Take the Trophy and Run

by Gail Sattler

  He sighed, remained silent for a minute, stroked her hair, then nestled his chin in the crook of her neck. “Yes, you’re right. I’ll call her. Later.”

  “I also want to tell you that you’re right. About everything you said the other day. I don’t need to be independent. I know I should have told you all this before, but I knew you’d do exactly what you did. You offered to help and make all my troubles go away. I don’t know why I thought that this time I needed to do it on my own. That’s what friends are for, and if anything like that ever happened to you, you know I’d help you too.”

  She felt his smile against her skin. “You have. You dragged me off the road when I was on my bike and got hit by a car, and saved me from getting run over by that bus. Then you did something braver than I could have done. You didn’t tell my mother.”

  Amber smiled back. “That’s because she would have grounded you, and you wouldn’t have been able to go swimming the next day.”

  “That’s what we do, Amber. We always watch each other’s backs.”

  She stroked his hair. “I know. And this time, you’re right again. When we get married, I would move to your house and not have to pay rent, and I’d easily be able to make the payments to Uncle Henry. As well, if you cosigned a loan at the bank, I’d get lower interest and lower payments, and I’d be able to pay it off without it costing you a single penny, so we’d both win. I was being an idiot, and I apologize.”

  “That’s okay, I don’t think . . .” His voice trailed off. “Wait. Did you just say ‘when’ we get married? Not if, but when?”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s what I just said, yes.”

  Before she knew what happened, Stan kissed her, and she kissed him back.

  “I love you Amber,” he muttered against her lips, then continued kissing her before she had a chance to say she loved him too.

  Until the doorbell rang.

  “I’m going to ignore it,” he muttered, and he kept kissing her.

  The doorbell rang again. And again.

  “If it’s that crazy kid next door, I’m going to strangle him.”

  “I saw him parked in your driveway. You did that so everyone would think you had company. Smart man.”

  The doorbell rang again.

  This time, Stan answered it. But it wasn’t the teen boy from next door. It was Kathy.

  “Mother . . .”

  “Stan, I’m so sorry. I’ll never do anything like that again. I’ll mind my own business and I’ll tell the whole garden club to butt out and I’ll . . .” Kathy’s voice trailed off. “Amber? What are you doing here? How did you get here? I didn’t see your car.”

  “The boy from next door is parked in Stan’s driveway, and there wasn’t room on the street, so I parked in their driveway. Where did you park?”

  Kathy’s face turned beet red. “I’m sort of on the sidewalk. I told myself I wouldn’t be long, so hopefully Tucker won’t notice.”

  Stan pressed his thumb and index finger into the bridge of his nose. “Tucker will notice, Mom.”

  “Then I’ll leave. Please tell me that everything is okay between you two, that you’re friends again.”

  Amber walked beside Stan and slipped one arm around his waist. He quickly returned the gesture.

  “Everything is fine. In fact, it’s so fine it looks like we’ll be sending out wedding invitations after all.”

  Kathy squeezed her hands together, pressed them to her chin, squealed, and did a little jig.

  Stan stuck one finger in his ear. “That hurt.”

  “That’s so exciting! Are you going to get married at the church, or in my garden?”

  Stan smiled and looked down at Amber, ignoring his mother. “Whatever you want.”

  Amber couldn’t hold back her grin. “If we get married in your mother’s garden, then we don’t have to wait to book the church. I vote for the garden.”

  Kathy squealed again. This time both Amber and Stan were ready and already had their fingers in their ears.

  Kathy made another little dance. “I know who can be the perfect ring bearer for you. Since he’s so good at holding the trophy, he’d be even better at holding a ring. He already has the perfect tuxedo.”

  Stan and Amber looked at each other and smiled. “Gnorman.”

  Amber nodded. “Gnaturally.”

  Discussion Questions

  1. As in many clubs and organizations, the members first come together as friends. The Bloomfield Garden Club holds contests, one of which is to be the winner of The Spring Fling Early Bloomer, which awards a trophy for the best early garden, putting the members in competition with each other. In times like these, our best friends can become our worst competition. Has this ever happened to you? How did you feel about it?

  2. For The Spring Fling contest, when Kathy found out that Becky won, the first thing that came out her mouth was an accusation that her friend was cheating. When a friend gets something you have been striving for, and you get left behind, how do you deal with it?

  3. For a long time Amber feared that the Gnapper had taken the trophy as a form of retribution, even though she didn’t know what she could have done to hurt someone. Has anyone ever had something against you when you didn’t know what you’d done? Or, perhaps someone had a reason, good or bad, right or wrong, to hold a grudge against you. What did you do to try to make it better?

  4. Before Gnorman disappeared from the fountain at the Lake Bliss Retirement Village, Stan had been planning a midnight stakeout, and he had been looking forward to some quiet time alone with Amber. When Gnorman disappeared, his excursion was cancelled, leaving him disappointed. Have you ever had plans you’ve been anticipating fall through? How did that make you feel? Did you become angry, or did you try to make the best of it? How would God have us deal with disappointment?

  5. As Amber went into the theater to get the new note from Gnorman, she remembered a time from her youth that she and Stan had become distracted from the group and counted the lights under the old theater’s awning. Have you ever lost interest when you were out with a group? What are some ways to maintain your focus when you become distracted?

  6. Amber also recalled a time when she and Stan had made a raft, then the raft fell apart and they had to swim to shore, except Stan’s sneakers became waterlogged, and he had difficulty getting them off in the water. Have you ever had a time when a friend was at risk or in danger? What did you do?

  7. When Stan thought his friend Hayden wanted to start dating Amber, he couldn’t help but feel jealous. Have you ever felt jealous? How did you handle it?

  8. When they found Gnorman dressed as a clown, neither Amber nor Stan were amused by clowns in general, but Libby thought that in the right venue, which wasn’t her garden, clowns could be very funny. What do you find funny? What do you think are good forms of Christian entertainment?

  9. As time goes on, and Amber and Stan come no closer to finding the elusive trophy, Amber becomes more worried about her financial stability. While God is always there for us, often we have difficult times in our lives. What do you tell non-believers, when they see you, as a Christian, suffering, and they ask you where God is, in all your trouble?

  10. Out of nowhere Amber got two good contracts to earn some money with her plant-pot flamingos. Have you ever been surprised with some extra income? Did you remember to thank God for it? What did you do with it?

  11. Stan had intended to make a game of going out in public with their disguises on, but he didn’t forsee how taking Amber out on a date would change his feelings about her. Has this kind of thing every happened to you, when you do something different with someone you thought you knew, you come out with a different perspective on that person?

  12. When Amber and Stan witness Edna and Bill having a secret rendezvous at the restaurant, they are shocked;
but it seems to be a weekly outing. Do you have a date night or anything similar with your spouse or significant other?

  13. When Stan barges in at Andy’s house, he is very angry with Amber for not wanting him to be there. Have you ever had a friend do something that left you angry, or hurt, even though he or she had the best of intentions? What did you do to make it right?

  14. When Kathy hears about the hidden camera, she dresses up for the camera and acts different in front of it, knowing she’s being watched. When you know you’re being watched, even if it’s not by a camera, do you act different? Do you remember a time that you knew you were being watched? How did you feel?

  15. Stan became angry when he found out that Kathy had told her friends in the garden club about the hidden camera. Have you once trusted someone to keep something confidential, and they didn’t? How did you feel? How did you handle it? How do you feel about it now?

  16. When Stan and Amber found Gnorman dressed like a ghost, he immediately remembered the latest poem, which had stated “a ghost of a chance.” Stan was the only one who thought this was funny. Has this ever happened to you? Did you feel embarrassed or try to explain to everyone else why it was so funny? When in a crowd, when you have a different perspective or a comment that differs from everyone else’s opinion, do you state your difference or remain silent? Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

  17. Stan and Amber’s first date completely changed Stan’s perspective on their relationship, and what he wanted in the future from that relationship. Have you ever had one of those moments where suddenly everything changed? What did you do about it?

  18. Even though the Pink Geranium Tea Room was too girly for him, Stan risked his masculine pride and took Amber. Have you ever done something for someone that was something you otherwise would never have done? What did you do? Did you accomplish your goal by doing so?

  19. When Amber read Gnorman’s last note that intimated there would be a wedding—her wedding—she panicked. Have you ever found out something that completely threw you for a loop? What did you do?