First Date

by Krista McGee

  “You know”—Addy put her arm around his shoulder—“a wise man once told me it’s the meanest ones who need love the most.”

  He kissed the top of Addy’s head. “Using my own words against me, huh? Well, all right. You got me. I’ll try to be nice. But it sure isn’t easy.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  “Ah, well, I don’t think things can get worse, right?”

  Addy started packing up their things. “You’d better be careful, Uncle Mike. Those sound like famous last words.”

  Chapter 39

  Later that day the Top Ten would be announced. Nausea swept over Addy in a wave, and she ran to the bathroom, barely making it in time. As she weaved her way back to bed, Kara looked up, frowning.

  “Addy, what’s wrong?”

  “I don’t feel well.” She collapsed onto her bed, pulling the covers over her in an attempt to warm her freezing body.

  “Hang on.” Kara jumped up from her bed and placed a cold hand on Addy’s forehead. “You’re burning up.” She grabbed her cell phone from her nightstand. “I’m calling Eric to get you to a doctor.”

  “No.” Addy was shaking, every inch of her body hurting. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep. Forever.

  In ten minutes Kara had dressed Addy and handed her off to Eric, who “happened” to request Mike guard Addy for the day.

  Kara had found a bucket for Addy to bring with her in the truck on the way to the hospital. Mike tried desperately to weave in and out of mid-morning traffic on I-24 so he could get Addy to the hospital as quickly as possible. The motion made Addy feel worse, but she barely had the energy to raise her head to the bucket. The open window next to her didn’t help at all. Addy felt as if she were moving in slow motion, on the bottom of an icy ocean with weights tied to her feet.

  Voices and faces floated in and out, but Addy couldn’t focus on any of them. She fell asleep and woke up, each time in a different place—on a stretcher, in triage, and finally, in a hospital room. She heard machines beeping and felt herself being touched and pricked, but she was barely aware of what was happening. At one point, she felt her leg being pulled up and something cold applied to her thigh.

  The next time she woke up, the room was quiet and Mike was sitting next to her, smiling.

  “’Bout time you woke up, girl.”

  Addy looked around. She was in the nicest hospital room she’d ever seen. Soft blankets covered her, and the walls were painted a warm yellow, with framed Monet prints above the oak dresser and between the two large windows. Her leg was propped up on pillows, and an IV led from her arm to a bag at the head of her bed. Uncle Mike was sitting back, still smiling.

  “This is funny?” she asked.

  “It will be when you find out what put you here. I want you to guess first, though, to make it fun.”

  “I’m lying in a hospital bed, Uncle Mike. I do not feel like playing guessing games.”

  “Come on. Just a couple of guesses?”

  Addy’s body was still too sore for her to slap her uncle, but the thought definitely crossed her mind.

  “Spider bite,” Mike said, his hands slap-slapping on his thighs.

  “What?”

  “Yep, a brown recluse. Bit you right below your rear.”

  Addy closed her eyes and moaned. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

  “Nope.”

  “What time is it?”

  Mike looked at his watch. “Three o’clock.”

  “In the afternoon?”

  “Yep.”

  “What have I been doing all this time?” Addy asked.

  “Sleeping, mostly. And groaning.”

  Addy moaned.

  “Yep, just like that.” Mike laughed. “You came in pretty dehydrated. That’s why you were so tired. Then they pumped you full of Benadryl and Tylenol and some other stuff, and the combination of all that just knocked you out.” Mike put his hand on Addy’s arm and squeezed. “I was getting a little worried.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t hurt any of the doctors or anything?”

  “I didn’t hurt anybody,” Mike said. “I just made sure they knew you were a special case, and they needed to find out what was wrong and fix it. Fast.”

  “How did they finally figure it out?”

  “You kept getting sicker and sicker, and all the doctors knew was what you didn’t have. Finally one of the nurses turned you over because you were complaining about your leg, and that’s when they saw it.”

  “But they dressed me in this.” Addy picked at her tan hospital gown. “How did they miss it then?”

  “Well, they weren’t looking for it. When we brought you in, the docs all thought you had a bad case of the flu, so they just started treating you for that. But you didn’t get better, so they went to work. Like I said, the nurse finally caught it just a couple hours ago. Looked bad too.” Mike shook his head. “Some of the skin around the bite was starting to look nasty, so they raised your leg and kept putting ice on it.”

  “What do you mean my skin looked nasty?” Addy asked.

  “Relax.” Mike stood to pace in the small room. “It happens in rare cases. The spider’s venom causes the skin tissue to die.” He walked over and patted Addy’s leg. “No worries, though. They caught it in time, and the doctors say if you keep it elevated for a few days, you’ll be fine.”

  “A few days?”

  “Either that, or the skin dies and you have to get it surgically removed and new skin grafted back.” Mike sat back down. “Your choice.”

  “Fine,” Addy said.

  Mike held Addy’s hand. “Don’t you do anything like that to me again, Addy-girl, you hear me?”

  Addy squeezed her uncle’s hand in return.

  Mike’s cell phone rang and he answered, “Yes . . . yes . . . . okay,” and hung up.

  “Who was that?”

  “That, little girl, was Jonathon. He’s been calling every half hour since he found out you were here. He’s managed to get his Secret Service guys to sneak him in through the back hallways so he can see you. He’ll be up in a couple minutes.” Mike winked and stood.

  Addy was frozen. Jonathon was coming here? To see her in a hospital bed, laid up because a spider crawled up her pants and bit her? Could anything be more humiliating?

  Bedhead and morning breath sprang to mind, and Addy pulled the blankets over her head.

  “Oh, stop complaining,” Mike said. “You know you’re dying to see him.”

  There was a knock at the door and Jonathon came in. Mike slapped him on the back, then left. As the door opened, Addy saw Secret Service men flanking the hallway.

  Jonathon’s eyes were wide with concern and Addy felt her face flush. How embarrassing.

  “I’m fine, really.” Addy tried unsuccessfully to smooth her hair into a makeshift ponytail as he came in and sat in the chair beside the hospital bed. “I just feel like an idiot.”

  “Addy, you got bit by a poisonous spider. You were really sick. We were all worried. How could you feel like an idiot?”

  “I’m in the hospital because of a spider bite. It’s so stupid.”

  “Hank’s been telling me you’re a pain in the butt for weeks,” Jonathon said. “Little did I know how right he was.”

  “Ha ha,” Addy conceded. “You didn’t need to come, though. I’m fine. Just resting to make sure my skin doesn’t fall off and die.”

  “That would make bathing suit season uncomfortable, huh?”

  Addy laughed again, then held her stomach. All the vomiting had left her muscles sore.

  Jonathon sat up straight. “Are you okay? Do you need me to call a nurse?”

  “Yes. Tell her your jokes are making me sick.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Nice to see you’re back to your old self.”

  They talked for almost an hour. Addy couldn’t believe how comfortable she was around Jonathon. She completely forgot she was lying in a hospital bed, probably pasty white and smelly.

 
A knock on the door signaled it was time for Jonathon to leave. The Top Ten names were being announced tonight with or without Addy. Jonathon had to be at The Mansion dressed and ready to go by seven o’clock.

  “Thanks for coming, Jonathon.” Addy smiled. “I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” He returned the smile, his perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth sparkling beneath his perfectly formed lips. “I’ll be here all week. Try the veal.”

  “So lame,” Addy said as Jonathon was escorted out of the room and down the hall.

  A nurse came in before the door closed. “Excuse me,” the nurse said with a smile. “Is our celebrity ready to have her blood pressure and temperature taken?”

  Addy nodded, but was sure both would be quite elevated at the moment.

  Chapter 40

  Not that I want to be bitten by a poisonous spider ever again,” Addy said after taking a sip of her strawberry smoothie, “but this is a much better way to watch the show than having to sit through it on the lawn of The Mansion.”

  Mike was on her left side, and Lexi’s face filled the computer screen at her right side. Addy was propped up on pillows and given her choice of items on the “black market” hospital menu. Addy chose a smoothie and a grilled chicken sandwich.

  A camera crew was dispatched to the hospital. Hank had made sure they brought a red daisy along—“just in case.”

  Ruby had come too, trying to make Addy look presentable while only being allowed to take a sponge bath and change into a robe.

  “Honey, I’ve had to do with less,” she said. “A little powder and a whole lot of hair spray, and voilà.” Ruby surveyed her work with a smile.

  Addy watched Hank welcome the girls and recap the episode from the night before. He spoke about Addy’s spider bite—as little as possible and without even a hint of sympathy.

  I’m sure Hank thinks I did this on purpose, just to get attention. Love your enemies, love your enemies. Oh, Lord, that is so hard.

  Heather was the first to receive the good-bye daisy, then Hannah.

  “Uncle Mike, I haven’t really thought much about whether or not I’ll stay on,” Addy said during the next commercial break. “But with America voting, I don’t know if I will. I mean, I love Tampa, but my life looked pretty dull next to the other girls’.”

  “Who put you on this show, girl?”

  “God.” Addy nodded, knowing where her uncle was going.

  “And who will keep you on, if it’s his will?”

  “God.”

  “So who needs to worry?”

  “Not me.” Addy smiled. “You’re right. Red daisy or not, this has been amazing. I could leave now and not have one regret.”

  Except that I haven’t actually told anyone I’m a Christian. I’ve made a couple of friends, but have I really done what you brought me here to do, God? Addy knew the answer to that question.

  The commercial break ended and two more girls were asked to leave. Hank’s favorites, Lila and Anna Grace, were still there, as was Kara. And Addy.

  “I just have one more daisy for you to give away, Jonathon.” Hank looked at the girls and paused as the camera panned the faces of the eleven who remained. The red light on the camera in Addy’s room lit up, and she saw herself on TV, watching TV.

  “Tonight,” Hank began, “the last girl going home is . . . Tricia.”

  That young woman clutched her chest and cried as she walked over to where Hank and Jonathon were standing.

  “And these”—Hank motioned to the girls beside him—“are your top ten choices for The Book of Love.”

  The red light came on again, and Addy looked at the camera and smiled.

  “We’re just two weeks away from learning who will be our First Son’s prom date.” Hank sat next to Lila. “So tune in next week for more excitement, more drama, and another chapter of . . .

  “The Book of Love.”

  Chapter 41

  Addy spent Friday night in the hospital reading some more of her mother’s journals.

  We have finally started to make some headway with the medicine man. Last week, one of the little girls in the village was sick. Kie is a beautiful little doll the whole village just adores. The medicine man was sure he could cure her with a mixture of herbs, but she just got worse. Her mother came to us, crying. Kie was lying in her arms, completely limp. She was burning with fever and could barely even open her eyes. Her mother begged us to help. Josh had a vial of antibiotics, and he was able to give her a shot. Kie’s mother was nervous about the needle. If I had never seen one before, I would be too. But she let us help sweet little Kie, and by the next day the fever had broken. Praise God. The little girl was well, and the entire village began to see that we weren’t the crazy people the medicine man wanted them to believe we were.

  Josh went to the medicine man yesterday and asked if he could show Josh around. Josh is interested in learning more about the herbal remedies of the medicine man, so the two of them have gone off together to find roots and berries and who knows what else. Josh is so good. He could have been angry at that man. Like I was. But he was faithful to God and what God called us to do, and now we have an ally instead of an enemy. If we can only get them to listen to what we have to say about Jesus.

  Addy wanted to know more about how her parents shared their faith. Skimming through a few more pages, she found an entry that talked about that.

  We will have our first Bible study tonight! Of course, they don’t know it’s a Bible study. Their belief system is so different, we have to start at the beginning, in Genesis, then go on. The villagers here believe in many gods, and they believe those gods can be manipulated by people. Helping them understand that the true God is one to serve, not to manipulate, will be a difficult hurdle to overcome.

  Intrigued, Addy picked up another journal and flipped through.

  We have gotten to Jesus! Finally! And our friends were so ready. As we walked through the Old Testament, they recognized the sacrificial rites. They understand that we are all sinners. They also saw that, even with all the sacrifices the Israelites gave to God, they were still not completely righteous. Last week, Pichka said, “They need a savior.” My heart sang. I have been praying all week that as we get to this portion of Scripture, our dear friends will see that they need a savior. And that they see they have a savior. Father God, prepare their hearts for the truth.

  Addy noticed there were times when several months went by without her mother writing.

  We had malaria. Again. Thankfully I was over it before Josh returned. I don’t know what we’d do if we were both sick at the same time. Dito would help, I know. But he still doesn’t believe in all of our medicine. Nor does he know where we keep the pills for malaria outbreaks. God knows, though, and never gives us more than we can handle.

  A few pages later, Addy read a heartbreaking entry, just a few sentences in length.

  Lost the baby today. There are no words. I knew carrying a child here would be hard. We told no one. I didn’t even write it down here because I was afraid. And now those fears have come true. Will I ever have a child, God?

  Uncle Mike walked in as Addy finished reading.

  “I had an older brother or sister.” Addy handed him the journal.

  “I know.” Mike nodded. “Your mom came home not long after that.”

  “Was she sick?”

  “Not exactly. But the grief on top of the malaria and other physical hardships had just worn her down. She came home to rest and get some help.”

  “I had no idea,” Addy said.

  “Life is hard, baby. Jesus never told us otherwise.”

  “But he promised to be with us.”

  “That’s exactly what your mama said after she came out of that dark time. ‘If God is for me, who can be against me?’” Mike wiped a tear from his eye. “She went back and saw dozens of people come to Christ. She was even able to help some of the other women in the village who had lost children.”

  Help me,
God, to be half the Christian my parents were. Show me how to be a missionary to my “tribe.” Tell me what to say.

  Chapter 42

  Order whatever you want, Addy-girl. You deserve it after all that hospital food.” Mike opened the stained menu and looked over the breakfast options.

  Addy adjusted the baseball cap on her head, feeling like a movie star in disguise. Mike had told her the only way they could get in and out of a restaurant would be for her to conceal her identity and go someplace only the locals would go. Addy liked the choice. It reminded her of their favorite diner back home, Dinah’s. But she hated eating while wearing a baseball cap. Especially one as bright orange as the one Mike had found for her. She had been sure she would stick out. Looking around, however, she saw that as a Tennessee Volunteers fan she blended right in.

  Within minutes the pair had plates piled high with biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a sliver of an orange.

  “Garnish,” Mike explained. They took their time eating, neither in a hurry to return to The Mansion. They were just about to pay their bill when a group of three men slipped into the booth on the other side of the wall from them. Greenery separated the tables. From her seat, Addy could see the men, but because of their height, they wouldn’t be able to see her.

  “You sure this is a safe place?” a man in a hooded sweatshirt asked.

  “Look around, moron,” another man, wearing a gray sweater and knit cap, said. “Only local yokels come here. We couldn’t be safer.”

  Curiosity taking over, both Addy and Mike put down their napkins and leaned in toward the table where the men sat.

  “Okay, here’s the deal: The kid always takes the plane back to DC on Sunday. Same routine, same plane. I got a guy on the inside. He’s gonna get us in as airport personnel. We wait until the kid is on the plane, then we take him down.”

  “But I thought we were getting paid to hit the president,” the guy in the hooded sweatshirt said.