“Are we talking about the same person?” Kris laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been described using those words, especially compassionate.”
“Oh, you’re compassionate, Kris, and it started showing more and more after you had Charlotte Grace.”
Kris nodded. “Yeah, that little girl definitely made me look at life differently, that’s for sure. If you had asked me six months ago, I would’ve bet you a month’s salary that I didn’t have a maternal bone in my body. You don’t know this, Dean, and I… am so ashamed to say it out loud now… but I was considering giving Charlotte up for adoption so that she could have a better life, a better mother. I don’t know what happened, but…”
“You are a wonderful mother, Kris. Charlotte is lucky to have you.”
Kris put her cup down and sighed. “That’s nice of you to say, but… she doesn’t really have me, does she, Dean?”
Dean put his cup down and moved closer to Kris.
She held her breath, not sure of what was happening… not sure of what might happen in this room tonight.
Dean cupped her face between his hands so that she was forced to look into his eyes. “She will always have you, Kris… always, and I promise you… we will find her soon. She will be back home where she belongs… in her mother’s arms.”
“I won’t hold you to that promise, Dean,” Kris sighed again. “I appreciate everything you and the other officers have done. I know they are all doing everything in their power to find her. I’m even beginning to believe something that Amanda is always telling me.”
“What’s that?” Dean asked, still cupping her face within his palms.
“Something about the power of prayer,” she replied.
Dean released her face and nodded for her to continue.
Kris proceeded to tell him about her spiritual experience at the café the day after Christmas. “I don’t know how to explain it, Dean, but these past few days I have felt so much calmer and, well… for the first time since this nightmare began, I actually have hope that Charlotte Grace will be found.”
“You’ve learned to pray?” Dean beamed and pulled her to him in a light embrace. “That is wonderful, Kris.” He held her back slightly and asked, “Would you like to try it again… now?”
“Really… are you serious?” she asked.
The television counted down the last seconds of 2011… five, four, three, two... ONE!
The unexpected kiss caught her completely off-guard, but Kris had to admit that it felt good to be held and kissed by Officer Dean Hall.
“Happy New Year, Kris,” he grinned. “What do you say we start it off right?”
Kris tensed up, automatically assuming he was hinting at what every other man in her life expected from her. She was dumbfounded when he, instead, pushed the coffee table away and got down on his knees, pulling her down with him. She watched in awe as he propped his elbows on the coffee table and looked over at her, nodding for her to follow suit.
The couple folded their hands in prayer and closed their eyes.
“I hope you’re listening, God…” Kris prayed silently. “Please take care of my baby. Let them be kind to her, but please let them do the right thing and bring her home to me.” Kris opened her eyes and saw Dean beaming at her.
“How did it feel?” he asked.
“A little strange,” she smiled back at him. “I mean, I have no idea if I’m saying the right words or not, but when I prayed just now, I got that warm feeling in my chest again. Do you think that means He heard my prayer… that He really heard me?”
“Oh, I know He heard you, Kris. In fact, you may not be ready to believe it just yet, but He has heard every word you’ve ever spoken.”
Kris covered her face with her hands and shook her head. “Oh, let’s hope that’s not true,” she grinned. “Some of my words have not been too kind and loving and… what else did you say? Oh, yes… compassionate.”
Dean took her face between his hands once again. “He loves us all, unconditionally, Kris. He died for us, for our sins.”
“I have so much to learn…” Kris shook her head.
“Well then,” Dean said as he pulled her to a standing position and embraced her again. “Why not come to church with me tomorrow and let those lessons begin?”
Amanda had asked her so many times to attend church, but Kris had always declined. She didn’t want to say no to Dean. “I think I’m ready for that... yes, I will go with you.”
As the couple shared their first real kiss… fireworks erupted on television and throughout the neighborhood.
Kris laid her head on Dean’s chest and closed her eyes. She couldn’t help but wonder if the ensuing fireworks display outside was God’s way of showing his blessings and approval.
CHAPTER 30
–Ida Brooks–
Neighbor to the Petersons
Jack and Susan Peterson had managed to settle into a strained routine with their new baby, Kelly. It was a constant, daily struggle for them both. On one hand, they tried their best to enjoy the bliss and unity that a new baby brought to their lives; while, at the same time, they also felt like they were looking over their shoulders to see if anyone suspected them of the horrible crime they had committed. They talked about the situation, occasionally, but not enough to weigh the scales in either direction.
Jack’s new firm was very pro-active in allowing its employees to work from home two days per week, a situation that worked well to Jack’s advantage. It gave him the opportunity to be home with Susan and the baby four out of seven days a week. Once Jack confided to his supervisor the truth about Susan’s condition, the company had been even more lenient and accommodating with the twice weekly benefit of working from home.
Jack had also told his supervisor the story that he and Susan had concocted about how they came to be parents of a five-month old. His supervisor had been sympathetic when he heard that Jack’s brother and sister-in-law had been killed in a car crash three months ago, leaving behind their infant daughter, Kelly. His supervisor commended him and Susan for adopting the baby, being her only living relatives, in spite of Susan’s dire chance for survival.
Jack’s normal work schedule was to work in the firm’s office on Mondays and Wednesdays, and to work from home on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. He performed the majority of his work at night time, after Susan and the baby had retired for the night. This allowed him to bear most of the daily care routine involved in raising an infant. They were both reluctant to hire someone to help with the baby on the days that Jack had to go into the office, but, so far, Susan had been able to manage on her own.
Even though the neighborhood was friendly, most of their neighbors were young, working couples who were not there during the day time; or, they were retired folks who spent most of their time indoors. The only neighbor that Jack and Susan had allowed themselves to become friendly with was Mrs. Ida Brooks, who lived in the small, but tidy bungalow-style home next door.
Ida had lived in her home for the past forty-seven years. It was the first, and only, home she and her husband, Herman, had ever lived in. She couldn’t bring herself to sell it when he passed away seven years ago.
It was Wednesday, January eighteenth, and Ida Brooks stood at the Peterson’s front door holding a covered casserole dish. She adjusted her cardigan and rang her neighbor’s bell for the second time. Their car wasn’t in the driveway, but Ida knew that Mr. Peterson worked on Wednesdays, so she assumed that Mrs. Peterson must be home alone.
“Oh, dear,” she thought to herself. “Maybe the poor woman is napping…” She had convinced herself that nobody was going to answer the door and, just as she was about to leave, she heard a slight scuffling from within. She peered through the beveled-glass window on the front door, and could make out Susan’s tiny frame.
Susan opened the door only wide enough to poke her head out. “Oh, it’s you, Mrs. Brooks. It’s so good to see you.” She opened the door a bit wider. “How are you today?”
> Ida paled when she saw how much Susan Peterson’s appearance had deteriorated since the family moved into the old Turner home. “Oh, I’m just fine and dandy,” Ida smiled. She noticed that Susan carried the baby in the crook of her arm. She smiled and said, “My goodness… I can’t get over how big… and so pretty… she’s getting.”
Ida almost dropped the casserole dish when it appeared that Susan’s left arm was weakening beneath the weight of the baby. “Oh, my! Why don’t we switch, dear? Here, you take this hamburger casserole I made for you and your husband, and let me hold that sweet bundle for you. Is that alright?”
Ida couldn’t be sure, but it looked like relief that quickly spread across Susan’s face.
Susan reluctantly offered the baby to her neighbor in return for the lighter casserole dish.
Her response was weak. “Well… maybe for just a moment. Please… won’t you come inside, Mrs. Brooks? It’s a little cool out today.”
“Well,” Ida smiled back at her. “The weather man said it was sixty-seven degrees, so you might get some argument on that from all these snowbirds in the area.”
Once inside, Ida took the casserole dish from Susan and sat it on a side table in the foyer. She adjusted the baby in her arms and walked behind Susan into the great room.
Susan motioned toward a comfortable looking, overstuffed rocking chair. “Please, Mrs. Brooks… why don’t you sit there with the baby? She loves to be rocked.”
“Why, thank you dear,” Ida smiled as she sat down and readjusted the baby into the crook of her left elbow.
Charlotte Grace cooed and smiled up at Ida Brooks. She reached out and held onto the old woman’s offered finger and began sucking on it
“Just look at this precious angel,” Ida beamed. “I think she’s hungry, dear. Is it time for a feeding?”
Susan had turned back to the foyer to retrieve the casserole dish. She turned and looked around absently, almost in a daze. “Feeding?”
“Why, yes, dear. I think she’s hungry. If you’ll show me where her bottle is, I will be more than happy to feed her. You look like you could use a break.”
Judging from the concerned look on her neighbor’s face, Susan could only assume that she looked as tired as she felt. She placed the casserole on the counter and retrieved a bottle from the refrigerator. She glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was already two o’clock. She usually fed the baby around noon, but for the life of her, Susan couldn’t remember if she had missed the feeding or not. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes hard enough to see stars. “I don’t know where the day has gone. Yes, she probably is hungry. Thank you so much for your help, Mrs. Brooks,” she mumbled as she handed her neighbor the bottle and sat down on the adjacent love seat.
Charlotte reached out eagerly for the offered bottle and Mrs. Brooks smiled down at her. “Why she’s guzzling it right down.” She smoothed the baby’s dark hair out of her eyes. “I do believe this baby has the blackest hair I’ve ever seen on an infant,” she said, more to herself than to Susan.
The comment about the baby’s hair immediately arrested Susan’s grogginess. She realized that she must have dozed off before Mrs. Brooks’ arrival. The baby’s disgruntled cooing had shaken her awake. It suddenly dawned on her that not only had she missed the baby’s noon feeding, but she had also missed taking her own noon prescription doses. It seemed to her that all she wanted to do these days was to sleep, and she wondered if it was the cancer or the medication causing it.
“You look so tired, dear,” Mrs. Brooks clucked. “You know, it’s very important that you get some rest whenever the baby is sleeping. I was never blessed with children of my own, but I helped my sisters plenty with their own broods, and I babysat quite often with the little girl that used to live in this very house. I had more energy back then, but I know how much the little tykes can wear you down.”
“You mean, Amanda?” Susan almost slurred her words.
Ida looked up in total surprise. “Why, yes! Her name was Amanda. How did you know that?”
Somewhere in Susan’s drugged brainwaves, a warning flashed to her that she was talking too much. She pushed a strand of thin brown hair away from her face. “I… I… don’t know,” she lied. “I must have heard it from someone in the neighborhood…” Susan brushed her hair away again and suppressed a gasp when she saw how many loose strands remained in her hand. She lowered her hand, nonchalantly, to the floor and shook off the loose hair. Jack had told her more than once how important it was that they keep her sickness a secret for as long as possible. She looked up and smiled at her elderly neighbor. “Yes, you’re right… the little ones can definitely wear us down… but, they are worth it.”
Ida smiled at the obvious love the woman had for her child, at how her tired eyes lit up when she talked about the baby. “I’m sure it is,” Ida agreed as she picked Charlotte up and held her against her shoulder. The baby soon released a soft burp. “There we go… such a good baby,” she grinned.
Susan watched Ida play with the baby for several more minutes. She knew that she should take the baby and put her in the playpen, away from Ida’s watchful eye, but the loveseat felt so comfortable. She felt such a sense of reprieve in having someone else assuming responsibility for the baby’s comfort and safety.
Feeling the need to make conversation, Susan cleared her throat and said, “Thank you so much for the casserole, Mrs. Brooks. That was very thoughtful of you.”
Ida nodded, still playing with the baby. “Well, dear, I thought it might be a nice break for you, not having to worry about tending to the baby and fretting on what to serve for dinner tonight. Besides, I always make too much; I still haven’t learned to cook for only one person. My freezer is full, so I thought I would bring you the extra casserole. I doubled the recipe without even realizing it.”
It was a small, white lie on Ida’s part. She just felt sorry for the frail-looking woman and the baby. “Is there anything else I can do for you while I’m here?”
Susan had closed her eyes momentarily. She wished she could sleep for twenty-four hours; surely by then she would have the energy she needed to take care of the baby while Jack was away at work. Instead, she swung her feet slowly to the floor and smiled. “You’ve already done too much, Mrs. Brooks. Thank you, again.” Once she found herself in a standing position, the room began a slow spin, and Susan wobbled unsteadily and almost lost her balance. She caught the edge of the end table to steady herself.
Ida had jumped up and reached out to Susan with her free hand. “Susan, dear… what’s wrong? My… but… you don’t look well at all, dear.”
Susan exhaled and stood as erect as her frail, petite frame allowed. It was easier to breathe when she stood erect, but more often than not, she simply did not have the energy to push her body to do so. She made a fluttering motion with her hands. “It’s nothing, really, just a winter cold I get every January… saps all my energy…”
Ida looked down at the now contented baby in her arms. “I know what you mean, dear. Colds affect me the same way.” She rocked the baby in her arms. “Her eyes are fighting to stay open. Where would you like me to put her down?”
Susan motioned to the playpen in the corner of the room. “Over there will be fine. Thank you, Mrs. Brooks.”
Ida placed the baby on her stomach and covered her with a light blanket. “She should be fine for another couple of hours. What time does your husband get home from work, dear?”
Susan’s conception of time was totally disoriented. “Oh, he should be here within the hour,” she lied. “We’ll be fine. Maybe I’ll even take your advice and take a nap along with Kelly.”
“I think that’s a fine idea, dear,” Ida nodded. “Why don’t you go ahead and lie down? I can let myself out. I noticed a pad on the kitchen counter. I’m going to write my number down for you, and I want you to be sure to call me if you ever need any help at all, you hear?”
Susan was already horizontal on the couch, her eyes closing. “Thank you
…”
Ida wrote her number on the pad and made her way to the front door.
Once outside, she looked upward at the darkening clouds forming above. A storm was coming.
A shiver suddenly passed over Ida. She pulled her cardigan tightly around her. “Lord, please keep that little baby safe,” she whispered, “And her mama, too.”
The loud, booming thunder made her jump and the subsequent, brilliant flash of lightning that ripped through the afternoon sky made her hurry across the lawn to her own home.
Torrential rain flooded the neighboring streets for the next two hours while Ida kept a lookout for Jack Peterson’s car. She saw the Peterson car pull into the driveway at four-thirty. Ida sighed and exhaled deeply. “My, goodness, but the angels in Heaven are shedding a lot of tears today,” she muttered as she finally closed her blinds and made her way to her small kitchen.
Another flash of lightning lit up her entire living room, causing her to jump. “And it looks like they’re not finished yet…”
Yes, indeed… a storm was coming.
CHAPTER 31
Max Reveals His True Identity
Amanda awoke from another dream with her parents. It had been an especially pleasant dream because, for once, they weren’t trying to warn her of anything. Instead, she felt like she was running along beside them as they chased one another through the most colorful, flower-filled meadow Amanda had ever seen. There was nothing on earth to compare to the glorious color that filled the meadow.
Amanda was thrilled when she saw her old dog, Sam, running alongside them one minute, and bounding in front of them the next. Arthritis wasn’t slowing old Sam down in the dream; his hips appeared to be youthful and completely free of pain – unlike his final days before they had to put him down.
She wanted nothing more but to remain in the dream forever, to be reunited with her parents and her dog – what more could anyone want?
The Heavenly Grille Café Page 18
