by Krista McGee
JESSICA: Can he take me on in a one-on-one basketball game? Can he ski the black diamond, or is he on the bunny slope? Those are the questions I’d ask. I stay busy and I stay outdoors, so my guy needs to be able to keep up.
BOL: And do you think the young Mr. Jackson can keep up with you?
JESSICA: Well, I don’t know. (Looking at the camera) But I’m sure willing to let him try.
BOL: Excellent answer. Well, thank you, Jessica, and good luck on the program.
Chapter 19
Uncle Mike,” Addy whispered. Addy had left her trailer an hour earlier, sneaking away when Hank had gone for his weekly collagen injection. She was sitting on her favorite stump in the woods looking carefully around to make sure no cameramen were hiding anywhere in the vicinity. Eric had promised to send Mike to her as soon as they arrived from the airport.
Mike hugged Addy, holding her longer than normal. He held her face in his hands. “Are you all right, Addy-girl? If I’d known what a mess this show would be, I’d never have made you do it.”
“Oh, Uncle Mike, it’s all right. Hard, but all right. God has me here for a reason. I am sure of that.”
That reason is to make me depend on God more because I’m being attacked from all sides. But Uncle Mike doesn’t need to know that. He’s worried enough about me.
“Well, glad to hear it.” He hugged her again before sitting down on the damp forest floor. He took a deep breath. “Smell that air, Addy. Nothing like it.”
She smiled. She had known Mike would like the grounds. He’d probably be trying to talk Eric into letting him camp out here instead of being put up in a nearby hotel with the other security guards.
“As long as you’re okay, I’m okay. I was worried for a while. We were all worried.” He picked up a leaf and examined it.
“How’s Lexi?”
“Shoot.” Mike laughed. “You know Lexi. She’d probably be a better security guard than me. She’d just squash anyone who came near you.”
“She has texted me about twenty times a day. I miss her.”
“She misses you too, Addy-girl. Everybody does. The kids have Go Addy posters up all over school, and the Lawrences call every couple of days to check in and see how you’re doing.”
I don’t think I appreciated how great my life is until I left it for a while.
“Listen, I can’t stay long. I’m on the job, after all,” Mike said. “I get to meet this Hank in a little bit. It’s going to take all I have not to just rip his head off.” Uncle Mike shook his head, and Addy knew he wasn’t kidding. Mike was a full head taller than Hank and 250 pounds of pure muscle. He could easily hurt Hank if he wanted to.
“I brought you something I think you’ll like.” He lifted a backpack from his back and handed it to Addy, his eyes moist. “These are your mama’s journals. She kept them from the time she arrived in Colombia until the day she . . . well, until the Lord took her home.” He twisted his mustache and coughed. “I’ve been saving them for you. I knew the Lord would tell me when you were ready to read ’em. I think now is that time.”
Tears filled Addy’s eyes as she took the surprisingly heavy pack from her uncle, unzipping it to find half a dozen leather-bound notebooks. Uncle Mike patted her arm and walked away, wiping his eyes, leaving Addy alone with the journals.
She pulled out the first, dated over twenty years ago. She smiled at her mother’s handwriting, so tiny and perfect. Her mom drew little pictures of flowers and trees and sunsets in the margins. Addy took a breath and began reading.
We’re here! We’re actually here. The plane ride was fine. Bumpy, but Josh and I were so excited we barely noticed. As the clouds broke through, we saw glimpses of Central and South America—rain forests. They are so green. I couldn’t wait to get down there and explore them in person. Getting off the plane, finding our luggage, and using our horrible Spanish was a challenge, but we managed to get everything and meet up with the Collinses who drove us over the bumpy roads to their home in Mitú.
From there, we were on foot. Or canoe. We left some things with the Collinses and packed the rest in the big backpacks we brought. Our guide, Jose, led us into the jungle. Josh and I, I’m sure, annoyed him with all our questions and “oohs” and “aahs” at seeing the foliage for the first time.
We eventually found the village—three days later. And we saw the beautiful people God had called us to serve. Our Quechua is even worse than our Spanish, but thankfully, news of our coming had reached the people in the village so they were expecting us. They looked through our bags and tried to ask us what all the medical equipment was for, but of course, we didn’t know how to explain it all to them. Then they helped us put together a little lean-to to sleep in for the night. Josh and I praised God for getting us here safely, and we prayed for these sweet people. I can’t wait to know them better.
Addy closed the journal and saw the village again. But this time, it wasn’t the vision of leaving her parents in the center, guns held to their heads. It was through her mother’s eyes, seeing it all for the first time. Mom was going to a tribe in the middle of the jungle, and she was thrilled. Not a complaint in there. She was doing what God asked her to do joyfully and wholeheartedly.
Did she have even a fraction of the faith her parents had?
God, I didn’t even want to leave Tampa. And even though I’m here, I‘m still too scared to tell anyone I’m a Christian. What would my mother think of me if she were alive? I’m sure she’d be disappointed. I’m too scared to do anything that matters. Way too scared to tell people about you. She and Dad sacrificed everything for you, and what have I done? Nothing. Oh, God. Help me.
Chapter 20
Oh, Lex, it’s so good to see you.” Addy looked into her computer screen and the face of her best friend smiled back.
“Technology is a wonderful thing,” Lexi replied. “I’m glad you finally got around to doing more than just texting me.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault.” Addy adjusted the laptop’s monitor. “Hank has kept us on a tight leash.”
“And now?”
“Now he’s so mad about all those pictures that came out he’s decided that phone calls and video chatting aren’t such bad ways to spend our time.”
“Man, you guys are all over the magazines in the grocery stores.” Lexi laughed.
Most of the pictures were a result of the errant guard who was recently fired, but Addy couldn’t share that information with Lexi.
“Is Jonathon as gorgeous in person as he is in print?”
Addy laughed. “Our first face-to-face conversation since I got to Tennessee, and you want to talk boys?”
“Not ‘boys.’ Jonathon Jackson. Seriously, Addy. I’m watching this show to see him, not you. I mean, he’s perfect.”
“Thanks.” Addy looked at her friend. “He is pretty nice to look at.”
“Nice to look at? A new basketball uniform is nice to look at. Jonathon Jackson is stunning.”
“Enough.” Addy’s face warmed. “Can we please change the subject?”
“Fine.” Lexi paused. “So . . . the commercials are saying this is sports week. I know about the golf—lucked out there, huh?”
“Oh, Lexi, you have no idea.”
“Is that all, though? I mean, golf is all right. But if they really want to check out your athletic ability, they need to put you guys out on the basketball court.”
“We are not having this discussion again.” Addy rolled her eyes. “Actually, that’s not all. They’re having us do some kind of ‘academic competition’ this week too. But it’s also sports related.”
“What?”
“That’s all we were told,” Addy said. “We’re supposed to study until the competition starts.”
“Well, study hard.” Lexi pointed her finger toward the webcam. “I am enjoying the popularity I’m getting here. All these years of being your friend are finally paying off.”
“Glad I can help.” Addy laughed.
“So what ar
e you studying?”
“My mother’s journals.”
“That’ll be very helpful for the competition.” Lexi crossed her arms and leaned back into a stack of pillows.
“Lexi, it’s amazing. It’s like she’s talking to me and giving me advice.” Addy pulled a journal from her backpack and opened it. “She’s so honest. Listen to this.”
These women run around with no tops and they’re tattooed all over. They use dirty needles and a strange concoction of plants and animal debris for the ink. Don’t they know how disgusting that is? How unhealthy? But when I try to tell them, they laugh and say I am unlucky. Unlucky. Well, if wearing shirts and a bra and not sticking feces in my skin is unlucky, may I be cursed.
Lexi laughed loudly and Addy turned some more pages. “See? Here’s one where she is really mad. Look at her handwriting: it’s all big with words scratched out.”
I hate this place! Tonight Josh shook a man’s hand. Shook his hand, and the whole village went crazy. How was he supposed to know that was an offensive gesture here? He was trying to be nice. He was introducing himself, for goodness’ sake. This guy was a medicine man from another village. When Josh shook his hand, the medicine man screamed at the top of his lungs and demanded Josh be killed for the insult. But then the chief said, “Oh, do not be upset. This is just a stupid foreigner. Forgive him.” A stupid foreigner! My Josh, who graduated at the top of his class in medical school and could be back in the States making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from people who didn’t think he was the village idiot, called a stupid foreigner. But Josh, ever humble, apologized. In front of the whole village. I know that was the right thing to do, but I don’t have to like it.
“Most of this journal is like that,” Addy said. “She really struggled for a while.”
“I always thought missionaries were perfect.”
“It’s kind of comforting knowing they weren’t. But Mom always wrote out prayers after those kinds of entries, asking God to forgive her. Listen.”
Oh, Father, you brought me here to serve these people, and I love it. As long as they love me. But when they start treating me with disrespect or, worse, treating my husband with disrespect, suddenly my calling is gone. I’m so weak. Keep stripping away my pride, God. I need your humility so I can love others the way you love me. Thank you for reminding me I can’t do that on my own.
Addy wiped a tear just as Hank’s voice came barking over the intercom.
“Okay, ladies.” Addy could just picture the sneer on his face when Hank said, “The competition starts in ten minutes, and it’s going to be dirty. Literally.” He laughed. “I’m talking good old Tennessee mud. So put on something you don’t mind getting messy and meet me out back.”
“Guess I have to go.” Addy shut her computer as Kara walked into the trailer.
“What’s this about mud?” she asked. “This must be Hank’s paybacks. I thought we were supposed to have an academic competition. I was thinking Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? or Cash Cab or something.”
“I have no idea.” Addy shrugged. “But I guess we better get ready to go.”
In ten minutes the girls were huddled around Hank, all smiles with invisible halos hanging over their heads. They were way too scared of Hank’s temper to risk ruffling even one designer feather.
“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen,” he began as the crew set up around an immense obstacle course surrounded by mud that looked like hot fudge. “You’ll be given a topic—history, science, English, math, or ‘other,’ and you’ll have sixty seconds to answer the question. If you cannot answer or you answer incorrectly, you’ll be sent through the obstacle course.”
He walked over to a six-foot-tall ladder covered in blue foam. “Climb this, then swing across the rope to the platform on the other side. The rope is covered in oil, so it won’t be easy.” He laughed a wicked laugh, then went on. “From there, you walk across the balance beam—also coated in oil—to the next platform. You climb down that and race to the flag all the way at the end. Any questions?” Hank’s tone implied there had better be none. He continued by numbering the girls and making sure there were cameras at every station.
“By the way, ladies, Jonathon will be right over there, and he’ll give a surprise announcement at the end, so be on your best behavior.”
The other girls squealed and tied their already super-short, super-tight pseudoshirts in knots, revealing as much skin as was possible on a prime-time show.
“This is going to be great,” Lila said. “America is going to love seeing us all down and dirty.”
“What about being smart?” Anna Grace asked.
“Hank doesn’t have all this mud here for us to stay clean.”
“But he said—”
“I know what he said.” Lila looked at the course. “But that’s not what he means. Of course he wants us in all that. It’s going to look great on camera.”
Jonathon walked over to his seat. Half the girls ran to greet him. Addy refused to be among that group but watched to see how Jonathon reacted.
Anna Grace was the first to reach him. “Jonathon, I just love your shirt. Is that American Eagle?”
“I’m not sure, Anna Grace.” Jonathon smiled at her, and Addy resisted a sudden urge to join the group of admirers.
“What’s the announcement, Jonathon?” Renae tied her shirt back to reveal her flat, tan belly.
“Can’t say.” Jonathon turned away from Renae to take his seat. Hank yelled for the girls to get in their places.
Addy was eighth in the lineup. Lila was ahead of her, making every effort to flick her long, black hair in Addy’s direction as often as she could. Addy was sure she had permanent grooves in her eyeballs from Lila’s ultra-hair-sprayed locks scraping through them.
Addy thought the questions were too easy. “What is the smallest unit of an element?”
Atom, duh.
But Jennifer answered, “H2O,” and began the slimy, slick trek across the course. By the end, she was covered in mud and flanked by cameras. The other girls apparently followed her lead, answering, “George W. Bush” for “Who was the first president of the United States?” and other similarly ludicrous responses.
When Addy’s turn came, she chose English, and Hank asked her to name the author of Jane Eyre.
“Charlotte Brontë,” Addy said.
“You’re right.” Hank nodded. “First one today.”
Addy returned to the end of a very muddy line, giving Kara a high five as she passed her.
Kara was last and had no problem identifying what continent Kenya was on.
The game continued—a total of five rounds. Addy successfully answered all her questions. Kara got stuck on the third—“What was the Enola Gay?”—and so was forced to go on the course. Kara took her time, though, and ended up with only her lower half muddied.
The entire competition took over three hours, with breaks for the girls and the crew, technical difficulties, and Hank’s angry outbursts constantly causing retakes.
Hank was furious at the girls’ wrong answers, though Addy had no clue why. She assumed he would like all the mud and falls and screams. It made much better TV than just answering questions and moving on. “America” would surely prefer the dirty dummies.
But Addy soon understood the source of Hank’s frustration.
Jonathon walked over to the smiling, mud-covered young women.
“Hi, girls.” He smiled. All the girls sighed. “That was a lot of fun. Some of you are definitely not afraid to get dirty.” He laughed and the girls congratulated themselves on their victories. “However, my date has to be pretty smart. My parents have high academic standards for me, and they expect the same of my dates. So”—the girls winced and Hank stormed off to the front of the house—“the winner of this competition is the one who answered the most questions correctly: Addy Davidson. And, as winner, I am happy to tell Addy that she will have immunity for the week.”
The girls applauded p
olitely. That was expected of them, after all. But Addy could tell they wished their hands were hitting her. Eric yelled, “Cut!” and Jonathon waved a quick good-bye.
“I’m sorry, but I have to run.” Jonathon looked right at Addy before continuing. “But I’ll be back later tonight for our talks. See you then.”
The girls watched Jonathon get into his limo. As soon as it was out of sight, they erupted in screams of outrage.
“This whole thing was fixed,” Jessica said, her caramel-colored skin dotted with mud. “Girl, somebody better hold me back or so help me—”
“Jessica, don’t stoop to her level.” Lila put her mud-covered arm through Jessica’s. “Of course it was fixed. Little Addy Sunshine never would have been able to pull this off on her own. But now’s not the time to get our revenge . . .”
Hank rounded the corner and silenced Lila with a loud clap. “You girls are out of your minds if you think we fixed this for Addy to win. You idiots just dropped the ball. I gave you—” Hank must have realized he said too much. Addy and Kara hadn’t been given anything.
What a jerk. Hank did everything in his power to ensure we lost. Addy smiled. Too bad his plan backfired.
He continued, quieter. “Addy now has immunity. She will not be getting kicked off this week.” Hank breathed loudly. “I suggest you rest up for your interview tomorrow and try a little harder next time. You are competing to go to prom with the president’s son, not be the next WWE star. You would do well to remember that.”
Kara looked at Addy and winked conspiratorially, then grabbed her by the arm. “We better run back to the trailer before we’re attacked.”
Chapter 21
Great job today.” Jonathon was in The Mansion’s living room, and Addy was the last one to meet with him for their “talk.” This would be aired after Addy’s immunity was revealed. That knowledge made her relax a bit more during her interview.
“Thanks,” Addy said. “It was interesting.”
“So golf and academics. Both strong suits.” Jonathon leaned forward. “What are your weaknesses?”
