October Joy (Moments In Paradise 1) (16 page)

She smiled at him.

“Did you miss me?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Why are you reluctant to tell me that?”

“Because I don’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“Fall for guys this fast.”

He kissed her again, long and slow.  Like she had always imagined it being with the right person.

“Welcome to my world, Gracie Morgan.  I fell this fast for you a long time ago.”

***

“So, Anni, what’s up?  What’s that special glow you have on your face today?”

Annika looked across the dinner-table at her sister, and she smiled.  Erika had invited her out to Starhaven this evening, and she had to share her latest Joy-Sightings.

“He kissed her.”

“James?  He kissed Gracie?”

“Yes,” Annika laughed.  “But that’s not who I meant.”

Erika looked confused.  “You don’t mean Andrew?”

“Yes!”

“Oh my God!  Joshua?  You let him do that so soon?”

Joshua smiled.  “He wanted to, and she wanted him to, so why not?”

“Joshua tried to prepare me for it,” Annika said.  “But I had no idea He could bring things together so quickly.  I’d about given up on both Andrew and Gracie, and now they’re both living crazier than I’ve ever seen them!”

“And neither of them know they’re both falling in love in the same week?”

“No,” Annika laughed.  Turning to Joshua, she tickled His knee under the table.  “You can be so sneaky sometimes.”

He smiled.  “Now what’s the point of creating the Universe and all of you crazy people if I can’t have a little fun once in awhile?”

They all laughed.

“So, Joshua,” Erika said.  “Are you going to let us in on when these weddings are going to take place, or are you going to make Anni wait until the day she gets the invitations in the mail?”

“You’ll know when they know.”

“And when is that going to be?” Erika pressed.

“Soon.”

“Soon?  Is that our definition of soon, or yours?”

“I think they’ve already waited long enough,” Joshua said.  “Don’t you?”

Erika let her answer that.  “I don’t know, what do you think, Anni?”

She gave a peaceful response.  “None of them are getting any younger, and life on Earth is already short enough.  I say, ‘The sooner, the better.’”

Chapter Fifteen

Sarah wasn’t sure who was picking her up at the airport.  Both of her kids knew what time she was coming in, and one of them had promised to be there, but she was surprised when she saw the whole clan waiting for her beyond the security checkpoint.

“What are you all doing here?” she asked, giving Faye a hug first, followed by Jamison.

“We were all free tonight,” Chandler said, “so we thought we’d surprise you and go out to dinner.”

Sarah gave her son a hug also.  “It’s a surprise, all right, but I’m not complaining.  It’s so good to see you.”

Her daughter-in-law, Heather, hugged her too with little Josef in her arms, who at seven months wasn’t so little anymore.  She thought of what she told Andrew last night about her first grandchild coming during the right year.  Leaving him to move to California would not be easy, nor any of her family.

She hadn’t decided when to tell them about Andrew.  She had been thinking if Faye came to pick her up alone, she would tell her first, but since that wasn’t the case, she didn’t know if she should wait until she could talk to Faye and Chandler individually or tell everyone at once.

They drove to a restaurant near the house, and she rode with Chandler and Heather.  They had purchased a mid-size SUV a few months ago, and she sat in the front seat with Chandler while Heather sat in the back with the baby.  They asked her about the conference, and she told them it had been better than she expected.

“Everyone was very supportive.  Some were surprised to see me there without your dad, but it was good to see everyone.  Your dad will be missed there for years to come, I’m sure.”

“I thought it was brave of you to go, Mom,” Chandler said.  “We were all praying for you.”

“Thank you.  I’m sure it made a difference,” she said but was thinking,
I hope you like the way God answered.

Once they were at the restaurant, Faye asked about her time in Iowa as well, but after she said what she already told Chandler and Heather, the attention turned elsewhere, and she enjoyed hearing about all of their respective weeks.  Faye and Jamison were both in their first year of teaching.  Faye taught third grade at a Christian school, and Jamison had gotten a job teaching science at a middle school.  They were both enjoying it but facing some challenges during their first weeks.

Chandler made his living as a photographer.  He had gone to college to study business but had gotten a part-time job as a photographer in a department store during his junior year to help with expenses, and he absolutely loved it.  When Chandler and Heather married three years ago, he dropped out of school to take an apprenticeship position with a local photographer where he learned to do weddings and high-quality studio work, and now he had his own business.  He had taken some pictures of her and Levi a couple of months before Levi’s death, and those were very special photos to her now.  He had also done Faye and Jamison’s wedding and had done a beautiful job.

Levi had been disgruntled at his son’s career choice, having wanted Chandler to go into the ministry, not major in business, and then to quit school altogether to do something Levi didn’t see much value in.  But Sarah had convinced Levi to see things differently--that their son may not be in full-time ministry, but his flexible schedule allowed him to fill volunteer positions at the church others couldn’t, he had a respectable job that provided well for his family, and he was providing a service to people that allowed them to cherish their memories in a special way.

Levi had come around and made peace with Chandler about a year ago, and Sarah was so thankful for that now.  Being reminded of Chandler’s unrelenting conviction to do what God led him to do, Sarah hoped her son would be understanding of her belief Andrew was meant to be in her life.  He might not like it, especially at first, but perhaps he would understand where she was coming from.

She decided not to say anything at dinner.  She didn’t feel it was the best time with the baby crying off and on, and them not being seated in a private area of the dining room.  They all usually came over to the house after church on Sundays and spent most of the afternoon there, so she decided that would be a better time.

After dinner Chandler and Heather drove her home, and they stayed for a little while but needed to get home to put Josef to bed.  She asked if they would be coming on Sunday, and they said yes.

Andrew called her ten minutes after they left, and she was glad because she could feel the emptiness of the house surrounding her.  He was at Annika’s parents’ farm and said he had told them about her.  They seemed happy for him, like he had predicted they would be.  In a way she wished she had stayed and gone with him, but in another way she was glad to be home.  But she did miss him.

“I was thinking about something I want to run by you and let you think about,” he said.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“What’s your schedule like next week?”

She thought for a moment.  Whenever she had a major event like the women’s luncheon they were having on Saturday, she often was focused on that until it was over, and then she would think about the following week.

“I’m not doing anything specific,” she said, glancing at the calendar to make sure.

“How would you like to come to California with me for a week?”

She laughed.  “What?”

“I could fly up to Minneapolis on Saturday and meet you, and then we could fly back to California together.  You could stay for a week, or however long you want.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“I’ll have to go into the office some, but I do a lot of my work at home.”

“You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious.  I think it would be better for my kids, especially Grace, if they could actually meet you.  But it’s up to you, Sarah.  If you don’t want to, it’s fine.  I’m just suggesting it.”

“Do I have to decide right now?”

“You can think about it, and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I wasn’t going to tell my kids about you until Sunday.”

“You think about it,” he repeated.

“Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“So spontaneous?”

“Do you not like spontaneous?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Levi wasn’t spontaneous?”

She laughed.  “No, definitely not.”

“In normal life I’m more routine-oriented, but this isn’t normal for me.  I’m trying to figure out when I can see you again, and I’m open to whatever it takes--however we can make it work.  But I want it to be good for both of us, not just me.”

It seemed crazy, but Sarah was honestly thinking of saying yes.  “I’ll think about it,” she said.

They talked for another hour, and she kept glancing at the photograph of her and Levi.  She didn’t know if it was her imagination or wishful thinking, but she kept feeling Levi looking at her through the photograph and giving his silent approval.

“When would be a good time for me to call you tomorrow?” Andrew said at nine-fifteen.

The things she had to do tomorrow she would do in the morning and be done by mid-afternoon.  “Late afternoon or evening,” she said.  “I should be here.”

“You know I love you, right?  No matter what you decide?”

“Yes,” she said.

“May I pray for you before I let you go?”

“Yes.”

She had heard him pray for his daughters over the phone on Tuesday night, and she had been affected by his sincerity even though the prayer was for someone else.  But having him pray for her brought tears to her eyes and made her feel so close to him, and to Jesus.  It was amazing.

“Guide Sarah in making the right choices about my crazy ideas,” he said near the end.  “And help her to believe how much she is loved: by You, by me, and her family.  I love her, Jesus.  Thank You for bringing us together, and help us to find our way from here.”

***

James and Ryan left the house at seven-thirty.  They all walked out together, and Tabby went to say good-night to Ryan beside his car.  James and Grace stayed on the porch, talking until Tabitha returned and went back inside.

James kissed her good-night when it was just the two of them, and he didn’t stop with one.  Grace was completely amazed by the way James kissed her.  He was so focused and intentional about it, like he was trying to say exactly how he felt about her with his physical affection, and she liked what he was saying.

“May I ask you something?” she said while he was looking into her eyes and making her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Yes.”

“Have you ever kissed a girl like this before?”

“No.”

“And how many other girls have you kissed?”

“Two.”

“Two?”

“Jenny Duncan in the eighth grade, and Sydney.”

“Who’s Sydney?”

“My girlfriend in college.  We dated for a year and a half.”

“Did she break your heart?”

He smiled.  “No.  We parted as friends when we decided it wasn’t meant to be between us.”

“But you didn’t kiss her like this?”

“No.  We had some nice times together, but I didn’t feel what I feel when I’m with you.”

“What do you feel?”

“Love.  Joy.  Like I never want to let you go.”

She smiled.  No one had ever told her that before.

He kissed her again and didn’t stop until the door opened.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Tabby said.  “Dad’s on the phone.  He wants to talk to you, Grace.”

“Sorry,” she said to James.  “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Tabitha said something to Dad over the phone.  “She’s kissing her boyfriend.  I think you better come home early.  This is looking pretty serious.”

“Tomorrow,” James said, giving her one last kiss.

They both heard Tabby speak again.  “I don’t know.  Some guy she met at the supermarket, I think.”

Grace laughed and took the phone from her sister.  “Give me that.”

“Bye, James,” Tabby said.  “Thanks for the great footage for the fall youth video.”

“You better be joking, Tabitha Morgan,” he said.  Ryan was one of the videographers, but Tabby only helped with putting it all together.

Grace put the phone up to her ear, said ‘hi’ to her dad, and waved to James before she went inside.  He winked and stepped away.

“Kissing James, are we?” her dad said.  “What’s going on, Gracie?”

“Oh, Dad,” she said, closing the door and leaning against it.  “How did I overlook him for so long?  Why did you let me do that?”

“Everything in its time, Gracie.  I’m sure this is perfect timing for both of you.”

“Are you at Grandma and Grandpa’s now?”

“Yes.  I arrived in time for dinner and have been here for about five hours.”

“Tell them I wish I was there.”

“Are you sure about that?”

She laughed.  “Well, okay.  If James was there too.”

“Do you have some time to talk, Gracie?  I have something to tell you, but I want it to be a good time.”

“This is fine,” she said.  “I got my work done earlier, and my boyfriend’s gone, so I’m all yours.  What’s up?”

“Are you sitting down?”

She laughed.  “Okay, Dad, you’re scaring me,” she said, taking a seat on the stairs.  “Yes, I’m sitting down.”

His voice went soft.  “I met somebody, Gracie.”

“Met somebody?”

“A woman.  Here in Iowa at the conference.”

Grace felt speechless.  “Okay,” she finally said.  “Who is she?”

“Her name is Sarah, and she lives in Minnesota.  She lost her husband this summer, but she came to the conference to see some of their old friends.  We met the first night, and I honestly think I could marry her.  Not right now.  It’s too soon for her.  But someday.”

“Wow,” she said, feeling shocked and yet not alarmed.  Her dad was a very wise man, and she trusted his judgment in how he felt about this woman, but she supposed nothing could prepare her for this moment.  “That’s great, Dad.”