“What?” He felt his jaw go slack before he shook his head. “Oh, man. . .”
“I have nowhere else to go, Trav.”
“Okay, okay. . .” He held up a hand to forestall the giant pity party he sensed was coming. Leave it to his sister to dump a crisis on him just as he had to take off for work. “Glenda, I want you to go visit Mom today. The two of you need to talk. I’ll try to get home early this afternoon, and we can discuss your situation further, all right?”
She shrugged and swatted at an errant tear.
Moving forward, Travis kissed his sister’s cheek and gave her a quick hug. “Relax. Everything’ll be okay. Try not to worry, all right?”
Again, she merely shrugged, and as he left the house, Travis prayed he’d be able to take his own advice.
❧
Jena arrived back home at noon to find Travis’s sister on the phone and watching a daytime drama in the den. Jena kept the girls in the kitchen while she put together one of their favorite lunches—peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sliced apples. But even keeping her distance, Jena couldn’t help overhearing snippets of Glenda’s conversation—mainly because the woman hollered every other word. Soon, Jena put the facts together: Glenda’s marriage didn’t work out, she was pregnant, and her parents didn’t want her moving in with them.
Oh, Lord, this woman needs to know You so desperately. . .
When Glenda sauntered into the kitchen, looking as though she’d been crying, Jena tried to reach out to her.
“Can I make you some lunch?”
“No. Thanks.”
“I’m available if you need somebody to talk to.”
“I don’t.” She knelt down in between her nieces’ chairs. “How about we go to the movies this afternoon? You two and me. . .just like old times.”
Both girls smiled.
“Can Miss Jena come too?” Mandi asked.
“No, this is just for Aunty Glenda and her girls. I haven’t seen you in so long, and I’ve missed you. That’s why I came back.”
Mandi glanced over her shoulder and gave Jena a worried look. “But, Miss Jena takes care of us now.”
“Don’t you want me taking care of you anymore? Remember how much fun we used to have?”
Jena suddenly felt like a lioness who wanted to defend her cubs. “Glenda, that’s unfair to put Mandi and Carly in such a terrible position. They’re children. They don’t want to decide between you and me. Besides, it’s not their decision to make. Let Travis handle it.”
If the glare that Glenda hurled her way had been a stone, Jena would have dropped dead from the impact. “Stay out of it. This is a family affair.” She turned back to the girls. “Come on. Let’s go see a movie.”
Glenda took hold of the girls’ forearms and practically dragged them off their seats.
“My samich!” Carly cried, stomping her feet.
Jena put a hand over her mouth to keep from saying something she’d regret. Carly was tired. She needed a nap.
Glenda grabbed the food off the plate and handed it to the three-year-old. “Here. Eat it on the way.”
Mandi glanced at Jena with uncertainty pooling in her eyes.
Jena tamped down her own disquiet and smiled at Mandi. “It’ll be okay, Precious.” Gazing over the girl’s head, she saw Glenda heading for the back door. “Hey, wait a sec!”
The woman turned around. “Now what?”
“Do you think it might be wise to call Travis and let him know you’re taking the girls?”
Glenda laughed. “I don’t have to pester my brother at work for such a trivial matter. I practically raised these children. But you’ve been here, what. . .three months?” A little sneer curved her perfectly shaped lips. “If you feel you need to call, go ahead. Travis knows my cell phone number. If there’s some problem, he can call me. But there won’t be.”
Jena didn’t have a reply. She didn’t know enough about the situation to give one. Moreover, she had no idea what Travis told his sister this morning. Maybe he consented to the movie.
With every muscle in her body tense with protest, Jena watched Glenda leave with the girls. Next, she walked to the phone. She didn’t care if the matter was “trivial,” she wanted Travis to know about it. Besides, he never cared when she phoned him at work.
Her hands trembled as she punched in his number. But her heart sank when the receptionist said he was out of the office. Jena tried his mobile phone but got his voice mail. She decided to leave a message. “Travis, it’s Jena. I just thought I’d let you know your sister. . .” She paused to clear the emotion from her throat. “. . .your sister took the girls to a movie this afternoon. She said if there was a problem, you could call her cell phone. She said you knew the number. See you later. . .”
Jena hung up and found that she felt so upset she shook like a leaf in an autumn wind. It occurred to her then that she hadn’t just fallen in love with Travis—but with his daughters too.
A hard knocking at the back door caused her to jump.
“Jena? Jena, are you there?”
“Yes, come in, Mrs. Barlow.”
The white-haired lady stepped inside the house and smiled. She wore a navy floral housedress and on her feet were canvas slip-ons. “I don’t mean to be nosy, Dear, but was that Glenda Larson pulling away with the girls in the car?”
Jena nodded. . .and then she just couldn’t help it. She burst into tears and blurted out the whole sordid mess.
“And now she wants her apartment and her job back. . .”
Mrs. Barlow pulled Jena into her capable tan arms. “There, there, you know as well as I do that Travis isn’t about to let that happen. He loves you, Jena.”
“I love him too.”
“I can tell. It’s been so exciting to watch your relationship bloom like my gladiolas!”
Jena had to laugh at the analogy, then stepped back and wiped away her tears. “Mrs. Barlow, it’s amazing. . .my mother is so excited. She called me twice this week to ask if Travis ‘popped the question yet.’ ”
The older woman chuckled. “That’s what God can do. He can repair and restore.”
Jena agreed, but then a cloud of gloom overshadowed her burst of joy. “But what about Glenda? What about this situation? I feel like she hates me.”
“Well, I do have a suggestion. I don’t know if you’ll like it, but. . .”
“Let’s hear it.” Jena peered into the woman’s age-lined face. “You’re the one who got me the job here. Maybe God will use you in this predicament with Travis’s sister too.”
❧
Travis listened to Jena’s message. Hearing the strained tone in her voice, he knew she was upset. He tried to call her back, but there wasn’t any answer at home. When he got ahold of Glenda, he gave her a tongue-lashing, not that it made a difference to his selfish sister. Then, all afternoon, he tried to wrap things up and get home, but the more he attempted to speed things along, the more complications arose. But at last, he pulled into his driveway shortly after five o’clock. By phone, he had discovered Glenda and the girls were home, but Jena was still unaccounted for, much to Travis’s dismay. He made a mental note to buy her a cell phone at the mall tomorrow—along with an engagement ring.
He walked into the small courtyard and immediately knew things were wrong. Toys had been thrown everywhere. Through an open window upstairs, he heard Carly bawling at the top of her lungs. It was a wonder the neighbors hadn’t summoned the cops; the kid sounded like she was being tortured.
Entering the house, Travis made his way into the kitchen and saw the sink of cups and plastic plates. He placed his attaché on the table and realized too late that he’d set it in a gob of ketchup. A curse surfaced, but Travis gulped it back down.
Lord, I can’t handle this. You know I can’t handle this. I lived like this for three years, and I cannot—will not—go back.
Mandi ran into the kitchen, her face red and blotchy, tears streaming from her brown eyes. “Daddy,” she sobbed, “Miss.
. . Jena’s. . .gone.”
At that moment, Travis didn’t know if he should panic over what his daughter said or the fact that she was about to hyperventilate.
“Mandi, calm down.” He lifted her into his arms, and she clung to him, crying in a way that made melodramatics seem calm and rational. “Shh, Mandi, it’s okay. Don’t cry.”
Glenda appeared in the doorway. “You know, Travis, these girls are out of control. I mean, I’m gone for just three months and look what that summer girl has done to them.”
Travis felt his blood pressure hit the ceiling. “Glenda, it’s a good thing I’ve got Mandi in my arms right now or I might be tempted to—”
“Oh, please! Spare me your idle threats.” Her face scrunched up into a mask of resentment. “And after all I’ve done for you!”
“Where’s Jena?”
“Don’t ask me. She was gone when we came home from the movies.”
“See. . .Daddy? Sh-she’s gone,” Mandi whimpered.
Travis shook his head. “She’s not really gone. She’s probably just at the store or something.”
“Sorry to be the one to tell you this, Trav, but she packed up her stuff in the apartment, bedding, and everything. She’s gone.”
“What were you doing in Jena’s apartment?”
“Don’t yell at me! The girls were looking for her.” Glenda threw her hands in the air. “I’m always the bad guy. Mom does the same thing. Everything that goes wrong in life gets blamed on me.”
Travis watched his sister stomp off, and he felt like his life was spinning out of control. But somehow, his common sense managed to surface through the tumult. He knew Jena as well as he knew anyone. She wouldn’t just pack up and move out without saying something to him.
“Mandi, stop crying,” he said, setting his daughter down. “Miss Jena is not gone. I promise you she isn’t. I don’t know where she is right now, but she’ll be back, okay? I promise.”
The little girl nodded, and her sobs began to subside.
Travis stood and placed his hands on his hips, squeezing back his shoulder blades in an effort to ease his stress. He became aware of Carly’s temper fit, still in progress, and debated whether he should go up there and see if he could settle her down or let her scream it out. But at that very instant, Jena came strolling into the courtyard carrying an overfilled laundry basket.
“Mandi.” He grinned. “Miss Jena’s back.”
His daughter’s eyes widened, and she ran for the back door. Travis followed her outside. Seeing him, Jena smiled, but then her eyebrows dipped into a frown as she glanced at the second floor.
“Oh, poor Carly. I knew she needed a nap today.”
Mandi threw her arms around Jena’s waist, nearly knocking her backwards. Travis caught Jena’s elbow, steadied her, and then took the basket.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?”
She gave Mandi a little hug and kissed the top of her head. “Let me take care of Carly and then. . .Travis, I have to talk to you about something.”
His eyes widened with the obvious. “Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Will you take the clean laundry up to the apartment for me?”
He nodded as Jena ran into the house. Looking at Mandi, Travis inclined his head toward the apartment door. “C’mon, you can help me.”
For the first time since he’d come home that day, he saw his daughter smile.
❧
After rocking Carly to sleep, Jena made her way across the yard to the apartment she once called home. She couldn’t wait to tell Travis about Mrs. Barlow’s wonderful idea. It solved everything. What’s more, as the afternoon progressed, Jena had become more and more burdened for Glenda. The woman obviously had emotional wounds that ran deep, and Jena prayed for the chance to tell Glenda about the Great Physician.
She climbed the stairs and entered the living room where she found Travis and Mandi sitting on the couch, the six-year-old nestled against her daddy’s chest.
Jena smiled. “What a sweet picture. I wish I had my camera handy.”
“Hmm. . .I’m anxious to hear why it isn’t handy. From the looks of this place, you’ve moved out.”
Jena lost her grin. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“I figured.” He sat up and plucked Mandi from his lap. “Go play for a while I talk to Miss Jena, okay?”
“Okay.”
Mandi strode toward the door but paused beside Jena and gave her another hug. Jena returned the show of affection, and the child continued on her way.
Travis stepped forward and gathered Jena into his arms. He held her as if she’d been away for six months, and they were just now reunited. When he pulled back, she saw that his brown eyes had grown misty. “You’re moving right back in here, Jena. I’m not letting you go.”
“I don’t want you to let me go—and I’m not going, except to Mrs. Barlow’s house. I moved in with her. Temporarily.”
Travis raised his brows. “You moved in with Mrs. Barlow?”
Jena nodded. “I want to win your sister over. I want to be her friend. I want to show her the love of Christ. She needs to know His love. That’s why I think Glenda should have her apartment back.”
“Great sentiments, Jen, but this place will be too small once her baby arrives.”
“But that’s six months from now, and by then, she and her husband could be back together, and you and I—”
Jena halted in mid-sentence. She couldn’t believe her blunder.
“And you and I. . .what?” Travis had the nerve to smirk.
She felt her face begin to flame. “I think I, um, forgot what I was going to say.”
“Oh, sure you did. Know what I think?”
She didn’t reply, but the heat of her embarrassment spread to her neck and ears.
“I think you’ve been reading too many of those bride stories and wedding magazines.”
Chagrined, she looked away and stared at an imaginary spot on the wall until Travis took hold of her chin and urged her gaze back to his. All traces of humor disappeared from his face.
“I love you, Jena.”
“I love you too.”
“Know what else I think?” He touched her lips with his and murmured, “I think you’re going to make a beautiful bride. . .”
Epilogue
Emerald green and white silk flowers, arranged in graceful swags, lined the end of each pew all the way to the altar. After earning her degree and graduating from college only two weeks ago, Jena now stood in the back of the church in preparation to meet her groom.
She watched Star glide down the center aisle. Mandi and Carly, dressed in frilly white dresses, seemed to float just behind her. Jena still couldn’t believe she had put this wedding together in less than four months. Then, again, it wouldn’t have been possible without Mrs. Barlow and Glenda’s help. It had taken a while for her future sister-in-law to warm up, but by the time the leaves had turned to their autumn colors, Jena and Glenda had become friends. Shortly thereafter, Bella Minniati offered her a part-time job at her daycare center, which Glenda accepted. Under Bella’s influence, her attitude improved, and Jena suspected it wouldn’t be long before Glenda “came to Christ.” Glenda’s husband, Scott, noticed a positive difference in her and halted divorce proceedings. He even showed up today to see Travis get married.
Suddenly, Mr. Zuttle, the organist, began to play the bridal march, and Jena experienced a sudden attack of nerves. As if sensing it, her father gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before threading it around his elbow. Their procession began.
Up ahead, Jena glimpsed Travis, decked out in his black tuxedo. He looked so handsome that she could scarcely take her eyes off him. With cameras flashing on either side, she was only vaguely aware of passing her friends, relatives, and church family.
Reaching the altar, Jena’s father handed her to Travis. He smiled into her eyes before looking at the pastor who stood poised and ready to perform the ceremony. Star, the maid of honor,
adjusted Jena’s lacy veil and the gown’s elegant train, while Jena’s brother, acting as the best man, grinned nearby. Jena had wanted more bridesmaids, including Glenda and Bella but both women were great with child. Then, with the time constraint, it had seemed much simpler to coordinate two people rather than an entire wedding party.
Thank You, Lord, that my family made the time to be with me here today. Maybe this wedding will bring us closer together. . .
“Who gives this woman to this man?” the pastor asked.
“I do, her father,” Jena heard her dad say, just as he’d rehearsed the night before.
Smiling, she clung to Travis as her heart swelled with love. She’d never felt so happy in all her life. Who would have ever thought that an interim summer job would become her lifelong career?
About the Author
ANDREA BOESHAAR was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Married for twenty years, she and her husband Daniel have three adult sons. Andrea has been writing for over thirteen years, but writing exclusively for the Christian market for six. Writing is something she loves to share, as well as, help others develop. Andrea quit her job to stay home, take care of her family, and write.
Dedication
To my former neighbors and precious friends who resided on the 3900 block of Prospect Avenue in Shorewood, Wisconsin, from 1965 to 1975. Ours was a closely-knit neighborhood made famous by its Fourth of July block parties and Mr. Sheldon’s motorcycle rides up and down the street. The memories I have of you all will remain near and dear to my heart.
A special hello to Patty Andrews. I hope you don’t mind that I moved my characters into your childhood home. . .and then remodeled it!
A note from the Author:
I love to hear from my readers! You may correspond with me by writing:
Andrea Boeshaar
Author Relations
PO Box 719
Uhrichsville, OH 44683
Summer Girl Page 15
