Michelle squeezed his hand, and Steve glanced over. She mouthed the words, “Don’t bring up Adam,” as they stood for the final hymn before leaving.
He nodded. There would be no point in upsetting Caleb more by focusing their conversation on Adam’s failure to show.
As Caleb approached the martial arts studio, he practiced in his mind what he would say to Adam. He wanted to keep it light and casual, not letting on how upset he’d been when Adam had failed to show up at church on Sunday.
Glancing around the parking lot, he noticed that Adam’s truck was not there. Great! Now he’s bailing on my lesson, too.
As he opened the door, he immediately spotted Adam on his cell phone. He appeared to be in a heated discussion with someone, mentioning something about money and that he’d come up with the amount somehow. After ending the call, he turned to Caleb, dropped his scowl and smiled. “Hey, kid. How’s it going?”
‘Kid’ again. Does everyone think I’m twelve, or what? “Fine. How about you?” Caleb asked, tipping his head toward the cell phone in Adam’s hand.
Adam glanced down at the phone. “Oh, that. It’s no big deal. My truck’s busted, and I’ve got to come up with some cash.”
“Is that why you didn’t show on Sunday?” Caleb asked, hoping his tone sounded unaffected.
Adam looked puzzled for a second. “Oh, that,” he said. “Sorry about church. Yeah my transmission gave out Saturday night. I should have called you.”
“No problem,” Caleb replied nonchalantly.
“Got any ideas where I could get a loan?” Adam asked, his voice sounding a bit defeated to Caleb. “I’m going to need a chunk of change to get that old clunker back on the road.”
“Wish I could help you out, but my job doesn’t pay much,” Caleb replied.
Adam laughed and shook his head. “I was only kidding, Caleb. I wouldn’t take a loan from you anyway.”
As they worked on the lesson together, thoughts swirled in Caleb’s head. I wonder if I should offer to pick him up next Sunday if he still wants to come to church. Or maybe I should ask Dad if he’d be willing to loan Adam the money.
Before leaving the studio, Caleb casually mentioned that he’d be happy to give Adam a ride to church if he’d like.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll wait until I get the truck fixed. I may have to try to do it myself this weekend if I can figure out a way to afford the parts,” Adam replied.
He sounded like he was still interested in giving church a try, so Caleb decided he’d approach his dad and see if Steve would be willing to loan Adam the money, at least to buy the parts.
After dinner that night, Caleb said, “Hey, Dad. Can we talk?”
“Sure,” Steve replied.
Michelle stood and cleared the table, and then told them she’d be grading papers in the living room if they needed her.
“So what’s up, bud?” Steve asked.
“I talked to Adam about Sunday,” Caleb began.
“And?”
“And he explained that the transmission in his truck broke down on Saturday,” Caleb explained.
“It would have been nice if he would have called to let you know,” his father said.
“Yeah. He apologized for that.”
Steve just nodded, but Caleb could tell he was skeptical.
“So anyway, he still wants to come to church after he gets his truck fixed, and I was wondering if maybe you’d be willing to loan him a little money for parts.” Caleb held his breath as he waited for the reply.
Clearing his throat before answering, Steve finally asked, “Did Adam ask you to ask me this?”
“No. It was my idea. He doesn’t even know I’m asking you.”
Steve sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin. “Let me think about it, Caleb.”
“Really? Okay, great! Thanks, Dad.” What a surprise that his father didn’t just say ‘no’ right out of the gate. Hopefully he’d see things the way Caleb did and agree to help Adam out.
“Don’t thank me yet. I just said I’d think about it.”
“Sure,” Caleb nodded agreeably. “No pressure. I just appreciate you considering it.”
“What do you say we surprise your mom and get the dishes done?” his father asked.
“Good idea,” Caleb replied with a smile.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“He asked you what?” Michelle said, as Steve relayed to her his conversation with Caleb while they were getting ready for bed.
“He wondered if I’d loan Adam money for parts to repair his truck’s transmission.”
Michelle studied his face. “What did you say?”
“That I’d think about it.”
“And? What do you think?” she asked.
Steve sank down onto the bed beside her and took her hand in his. “I’m really torn. Adam doesn’t have a good track record, and my gut is telling me I’ll never see the money again if I do loan it to him.”
“But?”
“But I know how important this is to Caleb. And I don’t want to be the bad guy here.” He paused and looked her in the eye. “Know what I mean?”
“Yeah.”
“So what do you think?” he asked.
“I think either Adam will surprise us all and pay you back, or Caleb will learn a hard lesson about the guy,” she replied. “Maybe that’s the best way.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I guess I’ll loan it to him.” Slapping his hands on his knees decisively, he stood and walked toward the door. “If he’s still awake, I’ll let Caleb know.”
A couple of weeks later, Steve began to seriously question his decision to loan Adam the money. Not only had the guy failed to show up at church both of the subsequent Sundays, giving vague excuses instead, but he’d also turned down Caleb’s invitation to Thanksgiving dinner.
Every time Steve started to say something to Caleb about it, a voice in his spirit stopped him. God’s mandate seemed to be to simply wait, pray, and trust Him with the results. So, in spite of the agitation and frustration he could see in his son, Steve bit his tongue and prayed.
The second weekend in December, Madison and Luke arrived home for their vacation with family. Michelle spent a month fixing up Madison’s room for their stay. “I want it to be a cozy place for them,” she told Steve. Pulling the side of the bed away from the wall, she flanked it with two new nightstands. And Madison’s girlie bedding set was replaced with a quilt Joan and Phil had used in their guest room. Shades of soft greens and cranberry gave it a Christmassy look. It had always been a favorite of Michelle’s whenever she’d stay at her grandparents’ home.
At the last minute, she put fresh flowers in a vase on the dresser along with a few water bottles and some granola bars in a basket.
“Wow, are you opening a B & B?” Steve teased as he surveyed the room.
Michelle stood back and smiled. “I want it to be perfect for the kids.”
He grinned and pulled her into his arms. “You’re pretty special. You know that?”
Before she could reply, Caleb called out from downstairs, “Maddie’s home!”
As they hurried down and joined their son at the open front door, they could see Madison and Luke unloading their luggage from Ben’s car. Michelle ran out and embraced her daughter, trying to control the tears that threatened to spill. “Oh Maddie, I have missed you so much,” she said, holding her tight.
“I’ve missed you, too, Mom,” she said. And as they pulled back, Michelle could see that her daughter’s eyes were also a sea of tears.
“My turn,” Steve said, pulling Madison into his arms.
“Hey, there, bro,” Caleb said, giving Luke an awkward hug.
Glancing over at Ben and Kelly standing off to the side and smiling, Michelle offered, “Let’s all go inside. I’ve got fresh coffee brewing and some homemade muffins.”
That night, before turning in, Madison stopped by Caleb’s room and knocked.
“Come in,” he said.
Opening the door, she saw that he
was sitting at his desk on his computer. It looked like he was in the middle of an email. “Is this a bad time?” she asked.
“No.” He reached over and pulled his backpack and sweatshirt off the bed and said, “Sit down.” Then he closed the laptop and turned to face her. “You must be pretty tired after all that traveling.”
“A little. But I wanted to check in and see how things are going with you and Adam,” she said. “I didn’t want to ask in front of Mom and Dad, but I haven’t heard anything from you in a few weeks.”
“Yeah, well, there’s not much to say. You knew that Dad loaned him the money to fix his truck, right?”
She nodded. “Yep. You told me that. So did he end up coming to church?”
“No.”
Madison could see the hurt in her brother’s eyes. “Maybe he’s afraid,” she offered.
“Afraid of what?”
“Afraid he won’t know how to act. Or maybe afraid of what he’ll hear and how it will affect his life,” she said.
“Yeah. Maybe,” he replied, but his tone was skeptical.
After a moment of silence, Madison stood up. “Don’t give up. He may still come around.”
Caleb nodded.
“Guess I’ll go to bed,” she said, starting for the door.
“Hey, Mad?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really sorry about Lily,” he said, standing to his feet as well.
“Thanks,” she replied, trying not to cry. Would her heart ever stop hurting? Every time Lily’s name was mentioned, the pain resurfaced. Glancing at Caleb, she saw his arms wide open. As she walked into his hug, a few stray tears escaped. It seemed strange to her that her ‘little brother’ was much taller than her now. And as they embraced, she realized that he was becoming a man—a man with a boy’s heart that was still very vulnerable.
Before she and Luke got into bed, they sat on the edge of the mattress and held hands to pray. “Let’s say a special prayer for Caleb and Adam,” she said.
“So how are you doing, Maddie? You’ve been through a lot lately,” Michelle said.
Trying to be strong and hold her emotions at bay, Madison replied, “I think about Lily every day, and I try to remember that she is happy and is with Jesus. But…sometimes…it is really hard, Mom.”
Michelle nodded. “I wish I could have been there for you.”
“You were. I could feel all the prayers from everyone here,” she said. “You know, we were seriously considering adopting her. It was like she’d already become part of our family.”
Michelle sighed. “Oh, baby, I wish that would have worked out. You and Luke are going to be great parents someday.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Madison replied, smiling through her tears.
“What about the little boy—Chen? How is he doing?”
“It was really tough when we left. He was clinging to Luke and crying. Erick had to pull him off and distract him while we got into the van to go to the airport.”
“Do you think he’ll be okay while you’re gone?”
“One of the aides is going to stay in our room with him. He’s gotten so used to sleeping there, and we’re hoping that will help,” Madison explained.
“I hope I can meet the little guy someday,” Michelle said. “Your Dad and I would really like to come out during my spring break if we can work it out with his caseload.”
“That would be great, Mom! We’d love to have you,” she replied, her sorrow lightened by the joyful anticipation of their possible visit.
“There you are,” Luke said, as he walked into the kitchen. “We have a meeting at church, remember?”
Madison glanced at the clock. “Oh yeah! We’d better go.” Turning, she gave her mom a hug. “See you this afternoon at Grams,” she said, remembering the annual Christmas tea party she and her mom, grandmother, and great grandmother enjoyed together at the beginning of each December.
As the four generations of women sat around Joan’s festive little table, Madison noticed how frail her great grandmother was looking. Not having seen her in months, it was even more obvious. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was their last Christmas tea as a foursome.
Madison’s mom and grandmother seemed to take extra care with Joan, gently reminding her of events that slipped her mind. “And we’ll be having Christmas dinner together at Michelle’s house, Mom,” Sheila said for the second time that afternoon.
“Oh, okay. Thanks for telling me. And you’ll pick me up and take me there, right?” Joan asked.
“That’s right,” Sheila replied, smiling patiently at a question she’d already answered just ten minutes earlier.
“How’s the devotional coming?” Madison asked.
“Devotional?” Joan said, looking puzzled.
“The one you were working on from Gramps’ sermon notes,” Maddie replied.
“Oh yes. That one. I think I’ve finished that.” She glanced over at Sheila.
“That’s right, Mom,” her daughter replied. “I gave it to Michelle to edit.”
Joan turned to Michelle who nodded her head. “I’m working on it, Grandma. You did a great job. Grandpa would be proud.”
When the subject of Lily came up, Joan’s countenance changed and she turned to Madison with a clear expression of compassion. “When your grandfather and I lost our firstborn, I thought the pain would never go away.”
Maddie nodded.
“But over time, God gave me peace. And now I know that our son is with my Phil in heaven.” She paused and gazed off into space. Then clearing her throat, she turned back to her great granddaughter. “When your mother came along, my heart was whole again.” She reached over and squeezed Madison’s hand. “He’ll heal your heart, too, darling. You just wait and see.”
Two weeks later, Madison made a discovery that confirmed God was indeed at work to do that healing work. But first an unexpected crisis would rock their world.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Luke’s cell phone rang, awakening him and Madison in the predawn hours of the rainy mid-December morning. Propping himself up on his elbow and flipping on the lamp by the bed, Luke saw his mom’s name on the screen of the phone. “Hello?”
“Luke, it’s Mom. You need to get over here right away. It’s your father. The paramedics are here and they’re taking him to the hospital. I need someone here with the kids.”
“What happened? Is he okay?” Luke asked, his pulse racing as he shot a concerned look in Madison’s direction.
“They think he’s had a heart attack. I’ve gotta go. Can you come right now?”
Sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he replied, “We’ll get dressed and be there in a few minutes.”
After hanging up, he explained the situation to Madison. They both quickly dressed, and Madison knocked on her parents’ bedroom door. “Mom?”
“Madison?” her mother’s voice came from the darkened room. “Is something wrong?”
“We need to borrow the car. Luke’s dad is going to the hospital. They think he’s had a heart attack, and Luke and I need to go over there.”
Michelle was up in flash, followed by Steve. “Go ahead and take the van,” she said. “The keys are hanging by the door out to the garage. Your father and I will be over as soon as we can get dressed.”
Maddie and Luke took off, driving as quickly as possible through the pouring rain, and praying aloud together. They got to Luke’s parents’ house just as the paramedics were closing the back doors of the ambulance.
“I’m going to follow them in my car,” Kelly said, her face giving away her concern.
“Why don’t you drive her,” Madison said to Luke. “I can stay here with the kids. And my parents will be here to help any minute.”
Luke didn’t hesitate. “Thanks, babe. I’ll call as soon as we know anything.” He wrapped his arm around his mother’s shoulders and led her to the car, both getting drenched in the process.
As Madison sat in the living room prayi
ng, she heard footsteps overhead. Someone was up. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was only five-thirty. Whoever it was must have heard some of the commotion.
A minute later, a very groggy Logan ambled down the stairs. “Mad? Is that you?” he asked.
“Yeah. Is anyone else awake up there?”
“No. What’s going on? Why are you here?”
What should she say? Madison searched for the right words. “It’s your dad. He…well…I guess he wasn’t feeling right…and…anyway, the paramedics came. They think he might have had a heart attack, but we don’t know anything yet,” she added quickly, hoping she sounded reassuring. “They’re taking him to the hospital just in case.”
“So he’s okay?”
“I think he’ll be fine. I’m waiting to hear from Luke as soon as they know anything. He drove your mom over there.”
“Oh…” Logan sank down onto the couch across from her. “Who’s that?” he asked as a car drove into the driveway.
“That’ll be my parents. They wanted to come over, too. In case they could help,” she explained.
Logan nodded. “I guess I should call Lucy.”
“I think your mom probably already did.” Madison walked over and opened the front door. She was a little surprised to see Caleb with her folks. “I’m glad you came,” she said to him, tipping her head toward Logan.
Caleb went and sat by his friend, trying to make small talk to distract him. After Steve and Michelle took off their wet coats and shoes, they joined the three of them. “Let’s pray,” Steve suggested. Everyone nodded, and they formed a circle, linking hands as Steve interceded for his best friend.
In the middle of their prayer, Madison’s cell phone began to buzz. She released her brother’s hand and pulled it out of her purse. It was Luke.
“Sorry,” she said, glancing around the circle. Then she turned her attention to the phone. “Luke! How’s he doing?”
All eyes were on her as she pressed the phone to her ear.
Above All Else (Sandy Cove Series Book 7) Page 22
