by Mary May
“That’s because the hardest battles that are ever fought are battles of the heart, big guy. It’s not something you can win by brute strength or your skills with a sword. You can’t make battle plans and bring in reinforcements when needed. They are won or loss by the strength of your love alone.”
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“Of course, you can! I know you, Gideon. If the good Lord was to show up right now and tell you that you could go back to leading your armies and he would assign someone else to watch over Charlie, you wouldn’t do it. Do you know why I know you wouldn’t do it?”
When he shook his head, she smiled. “Because you wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it, because you love her and she is yours to guard until you bring her back home. So, you will deal with your growing pains and learn how to let her grow up just like Sabrina and Devon and all the other millions of parents have to do every day. You will complete your assignment, because that’s what the Gideon that I know and love does.”
“Thank you, Sherrilyn. I’m very thankful the Lord allows you to come see me. How is Edgar adjusting to heaven?”
“Well, why don’t you ask him yourself? He came along. He just waited until all the mushy nonsense was over with, as he put it.” Gideon smiled as his friend stepped into the room. He was still surprised to see the younger version of Edgar standing before him.
“Hello, warrior, I see things haven’t fallen completely apart since my passing.” Gideon quickly stood up and wrapped his arms around his friend.
“No, not quite, but things sure aren’t the same either. You are dearly missed! How are you? I didn’t think I would see you until I returned to the heavens myself, so this is a surprise.”
Edgar shrugged as he walked around the room looking at the pictures of the family that Charlie had taped to her walls.
“My job isn’t yet complete, angel boy. I’m still your mentor. I just do it from a different realm is all. I’ll show up when needed, just as Sherrilyn has shown up when needed.”
Gideon looked at Sherrilyn with narrowed eyes and a sudden growing suspicion.
“Don’t tell me…you were put in place for me, too?”
Edgar rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest as he stepped back.
“Look out, Sherrilyn, he did not respond well when he found out about me.”
Sherrilyn looked up at the towering angel who was frowning down at her fiercely and held up her hands. “Now hold on, big guy; stop looking at me like that! I didn’t get my assignment until after I went to heaven! I didn’t know anything about you before I met you for the first time; I promise! Once I got to heaven, the Lord asked if I would like to help you, and, of course, I said yes.”
That stopped Gideon in his tracks and he went from scowling to smiling. “Oh…that’s completely different then. Thank you.”
“What! How is that different? What I did was even better because I agreed before I met you. You great oaf! Where is my thanks? Where is my gratitude? All I got was attitude! All I got …”
Edgar came to a sudden stop when Gideon strode over to him and took him firmly by his shoulders, lifting him onto his tiptoes.
“Edgar!”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
Clearly taken off guard by Gideon’s sincere and sudden appreciation of his efforts, Edgar coughed and then patted the angel’s shoulders awkwardly.
“Well, yes…you’re welcome.”
The trio spent the next couple hours visiting and comparing notes about the family and heaven and whatever came to mind to talk about. After they had left, Gideon felt much lighter in spirit and went to find the other angels and apologize for his earlier surly mood…
The following spring Charlie stepped off the school bus glad to be home. Junior high was a lot different than what she had expected it would be. In some ways it was great and exciting, but in others it was scary and intimidating. Mingling with students that were years older than her was an education in itself. Mostly it was watching girls that were her age trying to act older than they were. Slipping into the bathroom before school to apply extra makeup then removing it before going home. Sneaking out and going to parties at homes of the older students then telling Charlie all about it on Monday morning. Lakyn had tried to get Charlie to join them, but she hadn’t, not that she didn’t want to, because she did. She knew her mom would give her that look of disappointment that always broke her heart. Sabrina didn’t yell or ground her when she messed up; she just looked at her with those sad eyes and Charlie wanted to crawl under a rock in her shame. It was very effective. But just once she wanted to join her friends and do what all the other girls were doing. She was tired of hearing about it on Monday morning. It sounded so fun and they really weren’t doing anything that bad. She would be fourteen in a few short months and what had she done? Nothing! Not a single thing. Very seldom was she allowed to attend parties or spend the night with friends unless her parents knew the families. They kept her on a pretty tight leash, and sometimes she felt like she was choking!
She made up her mind as she walked down the driveway to the house. Today was Friday and she knew a party was taking place just a few miles down the road. She could cover that distance on Stormy in less than half an hour. Feeling giddy with anticipation, she promised herself she would do this once just so she could say she had. Grabbing the phone after eating her milk and cookies, she called Lakyn and put her plan into motion…
At the dinner table that night Charlie picked at her meal unable to eat more than a bite or two from the bundle of nerves in the pit of her stomach. Sabrina looked at her in concern.
“You haven’t eaten hardly anything, honey. Don’t you feel well?”
All eyes suddenly turned to her and Charlie felt like her yet-to-be-committed crime could be seen on her forehead.
“No…I…um…actually, I don’t feel well. Can I be excused?” Sabrina nodded and Charlie bolted from the table, suddenly feeling very sick indeed. Once in the safety of her room, she lay down on her bed, the cool sheets feeling like heaven against her hot cheeks. What was she doing? If she got caught, her parents would lock her up and throw away the key for sure. Her stomach lurched suddenly and she really did think she was going to be sick. Maybe she had caught a bug or something at school.
“No! I’m just being a chicken. If Lakyn and the other girls can do this, then so can I!” Stiffening her resolve, she took some deep breaths and started planning what she would wear to the party that would survive a horseback ride and still look good after she arrived. Around nine she pulled on her pajamas and went downstairs to say goodnight. Sabrina felt her forehead when she leaned down to give her a goodnight kiss.
“Well, you don’t have a fever, but you look a little pale. Do you still feel bad?” She asked.
“I’m ok, Mama, probably just tired from school. I’ll feel better in the morning.” She went over to Devon, giving him a quick kiss as well before she went back upstairs. She waited until nearly ten before slipping out in case they decided to come check on her. Sliding open her window, she stepped out onto the roof of the back porch. Carrying her boots in her hands, she scooted across on her bottom so she wouldn’t make any noise. Once she reached the edge, she tossed her boots to the ground then quickly jumped down, grateful it wasn’t that high. Landing on her bare feet still stung and she covered her mouth to stifle a yelp at the unexpected pain. She checked to make sure no one had heard anything while she slipped on her boots. Everything seemed fine so she ran to the barn.
Ten minutes later she was in the clear and riding swiftly down the path that skirted alongside the highway.
“Oh, my gosh, I did it!” she laughed. Now all she had to do was go enjoy the party and then get back home and back up into her bedroom without anyone catching her. Smiling happily to herself, she kicked Stormy into a gallop and decided she would cross that bridge when the time came.
Gideon flew along next to Charlie and was so angry he wanted to turn her o
ver his knee. What was she thinking? She knew better than to do something so foolish and reckless! From the moment he heard her plan, he never expected her to actually go through with it. He thought surely she would come to her senses and call it off. But oh no, here they were riding along in the pitch dark after sneaking out, going to a party! Grinding his teeth together, he reminded himself that he couldn’t touch her unless she was in mortal danger, and for once he was actually thankful for that.
Charlie saw lights in the distance, so she knew she was getting close to the house where the party was being held. Riding up into the yard, she looked for a familiar face, but all she saw were older kids who were all watching her curiously. Finally one of the football players still in uniform from the high school team walked out and met her in the yard. Grabbing Stormy’s reins, he smiled up at her.
“Hey, little girl, isn’t it past your bedtime?”
Feigning bravery she didn’t actually feel, Charlie looked down at him. “No. Is it past yours?” she quickly returned. The kids standing in the yard and on the porch all laughed loudly.
“She burned you on that one, Drew!” someone called out, making him frown at her.
“So why are you here, little girl? It’s a little late for pony rides, isn’t it? Are you lost?”
Giving his uniform a pointed look, Charlie shook her head. “Drew, is it? I’m not the one standing out in the front yard in my football uniform when clearly there isn’t a football game being played. Are you sure you need to be asking me about being lost?” Once more the yard filled with laughter at Charlie’s quick responses.
“You have a smart mouth, little girl. Someone should teach you some manners!” Drew reached and grabbed Charlie’s arm, pulling her roughly from her horse.
“Let me go!” Charlie yelled as she struggled to free herself and keep a grip on Stormy’s reins, which was proving difficult because he was pulling backwards hard, trying to get away from the fighting couple.
“You’re a pretty little thing, even if you do have a smart mouth. Maybe I can find a way to shut it up.” When Drew leaned down to try to kiss her, Charlie could smell the alcohol on his breath. She closed her eyes and turned her head, shoving against him when suddenly he was just gone. She opened her eyes to find Nate standing over him daring him to move. Drew held out his arms in surrender.
“Dude! I was just messing around; I wasn’t going to hurt her, I swear!”
“Touch her again, Drew, and so help me…” he trailed off as Drew got to his feet and looked at him.
“Or what, Jackson?”
Nate stepped up and got in the other boy’s face, staring him down until Drew understood the situation perfectly without Nate saying another word. Once he had walked off, Nate turned to Charlie, who was shaking and trying to calm her horse.
“Charlie, what are you doing here?” he growled at her. “Do your parents know you’re here?” Shaking his head, he didn’t give her a chance to respond.
“Of course, they don’t. What did you do, sneak out? Really, Charlie? I thought you had more sense than the rest of these empty-headed tween queens. Clearly I was giving you undeserved credit. What if I hadn’t been here? What if I didn’t stop him, Charlie? What would you have done? Did you even think for one second about what could happen to you? How could you…”
“Stop it! Just stop it, Nate! I made a mistake, ok? A huge stupid mistake! But that doesn’t mean that I’m like…”She stammered to a stop, swiping angrily at the flow of tears on her face. Unable to deal with Nate or anything else, she turned to mount Stormy when she felt a warm hand on her elbow. She froze with her back to Nate.
“I’m sorry, Charlie. Let me ride back with you to make sure you get home safe.”
“I can get home by myself,” Charlie replied coldly.
“I know you can, but if I don’t see you home and Devon finds out about this?” Nate shook his head at the thought.
“So you’re doing it just because you’re scared of Devon? No thanks.”
Once more Nate stopped her from mounting Stormy,
“No, I want to see you home primarily because I care about you and secondly because I want to keep my head connected to my shoulders. So would you just please stop fighting me on it?” Charlie studied him for a moment then suddenly she was really tired and just wanted to go home, so she nodded.
“Thank you. Now let me up first; then I’ll swing you up behind me.” Charlie waited until Nate had mounted Stormy. He held out his hand for her. Grasping her hand firmly, he swung her up behind him. They rode in silence for several minutes before Nate asked her why she did it.
“Because my friends were doing it, and I just wanted to do it one time to see what it was like. Before you say it, I know it was a dumb reason to do anything.” She felt Nate’s shoulders shaking and she realized he was laughing at her. She slapped his shoulder.
“Stop laughing at me! I know I’m going to get caught and probably be grounded until I graduate. Not that they ever let me do much anyway.”
“Charlie, I’m laughing because none of your friends have actually done this! Did you see a single girl your age at that party tonight? I may not go to all of them, but I go to enough to be able to tell you with a certain degree of confidence that they are all telling big fat lies.” He chuckled again, shaking his head.
“Are you serious, Nate? You’re not just telling me this to punish me?”
Once more he shook his head. “Charlie, I promise. I’ll leave the punishment up to your parents, but I have never seen any of the girls that you hang out with at any of the parties. You are the only one either brave enough or stupid enough to actually do it. I haven’t decided which yet.”
Charlie groaned and placed her forehead in the center of Nate’s back. “Great…this is just great! Are you going to tell my parents?” she asked as they rounded the bend and came into view of the house.
“I don’t think I’m going to have to; I think they already know.” Charlie looked in horror at the house, which was ablaze with every light on and she knew her life was over.
“I’m dead! They will literally kill me upon sight,” she groaned.
“No, I’m pretty sure they will let you live. The boy you are riding alone with in the middle of the night might not fare so well. Please tell me Devon is out on one of his trips.” Charlie could hear the dread in Nate’s voice and she felt terrible for dragging him into this.
“Actually he doesn’t do that anymore, so he is home. I’ll tell them that you actually saved me and then brought me home like a knight in shining armor. You will come out fine; I’ll make sure of it.” They rode into the yard and dismounted just as Sabrina came rushing out onto the porch, followed closely by Devon, who took one look at the situation and, just like Nate predicted, looked ready to kill! Charlie ran to stand in front of Nate to defend him against Devon, who was already heading his way looking scarier than she had ever seen him.
“Wait! It’s not what it looks like, I swear! Devon…Daddy… STOP!” Charlie placed her hands on Devon’s chest and pushed against him, but he just kept walking, sliding her along in front of him until he reached the place where Nate stood. To give Nate his fair due, he stood his ground, which had to be hard, given what he was facing.
“I snuck out and went to a party but Nate found me and he brought me back home!” Charlie blurted it out as fast as she could, hoping it would sink into Devon’s kill mode haze he appeared to be in. Devon stopped and looked down at her like he didn’t quite understand what she had said.
“You did what?” he asked softly. Charlie hung her head and repeated what she had said.
“I snuck out of the house and rode Stormy to a party that was down the road a few miles. I wasn’t there more than five minutes when Nate found me and brought me right back home. None of this was his fault. Please don’t be mad at him. I’m really really sorry. It was stupid and childish and I will never do anything like this again. I promise.” She looked up to find Devon looking at her with an express
ion she couldn’t quite define. He looked angry, relieved and disappointed all at once. He looked at Nate.
“Is that true, Nate? Is that really what happened?” Nate nodded.
“Yes, sir. You have my word.” Devon held out his hand and Nate shook it.
“Then thank you, but, Nate?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Don’t let me find out something different. Understand?”
“You won’t, sir.”
“Sabrina, go with Charlie to put the horse away. I’m going to drive Nate home.”
Charlie watched as Devon and Nate walked over to Devon’s truck and climbed inside. They pulled out of the yard and in just a few seconds the night was silent once more. Sighing, she turned to lead Stormy into the barn and to finally face her mother, who had up to this point not said a word. They settled the horse into his stall for the night then went into the house. Cleo was sitting at the kitchen table and smiled when they walked in.
“Well, thank the Lord she is safe and sound. Think I’ll just go on up to bed now.”
“Thank you, Cleo, goodnight,” Sabrina said softly.
“You didn’t eat hardly any supper. Are you hungry?” Sabrina asked.
“No, I’m not…Mama, is that all you’re going to say? Am I hungry?” Charlie stared at her in disbelief.
“Well, Charlie, I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. I know what I would like to say, but I don’t think it would help the situation any. I’m just thankful that you are safe more than anything else.”
“How did you know I was gone?” Charlie asked, wondering where she had slipped up. Sabrina shrugged.
“I didn’t; Devon did. He knew you were up to something from the moment you left the supper table. He just didn’t expect you to slip off so quickly. If you had waited another half hour, you wouldn’t have made it off the back porch. He waited for you to try something for close to two hours before he went to check on you and found that you had already left. By the time he was getting ready to go find you, Nate was bringing you home. So was this party everything you hoped it would be?”
