“You know what I mean.”
“Well, I should go. We love you.”
“Love you too.”
Candace got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs. A few minutes later everyone else joined her, and they had cereal, which to her relief, they didn’t end up throwing at each other.
Once they had finished, Candace turned to Josh. “What’s the game plan?”
He chuckled. “Very funny.”
“I thought it was appropriate.”
“Well, tonight we hold a vigil of sorts — prayer, meditation, that kind of thing.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty intense. Until then, though, the day is ours. So, what do you want to do?”
Candace smiled. “I heard that you had a pool.”
That night Candace held a candle as she sat next to Josh in a pew in a small chapel. The chapel itself was about a five-minute drive from the house. There were a dozen other families present. A pastor led them in a few songs and then in prayer. After that he sat down with his own candle and left everyone to think and pray on their own.
It was a very moving experience. As Candace sat there she prayed for her family, especially her Aunt. She prayed for Lisa and her newfound faith. She prayed for Tamara and James and their relationship.
Next to her Josh stirred slightly.
God, watch over and guide Josh. Thank you for our friendship and all the ways that he has been there for me. He’s an amazing guy. I pray that you give him strength and guidance.
Suddenly her heart began to pound, and her hands started shaking slightly. She felt like she couldn’t quite catch her breath. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her, but she felt dizzy and unbalanced. Just when she thought she was going to pass out, Josh took her hand in his.
Everything seemed to stop. She opened her eyes and stared down at his hand holding hers. Such a small gesture, but so powerful. There was so much strength in that hand and so much kindness as well.
She turned her head slightly so she could see his face. It was mere inches from hers. She studied his features in a way she never had before. As though feeling the weight of her stare, his eyes flickered open and he turned and looked at her.
He leaned forward, and his lips brushed hers for a moment. Then he dropped his head back down in prayer and closed his eyes. Candace forced her eyes away from him and stared instead into the heart of the candle she held.
God, what’s happening?
she asked.
On the way back to the house, everyone in the car was silent, still thinking and praying. Once home, they all headed upstairs. Candace lingered for a moment in her doorway, wanting desperately to talk to Josh but not sure what to say. He looked at her, smiled gently, and then disappeared into his own room.
She closed her door, walked over to the bed, and knelt down. She had a lot more praying to do before the morning.
In the morning they rose before sunrise and had prayer outside, which John led. Afterward they had brunch at the house. Extended family came, but Candace was too distracted to remember any of their names. Finally at two o’clock she found herself on the back lawn waiting for the start of the Easter-egg hunt.
Candace turned and saw Josh walking toward her, his jaw set and his stride purposeful. He had with him an array of objects that Candace was hard-pressed to identify.
“What is all that stuff?” she asked when he got close.
“Easter-egg-hunting gear. You know, night vision goggles, binoculars, metal detector, the usual.”
“You have got to be kidding me!”
Josh smiled. “Nope. My family takes everything about Easter very seriously. When we say Easter-egg hunt, we mean
hunt.
”
She wanted to talk about the kiss, but somehow it didn’t seem appropriate for the time and place. She schooled herself to wait and focused instead on the game at hand.
“So, what does a girl have to do to get some equipment?”
“Well, I’ve got a catalog you can order some stuff from for next year,” he teased.
“But I need it this year.”
“Tell you what, I think I can spare this,” he said, handing her the metal detector.
“Your generosity is overwhelming,” she joked.
“I think so.”
A minute later Lilian called them all together. “Okay, most of you know the rules. This year it was my job to hide the eggs. Eggs can be hidden anywhere on the grounds outside of the house. They may be made of plastic, paper, metal, candy, or be real eggs. Each egg has a point value assigned to it. The one with the most points is the winner. You will have one hour, which starts on my mark. Ready? Mark!”
Candace had never seen a group of people scatter in so many directions so quickly. She stood bewildered for a moment and then took off closer toward the house. Fewer people seemed to be headed in that direction, and as long as she was outside the house, she was in egg-hunting territory.
As she moved, she swept the ground with the metal detector and managed to discover three sprinkler heads and an earring. Up close to the house she continued to work the metal detector while scouring the bushes and plants with eyes and hands. When she had gone halfway around the house, she glanced at her watch and realized she only had fifteen minutes left. She picked up speed.
“Five minutes!” she heard Lilian shout through a bullhorn.
Candace started to jog, hoping at least to make it all the way around the perimeter. Suddenly, a flash of something purple caught her eye, and her metal detector went off at the same time.
Inside a potted plant, she discovered what looked like a Fabergé egg. She picked it up and ran back to the starting point, arriving with ten seconds to spare. Josh was right behind her, and she looked with disgust at the dozens of eggs of different sizes, shapes, and styles he had in a basket.
“Okay, time!” Lilian called. “Present eggs.”
She went through tallying the points for the various eggs, most of which seemed to have their value printed or taped onto them. Candace inspected hers but didn’t see a number. At last Lilian stopped in front of her.
“I just found one egg,” Candace said, holding it up.
Lilian smiled. “You know the Bible parable about the pearl of great price?”
“Yes. The man who found it went out and sold all he had in order to obtain it.”
“That’s right. Open your egg.”
Candace looked closer and saw the delicate catch. She flipped it, and the top of the egg swung open. Inside was a large, black pearl and a single sheet of paper.
“What does the paper say?” Lilian asked.
Candace opened it and read aloud, “Winner takes all.”
She looked up at Lilian.
“Congratulations, you found the pearl, and you are the winner.”
“What do I get?” Candace asked.
“You get to keep the pearl, say the blessing at dinner tonight, and be the one to hide eggs next year.”
Candace started smiling and wasn’t sure she would ever stop.
Candace sat on the edge of the stage with her fellow actors, head bowed in misery as Mr. Bailey paced in front of them. “That was, without a doubt, the worst final dress rehearsal I have ever seen,” he said. Next to her, Keith groaned, and she reached out and patted him on the back. After all, it wasn’t his fault he had thrown up on her.
“This is excellent news,” Mr. Bailey continued.
“Excuse me?” Candace burst out before she could stop herself.
Mr. Bailey smiled at her. “In theater, the worse the final dress is, the better opening night is. I’m guessing that if tonight is any indication, tomorrow should be phenomenal.”
“What if it’s not?” Reed asked.
“Then expect to be pelted with rotten fruit,” Mr. Bailey joked.
Candace glanced over at Tamara who looked like she was going to be ill. Tamara was the only one who hadn’t messed up. She was probably worried about what the following night would bring for her.
“Go home, rest up. I’ll see you here tomorrow at five o’clock.”
Candace followed Tamara to her car and climbed wearily into the passenger seat.
“That could have gone a lot better,” Candace sighed.
“At least you have nowhere to go but up,” Tamara said, sounding worried.
“You’ll be fine.”
“I’m hungry. You wanna stop at Denny’s?”
“Yes, please.”
A few minutes later they ordered and sat back, sipping their sodas as they tried to relax. Suddenly Tamara stiffened.
“What is it?” Candace asked.
“I’m not sure you want to know,” Tamara said.
“Well, now of course I do,” Candace said. “What?”
Tamara nodded her head, and Candace turned to see Kurt and Lisa sharing a booth. The two were so deep in conversation that they didn’t seem to have even noticed the food that was set before them. They were holding hands on the table.
Candace smiled. “Good for Lisa,” she said.
“I’m still not down with the whole ‘we-like-Lisa-now thing,’ ” Tamara said.
“She’s had a hard life. It looks like she’s taking more charge of it, though. I really think she and Kurt could be very happy together. I hope so at any rate.”
“Very big of you.”
Candace shrugged. “Kurt wasn’t right for me. Doesn’t mean I don’t wish him happiness with someone he is right for.”
“Does this mean you can finally move on . . . as in, make a move on Josh?”
“Not talking about it,” Candace said curtly. She and Josh still hadn’t talked about the kiss they had shared in the chapel. She got the feeling that he was waiting for her to bring it up, but she hadn’t been able to just yet. Until she talked about it with Josh, she didn’t want to talk about it with anyone else, even Tamara.
“Fine, we can talk about something else, just not the play. I hope no one we know shows tomorrow night.”
“I think I saw everyone we know, including every referee from The Zone out there,” Tamara reported, coming backstage after having covertly scouted the auditorium. “That girl, Regina, who was in the Christmas play, was out there. Josh and James are of course here, and a bunch of your relatives and all of mine. Mom invited everybody,” Tamara said, finishing with an eye roll.
Candace tried to keep her hands from shaking as she applied her makeup. She must have been out of her mind to invite people that she knew. Around her, the others were buzzing with excitement and nerves. Keith was sitting in a corner looking like he was going to throw up. Candace felt for him, but was too freaked out herself to try and encourage him. She had a feeling that if she tried to talk to him before the play, they’d both end up crying in the fetal position.
Tamara said she was nervous, but she didn’t look like it. Her eyes were bright, she was bouncing around full of energy, and she was laughing at every joke people cracked.
Reed was sitting quietly, reading back over the script. Candace had thought about doing that, but then worried that she’d somehow mess herself up. She knew the lines; she had memorized them weeks ago. No need to panic herself about that needlessly.
Mr. Bailey had enough energy for ten men. It seemed like he was everywhere at once. He oversaw the makeup, he helped people warm up their voices, and he went over last-minute details with the prop people. She even spotted him brandishing Don Quixote’s sword triumphantly over something.
“What’s he doing?” Kira asked.
“Tilting at windmills,” Candace joked.
“So, how are things with you and that hottie?” Kira asked.
“Good,” Candace said, hesitating. “Complicated.”
“I think you’re making this harder than it really is,” Kira said.
The last thing Candace wanted to do was discuss her love life with Kira. It did, however, keep her mind off the fact that she was going to be onstage in less than half an hour.
“I think I love him,” Candace admitted.
“Awesome. I knew you two had chemistry.”
“No, I mean, really love him,” Candace said. “It’s something more than a crush, stronger than liking or attraction. I love him, and I’m terrified of hurting him.”
“Then don’t.”
It sounded so simple when Kira said it that way. Candace wanted to argue. It wasn’t that simple; it was difficult and complicated. With the next breath, though, she wondered why that was. Josh hadn’t done anything to make it complicated, neither had she. They were both available, and the attraction was clearly mutual. What was her problem?
“I think I’m scared that he’s the one,” Candace admitted, more to herself than Kira.
“Then he probably is,” Kira said. “Look, I’ve got five older sisters. They dated a lot, but each one of them is married now. Every single one of them freaked out when they found the guy they were going to spend their life with. It was totally different. They were terrified because they knew it was life-changing, and people find change frightening.”
Maybe that was it. It was weird in a way. She didn’t know what the future held, but she did know that Josh was all the things she was discovering that she needed in a guy.
“Josh is funny and sweet and cute.”
“Yes,” Kira affirmed. “I could have told you that two seconds after meeting him.”
“He also pushes me to do my best, makes me want to be a better person, and has been there every time I needed someone. He’s taken care of me in ways I didn’t even realize I needed to be taken care of until he showed me. He always goes out of his way to make sure that I’m happy.”
“Sounds like you found one in a million,” Kira said. “I’m jealous.”
Candace smiled. “Thank you. I’m not sure I would have realized that without your help.”
Kira shrugged. “You just needed a sounding board. If it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else — a friend, a classmate, a stranger in a grocery store.”
Candace laughed and turned new eyes on Kira. “How come we’re not friends?” she asked.
“Because, as we’ve already established, you’re an idiot,” Kira said with a grin.
Candace reached out and hugged her. “Thank you for pointing that out.”
“Any time.”
“So, what’s your story?” Candace asked as they broke away.
Kira grinned. “Still looking for Mr. Right.”
“Keep looking,” Candace said.
“You know it. These days a girl just can’t sit still and wait for her guy to find her.”