by Debby Mayne
They went bowling and had a wonderful time. Amanda started out making gutter balls, but by the end of the second game, she’d made a strike and a bunch of spares. Even Lacy’s game improved. Each time she knocked more than half the pins down, she jumped up and down, squealing.
“It doesn’t take much to make you happy, does it?” Amanda asked.
“Not anymore.” Lacy twisted her hair and clamped it on the top of her head with a barrette.
Amanda took a long look at her sister and realized she was finally growing up. Her maturity level had escalated, dipped, then spiked over the past couple of months—something Amanda hadn’t realized until this moment.
They took a break and had hamburgers in the bowling alley snack bar. Amanda was ready to bowl another game, but Lacy shook her head. “I’m getting tired. I need to go home and get some sleep if I’m going to get up on time for church in the morning.”
They turned in their rented shoes and headed home. Amanda went to bed with her Bible, feeling a little better in knowing that her relationship with her sister seemed to be improving.
To Amanda’s surprise, Lacy was up and ready to go a half hour before it was time to leave. She was in the kitchen sipping coffee when Amanda joined her. “I’m glad I don’t have to wear those silly dresses you used to put on me.”
Amanda tilted her head back and laughed. “The ones with the round collars and buttons you complained about all the time?”
“Yeah.” Lacy wrapped her fingers around her own neck and made a face like she was being strangled. “I couldn’t breathe. I never understood why I had to be miserable just to go to church, but you made me do it.”
“I know,” Amanda admitted, “and I don’t understand why either.” She poured a half cup of coffee, dumped in a couple of spoonfuls of sugar, and stirred it before taking a sip. “I guess it just seemed like the thing to do at the time. I was a kid myself. What did I know?”
Lacy smiled. “You knew more than anyone else your age. I always forgot how young you were because you were more like a parent to me than our own mother was.”
That was a sad fact Amanda would have liked to forget, but she knew Lacy meant it as a compliment. “I wanted what was best for you. Still do.”
“Yes, I know.” Lacy glanced at the clock before moving toward the door. “Let me see if I can find my Bible.”
“If you can’t, I’ll share mine.”
As they walked outside, Amanda fully expected Lacy to get into her own car, but she didn’t. Instead, she went to the passenger door of Amanda’s car.
“I thought you were driving.”
Lacy slowly shook her head. “No, I’m cool with going to Bible study. I thought it over last night and came to the conclusion that if they made it miserable, no one would show up—because they don’t have someone forcing them to attend.”
Amanda couldn’t help but giggle. “True.”
The next week was slightly better for Amanda. She still missed Jerry, but Lacy had gone to church, and at the Bible study, she’d asked questions. Pastor Zach seemed delighted to answer all of them, and she felt Lacy’s resistance wane.
All the way home, Lacy talked about the Bible study and how much she’d never thought about things the way they were discussed. Amanda smiled and made an occasional comment to acknowledge her sister, but for the most part, she just listened. It was nice having Lacy so enthusiastic about something close to Amanda’s heart.
When they pulled up to the curb, Amanda spotted a car behind them coming to a stop. “Don’t look now, but I think Brad’s coming for a visit.”
In spite of Amanda’s advice, Lacy spun around. “What’s he doing here?”
“Aren’t you happy to see him?”
Lacy frowned. “I would be if he hadn’t made me feel so bad.”
“Maybe he wants to talk things over. Why don’t you at least listen to what he has to say before you assume anything?”
Lacy bobbed her head, blinked, and smiled. “Okay, you’re right as usual.”
Before Amanda had a chance to say another word, Lacy got out of the car and ran back to greet Brad. She didn’t act the least bit put off in front of Brad.
Just when Amanda thought all might be good in her sister’s world, Lacy suddenly took a step back from Brad, stared at him for a couple of seconds, then turned and ran inside the house. Brad stood there watching her, his jaw set and his body rigid.
Amanda tried to force herself to stay out of it. She’d already interfered enough. Lacy was a grown woman, and she could handle her own life.
But the look on Brad’s face was one of pain, bordering on torture. She couldn’t just stand back and let it go—not if there was something she could do about it.
Amanda shut the car door, paused, and walked slowly toward Brad. He didn’t look at her right away; he was too busy looking at the house. Finally he turned to face her.
“What happened, Brad?”
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not sure. I just stopped by to pick up Timmy’s ball cap, and she went ballistic.”
“Did you say anything to upset her?”
“Not that I know of. We had a little disagreement the other day, and I told her we needed to have a little space between us while I sort things out.”
Amanda understood both sides, but she had an allegiance to her sister. “You obviously don’t understand women. Wait here. I’ll go get Timmy’s cap. Do you know where he might have left it?”
“I think it’s by your bicycle display.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
Amanda wasn’t sure what she’d face when she went inside, but she didn’t have to worry. Lacy was nowhere in sight and her bedroom door was closed, which probably meant she was in there crying.
The ball cap was right where Brad said. Amanda grabbed it and headed outside. “I have some advice, Brad—if you’re interested.”
He snickered. “I guess I probably need all the advice I can get.”
“Unless you’re ready to talk things out with Lacy, try not to pay her any more surprise visits. If you think of something else either you or Timmy might have left here, call me at the shop, and I can have it waiting there for you the next day.”
Brad offered a quick nod. “That sounds like a good idea. I didn’t mean to upset her like that.” He lifted his free hand in a wave. “Thanks, Amanda.” Then he got into his car and drove away.
Amanda went back inside and knocked on Lacy’s door. “He’s gone. I’m going to fix some lunch, so come on into the kitchen in a few minutes, okay?”
“I’m not hungry.” She sniffed and blew her nose. “I just want to be alone.”
Come to think of it, Amanda wasn’t hungry, either. She decided it wouldn’t hurt to miss a meal—or at least have it later when her stomach wasn’t in such a knot. This was the perfect time to go for a walk.
She went to her room to put on some workout clothes. On her way out, she heard the phone. She considered letting her voice mail pick up, but then thought it might be an emergency.
“Hello, Amanda dear.”
Chapter Fourteen
Amanda’s heart raced at the sound of Rosemary’s voice. “Is everything okay?”
The older woman chuckled. “Yes, of course. Everything’s fine, except that we miss you.” She paused then added, “Especially Jerry.”
Amanda suspected there was something else going on, but rather than ask, she decided to wait until Rosemary was ready to tell her. “So how is Atlanta?”
“Big and noisy, and the traffic is awful. I miss Florida.”
A couple seconds of silence fell over the phone line. “You’ll be back next year, right?” Amanda couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Next year is an awful long way away. I’m working on a plan.”
Uh-oh, here it comes. More matchmaking. “So what is your plan?”
“I’m not sure yet. Like I said, I’m working on it. I just thought I’d give you a call to see how you’re d
oing. Did you have the bicycle we crashed looked at?”
“Yes, and it’s fine,” Amanda replied.
“That’s good. If you let me know how much it cost to have it looked at, I’ll send you a check.”
“No, that’s okay, Rosemary. It’s just routine maintenance—part of doing business.”
“I guess you must be busy today, since it’s your only day off. I’ll let you go now.” Amanda heard a voice in the background. “Oh, and Harold said to tell Timmy to keep hunting for treasure.”
Amanda laughed. “I’ll do that.”
After they hung up, Amanda had no doubt there was quite a bit more to Rosemary’s call than what she let on.
Rosemary lowered the receiver as Harold came up behind her. “Does she miss him yet?”
“I couldn’t tell.” Rosemary turned around and faced her husband. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to talk to Jerry about our plans.”
Harold laughed out loud. “I bet we worry more about how to break news to him than he ever does with us.”
“I know.” Rosemary walked over to the stack of brochures on the foyer table. “I’ve even thought about showing him these.”
Harold shook his head. “He’ll just argue.”
“Or we could accidentally leave them out and let him figure it out for himself.”
“That’s too easy,” Harold said. “And you’ve never done things the easy way.”
“Easy isn’t always the best way.” She chewed on her lip as she thought about what she wanted to do. “I think we just need to sit him down and tell him what we want.”
“If you want me to, I can have a father-son talk while you wait in the car.”
“No,” she replied, “I can’t do that to either of you. It’s best if we’re both there.”
“When do you think we should do this?”
She slowly moved her head from side to side. “I’m not sure. Maybe in a week or two?”
Jerry found it hard to keep his attention on work. Thoughts of Amanda continued to flow through his mind, even daring to pop up in front of the spreadsheet of vendors. He snorted. Bet she wouldn’t appreciate having her face smack-dab in the middle of a bunch of vendors whose names I can’t pronounce.
After a few hours of forcing himself to focus on work, Jerry finally got up and put on some clothes to go to the gym. He needed a good hard workout to redirect his brain.
Two miles on the treadmill, a half hour on the elliptical, and a couple dozen sets of weight lifts later, Jerry finally settled into the stretching segment of his routine. And Amanda was still front and center in his mind. There was simply nothing he could do to get rid of her image.
Maybe he should talk to someone—but who? Most of his friends were married, and they would love nothing better than for him to find a nice Christian girl and settle down—even if it meant picking up and moving. He knew exactly where his parents stood on the subject. They loved Amanda, and they wanted him to be happy. But how could he, considering their age and medical conditions? They were okay without him most of the time right now, but their doctor had said that over the next couple of years, both of them were likely to experience some deterioration.
They needed him. There was no way he’d ever abandon the people who’d always been there for him—no matter what, even if it meant sacrificing time and the prospect of a future with Amanda.
He picked up his laptop and tried to focus on his latest round of orders from Korea, but he couldn’t concentrate. So he finally gave in, picked up the phone, and punched in Amanda’s number at the shop. She didn’t answer, so he tried her house phone. Lacy picked up.
“Hey, Jerry,” she said in her squeaky little-girl voice. “How’s Atlanta? Crazy, I bet.”
“To be honest, I don’t get out much, since I do most of my work on the computer in my den. But you’re right—Atlanta generally is a little crazy with the traffic and all.” He paused for a moment. “May I speak to Amanda?”
“Amanda isn’t here right now. She and Matthew ran down to a warehouse in Pinellas Park to look at some new bicycles.”
Jerry felt as if he’d been kicked in the chest. Amanda almost had him convinced that she and Matthew were just good friends, but it still bugged him that they spent so much time together.
“Want me to have her call you when she gets in?”
“Sure, that’s fine.” He gave her his home number then hung up feeling much worse than before he’d called.
By ten o’clock that night he figured it was too late for Amanda to return his call, so he finally crawled into bed and clicked off the light. His mind still raced, and he had a hard time going to sleep. When he awoke at the crack of dawn, he remembered looking at his clock shortly after midnight. When he wasn’t even sleepy.
All he could think about was Amanda not calling. He downed a couple of cups of coffee and tried to get some work done, but his mind kept buzzing with all the possibilities of what could have happened to Amanda.
Finally, when the hall clock struck ten, he picked up the phone and called her store number. She was breathless as she answered right away.
“Hey, Jerry! What’s up?”
“I waited for your call last night.” The instant he said those words, he knew he probably sounded like a jealous boyfriend, so he tried to laugh it off. “Let me rephrase that. I called to see how you were doing, and Lacy said she’d have you call me back when you got in.”
Annoyance flooded Amanda. Even though Lacy had been improving and maturing lately, she still didn’t relay messages.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t know you called. Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” She heard him sigh. “Everything’s fine. I just wanted to see how everything’s going. How’s business?”
“Steady.” She sensed some unspoken thoughts, but she didn’t want to push.
“I understand you were looking at new bikes. See any good ones?”
“I’ll probably pick up a new line soon. So how are your parents?” She wondered if he was aware that his mom had called her.
“Now that you mention it, they’re up to something.” He paused before adding, “Something seems strange.”
No doubt. “Why do you say that? What are they doing?”
“I’ve been to their place a few times since we got back, and when I mention anything about Florida, they give each other a look and then giggle.”
“Sounds like a typical married couple thing to do.”
“Not my folks.”
“Maybe you should come right out and ask if they’re up to something.”
“I tried that,” Jerry admitted. “Dad told me that if I needed to know something, he’d be the first to tell me.”
“Then I guess there’s nothing else you can do but wait until they decide to let you in on their little secret.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He cleared his throat. “Oh, there’s one more thing. On the way home from Florida, we talked about coming down more often.”
Her pulse quickened, but she squelched the urge to let him know how happy that made her. “Just let me know when so I can have the bicycle ready.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
After they said their good-byes and got off the phone, Amanda felt like there was something else he wasn’t telling her. He was as bad as his parents.
Later that week, Jerry’s mom called and said she was coming over with some food. “I’m worried about you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” he said. “I can cook my own food.”
“Are you saying you don’t want me to come over?”
“No,” he replied quickly, “I’d never say that. Come on over, but don’t think you have to bring anything.”
“I’ll be there in a half hour.”
The second he got off the phone, he grabbed a laundry basket and ran through his apartment, decluttering. Normally he was neat, but lately he hadn’t been motivated to keep everything in order.
His mother arrived te
n minutes early. He let her in and she made her way straight to the refrigerator, where she put bags of homemade food. After she had everything put away, he got them both glasses of tea and sat down in the living room across from her.
“Jerry, you can’t just sit around all day.” His mom crossed her arms and scowled. “You need to get out and get some fresh air.”
“Is that what you came over to tell me?”
“No, but now that I’m here, I can’t let you continue to mope around.”
“I work out at the gym three times a week.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not the same as getting fresh air and being around people.”
He grinned at her. “I have you and Dad.”
“Give me a break, son. You need more than anything your dad and I can offer. We want you to be happy.”
He stood up, crossed the room, and put a hand on her shoulder as he looked her in the eyes. “I’m very happy. I have two loving parents, a great job, more freedom than most people, and a great church.”
His mother narrowed her gaze then nodded. “Yes, you do have all those wonderful things, but I happen to know how you feel about Amanda. I can see it in your eyes whenever the two of you are together.” She gave him a pitying look. “I can only imagine how much you must miss her.”
Jerry paused then shrugged. “It’s obviously not meant to be. We live too far apart for anything to come of a relationship. Besides, I’m sure there are plenty of guys in Treasure Island she can pick from.”
“I don’t think so,” she said as she stood, shaking her head. “Look, I need to run while it’s still daylight. I hate driving in the dark.”
“Be careful and call me when you get home, okay?”
She chuckled on her way out. “Sure, I’ll do that. See you soon.”
He was more positive than ever that his parents were planning something. And based on history, he wouldn’t find out what it was until they were good and ready to tell him.
