Whispering Hope

by Marsha Hubler

  Skye and Morgan had initiated Skye’s girl-whispering plan with Wanda all week long but had not noticed any significant change in Wanda’s attitude or actions. She went on her merry nasty way, engrossed in her own misery and pain.

  Patience and tough love, my dear, Skye remembered Chad saying a while back. Yes, she figured while working on a report at a computer one evening, getting through to the gangbanger was going to take some time. While Wanda played pool by herself, Morgan played “Battleship” at a computer next to Skye.

  “Skye, what’s your report about?” Morgan was busy with her game controls.

  “Well,” Skye stopped typing and stared at the screen, “believe it or not, I’m writing a paper about the game of pool for science class.”

  “You and pool?” Morgan’s voice raised an octave. “I didn’t think you were that interested in the game.”

  “Well, I wasn’t until Wanda moved in,” Skye said.

  For a brief moment Wanda stopped shooting, and the room grew silent. Skye figured, and hoped, that Wanda was eavesdropping on their conversation. Disregarding Wanda’s interest, Skye continued talking to Morgan. “When I helped her with a report a few weeks ago, I really got interested in the technical stuff. Morgan, did you know that if someone is good at geometry, he or she would be good at pool?”

  “How so?” Morgan said, staring at her screen.

  Skye faced Morgan, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Wanda pretending to analyze a shot at the table. It’s taking too long for her to shoot, Skye reasoned. She’s got to be listening,

  “Pool is a game of angles,” Skye said. “On this one website, they show you all this neat stuff about making shots and how you have to hit the balls and use the cushions and all. Did you ever hear this geometry rule: ‘The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection’?”

  “Yeah, I just had that in my geometry course a few lessons ago,” Morgan said. “That’s really cool that you found all that stuff about the game.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Skye saw Wanda walking toward her. “Hi, Wanda,” Skye said nonchalantly, turning back to the computer.

  “What’d ya just say about pool?” Wanda grumbled.

  “Oh, not much.” Skye typed away. “I’m writing a report about it. That’s all.”

  Morgan had nothing to say.

  Wanda stood behind Skye for a moment and then returned to her pool game.

  Skye typed a few more sentences and then said to Morgan, “Did you know there are different sized tables, different kinds of balls and different kinds of cloths for the table? All those things affect the angles and how fast the balls go.”

  “Didn’t know that,” Morgan said.

  “Oh, and get this. The pool sticks are different lengths and weights. A heavy stick weighs about 20 ounces or more. All that stuff is important to know if you want to be a champion pool player.”

  “Cool,” Morgan said.

  Pecking away, Skye listened as Wanda shot two more balls then walked to the computer station and, again, stood behind Skye. Skye kept typing, and Morgan played her game.

  “My stick’s a Brunswick 18 ouncer,” Wanda said.

  “What’s that?” Skye kept typing.

  “I’m talking about my pool stick. It weighs 18 ounces and was made by Brunswick, one of the best billiard companies. It was first prize in the junior pool tournament I won last year.”

  “That’s nice,” Morgan said.

  Skye kept typing. “I have to get this report done by Monday. I want to put some stuff in it about some of the women pros I found on the web. They are so cool.”

  “What’s so neat about them?” Morgan asked.

  “Well, for one thing,” Skye said, “they’re from all over the world. I emailed one of them from California who was a world champ about ten years ago, but she’s retired now. She emailed me back and told me she’s a Christian! She also told me that she goes around the country giving ‘Gospel Trick Shot’ exhibitions and then talks about Jesus at the end of her show. That’s unreal.”

  “Now that is too cool,” Morgan said.

  Skye continued, “Some of these pool women are married, and—oh, you’re gonna love this—last week I watched a match, and the one player, Linda Lou Carvell, was pregnant! Now how many sports are there where a pregnant woman can compete and maybe even become a champ?”

  “No way!” Wanda blurted out. “She had one in the hangar and was shooting pool?” She flopped in an empty chair next to Skye. “Go to her website, and let’s see what she has on there.”

  This is good. Skye glanced at Morgan whose eyes were saying the same thing.

  “Don’t you want to finish your pool game?” Skye asked Wanda.

  “Later.” Wanda pointed at Skye’s screen. “I wanna see this Linda babe. Maybe she’ll have a picture on there showing her shooting pool in her condition.”

  Skye looked at Morgan, gave her a sly smile, and peaked her eyebrows.

  Morgan lowered her hand to her side and gave Skye a thumbs-up.

  “Okay, Wanda,” Skye said. “Let me finish this part of my report, and we’ll surf the web and look for some WPBA sites.”

  Wanda pulled her chair closer to the station and stared at the screen. “I guess if I’m going to be a pro billiard player, I need to learn more about the competition.”

  “We’ll be glad to help,” Morgan said. “Just ask.”

  “I wouldn’t be sitting here if I wasn’t asking now,” Wanda snapped.

  I think she’s starting to trust us, Skye thought as she returned a hidden thumbs-up to Morgan. We should be friends in no time at all.

  Chapter Fifteen

  By the end of May, Rebel and Wanda were making dramatic progress. Because of Skye and everyone else at Keystone Stables, both rebels were feeling real love for the first time in their lonely, wounded lives.

  Skye considered Morgan not only her foster sister but also her best friend, and she loved to hang out with her in Morgan’s bedroom when they both had free time. On a rainy Sunday afternoon, Skye joined Morgan and they discussed school, Chad, the youth group, Chad, and finally Wanda and Rebel. While Morgan sat in her Jazzy near a desk, Skye flopped on her back across the bed.

  “Morgan,” Skye said, “do you realize that through all the prayer and hard work we’ve put in, two miracles were happening right before our eyes?”

  Morgan glanced at the window that had streams of water cascading over it like a waterfall. Thunder rumbled in the distance. “You got it, Skye. I think Rebel’s days of bucking the system are over. Wasn’t it only a week after your breakthrough that you could saddle and bridle him?”

  “Yep,” Skye answered. “And he absolutely loves when I groom him and give him apples. He’s not doing too bad with his hoof cleaning either. He’s learning not to pull away when I want to pick up his foot. He’ll conquer that fear in no time.”

  “I was watching from the dining room when you first slipped on his back a few weeks ago, and that was awesome! He walked around that corral like he had been doing it since he was born.”

  “And did you see Chad working with him too? As soon as Rebel bonded with me, it was like he wasn’t afraid of anyone at all. He lets Chad tack him and ride him and everything.”

  “Skye, I think we can say that Rebel is now an official member of the Keystone Stables equine family.”

  “We sure can, sis,” Skye said.

  “Then there’s Wanda,” Morgan said as she straightened a messy pile of schoolbooks on her desk.

  “That has shocked me more than Rebel!” Skye said. “The biggest change I’ve noticed is Wanda’s attitude about church. I don’t know if she’s accepted Christ yet, but have you seen how she actually sits up straight and pays attention to the Sunday school lessons and sermons in the main services?”

  “Yep,” Morgan said, spinning her wheelchair toward the bed. “And how about the way she’s acting at home? I think it’s super.”

  “Well, all week long she was on kitchen
duty, and I didn’t hear one gripe. She pitched a sour face Mom’s way only once in a while about her homework and chores, and she was doing them without being asked a zillion times.”

  “Have you found any butts lying around?” Morgan asked.

  “Nope, and have you noticed her Blades duds have been missing lately? I think she’s actually proud that she goes to Maranatha the way she wears that sweatshirt all the time.”

  “And the other night at supper, remember she even laughed at somebody’s dumb joke,” Morgan added with a big smile. “Now that’s definitely change!”

  It was time for the Youth for Truth to come for another party! On the last Thursday in May, the Keystone Stables clan was already busy making plans for Saturday afternoon when the teens would arrive for a picnic, horseback riding, billiards, and other games. When Mr. and Mrs. Chambers and Morgan decided to check out the gazebo and pavilion, Wanda asked Skye if she’d like to shoot some pool. Without a second thought, Skye said yes. She believed that it was time for her to park her girl-whispering technique in a corner somewhere and try to gain Wanda’s confidence once and for all.

  In their fifth game, Wanda shot the nine ball into a corner pocket, giving her a five-game sweep. “Hey, horse breath, can I talk to you?” Wanda said, but this time, a sly, friendly grin accompanied Wanda’s pet name for Skye.

  “Sure,” Skye said. “Do you want to keep shooting?”

  “Nah.” Wanda leaned her cue stick against the wall and strolled to her bed. “I just wanna talk.” Instead of flopping into her usual pose, she sat on the edge of the futon and wrung her hands.

  Wow, Skye thought. She just wants to talk. This could be a biggie. Skye parked her stick on the cue rack and sat next to Wanda. “So, Wanda, how’d you do on the report you wrote about pool for that English assignment?”

  “The woman, I mean Mrs. C., gave me a ‘C,’ ” Wanda chuckled. “How about that? A ‘C’ from Mrs. C. That’s the best grade I ever got on an English paper.”

  “That’s super,” Skye said, then asked, “What’s on your mind, Wanda?” She slid back and leaned against the wall, stretching her legs across the width of the futon.

  Wanda looked down and for a moment and said nothing. Skye simply waited.

  “Do you ever have bad dreams?” Wanda finally asked without looking at Skye.

  “I did when I first moved in here. They were awful.”

  “Do you remember what they were about?” Wanda asked.

  “Afraid so. Most of them were about me looking for my parents. In every dream, I searched and searched for them. I would see them off in the distance coming toward me, and just when I’d get close enough to see their faces, they’d turn and walk the other way. I could never catch them, no matter how fast I ran. I often woke up yelling and sweating like a grunting pig in a sauna.”

  “How come you don’t get them anymore?”

  “I think they stopped after I started listening to Mom’s counsel about my being so mad at the whole wide world. I also accepted Christ into my life.”

  “How’d that help?” Wanda’s question was sincere.

  “Well, Christ gave me the strength to face my problems and stop running from them. Mom also showed me a verse in the Bible that helped me. That verse in Second Corinthians is one of my favorites: ‘If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.’ ”

  Wanda looked at Skye and shriveled up her face in a question mark. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that when you ask Christ to forgive your sins and come into your life, you become a brand-new person from the inside out. He really did change me, Wanda. I think completely different now than I did before I accepted him into my life. You should try it.”

  “Yeah, Mrs. C. has been talking to me about that, but I’m not sure it will do me any good.”

  “After I became a Christian, I was able to forgive my parents for leaving me. I didn’t even know them, but I hated them. I still don’t have a clue who they are—or where they are, and that hurts. I’ve also been in over a dozen foster homes, and I’ve had a lot of baggage to deal with. Let me tell you, juvie hall was better than some of those foster homes.”

  “I ain’t never been in no foster homes.” Wanda went back to staring at the floor. “But the Blades were the only family I ever had. I’ve been running with them since I was about eight. That’s when Mom died.”

  “What happened?”

  Wanda brushed her cheek, wiping away a tear. “She had a heart attack.”

  “Wow,” Skye said, “she mustn’t have been very old.”

  “She was only thirty-two. Bad hearts run in the family.” Wanda sniffled and wiped the back of her hand across her nose. “That’s what’s wrong with Gram too. She’s always sick.”

  “What about your dad?”

  “He’s in jail. He’ll be there about ten more years.”

  Skye was dying to know what the man had done, but she figured Wanda would tell her in her own good time. “What are your dreams about?”

  “What dreams?” Wanda looked at Skye quickly.

  “Wanda, I can hear you yelling. Your bed is right underneath my bedroom.”

  “I thought Mrs. C. was the only one who knew.”

  “Well, I know because I can hear you yelling,” Skye assured her. “What are they about?”

  Wanda just sat wringing her hands.

  Skye slid right next to Wanda. “That’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. Maybe another time.”

  “No, I want to, but it’s hard. I ain’t never told nobody about them, about a lot of stuff.”

  “I’m all ears,” Skye said. “And no one else will know unless you want me to tell.”

  “It’s not that,” Wanda said. “I just need to get enough guts to spill my guts.”

  “Can’t you tell Mom?”

  “I want to. I just can’t yet,” Wanda said.

  Skye sat, waiting.

  Without another word, Wanda lifted her sweatshirt, exposing her back.

  Skye studied Wanda’s back, and what she saw made her mouth drop open.

  Chapter Sixteen

  On Wanda’s back were six round red scars, each about the size of a dime.

  “Oh, Wanda!” was all Skye could say.

  “There are more on my legs, too.” Wanda put her sweatshirt back in place. Her beautiful brown eyes flooding with tears, she looked at Skye.

  “How did you get those scars?” Skye felt her own eyes grow moist, and tears blurred her vision.

  “They’re…they’re…cigarette burns.”

  “Was that some kind of initiation into the Blades, or what?”

  Wanda glanced away, tears streaming down her cheeks and dropping freely unto the bed. “They’re from my father,” she cried. “That’s why he’s in jail, and I hate him.”

  Skye wasn’t sure what was worse, having a parent who did something like that or not having any at all. All she knew at the moment was that she felt awfully bad for Wanda and desperately wanted to help her. But how?

  Wanda sniffled and struggled to speak again. “Mom died a few weeks after they took my father away. Maybe she died of a broken heart. How’s that for major heart trouble?”

  “Wanda, I’m so sorry,” Skye said. “I know you’re hurting, and there’s only one person who can help you get through this.”

  “Who?” Again with tear filled eyes, Wanda looked at Skye.

  “God,” Skye said. “I’m telling you that he’s there for you. All you need to do is ask.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Wanda said with a forced smile.

  “That’s cool,” Skye said. “And if I can help you with anything, just ask me, too. I really want to be your friend.”

  “Got it,” Wanda sniffled. “And Skye?”

  “Yep?”

  “Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

  “No problem,” Skye said, smiling.

  Friday evening at the Chambers’ supper table, the chatter was filled with excitement about the
picnic the next afternoon. The weather report predicted a perfect first day of June with blue skies, warm sun, and a gentle breeze.

  In charge of the menu, Morgan had found some new recipes for barbecued chicken sauce and toppings for baked potatoes. Skye had been helping Mr. Chambers groom the horses and polish the tack so that the horse part of the activities would be raring to go. Mrs. Chambers and Wanda were busy making the two bathrooms in the house and the restroom in the barn presentable for the day of the teen invasion. But the highlight of the discussion centered around Wanda.

  Mrs. Chambers had the biggest smile on her face that Skye had seen in quite a long time. “Wanda, would you like to tell the family what happened during counseling this afternoon?”

  Nibbling on a chip, Wanda looked like a bashful child who had just been praised for a job well done. Her dark brown eyes glanced at everyone while they stared, waiting.

  “Well, Wanda,” Mr. Chambers wiped his mustache with a napkin, “what’s the great news? Don’t keep us in such suspense.”

  “Yeah,” Morgan added. “I’m always ready for some good news.”

  Wanda glanced at Skye and when their eyes met, Wanda’s whole face lit up with a smile, something that Skye was sure she had never seen before.

  “I’m on the edge of my seat, and I’m about to fall off,” Skye joked. “C’mon, tell us.”

  “I accepted Christ as my Savior at Maranatha this afternoon,” Wanda said, sheepishly.

  “You did?” Mr. Chambers said.

  “She did!” Mrs. Chambers proclaimed.

  “Wow, that’s awesome,” Morgan said.

  Beaming her own smile, Skye simply nodded at Wanda and gave her a thumbs-up.

  Mrs. Chambers sipped a cup of coffee. “Wanda has come to grips with a lot of things in her life these past few weeks. I think she’s starting to see how God can help her with all of her problems.”