An Abundance of Blessings

by Carolyne Aarsen

  Though there were times Sam longed for his friends back home in San Diego, Charlotte knew he still wanted to fit in with the group of friends he had right now.

  “I’m sure that even though your friends like to tease you, they don’t think less of you because of what Emily wears.”

  Sam slouched in the doorway of the bathroom. “Maybe, but I don’t like getting bugged about it.”

  “I used to wear a vest like that,” Charlotte put in, trying to find a way to make peace between the two as she tied off Madison’s ponytail. “It was considered very cool. For its time. And maybe it’s cool again.”

  Sam’s incredulous look made Charlotte want to laugh.

  “Anyway, maybe you could stand up for her. Tell your friends you like what she wears.”

  “Right. Like that’s gonna happen. I couldn’t say it with a straight face. The guys would know I was lying.” Sam pushed himself away from the door. “Oh well. Maybe she won’t wear this getup to school.”

  “Could you please start up my car and the truck, Sam? We won’t all fit in one vehicle.”

  Sam’s frown immediately morphed into a grin. “So that means I’ll have to drive?”

  Charlotte grinned back. “I guess so. If you don’t mind.”

  Sam was already headed toward the porch door before Charlotte finished her sentence.

  “Did you really wear a vest like that, Grandma?” Madison asked, sounding surprised at Charlotte’s clothing choices.

  “I did. Though the one Emily is wearing is actually much nicer than the one I had. I had made mine myself.” Charlotte tied a silk ribbon in Madison’s hair, fluffed the bow, then bent over and brushed a kiss over her granddaughter’s forehead. “And you look absolutely lovely,” she said, standing back to take another look at her granddaughter.

  Madison’s beaming smile warmed Charlotte’s heart.

  “And now we better get going,” Charlotte said. “We have to leave early enough to get a spot for all of us.”

  As they walked out of the house, Jennifer pointed out the snow fort to Bob, who made the appropriate noises of admiration.

  “Maybe after church we can build another one,” Jennifer asked with a hopeful note in her voice. “Maybe Sam and Emily can help?”

  “Maybe,” Charlotte said.

  Half an hour later Charlotte settled into a pew feeling slightly disoriented. Their late arrival meant they weren’t able to sit in their usual pew.

  So with some grumbling and complaining from the older grandchildren, they ended up in a spot closer to the front of the church.

  Now Madison sat beside Bob, her shoulder tucked in the crook of his arm as he read the church bulletin.

  Jennifer, Christopher, Emily, and Sam sat beside Charlotte. They almost filled the entire pew, Charlotte thought with a glow of maternal pride.

  She wished Pete were here as well. Very occasionally he came to church, more so since he had been seeing Dana. The young woman in front of Charlotte turned around, hooking her slender arm over the pew. Andrea Vink was the wife of Jason Vink, the youth leader, and had made a point to befriend Emily and Sam.

  Now the sun from the stained-glass window picked out the red highlights in her streaked hair. “Hey guys,” she said, giving Emily a thumbs-up. “Emily. Lookin’ good.”

  Emily just smiled.

  “Sam, you coming to youth group tonight?”

  Sam’s reply was a vague shrug but Andrea didn’t seem fazed by his reticence.

  Andrea turned to Charlotte. “Good morning, Charlotte. I don’t usually see you sitting this close to the front of the church.”

  “No. I’ve got my son Bill’s kids staying so we needed a bit more space.”

  “So you’ve got your house full,” Andrea said, her smile taking in Charlotte, Bob, and the children.

  “I certainly do,” Charlotte said, returning her smile. “And I’m enjoying every moment.”

  “So what are their names?” Andrea asked.

  “That’s Madison, the oldest, sitting beside Bob, and this is Jennifer.”

  Jennifer was leaning over the children’s bulletin with Christopher, figuring out how to do the word puzzle of the week, but looked up when she heard her name.

  “So you get to stay with Grandma for a while?” the woman asked.

  “My mom and dad are on a trip and didn’t want to take us,” she stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

  Andrea grinned at Jennifer’s bluntness. “But you get to stay at Grandma’s house. How much fun is that?”

  “It’s a lot of fun. Me and Christopher were exploring in the attic on Friday and yesterday so I’m not bored.”

  Christopher poked her in the side. “I found one of the words,” he whispered, pointing to the paper he was working on, and Jennifer’s attention was diverted back to her cousin.

  Andrea smiled at her, then reached across the space between them and covered Charlotte’s hand with her own.

  “I think it’s a wonderful thing you’ve done.” Andrea released Charlotte’s hand. “And I just want you to know that we are praying for you and your family.”

  “Thank you so much,” Charlotte said, feeling once again the support of the community she and Bob had been a part of so long.

  Bedford was a good place to be, she thought as she pulled her copy of the bulletin out of her purse. She had always appreciated the people of Bedford Community Church, but since taking in the children, she had experienced an overwhelming amount of support. Often she wished she could repay the church community, but knew this was impossible.

  The best she could do was show her appreciation and respect. Which Pete translated into caring too much about other people’s opinions.

  She opened the bulletin and pushed aside her son’s accusations. Didn’t matter. Living in community meant you cared and were sensitive to other people’s opinions.

  As she read the bulletin, she heard the organist, Mary Louise Henner, start up, and when she looked up to see what they would be singing, a teenaged girl and her mother slipped into the pew ahead of them.

  Nicole and Mrs. Evans. Charlotte shot a quick glance at Emily to catch her reaction.

  Ever since Emily had taken Nicole’s place at the Christmas play a month ago when Nicole had come down with appendicitis, it seemed they both took great pains to avoid each other. Emily had sent Nicole a get-well card, but that hadn’t seemed to smooth out Nicole’s antagonism toward Emily.

  Now they were sitting directly behind the girl.

  So far Emily didn’t seem to have noticed, but Charlotte knew that would happen eventually.

  Sure enough, Emily looked up from the paper she had been reading and Charlotte could see her lips tighten and her eyes narrow. She leaned forward but Sam pulled her back.

  This earned him a searing glance, but thankfully nothing more came of it.

  Please Lord, Charlotte prayed, don’t let her say or do anything rash.

  Just then the congregation rose to their feet to sing along. Emily moved a little slower, her attention on the girl in front who, it seemed, hadn’t noticed her.

  The rest of the hymn passed without incident and Charlotte relaxed. She turned her attention back to the service, letting herself be drawn into the songs, her heart yearning for a closeness with the Lord.

  Since the busyness of Christmas, she had felt drained, as if she had put so much of herself into the Christmas season, she had little left for her own spiritual life.

  The past few weeks it seemed her prayer life had slipped into autopilot. Read the Bible. Pray.

  She would have skipped her ladies’ prayer group except she realized she needed to set an example for the children. Faith wasn’t an act you turned on or took off as convenient. God was faithful even though she might not feel His presence.

  As Charlotte sang the next song, letting the words settle into her being, she felt a gentle shiver of closeness to her Lord.

  Just as she got herself centered, a movement to her right, across the aisle from Bob,
caught her attention.

  Lisa Grienke and her brother were being ushered into the empty space in the pew. She couldn’t remember having seen her in church before. Why was she coming now?

  And when Lisa glanced across the aisle, smiling at Charlotte and then looking past her, as if looking for someone else, Charlotte’s concern grew.

  Was she looking for Pete?

  Charlotte pushed the questions aside as she turned her attention back to the words of the song. She should be glad Lisa was here. Thankful she had brought her brother to church.

  But all she could feel, for now, was a vague thankfulness that Pete hadn’t come to church today. It would not have looked good if Lisa and Pete were seen together.

  Especially not with Dana sitting only a few seats behind Lisa.

  Chapter Seven

  The moment the organist struck the last notes of the last song of the worship service, Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Church was almost done.

  Why had Grandma and Grandpa picked this spot, of all places in the church to sit?

  She wouldn’t be surprised if Nicole even sat in front of her on purpose, showing off her new hoodie.

  Well, that was fine. Emily fiddled with the wooden beads of her vest, feeling a touch of smugness. Her outfit was one of a kind. Maybe she’d even start a new trend.

  Nicole hadn’t looked back once during the service, and though Emily had tried to concentrate on the sermon, like Grandpa always told her to, all she saw was Nicole sitting in front of her.

  The minister, Nicole’s father, had been saying something to them about going out into the world and being salt and light to a dark and hungry world, whatever that meant.

  Finally, after he stopped talking and the lame music ended, church was officially over and she could go out into the world.

  But first, the question was, should she stick around to talk to her friends who sat just ahead of Nicole? Or should she leave and hope they would catch up with her at the back of the church?

  She decided to wait for her friends. She didn’t want Nicole to think she scared her away. Sometimes she wished Nicole would treat her better. Emily had tried to be nice to her that one time, but hey, what do you do?

  Besides, maybe Nicole would notice her cool outfit. And maybe, Emily felt a touch of pride, she’d be little bit jealous.

  Just then, Nicole turned around and her glance flicked over Emily, as if she couldn’t be bothered to look at her.

  But then she stopped, looked back at Emily, and began to smile.

  But it wasn’t a nice, friendly smile. It was a sneaky smile.

  “Hey, Emily. Nice vest,” she said, her voice sounding like she was laughing.

  “I like it.”

  Just then her friends caught up to her and Nicole was forgotten.

  “Wow. Where did you get that awesome vest?” Ashley asked. “It’s so cool.”

  “I want one,” Megan said, with an exaggerated pout. “And I absolutely love, love that skirt.”

  Emily couldn’t help flashing a faintly smug grin toward Nicole as she toyed with the beads on the bottom of the vest.

  “Thanks. They’re both vintage,” she said.

  “Vintage,” Nicole said, a nasty note entering her voice. “That’s just a fancy word for used.”

  “Oh, c’mon. Admit it, Nicole. You like it too,” Ashley teased with a good-natured smile.

  Ashley knew exactly how Nicole had treated Emily and had had a few run-ins with her as well, but each time Ashley saw Nicole, she was friendly. For a moment Emily was jealous of the easy way Ashley had with other people. For a moment she wished she could be the same.

  “I’ve never liked my mother’s clothes,” was all Nicole said.

  Emily, Ashley, and Megan exchanged puzzled frowns.

  “What in the world are you talking about?” Emily said.

  Nicole gave her the snarky smile again. “That vest? That skirt? They used to belong to my mother. And those boots? I think my cousin used to have them. She gave them to me, but I didn’t like them.”

  Emily’s face grew hot as she thought of the single box of clothes out of which she had taken most everything she had worn today.

  They not only had belonged to someone living in Bedford, they had belonged to Nicole’s family.

  “When you and your brothers first came, my mom thought she’d help your grandma out,” Nicole continued. “So she cleaned out our closets and gave Mrs. Stevenson the clothes.” Nicole tossed her hair and pointed at the outfit Emily had been so proud of only a few moments ago. “Those clothes.”

  Then she walked away, as if she owned the world.

  Emily watched her, stunned. Why had she waited until Ashley and Megan were here to say that? Why did she have to say it at all?

  “That was nasty,” Megan remarked, chewing on her fingernail.

  “Really nasty,” Ashley agreed. She gave Emily a reassuring smile. “Doesn’t matter. I still think you look pretty cool.”

  Emily appreciated the support, but the fun of her outfit and the outfit she had planned for school tomorrow had been robbed by Nicole’s comments.

  Ashley tucked her arm in Emily’s. “Don’t pay attention to her. I think she’s jealous that she didn’t look at those old clothes and think of putting them together like you did herself.”

  “Well, I don’t think I’ll be wearing this again,” Emily said.

  “If you don’t, can I have the vest?” Megan asked, sounding hopeful.

  “You can have the whole outfit,” Emily grumbled. Guess it would be the same old clothes for tomorrow.

  The three girls walked out of church, but Emily didn’t hang around to find out about youth group that night. All she wanted to do was go home and change as fast as she could.

  Thankfully neither Grandma nor Grandpa said anything on the way home. Jennifer, Madison, and Christopher were busy making plans for the additions they were going to make on their snow fort when they came home from church, and Sam just stared out the window.

  “UNCLE PETE, ARE YOU BUSY after supper?” Christopher asked as he spooned the last of his ice cream out of his bowl.

  “I dunno. Why?” Pete set his fork on his plate and reached for a toothpick.

  “I want to talk to you about a project I need to do for school.”

  “We’ll see.” He shot a grin at his mother. “Great meal, Mom.” Pete sat back in his chair, working at his teeth with a toothpick.

  “Thank you. And thanks for providing the cake for dessert.” Charlotte had made rhubarb crisp for dessert, but when Pete brought in a box holding an iced chocolate cake, she knew it would be a bigger hit for Sunday evening dinner.

  She guessed this was the same box she had seen Lisa Grienke taking out of her car.

  Pete shrugged. “I wouldn’t have eaten it all myself anyway.”

  “Can’t see you doing the Betty Crocker thing.” Sam swiped the last of the ice cream off his plate with his finger. “Where’d you get it?”

  “Someone gave it to me” was Pete’s cryptic reply.

  “Who would give you a cake?”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Miss Grienke cornered me after church. She was asking about you. Was it her?” Sam was relentless and Charlotte caught a gleam of mischief in her grandson’s eyes. “Am I right?”

  Charlotte was about to intervene but before she could say anything, Pete shoved his chair back, looking annoyed.

  “What you are is a pain.” Pete grabbed his plate, strode to the kitchen counter and dropped the plate in the sink with a loud clatter. “Thanks for supper, Mom. I gotta run.”

  “But Uncle Pete—” Christopher looked from his departing uncle to Charlotte, who wasn’t sure what to do. Pete hadn’t made a commitment to helping Christopher.

  “Maybe we’ll wait for a better time,” Charlotte said to Christopher. “You still have lots of time.”

  Christopher sighed and swiped his finger over his plate, capturing the last of his ice cream. “I suppose,” h
e said with a sigh.

  “Is Uncle Pete mad?” Jennifer asked as she scraped the last of the ice cream off her plate.

  “He shouldn’t have gone until Grandpa prayed,” Madison added, her mouth set in a prim line of disapproval.

  “No, he should have stayed,” was all Charlotte could say. “Bob, why don’t we read the Story Bible now?”

  Bob complied but as he read, Charlotte heard the sound of Pete’s truck leaving.

  She guessed he wasn’t going on a date with Dana. And she guessed whatever he was doing was technically none of her business.

  “TEETH BRUSHED, FACE WASHED?”

  Jennifer nodded as she pulled the bedcovers over her shoulders.

  “I even flossed,” Madison said as she slipped into the bed beside her sister.

  “That’s wonderful. You’ll have very healthy teeth,” Charlotte said as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Shall we say our prayers?”

  “Can we sing the ‘Jesus, Tender Shepherd’ song?” Jennifer asked. “The one my daddy always sings?”

  Charlotte smiled at the question. She had taught this song to each of her children and was heartened to hear that Bill had also taught it to his children.

  “We certainly can. Why don’t you girls start?”

  Jennifer closed her eyes and launched into the song, her voice loud and slightly off-key. Madison shot her sister a reprimanding frown, which had no effect, so she joined in with Charlotte.

  “… Listen to my evening prayer,” they sang together.

  Jennifer smiled up at Charlotte. “I like that song.”

  “But we didn’t pray for Mommy and Daddy,” Madison added.

  “You’re right, Madison. We can do that now.” Charlotte smoothed a curl of Madison’s hair back from her face. She loved both grandchildren equally, but somehow Jennifer’s easygoing nature created a stronger bond than Madison’s fussing. So she always made an extra effort to connect with Madison.

  Madison closed her eyes. “And be with Mommy and Daddy. Give them traveling mercies and bring them home safely. Amen.”

  Charlotte pressed her lips together to hold back the smile at Madison’s old-fashioned and very adult prayer. She could almost hear Bill reciting the words, unconsciously parroting his father the few times Bob veered away from saying the Lord’s Prayer.