Coming Attractions (8 page)

“It sounds as if I’m self-sabotaging, doesn’t it? Why would I do that?”

“Your emotions are on a tilt-a-whirl,” Christy said.

“I thought you would say my emotions are on a roller coaster.”

“No. Roller coasters go up and down. You’re in your final semester of college and deep in a serious relationship. I would
say your emotions are on a tilt-a-whirl. You know, those carnival rides where you spin and fly around in a big circle and
go up and down all at once.”

“I know what a tilt-a-whirl is.”

“So give yourself lots of grace, just like you gave me last year. Have you forgotten how impossible I was to live with?”

“I don’t remember your being impossible to live with.”

“Well, I remember.” Christy reached over, and with one hand on the steering wheel, she gave Katie a comforting pat. “Don’t
try to push yourself too hard. Rick isn’t pushing you. Just let things spin through all their cycles and come to their natural
conclusion.”

“Now you sound like Eli.”

“I do?”

“Yeah, I was talking to him a few weeks ago about where I was going to live after I graduate, and he said I should go to Africa.”

Christy laughed.

“I think he was half-serious. He said I should experience a whole circle of life before I got married, and he thought I would
experience it if I went some place like Africa.”

“He didn’t really say ‘circle of life,’ did he?”

“I thought that’s what he said. Or did I get that from
The Lion King
? My African references are overlapping. Must be that tilt-a-whirl effect you were talking about. Eli says my mind is full
of wavy lines that wiggle all over the place, and when they intersect with another wavy line, I never know where one line
stopped and the other started.”

“Eli said that, did he?”

Katie nodded. “He’s an observant guy.”

“Yes, he is.”

Katie opened her book and made an effort to find where she had left off reading earlier that week. It seemed as if one of
her wavy lines had intersected another wavy line, and now her thoughts were off in faraway lands where giraffes galloped and
lions crouched.

“Do you think I should go to Kenya?”

Christy looked at her and then back to the road. “When? Why?”

“I think I have a little crush on the idea of going to Africa.”

Christy laughed.

“I think I just figured something out.” Katie straightened her posture and nodded slowly. “I don’t want to miss out on an
adventure, do I? That’s what it is, isn’t it? I’m questioning my feelings for Rick because I’m afraid I might miss something
if he and I move ahead and become engaged anytime soon. That must be why I keep feeling hesitant. I know what life will be
like with him. Rick is a straight line up against all my wobbly lines. He sets a goal and goes after it.”

“So do you.”

“I know, but I love having the freedom to decide on a new goal every fifteen minutes. Rick picks one goal, and that’s it for
months. Years.”

“That’s a great leadership quality.”

Katie nodded. “Yes, but we’re still young. There’s a lot of world out there to see. Don’t you remember how great it was a
few summers ago when you, Todd, and I traveled around Europe?”

A dreamy expression came over Christy’s face. “I think about that trip a lot. Things were so simple then. I know I fretted
and complained while we were traveling, but now I think it was one of the best things Todd and I did together before we got
married. I loved being with him, and with you, and sharing so many amazing experiences together.”

Katie leaned forward eagerly. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I want to have an experience like that with Rick before we
get married. Or, well, if we get married. Before we get engaged at least. I want to experience new things with him. He and
I have been stuck in a rut our entire dating relationship.”

Katie crossed her arms and leaned back, contented and convinced. “It’s settled. Rick and I need to go to Africa.”

“And exactly how do you think Rick will take to that idea?”

Katie didn’t answer immediately. “I can convince him. He’ll see once I explain why we need to have this sort of experience.
We’ll go after I graduate, after the café opens. Just for a week or two. We’ll go with Eli when he goes back. It will be sort
of like when we were in Europe and Antonio traveled with us in Italy and took us to his parents’ home. If we go with Eli,
he will show us around. This will be the most important and defining thing Rick and I have ever done together. I wonder when
we need to take our typhoid shots. Soon, I would imagine. I think Eli said we have to get yellow fever shots as well.”

“Whoa, Katie! Before you get immunizations against tropical diseases, don’t you think you should talk to Rick about it?”

“Like I said, I’ll convince him. What better time to go than this summer?”

Christy seemed to have run out of arguments. Katie took advantage of her silence to follow a wonderfully long, wavy line in
her mind that contained bountiful information on Africa, Kenya, and the clean water project Eli’s dad was involved in. After
working on the clean water fund-raiser so closely with Eli, Katie knew a whole lot more about Africa than she had realized.
She told Christy about the way the funds were making it possible for heavy drilling equipment to be taken into remote villages
where people were dying from lack of clean water. New wells were being dug. Entire villages were becoming healthy after years
of losing people to dysentery and disease.

“Eli said that the verse about offering a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name is happening, literally, because of these wells,
and children who were close to death now are becoming healthy. Schools are starting up, and crops are growing in areas that
had become arid. It’s a whole other world over there, Christy. So much needs to be done to help. Can you imagine how great
it would be if Rick and I could go after I graduate and spend a month there just to help out?”

“So now it’s up from a week to a month?”

“Or the whole summer. I think it would be incredible. The best thing we ever did. We can always settle down in suburbia, and
he can always open another café. But this! A chance to go to Africa — this would be golden.”

Christy didn’t reply.

Katie’s imagination swirled with possibilities. She felt happier than she had in a long time. “We can do this. It won’t be
that hard to pull it together. I should text Eli to find out what day he’s leaving. The three of us could take the same flight.”

“Katie, are you sure you want to do that without first giving Rick a chance to weigh in with his opinion?”

“I’m not telling Eli we’re actually going; I’m just gathering information.” Her thumbs had completed the text and were about
to hit Send.

With a glance over at Christy, she said, “What’s with the scowl? Do you think I’m moving too fast?”

“I think you hopped on a pretty wavy line, and it’s taking you way off in a crazy new direction.”

“Yeah, but why not?” Katie put down her phone. “I want to do this, Chris. Is there something wrong with me that I’d rather
go to an African village after I graduate than go shopping for engagement rings and a wedding dress?”

“No, there’s nothing wrong with you, Katie. Nothing at all.”

“But you think I should slow down. Take it one step at a time.”

“One step at a time is always a good way to go.”

“Fine.” Katie deleted the text message to Eli. “I’ll talk to Rick first. And now I suppose you’re going to tell me I should
probably pray about all this.”

“That’s always a good way to go too.”

Katie turned her focus back to her textbook while Christy drove. She knew she should pray but she wasn’t quite ready to talk
to God about all this. Not yet.

K
atie faux studied for the rest of the drive to Carlsbad and the charming beach cottage where Doug and Tracy lived. The distance
had given Katie time to roll out several of her wavy lines of thought and place them in nice straight rows. At least for the
time being they appeared to be nice straight thoughts. When her thoughts were stretched out like this, they seemed dormant.
Asleep. Unable to wiggle around in her imagination.

Katie felt as if all the zing had gone out of her. It was all too much to think about at the moment.

Doug met them at the door and wrapped his arms around Christy and then Katie, welcoming them with a warm, bolstering hug.
Katie had forgotten how wonderful it felt to be on the receiving end of a Doug hug. She felt a smile rising inside her spirit
as she entered Doug and Tracy’s home. This cottage contained vivid memories of the night Christy and Todd became engaged.
That was when Katie and Rick reconnected, talking all night and working side by side the next morning to make omelets for
everyone. The happy feelings of the beginning moments of falling in love were floating in the air as Katie looked around and
remembered sitting on the couch with Rick, exchanging smiles and feeling the first sprouts after a long winter of hidden hopes.

Note to self: You might be crazy for thinking about going to Africa. What you have with Rick is all you ever wanted. Remember?

Tracy stepped into the living room, her heart-shaped face glowing. “It’s so good to see both of you! Thanks for doing this.”

Baby Daniel was in her arms, shyly tucking his chin and cuddling up to Tracy.

“He’s huge!” Katie blurted out. “How old is he now?”

“Almost nine months. Can you believe it? When was the last time you saw him?”

“I don’t remember, but he was tiny,” Katie said. “He slept most of the time.”

“Those days are over,” Doug said. “He’s on the go all the time, aren’t you, Danny boy?”

Blond-haired Daniel turned and looked at Katie and then bashfully curled back up to his mama.

“I was trying to get him down for a nap,” Tracy said. “But I think he knows something is going on.”

Christy put out her hands and smiled. In a soft voice she said, “Will you let me hold you? Come here.”

It took a few minutes, but Daniel decided to warm up to Christy and let her take him from Tracy’s arms.

“You have a way with kids,” Katie said playfully.

“She does,” Doug agreed. “Last time she and Todd were here, Daniel wanted her to hold him the whole time. Hey, we’d better
slide out while we can. All the info is on the kitchen counter. We expect to be back around four.”

“That’s great,” Christy said. “Have fun. We’ll be fine here.”

Christy walked into the kitchen with Daniel in her arms and went over to the sink while Doug and Tracy slipped out the front
door. Katie watched as Christy pointed to a few small items in the windowsill above the sink and talked to Daniel in a low
voice.

“You really are a natural with kids,” Katie said.

“I learned a lot the year I worked at the orphanage in Switzerland. Little ones just want to feel safe. Isn’t that right,
Daniel? You remember me, don’t you? Oh, you are so cute. Do you know how cute you are? You definitely have your mama’s eyes.”

“While the two of you have your little goo-goo fest, I’ll retrieve my backpack from the car and write my paper.” Katie strode
out the front door, accidentally letting the screen door slam behind her. She cringed. A second later she heard Daniel wail.

Uh-oh. Not good.

The next three hours turned into the most challenging study time Katie could remember. She later conceded that she should
have given up and just helped Christy keep Daniel entertained. He didn’t nap, as the note from Tracy said might happen. He
would be happy and interested in a toy one moment, then he would try to crawl over to where Katie had her laptop plugged into
the wall. When Christy stopped him, he wailed.

“I had no idea kids could be so exhausting,” Katie declared when Doug and Tracy returned. “How do you keep up with him? I
mean, he’s adorable, but you have to watch him every minute. He kept Christy going the whole time.”

“I didn’t mind a bit,” Christy said. “He was perfect. Weren’t you, Danny boy?”

Tracy gave Christy a hug. “You’ll make a great mom. Both of you will.”

Katie couldn’t see herself as a mother. Not anytime soon, at least. She wondered if Todd and Christy were thinking of starting
a family. It had been awhile since she had talked to Christy about any of the more personal details of her marriage to Todd.
He was working as a youth pastor at their church and seemed to be busy all the time. Katie couldn’t remember the last time
she had seen him.

She would have to get an update from Christy once they were back on the road to Bob and Marti’s house in Newport Beach.

Instead of leaving right away, they lingered awhile, talking with Doug and Tracy, who had used their time away to go house
hunting. Their little cottage was too small now that Daniel was growing and Doug was working part-time from home on consulting
projects for the financial investment business a relative had connected him with.

“Any leads on a house?” Christy asked.

“No,” Tracy said. “We have a better idea of where we don’t want to live and what’s out there that we can afford. It doesn’t
look like we’ll be moving anytime soon. We’ll just have to be more creative with the space we have here.”

“Rick was smart to grab both those café properties when he did,” Doug said. “He gave me an update a few weeks ago, and I have
to say, that was a smart business move. He and his brother look to make some good money.”

“That’s what he tells me,” Katie said.

“You know, I was thinking the other day about when Rick, Todd, and I all shared an apartment back in our UC San Diego days.
How long ago was that? Five years? No, it has to be at least six. Anyway, it’s pretty awesome how everything has turned out,
isn’t it?”

Katie smiled. Not only had she forgotten the all-encompassing, warm, and affirming way Doug gave hugs, but she also had forgotten
that
awesome
was his favorite word.

“Yeah, and speaking of awesome, who would have ever guessed that I would be the one to end up with Rick?”