Christy Miller Collection, Vol 4

by Robin Jones Gunn

  “Maybe.”

  “Call me,” Christy urged, hopping out of the car. She wasn’t sure Katie heard her, because Katie started to speed away just as Christy closed the door.

  Christy felt awful as she drove home. Her stomach didn’t seem to like the pulpy orange juice, plus a flood of accusations swept over her.

  You’re a terrible friend, Christy. You’re so chicken that you couldn’t even tell Katie the right thing to do. All you could do was hide behind God and force Katie to make her own decision, is that the compassionate, Christian thing to do?

  The minute Christy arrived home, she grabbed the phone and called Todd. To her relief, he answered on the first ring. Christy spilled out all the events of the past hour.

  “You did the right thing,” Todd said. “Don’t listen to all those doubts and accusations. Those aren’t coming from the Lord. You pushed Katie closer to God. You made her responsible for her choice. You did the right thing.”

  “Then how come I feel so terrible?”

  “Maybe because you would like everything to be smooth and easy, and it isn’t always like that. You’re a peacemaker, Christy. I like that about you. God says the peacemakers will be called His sons and daughters. How do you feel about that? Christy Miller, daughter of the King! Should I start calling you Princess now?”

  Christy let out a gentle laugh. “Only if you want me to call you Prince Todd.”

  “I can live with that.”

  “Well. Prince Todd, thanks for listening. You’re a peacemaker for me, I hope you know. I appreciate you so much. Thanks for always being there.”

  “You’re welcome, Princess. So what do you want to do this weekend?”

  “I don’t know. Should I see if I can get off on Saturday and stay at my Uncle Bob and Aunt Marti’s? You and I could spend some time on the beach.” Christy’s imagination began to swirl with dreams of walking hand in hand on Newport Beach at sunset.

  “Sounds good to me. Call me after you figure it all out.”

  “Okay, I will. Thanks again, Todd. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “You would probably be closer to God because you would have to talk to Him more.” Then with a quick “Later,” he hung up.

  What did Todd mean by that? Does he think I don’t talk to God very much or that I’m not dose to God? Oh well. I’m not going to worry about it. One thing Todd is right about—I do like things calm and peaceful. Looking for hidden meanings in his words does not make me feel peaceful!

  Christy quickly dialed her aunt and uncle’s phone number. They lived only a few blocks from Todd’s dad in Newport Beach, and over the past few years Todd had become like a son to them. There should be no problem inviting herself to visit for the weekend. But the answering machine picked up her call on the fourth ring. She left a message and then called Jon. her boss at the pet store.

  “Hi, Jon. It’s Christy. I wanted to see if I could have Saturday off.”

  “Saturday, as in the day after tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re asking me now? And you think I should give you the whole day off?”

  “Yes.” Christy thought she knew Jon well enough to know he was teasing her. At least she thought he was teasing her.

  “Big date with Todd?”

  “Well, kind of. I’m probably going to go up to Newport for the weekend. I could work another evening next week if you need me to make up the hours.”

  “No, it’s okay. You haven’t had any time off for the past few months. I’d say you’re ready for a break. You’ll still be here tomorrow for your regular hours, won’t you?”

  “Yes, of course. Thanks. Jon. Did anyone ever tell you what a nice boss you are?”

  “No.” Jon said plainly.

  “Then let me be the first. You’re a very nice boss, Jon!”

  “You don’t have to schmooze me anymore, Christy. I already said you could have the day off.”

  “I know, but I might want to ask another favor someday.”

  “Well, next time I’ll say no.”

  “Thanks for saying yes this time, Jon. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  The minute Christy hung up the phone, it rang again. Startled, she jumped and then answered it.

  “Okay,” the voice on the other end said. “I did it. It’s for good this time. Now I’m going to go crazy. I am absolutely going to go crazy!”

  “Katie,” Christy said cautiously, “tell me what happened.”

  “I went right over to his house and told Michael that I loved him, but I had to break up with him, and the only reason was because I knew that’s what God was telling me to do. He said, ‘You know that I love you, Katie, and now I love you more because you’re one of the few women I know who would make such a decision because of her convictions.’ Then he kissed me on the cheek, and I ran out the door.”

  Christy could tell that Katie was crying. She let Katie sob a few moments before trying to comfort her.

  “You did the right thing, Katie.”

  “Then why does it hurt so bad?”

  “I guess the good feelings don’t always come in the same envelope as the right answer.”

  Katie burst out laughing. “Did you hear yourself? What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s the first thing that popped into my head. What I mean is, for now, all you can know is that you did the right thing. I think the feelings will catch up eventually.”

  “I hope you’re right. I can’t believe I did it. I’m going to hate myself tomorrow. Oh no,” Katie groaned. “Tomorrow is Friday. What am I going to do?”

  “What do you mean?” Christy asked.

  “For the past six months Michael and I have always been together on the weekends. I have to have something else to do. Promise me you’ll spend the whole weekend with me, Christy. I’ll go crazy if I’m by myself.”

  “Well, I…”

  “I know you have to work, but that’s okay. I’ll go to work with you. I’m sure Jon can find something for me to do in the back room. He doesn’t have to pay me or anything. I just can’t stay home by myself.”

  “Sure,” Christy said boldly. “We’ll work something out. I was trying to make plans to go to Bob and Marti’s. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you came too.”

  “Oh,” Katie said, sounding depressed. “You probably wanted to be with Todd. You don’t need me in the way.”

  “No, Katie, it’s fine. Really. You know Todd; he won’t mind a bit. I’d love to spend the weekend with you. It’s been so long since we’ve done anything together. It’ll be great. You’ll see.”

  “Well, if you’re sure.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll give my aunt another call, and then I’ll call you back. You might as well start packing, Katie. I’m sure it’ll work out.”

  “I broke up with Michael.” Katie sounded like she couldn’t believe her own statement. “I really did it. I broke up with him for good.”

  “Katie, are you okay?”

  “No,” Katie said somberly. “But I will be. Someday. Not tomorrow. But one day, I will be. Call me back. Bye.”

  Christy listened to the dial tone and wondered if Katie really would be okay. She hung up and tried to sort out all the events of the past few hours. After weeks—no, months—of stifled tension between Katie and her, in the last two and a half hours everything had changed.

  In a way, Christy wished Katie’s big breakup with Michael hadn’t come until Monday. That way, at least Christy and Todd could have had a fun weekend together. The minute she thought it, she felt bad.

  She and Todd had enjoyed months of terrific weekends together, and during many of those weekends they had discussed Katie and Michael’s relationship. Over and over Todd had told Christy to wait and be patient, to stick with Katie through this whole thing. He had told her there was a time for everything. Apparently now was the time for Christy to come alongside Katie and support her and cry along with her. Todd would understand.

  And he did. When sh
e called him later that evening to tell him that she had reached Bob and Marti and they were delighted to have Katie and Christy come up for the weekend, Todd said, “I’ll see if Doug can come home from college this weekend. We’ll all have to go to Disneyland or something.”

  “That would be fun,” Christy agreed. “You know, you and I haven’t been to Disneyland since our very first date. When was that? Three years ago?”

  “Yeah, I’d say it’s time we go again. Doug’s great when it comes to cheering up brokenhearted women. He’ll be a good companion for Katie.”

  “Doug doesn’t have a girlfriend yet? I thought he would have met somebody by now.”

  “Nope. He told me once that he thought he knew who God wanted him to marry, but he was waiting for the girl to figure it out. He wouldn’t tell me who it was.”

  “You think it might be Tracy?” Christy asked. “They went out for a while.”

  “I don’t know. He wouldn’t give me any hints. Could be Katie, for all we know. Doesn’t matter though. Doug’s sure that God will work it all out.”

  “I guess Katie and I will drive up together on Friday night as soon as I get off work. We’ll get to Bob and Marti’s after ten. Is that too late for you guys? I mean, do you want to get together on Friday night, or wait and do something on Saturday?”

  “Whatever,” Todd said amiably. “We’ll take it as it comes.”

  “I’m looking forward to seeing you,” Christy said softly.

  “Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing you too.”

  “Bye.”

  “Later.”

  Christy made a quick phone call to Katie and filled her in on the plans. Even though Katie sounded tired at first, she spoke up when Christy mentioned Doug.

  “I don’t want charity,” Katie said. “Doug is not interested in me—he never has been, and he never will be. I don’t want him coming along just to give me all his little hugs and try to make me feel better.”

  “Okay, fine. Doug might not even come. But we’re still going to Disneyland, and that will be fun,” Christy said. trying to sound cheerful.

  “Yeah, right. You, Todd, and me. What a fun day that will be. Is Todd going to hold hands with both of us so I won’t feel left out?”

  Christy was beginning to get irritated. “Katie, will you stop it? We’re going to the pet store tomorrow after school, and then you and I are going to drive up to Newport, stay at my aunt and uncle’s, probably go to Disneyland on Saturday and then church with Todd on Sunday, and you are going to have a wonderful time. Got it?”

  “Sorry,” Katie said. “I’ll try not to be a brat this weekend. I appreciate your making room for me in your plans.”

  “It’ll be fun, Katie. You’ll see. I’m really looking forward to it.”

  “Me too,” Katie sighed. “I wonder what Michael is going to do this weekend? I guess it doesn’t matter, does it?”

  Christy didn’t answer.

  “Well,” Katie said, snapping back to a more positive tone of voice, “I have some more homework to finish. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks again, Christy. This is the true test of a best friend. Thanks for sticking with me through all this.”

  “There’s nothing to thank me for, Katie. I’ll see you after school. Good night.”

  Christy hung up, thinking, If you only knew how selfish I’m feeling right now about having to share Todd with you this weekend, you wouldn’t be thanking me.

  “Oh, Miss Chris,” Fred said the minute Christy walked into yearbook class on Friday. “May I have a moment of your time?”

  “What do you want, Fred?” Christy was not in the mood to deal with him.

  “Do you remember yesterday, right before I left to take the photo of the volleyball team. I said I wanted to talk to you about something?”

  Christy didn’t remember, but she wanted to speed this conversation along, so she nodded and waited for Fred’s reply, expecting another invitation to the prom.

  “I wanted to ask you something.”

  “What, Fred?” she said, her irritation showing.

  “I wanted to ask you what church you went to.”

  “Why?” Christy asked, surprised.

  “I kind of wanted to try going sometime.”

  “Why?” Christy asked, and the minute she did, she realized how rude she sounded.

  “It’s a free country,” Fred said, puffing out his chest a little. “At least, the last time I checked it was. I’ve never been to church before. I thought I might like to try it sometime.”

  “That’s great, Fred.” Christy said, quickly changing her tone. “I think you’ll like it. It’s a really good church.” She gave him directions and specifics on when the high school group met and when church services were held.

  “Thanks,” Fred said. “I’ll see you there this Sunday.”

  “Oh. Is that why you wanted to go to church? Just because I do?”

  “No!” Fred answered defensively.

  “Well. I’m not going to be there this Sunday. I’m going to be at my aunt and uncle’s for the weekend.” Then, trying to sound nice, she added, “Some other people from school go there, so I’m sure you’ll see somebody you know.”

  “Like Katie?”

  “Actually, Katie is going to be with me. There are other people, though. I think you’ll like it; you should go.”

  “I will,” Fred said. “Are you ready to work on these last two collage pages with me? We have to have everything done by next Wednesday. That’s the final, final, drop-dead deadline.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m sure.”

  Christy couldn’t help but wonder about Fred’s interest in attending church. She would have liked to believe he was becoming interested in Christianity. Maybe somehow she had been a witness to him, although she wasn’t sure how. Most of the year she had been rude to him and had never tried talking to him about spiritual things. Somehow, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was one of his tactics to spend time with her, especially since they would be done with their mutual projects by next Wednesday. They wouldn’t have too many other reasons to talk to each other after the yearbook was done. That is, unless Fred started going to her church.

  She told Katie about it on the way to work after school that afternoon. It had been months since Katie and Christy had talked like this, and Katie said she didn’t even know Fred had been chasing Christy.

  “Only all year,” Christy said.

  “Man,” Katie said with a sigh, “we’ve missed a lot this year, haven’t we? I mean, our whole senior year is almost over, and you and I barely know what’s going on with each other.”

  “I know.”

  “I regret that, Christy, and I know it’s all my fault because I was so wrapped up in Michael.”

  “It’s not all your fault. I didn’t exactly make things comfortable for either of us. I could have done a lot more to keep our friendship close, but I didn’t. I’m sorry I didn’t try harder.”

  “Let’s promise each other that we’ll never do that again,” Katie said, looking solemn. “Let’s promise that we’ll never in our whole lives let a guy come between us. Even when we’re old and senile, we’ll still be best friends.”

  “Promise.” Christy said. “Although, if I’m senile, I can’t promise that I’ll exactly remember who you are from day to day.”

  “Then we’ll just have to make sure they check us both into a rest home where all the patients wear name tags.”

  The two friends laughed together—something they hadn’t done for months.

  The evening at the pet store zipped by. Christy had quietly let Jon know that Katie and Michael had broken up, and Jon made sure Katie kept busy in the stock room, helping him rearrange supplies. Jon kept her laughing too with all his stories about crazy customers.

  Just as the two girls were about to leave the store. Christy sidled up to Jon and said, “Remind me to do something nice for you someday.”

  Jon smiled and whispered, “She’s not t
hrough the worst of it yet. It’ll hit her pretty hard. Probably sometime this weekend. Anyone who’s had a broken heart knows it gets worse before it gets better.”

  Jon’s expression and tender words made Christy wonder who had once broken his heart. Maybe he had never recovered, since he was in his early thirties and still not married.

  “You want ice cream or frozen yogurt or something before the long drive up to Newport Beach?” Christy asked as she and Katie headed for the car. “We could stop by Baskin-Robbins on our way out of town.”

  Katie didn’t answer.

  Christy unlocked the passenger door, and Katie got in, fastened her seat belt, and looked straight ahead, as if in a daze.

  “Hello, Earth to Katie. Do you want to stop by Baskin-Robbins or not?” Then Christy noticed a stream of tears pouring down Katie’s cheeks.

  “That’s the first place we ever went together. Remember? It was the day we met. Right after school, I told Michael I was going to educate him on how many vitamins could be found in a scoop of Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream.”

  Christy swallowed hard. Things had been going so well at work. She hadn’t expected this kind of sorrow attack. “We don’t have to stop there. We don’t have to stop anywhere. We can just drive straight to Bob and Marti’s. Forget I suggested it. Bad suggestion.”

  Maneuvering the car out of the parking lot, Christy checked Katie’s face each time they passed a streetlight to see if the tears were letting up.

  “Do you realize,” Christy said, “this is the first time since we went to San Diego about this time last year that you and I have gone anywhere together, just the two of us? And can you believe my parents actually let me take the car for the whole weekend? This is really a first, Katie.”

  Katie leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes. In a choked voice she said. “Take me home, Christy. I can’t do this.”

  “Sure you can,” Christy said cheerfully. “We’re going to have a great time together this weekend. You’ll forget all about Michael.”

  “I don’t want to forget about Michael!” Katie raised her voice. “There are no bad memories to try to forget. Everything was wonderful. You don’t get it, do you? I loved him. I still love him!”