A Love This True (Jasper Lake Book 2)

by Leah Atwood

  Logically, Trixie knew that, but her emotions ran rampant. Stay busy, that’s the way to keep them at bay.

  The scene that greeted her in the fellowship hall brought a broad grin to her face. Her dad held Alice’s hand as they walked around. A tad unsteady still, Alice couldn’t walk more than a few steps, and only those with support. Dad pointed out the different decorations, and Alice gleefully repeated cat at everything.

  Dad caught her gaze and walked her way. “Her vocabulary grows every day. She said cute cat earlier.”

  “Are you sure it wasn’t kit cat?”

  He shook his head. “Definitely cute cat.”

  She held out her arms. “Come see Mama.”

  Alice smiled wide with her two front teeth showing and toddled toward her. “Come Mama.”

  “Good girl.” She picked her up and rewarded her with a kiss. “Ready for your big day?”

  “Coot cat.” Alice giggled and pointed to a centerpiece.

  Dad raised a brow and issued a told-you-so look. “That’s my girl.”

  “Can I slow down the time?”

  “If possible, I would have, many times by now.” A sad smile flitted across his mouth. “Enjoy these times. One day you’ll open your eyes and she’ll be a young lady.”

  An hour later, the party was in full swing, and barely an empty seat remained in the fellowship hall. Many church members came, along with family friends, and extended family, some of whom Trixie hadn’t seen in years.

  She made the rounds, greeting all the guests and giving them all a turn to love on Alice who beamed with the attention. Once Uncle Landon came around that was the end of it. Alice had taken a special liking to Jessa’s husband, who didn’t mind a bit. Jessa had confided that Alice’s presence helped him not to miss his own niece and nephew as much. He carried her around with pride, showing her off to everyone he could.

  Leaving Alice in good hands, Trixie returned to the kitchen to check on the food. She wiped down the counter where someone had spilled salsa and threw away a crumbled napkin left behind.

  “You shouldn’t be wiping down counters and tables on your day off.”

  Lifting her head, she saw Elijah holding a wrapped gift. “A mother is never off duty.”

  “So I hear.”

  She set the rag aside and joined him on the other side of the counter. “Thanks for coming. When Mom and Dad issued the blanket invitation to the church, I never dreamed so many people would show up.”

  “All you have to do is mention free food and people come out of the woodwork.” His twinkling eyes tossed her a wink. “Plus, we all adore Alice and want to celebrate her special day with her.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  He held up the gift. “Where does this go?”

  “On the overflowing table by the wall.” She choked up, not for the first time that day. “I’m in awe at the love shown toward her.”

  “She makes it easy.” His lips twitched until he broke out in laughter. “I passed by the nursery last week and she reached up for me. I felt special until I realized I had a bright green pen in my shirt pocket. The light must have bounced off of it and caught her attention because she wouldn’t stop until I let her hold it for a minute.”

  “That’s my Alice. She loves anything shiny.”

  “Where is she so I can tell her happy birthday?”

  “A few minutes ago, Landon had her over by the game corner, but I don’t know if they’re still there.” She scanned the hall. Several kids played ring the bottle, but no sign of Landon and Alice.

  “I’ll look around. Thanks.” He walked off toward the gift table.

  She watched him, marveling at the change in him since they first met. Dare she call them friends? Yes, he’d become a friend despite their rough beginning.

  Realizing she’d spent most of the party fulfilling obligations, she decided she needed to spend the rest of the time with her daughter. Any more cleaning could wait until the party ended, and most people had already eaten, thus no need to continually check on the food.

  When she found Alice, it was clear naptime was soon approaching. She let Alice sip from a cup of apple juice to keep her happy while she found her mom and set up the cakes. The large cake consisted of cupcakes arranged in the shape of a large cat with none other than purple icing.

  Mom stuck a candle in the separate smash cake. “Do you think she’ll grow out of the purple cat phase?”

  “Probably not any time soon. It’s her favorite stuffed animal she’s had since birth.” The only visitor she’d had in the hospital, a friend from the apartment complex, had given it to Alice.

  “I like it. It’s cute and different.” Mom opened a drawer and grabbed a long reach lighter. “Should we wheel them out on a cart and light the candle out there?”

  “Why don’t we clear the food real quick and do it right there.” She pointed to the counter that separated the kitchen and fellowship hall.

  “Good idea.” Mom stepped over and began pulling the dishes pack.

  Trixie moved them to the center counter and set out the colorful dessert plates. Once the cakes were situated, she called the guests over. Holding Alice in her arms near the cake with the lit candle, she led everyone in a chorus of “Happy Birthday”.

  At the end of “Happy Birthday Dear Alice, Happy Birthday to you,” she leaned over and helped Alice blow out the candle. Everyone cheered and clapped, and Phoebe snapped pictures to capture each moment.

  “Now for the fun part.” Trixie secured Alice in a high chair and set the smash cake in front of her.

  One pudgy finger tested the icing. She giggled, then stuck in another. Finding it entertaining, she stuck both hands in and played with it before realizing she could eat it too. Within minutes cake and icing covered her face, and she smiled happily, bringing laughter to all who watched.

  Trixie leaned over to Jessa. “Now that we’ve done this, I think we should have opened presents first.”

  Jessa lifted a shoulder. “Eh, what’s a little mess.”

  “You’re not the one taking the presents home in your car, but if you want icing all over, you can.” Looking at Alice, her smile grew. “She’s devouring that cake.”

  “Can you blame her? Those cupcakes are calling my name.”

  “They do look good.” She started to place them on individual plates for the guests to grab. If everyone took one they’d run out, but at least they had other desserts to offer.

  When Alice finally lost interest in the cake, Trixie took her to the nursery and changed her into clean clothes. “Are you having a good birthday, princess?”

  “Yum.”

  “Yes, cake is very yummy. I’m glad you liked it.”

  “More.”

  She laughed. “I think you’ve had enough sweets, my sweet.”

  With the birthday outfit tucked into a plastic bag and Alice dressed in a new outfit, they returned to the fellowship hall to open gifts. She set Alice on a playmat on the floor and piled the presents around her. One by one, she handed Alice a gift and watched her shake boxes and pull tissue paper from bags and crinkle it.

  The slow process overwhelmed Alice after fifteen minutes and her sleepiness came through. She started fussing and pushing away the gifts presented to her. The party came to an end with the guest of honor’s increasing crankiness.

  Jessa shoved torn wrapping paper into a plastic garbage bag. “Why don’t you take Alice home to let her get a good nap. We can take care of cleaning this up.”

  “I couldn’t do that. You’ve all put so much into this, cleaning up is the least I can do.”

  Mom stacked presents in Dad’s arms. “We can take her home and put her down for a nap.”

  “That would be great.” She collected the last of the loose wrapping paper and threw it in the bag Jessa held. “I’ll switch the car seat over real quick.”

  “Give me your keys and I’ll do it when I take these out.” Her dad tried to hold out a hand then must have realized they were full. “Er
, give them to your mom.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll just take care of it.” She carried a bag of trash to the dumpster on her way and moved the car seat to her mom’s car.

  Elijah stopped her on the way back inside. “Do you need help cleaning up?”

  “We’ve got it under control, but thanks.”

  “Are you sure?” He rolled his hand in a casual gesture. “I’ve got nothing else going on.”

  “My sisters are helping, and Landon too. We cleaned a lot as we went so there’s not a big mess left.”

  “If you’re sure.” He waved goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget play practice after church. I’m bringing some pizza to throw in the oven for the kids.”

  She inwardly groaned. With work and the preparations for Alice’s party, she’d forgotten about the practice. “I’ll be there. Have you got the pizzas already?”

  “No, I planned on stopping by the grocery on the way home.”

  “We have tons of food leftover from today. Why don’t you save the pizza for another day and feed them party foods tomorrow?”

  “If your family doesn’t want them, the church budget will thank me.” He furrowed his brows. “The new curriculum we decided on cost substantially more than others available, but it will be worth it. Anywhere I can save a few bucks will help cover that extra.”

  “It’s an investment.”

  A slow smile crawled on his mouth. “That’s exactly what I told the board when they questioned me.”

  “Great minds think alike.” She spotted her dad coming near the door with his arms full. She opened the door for him, then glanced at Elijah. “I need to get in there, but I’ll leave the food in the fridge. See you tomorrow.”

  “See you.” He looked at her dad. “Have a good afternoon, Mr. Graff.”

  “You too, Pastor Eli. Thanks for coming.”

  Trixie listened to the exchange, and it dawned on her she no longer got annoyed when she heard him called Pastor Eli. Nevertheless, she preferred calling him Elijah, and that’s how she thought of him. Just a friend, with no intimidating clergy title.

  Chapter Nine

  “Lesson learned for next year.” Elijah sat down on the stage steps and gulped a bottle of water. “Don’t wait until the week before the Easter play to start making the props.”

  “Whoever’s in charge next year should have it easy if they pick a play that can reuse these.” Trixie sat on the stage where she she’d taped an X as a position marker for the soldiers. He pitched the other water bottle to her, and she drank a long sip.

  Her statement reminded him that he wouldn’t be here. Come fall, he’d be done in Jasper Lake and going home to South Carolina to start seminary. He didn’t have the blasé attitude he’d had seven months ago. Who knew he’d grow this attached to a church family in such a short time?

  But he had a plan that God had called him to.

  “Why not do the same play again and make it really easy?” He laughed at his own joke.

  “That’s one option. The kids might learn their lines by then.” She giggled, then they got tickled at each other laughing and collapsed into uncontrolled laughter—her on the stage floor, and he on the steps. Finally, they quieted down into happy sighs. He knew it was their exhaustion, but it felt good to have so much fun, and be so real, with her.

  “I know one thing. If I ever, ever, decide to do a dual time-frame production again, remind me of this.” He peeled his tired body off the steps and stretched his arms upward. “Switching between historical and contemporary is a challenge, especially when we have some teens playing a role in both.”

  “We underestimate them. Remember the chaos of the Christmas play and how bad the dress rehearsal went, but it came off without a hitch.”

  He arched a brow. “If you don’t count our yelling match beforehand.”

  She winked. “If I remember correctly, we were simply practicing our stage voices.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think anyone bought that. It was pretty ugly.”

  “Like your attitude then.” She threw the empty water bottle at him.

  His quick reflexes went into gear and he caught it midair. “I’m a changed man. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

  “It counts for a lot.” She stood up and stepped toward him to claim her bottle and tapped his shoulder. “Come on, we still have lots of work to do and I’d like to see Alice before she goes to bed.”

  “What time is that?”

  “About seven.”

  He looked at the clock. “That only gives us three hours.”

  “And we’ve already been working for two with barely anything to show for it.”

  “Remind me again why we didn’t invite the youth to help?”

  “You did. Conveniently, they all had other things to do.”

  “I suppose midterms do take precedence.” He walked alongside her to the fellowship hall where they’d been cutting and painting cardboard and bedsheets for backdrops. “If we’re not done by seven, don’t feel bad about leaving. Alice needs you more than I do.”

  She pursed her lips, but her eyes reflected amusement. “I’m not sure if that was a compliment or an insult.”

  “Oh, definitely a compliment,” he said in an exaggerated tone. “But seriously, I know it’s important for you to spend time with Alice. I don’t want to keep you away from her too long.”

  She put a hand on her hip and stared at him. “You know, you’re really not that bad of a guy.”

  “Thanks … I think.”

  Laughter rang from her. “You’re not the only one who can give mixed compliments.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” The banter between them made the day go by quickly. Anyone who had witnessed their first meetings wouldn’t believe how well they got along now. “Where’d your name come from?”

  She paused midstride and tilted her head to look at him.. “That was random.”

  “I was thinking about the first time we met, and I wanted to ask you then, but we didn’t exactly get off on the right foot.”

  “That’s an understatement.” She resumed walking. “It’s short for Beatrix. I was named after one of my great aunts. Each of my siblings was named after a family member.”

  “Did you ever go by Bea?”

  “No. For a while, people called my Bebe, but only mom does now.”

  He nodded slowly. “Trixie fits you. It’s quirky and cute, and not common.”

  “Quirky?”

  Man, how many times could he stick his foot in his mouth when only trying to compliment her? “In a good way. Promise.”

  “Are you named after Elijah from the Bible?”

  He held open the door to the fellowship hall for her. “Yes and no. I’m named after my grandfather, but he was named for the biblical Elijah, so in a roundabout way I was.”

  “I named Alice after my grandmother on my dad’s side. She died when I was young, but old enough to have pleasant memories of her.” She stepped into the room and stopped. “I remember her always being joyful, even when she got sick at the end. I want my Alice to experience the same joy in life.”

  “She’s surrounded by Godly women who love her and set positive examples for her. I don’t think you have to worry.”

  “I was, too, but still strayed.”

  “What happened? If you don’t mind sharing.” He walked to the backdrop they’d painted earlier of a park scene.

  “The short version—I was a spoiled brat.” She picked up the top corner of the king-sized sheet. “I was the youngest and used to getting all the attention. When my brother got in trouble, that all changed and in my immature mind, I decided I’d act out to make my parents notice me.”

  “Not uncommon.” He lifted the other corner, and they carefully carried it out of the fellowship hall.

  “Maybe so, but I was old enough to know better. Especially when, looking back, I realize my parents hadn’t neglected me at all.” Her self-condemning laugh echoed in the empty halls.

  “What advi
ce would you give to someone in a similar situation to keep them from going down that path?” He caught her gaze from behind his side of the sheet and smiled. “For research purposes.”

  She sighed loudly. “That’s a tough one because many times, you won’t realize that is what’s happening until it’s too late, but if anything, try to redirect their focus from themselves after reminding them they are loved.”

  “How is your brother?”

  “As good as can be expected. He might get out a few months early for good behavior.” Her voice dropped. “I haven’t gone to see him yet.”

  He heard the pain in her voice, chose his words carefully. “It can’t be easy seeing a sibling serving time. I always hated when one of mine got grounded, and that’s nothing compared to what you’re experiencing.”

  When she didn’t reply, he worried he’d said the wrong thing. They maneuvered the sheet up the stairs, moving it as little as possible in case any paint hadn’t dried.

  She paused at the sanctuary doors. “Can I make a confession?”

  “Anything you say won’t leave here.” He ignored the surge of happiness that she trusted him—this was about being there for her, not gloating to himself that he’d won her over to friendship.

  “I told my mom I haven’t visited him yet because it’s hard to see my brother—whom I used to admire— in jail, but the truth is, I feel guilty.”

  “How so?”

  “I did the same things he did, probably even worse, but I didn’t get caught. Not by the law at least.”

  He motioned for her to drape the sheet over several pews. “At the risk of sounding trite, God has a plan for each of us. Have you thought that perhaps you needed different consequences than Hunter in order to achieve those plans?”

  Her face went blank, unreadable. “No, I haven’t.”

  “Think about it.” He closed the gap between them to stand in front of her. “Didn’t you say he’s been attending a Bible study?”

  She nodded. “Mom said he rededicated his life to the Lord last week.”