, and her jewelry sparkled dazzlingly from her neck and earlobes.
“Mrs. Clementine, shouldn’t you be out celebrating the holiday with your husband?” Abigail exclaimed upon seeing her there.
The old woman smiled but continued to block their entry. “That’s where I’m heading next, but first, I wanted to be here for the look on your pa’s face when—”
“Don’t you dare, Mrs. Clementine,” Gavin hissed. “We haven’t managed to keep it a surprise for this long, only to spoil it at the last second!”
She slapped a manicured hand on her forehead. “Of course, you’re right. You’re right. C’mon inside, y
’all. You’re going to want to see this with your own eyes.”
Abigail noticed the new addition to their sanctuary even before her father did. She gasped as she took in two large projector screens on either side of the church. Glancing toward the ceiling she, sure enough, saw a pair of projectors shooting colored beams at both.
Behind them, Gavin flipped off the light switches and the image on the screen became clear as day.
For all you do for others. Happy Valentine’s Day, Pastor Adam! it said in white letters on a red background. Beneath that there was a very recent picture of Mama Mary and her pups posed in front of their locally famous nativity scene which had been put into storage weeks ago.
“How did you manage to do all this without either of us catching on?” Abigail asked with a stern look to Gavin while her father marched straight up to each projector and reached a trembling hand out toward the light.
“I have my ways,” was the only answer Gavin would give. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Abigail.”
Her father returned and grabbed Gavin in a huge hug. He pulled Abigail in, too. “This is amazing. Thank you for giving the church such a wonderful gift. It will be much easier for everyone to read the words to our hymns now.”
Mrs. Clementine spoke up for the first time since they’d entered the sanctuary. “It’s not just for little old ladies with bad eyesight like me,” she pointed out. “We can make slides to go along with your sermons and put them on the new church website for people to reference later—or to read for the first time in cases where they’re too sick to attend in person.”
“Can our church website do that?” her father asked in shock. “As far as I knew all it had was a few pictures, service times, and our address.”
“It may need an update,” Mrs. Clementine confessed, still wearing a broad smile. “But it will be very much appreciated by the congregation.”
“You know,” Gavin said, “with all the slides that will need to be put together each week plus the need for a new website, Eternal Grace may want to look to bringing a graphic designer on staff part-time. Now, where can we find one of those?”
Abigail’s jaw dropped open. Of course. It was the perfect opportunity for her to stay busy and keep her skills up to date without putting too much pressure on her schedule as a soon-to-be mom. Gavin had done this for her father and for the church, but really, he had done it for her.
“I think that sounds like a mighty fine idea,” her father said, placing an arm over her shoulder. “Mighty fine, indeed.”
And that’s the exact story of how Abigail finally returned to work in the wake of her loss. It was a good story, and one she knew she would revisit often. It was amazing what good friends, good family, and a good God could accomplish.
Chapter 34
Abigail
The new job at church helped Abigail to fill her days more efficiently. It also energized her like she hadn’t been in months. Rather than sleeping her days away, she spent her free time reading up on some of the best nationally recognized therapy dog programs and all the other great working roles dogs could fill in society.
It was one thing for her father to claim their church dogs were miraculous, and quite another to intentionally set them up to help change people’s lives. True, most working dogs belonged to much larger breeds, but while it wasn’t common for Chihuahuas to have jobs, it absolutely could be done.
There were so many different types of therapy dogs, it made her head spin. Ultimately, Abigail decided it would be best to teach their church dogs how to help people going through difficult life transitions and battling with depression. After all, Mama Mary had helped her with just that thing. And while she wasn’t fully recovered, she was making progress every day. Sometimes just having a nonjudgmental ear and a friendly lick could work wonders.
When Abigail shared her intention to get Mary and her pups certified as therapy dogs, her father ate the idea right up. “Ahh, perfect. That’s just what our church needs. I told you God had a plan.”
She laughed, all the while appreciating what her father’s faith coupled with her research could accomplish.
By the time she reached twenty-eight weeks pregnant, the puppies had all turned eight weeks old, which meant they were ready to be enrolled in obedience school. During the first class, three of four puppies piddled on the floor of the gymnasium, and the fourth attacked and shredded a pamphlet about the importance of training dogs young. Still, Abigail was not discouraged.
“Well, we can only go up from here,” she confided in the pups while loading them back into the car to head home. “Maybe one of you will earn the title of ‘most improved pup.’ At least we can hope.”
A sleek black SUV she didn’t recognize was waiting for her in the driveway when she and the puppies returned. Abigail peeked inside, but the car sat empty. Hesitantly, she pushed the front door open and was greeted by her mother-in-law, who she hadn’t seen since the day of Owen’s funeral.
“Hello,” Abigail said with a shaky voice, picking up Mama Mary who had run to greet her at the door and hugging the dog close. “It’s nice to see you… Mom.”
She’d always felt strange calling Owen’s mother “Mom,” but it had made him happy, which is why she did it anyway.
The older woman was tall and thin, with bright red hair and age spots where freckles had once been. Abigail had always liked her well enough, but it was hard for the two of them to spend time together after Owen had died.
They shared too many sad memories.
Mrs. Sutton approached her with tears in her eyes. “May I?” she asked, motioning toward Abigail’s protruding belly.
Abigail nodded, and her mother-in-law placed a hand on each side of her belly. “Oh!” she cried. “He kicked me.”
“He does that a lot,” Abigail said. “I’m going to name him Owen, by the way.”
Tears fell in earnest now, and Mrs. Sutton’s face turned the same shade of burgundy as her hair. “That’s a wonderful name. He would be so proud.”
“I like to think he is proud,” Abigail said gently. “That he’s in Heaven experiencing every moment with us.” Her faith had grown tremendously since her visit with Gavin to the Angel Oak. The faith she’d once resisted had brought her the beginnings of peace that she’d so desperately craved since her husband’s passing.
“That’s a nice thought, dear.” Owen’s mother smiled sadly.
“I didn’t mean to cut you out of things,” Abigail explained. “It’s been hard, and I—”
“No need to apologize. I wasn’t ready to see you yet, either,” the mother confessed as she tightened a hand around the strap of her purse. “The only thing harder than losing your spouse, they say, is losing a child.”
Abigail’s heart ached for them both. “When the baby’s born, I want you to be a part of his life. Same as you would be if Owen were still here. Family is too important to keep little Owen away from any of the people who love him.”
“Thank you,” Mrs. Sutton said. “I want to be there for him, and for you. It’s just…” Her words trailed away as if they were still too painful to speak.
“Hard, I know,” Abigail finished for her. “Believe me, I know.”
“Actually, I don’t think they’ve made a word strong enough for it yet.” Mom let out a sad chuckle. “I finally got the courage to sort through all of Owen’s old things. There were boxes upon boxes in the attic, in his old bedroom. There was so much, yet it didn’t feel like enough to represent a whole life. Not even close.”
Abigail nodded and listened, waiting for Mrs. Sutton to say more.
“I couldn’t part with anything. Not yet,” Owen’s mother continued. “It felt wrong to simply give it all away to people who didn’t know him and wouldn’t value any of the things that had once been so important
“And so…” She sniffed and wiped away tears before continuing. “I’m starting small by bringing some of these memories to you, so you can share them with Owen’s son. I know you will both treas
ure them like I would, and that makes it a little bit easier. I packed a box for you. It’s in my trunk.”
“Thank you, Mom. I’d love to have it.” Abigail wasn’t sure what to do next. Should she hug Mrs. Sutton? Offer to retrieve the box from her car? Instead, she asked the easiest of the many questions on her mind. “Where’s my dad?”
Mrs. Sutton gave her a sad smile. “He let me in, then went for a drive. Said we’d need time alone together before he was there to get in the way.”
Yes, that sounded just like her dad, although it may have been easier if he was here to mediate for them.
The two women stood in awkward silence for a moment.
“Oh, let me go get the box for you,” Owen’s mother said after reaching in her purse for a crumpled tissue.
Abigail waited inside, both terrified and eager for what she might find.
If only she knew…
Chapter 35
Pastor Adam
Things in our little corner of the world had been going peachy keen for more than a month now. Thanks to Gavin’s generous donation to the church, our little congregation welcomed in many new families who appreciated Eternal Grace’s blend of modern technology mixed with classic praise and worship.
I swear to you, that boy was a genius. I’m really quite glad I didn’t shoot him back in the day.
Best of all, Abigail stayed busy and happy with her new role at the church along with starting things up for the Chihuahuas and their career ambitions as therapy dogs. Yes, Abigail was happy as a clam…
Until one day she wasn’t.
Mini Miracles Page 11
