Dream a Little Dream

by Debra Clopton

  “Why’s that? I needed a cup of coffee.” He didn’t know how he was supposed to handle all of this. Was Sam going to act as if nothing had happened just now? And was Bob supposed to go along with it? Taking another drink of his coffee, he asked the Lord to do the intervention, because he didn’t know what was wrong with Sam. He did know that Applegate and Stanley were right. If Sam needed them, then his friends needed to step up to the plate and help him. Was he sick? He didn’t look sick. He looked sad. They’d said matchmaking. Were they trying to help Sam out with Adela?

  Agitated, Sam snatched up a dishrag and started wiping down the spotless countertop, glancing toward the window where his buddies were happily jumping checkers. If anybody else had walked through that door, they’d never believe what Bob had just witnessed. Everything looked normal.

  Like he’d run out of steam, in slow motion Sam stopped wiping the counter, slapped the rag across his shoulder and met Bob’s gaze. “I figured ya fer a smart one. I figured you’d be on a plane to New York.” He rubbed his chin.

  “What?” Bob took a sip of coffee to hide his surprise as his stomach knotted.

  “You heard me. You got yer whole life ahead of ya and an open opportunity, and you’re gonna let Molly get away. I don’t get it. It’s you that needs the intervenin’. Not from them two crazy coots over thar though.” His eyes narrowed. “Look son, I’ve lived my life behind this counter and I’m tellin ya, looking back, I agree with App and Stanley. I’m a fool, a coward.”

  It was Bob’s turn to narrow his eyes. “What in the world are you talking about, Sam? You’re neither of those things. And if they’re your friends, they’d never have said such a thing.” He glared toward the window. Either App and Stanly’s hearing aids were down too low for them to hear or they were pretending not to hear, as they were known to do.

  “Look, alls I’m sayin’ is life ain’t that long. And if you’ve got the chance of having a little bit of God’s grace while you’re livin’ here, then go get it. Don’t let that girl get away ’cause of yer pride.”

  Bob hung his head. “Sam, it doesn’t have anything to do with my pride. Even if I thought Molly loved me, which I don’t, going after her isn’t the answer. If I thought loving me would be enough then it might be the answer. But this is about Molly. Right now she has a chance at achieving her dream…and it’s because I love her that I can’t try to stand in the way of that. At the same time, I can’t wish that her dreams fall through—that wouldn’t be any kind of love. So basically I’m in a hole without a shovel.”

  Sam looked thoughtful. “Sadly, I can understand that correlation.” He looked toward the window once more and shook his head, blowing out a huff of pent-up air. “My Adela, she loved Theo Ledbetter more’n anything. Forty years ago, even if I’d had the courage to ask her to marry me before he popped the question, it wouldn’t have done me a spec of good. She only had eyes for Theo and everybody knew it. Marrying someone by default ain’t exactly the happily ever after a person dreams about.”

  Bob had to agree with Sam. He’d never liked being second choice in anything.

  The elevator doors slid open with a soft whoosh barely audible over the excited chatter of the three children standing with their parents at the front of the crowded lift. Molly stood at the back of the elevator and waited for everyone else to exit. Why had she come? She was not the best at heights and her one true love was not waiting out there on the landing for her. So what in the world had possessed her to stand in line for thirty minutes to make the stomach-tingling ride to the top of the Empire State Building?

  She didn’t have a clue.

  “Ma’am, are you going or staying?”

  She smiled at the dignified older man holding the door for her. “I’m staying. Thank you.”

  She stepped out onto the tile then moved to the double doors leading onto the deck of the historical building.

  The magnificent lighted view took her breath away, but since she really wasn’t that fond of heights, she stayed close to the walls and didn’t venture over to the fenced outer edge. All around her families were exchanging excited conversations about the view. A mother was holding her little girl’s hand, pointing at various illuminated landmarks. A father stood at the corner of the building and took his son into his arms so that he could see through the viewfinder. Their heads were bent close, their dark curls mingling as they took in the sight together.

  Molly swallowed a lump in her throat. She was standing at the top of the world and she had never felt so alone in all of her life.

  Why had she come?

  A woman passed by. She was alone, self-assured and, unlike the picture Molly was certain she was portraying, the woman looked happy and content. She was snapping pictures with her palm-size digital camera, totally engrossed in what she was doing. Alone but connected to what was going on around her.

  Molly was an observer. That was what she did. She disconnected and then created her own illusion of the truth of the story she was writing.

  So why had she left the interview, climbed into a taxi and come to the Empire State Building? Nostalgia?

  Because in your heart of hearts you wish Bob had been here waiting.

  Molly walked to the stone wall and wrapped her fingers around the chain-link fencing that rose from the top of it. The cold steel fencing was a safety precaution. It kept people from harming themselves. It let people observe the incredible view without worry. Kind of the way Molly had viewed life through the viewfinder of her writing. Always the observer, seldom the participant.

  Bob was standing in front of Sam’s Diner when he saw Molly’s bright yellow car swing into town. He’d heard she was supposed to make it in on time for Dottie and Brady’s wedding. Checking his watch, he saw she had three hours to spare. With the top down, hair waving in the wind, she looked like a woman on top of the world. But she wasn’t alone. She had a giant green plant sticking up in the front seat. It was so big there was no way she could have transported it without the top being down on her convertible. And the back seat also had things piled in it.

  He climbed into his truck, and drove the two hundred yards down through town to Adela’s, pulling to a stop behind Molly’s car. Finding out how her trip had gone was the neighborly thing to do. He couldn’t very well drive on by without at least saying hello, even if seeing her and not being able to tell her how he felt was going to be hard.

  “Bob!” she exclaimed when she jumped out of her car. She was dressed in soft gray slacks and a pale pink top that looked soft and shimmery against her apricot skin. She looked as fresh as the dew in April.

  He didn’t get out, didn’t trust himself to get out, not with the way he wanted to put his arms around her and beg her not to move to New York. What kind of man would he be if he did that?

  She stopped beside his door and laid her hand on his arm, which hung out the open window. “I’m glad you made it back. How did it go?” he managed.

  She smiled, and her eyes sparkled like green glass in the afternoon sun. “It went perfect. Wonderful.”

  Bob’s heart sank. He’d been praying that everything had gone the way she dreamed it would go, but he figured he was allowed a moment of grief for his loss. “I’m happy for you.”

  She was still smiling and looking at him as if she had more to tell.

  “So,” he prompted, “when do you start?”

  She dropped her hand to her hip and rocked back and forth on her heels, her smile turning mischievous. “I don’t.”

  “What!” Anger, raw and electric flashed through him. Throwing open his door, he stepped from the truck, yanked off his Stetson and rammed a hand through his curls. Poor Molly, here she was smiling when he knew her heart was breaking. “They turned you down? They actually passed up the best opportunity they ever had?” He patted her shoulder. “Well, it’s their loss. You’ll get another opportunity and it will be outstanding. Your work is wonderful, anybody can see that. So you, you just hang in there. Don’t give up on your dream
, because it’s going to happen—what are you laughing about?” She was hysterical. He’d thought she was putting on a brave front for him and here she was going into hysterics. Her shoulders were shaking hard and tears were seeping out of the edges of her happy eyes.

  He looked closer. Her eyes were happy. “What’s going on here? Did I miss something?”

  She nodded. Getting control of her laughter, she wiped the dampness off her cheeks with her fingertips and took a deep breath. “I turned them down.”

  He frowned. “Are you crazy?”

  She shook her head, grinning. “Thinking clearly for the first time in my life.”

  “But Molly, you dreamed of this. You deserve it. You’ll be wonderful at it.”

  She shook her head and her eyes mellowed softly, searching his face, like…like she’d missed him. Bob’s heart kicked him in the ribs, which was becoming a habit around Molly, but it didn’t hurt because he’d gone numb. He tossed his hat through the window of his truck so both his hands were free and leveled his gaze on her. “What have you done, Molly?”

  “I changed my mind,” she quipped.

  “Molly—”

  She stopped his words with her fingertips. “Listen, please. When I went to New York, I went to the top of the Empire State Building, just like in all those movies, you know Sleepless in Seattle and An Affair to Remember. Except, instead of going there to meet up with my one true love, I went there to prove to myself that I didn’t need anyone in my life to make me happy. I didn’t understand it at first, but I figured it out. You see, I was standing there gripping that chain-link fence, staring through it at the most beautiful sparkling skyline I’ve ever seen, and it hit me that I’ve been hiding behind my writing as if it was a chain-link fence. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

  “Molly.” He reached to cup her head with his hand, running it gently down the silken strands until his hand cupped her shoulder. “It’s in your blood. You’ve just had a case of stage fright. I have faith in you. Have faith in yourself and make it happen. Call them. They’ll take you back.”

  “No, you don’t get it. Haven’t you known kids who dream when they grow up they’re going to be lawyers or firefighters? Or cops, teachers—the list goes on, but when they’re grown, they choose a different life path. Bob, I love you. I know I’m not the wife you’ve dreamed of. But look.” She swung toward her car and pulled out several books on how to make a house a home. “If you compromise just a little and don’t mind living with a writer…I can continue my freelancing and see where God leads me with it. I can do this, Bob. I can. Look I even bought a plant. I may kill it by tomorrow, but I’ve been talking to it all the way from Ranger.”

  Bob closed his eyes. She looked so sincere. She’d said she loved him. She loved him. He sucked in a deep breath. His ribs protested, but he sucked it in anyway, battling the emotions overtaking him.

  “Bob, do you love me?”

  Her words cut through the war raging inside him and he met her questioning gaze. How could he let her do this?

  “I have this feeling that you do.”

  “It’s true, Molly, I love you so much. That’s why I can’t let you do this.”

  He watched the corners of her lips tilt upward into a slow, warm smile.

  “I knew you loved me. I prayed you did.”

  “But Molly, your dreams—”

  “Are here, in Mule Hollow with you. Dreams don’t make sense without someone to share them with. Oh Bob, I don’t want you to marry someone else. I wrote all those wonderful things about you because you spoke to my heart from the moment we met. My heart recognized you before I did. Marry me, Bob, and let’s dream a little dream of our own.”

  That did it. With God on their side, Bob knew they could make this work. Renewed and humbled by God’s love, he slowly took her in his arms, feeling complete as he drew her near. “How can I refuse an offer like that?” He touched his forehead against hers. “But only if you believe this—I will cherish you and support you in your dream and do everything in my power to make you as happy as you’ve made me.” Lowering his lips to hers, he kissed her and felt the beat of her heart next to his. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world and one he would cherish for the rest of his life

  Epilogue

  “You may kiss the bride.”

  Molly watched as Brady took Dottie in his arms and kissed his new wife. It brought tears to her eyes and she glanced up at Bob, who was sitting beside her. He was smiling at her. And her heart did a flip-flop. She was overwhelmed by the reality that she was about to plan her own wedding and begin her own love story. Standing at the top of the Empire State Building, when she’d bowed her head in prayer and prayed for clarity, she’d felt God’s reassurance so distinctly that she’d stared out across the city at the millions of lights surrounding her and felt as if each represented a nod that she was at last going down the right path.

  Earlier, when she’d stepped out of her car to find Bob standing there, she’d had no second thoughts. Her place was with Bob. Always and forever.

  Dear Reader,

  I am so happy you chose to spend some time in Mule Hollow with me and the gang! I had so much fun getting Bob and Molly together, finally. As I’ve been writing the Mule Hollow series it took me a while to realize which woman God had sent to town for my man Bob (he’s been special from the beginning). But I must tell you, when Molly appeared in my first book The Trouble with Lacy Brown, I had no idea God was going to use her in such a big way. I thought she was going to come to town, write a few articles and move on. But God had a different plan, a larger plan, and I was so happy to watch it unfold between Bob and Molly as they learned not to limit God.

  I love hearing from all of you. You can reach me through my Web site, www.debraclopton.com, or at P.O. Box 1125, Madisonville, TX 77864. Or in care of Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

  Until next time love, laugh and give God all the glory!

  P.S. I hope you’ll join me again in Mule Hollow in June 2007 for Sheri’s love story, Meeting Her Match. Can you believe it? The lovebug is going to bite Sheri—whether she wants it to or not!

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  In Dream a Little Dream, Molly had set her life goals and had worked diligently toward bringing them to fruition. But then she became a Christian and had to make choices. Do you think that new Christians need to rethink their life goals?

  Career versus family isn’t just a woman’s dilemma. Bob lived with the consequences of his father’s preference for his career over his family relationships. As a parent, in what ways do you consider the imprint your choices are leaving on your children?

  How do the bad choices of our parents influence and affect our lives today? Please discuss the positive or negative influence.

  Bob almost missed the blessing of a life with Molly because he wouldn’t trust that God’s plan for him could mean stretching the boundaries of his dreams. Is this you? Why or why not?

  Molly loved Bob, but almost chose her career over marriage. Do you think the compromise she proposed to Bob was the right choice? What if Bob hadn’t had a change of heart or realized he needed to meet her in the middle? Do you think she should have made the sacrifice on her end if he wasn’t willing to make sacrifices, too?

  The issue mentioned above worked out for Molly and Bob for several reasons: love, willingness to compromise, trust in the Lord and a commitment to work out their future together. What do you think? How do these elements help us in our everyday life decisions?

  Adela said that even the best marriages take hard work and commitment to succeed. What do you think? Do some marriages look too easy?

  The Lord guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. (Proverbs 2:8) Do you believe God is leading you toward His ultimate plan for your life? How?

  Is it Sam’s pride or insecurity holding him back from asking Adela to marry him? Would you try to intervene in someone’s life if you thought it was
for the best?

  Do you believe Adela is handling things appropriately? Do you think she’s right about Sam needing to work his problem out himself? Or do you think she made a mistake? Why?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-8588-4

  DREAM A LITTLE DREAM

  Copyright © 2007 by Debra Clopton

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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  *Mule Hollow