Capture the Wind for Me
Page 38
As always when we visit, this morning I stole away alone to the cemetery. Greg knows I go to Mama’s grave. I expect he also knows I visit Derek. Invariably, I return to the house red-eyed and quiet. Greg holds me, his expression tinged with sadness. He asks no questions about my tears, and I offer no explanations. Such is the wordless agreement surrounding the secrets I wish I did not keep, and Greg wishes not to know.
Clunk, POP. Clunk, pop. More colors paint and whistle through the sky. Everyone cheers, our upturned faces reflecting red, green, purple.
Perched on Daddy’s shoulders, my pudgy two-year-old brother starts in fright and breaks into a bawl. Daddy swings him down and presses him to his chest. Little Jason struggles, demanding his mama, and Katherine takes him from Daddy’s arms.
“I remember when you used to do that,” I tell Clarissa. She makes a face at me, far too mature at thirteen to be reminded of such nonsense. Robert emits a knowing laugh, then seizes the distracting moment to reach for the hand of his new girlfriend with feigned nonchalance.
“And I remember when you wanted me to do that,” Greg whispers teasingly in my ear. I give his arm an affectionate slap.
Jason finally quiets. “Look, look,” Katherine urges him, pointing to the sky. “The big noises make pretty colors.”
I smile at that, watching them. Jason appears unconvinced, but I know how true her statement is. Daddy and she certainly made enough noise to scare us all for a while.
They did not marry on December twelfth. Daddy wisely suggested they put off the wedding until they’d worked through some of their issues. Some in town thought him crazy. Mrs. B told him flat out to “catch Katherine quick” before she bolted again. But Daddy and Katherine remained firm in their decision. The town had helped them; now they needed to attend to their business—without interference. When the wedding did take place in April, a lot of folks in our church expelled a collective sigh of relief.
Boom, boom, boom! Myriad colors sparkle, then melt against the darkness. Jason starts to cry again. Behind us, I hear Danny and Celia’s little girl, Patty, scream with delight. Greg and I turn as one to smile at her. She is riding on Danny’s shoulders.
“Geg, Geg.” Patty abruptly leans over toward her uncle. Greg catches her at the last minute. She claps chubby hands on Greg’s cheeks while he blows at her belly, and she giggles with abandonment.
“Let me have that ball of fire.” Lee smacks his huge fist twice against his palm, urging Patty from Greg’s arms. She mushes her lips at him, digging a finger into his cheek. Miss Jessie laughs. “Oh, Celia, when she’s a teenager . . .,” she says with a prophetic tone of warning.
“I know, I know.” Celia sighs. “I’m going to have my hands full.”
“And now for the graaaand finaleeee!” our mayor announces through the bullhorn. And in wild response the sky lights and sputters and zings and swirls. We all oooh and aaah until the last hue fades, then we break into catcalls and applause. Lee sticks two fingers in his mouth and whistles a piercing scream, nearly breaking my eardrum. Jason cries at that, too. Patty giggles, showing new teeth.
“Sounds like one of your concerts!” I yell at Greg over the noise.
He shakes his head. “Nah. I can hear you!”
“Well, that’s the end of our celebration, folks,” the mayor declares.
“One hundred years! Hope I’m still around for the next centennial.
We’ll have double the blessin’s then to be thankful for.”
Sudden tears sting my eyes. I look from Lee and Miss Jessie, to Danny and Celia, to Daddy and Katherine. And finally to Greg, who squeezes my hand. Double the blessings? Hoo-fah. Seems to me we have a mighty lot to be thankful for this time around.
Author’s Note
Greg Kostakis is a fictional character, but I’m glad to say he’s based on a conglomeration of real people in the secular entertainment world. I always feel heartened and blessed to come across folks like Greg. Sometimes it’s in the most amazing of places. As Greg does in this story, on MTV I’ve seen a young Christian member of a “boy band” lead his manager and group in prayer before a concert. Seen him study the Bible with his girlfriend and talk about how important it is to date someone who shares his faith. Numerous times I’ve bought a secular CD of pop or R&B music and have been surprised to hear one or even two songs within it giving unabashed glory to Christ. Or I’ll read an interview of an actor or actress and find words of testimony.
I think God has given these believers a unique opportunity to share their faith in ways that many of us cannot. So when I find people like Greg, I pray for them—that they will remain strong against the temptations that most assuredly come their way. That they will continue with the courage to speak out for Christ. And I thank God that he’s placed them where they are as beacons of light for his kingdom.
—Brandilyn
Dread Champion is a
Novel in which
Appearances Can
Deceive!
Dread Champion
Brandilyn Collins
Chelsea Adams has visions. But they have no place in a courtroom. As a juror for a murder trial, Chelsea must rely only on the evidence. And this circumstantial evidence is strong—Darren Welk killed his wife. Or did he?
The trial is a nightmare for Chelsea. The other jurors belittle her Christian faith. As testimony unfolds, truth and secrets blur. Chelsea’s visiting niece stumbles into peril surrounding the case, and Chelsea cannot protect her. God sends visions—frightening, vivid. But what do they mean? Even as Chelsea finds out, what can she do? She is helpless, and danger is closing in. . . .
Softcover: 0-310-23827-7
Pick up a copy at your favorite bookstore!
From The Bradleyville Series
Color the Sidewalk for Me
Brandilyn Collins
A splendidly colored sidewalk. Six-year-old Celia presented the gift to her mother with pride—and received only anger in return. Why couldn’t Mama love her? Years later, when once-in-a-lifetime love found Celia, her mother opposed it. The crushing losses that followed drove Celia, guilt-ridden and grieving, from her Bradleyville home.
Now thirty-five, she must return to nurse her father after a stroke. But the deepest need for healing lies in the rift between mother and daughter. God can perform such a miracle. But first Celia and Mama must let go of the past—before it destroys them both.
Softcover: 0-310-24242-8
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