To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...
Eccl. 3:1 (KJV)
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11
Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17
Spring, 1985
"Give that back to me!" shrieked eight-year-old Elaine Reynolds. Her stubby legs raced around the playground of Boscan Elementary School that boasted dilapidated steel swings sets and rusty slides. She stretched out her hands, trying in vain to rescue her sweater from the clutches of the boy who had whisked it away.
"Ya! Ya!" the boy taunted, waving her mint green sweater in front of her face. "Just try and get it from me, four eyes!"
Elaine paused in the chase to survey the situation. She pushed her small glasses farther up her pug nose. Nostrils flared with labored breathing from the exercise. Her red shirt, pulled out from the waistband of her plaid skirt, lay rumpled around her plump form. Dirt brown hair hung like long strands of spaghetti in her face.
David Edwards dangled the sweater within her reach. "C'mon, four eyes. C'mon and get it. What's the matter? Can't you see with four eyes?"
Elaine made a swift grab for the sweater that David yanked away at the last moment. She sailed to the ground, scraping her knee and chin. The glasses flew from her face and banged against a nearby tree trunk, snapping a stem in half. Blood trickled from the lacerations on her face and knee. Numbed by the treatment, Elaine burst into tears.
The teacher on duty ventured over to inspect the ruckus. David tossed the sweater into Elaine's face with a jeer and ran off, leaving her a bundle of pain and misery. The teacher carefully assisted Elaine to her feet, found the broken glasses resting beside the tree, and led her back to the school building. Elaine hobbled alongside the teacher as best she could, despite her knee now stiff and sore from the encounter with the rocky ground. With every step she took, bitterness festered within her heart. I hate David Edwards. Oh, I hate him!
On the bus ride home that night, Elaine could barely hold back the tears as she stared out the window. The bus was active with rowdy kids shoving, jumping out of their seats, or calling each other vile names. Several times the burly bus driver yelled over his shoulder at the kids to keep quiet, but he was ignored. Elaine reached up a finger to scratch the itchy skin beneath the Band-Aid covering the wound on her chin. She could smell the faint aroma of antiseptic the school nurse used to clean out the grime. When Elaine tearfully told the nurse who it was that injured her, the young woman nodded her head in sympathy and patted her hand.
"David's a spoiled boy -- that's for sure," she said. "He doesn't know any better."
Elaine wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her red shirt. "I hate him. He's so mean to me."
The nurse gave her a sweet smile before kneeling down to cleanse the dried blood and dirt from her kneecap. Elaine winced with pain while the nurse swabbed the wound with a cotton applicator dipped in antiseptic. "I know it's hard not to hate someone who's been mean to us," the nurse said, "but you must try, Elaine. There are a whole lot of mean, hateful people in this world. That's why we have to give God our hurt. We need to ask Him to help us forgive those who are mean to us."
Elaine sniffed once more before remarking, "My brother Jimmy says there is no God."
The nurse raised a brown eyebrow and shook her head. Long fingers, with nails painted a cherry red, snapped shut the lid to the antiseptic bottle with resolve. "Your brother's wrong, Elaine. I know for a fact there is a God watching over us, and He loves us very much."
Elaine pressed her nose against the glass pane of the bus window that afternoon, pondering the nurse's words. Not long ago, her older brother Jimmy announced at the supper table that he had become an atheist. Mom and Dad took one look at their eldest son, shrugged their shoulders, and continued eating. Neither parent attended church. Once in a while they sent Elaine to a nearby church to get her some Sunday schooling, but that was all. Religion never played an important role within the family unit. Both parents worked long, hard hours as simple factory workers, trying to make ends meet with the skimpy paychecks they brought home each week. Elaine wondered then if the nurse's words could possibly be true -- that a God really did live somewhere up in the blue skies, and He loved her despite the treatment given to her by David Edwards.
A wad of something sticky suddenly hit Elaine in the arm. To her disgust, she picked off a damp spitball. Glancing behind her on the bus, she found David Edwards, a sardonic smile spread across his face, holding up a straw. Before she could bat an eye, David blew into the tube, sending another spitball hurling into her face. This time the wad of paper stuck fast to her glasses, creating an ugly smear when she tried to remove the sticky ball with a flick of her fingernail.
The children around Elaine poked each other in the ribs and laughed. She knew they were glad David picked on her instead of them. No one had the nerve to stand up to him, with his parents so rich and popular. Finally the bus came to Elaine's stop. She left the bus to the laughter of David drifting out the window above her, along with a silly song about her glasses:
"Four eyes...four eyes...ugly little girl...watch her cry!"
Elaine bit her lip to stifle a cry and walked slowly down the sidewalk to the shabby brown house her family rented. She viewed the dangling shutters, the cracked glass pane broken by Jimmy's baseball, and the paint peeling off the porch. The children in her class all said that David lived in a mansion. Elaine often wondered what his mansion looked like. Many times she saw pictures of the big White House on television where the President of the United States lived. Did David's house look like that? Did it have huge pillars and lovely fountains in the front yard that sprayed water high into the air?
Elaine withdrew the house key from her book bag and slowly unlocked the door. Inside the dwelling, a musty odor greeted her. She sneezed and wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes. Within an interior wall, she could hear water dripping from a leaky pipe. The landlord had promised numerous times to fix it, but had yet to fulfill his word. Elaine went to the refrigerator to paw through the contents for something to eat, finally settling on a piece of cheese. The house was quiet and lonely but for the cuckoo clock ticking away in the family room. Elaine loved the old clock, an heirloom given to the family by her grandmother. Every hour the cuckoo bird would bounce out the door, flap a tiny pair of wings, and cry, "Cuckoo, Cuckoo!" with gusto. Elaine could not help but smile when the cheery bird came to greet her like a faithful friend.
Her knee began to throb from the painful cut and the bandage that pulled at the tender skin. After eating her cheese, Elaine examined her injured leg. I don't care what that nice nurse says. I hate David Edwards. God understands why I hate him.
Elaine's mother and father came home late that evening, tired and cross from their long hours at the factory. Mom stared at Elaine's wounds and broken glasses before telling her that she needed to be more careful.
"It wasn't my fault, Mom," Elaine try to explain. "It was David Edwards and he..."
"You just stay away from him. We don't need problems with the Edwards family. They have a lot of money, you know, and money talks around this town." Mom produced some transparent tape and mended the broken stem together as best she could. "This will have to do for now. We just can't afford new glasses."
Elaine felt strange wearing the glasses with a noticeable lump of tape on the side of her head. Her classmates were certain to ridicule her the following morning, with David leading the charge. That night as she lay in bed, she again thought about the nurse's words. She decided to talk to this unseen God, whoever He might be. She screwed her eyes shut and began praying. "Dear God, please do something about David. Make him stop teasing me. And please, can I have some new glasses?"
Spring, 1992
Fifteen-year-old Elaine Reynolds sprinted for the locker room, realizing she was already a half-hour late for track practice. She tried not to think about the earlier discussion with her math teacher, Mr. Miller, and how he reprimanded her for missing the homework assignment. His pointed nose and sharp eyes glared at her while his fingertips rapped on the desk.
"You will have a difficult time passing my class if this continues, Miss Reynolds."
Elaine tried to explain there was no time for homework, with her father confined to a wheelchair on account of a back injury he suffered a year ago, and the long hours her mother spent working to make ends meet. There was no one to clean the house and cook the meals.
Mr. Miller only raised an eyebrow. "If that's so, Miss Reynolds, then perhaps you would do better to quit the school's track team and concentrate on work that might further your education."
Elaine listened to the scolding with her head bent and her fingers intertwined. In her heart, she knew she could never quit the track team. Running was the thrill of her life. She enjoyed the sensation of the wind caressing her face while her feet propelled her down the all-weather track. The camaraderie of her teammates helped her forget a depressing life beset with an overworked mother and a handicapped father.
When Mr. Miller finally dismissed her, Elaine glanced at the clock and raced to the lockers. She arrived breathless to find the rest of the track team filing out of the locker room, ready for timed races out on the track. The coach gave her a withered look while her friend, Kathy Cleary, gave a reassuring smile that eased her anxiety. Elaine trusted Kathy to come to her defense if the coach offered further rebuke at her tardiness.
Elaine hurried into a pair of shorts and a wrinkled T-shirt that once belonged to Jimmy. As she slipped on the shirt that portrayed a guy surfing the waves off the coast of Hawaii, she thought about her older brother. Jimmy was now in the army, stationed in Kansas, and rarely came home for a visit. Even after Dad's accident at the factory that left him paralyzed from the waist down, Jimmy did not come home to be with the family. Elaine often wondered what sparked the resentment within her older brother. Sometimes she would hear Mom on her knees in the bedroom, asking God to help her wayward son. Mom had turned religious shortly after Dad's accident and often quoted Scriptures from the Bible. Many times she encouraged Elaine to read the Bible. Elaine retorted that she was too busy. She had no interest in reading a long, boring book that made little sense. Sometimes she wondered if there really was a God that loved her as the nurse in grade school once said. At this point in her life, God seemed as far away as the Milky Way Galaxy. Perhaps she would do better to consider atheism, like Jimmy, who stated unequivocally that no God existed.
Racing up the hill toward the track, Elaine did not notice a young man carrying a hurdle until he bounced up behind her with quick strides of his powerful legs. She heard a sneer in her ear and knew the sound belonged to none other that David Edwards. He was tall, lean, and muscular in his athletic shorts and sleeveless jersey. His thick, wavy hair and dark brown eyes were the rave of all the high school girls who eagerly sought dates with him. He performed well in track on the intermediate hurdles, leading the boys' team to many victories against their rival schools.
"So you're still on the track team?" David jibed to Elaine, acknowledging her stocky build. "With legs like that, I can't believe you could get yourself down the track."
Elaine bit her lip and tried her best to ignore him. With a quick glance at her legs, she had to admit they were not very pretty. Despite the rigorous training involved with track, she had lost little of the heaviness from her younger years. Her thighs still appeared like tree stumps protruding from beneath the shorts. Elaine pushed her glasses up her nose and set her sights on the girls' team, assembled on the bleachers for a pep talk by the coach.
"Maybe they'll make a new race in the track meets this year," David continued. "The turtle run. You know the story -- tortoise beats the hare. That's one way to win, huh?" He laughed boisterously at his wit.
Elaine took to her feet and raced up the hill, joining her friend Kathy on the bleachers. Hot, raw tears burned her eyes. Her heart festered with the renewed bitterness that had not dissipated over the years. I hate David.
Kathy noticed her distress and whispered, "David again?"
Elaine nodded, wiping away the tears of humiliation from her face.
"He's all wind and no brains. Just ignore him. He wants attention, you know."
Elaine nodded, trying to clear her thoughts and concentrate her attention on the coach who held up a new set of professional running blocks, explaining how to use them. Yet David's ridicule repeated over and over in her mind, replacing her confidence with uncertainty.
"Go! Go!" cheered the crowd from the bleachers. "C'mon, Elaine, you can do it! Go! Pour it on!"
Elaine raced down the all-weather track as fast as her legs would allow. Her heart pounded wildly in her ears. Her legs seized into painful knots, her lungs ready to explode, but she ignored the physical protest of her body. In her hand she clutched the aluminum baton while she kept her sights focused on the finish line. Just behind her was the sound of cleats pounding the hard ground, and the loud panting of her competitor. You could be a hero, Elaine, urged her conscience. Run...run like the wind! Win this one race and everyone will love you! Faster and faster she pushed herself, hearing the crazed screams of her teammates in the background. She knew if she did not win this relay, her team would lose the meet and possibly the championship itself. Elaine leaned into the race, straining hard, bursting through the "wall" -- the second wind achieved by a runner during an arduous run. Her legs began to burn in response.
To her dismay, the girl from the other school soon caught up and now ran directly beside her. They were stride for stride down the narrow lanes of the track as they rounded the last corner and headed for the homestretch. Elaine closed her eyes, leaned backwards, and raced to the finish line. At the end, her legs wobbled like mounds of gelatin. She collapsed onto the grass, gasping frantically for oxygen. Kathy came to offer her a hug of consolation. After Elaine caught her breath, Kathy informed her the competition had won by the width of a hair. Their team lost the track meet by one point.
Elaine clutched her friend's arm. "N-no," she sputtered in aghast, "tell me it didn't happen, Kathy!"
Kathy shook her head. Her ponytail swished back and forth. "The coach was furious, Elaine. She said if you'd only leaned into the tape, you would've beaten that girl."
Elaine hung her head in shame. She had lost the most important race of her life, and consequently, the meet as well. Great sobs filled her throat, yet she could not bring herself to cry in front of her teammates. On the other side of the all-weather track, Elaine discerned the faint noises of celebration. The boys' track team heralded the feat of David Edwards and his spectacular finish in the intermediate hurdles where he smashed the school record. The teammates carried David proudly on their shoulders while they marched across the field in victory. The guys celebrated a triumphant season while Elaine mourned her loss and that of her team. Elaine rose to her feet and kicked her cleat into the ground, digging up a hunk of sod. Life didn't seem fair at all.
Afterward as she was preparing to leave the school grounds for home, a loud whistle pierced the air. She whirled to find David waving at her. In a loud voice for all to hear, he said, "If only you'd had the right kind of girlish figure, Reynolds, you might have won. Too bad. Better luck next time."
The students eyed Elaine in amusement and chuckled amongst themselves. Elaine's face burned with humiliation. She kept her face averted with her eyes focused on the ground. The gym bag she carried suddenly became heavy on her shoulder, as if it were filled with bricks. Hatred filled her at the thought of the tall, dark-haired David and his wicked grin, paraded around on the shoulders of his classmates.
A few weeks later, after the horror of sports competition was completed, Elaine suffered through an awards ceremony for both girls and boys' varsity track teams. David Edwards received three plaques and a standing ovation for his performance. Elaine only received a paper certificate thanking her for her participation. She promptly threw the piece of paper in the trash, locked herself in her bedroom, and listened through headphones to cassette tapes of her favorite artists. Often she buried her troubles in music, yet this night, trapped behind a wall of bitterness, even the music did not soothe her soul. Elaine wondered how a guy like David could be so successful in life while she must bear the humiliation of defeat. Life did not seem fair at all. Elaine rolled onto her back and shut her eyes. Jimmy must be right. No God existed in this universe. If He did, He only helped important people like David Edwards, and ignored the peons in life, like her.
The shrill of the phone interrupted her moodiness. Elaine reached over to pick it up. Kathy's giggling met her ears when she expressed excitement over receiving an invitation to the senior prom. Elaine immediately sat up on the edge of the bed.
"Who's the lucky guy," she asked.
Kathy hesitated for the longest time. "Oh, it's nobody important. I just thought maybe you and I could go shopping at the mall Saturday and pick out a dress. Treat you to a banana split afterwards."
Elaine decided that sounded like a cool idea, yet she could not contain her curiosity over the identity of the guy asking her best friend to the prom. Since their grade school days, the two girls shared their dreams with one another. Elaine was thankful for Kathy who proved herself a devout friend through all the turmoil in her life.
"So are you gonna tell me who this guy is or not?" Elaine pressed.
"It's no big deal, really. He's just one of the guys."
"Kathy, c'mon! A guy asks my best friend to the prom and now you won't even tell me who he is? I'm dying to know."
Her friend exhaled a loud sigh on the other end of the line. "I'm afraid you'll be mad at me if I tell you."
Elaine laughed. "Mad at you? Of course I won't. Who is it...Kyle?"
"Mr. Professor who always knows the right answer in class? Are you kidding? Ugh!"
"Then who?"
Another pause interrupted the conversation. "Okay, I'll tell you if you promise not to hang up the phone on me."
"Silly. Of course not." Elaine stretched her legs comfortably on the bed.
"David asked me."
Elaine felt as if a plank board had been slapped across her face. Every muscle in her body tensed. Her hand clenched the receiver to the phone as she bolted to her feet. "No way! You've got to be kidding."
"No joke. He...uh, he called me last night."
"You mean you've known since last night and you didn't tell me? Not even when we sat together at the awards banquet and everything?"
"Listen Elaine, I knew you'd be upset if I told you, so..."
"You're right I'm upset!" Elaine interrupted. "You can't possibly go to the prom with him. He's a jerk!"
"To you he is, but to lots of girls, he's Mr. Gorgeous with a capital G. He's the most popular guy in the school. Half the girls in the senior class would fall over backwards for a chance to have Mr. G escort them to the senior prom. This is such an opportunity, I couldn't say no."
Elaine trembled with rage. She plunked herself on the bed. "Yeah, you couldn't say no to the most popular, know-it-all, Mr. Snob. I thought our friendship was more important than a date with someone like David. Now I see that it isn't." Elaine tossed the phone on the hook and rolled over on her stomach. Her glasses fogged up with the rage coursing through her. She buried her face into the feather pillow. "Thanks a lot, God. Once again you send disappointment my way. Now I see whose side you're on, and it sure isn't mine."
Elaine's relationship with Kathy Cleary deteriorated rapidly over the course of the next several weeks leading up to the senior prom. Her ex-friend found it much more interesting to hang out with David and his close-knit circle of companions. One day to Elaine's amazement, a soft-spoken guy named Mark Ryan pulled her aside in the hallway and asked her to the prom. Mark often sat next to her in several of the classes they shared. Elaine was overjoyed over the invitation that infused hope into her disappointing life.
When Elaine asked her mother for money to buy a fancy new dress, Mom shook her head. "There's no money to spend on such frivolous things," she explained. Disappointment filled Elaine. "But now that I think about it, there is a gown you're just going to love."
That afternoon, a dubious Elaine followed Mom up the rickety ladder to the attic. Cobwebs were suspended between the rafters. Dustballs and mouse droppings lay in small mounds on the wooden flooring. Mom knelt beside a rusty hinged trunk and fumbled for the fastener. Beneath a variety of old clothes lay a pink taffeta gown, lined with crinoline and pink netting, belonging to her when she was a young woman. Elaine tried her best to look interested, but inside she felt like dying on the spot. Mom can't expect me to wear that thing to the senior prom! I'll be the laughingstock of the entire Senior Class.
Mom did not notice the twitches creasing Elaine's face, but held the wrinkled satin up to her shoulders to check it for length. "This should do just fine. Thank the Lord I held onto it. I never thought it would be worn again."
Elaine inhaled a deep breath, trying to work up the courage to tell her that the gown was too old-fashioned and that she would be laughed right out of the ballroom. Instead, the happy expression lighting Mom's face sealed her lips shut. She followed Mom meekly down the ladder and into the living room where Dad sat in his wheelchair, watching television.
Mom held up the gown for his inspection. "Remember this, Al?"
Al Reynolds glanced up from his wheelchair and smiled. His whole outlook on life had improved greatly since Mom convinced him to go to church with her on Sundays. He clung to a hope, as she did, that one day he would walk again. "Sure I do, Crystal. You were the prettiest girl I ever did see."
"Elaine's going to wear it to the prom." Mom accompanied the announcement with a bright smile flashed in Elaine's direction.
Elaine weakly returned the smile, thinking of the fancy gowns the other girls were buying for the premier engagement of high school. Most spoke of wearing tight-fitting black or red satin gowns with slits running up the leg, and long gloves to match. Clad in her mother's dress, Elaine feared she would look like the rendition of a fairy from an old Disney cartoon.
Mom set to work fixing a tear in the sleeve, then urged Elaine to try it on. As Elaine studied her reflection in the mirror, she decided the dress wasn't too bad once she got used to the color and the itchy lining underneath. She hoped Mark would like it.
Elaine ate little the day of the prom. Instead she paced nervously in her room, staring at the pink taffeta dress hanging from the door. Mom spent an hour digging through her closet that morning until she found a pair of pink ballerina slippers that matched. "Now all I need is a magic wand," Elaine groaned, but tried to make the best of the situation. She knew there was no extra money to buy anything fancy, with most of the family's finances going toward her father's care and paying for basic necessities.
That evening, Elaine bathed carefully, applied some of her mother's makeup, especially cover-up to hide the newest set of pimples adorning her face, then dressed in the taffeta. The dress made a crinkle sound like wrapping paper when she moved. Elaine hoped the loud music would drown out the noise.
Mark arrived right on schedule that evening. He appeared distinguished, dressed in a black tuxedo and bow tie with his brown hair slicked back. Elaine winced at the sound her dress made when they strolled to the car. He held open the door of his father's old Chevrolet while she maneuvered her ancient nylon dress into the front seat. To her relief, Mark made no mention of the noise or the age of the dress. Instead they conversed about their classes and their plans after high school graduation. Mark told her he had already been accepted to a nearby community college. Elaine doubted she could afford college, but said she would find a job to help support her family.
When they arrived at the Main Street Hotel, Elaine felt her heart skip a beat. She watched the girls dressed in elegant gowns, holding onto their partners' elbows while ascending the staircase into the hotel. Elaine cringed at the noise of her dress when she rose out of the car, and shifted her attention to the arm Mark offered her. The palms of her hands grew sweaty. They climbed the mountain of stairs and entered the lobby. Mirrored walls inside gave the appearance that a thousand people were in attendance. The noise of conversation was deafening. Guys in their tuxedos and girls in long satin dresses sipped silver cups of punch while they jabbered away in small groups. Mark left Elaine to fetch a cup of red punch from a flowing fountain. She stood off to one side, her hands folded before her, trying not to garner too much attention. The crinoline lining beneath her dress began itching like crazy. It took all her fortitude not to lift her skirt and scratch. At that moment, Elaine heard a familiar voice call her name. Kathy came over and gave her a hug as if nothing was wrong between them. She wore a long, tight-fitting, black silk gown that accentuated her trim figure, high heels, dark hose, and dangle earrings. Behind her, grinning from ear to ear, stood David, dressed in black tails and wearing a top hat. He even possessed a gold pocket watch inside the breast pocket of the coat with the linked chain clearly visible. Elaine thought she would die under his amused look. She knew he wanted to offer some crude remark, but he kept his silence.
"What a neat dress, Elaine," Kathy commented, stepping back to survey her outfit. "I always thought pink looked good on you. Where did you get it?"
Elaine flushed dark red. David cupped a hand over his mouth to stifle the word, Salvation Army. Trembling with humiliation, Elaine admitted it was her mother's dress when she was young. She added stiffly, "You know with my dad's accident, we don't have the money to buy fancy things, Kathy."
"Oh sure...that's right." Kathy appeared flustered. "Guess I'll see you around tonight."
Elaine watched the fine couple make their way to the ballroom. Everywhere she looked, classmates were coming over to greet Kathy and David. The picture of them, flocked by admirers and laughing loudly, sent a jealous streak racing through her. Why can't I be popular like that? Why did I have to be born with a pug nose, pimples, bad eyes, and a figure like a mule?
She never heard Mark's voice calling for her until he nudged her elbow and held the cup of punch in front of her nose. "Oh, thanks Mark."
Mark sipped his beverage, eyeing her as she continued to stare at Kathy and David. "You know Elaine, clothes and status don't make the person."
Startled, Elaine whirled about. "Huh? What did you say?"
"I said, clothes and status don't make the person. I think it's much better to have a good outlook on life and have good friends."
Elaine couldn't help but nod in agreement while studying the serious expression on his lean face. Mark had been voted the class dork in the latest edition of the class yearbook, but Elaine could not detect the slightest thing dorky about him. In fact, he appeared quite handsome in his tuxedo with a pink bow tie to match the color of her dress. His face boasted a small nose sprinkled with freckles and a dimple on his chin. His light brown hair glistened in the lights. Her heart burned with resentment at David's suggestion that the thoughtful, quiet, and handsome Mark be cast with the title of class dork. Yet everyone sided with David, for no one had the nerve to stand up to him. One day in school, David noticed Mark in a pair of pants a bit too short for his lanky build, exposing his white athletic socks with red rims, and a pair of cheap black loafers. David scrounged around until he found an accomplice with a camera to snap Mark's picture. In the final edition of the yearbook, the picture of Mark in his short pants was plastered over a third of the page, along with other class personalities including most popular (David) and most athletic (David). At the time the yearbook came out, Elaine was thankful she hadn't been chosen the class dork. Now she felt sorry for Mark and the way he had been treated.
The music started up with the beat of the bass that rattled the lobby mirrors. Everyone filed into the ballroom and began dancing away to the latest tunes played by the disc jockey. Above the roar of the music Elaine could barely hear Mark's voice, asking if she cared to dance. Elaine nodded in eagerness to be a part of the throng. To her dismay, the nylon dress she wore rattled like a kitten entangled in paper. Couples dancing nearby began to point and giggle. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Finally she pulled Mark aside and suggested they sit out the dances.
For a better part of the evening Elaine enjoyed long talks with him over plates of hors-d'oeuvres that Mark obtained from the banquet table. Just as she was finishing a delectable cracker spread with sharp cheese, the disc jockey's voice spilled across the room, announcing a prize for the best-dressed couple. In a matter of moments, David and Kathy were presented with a handsome plaque to the boisterous applause scattered throughout the ballroom. Afterward David stepped forward to the microphone, removed his top hat, and performed a regal bow.
"Thank you, thank you," he told his admirers who flocked around the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to propose that a new award be given out at this year's prom."
"New award?" the classmates wondered amongst themselves. They elbowed each other and whispered, curious to know what David had in mind.
A tremor shot through Elaine when she heard the announcement. Intuition warned her that something terrible was about to happen. She drained her punch, then told Mark she had to leave.
"Are you sick?" Mark asked when the sound system interrupted him.
David cleared his throat and continued. "I propose we make another official award at the senior prom -- an award going to the worst-dressed couple."
Elaine met David's dark, mischievous eyes and saw the wicked smile spreading slowly across his face. A lump filled her throat. She rose to her feet, ignoring the rustle of her dress, and tugged on Mark's arm. "Please, we have to leave now."
David then announced, with a chortle buried in his vocal chords, "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, and this prestigious award goes to none other than Elaine Reynolds in her mama's old wrapping paper gown, and our own class dork, Mark Ryan! Don't they make a fine couple? Give them a hand everyone!"
Elaine closed her eyes and trembled. All around her, the laughter roared in her ears, accompanied by a loud applause. She bolted from the hotel through a nearby exit and hurried down the sidewalk, away from the music and laughter that made her nauseous. She plopped herself down on the curb and buried her head in her arms, crying until there were no more tears left to shed.
Mark soon found her and sat down. He offered her his hand in comfort, but she pushed the hand away. "Just leave me alone. I'm sure you don't want to be seen with someone wearing wrapping paper." She buried her head once more in her arms, wishing she could fly away from the pain of the night.
A warm hand came calling on her clammy arm. "Elaine, I already told you that clothes don't matter to me. I think you're a really neat person. In fact you don't know this..." He bent his head sheepishly to stare at the metal drain in the road beneath their feet. "I used to scan the school newspaper, wondering how you did in each of the track meets. I thought a lot about you and prayed for you, too."
Silence enveloped the meeting but for the water gurgling in the underground drainage system. Elaine's tear-stained face rose to meet his serious expression. You prayed for me?
Mark cleared his throat before continuing. "Sometimes I would try to get a seat next to you in a few of the classes we shared. I knew you liked to hang out with Kathy Cleary and she was starting to get popular. I didn't know if you'd even want to be seen with a guy like me."
Elaine held her breath. All this time, Mark had been interested in her -- Elaine with the flabby thighs, stringy brown hair, pimples, and glasses? Her entire being glowed with pleasure. How good it felt to be noticed, and by a guy at that.
Mark slid his fingers down her arm until he found her hand. "I was really glad you decided to come to the prom with me. All the guys said no girl would want to go with me." With a grin he added, "You proved them all wrong."
Elaine smiled shyly, hoping he wouldn't notice her hand trembling in his. "I'm glad I came too," she admitted, "despite this old dress and David spelled with a capital J for jerk. I wish someone would bust him good. One day he's gonna get it and I hope I'm there to see it all."
"Forget about him. David's only interested in himself. Once he sees how empty life can be, making other people miserable, he'll come around."
Elaine nodded. They continued to talk about their families. Elaine discovered Mark was the oldest of seven children who often raced home after school to care for his younger siblings. Elaine admired such an attribute in a young man who cared about his family. Her heart skipped a beat when she wondered what it would be like to marry someone like Mark Ryan.
They decided to leave the hotel before the prom officially ended. Once in front of her house, Elaine felt goosebumps rise up on her skin while Mark sat in the driver's seat, staring at the steering wheel. Finally she said, "Despite what happened with that award thing and all, I had a really nice time."
"I did, too." He glanced up, his eyes locked on hers. Moonlight drifted through the windows, casting a white sheen across their faces. Before Elaine realized what was happening, Mark leaned over and kissed her on the lips. He then jumped out of the car to open her door.
Elaine sat in stunned silence. Never in her wildest imagination did she expect a kiss from a guy. He escorted her to the front door where Mom stood anxiously waiting. Elaine turned to tell Mark good-bye, but he had already dashed back to his car.
He's just as bashful as I am! Elaine thought, watching him drive away. Despite the taffeta gown and the night's humiliation, Elaine felt as if she were floating on a cloud.
Mom observed the dreamy expression with a smile. "Guess you had a good time?"
"It was heavenly!"
Elaine's hopes and dreams surrounding her new boyfriend disintegrated a mere two weeks after the prom. The telephone shrilled one evening. On the other end was Kathy, her voice cracking with emotion.
"Elaine...I-I don't know how to tell you this," she faltered, drawing in deep breath. "Oh wow, this is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. But you have to know. David just called me...he heard...he heard Mark Ryan was killed tonight. He was hit by a car while walking home."
Elaine sat quietly for a moment before she burst out laughing. "No way." She recalled the sweet encounter with Mark in school earlier that day. They had kissed behind the open door of the locker to avoid the curious stares of their fellow classmates. He told her he loved her with all his heart and Elaine said she loved him too.
"I'm serious, Elaine. It's probably all over the news bulletins by now. There's going to be a memorial for him tomorrow in the auditorium. I thought you'd want to be there." The phone clicked, replaced by a dial tone that filled in her ears.
Elaine sat on her bed with the buzzing receiver clutched in one hand. Tears sprang in her eyes. It can't be true...it just can't. I just saw him in school today...sweet, caring, and he said he loved me.
At that moment, Mom rushed into the room with her arms outstretched. "Oh, my poor Elaine. I-I just heard on the news that..."
Elaine's teeth chattered with the cold reality. "Mark's dead."
The school auditorium was literally bursting at the seams with a capacity crowd of students, eager to share in their memories of Mark Ryan. Several teachers led an invocation, then the students were allowed time at the microphone to express their feelings concerning the tragic death of their fellow classmate. Elaine sat in her seat, her knees knocking together. Everyone knew she and Mark were an item before he died, and no doubt everyone expected her to make a statement. A few rows down from Elaine sat David with his arm dangling around Kathy. At a break in the speeches, David jumped to his feet and raced up to the microphone, eager to share a few words. David cleared his throat and spoke of Mark's intelligence and his kindness to others. Elaine clenched her fists at his sugarcoated monologue. She knew he did not care one bit about Mark Ryan. Like her, Mark Ryan was only an outlet for David's unending persecution and ridicule. Watching his outgoing demeanor on the stage before her, Elaine burned with hate. What good could David do for a guy he painted as the class dork? Why did nasty David Edwards live while a good-hearted guy like Mark Ryan had to die?
Suddenly Elaine burst to her feet and charged the stage.
"You -- hypocrite! She yelled at the top of her voice. "You didn't care a thing about Mark!" She ignored the teachers who gathered around her, trying to calm her tirade. "All you ever cared about was making people miserable. You labeled Mark the class dork when he was the kindest, sweetest person in this school. Maybe you'd do better to follow his example." She turned and faced the shock audience before her. "Maybe we all would!"
The teachers ushered the distraught Elaine from the auditorium. A hush fell over the assembly. Before leaving the stage, she glanced over her shoulder to find David frozen in place, dumbfounded by the accusation. Without another word, he turned and retreated to the rear of the stage; his hands stuffed deep inside the pockets of his designer jeans.
Spring, 2000
After the harsh winter, Elaine welcomed the season of spring and the sight of new plants emerging from the cold ground. First the tiny leaves unfolded like the wings of a moth. After the leaves reached maturity, the stems put forth their buds. In a matter of days, flowers opened their colored petals to embrace the warm sunshine. Flowery displays greeted her everywhere she went. The azaleas were in full bloom, along with the cherry and dogwood trees. Birds chirped merrily from nearby branches and high atop the power lines. Elaine walked briskly down the sidewalk, pausing to admire the houses landscaped with a variety of blooming plants. After a cold winter marked by lifelessness, spring ushered in new life. Enriched with beauty, song, and scent, spring brought forth signs of hope to Elaine -- hope that somehow, the bleak uncertainty surrounding her life would change.
Heading for the town cemetery, her heart reflected over the gentle Mark Ryan, her first and only boyfriend in high school, and his tragic death when a car struck him back in 1991. Near Mark's plot rested her older brother, Jimmy, killed in a military training accident in 1993. Almost eight years her senior, Elaine never really understood Jimmy. She knew he was depressed about his life and blamed others for his problems. He had delved heavily into drugs and drinking. Army life gave Jimmy character and purpose until a routine mission went awry. The plane he rode in collided with an army helicopter, killing all on board. Jimmy's death dealt a hard blow to Elaine's parents. Beneath a drape of dark clouds that dreary winter's day, the grieving family gathered around Jimmy's coffin to whisper farewell. Elaine held her mother close to her during the funeral while her father sat in his wheelchair, his eyes red from weeping.
Elaine paused in her walk, grateful to have discovered the love of God after the wounds she suffered in her life. One Wednesday night, she stumbled upon a church in an old building down on Main Street. The cheery music from the building beckoned her. With nothing else to do, Elaine wandered in and was immediately greeted by smiling faces asking her name. The love of God radiating in the congregation eased the painful memories of her childhood and the deaths of those closest to her. Within this place, she found the strength sufficient to bear the heavy burdens of her heart.
Elaine now walked past the numerous tombstones in the large cemetery of those laid to eternal rest until she came to the familiar one of Mark Ryan's, nestled beneath the branches of a large oak tree. She liked the angels carved into the face of the shiny marble, and the words inscribed underneath. Our kind, devoted son. "Mark was all that and more," Elaine agreed, sitting down beside the stone. Pansies bloomed in a pot she had arranged nearly a month ago. After all these years, she still sensed a bond with the young man cut down so early in life. She knew she would always be grateful for the first and only friend who loved her for who she was.
Running a finger across the stone, Elaine told Mark how she planned to give up the waitressing job at the pizzeria place in search of more permanent employment. While she spoke, a bird perched on the tree limb above and sang a comforting song. Elaine rested her head against the hard, cold marble. "I love you so much, Mark, even though it's been nearly eight years since you died. I know we would've gotten married one day. But I guess there isn't anything better than heaven, huh?" She wiped a stray tear from her cheek and glanced up, only to find a man standing in the distance, watching her. Elaine straightened and squinted to see better. The man was tall in stature, with dark hair and a set of trimmed whiskers. When Elaine stood to her feet, the figure wheeled on one foot and vanished from sight.
Furrows lined her forehead, wondering who the stranger might have been. She turned back to Mark's grave to offer a good-bye before moving on to her brother's simple marker.
Elaine brushed out her long, brown hair with determined strokes, then stared at her appearance in the mirror. She was thankful there were no new pimple eruptions on her face, even though she still wore the annoying glasses that constantly slid down her nose. Some in her church suggested she try contacts, but Elaine decided against it. Having worn spectacles all her life, Elaine remained convinced that the adjustment of contacts would prove too much of a disruption in her life. She stared at her figure sideways in the mirror, noticing how she had changed from a pudgy teenager with rounded thighs to a slender, proportioned figure of a woman. If only she could convince herself that she was attractive, it might help restore the confidence she still lacked. Elaine picked up her purse and hastened out the door, knowing her employer, Al Kranston, would be angry if she showed up late.
As she walked down the sidewalk to her job, Elaine pondered her life and the lives of those she knew back in high school. Many had left for college soon after graduation, never to return to the town of Charleton. Kathy Cleary found employment as a fashion designer in New York City. David Edwards attended college and worked somewhere out of state, despite the fact that his wealthy father, Clyde Edwards, head of a successful on-line warehouse selling stereo and computer components, was set to open a new outlet center on the outskirts of town. Elaine had seen the advertisement in the newspaper for positions in the store, and noticed they offered benefits. In anticipation of securing a better job, Elaine set up an interview for next month. She disliked the idea of working for the Edwards family, but knew the income would help pay the bills.
Arriving at Kranston's Tavern that served up the town's best pizza, Elaine was greeted by her coworker, Wanda Hardin, who bustled about serving customers. The owner, Al, was already up to his elbows in flour, working with the yeasty pizza dough, when he spotted Elaine's arrival through an open window leading to the kitchen. "We've got a party of seven coming in, Elaine," he yelled at her. "Go arrange the tables, will you? You're assigned that crew, plus section A."
Elaine frowned as she tied on an apron and tucked an order pad in her pocket. She hated working with large numbers of people who proved over-demanding, requested separate checks, and rarely tipped well for the services rendered. Wanda gave Elaine a sympathetic look while refilling two glasses with iced tea from a machine.
"Guess that's what happens when you come in before me," Elaine grunted to Wanda while moving two tables together.
"If I get a chance, I'll help you."
Elaine smiled at the petite woman dressed in jeans, a peach knit shirt, and short apron. Strands of red hair were pulled tightly behind her head and held in place by a headband. Elaine placed chairs around the table and checked that each seat had a placemat, silverware, and glass waiting to be filled with ice water. She then scurried off to collect her first order from a couple who had taken seats in a nearby booth.
The party of seven sauntered into the establishment around eight that night, a bit intoxicated from happy hour at a nearby bar. To her dismay, she noticed the rowdy party consisted of seven young men in their early twenties. Elaine cringed at the smell of liquor mixed with aftershave, but put on her best smile while presenting them each with a menu.
While the men jabbered away in loud voices, Wanda bustled over to ask if she needed any help. Elaine inhaled a deep breath and surveyed the group in apprehension. "I don't know, Wanda. Some of those guys are drunk."
"I'll let Al know. You need any help now, you just ask."
Elaine nodded, retrieved her pad from her apron pocket, and asked the men for their orders. To her relief, they fired off a series of easy selections -- five pizzas loaded with everything and three pitchers of beer. Elaine scribbled down the information, then picked up the menus. As she did, her eyes fell on the features of a man occupying the seat at the far end of the table. He had dark hair, brown eyes, and a trimmed beard, similar in appearance to the stranger she had seen earlier that day in the cemetery. He winked and smiled at her. Flustered by his attention, Elaine hurried away to fill the orders.
"Something wrong?" Wanda asked when she noticed Elaine's crimson face and trembling fingers.
"Yes...no, I don't know yet," Elaine mumbled in confusion. She shook her head. "Look, can you give me a hand when those pizzas are ready, Wanda?"
"Sure, no problem."
The night wore on. To Elaine's relief, the men appeared more interested in their own fellowship rather than pestering her, to which she was grateful. Yet it concerned her to see how much beer they were drinking. She did not relish the thought of an encounter with drunken men who had lost their sensibility under the influence of alcohol. After filling a third round, she mentioned the fact to the owner, Al.
Al shrugged unconcernedly. "Hey, so long as they don't go bustin' up my place and they're paying good money, they can drink till the dam runs dry."
Elaine sighed, thankful she would soon be out of this place if the interview at the outlet store went well. She brought the refilled pitchers to the table when one of the men asked her name. "I'm Elaine," she responded.
"Elaine...?"
"Elaine Reynolds."
His eyes widened and he turned to exchange glances with the bearded man at the head of the table. "Hey David, you were right. She is Elaine Reynolds from high school."
Instantly Elaine felt faint. When her eyes focused on the man with the beard, she recognized the mischievous smile poised on his lips and the twinkle in his eye. Oh no! That man at the head of the table is David Edwards? My night's ruined! He'll embarrass me in front of his friends. What am I going to do? Elaine fled to the soda machines were Wanda stood filling an order. She grabbed her by the arm. "Wanda, you've got to take that table of guys over there. I'll do all your people and even give you the tips, but I just can't wait on them anymore."
"What's gotten into you, girl?" Wanda asked. "Have they been making passes at you or something?"
Elaine gave her coworker the shortened version of the sordid details involving David Edwards from her earlier years. Wanda's attention wandered to the group of men before her gaze centered on Elaine. "You mean to tell me that guy sitting at the end is the son of that wealthy Clyde Edwards -- the one who's made millions with his computer business? He's building a new outlet center in the suburbs. I hear he owns a different Rolex for every day of the week!"
"David -- is -- well he's mean, Wanda. He teased me all the way through school. You wouldn't believe the things he used to do. I-I didn't know he was back in town. I just know he'll do something to embarrass me in front of his friends. He's that way. Please, you've got to do this for me, just this once."
Wanda commented about the great tips she would receive from men in the company of a rich guy like David Edwards and agreed to the exchange. Elaine breathed easier the rest of the night while scurrying to keep up with Wanda's tables. Ever confident with the customers, Wanda soon had the group of men laughing at her playful ways. Elaine watched the exchange in envy, wondering why she lacked the spunk to entertain the patrons like the petite redhead.
Afterwards as the men were leaving, Elaine heard footsteps approach from behind while she cleared a table of soiled plates and cups.
"You've changed from high school," a deep voice remarked.
Elaine whirled to stare face to face with David. His piercing brown eyes surveyed her. Elaine clenched the wet dishrag she held in one hand, praying he would not offer some crude remark. "What about you? Have you changed?"
David shrugged nonchalantly. "You ought to find out one of these days." He thanked her for the service, pressed something folded into her free hand, and left with his friends.
Elaine opened the palm of her hand to find the crumpled face of Benjamin Franklin staring up at her. David had given her a hundred-dollar bill. I don't believe it! Never in her life did she remember holding such a tip, or even a hundred-dollar bill for that matter. Stunned by the gesture, Elaine peeked out the restaurant window, shielded by red checkered curtains. She watched David converse with his friends before loading themselves into their respective cars. He drove away in an expensive red Jaguar that reflected the streetlights overhead. Why did David do such a thing? Was he trying to make up for the past? Or was he just trying to be friendly? Elaine crumpled the hundred-dollar bill in her hand before stuffing it into the pocket of her apron. Whatever the reason, she would have nothing to do with the man. He could give her a million dollars, yet it would never erase the past. In her eyes, David Edwards was responsible for everything wrong in her life.
Elaine felt like skipping all the way to church on a bright Sunday morning, but held herself to a brisk walk. Dressed in a flowing, rose print skirt and soft shirt to match, the colors matched the beautiful spring day. The air was sweet with the fragrance of hyacinth. As far as she was concerned, today was a new day. She pushed aside her vexation at running into David last night to concentrate on the songs she would sing in church and the words that would be shared from the pulpit. Elaine passed the cemetery, then hurried into the business section of town. Dark storefronts greeted her along a deserted sidewalk. Concentrating on the plates of cement walk before her, she never heard her name being called until she glanced up, avoiding a near collision with a familiar face coming from the opposite direction. Elaine squinted in the glare of sunlight reflecting in her glasses to see the roguish smile of David Edwards. He stood dressed in casual trousers and a short sleeve polo that outlined his broad shoulders. The breeze ruffled his wavy dark hair.
"Well if it isn't my pizza maid!" David exclaimed.
Elaine ignored him and tried to scoot by, only to find him stepping in front of her. "Please get out of the way. I'm going to be late."
"What's the rush?"
Elaine held out her Bible like a shield in front of his face.
David nodded. "I see. Going to get a little religion, eh?"
"I'm not going to get anything," Elaine answered in irritation, again trying to sidestep past him. "I happen to be a Christian. I'm going to the Main Street Church, down the street. Now, if you don't mind..."
"The Main Street Church!" David laughed. "I hear they're a bunch of fanatics in that place. They sing and carry on like it's a party or something."
Elaine pressed her lips together, trying not to let her anger get the better of her, especially on Sunday. Instead she responded in a calm voice, "Why don't you come then, seeing as you're the party type?"
At this, David's smile disintegrated into a frown. His hands sunk deeper into the pockets of his trousers. He shifted his feet. "No, I'll let you have the fun." He stepped out of her way, allowing her to pass. "Have a good time."
"I will," she answered over her shoulder.
David knew that Elaine Reynolds harbored nothing but hatred for him. Observing the confident steps she took as she walked towards the church, he felt a pang of jealousy course through him. Why should I be upset over what Elaine Reynolds does with her time? How can she affect me that much? David shook his head and took off across the street in the direction of his red Jaguar parked on the curb -- a college graduation gift from Dad. He punched the button on a remote he held to unlock the doors.
Again his eyes drifted down the street and around the corner where Elaine Reynolds had disappeared. The mere sight of her awakened memories from long ago. Stumbling upon her in the cemetery yesterday, with her head resting on Mark Ryan's tombstone, was like a knife driving into his heart. He did not want to return to this town after finding a haven away from the past, but when his father offered him the managerial position of the new outlet center, David could not refuse. His father depended on him to carry on the family business in the electronics industry, and he, as the only son and heir to the holdings, must fulfill his responsibility.
Now, crossing paths with Elaine at the cemetery and again inside the restaurant was like rubbing salt in old wounds. One day he would have to reveal the secret he had carried since that day nine years ago -- a day he would never forget as long as he lived. The secret would forever bind him to Elaine Reynolds, no matter what he did. David rested his head against the steering wheel. One day everything would spill out, and when it did, the hatred Elaine harbored right now would pale by comparison. Turning the key in the ignition, David was glad Elaine attended church. Perhaps the pastor would speak to her about letting go of the past; then everything would be smooth sailing for them both.
Occasionally David attended the family church where the Edwards family owned their own pew. As large contributors to the church, their name was prominently etched in a gold plate nailed on its fine wood finish. When he was young, his mother would often settle his whimpers during the long service with rolls of candy or a new coloring book. In his teenage years David bowed out of church-going altogether, claiming the services were for those who needed a crutch in life. Mother and Dad still attended, but David made certain he was up and out of the Edwards mansion long before he heard the shower running and people scurrying about, dressing for the services. Sometimes he slipped the maid some extra money to keep her quiet about his early departure before scampering off to hang out with his high school buddies.
During his college years, David slept in Sunday morning after partying away Saturday night until the wee hours of the morning. College was fun in many ways. He used his wealth to bribe others into doing his class work while he spent the day sailing a sunfish on a nearby lake, or cruising around town. He was well liked in college after learning quickly that money talked -- especially when he bought the rounds of beer at the college hangout. Morality and virtue were mottoes of the insane. David indulged in pleasurable times with wine, song, and women like everyone else on campus.
Now as he sat inside his expensive automobile, studying the empty sidewalk, David wondered where all the good times had led him. After a while, the good times did not satisfy the soul, especially when life remained clouded by painful memories that refused to dissipate with time. Pushing his foot on the accelerator, David drove the car around the block and parked across the street before a strip of buildings where the Main Street Church rented space. He pressed a button to lower the window. A refreshing breeze caressed his face. On the breath of wind he heard the beating of drums, accompanied by the strings of an electronic guitar. "It does sound like a party in there," David mumbled, wondering if church could really be as much fun as Elaine claimed. He felt a pang of curiosity rise up within him, but fought the urge and drove on down the street. "No way am I going in there," he retorted stubbornly to the gentle tugging within his heart. "No way."
David drove around the block and up the street until he came to the apartment building where Elaine lived. He sat in his seat, studying every window, wondering which one was hers. Why do you care, David? Here you sit, wondering about a girl left over from high school. "It's more than that," he told himself before allowing his head to fall back against the headrest. "If only I could rewrite the past. If only I could set everything straight." He knew the pain in his heart would never subside until he confronted Elaine with the truth. "Today is not that day," he retorted, stepping on the gas and driving away.
Later that afternoon, Elaine flagged down a taxi and caught a ride to her parents' ranch house nestled on the outskirts of Charleton. Every Sunday night she ate dinner with them and sometimes during the week as well, depending on her work schedule. When Elaine stepped out of the taxi, delicate pink blossoms vibrated like miniature bells on the branches of a cherry tree that her mother had planted several years ago. Strolling up the path to the door, she was thankful her parents were able to find suitable housing after her father's accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. The one level, ranch house, complete with extra wide doorways to accommodate the wheelchair, served them well.
The delicious aroma of dinner greeted Elaine when she stepped inside. Dad sat parked in his wheelchair in the foyer, anticipating her arrival.
"How's my girl?" he asked and gave her a hearty squeeze.
"Just fine, Dad. How about yourself?"
He shrugged before wheeling around and leading her to the kitchen where Mom stood whipping up biscuit batter in a mixing bowl. "As well as can be expected, I suppose."
Mom smiled above the rim of the bowl she held close to her. She set the bowl down on the counter and grabbed Elaine in a warm greeting. "I see you're wearing your birthday skirt."
Elaine twirled around on one foot like a ballerina, allowing the rose print fabric to billow. "I love it, Mom. You know I'm crazy about flowers." She nodded at the front of the house. "Your cherry tree is looking fabulous this year."
Mom smiled at her observation. "The work was worth it. All the flowers have done well this year. They're the prettiest I've seen." She winked. "I think it's a sign from God that the wilderness is about to have new life."
Elaine ran a finger across the countertop. "I hope so, Mom."
Later that evening, Elaine and her mother sat together on the old sofa in the living room and talked at length about her encounter with David. Elaine traced the scar on her knee from the fall as a child when David stole her sweater at the playground. "I just don't understand how he has the nerve to speak to me." She picked up a sofa pillow and hugged it tight.
"Maybe David needs a friendly face in his life right now. The past is over. You need to forgive him, Elaine, and go on."
"How can I forgive someone like that? Look what he's done to me. He's scarred me, abused me, and ridiculed me. Today he called me his pizza maid, of all things." Elaine wriggled her nose at the unsavory title, determined to leave Kranston's Tavern as soon as possible and find a decent job. Never again will she have to endure the embarrassment of serving David and his cronies.
"I know it's hard to forgive someone who's hurt us," Mom said gently. "It's probably the hardest thing we will ever do. But God will help. He will show you the time and the place and give you the strength to do it." Mom gave her an encouraging hug. "Honestly Elaine, you will be so relieved not to be carrying it around." She laughed a bit. "Anger and resentment are like metal weights hanging onto us. What do you think would've happened in a track race back in high school if you were carrying an extra twenty pounds on you?"
Elaine groaned. "Don't remind me. I was told I ran like a turtle anyway." She tossed the sofa pillow onto the couch. "It doesn't matter, Mom. I've tried to let it go. He just brings back so many bad memories -- that I forget to think about the better things in life."
Mom raised her eyebrow while the rhythmic ticking of the cuckoo clock serenaded the silence. The sound that once gave Elaine pleasure as a child now stoked a fire of bitterness within. I can't let this go. God, will I ever be able to let this go?
David stopped the Jaguar at a convenience store, thirsty from his contemplative day and eager to purchase a cold drink to ease his parched throat. Pondering the selections in the refrigerated cases, he finally decided on a soda, and unscrewing the top, took a long, refreshing slug. His stomach complained from the lack of food, but David rebelled against the idea of a hot dog or chips to satisfy the hunger. Striding for the car, he noticed the late hour and remembered the promise to his father that he would be home early to discuss the opening of the new outlet center.
David finished his drink in record time and pitched the empty bottle through the window of the car into a nearby trash receptacle. Feeling smug, he started up the car and dashed off with the wheels spitting gravel. "Everything's going to be just fine," he murmured, clutching the steering wheel of the car. "I'll make a name for myself heading up this new outlet center. I'll make money, get my own mansion and a woman to go with it, and no one's gonna stop me."
All at once he saw the figure of a disheveled man standing in the middle of the road, waving his arms. "What the..." David muttered, slamming on his brakes and turning the wheel sharply to avoid hitting the man. He slid the car to a stop at the side of the road and poked his head out the open window.
"What do you think you're doing, standing in the middle of the road like that?" David yelled at him.
The man staggered as he approached the open window. "Sorry...sorry there, I need help...yep, help."
"Help? Help with what? Man, are you drunk?"
The man took out a lead pipe from behind his back and rammed it into David's jaw, snapping his head back. He then opened the door and dragged out a dazed David, delivering another blow to his face while muttering about the magnificent treasure that he was about to inherit.
Pain coursed through David's brain. Sparkles of light floated in his line of vision. A massive welt formed on his temple from the pipe. He faintly heard the rumble of the car engine before sharp pellets of gravel bit his skin. The car roared off into the darkness. He struggled to sit up, but the dark surroundings spun around him in an endless circle. He laid back on the shoulder of the road, moaning in pain and frustration. Perfect, his befuddled mind managed to say. What a perfect ending to an already fouled- up day. So much for everything getting better in my life. He winced as his finger traced the huge bruise extending along his chin. Forcing himself once more to a sitting position, he blinked his eyes rapidly to ease the sensation of vertigo. In determination he rose shakily to his feet, wobbled, then fell, tearing his pants and scraping his knee. "Ow!" David yelled. He cursed and rolled over on the hard ground. Fingers groped his aching head. Now what am I going to do?
Elaine hunkered down in the back seat of the taxi and stared out the window while trying to ignore the wail of country music banging away from the car stereo. She knew the cab driver, Charlie, quite well and often requested his services when she needed rides from her parents' home in the country to the apartment building near the business section of town. The only thing she hated about the ride was Charlie's singing. Even now, he tried unsuccessfully to sing the tune blaring out of the stereo. The flat pitch drove her crazy. She buried her head in the sleeve of her sweater, trying to muffle the maddening sound.
Charlie observed her irritated gesture from his rearview mirror and turned the radio down. "All right, I can take the hint."
Elaine sighed in relief. "What does Mabel think of your racket?" she asked, referring to the taxi driver's wife.
Charlie smiled, displaying the gaping hole in his teeth where he claimed a man knocked out a front tooth during a boxing match. "She plugs her ears, like you. She says toads in the pond croak better than my singing."
Elaine snickered, deciding that Charlie fit the picture of a red-neck to the tee with the beard stubble encircling his chin, a gravely voice like worn machinery in need of oil, a pot belly, and his interest in motorcycles. Charlie was a nice guy, despite his coarse appearance. He would often brag about his Harley Davidson motorcycle and the rallies he attended around the country. Charlie claimed that Mabel would not go near the cycle, even though he tried everything but blackmail to get her interested in riding. "I told her she was just missing out on the fun, but she claims she's not willin' to die young. I told her cycles were just as safe as cars, but she doesn't believe me."
Elaine agreed with Mabel's assessment, but kept her opinions to herself. The mere thought of whizzing down the road on two wheels sent her mind spinning. She now turned her attention to the scenery outside the window. A full moon bathed the dark forests in white light. As they sped down the highway, she caught sight of something bulky lying on the shoulder of the road. Charlie noticed it too and swerved to the middle of the road to avoid hitting the object.
"Must be someone hit a deer or something," he muttered, glancing in the mirror.
Elaine whirled and stared out the back window. The object vanished into the black of night. A nagging sensation suddenly filled her heart. She did not know what to make of the crazy feeling, but felt she must obey it. "Hey Charlie, can you go back and see what that was?"
Charlie applied the brake, easing the taxi to the shoulder. "What for? It's just a dead animal."
Elaine shook her head. "I don't know. I-I've got a weird feeling inside me that something's wrong."
He frowned. "Look honey, it's probably a dead deer. Just be glad someone else hit the animal and not yours truly. This whole cab would've ended up a piece of junk and I'd be out of a job."
"Please, Charlie," Elaine begged.
He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and steered the car around. Elaine scanned the shoulders carefully until she spied the strange animal lying still in the gravel. "Pull over on the shoulder, Charlie." As he did, her eyes grew large. "Oh dear God, I think someone got run over by a car!"
"What?" the cabby asked incredulously.
Elaine fumbled for the latch to the car door and raced across the road. She knelt before the silent figure. The victim was definitely a young man. His bearded face was covered with blood. He moaned, his hands clutching his head. "What happened?" she asked in a gentle voice.
He inhaled rapidly, squeezing his eyes. "S-Someone stole my car. Hit me...with something. T-Took the car."
Elaine rested a hand on his arm. "It's okay. Just lie quiet." She called over to the cabby. "Charlie! C'mon and give me a hand."
The cabby hobbled over and whistled. "Woowee, someone sure bashed him good."
"He says someone stole his car."
"Car-jacking, eh?" The cabby scratched his head under the cap of his uniform. "That's the second one this month."
"C'mon and help me get him into the cab," Elaine instructed.
"Now hold on, honey. Don't you think we should call 911 or something? I can use the radio in the taxi."
"Look Charlie, with that crazy lunatic on the loose, I don't think it's safe to wait around. We can get him to the hospital ourselves."
Charlie twisted his face with a look that told Elaine he'd rather not get involved.
"Look, I'll pay you double the reading on that meter of yours," she offered as they each grabbed hold of an arm, struggling to bring the injured man to his feet.
"You'd better pay me triple." Charlie puffed and groaned under the weight of the solidly built man. They managed to guide him across the road and lay him down in the back seat of the taxi. "He's a mess," Charlie muttered when Elaine and he climbed into the front seats of the cab. She watched the grizzly man start up the engine, give her a look, and then with a decisive flick of his forefinger, switch the meter to zero.
"Charlie, you didn't have to do that!" Elaine said with a grin.
He shrugged. "Why not? If I'm gonna be a Good Samaritan, I might as well go all the way."
Elaine kept a careful eye on their patient while Charlie maneuvered the car around and raced off in the direction of the hospital. The injured man rested his hand across his face, blocking his features from view. Elaine considered asking him his name, but decided to let him recover from the harrowing ordeal. "What a terrible thing to go through," she whispered to Charlie under her breath.
"Yep, and it's happening more everyday." He cast her a sideways glance. "That's why I've warned you about traipsing around this town by yourself, Ms. Elaine. I know you think the good Lord is looking out for you or something, but you're only settin' yourself up for trouble."
"But I have you to protect me, don't I?" Elaine asked innocently, jabbing her elbow into his hairy forearm.
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "You know what I mean. I've known you for years, and it does no good for a young gal like yourself to walk these streets alone, even in broad daylight."
"I've got no choice, Charlie. I have no car, and the Lord wouldn't have given me two good legs if He didn't expect me to use them."
"Elaine Reynolds, you'll get the better of me yet!"
In the back seat of the cab, David's mind slowly registered the name when the words Elaine Reynolds drifted into his ears. No, he thought. It can't be...not her. He removed his hand from his face long enough to peruse the woman's profile. Glasses and long hair streaming around her shoulders met his anxious gaze. It's Elaine all right. Great. If she finds out who I am...she's liable to finish the job that weirdo began.
David succeeded in keeping his features hidden from Elaine's view as the cab rolled into the lit parking area of the emergency room. He hoped she wouldn't recognize him through the crusts of dried blood and the bruising. An orderly hurried out of the emergency room doors and promptly assisted him onto an awaiting stretcher. Another orderly directed Elaine and the cabby to the information desk. David was wheeled into the examination room and the doors banged shut, sealing Elaine from view. David breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to have kept his identity concealed from the one who despised him with every part of her being.
In the waiting room of the hospital, Elaine patiently thumbed through a magazine while Charlie talked with his boss at the cab company about his unusual circumstances. The emergency room was relatively quiet. Elaine put down the magazine and stared at the doublewide doors where doctors and nurses tended the injured. She sat with her chin in her hand, wondering if the man's injuries were severe. He had taken several nasty blows to the head. Even without medical knowledge, Elaine knew that head trauma could be serious.
Charlie slammed down the phone and strode over to her. "My boss has ordered me to continue my run, Elaine, Good Samaritan or not. If you want, I have time to take you home."
Elaine frowned, concerned for the wellbeing of the injured man, but realized she had no other ride if she refused. "Okay," she said reluctantly, "just let me find out if they know anything." She hastened to the desk and the secretary on duty, inquiring about the man's condition, only to be met by a shrug of the shoulders and a shaking head. Elaine sighed and returned to Charlie where he stood waiting by the exit. "They know nothing right now. Guess he needs x-rays."
"C'mon, honey, it's been a long day," Charlie urged. "Let's get you home."
Elaine stared at the doors of the treatment room once more before following the burly cabby to the taxi.
After sleeping in the next morning, Elaine woke up hungry for a good breakfast after last night's ordeal. She had just decided on French toast soaked in real maple syrup when the telephone rang, disturbing her culinary inclination. Sighing, she left the beaten eggs frothing in a bowl and wiped her hands on a towel. "Oh -- hi, Mom."
Excited words rushed out of the receiver at sixty miles an hour. "My word, Elaine, did you really help him? Was that you? The news didn't say...but it sounded just like you and Charlie...the time was about right too, since you left our house around nine and this happened near the convenience store about nine-thirty...and they said a taxi cab was involved."
"Whoa, Mom, hold on. Take it easy. Are you talking about the car-jacking? You heard?"
"Of course," she interrupted, "it's all over the news! When anything major happens to the Edwards family, it's bound to make the headlines."
Elaine wrinkled her brow in confusion. "The Edwards family?" she repeated blankly.
"Yes, yes. Oh Elaine, was it you? Did you and Charlie really find David hurt on the side of the road?"
Elaine held the receiver away from her ear. David's the one Charlie and I helped last night? No way. She remained silent for so long that Mom began shouting on the other end, trying to draw her attention. Shaking her head, Elaine answered absentmindedly, "Yeah, Mom?"
"Elaine, what's gotten into you?"
"I-I'm sorry, Mom. Guess I'm just a bit stunned is all. Yeah, Charlie and I did help some guy who was the victim of a car-jacking, but we had no idea it was David Edwards." She drew in a sharp breath, wondering if she would have left him lying there on the side of the road had she known. The cruel thought shocked her senses. Elaine swallowed and asked about the news broadcasts.
Mom filled her in on the details. David was not seriously injured -- only suffered a whiplash injury to his neck, a slight concussion, and cuts. "The family spokesperson said they are indebted to those who helped. I wouldn't be surprised if they called to thank you personally."
Elaine nearly laughed at the notion. "Oh Mom, they don't even know it was me."
"Everyone knows Charlie in this town, and he certainly won't keep quiet about your involvement. He thinks the world of you."
That's true, Elaine thought, wondering how life could suddenly turn so complicated.
"I have to go, honey. Dad needs me. Oh...and Dad wanted me to tell you how proud he is that you helped David. That was a Christian thing you did. And -- maybe this will open up a door of healing between you two."
I doubt it, Elaine thought, imagining David pitching her another hundred dollars for her roadside service. The roadside maid. The very notion left her chuckling in a sick sort of way. Oh really, Elaine, she chided herself, staring at the bowl of eggs that was to be her French toast. She dumped the eggs down the sink drain and switched on the radio, just in time to hear the announcer say -- "and to repeat our top story, another car-jacking has been reported out on highway fifteen. The victim, twenty- three-year-old David Edwards, son of Clyde Edwards, the CEO of computer giant Edwards Electronics, suffered blunt trauma to the neck and head. Police right now are searching for the suspect, described as a man in his mid-forties, wearing torn jeans and a soiled shirt, driving a 1998 red Jaguar." Shaking her head, Elaine switched off the radio and plopped into the loveseat in the living room. "I actually helped David Edwards," she mumbled in disbelief. "I must be out of my mind."
Later that morning, the doorbell rang. Elaine peeked out the security hole to see a man dressed in a dark uniform and hat, holding a long white box in his arms. She cracked open the door and peered cautiously over the safety chain.
"Excuse me," the man said, removing his hat and bowing in regal fashion. "Are you Ms. Elaine Reynolds?"
"Yes, I am."
"The Edwards family asked me to deliver these to you as a thank you for your kindness last evening." The man held out the box.
Elaine unlatched the door and took the box with shaky hands, whispering her thanks. She set the box on the kitchen table and lifted the cover to find a dozen, long stemmed red roses. "Oh wow," she breathed, placing a hand over her heart. The fragrance swept her away. The dark red petals felt like velvet under the touch of her fingers. A sealed card in a white envelope lay tucked beneath the stems. Elaine lifted it out and held her breath as she ripped open the card. Inside was a simple message:
Thanking you for all your kindness.
The Edwards Family
The card left Elaine with a twinge of disappointment. One of her fondest wishes in life was to receive her first bouquet of red roses from a man who loved her. She felt jilted at receiving the bouquet as a mere gesture of thanks from a rich, snobby family. "Well, what did you expect?" she murmured aloud. "Did you really think David, of all people, would send you a dozen red roses?" Elaine tossed the note in the wastebasket and proceeded to arrange the beautiful flowers in the only vase she owned. "They are gorgeous," she decided, stepping back to admire them. Could David have possibly sent me the flowers using the family name? "I can't even imagine him doing such a thing," Elaine responded to the silent question. "David would rather send me ragweed and watch me have an allergy attack. I'm sure his mother or someone else thought up the idea." She fingered her chin, wrestling with the hostility she felt toward her chief persecutor of long ago. Despite the past, David had been in desperate need last night on the road. He was vulnerable, exposed, injured, and, yes, she had assisted him. God, I wish I could cut him a little slack. Maybe one day I can.
Elaine carefully studied her reflection in the mirror. Her new glasses, which brought out the blue color of her eyes, suited her narrow face much better than the old ones. She fluffed out her permed hair, enjoying the curls that framed her face and hung gracefully around her shoulders. She studied her appearance from many different angles and felt satisfied that she was the new and improved Elaine Reynolds, ready for a fresh start in life.
Her final evening of work at Kranston's Tavern had been an emotional one. Al, the owner, created a special pizza, writing the words, We'll miss you, using strips of pepperoni. Wanda had bestowed a hug, wept a little, and made Elaine promise to come back and visit where she would be treated to a free pizza.
Now she was ready to embark on a new adventure -- an interview for employment at the brand new outlet center for Edwards Electronics. Elaine checked her makeup for the umpteenth time, then with nervous hands, withdrew her resume to peruse the text for any mistakes. Her goal was a full-time position in the business, which seemed likely after all the gifts of gratitude given by the Edwards family since David's accident. The roses had long since wilted, but later that week had come succulent chocolates that melted in her mouth, and then a beautiful figurine crafted of exquisite porcelain. The cards accompanying the gifts thanked her for her kindness, and were signed the same: The Edwards Family. Elaine marveled at such gratefulness and worldly expense on the part of the family.
Placing the resume folder inside a leather briefcase given to her by Mom and Dad, Elaine checked her appearance one final time, then with a click of Mom's high heels, glanced out the window for Charlie's familiar cab. "This is it, Elaine," she told herself. "Act sharp. Today is the day of new beginnings."
Charlie's cab promptly rolled to a halt before the apartment building. Clutching her briefcase, Elaine hurried down the stairs and out into the bright sunshine. Charlie rolled down his window and whistled when he saw her.
"Woowee! Is that really Ms. Elaine?"
She gave him her best smile and spun around, allowing him to inspect her smart suit coat and skirt. "What do you think?"
"Looks like you're ready to tackle one of them executive positions," he noted in approval. "Wish I was driving a Mercedes."
"Oh stop, Charlie." Elaine laughed as he held open the car door for her.
He smiled broadly, then entered the driver's seat and sped away. "You nervous about the interview?"
"A little. I've never met Mr. Edwards in my life, though I hear a lot about him and his company on the news."
"More than likely the head honcho will get some peon to do the interview," Charlie remarked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. "Clyde Edwards is a busy man. Then again, maybe he'll let his son take over the responsibility."
Elaine laughed. "I can't picture David behind a desk, no matter how important the job might be. Desk jobs aren't for the sporty, show-off types like David. There's no glory in it."
"Have you seen him since the accident?"
Elaine shook her head.
"Has he called to thank you?"
Elaine raised her eyebrows and hooted. "Are you kidding? I'm Elaine Reynolds, remember? I was next in line for class dork in my high school, behind Mark Ryan, that is. David would never stoop so low as to bother with an anti-socialite like myself. I'm not of the same breed and stock as he is. In fact, I'm sure he would have preferred that we wiped off his shoes before loading him into the taxicab that night."
Charlie shook his head. "Now just because he hasn't thanked you personally..."
"His family has, many times as a matter of fact. The gifts they've given me have been lovely. I guess his folks are more grateful than he is."
Charlie bit his lip, shook his head, and remained silent for the rest of the trip. Soon they reached the sleek brick building that comprised the new outlet center. Men were busy erecting a new sign outside when Charlie pulled around to the employee entrance. Elaine reached in her purse for the cab fare.
"It's on me," Charlie told her.
"Charlie, you can't keep doing this," she protested.
He grinned and hastened to open her car door. "When you start earning all that money, then I'll gladly accept your money, plus a tip to boot!"
She smiled. "I'll remember that."
Once inside the building, Elaine walked to the office area where young girls already occupied rows of chairs, waiting to be interviewed. Elaine took several deep breaths to settle the nervous twitches gripping her extremities and took a seat. She tried to think of questions the interviewer might ask. Next to her sat several girls dressed in their suits, casually tapping their feet and examining their applications. Others came in pants, looking to fill positions in the labor division. Elaine was not sure which job she would qualify for, but would settle for anything that paid the bills and supplied medical benefits.
Soon she heard her name called. Elaine rose to her feet with her hand clutching the handle of the briefcase, and strode down a hallway to a desk at the far end. There sat an older woman with short brown hair frosted in front, and wearing tiny gray glasses. A colorful paisley print kerchief lay tucked inside a navy blue suit. She never glanced away from the computer monitor decorating her desk, but only pointed to a chair with a manicured fingernail and said, "Have a seat."
Elaine sat erect in the chair while the woman typed away on a keyboard for several tense moments. Her mind became a mass of jumbled thoughts. Muscles tensed from the mounting anxiety. She could barely keep from jumping out of the seat like a kangaroo.
"All right now," the woman said at last, pausing from her work to stare at Elaine over her spectacles. "You are?"
"Elaine Reynolds, ma'am."
"You brought your job application, I presume?"
"Yes, right here." Elaine zipped open her briefcase to fumble for the papers. In her nervousness the case slipped from her hands, sending the papers floating underneath the woman's desk. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry," Elaine mumbled, flushing red as she bent to gather up the mess.
A perturbed look filled the woman's face. A painted fingernail clicked on the desk. "Are you always this disorganized?"
Elaine shook her head. "No, ma'am." She laughed shortly and added, "Must have butter fingers or something..."
"...which we do not need around expensive electronics."
Elaine handed over her now crinkled application and resume that carried dust balls from the floor. She bit back the tears and inhaled a deep breath, trying to regain her composure enough to save the interview.
"You have worked as a waitress and a cashier at a department store," the woman noted, "yet your application says you want a full-time position with benefits?" She glared again over her spectacles. "Perhaps you don't realize that such positions are only granted to those with managerial skills." She snapped Elaine's resume with her manicured fingernails. "The experience you've listed here hardly qualifies you for a managerial position."
Elaine gulped. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. "You mean there are no other positions that carry benefits?"
The woman scanned the list of available openings. "We have already filled the permanent cashier spots that carry benefits. There are many part-time positions as cashiers or in the packaging department. And there is inventory and inspection."
"Inventory and inspection?"
"Yes, but your application again disqualifies you for this area. We like to hire people who have experience."
"I did help sort and stock shelves at a department store a few years ago," Elaine said in earnest, "and I also ordered inventory."
The woman pondered this for a moment before busying herself with stacking the papers strewn in haphazard fashion across her desk. "I'm sorry -- but I must hire someone with more experience. All I can give you is part-time employment."
A wave of disappointment showered over Elaine. She took the paperwork from the woman's desk and stuffed it inside her briefcase, crumpling the papers she worked so hard to create. "I can't accept part-time work. I must have full-time employment with benefits."
The woman shrugged. "I'm sorry, but that's the best I can offer you. This is a reputable business, you know. We can only afford to hire the best for our vacancies."
Elaine fastened her briefcase and stood, briefly shaking the woman's hand. She turned and walked numbly out of the office. Bitter tears scalded her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. After all the time and effort I put into that resume and fixing myself up so I would look halfway decent, the only thing she can offer me is part-time work. She swiped at the tears with an angry flick of her hand. Well, the Edwards family can keep their fancy business. I don't know why I tried this place to begin with. I should have realized it would be a waste of time. She hurried down the hallway and rounded the corner, plowing headlong into a man studying papers inside a manila folder. Elaine fell backwards to the floor. She heard her pantyhose tear and her new glasses skitter across the floor. Papers flew in a whirlwind, settling all around her like clumps of snow.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you," the man apologized, offering her a hand up.
"Thanks." Elaine accepted the firm hand that brought her to her feet. She smoothed out her rumpled jacket and rearranged her skirt.
The man picked up her glasses and handed them to her. "I hope nothing's broken."
"It wouldn't matter anyway," she said, slipping them on. When she did, her gaze suddenly focused on the familiar brown eyes of David Edwards. Elaine inhaled a sharp breath and stepped back.
"Something wrong?" he wondered.
"No. I-I..." Elaine glanced to the floor and saw the papers in disarray down the length of the hallway. "Let me help you pick up the papers." She laughed a bit as together they gathered up the forms and piled them into a folder he held open in his hands. "Guess the name for me today is clumsy maid and not pizza maid."
David snapped his head up when he heard these words. He stared at her. "Elaine?"
Elaine nodded, sensing a growing discomfort under his dark eyes that searched her, perusing every detail of her clothing and hair. He still displayed signs of the car-jacking episode last month with traces of bruising extending across one side of his face. The beard was gone. He brushed back a lock of hair on his forehead, revealing a small scar. "Wow, I didn't recognize you at all. You look great. Is that a new hairstyle?"
Elaine swallowed hard. "Yeah, thanks. I was hoping to get a full-time position here with benefits, but the lady wasn't looking for someone of my status." Elaine tossed her head. The curls flounced around her shoulders. "Guess I wasn't wearing expensive enough jewelry or something."
David appeared thoughtful. "You were here for a job interview, I take it."
"Crazy idea, huh? I should've known better than to waste my time. Well, gotta run." Elaine picked up her briefcase, preparing to head for the exit, when his hand caught her arm.
"Hold on a minute. Maybe I can arrange something."
Elaine shook her head and pried herself from his grasp. "Don't bother for my sake, David. I'm not worth your time. which is probably quite precious these days."
"I have plenty of time for you," he told her in a stout voice that rattled her insides. "If I don't have the time, I make it. C'mon."
Surprised by his insistence, Elaine followed David back to the desk where the secretary was proceeding with the next interview. Upon seeing him, she straightened in her seat and asked in a professional voice, "Yes, Mr. Edwards?"
"I hear you turned this young lady down for a job, Sally."
"She wasn't qualified for the full-time position I have left."
"Which is?"
Sally withdrew the list. "Inventory and inspection of merchandise, Sir, which requires the person to be reliable and capable of..."
"I'm certain Ms. Reynolds will be able to fill that vacancy in the department," David interrupted. "She is a hardworking, conscientious individual who will serve the company well." He gazed at Elaine for a moment before turning his attention to the secretary. "Hire her for a full-time position in inventory."
Sally's eyes narrowed into slits. She generated a miffed look in Elaine's direction before answering, "Yes, Mr. Edwards."
David looked over at Elaine. "Sally will fill out the paperwork and give you your start day. Anything else I can help you with?"
Elaine gaped at him before shaking her head.
David whistled as he left the office. Sally, along with the young girl she had been interviewing, both gave incredulous looks. Elaine said nothing but waited for the paperwork to be completed. She signed her name to the application in a flourish, then took her copies while Sally quickly explained payroll, vacation and sick time, options to buy stock in the company, and her start date. "Be here promptly at eight o'clock, Ms. Reynolds."
"Thank you," Elaine said, ignoring the piercing looks generated by both women. Once outside the brick building, she leaned against the wall and sighed. "Well, Elaine ol' girl, you got the full-time job with benefits. Unfortunately," she added with a groan, "it was not by my merit alone. I needed David to get it." Elaine tightened her hold on the handle of her leather briefcase before walking to a phone booth to call Charlie's cab.
Elaine never saw the venetian blinds lift from the office window and a face a peer out, watching her carry herself down the sidewalk in her suit and heels. The figure stood for the longest time, like a statue frozen in place, staring, watching, thinking...
Elaine settled quickly into her new job. Her immediate supervisor was a hard man by the name of Eugene Tyson who had transferred from the main merchandise warehouse to oversee the department of inspections and inventory for the new outlet center. He was rash, outspoken, and strict with those who did not perform their jobs to his satisfaction. Elaine did not mind his ways, for he ran the department with a tight rein and in an orderly fashion, saving everyone hours of unnecessary work. At times during coffee break, he would relax and speak about his family -- the twenty years of marriage to his wife and his three teenage girls who were the pride and joy of his life. Elaine listened with great interest as he described his eldest daughter who was an avid runner; jogging several miles each day -- "to the tune of that garbage they blare over the radio waves," he gruffly remarked. Then his eyes would brighten when he expounded on the girls' achievements like any proud parent.
Working alongside Elaine in the inventory department was a young man named Timothy Gray, and a woman about her age, Janet Abernacy. A new arrival to town, Janet often queried Elaine about the best restaurants, places to shop, and the evening entertainment. They struck up an easy friendship. Once after a shopping excursion together, they grabbed pizza at Elaine's old place of employment. The employees hailed her with warm hugs and smiles. Janet seemed impressed when the owner of the establishment and the waitresses all gathered around their table, placing before them a huge pizza loaded with everything, accompanied by a sign that read, On The House.
"These people sure like you, Elaine," Janet commented in admiration.
Elaine only waved her hand and helped herself to a slice, dripping with mozzarella. "The only reason I get this kind of attention is because I used to work here."
"Oh, I see. Well," Janet added between bites, "it does have its advantages. Great pizza!"
Another worker in Elaine's department, Timothy Gray, remained a mystery to everyone. He carried on a few simple conversations with fellow employees, but mostly acted the part of a loner. Once or twice Elaine tried talking to him, but he would only reply in stiff, short answers before burying himself in his work.
"People say he has family problems," Janet said after Elaine voiced her frustration over the inability to communicate with the young man.
"What sort of problems?"
"I'm not sure, but I hear he's got a brother who's been busted several times for illegal drugs. Some say he got off with a slap on the hand."
Elaine's eyes widened. "Tim has a brother who's a druggie?"
"Yeah, but don't go spreading it around, okay?"
"No, of course not. I mean, it's not Tim's fault."
Both women cast curious glances at the young man with light brown hair and freckles sprinkled across the bridge of his nose, while he counted machine parts from an early morning shipment. He was bone thin, dressed in baggy clothes too large for his willowy frame. Elaine could just imagine the sneers he must have received in high school.
Elaine turned back to her work laid out before her -- a jumbled mess of stereo headphones and hands free phones shipped over from the warehouse. The loose wiring was tangled in a web worse than Elaine had ever seen. She spent several hours meticulously unwinding the wires of each headset from the other, pausing at times to exhale a loud sigh of frustration. "Whoever did this should be fired," she grumbled.
Janet came over to investigate her work. "Wow, what a disaster."
"You're not kidding."
"Soon as I chart the serial numbers on some of those speaker systems, I might be able to give you a hand."
Elaine examined the extent of her progress thus far. "This reminds me of my costume jewelry when I was a kid. Mom used to buy me those cheap, gold chains. Inevitably they would end up a knotted mess inside my jewelry case. Sometimes it would take me hours to untangle it all."
Janet giggled. "Weren't those the good ol' days."
"They weren't very good for me," Elaine commented, drawing a raised eyebrow from Janet.
"Looks like after a day like today, we could both use dinner out. How about your favorite stomping ground? Will they serve us free pizza again?"
Elaine glanced into the deep brown eyes of Janet, thinking how attractive she was with her delicate facial features, sleek chocolate brown hair, and trim figure. A pang of jealousy assaulted her, which she forced away. "I doubt it. Al's good about one free pizza, but not two. We'll probably have to pay."
Janet shrugged. "That's fine. What do you say?"
Elaine took up the massive ball of tangled headphones and wire. "You're right, I'll need it after today. Okay, meet you after work."
When they arrived at Kranston's shortly after six, the place was fairly buzzing with patrons, eagerly delving into chewy crusts of pizza coated in tomato sauce and mozzarella. Clouds of cigarette smoke drifted in the air. Janet and Elaine took seats as far away as possible from the smoking section. "Woowee," Elaine complained, using the sleeve of her shirt to mask the stench. "I don't remember this much smoke when I worked here. I wonder how I breathed?"
Wanda hurried up to them, breathless as she thrust the menus into their hands. "Hey Elaine, I sure wish you were working tonight. It's a zoo around here."
Elaine smiled at the haggard woman whose amber hair hung loose around her shoulders from dashing to and fro around the crowded establishment. "I remember those nights. Don't worry about us. I'll give Al my order and fill our drinks. The only thing you'll have to do is bring the check."
Wanda offered a smile of gratitude before dashing away to the next table.
Elaine turned her attention to Janet who was inspecting the customers occupying the booths and tables around the restaurant. Again she felt a stab of jealousy at Janet's appearance. Her inquisitive brown eyes, framed by thick lashes, undoubtedly melted hearts for miles around. Elaine wondered why God chose not to make her attractive? "I'll get our drinks. What do you want?"
"Coke's fine with me," Janet answered, studying the menu clasped in her fingers. Elaine noted that each of Janet's nails were professionally manicured and colored with plum nail polish. "Let's just get the same kind of pizza we had last time," Janet decided, tossing the menu on the table.
"Fine. That's easy enough. I'll go ahead and fill our drinks, then give Al our order." Elaine wandered off to the drink section to fill two glasses with ice and Coke from the machines. Suddenly a face peered over her shoulder, startling her. Her hand shook, upsetting the glass. Soda splashed across the front of her blouse.
"Not again!" a deep voice groaned in mock despair, reaching for a stack of paper napkins. "Are we always destined to meet by accident?"
David thrust the napkins into her hand. Elaine quickly cleaned up the mess on the counter, then tried to blot the soda stain smeared across the front of her shirt. Great, she groaned silently, another surprise encounter with David that has led to a catastrophe.
"You're not working here again, are you?" David wondered.
"N-No." Her voice shook. "I'm here with a friend, Janet, from our department."
David's eyes followed Elaine's to a lone figure at a far table, counting sugar packets in a crystal bowl. "I'm here with a few friends, too. Why don't we put some tables together and have a gathering?"
Elaine turned her crimson face to one side and shook her head. "Well...uh...I don't know if..."
"C'mon, it'll be fun. Must I make fun an executive order, Ms. Reynolds?"
She glanced up at the smile on his face and the dark eyes that laughed at her in a friendly way. Elaine nodded, knowing it was probably wiser to abide by the suggestion of the manager who landed her the full-time job at the outlet center. David picked up the two glasses she had filled and strode over to the men in his company before motioning Elaine and Janet over to the table.
"What's going on?" Janet whispered furiously to Elaine while David brought over an extra table and held the chairs for each of them.
Elaine shook her head, unwillingly to go into details with the multitude of eyes regarding them from the table. To her surprise, Elaine watched David pick up his glass of iced tea and occupy the seat across from her. Great, she thought, here sits the one and only David Edwards and I have soda splattered all over me. Elaine scrunched down low in the seat and used a napkin to mask the spill while the table conversed about the baseball playoffs. Elaine concentrated on her soda, watching the bubbles rise to the surface and explode. Soon the talk drifted into separate circles. Janet struck up a conversation with a nice looking guy sitting beside her. David straightened and asked Elaine about her family.
"My family...oh, well, they're okay," she mumbled, avoiding the steady look in his eye. She wondered how her makeup looked, imagining mascara smeared around her eyes like a raccoon. Pushing her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose, Elaine ignored David's piercing stare and returned her attention to the fizz in the soda glass.
"You still go to that church on the corner?" he inquired, ripping open a packet of sugar substitute and stirring the contents into his second glass of iced tea.
Elaine nodded.
"Sometimes I listen to the music the band plays," David commented, whirling the long teaspoon around and around in the tea. He added quickly, "From the street, that is."
Elaine's head popped up in surprise.
"You have a great guitarist." David continued
"That's Maury Keeston. He's very talented," she smiled.
David took a long sip, then set down the glass. He folded his hands before him on the table and looked at her. "What other instruments are in the band?"
"We have a drummer. Chris plays the bass guitar. Sometimes Lydia will play flute. Then we have several vocals." Before she realized what she was saying, Elaine asked, "You want to come Sunday and hear them?"
Her heart almost did a double somersault when he smiled and nodded. "Sure, so long as you don't drag me up to some altar or something."
Elaine returned the smile. "I'll let God do the dragging. You're a bit too strong-willed for me." She watched his eyes light up in amusement at her quip before dropping her attention once more to her soda. Her heart began to beat rapidly within her. Dear God, she thought with a gulp, David wants to go to church with me? This is unbelievable!
Afterwards, Elaine walked with Janet to the car parked on the curb. Janet poked an elbow into Elaine and murmured, "So the boss is taking an interest in you, huh?"
Elaine chuckled uneasily. "Are you crazy, Janet? It's just church. He wants to hear the guy who plays the guitar."
"Don't be fooled by that get-up. I happen to know men. It's as plain as day that he's attracted to you."
Elaine felt a hard lump form in her throat. She began to choke. "That's crazy. I told you about the times when we were in high school. David would sooner like a lizard."
Janet cast her an amused look as she unlocked the door. "Honey, you ain't no lizard. Haven't you looked in a mirror recently? You're very attractive to men. If I were you, Elaine, I'd forget about that past of yours and concentrate on the future. It's obvious David wants to spend time with you. He thinks that sharing in your interests is a great way to start."
The lump grew larger in Elaine's throat until she could barely choke out a good-bye when the car rolled to a stop before the apartment building. Inside her apartment, she flopped down on the worn sofa and sifted a hand through her curly hair. Janet's words had rattled her. Here she thought Janet was the raving beauty and yet Janet had paid her compliments. "This can't be happening," she exclaimed aloud. "There's no way David would be interested in plain, old, ordinary me when he could have any raving beauty in the entire universe." She rose and headed for the bathroom, observing her features in the mirror. Blue eyes stared out from behind a pair of glasses. The make-up had not smeared, as she feared. She smiled and noticed a dimple crease the corner of her mouth. She shook her head and told her reflection, "I don't care what Janet says. David only sees a heroine -- the one who rescued him after the car-jacking. He feels he has to repay me. That's all." She sighed. "But if he wants to go to church, I can sure take him along."
Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful with the leaves at the peak of their brilliant fall color. Elaine meticulously ironed the dress she had chosen for church, applied her makeup with precision, and curled her bangs until they fluffed out with a quick twist of the comb. Staring at her appearance, she shrugged her shoulders and picked up her purse and Bible. "Lord," she prayed, "may this day go well, for Your name's sake."
To her disappointment, David never materialized. All throughout the service, Elaine's eyes darted to the rear of the sanctuary, searching for his familiar characteristics of dark eyes and hair to match.
A young woman named Denise, who had befriended Elaine, came up to her at the end of the service and asked if anything was wrong. "You look a little preoccupied."
"A friend was supposed to come to church this morning, but he didn't show up."
Denise raised her eyebrows. "He?"
"Yeah, well, he's not a friend. Just someone from work." Elaine cast another glance around the building. Angry tears welled up in her eyes. "He promised he'd be here. I should've known he wouldn't come."
"Only God can draw him, Elaine," Denise reminded her, giving her a hug of reassurance. "Why don't you come over to my place for lunch and we can talk about it?"
Elaine shook her head. "No thanks. I think I'll spend some time praying about this whole mess. Maybe I can find the answers I need."
The walk home was difficult. With every step she took, her anger towards David multiplied. "All he's done my whole life is humiliate me," she seethed. "He promises one thing, then does another. I despise that man. How do I let him suck me in again and again?"
When Elaine reached the apartment, she found David sitting in his father's Mercedes across the street; a grim expression painted on his face. "Hey, Elaine," he called out to her, rising from the driver's seat.
Elaine ignored him and fished through the clutter in her purse for the keys to her apartment.
With his hands jammed in his pockets, he crossed the street and stood near the steps. "I'm sorry I was a no show at church today. I just lost my nerve. I tried to go but..."
"Sure. It's okay." She tried to sound neutral. "Look, I've got things to do."
David's hand caught her arm. The touch of his fingers sent the hairs rising on the back of her neck and tingles shooting through her.
"Elaine," his voice pleaded, "I wish I could make you understand. I really want to spend some time with you, but there's some unresolved things between us and..."
"Whatever." She snatched her arm from his grasp. "I'm sure there are more important people you'd rather spend your time with. I understand. After all, you're the boss." She turned and strode up the steps to the building.
"Elaine...I..."
Reluctantly, he let her go. "I've done it again," he told himself. "When am I ever going to have the courage to tell her the truth about the past instead of hiding it like a coward?" He kicked a stone along the pavement, turned, and ambled slowly back to the car. David realized he could not enter a church building with the past clouding his soul, even if Elaine did not understand his reasoning. How he wished the past did not create this deep gorge that prevented him from drawing near to Elaine or to God. Nothing was ever so clear to him. He realized a bridge must be built -- a bridge of confession, repentance, and forgiveness; a bridge of healing that might lead to a new purpose in his life.
Winter, 2000-2001
Elaine stared at the crisp linen envelope for several minutes while knocking the slush from her fur lined boots. With one hand she slowly slid the boots off and placed them on a rug by the door. She walked into the living room, flopped down on the sofa, and set to work unsealing the envelope, finally withdrawing a card with fancy italicized writing.
As a valued employee of Edwards Electronics, you are hereby invited to a Gala Christmas Celebration to be held Saturday, December 16th, at the Main Street Hotel. Complimentary Cocktails will begin at seven, followed by dinner and dancing. Black tie suggested. Please RSVP.
Rumors had circulated around the outlet center for a week that the Edwards Electronics annual Christmas party would be held the third weekend of December. Many whispered that it was a lavish affair on a grand-scale, not to be missed. Best of all, the party was free. Even Eugene Tyson, Elaine's immediate supervisor, raved about the food and entertainment. "How often do you get a free prime rib dinner?" he remarked, boasting how the Edwards family spent huge amounts of money on both the Christmas celebration in December for all their employees, and the annual getaway weekend for the supervisors during the summer. Tyson then demanded that all employees in his department attend.
Elaine threw the invitation in the wastebasket. She could not imagine herself attending such a prestigious event, especially at the Main Street Hotel. Even now, memories of the high school prom stirred within her. Were it not for the compassion and understanding of Mark Ryan, the whole affair might have been clouded over by embarrassment and ridicule.
The following week, the entire staff talked of nothing else but the Christmas party. Janet had already purchased her gown for the occasion when she asked Elaine what she would be wearing. Elaine pretended to focus her attention on an inventory list of answering machines. "I'm not going."
"Are you kidding? Why not?"
Elaine bit her lip and refused to answer.
"Elaine, you have to go. I already heard Mr. Tyson bawl out someone in the department for refusing to attend. He says it's mandatory for all employees."
Elaine shrugged her shoulders. "No one can make me go, Janet," she replied stiffly.
Janet shook her head. "I don't know about you. Ever since David was a no-show at your church several months ago, you've been in a foul mood. When he came around on inspection last week, you went hiding in the bathroom." She cupped a hand to her mouth. "And between you and me, I know he was looking for you. He asked Tim and I where you were. Tim told him you had to use the facilities real quick."
Elaine hid her red face from her coworker's view. "When you gotta go, you gotta go."
"Ha, I know better. You were avoiding him like the plague. I just don't understand you."
Elaine remembered the day of the inspection like it was yesterday. Mr. Tyson informed his crew that a team from Edwards Electronics, led by the store manager, would arrive around midday to observe the competency of the employees. Tyson appeared nervous, checking on each of the workers to make certain they were performing their assigned responsibilities with proficiency. David arrived later that morning, dressed in an expensive double-breasted suit, flanked by members of his father's inspection team from the main warehouse. Elaine ducked beneath a worktable as he passed by. When his back was turned, Elaine scooted to safety within the employee restroom and waited there until the inspection was completed. She heard a variety of voices behind the door, including David's tenor pitch as he asked questions of the other employees. At last the footsteps drifted away. With a sigh of relief, Elaine emerged from her hideout to face the irritated look on her boss's face, and a frown pasted on Janet's lips.
Elaine's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Mr. Tyson, who poked his head into the inspection area and called her to his office. Janet resumed her work while Elaine shuffled to his office, located near a glassed-in room where a new computer system would soon be installed. He sat behind a desk overflowing with mountains of paperwork.
"Have a seat," Tyson gestured, then sat back in a plush office chair with his arms folded. "I'll get right to the point, Ms. Reynolds. I hear from reliable sources that you do not plan on attending the company function."
Word spreads like a wildfire around here, Elaine thought bitterly. She wondered what else everyone knew. "Yes, Sir," she managed to say while keeping her eyes focused on the bright tiles of the office floor.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Reynolds, but I am insisting that all employees under me attend the function."
Elaine opened her mouth to object, only to be silenced by his raised hand.
"I won't hear any excuses, either. Unless you are on your deathbed, I want my employees there as a goodwill gesture to the Edwards enterprise. This promotes healthy morale and unity within the company."
Elaine wondered if Tyson stood to get a pay raise if he convinced all his employees to show up for a function. "Then I hope it's all right if I forgo the cocktail party. I don't drink."
Tyson stared over the rims of the spectacles he used for reading. "That's fine, so long as you're there when dinner begins." Studying her reaction to his orders, he added in an afterthought, "Don't look so glum about it. You might actually have a good time."
I doubt it, Elaine thought, managing a crooked smile before leaving the office. Her feet dragged along the tiled floor. Down the hallway, an expectant Janet met up with her.
"What did he say?"
"He ordered me to attend the banquet." Elaine frowned in dismay. "Just what I need. Another social pitfall in my life."
Janet hooked an arm around her waist. "Oh come on, you party pooper. We'll buy you a nice dress at the mall. I'll bet I have you looking so gorgeous, David can't help but keep his eyes on you the entire night."
Elaine felt her cheeks turning crimson. The sheer irony of David staring at anything she might be wearing at the Main Street Hotel sent her into a fit of scornful giggles. "That'll be the day."
"You just wait, Ms. Know-it-all," Janet whispered fiercely. "I happened to know when a guy's interested in a woman, and I know for a fact that David is interested in you."
That night, Elaine tossed and turned in her bed. Thoughts of Janet's statement, David is interested in you, rang in her mind. Snapping on the light at her bedside, Elaine reached for her Bible and pored over the Scriptures. Each one she read admonished her to trust in the Lord. Her favorite verse was found in Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. "I'm trying not to lean on my understanding in this whole thing, Lord," Elaine murmured to herself, gazing up at the ceiling where she noticed a small insect crawling along a cracked seam. "But David and I in the same room where the prom took place would bring up every kind of painful memory possible." Elaine sighed. She could not understand what the Lord planned to accomplish by forcing her to attend a fancy Christmas banquet. Perhaps it was all part of His plan to bring her and David together in the very room where she was once humiliated for wearing Mom's pink taffeta at the prom. Elaine turned out the light and settled under her warm comforter, entrusting the encounter to God's capable hands.
Elaine was pleased with the dress she and Janet picked out for the banquet -- a black velvet gown with pretty white lace around the collar and sleeves, dressy enough for a black tie event. As she curled her hair and applied her makeup, Elaine pushed away the memories of the prom that hovered over her like a dark storm cloud. "This is a business affair," she kept reminding herself. "Stick to Janet like glue, avoid David at all costs, and you can't help but do fine."
Janet came by just after seven, agreeing to forgo the cocktail hour so Elaine and her might attend the event together. A spark of jealousy nipped at Elaine when she saw Janet decked out in a fancy evening gown. A long, gold necklace and dangle earrings completed the outfit. She dismissed the memory of her friend Kathy in high school and concentrated on Janet's bubbly conversation while they headed downtown to the Main Street Hotel.
The establishment stood illuminated by spotlights when they arrived. White lights decorated the branches of potted palm trees inside the lobby of the hotel. The shimmering crystal chandelier rang a familiar bell in Elaine's memory, as did the mirrored walls. A huge wreath on the wall framed the employees that stood behind the hotel desk, waiting to assist people with their room assignments. The two women entered the main ballroom to find it decorated in the colorful red and green trimmings of Christmas, complete with a huge Christmas tree that reached the ceiling. A live orchestra played a variety of carols in keeping with the season.
"Isn't this exciting?" Janet whispered, squeezing her hand. Presently the two women were escorted to their assigned table for dinner. Mr. Tyson stood at the head of their table, dressed in a tuxedo. He greeted them each with a light kiss on the cheek and a long stemmed, red rose.
"Courtesy of Mr. Clyde Edwards," he told Janet and Elaine as they graciously accepted the gift.
Elaine gently brought the flower to her nose, inhaling the sweet aroma. The soft petals were like velvet beneath her fingertips, reminding her of the flowers she had received long ago after David's accident. If only the rose held more significance that a simple gesture from Edwards Electronics.
Unbeknown to her, David stood a short distance away, clad in his crisp black tuxedo, stirring a cocktail as he pretended to listen to an executive on his father's board of trustees. Instead he watched Elaine's long fingers stroke each petal of the rose she held in one hand. He wondered if she had done the same thing with the roses given to her long ago after the car-jacking incident. He remembered his insistence that the butler deliver her a dozen red roses as a thank you gift, though he decided against personally signing the card. Now his eyes scanned every inch of her -- from her curly hair to the rich black velvet dress she wore. The elegant dress clung to her figure and flowed around her legs when she followed her friend to their respective seats. David didn't realize how much of his attention sat riveted on Elaine until he heard a stern, "Ahem," in his ear, and his father's frowning face, motioning him to the head table.
Once the employees were seated, the vice president of Edwards Electronics ventured to the podium to issue a few formal announcements. He thanked everyone for their interest and hard work on behalf of the company. Placing a chart on a small stand nearby, he proudly espoused the growth of the company while pointing at a graph indicating the increase in sales with the addition of the new outlet center. "And so," he concluded, "we are pleased to announce a eight percent pay raise come January 1st for all our employees."
Everyone murmured at once and clapped warmly. That was a good raise. The company must be doing very well.
From his position at the center table, David could plainly see Elaine's face. Her eyes remained fixed on the vice president. She never looked his way, nor gave him the slightest hint of an acknowledgment. Disappointment swept over him. How he wished she would gaze at him with the same interest he showed her.
During dinner, David only picked at his food. He tried in earnest to listen to the people his father had chosen to sit at the table with the family, but his attention kept drifting to Elaine's table. He watched her engage in lively conversation with many of the workers sitting around her. She took small, dainty bites of food placed before her, carefully to wipe her full red lips on a linen napkin. He licked his own lips in response. Her fingers then curled around the water glass that she brought to her lips in a graceful gesture. Every so often she would tip back her head and shake out her curly hair. How he would love to run his fingers through those sleek curls and watch them spring back. Engrossed by her activity, David never heard the question posed by his mother until she nudged his elbow.
"Why aren't you eating, dear?" asked Jacqueline Edwards, pointing to his half-eaten plate. "Your eyes wandering. Are you looking at another woman?"
"Mother, keep your voice down," David said through clenched teeth, feeling a hot flush form beneath the tight necktie he wore.
"Really David, you shouldn't bother yourself with these employees," she went on. "They are of the lowest social class, after all. They are mere factory workers."
David grimaced at the remark, but he said nothing.
"When this is over," Jacqueline purred, "we will have a nice party out at the mansion. There you can meet some wonderful young women. My friend Caroline has a lovely daughter. Her name is Darlene. You must meet her soon. Don't be wasting your time staring at these people." Her hand waved over the assembly of employees as if they were chattel.
David threw his napkin on the table and rose to his feet. "Excuse me, Mother, but it's suddenly getting stuffy in here. I need some fresh air."
Clyde Edwards cast a questioning glance towards them both. His wife only shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. He frowned before resuming his conversation with the head of the advertising department.
In disgust, David sauntered away from the table. He went out into the lobby and leaned against an ornate column to collect his thoughts. The very idea of judging a woman by her social class left him with a sour pain in the pit of his stomach. After the remarks made by his mother, David realized his error in sizing up the classiest girl to date, only to have their relationship fracture in a month or two when someone more appealing came on the scene. He was turned off by the whole idea of shopping around until the right one bopped along. He yearned for a stable relationship, one in which the woman was intelligent, compassionate, fun, and he had to admit, attractive as well -- a woman he might love and nurture the rest of his life.
During the conversation, Janet suddenly straightened in her chair while her eyes stayed focused on the head table and the empty seat. "Hey Elaine, would you be a sweetheart and get my lipstick out of the car? I think I left it sitting in the ash tray." She blotted her lips on the napkin. "Have to get ready for all that fabulous dancing, you know."
"Sure," Elaine agreed, excusing herself. With a swish of her velvet gown, she exited the ballroom and hastened for the spiraling doors in the hotel lobby, only to stop short when a familiar voice called out to her.
"Hi, Elaine," David greeted. He stood against a column with his hands in his pockets and his feet crossed in a casual stance.
Elaine whirled, clutching her small handbag tightly to her. "Oh, hi."
He motioned to the crowded ballroom. "You come out for some air, too?"
"Well...uh," Elaine stammered, glancing around. "Actually I...uh was going out to Janet's car to get something."
"Mind if I tag along?" David loosened his necktie while he spoke. "I could sure use the walk right about now."
Elaine pushed her elbows into her sides in an effort to calm her jitters. "If you want."
The air was brisk outside the hotel. A few cumulus clouds parted to reveal a crescent moon shining above. Streetlights illuminated the sidewalk in a golden glow while Elaine and David strolled to Janet's car parked a block away from the hotel. After a few moments, David's voice broke the barricade of silence.
"You having a good time tonight?"
Elaine nodded.
David considered her thoughtfully when they reached the car. "I was thinking...it just occurred to me, the last time we both were in this hotel was the night of our senior prom, wasn't it?"
Elaine sensed the bitterness within her foam up like molten lava within a volcano. In a controlled voice, she said, "Yes, and as I recall, you won a very prestigious award that night."
David took a step back. "I'd forgotten about the whole award bit. Actually I was thinking it must be hard for you to come to a function here after...well, after..." He paused.
Elaine's hand reached out for the car latch. "You're right, it is, especially after being awarded the senior prom's worse dress of the night."
His lips parted in a picture of astonishment. His hand reached for hers, which remained clenched around the handle of the car door. "Elaine," he said softly, "I didn't think that you would be...I thought you would be thinking about..." He paused. "I'm sorry about what happened that night. I thought I was a such hotshot back in my high school days. I did and said some really -- dumb things. I thought I had it all. Now I know better. I've learned a lot. You know, being rich and everything does have its drawbacks. For one thing, I think I'm the loneliest guy around this town."
Elaine's hand fell away in surprise. She could not help but chuckle. "You...lonely? You must be kidding! There's no way you can be lonely with your kind of status."
"People only want relationships with me because of my money or the influence I have in my father's company," David noted with a distinct sadness in his voice. "They don't care to know the real person behind the name of David Edwards."
Elaine bit her lip. She had to admit his words were probably true.
He went on. "But you're one of those rare people in life who isn't interested in status or money. I know you've lived a hard life, Elaine. Money hasn't come easy for you. You've had to cope with a lot."
The sincerity of his words caught her completely off-guard. Her icy reservations began to melt away. When she turned to face him, rays of moonlight fell across his face like a veil and set his black tuxedo all aglow. She felt herself tremble under his observing eyes. "You're right, it hasn't been easy. Financially, anyway. The church has helped me. Having a relationship with God who loves me for the way I am is important to me. I think that without God, I'd be lost and lonely too."
Orchestra music filtering through the windows of the hotel suddenly reminded her of the company function they were supposed to be attending. "You'd better get back to the party, David. After all, you're an executive. Everyone's expecting you to be there."
"Yeah, an executive," he muttered, turning on his heel. "Sometimes I wish I were someone else." With that he shuffled slowly back to the hotel.
Elaine stared after him, shaking her head in amazement. She sensed David's heart had undergone drastic changes over the passage of time. Could the change be sincere? Did she dare believe in him after all these years?
Retrieving the lipstick, Elaine retraced her steps to the hotel where Janet stood waiting for her, eager to find out about the encounter. When Elaine discovered she had been set up by her friend, she scowled and retorted, "No, nothing happened."
"No way. Didn't he kiss you?"
Elaine stared at her friend in shock. "Of course not!"
"Bummer," Janet murmured. "All is not lost. I'll bet before the night's out he'll be ready to pucker up and blow."
Elaine was horrified by her friend's eagerness to set her up with her old nemesis. During the rest of the evening, Elaine concealed herself behind a set of palm trees decorated in white lights. Couples took to the dance floor when the orchestra struck up a waltz. From her secret hiding place, Elaine watched Janet swirl away with the guy she had met in Kranston's Tavern several months ago. David's partner was some girl with flowing black hair. As they whirled close by her hiding place, David's eyes locked with hers. Elaine slipped further into the recess, clutching her shaky arms around her. This is ridiculous, she chided to herself. I might as well call a taxi. I've done what I'm supposed to do as a company employee. Surely Mr. Tyson doesn't expect me to stay here the rest of the night, trying to avoid David!
Elaine brushed back a curl that had fallen across her forehead and came out of hiding, preparing to inform Janet of her early departure when David asked her to dance.
"I don't know anything about ballroom dancing," Elaine confessed. To her astonishment, David grabbed her hand anyway and led her out into the middle of the wooden dance floor under the sparkle of a crystal chandelier.
"Just follow my steps," he instructed her. "No one else knows how to dance either."
Elaine followed his cue, growing conscious of his warm hand on her waist and the other grasping her hand in a firm hold. His dark eyes gazed steadily into hers.
"You have very blue eyes," David commented.
Elaine quickly shifted her eyes, trying to fix her attention on the scenery around her. To her embarrassment, Janet swept by and gave a thumbs-up signal.
"You don't seem to like me much, do you?" he finally remarked.
Elaine redirected her gaze to him, sending a smile across his face. "Ah-ha, I thought that comment would bring back your eyes. They are so blue, like a summer's sky. And very pretty."
His dark eyes boring into hers made her feel uncomfortable. Her hand began to sweat in his. Her pumps felt like they were coated in thick globs of mud. Somehow he was beginning to have an effect on her.
Suddenly Elaine blurted out, "Look...anyone with eyes in their heads can see why you bother dancing with someone like me."
David's cheerful expression evaporated. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean I know what you're doing. Dancing, talking, carrying on with the one you once loved to harass. Guess all it takes is a car-jacking to turn you around."
With a firm grip on her arm, David led her over to an obscure corner and whirled her around to face him. "You think I asked you to dance as a way to ease my conscience?"
"And why you got me the job at the outlet center...and why you've suddenly become friendly all these weeks. Isn't it obvious? I wasn't raised on a turnip truck. Why don't you admit it?"
"All right, I'll admit that the past has shook me up some. But that has nothing to do with this, nor does the car-jacking."
"I don't believe you. Not one bit." She turned away, ready to leave, when he caught her arm.
"Elaine, I realize you hate me and you think I'm the sole reason for all your pain. Maybe you have a right to hate me. But I know for a fact, in that little black Bible that you carry to church every Sunday, it talks about forgiveness. Letting go. Forgiving the past and going on. I really wish you would." David whirled and walked off.
Stunned and confused, Elaine fought back a sudden wave of tears that clouded her vision. The rest of the evening she sat by herself at a table, watching the couples as they danced, contemplating David's words. Janet came over to inquire if everything was all right. Elaine nodded numbly, intertwining her fingers into a ball. Another miserable night at the Main Street Hotel, she thought. Once or twice she caught David's dark eyes observing her moroseness from across the ballroom. He appeared ready to say something more, but instead, waltzed away with the black-haired beauty. What does he want? Elaine wondered as the couple danced back and forth. Does he really want us to forget the past and go on? If so, why? Could this mean he cares about me? Elaine was so immersed in these thoughts, she did not realize the evening had ended and the employees were striding for the exit until a familiar figure strode up.
"Are you planning on spending the night here?" David asked.
She glanced up to see his tall, dark form hovering above her. She stared at the empty ballroom and jumped to her feet. "Of course not. Have you seen Janet?"
"She left a few minutes ago."
"What? She left without me? I don't believe it. She was supposed to drive me home."
"I'll take you home."
Elaine shook her head. "I don't know if we should..."
David's dark eyebrows rose. His jaw tightened.
"Okay," she agreed, unwilling to face another argument. They strode out to the VIP parking near the entrance of the hotel. David held open the passenger door of the Mercedes while she gathered up her gown and slipped inside.
"I guess you haven't replaced the car that was stolen?"
David shook his head and settled himself into the driver's seat. "The police never found the crook or the car. Dad was pretty upset about the whole thing. He told the police they were inept and hired his own private investigator."
"I guess you can afford things like that," Elaine remarked, then promptly chastised herself when she saw his hands tighten around the steering wheel. "Sorry."
"No biggie. I'm used to being called Mr. Rich Guy." He sat silent for a few moments, intent on the drive through the city streets. "Tell me Elaine, if you could get your hands on a wad of money, what would you do with it?"
Elaine did not hesitate with her answer. She had considered the idea many times. "Give the money to my dad so he can have better rehabilitation, and to the church so they can build their own facility instead of renting space."
David cast her a glance. "Those are good reasons to spend money. You wouldn't keep any of it for yourself? Buy yourself a house with it or get yourself a car?"
Thoughts of a pretty house in the valley or a bright sports car drifted into her mind. "Maybe. I've never had a lot of money, so I couldn't say what I'd do with it." At that moment, her glasses slipped down the bridge of her nose. She jammed them up into place with an irritated push of her finger. "Maybe get an operation on my eyes like that laser surgery I've seen advertised so I wouldn't have to wear glasses."
"Have you considered contacts?"
"Yeah, but no thanks. I have a severe astigmatism or so the doctor says. The pain of getting used to the things would outweigh all the advantages."
David nodded. "It took me over six months to get used to my contacts."
Elaine flashed him a look of surprise. "You wear contacts?"
"Ever since high school." He nodded at the eyeglass case lying on the dashboard. "I wear glasses when the contacts irritate my eyes. Go on, you can look at them."
Elaine reached out and withdrew a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles. She unfolded the stems and held them up to the lights illuminating the city streets. "These are nice."
David laughed. "They make me look like a professor," he confessed before adding, "but I don't even notice your glasses, Elaine. You look great in them. They're a part of you."
Elaine replaced the glasses sheepishly, thankful for the darkness inside the car that concealed her flushed cheeks from his view. "I always thought I looked ugly in them. You used to call me four-eyes in grade school, you know."
David glanced over while keeping the corner of his eye trained on the road. "I did? I don't remember that."
"In fact you wouldn't believe the things you used to..." Elaine paused, unable to continue. What was the use of listing all the wrongs he had committed? She slid down in her seat and stared out the window. "Never mind. It was so long ago."
David pulled up to the apartment building, then sat back in his seat to study her moodiness. "Maybe you should tell me," he said softly, "so I can say I'm sorry. If I need to apologize a thousand times for being a rotten kid, I will."
Again the sincerity of his words again caught her off-guard. This was a different David than the one she knew. Or thought she knew. Elaine shook her head and fumbled for the handle to the door.
"Forget it, David. I should apologize for bringing it all up. You were right, you know, back at the hotel. I have a lot of unforgiveness in me. You've been so nice to me these last few months; I didn't think it was for real. I thought it was all a show for what happened in the past, or for what Charlie and I did for you the night of the car-jacking. I didn't think you could care about me personally. I guess I am pretty mixed up about everything."
David reached out a finger to touch a lone tear glistening on her cheek. "Elaine, you're really a wonderful woman. You just need to start convincing yourself of your worth. I think you make up all these excuses to hide the real truth. You say how much God loves you for who you are. The truth is, do you really believe it...and if so, then do you believe someone else might like you for who you are, too?"
Elaine sat still, thinking the question over. She took off her glasses to dry her eyes. Before she could replace them, David caught her hand, leaned over, and kissed her. The kiss was gentle at first, then grew to a greater intensity. His arms slipped around her shoulders, drawing her toward him.
Elaine submitted for a moment, then jerked away from the passionate touch as though a bee had stung her. She jammed the glasses back on her face and hurried to open the car door.
"Good night," David murmured.
Inside the apartment, Elaine buried her head in a pillow. "I can't believe it! David kissed me. Out of all the women in the whole wide world...he kissed me! This can't be happening." What seemed impossible had suddenly become real. Now she wondered what to do. Faint, smile, ignore it, or take the whole matter in prayer before God? Elaine decided on the last activity and immediately spent time talking to God about the situation. "Please, God," she prayed, "show me what to do with this man before I lose my head and my heart."
From the moment they shared in the kiss, Elaine found her life turned upside down. While David kept a professional distance from her at the workplace, giving her smiles or greetings when they saw each other in the hall; but outside the confines of the brick establishment, he used every opportunity to spend time with her. Occasionally they took walks in the park with the cold wind nipping their noses, or grabbed a bite to eat at the diner downtown. They spent long hours talking, holding hands, and finding private moments to share a kiss.
One Saturday he invited her on a cross country ski trip, along with Janet and her new boyfriend, Keith, who worked in engineering at a nearby manufacturing plant and who was a friend of David's. The resort, devoted entirely to cross-country skiing, lay nestled between snow covered peaks. As Elaine breathed in the cold, wintry air, mixed with the fragrant aroma of pine trees, she murmured thanks to God for this beautiful place and for His work of restoration between David and her.
Elaine and Janet rented equipment with the assistance of David who had skied many times. They giggled like schoolgirls as they attempted to jam their feet into the tight boots. They held on to each other while David and Keith assisted them with attaching their skis. Elaine bobbled at first, trying to walk across the snow in the skis like a pair of snowshoes, and promptly fell into a snow bank. Her feet twisted in the skis when she tried to stand. "Help me!" she yelled to her friends who had already begun heading toward the beginner's trail.
David skied back to offer her a steady hand as she climbed up to a standing position. His breath fanned her face like a warm breeze. "You okay?"
"Yeah, but I'll never be able to move in these things," Elaine grumbled.
"Let me show you the basics." He proceeded to instruct her on gliding, the snow plow stop, and other mechanics of cross-country skiing. "It's really a lot of fun, Elaine, once you get the hang of it," he assured her. "The skis will take you along some great trails, right over there." He pointed to the beginner's trail, flanked by rows of pine trees frosted over with snow.
Elaine struggled with the first few maneuvers until she eventually caught on to the knack of gliding across the machine-groomed tracks, cut deep into the snowy path.
"You're doing great," David called over his shoulder before he and Keith took off on their own, racing each other down the trail.
"Boys will be boys," Janet commented, skiing alongside Elaine. Her eyes twinkled. "See? I told you, Elaine. When David looks at you, there's love in those eyes."
Elaine knocked her pole playfully into Janet's. "Stop it. He's just a friend. Beside...he isn't a Christian."
Janet frowned. "So what? Is that so important when the richest guy in town is in love with you? C'mon, girl, lighten up."
"It's very important," Elaine insisted, knocking away the snow caked beneath a ski with the pointed tip of a pole. "The Bible talks about it."
Janet snorted. "You and your Bible. Sometimes I think this God of yours doesn't want you to have any fun in life."
Elaine was about to comment when the guys came whirling down the ski track, laughing away.
"Beat you that time, Edwards," Keith remarked, panting from the exercise. "You owe us a pizza on the way home, as if you haven't got the money to pay for it."
"A deal's a deal, I guess," David agreed, glancing over to Elaine. "You want to take a little trip down the trail?"
Elaine nodded, slowly gliding across a flat section of the trail while David followed behind. Soon they were alone in the forest, cloaked in the protection of pine trees. "This is beautiful," Elaine commented.
David skied up beside her. "Once you get the hang of skiing and develop turns, we'll do the intermediate loop. There's a frozen waterfall on that trail."
"A waterfall?" The mere image of water frozen solid like expensive crystal intrigued her. Elaine grabbed hold of David's arm. "Oh, I would love to see it! Please take me."
"Well," he decided, scrutinizing her eagerness, "if you want to see it that much, maybe we can give it a try."
Elaine maneuvered her skis around with the assistance of the twin poles. "I'd do anything to see it," she said breathlessly, "even ski to the North Pole if necessary."
David chuckled. "Then follow me...to the North Pole we go!"
To Elaine's relief, the trail was fairly flat for the first part of the journey before turning treacherous with winding curves and a steep drop to the base of the waterfalls. She paused on top of the hill, her heart thumping, while she gazed with trepidation down the snowy descent. "No way. I can't do it."
David sailed down the trail with grace and ease. "It's not bad, Elaine," he called up. "Just keep your legs bent and don't lean back."
Elaine shook her head.
"C'mon." He waved her on with his pole. "The waterfall's right down here. It looks like a frozen miniature of Niagara Falls."
At this, Elaine sucked in her breath and closed her eyes, working up the courage she needed to perform the feat. "Okay," she said, her voice shaking. "Here I come." With one push of her pole into the snow, she flew down the trail, gaining speed as she descended. "David!" she cried, waving her poles frantically in the air. "Help! I'm going too fast! I can't stop!"
"Put your knees together!" he called out. "Snow plow!"
Elaine placed her knees together, only to lose her balance and land hard on her backside. One ski flew off her boot and skittered down the length of the trail to rest at David's feet. He swiped it up and ambled to her, his face etched in concern. "Are you okay?"
Elaine lay prostrate in the snow where she had fallen. When she tried to move, every muscle groaned in protest. "Guess I'm not such a great skier," she mumbled, rising gingerly to a sitting position with his assistance. "That's it. I think I'll walk the rest of the way."
David knelt beside her and removed his glove. With great tenderness, he cupped her cold cheek in the warmth of his hand. He stared longingly into her face, tracing the defining lines of her lips with his eyes. "I think you did a wonderful job," he murmured before gathering her in his arms.
His kiss was sweet and tender, yet Elaine sensed trouble brewing in her spirit. She withdrew from his embrace, picked up her poles, and struggled to her feet.
David jammed his own ski poles into the snow bank and crossed his arms before him. "What's wrong now, Elaine? What have I done this time?"
"David," she began, searching for the right words, "I-I just don't think we should be, well, this close and all. You're a nice guy and everything, but you see, I'm a Christian and..."
David rolled his eyes in irritation. "So what? Look, I admire your faith and all, but I don't think it has to come between us. We have a great time together."
"It can't help but come between us. God is my life. Without Him I would be lost. And the Bible even talks about not being unequally yoked."
An angry flush swept across his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Elaine swallowed hard under his glaring eyes. "Forget it," she said quickly. "I shouldn't have said anything."
A look of relief came over him. He gave her a playful squeeze around her shoulders. "Look Elaine, if you're not comfortable with kissing, that's fine with me. We'll take this one step at a time, okay?"
"Sure," Elaine replied, but inside she felt miserable. She knew their relationship was wrong. David was sneaking in on her relationship with God, sending fracture lines running across her Christian foundation, yet she felt as helpless to stop it as she did careening down the snowy hill on her skies.
One the way home, the foursome stopped off at a pizza parlor and ordered a large pizza, which they consumed ravenously. David and Elaine sat quietly in their respective places, sipping their drinks, while Janet and Keith exchanged giggles, fed each other pizza, and nuzzled noses. Elaine felt a flush fill her cheeks at the antics of the other couple. David's eyes studying her reaction did not help the situation.
Finally Keith stifled a yawn. "I'm bushed. Why don't we call it a night, huh David? We passed a place just down the road...that little log motel. Looks nice and cozy."
Janet's eyes lit up. "Great!" she announced, intertwining her fingers with Keith's. "It would be a pretty long trip back if we drove all the way home tonight."
Elaine's eyes widened. "What...you mean stay in a motel, the four of us together?"
Janet kicked her foot beneath the table. "Sure, silly, what did you think? Of course we'll split up and get two rooms." She glanced over at Keith who smiled. "More privacy."
Elaine gulped hard. Her face reddened. Impulsively she rose to her feet. "I can't do this." She turned to David. "Please take me home. Tonight."
David caught sight of the strange look materializing on Keith's face. "Look, we're all pretty tired. I think it's a good idea. Then we can start fresh in the morning."
Elaine gaped at him.
"Oh come on, Elaine," Janet chided. "Now you're going to tell us you can't spend the night in the motel with David because it's against your religion." She leaned over to Keith and whispered loudly in his ear, "She's one of those religious types. This God of hers doesn't want anyone to have a good time. Can't drink, can't date, can't do anything."
Keith gave Elaine a look of scorn. "Religion is for little old ladies in their flowered hats. Don't tell me you're that old-fashioned, Elaine." He glanced over at David. "I thought your girlfriend was cool, David. Now I hear she's some sort of far right religious fanatic? Who've you gotten yourself hooked up with?"
Elaine grabbed her purse and without another look, left the restaurant. The wind bit hard through the jacket she wore as she paused to catch a breath of cold air. "Oh God, how could I have been so stupid? I let myself get wrapped up in a relationship that I'm just not ready for. How can I get out before it's too late?"
Footsteps in the snow interrupted her. "Elaine, come back inside," David called. "It's too cold to be out here."
She shook her head. "I've got to leave. There's no way I'm staying in some motel."
"Elaine, c'mon. It's not like we're gonna..."
"No, I can't. It isn't right." She hands flew in exasperation. "Look, I can't go on with this relationship, David. My relationship with God is too important to me to let this continue. I wish you could understand what I mean when I say we can't be together."
His boot scuffed the snow. "I don't understand, not one bit. I don't understand how God can keep you away from me and make you into some sort of brick wall with a sign that reads -- 'Don't come near me unless you're religious.'"
"I'm sorry, David, but that's who I am. Please find someone else who will give you what you want in a relationship."
David stared at the ground. He continued to mound up the snow with his boot until he kicked it, scattering the flakes into the wind. "Elaine, I don't want anyone else. Look, I won't try and change who you are. If your religion means that much to you, I'll respect it."
"But I can't go on like this. I-I need space. I'm just not ready for a relationship right now."
"Well, what about a friendship? Can we just be friends?"
Elaine thought for a moment, then shook her head. Friends meant the tension in her heart would still exist, as well as the attraction. A part of her wanted to stay with him, while the other warned that she could overstep that boundary of friendship when she least expected it. "No."
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his down jacket. "So that's what you want. Go our separate ways and pretend we never knew each other. Super. Have it your way. But we're still staying at the motel." When she opened her mouth to protest, David added, "Don't worry, you'll have your own room. Sorry you think I'm not good enough for you."
Elaine's mouth again dropped. He turned and walked back to the restaurant, scuffing up snow with his hiking boots. For the first time in her life, Elaine believed that David truly did care about her.
Spring -- 2001
In the weeks that followed, Elaine pored herself into her work at the outlet center and in church activities to ease the disappointment over her broken relationship with David. She headed up a spring bake sale and yard sale for the church on the corner of the business district, netting a few hundred dollars for the building fund. She put in long hours of overtime at the outlet center, redoing the entire outlet inventory on the new computerized fact sheets set up by her boss, Mr. Tyson. When Tyson sought an employee eager to earn extra money by learning a basic computer program, Elaine volunteered. Now her fingers clicked away on the keyboard until they became callused, and her shoulders ached from hunching over the desk, yet she allowed nothing to deter her work. Often her coworker, Tim Gray, worked late to verify the counts and pass information along to her. During the conversations the two shared at break time, Tim began unraveling the mystery surrounding the criminal conduct of his older brother.
"Yeah, Sly's gotten himself in trouble a lot," Tim said, sorting through a box of machine parts.
Elaine glanced up from her keyboard. "Sly?"
"Yeah, he calls himself that 'cause he says he can outwit any cop or court in the nation. Course he's been in jail a few times, but he's always managed to con the board into giving him early parole. He says he's got himself the one and only 'get out of jail free' card in the whole justice system."
"You ever see him?"
"Sometimes. We don't talk much. Right now he's somewhere down south. Ma says he's gotten his life together, but I'll believe it when I see it."
Elaine thought about her older brother Jimmy and how he tried to sort out his troubled life while in the army. She relayed these thoughts to Tim while tallying up the totals on a graphic sheet displayed on the computer screen.
"You miss your brother?" Tim wondered.
"I never knew him very well," Elaine admitted. "He died during a military training accident."
Tim's wide blue eyes focused on hers. "Sorry to hear that."
"I visit his grave every month."
"Must be tough. I had an uncle who died in 'Nam. He was Pop's twin brother. Pop was never the same, so Ma says. He got abusive and started drinking. Took a lot of his anger out on us, 'specially Sly."
Elaine paused in her work. "You think that's why Sly turned out the way he did?"
Tim shrugged. "Don't know."
Elaine stared at the configuration of numbers decorating the screen before her. "Yeah, life is tough. So many mix-ups, U-turns, and dead-ends. Guess that's why I finally had to give my life over to God. After my brother's death and Dad's injury, I figured someone else better be at the controls of my life." She added with a laugh, "I'd just mess myself all up."
Tim stared silently into the box before him as if lost in thought. "Yeah, Janet's been telling everyone how you're religious. She says you won't date the manager because he isn't a Christian, even though he likes you. I mean, everyone's talkin' about you two. She thinks you're crazy not to go out with him."
"Let her think I'm crazy," Elaine muttered. "Going out with someone like David isn't all that it's cracked up to be, you know. There's more important things in life than social status and money." The familiar words spoken by Mark Ryan long ago reverberated in her mind, just weeks before he died. Mark hit it right on the nose, she thought. He knew people inside and out, and he knew the heart of God. He did not allow others to tear up his Christian witness, no matter how much they ridiculed him. Elaine decided that Mark Ryan had proven himself the richest man of all, not in wealth, but by his kindness, compassion, and ability to see the goodness in others.
"But you still like David...uh, Mr. Edwards, don't you?" Tim pressed.
Elaine shrugged and returned to her work. "I guess. There are things I like about him and things I don't. I guess for now we're like two airplanes, circling around, in a holding pattern until something opens up." Elaine bit her lip, wondering what could possibly bring them together now.
"Long time since I've seen you, honey," Mom commented, giving Elaine a hug when she came for dinner one Sunday afternoon.
"It's been pretty hectic." Elaine hugged her mother back, then stooped to embrace her father. He appeared listless in his wheelchair. His clothing hung limp on his frail form. Wrinkles creased his gaunt face. Concerned by his appearance, Elaine followed her mother into the kitchen. "What's wrong with Dad?"
"He's not very happy these days," she admitted.
Elaine glanced over her shoulder into the living room where Dad sat watching a basketball game. "He looks terrible."
"The doctor said on his last check-up that he had lost ten pounds." Mom followed Elaine's observing eye to Dad who sat hunched over in the wheelchair, resting his chin in one hand. "The doctor says he must keep eating. People in wheelchairs tend to get sick a lot more often. The doctor's afraid if he comes down with a major infection, it could do him a lot of harm."
Elaine swallowed hard. "Oh Mom, what can we do? We can't force Dad to eat."
Mom shook her head. "All we can do is keep him in our prayers, Elaine. I wish we had the money to send him to a good rehabilitation hospital. They're doing wonders now, with electrical impulses to stimulate muscles in the legs. We've been reading on the Internet of the crusades to find a cure for spinal cord injuries. He would be so much happier if he could just get out of the wheelchair."
Elaine thought back to the conversation with David at the Christmas party when he asked what she would do with a wad of money. "What I need is some of David's money," she grumbled under her breath. "He probably has enough money hidden away in his bank account to send Dad to rehab for the rest of his life."
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Mom. Just wondering to myself where we could get the money we need to help Dad out."
Mom sighed as she pulled a steaming casserole out of the oven. "I've often prayed about that," she confessed.
Elaine opened the cupboard and fished out plates and glasses. Her nose detected the delicious smell of dinner. "Mmm, is that your chicken casserole with cashews?"
"It's one of your father's favorites. I'm hoping he will eat some."
At the table Dad only picked at his food, focusing much of his attention on Elaine while she described her work and church activities.
"I hear," he interjected, stirring cream into his coffee, "that you've been seeing the millionaire's son, David Edwards."
Elaine flushed red. "Where did you hear that?"
"Our neighbor across the street said she saw you two walking in the park one evening, some time ago," Mom added. "We didn't want to bring it up."
"We did a few things together," Elaine admitted, "but I called off our relationship."
"What?" Dad roared in a voice that shook Elaine in her seat. "A millionaire's son is interested in you and you decide to call it quits? Why, for heaven's sake?"
Elaine hunched down in her seat, looking to her mother for support. "We're not right for each other, Dad. We have different ideals and..."
"I don't care," he snapped. "You make it right, Elaine. He's loaded with cash and everything else. I can't believe you shoved him away. You just don't understand, do you?" Dad pushed his wheelchair from the table, sending the wheels spinning.
Elaine forced back the tears. "Dad," she began, "some things are more important than money."
"I'd sure like to know what. Money is one thing we've never had around here, especially now that I'm some cripple. You have the chance to live happy and content for the rest of your life, Elaine. You could have everything you ever wanted and you throw it away like garbage."
Mom reached out to touch his arm. "I think what Elaine's trying to say is that she feels God is the most important thing in her life. God will provide for her needs, like He has for us, Al."
"Right," Dad barked. "I'd sure like to know why God hasn't seen fit to get me out of this blasted wheelchair." With a sharp turn of the wheel he exited the room, hurling a curse when the chair bumped into a wall, chipping off a hunk of drywall.
Elaine sat still and quiet, unable to think. Mom tried to reassure her, but the rest of the evening lay clouded over in a dark oppression. Even the ride home in the taxi with her cabby-friend, Charlie, proved depressing when the grizzly man announced that he had found a new job with another taxi company in another town.
"So this is your last Sunday ride, Ms. Elaine."
When he came to a stop in front of her apartment, she flung herself in his arms. "Oh, Charlie," she cried. "How can you leave me like this?"
"Hey now, it's not like I'm leaving the world for good," he told her. "I'll just be over in the next town. I'll probably make runs in this area now and then. Tell you what? I promise to come by and take you around in my new cab. How's that sound?"
"I'll miss you. It seems I'm losing everyone I love and I don't know what to do."
"Want me to cheer you up by singing a little country ballad?" he suggested.
Elaine couldn't help but giggle. "You always know how to make me smile, Charlie. That's what I'll miss the most about you."
The meaty cab driver placed his arms affectionately around her. "Hey now, you just take care of yourself, you hear? And no wandering around this town alone. I'll never forget some of our wild rides, especially the night of that car-jacking when we helped out that young Edwards fellow."
"Yeah," Elaine mumbled, wishing he hadn't brought up the subject.
"Good-bye, Ms. Elaine." He waved to her, then ambled back into his cab and roared off.
Elaine watched the taillights disappear into the night. A raw wind seeped through her sweater, mixing perfectly with the loneliness that filled her. Gazing upward into the starlit skies, she observed the picture perfect constellations and the shower of the Milky Way Galaxy. She could make out both the Big and Little Dipper, Orion, and others scattered across the heavens. Beyond the stars, Elaine wondered if God could see her depression and if He cared anything at all about it.
"Nice night, isn't it?" remarked a voice.
Elaine whirled in a start to find David sauntering up to her, dressed in a dark leather jacket that matched his hair. He was an impressive sight, standing there in the night shadows, yet all Elaine could concentrate on was her own depression. "What are you doing here?" she managed to ask.
"Out for a walk."
Elaine frowned. "In this area?"
"Actually, I walked up from downtown. I knew you sometimes went to visit your folks on Sunday afternoons, so I thought I'd check and see how they're doing."
Elaine scuffed her shoe along the sidewalk. "Dad's not doing too well. He's lost a lot of weight."
"I'm sorry to hear that," David murmured in a soft voice, stepping towards her.
Elaine backpedaled from his advance, keeping a safe distance between them. "Yeah, he's pretty discouraged. Mom and I wish we could send him to a rehabilitation hospital. There are many fine clinics around the country. Some are even experimenting with electrical impulses to assist the handicap in walking. Sure wish we could send him to a place like that."
"Elaine, if money's the problem here, I'll gladly..."
"No," she retorted, whirling away from him and climbing the cement staircase to the apartment building. "I don't want to take a handout."
"It's not a handout, Elaine. Call it a loan."
Elaine shook her head, retrieving her keys from inside her purse. "I can't take money from you, David. We're talking about tens of thousands of dollars. There's no way I could ever pay back that kind of money."
David mounted the stairs until he stood one step below her. "Look Elaine, I've always wanted to do something worthwhile with the money I have. I've got a trust fund, you see, that Dad set up for me when I was little. I can claim it now that I'm over twenty- one. There's plenty of money in the account to pay for rehabilitation."
"I can't take your money," she repeated.
"Why?" his voice snapped. "Is it because I'm not a do-good Christian like you? Even my money isn't good enough for you?"
Elaine searched his dark eyes in the glare of the streetlights and saw the anger, mixed with hurt. For a moment she stood speechless, unable to think of the words to say.
"You know, I will never understand you or this religion of yours." He exhaled a long sigh, fanning the dark strands of hair that lay across his forehead. "I'll admit, you're the first and only woman I've ever met who has refused my money or me for that matter. Most women would drop what they're doing and come running if I called. Not you. You're of an entirely different breed altogether." He added with a sneer, "I've never met anyone so obstinate in all my life."
Elaine bristled. "You think just because you're the head of your dad's business and you're rich that I would want to waltz away with you? Forget it. There's more to life than a relationship with a millionaire, especially a conceited one. You can keep your millions and use it to...to line a landfill or something." Elaine marched into the building and slammed the door behind her.
For a brief moment she experienced certain exhilaration at the ability to express her hatred, until the emotion gave way to disgruntlement. "Imagine, thinking I'll follow him to the ends of the earth just because he's rich and good looking. Of all the conceited, no good..." She tramped into the kitchen to boil water for tea. "Who does he think he is? God's gift to every needy woman of the planet?" She banged the teakettle on the stove, flung open the cupboard, and jerked out the teabag container. The top flew off, scattering teabags across the linoleum. "This is my life right now," Elaine mumbled, surveying the mess of teabags, some split open, with leaves strewn all over. "One huge mess with David smack dab in the middle." She glanced into the lighting fixture above her head. "All he does is ruin my life. He's like a leech, sucking up my heart and emotions, never wanting to let go. Oh God, when will You take this man out of my life?"
A few weeks later, Elaine glanced at her wristwatch and groaned. The time was already ten o'clock at night and she still had stacks of paperwork to wade through, given to her by Tim Gray earlier that evening. Elaine rubbed her bloodshot eyes and stifled a yawn. "I'll never be able to get up for work tomorrow," she complained, but tried to think of the fat paycheck she would receive at the end of the week. She had opened a savings account at the bank in town and dutifully put away a small amount of cash each payday, hoping to save enough money one day to assist her father with his rehabilitation. Each night she prayed over the small amount, asking God to increase it. "And here's the answer to my prayer," she noted, thumbing through the papers waiting to be transcribed into the computer database. "I should be thankful."
As she typed away, her mind reflected over David's willingness to assist financially with her father's rehabilitation. She could still picture his face under those starry skies a few weeks ago, and the concerned expression when she described the deteriorating condition of her father. Perhaps she had been a fool to let her anger get the better of her. David was only trying to help. Maybe she should apologize and accept his generosity as a gift from God. Or maybe I should forget what happened and concentrate on my work. That's the only way I'll make the money I need.
At that moment, a breathless Tim Gray ran up to her desk inside the glass office. Elaine observed his flushed face and shaking hands out of the corner of her eye. For several weeks, Tim had not been himself. He lurked about in odd places around the outlet center, furiously scribbling notes on a clipboard. He refused to elaborate any further about himself or his brother. Any questions Elaine asked were answered with short, one-word responses before he plopped the needed figures on her desk and raced off to perform some menial task. Elaine sensed the turmoil stirring within him, but did not know what to make of it.
"You okay, Tim?" she now asked, watching him rub his sweaty hands on his shirt.
"Sure, sure," he replied nervously. "I...uh, wanted to know if...uh, you could use a Coke from the machine?"
Elaine smiled. "That would be great." She reached over for her purse lying on the floor next to the chair. "Let me give you the change."
"Nah, that's okay," he told her. "It's on me."
The building trembled at that moment with the roar of a huge truck entering the loading dock at the rear of the building. Elaine turned in her seat and frowned. "I didn't know a shipment was coming in this late at night," she remarked.
Tim laughed with a high pitched, nervous chatter not unlike that of a chipmunk. "Yeah, kind of weird, huh? Mr. Tyson wants me to accept the delivery, Elaine, so you don't have to worry about it. Better you stay here, you know, right inside the safety of this room so they...uh, so the men don't run over you with all them boxes."
She shrugged and whirled around in the office chair to face the computer screen. "Okay. Thanks for the warning. And don't worry about getting me that Coke. You've got stuff to do. I'll take a break in a little while."
Tim eyed her with a bleak expression painted on his freckled face. He appeared ready to say something, but pressed his lips together instead and trotted off toward the loading dock.
Elaine tapped away on the keyboard, replacing her thoughts of Tim with David and his handsome features. She reminisced about their dance under the sparkling chandelier at the Christmas party, and his gentle kisses that warmed her on the inside. A tingle soared through her, running straight through her fingertips until the keys of the board felt electrified. "I've got to stop this," she mumbled aloud to herself. "I've got to put David out of my mind right now." Elaine closed her eyes for a moment in an effort to suppress the memories.
After another half-hour of work, her mind began to spin with endless numbers and decimal points until she could take no more. Outside the computer room, hushed voices could be discerned while workers shuffled boxes from the storage area to an awaiting truck. "Guess I should see if Tim needs help," Elaine mused, pushing herself away from the desk. She rose, flexed her stiff extremities, and yawned. "If I see another set of figures, I'm liable to check myself into a mental institution."
Through the windows of the computer room, Elaine could see the flicker of flashlights in the main showroom of the outlet center. Apparitions seemed to appear on the dark shelves lined with merchandise. That's strange. Has the electricity gone off in there or something? Elaine opened the door to approach the showroom when a hand flew out of the darkness and smashed firmly against her mouth. A powerful arm dragged her back into the computer room. Elaine struggled to keep the screams lodged in her throat. The figure hurled her into the chair and swung a rifle around, pointing the muzzle in her face.
"Sit still and keep quiet," barked a voice behind a black knit ski mask. Bloodshot eyes glared at her. "Not one peep." Keeping the rifle trained, the man picked up her purse from off the ground, dumping out the contents until he found her wallet. Cosmetics, keys, pens, and a coupon organizer flew into an obscure corner of the room.
Elaine sat frozen in place with her hands clenching the armrests of the chair. Oh God, oh God, her mind cried. The man took five dollars and jammed it into a free pocket of his army fatigues.
"You're as poor as a rat," he observed in disgust, tossing the ravaged bag in the corner to join the accessories. "Don't they pay you enough around here? Is this all you've got on you?"
Elaine nodded, her eyes never leaving the weapon he held. In the distance she heard boxes pushed from the showroom and taken to the truck parked at the rear of the building. Oh God, a robbery. The reality of the situation left her thoughts spinning in a whirlwind. I'm right in the middle of a robbery at the outlet center, God. Does Tim know? Where is he? Did they hurt him? Will they hurt me? Oh God, will I die? I have all this hatred in me...that unforgiveness towards David...I don't think I'm ready to die...not yet. I need to get ready. Oh God, I'm so scared. Are You here with me? Help me, please!
The man strode over to the computer where Elaine had been working and unplugged the electrical cord from the power surge unit. "Brand new," he observed in satisfaction. "This should get a lot." He cast an amused look in her direction. Elaine sat perfectly still; her muscles paralyzed with fear. "Just pretend you never saw any of this. It's the best way I know to make fast cash and the Edwards clan is loaded. They'll never miss it."
Elaine thought of all the employees, including David, and their reaction at finding the entire outlet center looted the next morning. She wondered at that moment about the security guards that were supposed to watch the exits at night, and why the alarm system had not gone off. Dear God, did they kill anyone? She had seen many times on the news where robberies often ended in the death of employees, like those committed in convenience stores. Closing her eyes, Elaine fought back a wave of terror ready to crush her with its heavy hand. She turned to Scriptures to ease the fear of the unknown. The Lord is on my side, I will not fear, what can man do to me?
After delivering the computer to a fellow cohort, the man turned his attention to Elaine, sizing her up as she sat in the chair. "So I hear you're Edward Junior's little girlfriend. That true?"
Elaine flushed, wondering how the man knew such information.
The rifle jutted in her direction. "Are you?" he pressed.
Elaine gulped. Her extremities shook. "I...uh, well, I-I know him is all."
"Kind'a personally, that's what I hear." His dried lips creased into a smile.
Elaine flushed under his scrutiny. "W w-we're friends, but I..."
"C'mon, let's go." He ushered her from the computer room with a wave of his rifle. "Got an easy job for you to do."
"But I..."
"It ain't hard. All you need to do is be the welcoming committee for our special guest. Right this way."
When David discovered the urgent message about Elaine on his voicemail, he wasted no time grabbing his leather jacket and racing down the winding staircase of the three-story mansion. His parents would still be away for hours, attending a dinner party for an associate retiring from the company. Having just arrived home from the affair himself, David managed to take off the stuffy suit and remove his contacts when his cell phone beeped, acknowledging a message on voicemail. Even now as he jumped into the Mercedes, his thoughts spun with the implication behind the words.
"Hello, David Edwards?" a young voice began. "My name's Keith Carson and I'm one of the employees who works with Elaine. She...uh, she told me to tell you that she needs to see you right away. It's urgent...uh, something about her family. Come as soon as you can, to the loading dock at the outlet center. Thanks."
"Must be her dad. Something must've happened to him. She said he wasn't well. Maybe she needs a ride to the hospital or something." He glanced around at the blurred scenery before realizing he had removed his contacts. He fumbled with one hand for the glass case on the dashboard and jammed on the pair of wire spectacles. "Gotta hurry," David mumbled, sensing the tension build in the muscles of his forearms as he gripped the steering wheel.
His heart raced while he waited for the light to change. I know Elaine won't have anything to do with me, but I think about her all the time. She's in my thoughts constantly, every moment of the day. He turned the steering wheel, heading in the direction of the outlet center. While he drove, his heart warmed at the thought that she might need him during this crisis in her life. Perhaps Elaine's heart had finally softened enough to accept his help. "Maybe this means she's beginning to care about me. I wish it were true. Even if there were a shred of hope, I'd help her anyway I could. I wouldn't pressure her. I'd just be there for her."
David sped to the loading dock at the rear of the outlet center to find a large truck and a van parked there. He scanned for Elaine among the dark, shadowy figures that scampered inside the building like a pack of field mice. He took little notice of the strange activity hovering at the loading dock, with his thoughts trained on Elaine's desperate need for help. As he rose out of the car, Elaine stumbled out the back door, shaking like a tree branch in a windstorm.
"Elaine!" he called, approaching her with a swift walk. "It's okay. I'm here."
She waved her arms at him. "No, David! Go back! It's a trap!"
A man suddenly stepped out from behind Elaine, shoving her to the ground with a rifle butt before calling to his men. The accomplices quickly overcame David, knocking him to the pavement. One held him down while another stripped him of the leather jacket he wore.
"Wait a minute..." David began. "Look, if you want..."
"Shut-up!" the leader snarled as they dragged David to the loading dock and dumped him onto the hard concrete surface next to Elaine. Dazed and confused, David shook his head to clear his thoughts before focusing his sights on Elaine. She sat there, holding her head in her hands. He groped for her hand, which he gripped tightly in his. "Are you okay?" he whispered.
"Th-They're stealing everything, David. They're taking everything out of the store. W-What are we going to do?"
"It'll be okay," he whispered, glancing at the group of men, masked in their black knit hoods, while they loaded the remaining cargo onto the truck. "Don't try to interfere or you'll only get hurt. The best thing to do is to let them take what they want."
They watched in fear while the men shoved several more boxes containing stereo systems and computers into the truck before the leader of the gang -- the one with the rifle, gloated to his followers. "What a haul! This is great. But time's getting short. We'll talk about it later." He pointed to David. "Get him in the truck."
"What about her?" asked another, acknowledging Elaine who clung to David's arm in fear.
Two bloodshot eyes peered through the slits of the ski mask worn by the leader of the gang. "She ain't worth spit. But this here's the bigwig's son. He's gonna bring us the cash."
David sucked in his breath, stealing a glance at Elaine who appeared as if she might faint. "Look, you got everything you want. Let her go. Like you said, she isn't worth any money to you. Take me -- but let her go."
The leader glared at David, even as he contemplated the situation.
"Yeah, just let her go," piped another young voice. "We don't need her."
"But she's seen everything," complained a third. "We leave her here, the cops will ask all kinds of questions. They'll be onto us like a hound treeing a coon. You know that."
"Yeah, you're right," the leader agreed. "Can't have her ratting on us to the cops, right? Okay, okay, we don't have time to argue about it. Hurry up, get that tape on 'em and git 'em both in the truck."
Elaine bit her lip to keep from fainting as one of the men tied her hands and feet with duct tape. The heavy tape cut hard into her flesh, drawing a slight whimper from her lips. They hauled her up and pushed her inside the dark interiors of the truck, along with David.
The truck rumbled and groaned. Soon they were off, traveling down a road to some unknown destination. For a long time David and Elaine sat in darkness amid the rattle of shifting boxes, unable to think of anything to say. The cold metal of the floor was hard and uncomfortable. Exhaust filtered into the van, filling their lungs with the acrid stench of oil.
Finally David's voice broke through the barricade of darkness surrounding them. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Elaine. You were right. You should've never hooked yourself up with me. All I've ever brought to your life is pain and misery."
Tears cascaded down her face. "N-no, I was wrong for getting so angry with you when you only wanted to help me. I-I was proud...and I didn't want to believe that you -- of all people -- might be the answer to my problems." She shifted her arms and legs against the tape that irritated her skin. "Oh God, what's going to happen to us? They're going kill me as soon as they get far enough away. I know it. That guy said I wasn't worth anything. What am I going to do? Oh God, I'm so scared."
David scooted across the floor of the truck and nuzzled his face in her hair. "Ssh, it's gonna be okay. You're a Christian, Elaine, remember? Will your God forget you?"
Elaine shook her head and wiped her face on the collar of his shirt. The scent of his cologne soothed her raw nerves. "No. But w-what are they going to do, David? Where are we going?"
"I don't know, Elaine. It's obvious these guys want my dad's money." He chuckled then -- a strange sound in the midst of these circumstances. "My mother's worst fear in life was that I might be kidnapped. She had nannies looking out for me around the clock when I was a kid. Once when I went to summer camp for a week, she hired a bodyguard to stand outside the bunkhouse at night. It caused quite a scene at the camp." He then added in an afterthought, "Guess we could've used the bodyguard tonight, huh?"
Elaine began to cry once more. "I want to go home. Please get me out of here and take me home. I'll do anything."
"I'll do what I can," David reassured her, twisting himself into a position so his fingers intertwined with hers. "I won't let anything happen to you. Promise."
Through the many hours Elaine sat inside the truck as it rumbled down long stretches of highway, a bond formed between her and David. To pass the time and to keep their attention away from the nagging fears all around them, they talked about their lives and their families. After a while, Elaine could barely feel her fingers or feet anymore. The pain from the tape increased steadily with each passing hour. David would exercise her numb extremities using his own hands, with his back pressed up against hers. The warmth radiating through his shirt comforted her. He tried at times to undo the tape, with little success. Witnessing his tender compassion, Elaine realized for the first time that she could easily fall in love with the man she had despised all her life.
"I still don't see why your folks didn't send you to a private school," Elaine said.
"I threw a big tantrum and Mother gave in. I didn't want to miss out on all the fun of public school. To me, a private institution would have been a drag. Rich kids are spoiled brats." David glanced up at the mounds of boxes piled high around them. "They also have a knack for getting themselves into big trouble." He scooted around and sat facing her. "This is the second major criminal escapade you've had to endure with me."
Elaine could not help but return a lopsided grin. "It's funny, but I keep asking God to take you out of my life and He only knocks you right back in again."
"You think He knows something you don't?"
"I'm not sure." She studied his face and the glasses he wore. Using her knee to push her own glasses up on her nose, it comforted her to know that they shared a mutual handicap. In his wire spectacles, David did not appear like the stuffy, egotistical, rich man she had often labeled him with. He seemed different -- vulnerable, needy, yet understanding and compassionate. Perhaps she had made an error in leaping to judgment without first discovering the real man hidden beneath the exterior image.
He sighed. "I wish I could get this tape on us undone. I'll rest for a bit, then try again. If one of us can break loose, then we've got it made."
Elaine nodded. Suddenly the squeal of brakes alerted them to the truck coming to a halt. Bright sunshine nearly blinded them when a man opened a door to the truck, hopped on board, and ripped the tape from their wrists and ankles. Elaine pressed her lips tightly together to keep from screaming. She felt nauseated and dizzy from the ride.
"Shut up and get out," the leader of the group snapped, his face glaring into the truck. David jumped out first, then turned and offered Elaine a hand, easing her to the ground. They were parked in an abandoned picnic area off a narrow country road. Two dilapidated outhouses stood in the distance. The air smelled foreign. Small hills of trees decorated the landscape. Elaine stared at the strange scenery, wondering what state they were in and where they were headed. The wind felt warm and humid as it swept across her face.
"Use them outhouses and be quick," the leader snapped. "We've got a long way to go." The man turned to his cohorts who dragged out an ice chest filled with beer and food, ready to have a picnic.
Elaine stumbled through the woods to the outhouse. A terrible stench greeted her. She placed a sleeve over her face to mask the odor, only to notice the amused look on the face of the man chosen to guard her. Elaine whirled and ran into the building, locking the door behind her. Please God, please get me away from these terrible men. I promise I'll change. I'll be the person you want me to be. I'll forgive David. Please get me out of here!
Using the commode as a ladder, Elaine peered out the tiny window of the outhouse, sizing up the man who stood guard. He was a meaty individual, with huge muscles, an unshaven face, and wearing ragged clothes. He could easily overpower her if he so desired, and from the lewd look painted on his face, Elaine feared he might. She saw him turn toward the window and quickly ducked from view. How can I get out of here without him seeing me?
Suddenly a commotion erupted in the parking lot. Elaine took advantage of the situation. With her guard distracted by the noise, she unhooked the door and bolted into the surrounding woods as fast as her legs would allow. Behind her in the distance came the shouts of voices and the rush of footsteps in the leaves. Branches tore her skin, leaving angry traces on her arms and face. Elaine ignored the stinging sensation and kept on. Hurry, hurry, her mind urged her worn legs. The lack of sleep and nutrition soon took its toll. Elaine collapsed behind the trunk of a thick tree, gasping for air to soothe the burning sensation in her lungs. She leaned heavily against the tree, feeling the thump of her heart in her chest. Did David get away? Did he make a break for freedom?
Just then, she heard footsteps in the woods beyond the tree. Elaine froze and held her breath, praying with all her might. The footsteps ceased. She peeked out from her hiding place to see a clump of light brown hair and a face sprinkled with freckles. Large eyes stared into her own. The face belonged to Tim Gray, her coworker from the outlet center. He said nothing but brought out a small pistol from his jacket and leveled it at her.
Elaine stared wide-eyed. "Tim...you're with these men? B-but...I don't understand."
"Get up, Elaine," he told her gruffly. Another man hustled up to assist him.
"Way to go, Tim," the man commended, grabbing Elaine by the arm and dragging her to her feet. "Thought you'd gotten soft, but I see we can count on you."
Elaine trembled. Tim dropped his head, fixing his gaze on the brown leaves scattered along the ground. Tim, her heart cried, how could you do this to me?
Meanwhile David hid among the bushes from the party of men hot on his trail. Hearing the loud voices from the opposite end of the picnic area, he knew Elaine had also made a break during his own escape. Silently he thanked God for her intuition. She's a smart cookie and she's beautiful, too. He decided not to stray far from the picnic area until he could locate her whereabouts. Two men bypassed his hideout, their weapons trained on the ground as they pushed through the thick brambles, searching for him. One was the leader, carrying his rifle.
"He couldn't have gotten far," one of the men commented. "We ought'a turn back. These branches are shredding me up like chopped meat!"
"Quit your whining and keep looking," the leader yelled. "We ain't gonna have no money for ourselves 'less we find him. The Colombians will get all the money when we hock the computers and we'll end up with nuthin' for our work."
"If you'd only paid off Jose, you wouldn't be in this mess," the other told him.
David heard the smack of a fist as the leader belted his comrade. "Shut up!" he growled. "I'm in charge. If you don't shut up, I'll make sure Jose sends his hitman to plug a nice fat hole in you."
The men ceased in their quarreling when they heard the news that Elaine had been found. David shut his eyes in dismay. I can't stay here. Who knows what they might do to her. David came out of hiding at once and lifted his hands in an act of surrender, to the surprise of the men who had been combing the area.
"Well ain't that sweet," the leader jeered at him. "Think a lot of your girlfriend, don't you? It's a good thing we dragged her along after all. Gives us a little insurance with you, don't it?" He shoved David, the force of which nearly toppled him to the ground. David whirled, his fist clenched, ready to clobber the man. The leader only grinned and shook a finger at him. "Uh, uh, I wouldn't if I were you. Don't forget we've got your girlfriend with us. Now git a move on."
David stewed in anger but remained silent. The men hustled him back to the truck where Elaine stood trembling. She ran and gave him a hug.
"Chivalry is not dead," the leader noted sarcastically. "Your knight in shining armor gave himself up on your behalf." He laughed in scorn before ordering them taped once more and confined into the darkness of the truck.
"You could've been free, David," Elaine said, biting her lip to keep from crying. "No one would've caught you. Why did you give yourself up?"
Instead of answering the question, David posed another. "Why do you think I did it?"
She rested her head against his firm shoulder, allowing his warm presence to wrap around her like a security blanket. "Because you care," she whispered. "I realize now that you care a lot."
"And because...I love you, Elaine. I've loved you for a long time. You're on my mind and in my heart every hour of the day. I couldn't concentrate on my work, knowing you were working in the same building. Sometimes I'd look in on you in the inspection department, or I'd stand on the steps in front of your apartment and wish you good night. No matter what happens to us, I care about you. Nothing can change the way I feel about you."
She jerked her head upright. As bits of daylight seeped into the truck from the cracks surrounding the doublewide doors, she saw that he meant every word. "I-I can't believe you're saying this," she gulped. "No one has ever said anything like that to me. No guy ever cared about me, except for Mark Ryan in high school. I know he cared. But that was so long ago."
The name triggered an uncomfortable silence. David looked away. He'd almost forgotten the shadows of his past that suddenly came back to haunt him, even in this dark place. He leaned his head against the metal siding of the truck, feeling the vibrations in his mind, rattling the confusing thoughts into one jumbled up mess.
David and Elaine offered no words when the truck again pulled over into a remote area. This time when the tape was removed, the men allowed them a bit of bread and water. They consumed the food in ravenous fashion while the men listened to the news on a pocket radio.
The leader slapped his leg in glee. "I wasn't expecting this heist to make the national headlines," he confessed, his eyes reverting back to the truck. "We're all instant celebrities."
"Ain't that kind'a bad, having all this attention?" remarked one of the men. "Won't Jose get mad when he finds out?"
"It ain't my fault what the media does," the leader retorted before taking a large swallow of beer from a can. "Jose needs the money. He'll be paid off...so there's no reason for him to get in a tizzy."
"Yeah, and we're left with the mess of this kidnapping to deal with," another remarked. "Why don't we give Edwards over to Jose, let him collect the ransom, and we keep the goods, Sly? It'd be a whole lot less messy. He's worth the same as the goods, maybe more."
Elaine turned toward David, her face distraught when she heard these words.
"You bet he's worth more than that stuff...a couple mill at least," Sly continued. "Why do you think we went through the trouble of hauling him along with us? It's risky, but he's worth it. His old man will pay a heap to see sonny boy safe."
"I still think we should let Jose handle the ransom," the accomplice commented.
The leader tossed the can into some brush. Palm trees swayed back and forth with the warm breezes. "Jose wants the money right now, so I gotta deliver. The goods will get us the dough right quick. The ransom may take time, and time is one thing we don't have with Jose. Remember what he said? We gotta come up with cash now. Who knows how long it might take for Edwards to get a hold of the money. The cops will probably make him delay, trying to trace us, but they ain't gonna get the chance, let me tell you. I ain't called Sly for nuthin'."
Inside the confines of the truck, Elaine wiped away the trickles of sweat cascading down her face. Her eyes hurt with fatigue and her brain felt numb. They had traveled all night and half the day without any sleep. Avoiding the look of concern painted on David's face, she turned away from him, found a small niche between several computer boxes, and tried to nestle her body into the space. I've need some sleep, she thought, resting a weary head against a cardboard box, but how can I sleep? They...they could kill me in my sleep. I may never wake up again. Tears once more bubbled up in her eyes. A familiar chill of fear coursed through her. But I have to sleep...I must sleep...dear God, will I ever wake up from this nightmare?
A rustling in the truck alerted her. She watched David stretch out across the steel floor, then wave at her. He pointed to the crook of his arm. "Come here and use me as a pillow, Elaine," he offered.
She considered his request before sliding over and placing her head on his shoulder. The arm encircled her like a web of protection. She yawned and soon fell to sleep, dreaming of the night they danced on the ballroom floor amid the sparkle of white lights strung in the palm trees. They swayed gently to the music; their eyes interlocked, and lips parted into secretive smiles. All at once the lights began to dim. Shadows fell across his face, softening the rugged line of his jaw, muting his eyes until they were pinpoints of black staring longingly into hers. His face lowered over hers, his breath soft, his mouth inviting. When they kissed, all her troubles faded into the night.
David heard a soft, steady breathing and realized Elaine had finally drifted off to sleep. He was glad she found some measure of rest in the midst of these trying circumstances. He shifted his arm and cradled her close, realizing how much he wanted to deliver her from this madness. After the break was over, a man came on board to guard them. When the engine of the truck roared to life and the wheels began to bounce along the road, David turned away from the man and closed his eyes, praying for the first time that God would help them.
Evening came before the truck finally came to a stop. The doublewide doors clanked open. Elaine sat up in a start and rubbed her eyes. Flashlights glared in her face. The sound of a foreign tongue floated in the air. She shook her head, trying to rouse herself from a sleep-filled daze. Shielding her eyes from the piercing light, Elaine climbed shakily to her feet upon the command of one of the men, and walked unsteadily towards the front of the truck. Before her stood a large warehouse framed by tall palm trees. The air smelled of fish. Another sharp command was given and instantly she felt strong arms spin her around and tie a cloth around her eyes. Elaine bit her lip to keep the screams lodged in her throat and tried to fill her mind with words of comfort. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.
Elaine inhaled a deep breath. The tremors in her arms and legs ceased. She felt her entire being wrapped in the warmth of the One who held her in the palm if His mighty hand, even as rough hands guided her. She stumbled along, feeling the warmth of the wind caress her face, and a pungent, salty odor tickle her nose. The smell reminds me of the ocean... she thought, recalling the conversation David overheard between their kidnappers during his escape attempt. He told her the robbery was an effort to repay a debt for a lost shipment of cocaine. The ocean, she wondered again. We traveled a long distance. Could we be in Florida?
She tripped over a few stray rocks in her path. An unseen hand steadied her gait as she entered a large building. The smell of rotting garbage and dead fish filled her nostrils. Nausea overcame her. She thought of David to squelch the sensation, wondering where he could be. When the cloth came off her eyes, she found herself in a small room adjacent to the large warehouse. A light bulb dangled from a piece of wire over her head. There were no furnishings but for a single chair. A bucket sat in one corner. Elaine opened her mouth, ready to inquire of her fate, when a heavy metal door slammed shut in her face, sealing her in isolation. Trembling with fear, Elaine hurled herself into the chair, nearly upsetting it with the weight of her despair. Now she could only sit and ponder an uncertain future.
"I-I wasn't expecting you to be here, Jose," Sly admitted, watching the drug smuggler roll a fresh cigarette of tobacco in a paper wrap.
"Si." Jose pushed the rolled tip of the cigarette between his lips, then allowed his second-in-command to light it with a match. "Muchas gracias, Henrique." He inhaled a sharp bit of smoke before blowing the acrid cloud directly into Sly's face. "Think I don't know what you do?"
Sly sneezed before burying his trembling hands into the pockets of his army fatigues. "I got the money I owe you, Jose. It's in the rig outside. Lots of computers and stuff which will get you the cash real quick, just like I promised."
"Una problema," he noted, using the lighted cigarette to indicate David who sat in a chair, guarded by two of Sly's accomplices. "Quien es el?"
Sly stared at the Colombian boss in confusion. "What? What did you say? C'mon Jose, you know I don't understand any of your Spanish lingo."
Jose used a variety of Spanish phrases to Henrique who joined in the laughter. An angry flush filled Sly's face. Jose flicked the ash from the cigarette onto the cement floor and again gestured toward David. "Who is professor?"
"Him? Well...uh, Jose, he's uh, my money, you see."
Jose's pitch black eyes widened. "Tu dinero? De veras? Tu dinero?"
"I mean, I plan on selling the cargo to pay off what I owe, Jose. This guy, well, he'll get me a little extra cash of my own. I'm taking all the responsibility, so you don't have to worry."
Jose puffed on his smoke silently for a few minutes, then flicked the ash onto Sly's arm. He howled with pain and brushed away the white ash before staring warily at Jose. "You owe much money," Jose said in English. "Your money," Jose pointed his cigarette towards Sly, then to himself, "is my money." He puffed vigorously on the cigarette before declaring, "Your problem now Jose's problem. Get it?"
Sly twisted his face but said nothing.
Jose stamped out the cigarette on the floor. "So you kidnap professor. His family got money, no?"
Sly nodded.
"Lots of money?"
"His father's a multimillionaire," Sly finally said, blowing air on the burn to ease the pain. "They own this big electronic merchandising outfit."
Jose's tar black eyes widened in interest before resting them on David. "So, professor is son of wealthy American businessman. Very good, but very dangerous. In Colombia, we make much money on wealthy senors. But here in the States, it is deeferent. More police, more investigators." He whirled to face Sly. "More danger to my business...you nino tonto! Now professor is Jose's problem." His teeth began to grind away. A red tide darkened his ebony skin.
Fear rippled across Sly's face. He stepped backward under the piercing glare of the smuggler. "But Jose, you got connections. You're the best one around. If anyone can pull this off, you can." Sly shook a trembling finger at David. "He's worth it, believe me. He's their only son. They'll give up the entire empire just to get him back."
Jose removed a piece of paper and a mound of tobacco from a leather pouch he carried in one pocket, preparing to roll another cigarette. "And what about chica?"
"Chica?"
Jose snickered. "I got eyes. The chica you bring, too. She worth money?"
Sly shook his head.
He licked the paper, creased it, filled the crease with tobacco, and rolled it snugly into a long taper. "Why you bring her then, torpe?"
"W-well, uh," Sly stammered, before explaining to the smuggler the details concerning the robbery and abduction.
"Ah, so she was used to get the professor, sí," Jose acknowledged. "Then why you not kill her after the job es done?"
Sly shifted his feet under the watchful eye of his boss. David paled and stirred in the chair. "I ain't never killed no one Jose," Sly explained weakly. "I, well, like I said, I couldn't just leave her there to rat on us to the cops. And she kept him in line, 'specially when he tried to make a break for it." Again he acknowledged David.
"But you bring her here to witness our operations," Jose noted stiffly. "Torpe." He uttered an expletive in Spanish. "Where chica now?"
"In one of the rooms, off the main warehouse."
Jose jammed the cigarette far into his mouth. "I see her then and finish the job."
David jumped to his feet, even as the men grabbed for his arms, trying to hold him down. "You hurt her and I'll kill you!" he growled.
Jose raised his dark eyebrows under the threat, then smiled easily with a set of teeth stained yellow by tobacco. He strode up to David, stared at him squarely in the eye, then without a word, sunk a fist deep into his stomach. The blow left David reeling, gasping for air, his arms clutching his abdomen.
"No one tells Jose what to do, professor," the Colombian snarled, delivering several more blows that drove David to the ground. "No one." He gestured everyone out of the room and locked the door securely behind him.
David lay on the ground, unable to catch his breath. Tears pooled in his eyes as he heaved for air. No one was there to witness his plight. No one cared. No one, except perhaps for God. Elaine believed in Him. He was there, somewhere above him, watching these circumstances thrust before him. G-God, his mind cried, clutching his battered and bruised side, God, if you're there, somewhere, anywhere, Elaine needs You. We need you. I-I need You.
Elaine could not remember feeling so great a thirst as she did inside the hot metal room, adjacent to the stinking warehouse. Without windows or a means of ventilation, the inside of the room grew as hot as a broiler oven. Perspiration rolled off her face. Elaine felt she might faint under the oppressive heat. Her throat, dry and coarse like sandpaper, begged for a few droplets of water. She sat limp in the chair, fanning herself with one hand, all the while wondering if she was destined to die in this tomb of metal. Unable to think of anything pleasant to divert her fears, Elaine began to croak out verses to songs she had learned in the Main Street Church. When she sang, the music lifted her above the terrifying situation, replacing her fear with peace.
All at once the door banged open, startling Elaine with a sound reminiscent of thunder booming from a dark, summer sky. She ceased in her song to stand shakily to her feet. A tall, dark-skinned man entered the room. A cigarette dangled from the corner of his mouth. The sheen of his satin shirt caught her eye, along with his expensive leather cowboy boots. She might have mistaken him for a Texan were it not for his tawny features and black hair, denoting a Hispanic heritage. His boots thumped along the floor. He strode up to her, smiled broadly, and said, "Hola, senorita."
Elaine stared at him in fear.
"Sit, sit," he now ordered in English, using his cigarette to point out the chair in the middle of the room.
Elaine did so, averting her gaze to the metallic flooring below.
The man turned, yelled a command in Spanish, and was promptly served with a second chair. "Muchas gracias, Henrique," he told a thin man with greasy black hair and wearing a leather jacket. He positioned the chair directly in front of Elaine and sat down.
Nervous by their close proximity, Elaine straightened herself in her chair; her hands gripping the sides of the seat until the whites of the knuckles could be seen.
"Mi llamo Jose," he said.
Elaine remembered a little Spanish from two years of classes in high school. "M-mi llamo Elaine," she returned shakily, gazing into his beady black eyes for a moment before returning her attention to the floor.
Her response brought forth a toothy grin. "Habla espanol?"
"Uh...un poco. Not much."
Jose nodded. "Then we will speak English. Now, I hear you speak when I come to the room, no? What is it you say?"
Elaine's fingers gripped the seat even tighter. "I-I was singing."
"Singing? Ah, an American rock and roll tune."
Elaine shook her head. "No. I was singing to God."
Jose considered this for a moment, allowing the ash on the cigarette tip to collect before falling to the floor in a shower of fine dust and smoke. "Singing to God," he repeated, before erupting into boisterous laughter. "Does God hear you sing?"
Elaine trembled. "Y-Yes. H-He hears me wherever I am."
Jose's face darkened, despite the bright rays from the light bulb reflecting off his face. "How do you know God listens?"
"H-He gives me peace. He tells me everything will be all right. H-He is in control."
Jose puffed vigorously before tossing the butt against a far wall. He leaned forward with his hands clasped before him, and elbows resting on his knees. "No, chica, you say big mistake. You see, in this place, Jose in control."
Elaine gagged at his foul, smoky breath. She turned away, only to find his hand reach out and grip her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Entiendes? Jose in control?" His fingers shook her chin.
Elaine trembled violently under his grip. Her glasses slipped down her nose. Her eyes peered over the rims, watching his cheeks turn crimson. "G-God is in control," she whispered.
"God is in control," he mimicked, shoving her face away. "You soon see Jose in control. You will say Jose in control and not your God. I promise you."
Henrique burst into the room, causing Jose to fall backwards in a start. The chair thumped against the wall. Perspiration beaded on his face as he glared at his second. The two exchanged angry words in Spanish for several minutes while Elaine sat frozen in place, refusing to twitch.
Jose mumbled something unintelligible before reaching out and yanking Elaine to her feet. "You come with us," he snarled in her ear, dragging her out of the metallic room and into the main area of the warehouse. Elaine did not have time to study the huge area, stacked with barrels and boxes. Jose hustled her down the length of the warehouse to a room at the far end.
Sly greeted him at the door. "You've done something bad to him, Jose," Sly mumbled, shaking his head.
Jose flung Elaine toward Sly who caught her in his arms before they both tumbled to the floor. "Senorita can take care of professor," he snapped. "We no doctors here."
A chill coursed through Elaine, even as Sly directed her into the room where David lay doubled over on the floor, moaning in agony. Elaine could barely choke back the sobs that filled her throat. "David!" she cried, rushing to his side. She brushed back his damp hair with her hand.
A brown eye, laced with pain, acknowledged her. His lips barely whispered her name. When her hand brushed his hot skin, she knew he had a high fever.
"What's wrong with him?" Sly wondered.
"I don't know, but he's burning up."
Another concerned face appeared on the scene, belonging to Tim Gray. He stood behind his brother, observing Elaine as she tried to diagnose David's mysterious illness. "What happened to David?"
"Jose landed him something fierce in the stomach," Sly whispered back. "Must've ruptured something."
"We've got to get him to a hospital," Elaine told the brothers. "There's something wrong in his stomach."
David groaned and twisted from side to side, clutching his knees to his chest in a fetal position.
Elaine was beside herself. She held out her arms in desperation to the two brothers. "Look, if you don't get him to the hospital and he dies, you all are murderers! Don't you understand?"
Jose stalked in at that moment and inquired about the professor's condition.
"He might die, Jose," Sly mumbled to the Colombian drug lord. "We've got to get him to a hospital."
"Hospital!" Jose repeated with a laugh. "Hospital! Torpe!" He hurled a Spanish expletive at Sly. "Hospital where they find out who he is, then come for Jose? No!" He pointed to Elaine. "La chica knows this God of hers. She says her God is in control of everything and not Jose. So let her prove it. If she doesn't heal him, he dies. Get it? If he dies...it be chica and big God's fault!" Jose laughed again and strode from the room.
Elaine tried to steady the shaking of her hands while she stooped once more to David's side. "Can you get me some water and a rag so I can make him comfortable?" her soft voice inquired.
"I'll get the stuff," Tim offered, returning with what she requested, along with some ratty blankets to cover David's shivering form.
Elaine did her best to comfort David under the circumstances. His skin burned to the touch. His extremities would twitch, then shake uncontrollably. Every so often, a glazed eyeball would acknowledge her, and his dry, cracked lips would murmur her name. Elaine prayed while she wiped his face with a cool cloth. As she did, a love for him began to grow within her -- a love she never would have discovered if it weren't for their trials. She thanked God they were together and would endure whatever happened together.
Tim and Sly took turns keeping vigil by the door. As the hours passed, David's condition worsened. In desperation, Elaine leaped to her feet and approached Tim. "You've got to help us out of here so I can get David to the hospital. Please!"
Tim acknowledged her concern before lowering his face. "I-I don't know how I can help, Elaine."
Elaine came and touched his arm. "Please, Tim, you've got to. David won't make it through the night if we don't get him to a hospital. Is it really worth all this, watching him die? You won't get your money. You know that now. Why not be a decent human being and help us? I-I know you're not like any of these men here. I know you don't want to do any of this. Please help us."
Tim swallowed hard and scuffed a foot across the ground. "I don't know what I can do, Elaine," he told her, "but I'll talk to Sly."
Elaine heaved a sigh and returned to David's side where he lay on the ground, oblivious to her presence or his surroundings. Her fingers gently stroked the firm line of his jaw. Beard stubble pierced her skin. Overcome with love, she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his dry lips. "I-I love you, David," she told him softly, allowing a tear to fall on his face. "I know I do. I've been a real fool, a blind person, refusing to see the love you have for me...refusing to forgive you for the past." She wept silently. "Now it's to come to this before I finally see the light. I know you aren't a Christian, but somehow, God is great enough to allow you to know Him." Once more her fingers stroked his face. "He must let you live, David. He must give you a chance to turn to Him and allow us the chance to love each other."
Footsteps alerted her to the approach of someone to the room. Elaine hurriedly retreated from David's side and looked up in expectation.
"I talked to Sly," Tim told her. "My brother and I may be wrong in lots of things, but we don't believe in senseless killing."
Elaine thought of the shotgun Sly fixed on her at the outlet center and wondered if he would have used it. "You made the impression you could kill," she noted bitterly, "by pointing those guns at us."
Tim thought for a moment, then reached inside the pocket of his jacket and withdrew his pistol. "Here, Elaine. You take it."
Elaine stared at him. "What are you doing?"
"You're gonna need it," he told her. "It's got several rounds. I could never fire it, anyway. I don't have it in me."
Elaine shook her head. "I can't! I can't take the gun, Tim. I don't know why...but I know I've got to trust God if David and I are going to make it out of here."
Tim replaced the pistol in the confines of the pocket. "Well, we've got a plan," he continued, his voice quivering with anxiety. "Sly's found out that Jose and his cronies are gonna have themselves a little snowball party tonight. Guess the situation with you and David has really rattled Jose. He likes to feel relaxed and in control."
Elaine stared at him blankly. "Snowball party?"
Tim cracked a smile. "You are naive, aren't you? You know, do coke...guess you don't know, do you?"
Elaine's palms began to sweat. "You...you mean, those guys are going to do drugs? Here? Dear God!"
"Elaine, it's perfect. Sly and I offered to stand guard while Jose and his crew get wasted. When they're under good, then we can sneak you both out."
Elaine drew in a deep breath, focusing her eyes on the bulging jacket pocket that contained the weapon. "I guess we have no choice. What made you change your mind?"
Tim shrugged his shoulders. "Sly's scared of Jose. I think he's lookin' for a chance to make a break. We realized, with David injured and the whole thing falling apart, we gotta split from this crowd. It won't make much sense for us to continue with the plan." He lowered his eyes. "Once we break you out, you'll have to get David to the hospital on your own. We'll have enough problems just getting clear of this city. The cops will be all over the place, trying to find us and all."
Elaine stared thoughtfully at the young man with freckles, now faced with the lonely existence of a fugitive running from the law. It did not seem possible that Tim was the same man who worked by her side in the outlet center, feeding her data that she keyed into the computer. She thought of the conversations they shared, some in-depth and even painful. It saddened her to think that his life had been forever changed by his choices. "Come to think of it, mine has changed too," Elaine whispered under her breath, glancing back at David's shivering form.
"What was that?" Tim asked.
Elaine shrugged. "I was just thinking how much our lives have changed." Her eyes met his. "But there's one person I have in my life that you could use right now, Tim. God. I know He's here with us, in this place. Jose was scared at the thought of God's reality in my life. God is stronger than all the evil in the world. When we are weak, God is strong."
Tim shook his head. "Is there really anything to a belief in God?"
"God isn't simply a belief, Tim. God is real, here, right now, despite what's happening. Like I told Jose...it drove him crazy when I said it...but God is in control of this situation. It's not Jose, his cronies, or anybody. If only you could trust Him like I do and understand that He really cares about you."
Tim pondered this until Sly burst into the room, breathless from running the length of the warehouse. "C'mon!" he told them. "Now's the time."
Tim and Elaine smoothed out a piece of blanket across the cement floor, gently eased David onto it, then rolled up the frayed sides to act as handles for the makeshift stretcher. "Let me do it," Sly informed Elaine in an irritated voice. Together, Tim and Sly dragged the unconscious David out the door with a cautious Elaine following close behind. The warehouse was empty but for the sound of moaning and shrieks of laughter piercing the air. Goosebumps broke out on Elaine's skin. Doubts began to assault her from every direction. Could this be a trap? Can I trust Sly and Tim to get us safely away from this madness, to a place where David can be helped? Her heart began to race. I've got to trust you, God, she reminded herself. There's nothing else I can do.
Her eyes darted to every corner of the building, listening, watching for the shadows of armed men, or the tall form of Jose with his biting Spanish tongue and coarse laugh. All seemed quiet but for the distant sounds of men laughing and talking. Their voices revealed that they were well within the power of the drugs they inhaled. After a bit of struggle, the trio bearing the sick man found the exit to the warehouse, and hurried to a van parked in the corner lot with keys in the ignition.
"How'd you arrange all this, Sly, without any of them knowin'?" Tim wondered in admiration.
Sly did not answer, but only huffed under the strain of David's muscular form. Elaine assisted with David's cumbersome feet while Sly and Tim managed to slide him inside the dark van. Elaine climbed in with David. The two brothers hurried to the front doors of the van, just as a shot rang out from parking lot. From inside the van, Elaine could hear the shouts of Spanish. Jose marched out of the warehouse with Henrique and several other men close behind, their weapons trained on Sly and Tim.
"Where you go in such a hurry, hermanos?" Jose inquired thickly.
Elaine poked her head up from the back seat of the van. Jose cursed and strode for the door to the van, ready to hurl it open. Elaine quickly pushed down the door locks. Another hail of curses floated from his lips. He took up a brick and rammed it through the window, shattering it. Glass sprayed across the seats. Elaine screamed as the shards slashed her arms and flew into her hair like a swarm of angry bees.
"Poor chica," Jose sneered, his hand reaching inside to unlock the door. "Now you see that Jose is in control."
"No, Jose!" came a weak but determined voice directly behind the Colombian.
Stunned by the challenge, Jose whirled. Tim Gray held his pistol in a shaky hand. Elaine never waited to see the outcome of the confrontation. With Jose's attention diverted, she struggled herself into the driver's seat, started the engine, and slammed her foot on the accelerator. The van tore out of the parking lot just as a hail of bullets rang out.
Elaine did not realize until she reached the main road that she had not driven a car since Driver's Ed in high school. "Oh God, help me," she moaned. Tears blurred her vision as she fought to maintain control of the vehicle. "I-I can't believe this is happening. I think I may be sick."
Just then a siren wailed in her ears. Elaine glanced in the rearview mirror to find three police cars following her. Blue and white warning lights flashed in a myriad of color. Elaine slammed on the brake and jerked the steering wheel, sending the van careening into a lamp pole.
Elaine slept soundly for most of the morning until a petite nurse awakened her for a blood pressure. Elaine yawned, blinked her eyes, and stared at the pleasant room of the hospital where she lay recuperating from her ordeal. As the nurse wrapped a cuff around her arm, Elaine studied the flowered curtains adorning the windows, and the bright yellow bedspread covering the empty bed next to her. A tube wound from a needle in her forearm to a bag that dripped sugar water into her veins. The tape left Elaine itchy. She scratched, only to discover numerous bandages and Band-Aids dotting the scrapes and cuts on her extremities. Another bandage decorated her head from the impact of the collision. "I must look like I've been through the war," she mused to the nurse, who scribbled her blood pressure on a small clipboard hanging by her bedside.
"You're one lucky girl," the nurse said matter-of-factly, but with a knowing gleam in her eye.
Elaine examined her thoughtful expression. "Do you know what happened?" she whispered.
The nurse nodded. "We had to be told, for security reasons. If you're up for it, two detectives are here to talk to you."
Elaine gulped. Shivers raced through her. What could they possibly want? Had she done something wrong? Were they going to arrest her for stealing the van, then crashing it into the street pole? Doubts came flying from every direction like missiles. Bandages crinkled from goose-bumps rising on the surface of her skin, irritating and pulling at the tender wounds. "D-do you know what they're going to ask me?"
"I'm not sure," the nurse replied. "Think you're ready?"
Elaine shrunk down under the cotton blankets covering her. "I suppose."
The nurse nodded and motioned to two men, dressed in expensive suits and silk ties. Both flashed their credentials before pulling chairs next to her bedside in a move that unnerved her.
"I'm Detective Easton, Ms. Reynolds," said one of the men. He wore a mustache that twitched from side to side as he spoke. "This here is Jim Blaskins, criminal investigator. We know you've been through quite an ordeal the last few days."
Elaine nodded. "Yes," she agreed, sensing her life had suddenly become some Hollywood flick instead of real life.
Easton flashed a sympathetic smile. "It's important for you tell us everything that happened, beginning with your journey from Virginia."
Elaine gulped and stared from one serious face to the other. "Everything?"
"It's important, Ms. Reynolds. You have been instrumental in cracking a huge drug smuggling ring that's proven quite elusive to our department over the years." Easton smirked. "It's amazing that the Feds can dish out millions of dollars to bust these individuals, yet it's plain, ordinary citizens like yourself that prove the most beneficial."
"Jose Cortez has been one sly fox from the beginning," Blaskins added. "He was one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine along the eastern seaboard. He supplied drugs to inner city gangs as far away as Boston."
Dear God, thought Elaine. She buried herself under the comfort of the blankets, hoping to find security amid the nagging question of, Why me?
Easton cleared his throat, then snapped open a briefcase and removed a computer notepad. "We would appreciate any information you can share with us."
"All right," Elaine agreed, drawing in a deep breath. She conversed with the men steadily for over an hour, relating the events at the outlet center, the long journey to Miami, and the confrontations with Jose. Easton's fingers zipped over the keys to the notepad from the descriptions she gave. When she paused, he glanced up and gave her an encouraging smile.
"You're doing just fine, Ms. Reynolds," he assured her. "Now, can you tell us about the scene in the parking lot?"
Elaine trembled from the memories of that terrible night -- the evil gleam in Jose's eyes when he told her he was in control, the shatter of glass, and the bang of weapons. With deliberate detail, she unfolded the scene step by step to the men who took notes.
"We have it on record that someone named Tim Gray fired the shot that killed Cortez," Easton said.
Elaine stared in shock. "Tim killed him? I didn't know that. I had already left in the van. I didn't want to see...is Tim okay?"
"I'm sorry to report that we found both him and his brother dead in the parking lot. Too bad they got mixed up in this whole deal. They both might've lived longer."
Elaine closed her eyes. "Tim saved me. If it hadn't been for Tim, I..." Her voice trailed off, overcome by emotion.
"Too bad it ended up this way."
Elaine gazed out the hospital window to see the skyline of Miami before her. Palm trees dotted the street corners. Sea gulls darted across the skies, screeching to one another. "I can't believe it," she mumbled. The anguish formed a lump in her throat. She could still see the young, skinny man running errands in the outlet center. How she wished she could have thanked Tim for saving her life.
"Well," Easton said, rising to his feet and snapping closed the laptop, "we'll let you get some rest, Ms. Reynolds. Unfortunately it will be some time before we get a chance to ask the young man his version of the story."
Elaine gripped the sheets in her hands and bolted upright at the mention of David. "David! Is...is he okay?"
"He was in surgery a good part of the night," Easton confirmed. "I hear he's in the intensive care unit right now. Insides are pretty messed up. Seems he was severely beaten with all the bruising the doctors discovered. He had a ruptured appendix and damage to the intestines."
Elaine paled. David's condition proved much worse than she had feared. "Dear God, help him," she whispered.
"Hey now, you just rest easy, Ms. Reynolds. It's for sure someone somewhere was looking out for you two. Not many I know can slip out of Cortez' hands alive." Easton nodded to his partner before heading for the door. "Oh," he added, "just in case you're wondering why the police officer is outside your door, I posted a guard for security reasons. Not to scare you or anything, but we want to make sure you're safe until we've apprehended all of Cortez' followers. It shouldn't take too long, with their leader out of commission. Thanks again for your cooperation, Ms. Reynolds."
Elaine nodded and watched them depart, refusing to submit to the sensation of fear that crept up once more. "God watched out for us," she told herself. "I know He did. He watched out for David, too." Again her gaze drifted to the window. A bank of dark clouds began to gather in the skies, signaling the approach of an afternoon storm. "Oh dear God, please watch over David. Help him get well. Let him know how much I love him."
David awakened to a sharp moan that filled his room. He blinked his eyes to see a light glaring down at him from above. With one hand he felt for the unusual mound of bandages across his middle, wondering what had happened. He lifted the edge of the patient gown and stared at the strange apparatus attached to him. He slammed the sheet down. All around him were machines beeping and bags dripping unknown liquids into his arms. No, he thought, swallowing a hard, dry lump in his throat. I'm going to die.
Just then, another moan filled his ears. He lifted his head to find his mother, Jacqueline Edwards, shaking her head and crying. Beside her stood the staunch form of his father, Clyde Edwards. "How could this have happened to my baby!" she wailed.
"Now Mrs. Edwards, it's not as bad as it appears," a nurse tried to reassure her.
Jacqueline glared. "It's not? You have poor David hooked up to every tube imaginable! And that doctor back there...he said my son's insides are abnormal. He has some kind of bag attached to him?"
David's eyes widened with this announcement. Bag? What bag? He again felt for the strange lump beneath the sheets. "Bag?" his voice croaked.
A teardrop from his mother's eyes bounced onto the sheets. "Oh David, how could this have happened to you? You had such a bright future, and now look at you!"
David shook his head as a multitude of questions cluttered his brain. What bag are they talking about? Why is Mother so upset? "I-I don't understand." "You were beaten up pretty badly, son," Clyde said, glancing over at the nurse. "The doctors, they had to, well..."
"Let me get the doctor so he can explain what happened," the nurse said. She returned momentarily with a man clad in a long white coat.
When the doctor left some ten minutes later to see another patient, David's head spun with the news that something was dreadfully wrong with his insides. The doctor had to bring a part of the intestine to the wall of his stomach and attach a bag to it.
"You go to the bathroom in it," the nurse added to the explanation. "Instead of stool passing through the intestine, it will go into the bag. That way your intestines can heal from the trauma."
"We'll reattach everything in about six weeks," the doctor added matter-of- factly.
"This is horrible," Jacqueline said once more, tears dripping down her face, smearing her make-up in the process. "We don't deserve this. Why does he have to have this...this thing?"
"It's just a colostomy, Mrs. Edwards," the nurse tried to explain. "Like the doctor explained, your son's intestines need time to heal. It's only temporary. You will get used to it. It's not as bad as it seems."
"It isn't?" Jacqueline's panic rose until the very ceiling tiles seemed to vibrate under the intensity of her voice. She turned to her husband. "I want David to have round-the- clock nurses, those private duty nurses." Her tear-stained face rose to meet the head nurse's, now crimson from the confrontation. "I don't want you handling this anymore," she snapped. "We'll hire our own nurses. I want the best health professionals possible to care for my son."
In a stiff voice, the nurse suggested they go for a cup of coffee in the cafeteria before wheeling around on one foot to tend to her duties.
"Good idea," Clyde agreed, thanking the nurse and gently guiding his distraught wife to the door of the room. "Now Jackie, pull yourself together. The doctors said David would be fine. He needs time to heal."
Jacqueline only sniffed as she clung to his arm. "He'll never be the same, Clyde. We've lost our son to those terrible men. Why us? We're good people. David doesn't deserve to be abnormal for the rest of his life."
"It's not for the rest of his life, Jackie. You're overreacting..."
David could hear his father's voice fading as they walked down the hall. Abnormal. The word cut David to the core. No longer was he the confident David Edwards, ready to handle the world. Now he was a beat-up, crippled misfit with a port-o- potty bag attached to him. How did this happen in the first place? His memories were all a blur after the confrontation with the man named Jose. He remembered vividly the terrible pain raking his side, and a feeble recollection of people talking him. Once or twice he heard a gunshot. Elaine? Was she safe? What happened to her? Is she as messed up as I am?
Soon he heard the soft voice of a nurse conferring with an unknown visitor outside the room. David strained to hear the conversation. He rose up on one elbow, wincing with pain from his surgery.
"I was sent to find out how he is," pleaded the voice of a young woman.
"We only allow family members in the intensive care," the nurse explained.
"Please," the woman begged, "just five minutes."
"Please," David's voice whispered hoarsely, his vocal chords unable to bring forth the speech. "Let her in, whoever she is."
The nurse considered. "All right, five minutes."
The woman thanked the nurse and cautiously entered the room to stand at the foot of the bed. David boosted himself again on one elbow to see the visitor who came to his bedside.
"You're awake," she noted in pleasure. "I'm Denise, a friend of Elaine's from her church back home."
David nodded his head. "Please, just talk to me," he said in a raspy voice. "Tell me what happened."
"Don't try to talk," Denise said to him. "I know you've been through quite a lot. The nurse said they might move you out of this electronic room into something more civilized. Isn't that great news?" Denise glanced at the clock ticking away on the wall. "I'm going to have to make this short, David. I arrived with Elaine's parents about an hour ago. We came with your folks on their private jet."
David's eyes widened.
"Yes, it was pretty amazing," she agreed, noting the look of astonishment that came over his face. "Elaine wanted me to tell you she's doing just fine. She has a few scrapes and all, but she's doing well. They will probably release her later on tonight."
David struggled to sit up, hampered by the bandages. "What happened?" he croaked again.
"I'm not sure of all the details," Denise confessed, "but I know the Lord brought you both out of a terrible situation. Elaine spent some time talking with several detectives about the whole thing. They said you both were lucky to be alive."
"Alive," he croaked. His hand slipped to the pouch on his abdomen. Did he even want to be alive now?
"Elaine really wants to see you."
David shook his head at the thought. His hands clutched his sheets. He could not bear the thought of Elaine seeing him in this condition, wrapped up in bandages, hooked to a strange bag, abnormal as his mother so blatantly put it. He shook his head and said, "No, don't let her..."
Denise furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean? She's really concerned about you."
Again he shook his head and pointed to his abdomen. "Too messed up," he told her. "Don't let her see me like this."
Denise reached out her hand to pat his bed in consolation. "Now David, I'm sure Elaine will understand any medical procedure the doctors had to do. My grandfather had the same thing done. You're no different than anyone else. Soon you'll be..."
"I am different," he cried, "and I don't want her to see me."
The nurse poked her head in, informing Denise that her time was up. Denise frowned. "I don't know how I can keep Elaine away. She's very worried. I know she cares a lot about you."
David stared at the tiles of the hospital ceiling. Elaine cares. For the first time she cares...but why now, when my insides are torn to shreds and I'm only half the man I used to be? "No," he said again.
The tall woman rose and patted his bedside once more. "I'll be praying for you, David," she said softly before following the nurse out the door.
Raw tears blinded his vision. Now she decides to care about me when I'm some piece of junk. Again his hand brushed his stomach. I can't let her see me like this. I won't. If she couldn't find enough care and forgiveness in her heart before this all happened, I won't allow her to sympathize over me now.
"He said what?" Elaine cried when Denise told her the news. She turned to her mom and dad for support. "I don't understand. Why won't he let me see him?"
"Something about his intestines, Elaine. I think they had to do a special procedure called a colostomy. It's a pouch that collects -- uhm -- his stool -- while the intestines heal. I heard the nurses talking about it when I came to visit."
"So he's all upset about this...what is it called?"
"Colostomy."
"I don't care if his whole head is wrapped in plastic wrap," Elaine declared. "I want to see him."
"I don't know. I think you should give him time. He's just discovered the extent of his injury. He's taking it pretty hard. I don't think he's being very rational right now..."
"I can just imagine," Mom's voice piped up.
"About time the Edwards clan knew what real pain is like," Dad remarked.
Everyone stared with disapproval at Dad who looked down at his folded hands. "Well, it's true," he insisted. "They've had it good for too long."
"Oh, Dad," Elaine moaned to her father, with all the details of the frightening events still fresh in her memory. "If only you knew the terrible things we went through, especially David. He was severely beaten and just left there with everything broken up inside him. He almost died."
A thoughtful look came over Dad's face. Slowly he wheeled his chair over to her bedside and placed a hand on hers. "Sorry, Elaine," he mumbled. "I didn't know you cared so much about this young man."
"Well I do, Dad," Elaine said softly. She stared at both her parents. "You might as well know, but through this situation, I've grown to love David. I know he loves me too. He said so. I-I know he isn't a Christian, but I'm praying that the love God's planted there will grow with time. I believe David will come to know the Lord, maybe even through this difficult situation he's facing right now."
Mom smiled. "I'll say amen to that."
Later that day, before her official discharge from the medical unit, Elaine managed to sneak up to the surgical ward where the nurses had just finished moving David into a private room overlooking downtown Miami. His face was to the window, his hands limp at his sides as he lay propped up in the bed. An intravenous tube ran from a silver pole to a needle inserted in his forearm. Shocks of dark hair could be seen against the pillow, along with the customary lock of hair resting across his forehead. His face was cleanly shaven. The scent of spicy aftershave wafting in the air mixed with the antiseptic odors of the hospital.
Finally the nurses departed, leaving him alone -- the picture of a dejected man without hope. His face was pale and his eyes blank. He couldn't be feeling very well yet. Elaine tiptoed into the room, but the squeak of the door caused his head to turn. Elaine paused in her tracks. Their eyes met. Elaine drew in a deep breath at the frown forming on his face. He quickly turned his head to address the view outside the hospital window.
Elaine licked her lips, praying for the words to say. Denise had warned her about David's ultimatum, but she could not fathom the idea of leaving the hospital without visiting him, no matter what had happened. She took several steps forward.
"That's far enough," came a grizzly voice that Elaine never heard of before. Denise also told her of his rough voice from the anesthesia, but the grating sound still startled her.
"I-I just wanted to see you before I left," Elaine offered, steadying her trembling knees.
"You've seen me."
Elaine stood still in her place. Nothing Denise said could have prepared her for this. She tried once more. "I-I'll be leaving soon to go back home. I-I hear they plan on releasing you by the end of the week, once you start walking and all."
David folded his hands and laid them across his chest. "I don't plan on walking, eating, nothing," he snarled. "I don't plan on leaving this bed."
"What do you mean? Of course you have to leave your bed. You're going to get well, you know. What you have is only temporary. I talked with the nurse and she said it -- the bag -- will be gone in a few weeks."
Dark eyes glinted like a wild animal of the forest. The man lying in the bed was not David Edwards. Gone was the steadfast manager of the outlet store and the compassionate man within the dreadful truck. He was a stranger, changed by the circumstances that had wounded his body and soul.
"Go on home, Elaine. It's better for the both of us if you never knew me."
"I can't do that. I know I've been really blind not to see...well, the love you had for me...especially through everything that's happened. I wanted to tell you...I love you, too."
"You mean you love cripples, nobodies, and people with their insides rearranged. You never loved me for who I was." He turned his head away. "Now it's too late."
"David, it's the cripples and the nobodies that need the love."
"Look, I won't have you falling all over me, thinking you have to love me because I'm lying here with my insides chopped up. If you couldn't love me before, then I sure don't care to see it now. So please leave."
Elaine shook with every caustic word that rang from his lips. "I don't care what you say to me, David. I love you."
His body jerked with a spasm as he sat upright, clutching his middle. "Leave me alone!"
Just then the door flew open. The private duty nurse scurried in, followed by Jacqueline Edwards. "Oh my poor David, what happened?" She turned to Elaine who remained paralyzed in her stance, unable to believe the scene she had just witnessed. In a firm voice, David's mother pointed to the door. "Leave this room at once. As you can see, my son is not well. He wants nothing to do with you. You're upsetting him."
Elaine stared with tearful eyes before running from the room, choking with emotion. Denise met her in the hallway. "Oh Denise, he hates me. David really hates me."
"He doesn't hate you, Elaine. He hates his injury and the people who did these things to him. He's hurting, and angry, and taking it out on you. You've got to give him some time..."
Elaine accepted the tissue Denise offered from her purse. "If that's true, Denise, then I can take it, even if it hurts."
"It's true. He doesn't think he's a man now. Think what he must be feeling, now that his image has changed. You've told me how much David prides himself on his image. Now it's all been stripped away from him. He's feeling a big loss right now. One of the ways a person deals with loss is through anger."
Elaine blew her nose. "For a moment I thought he was going to throw something at me. I-I've never seen him like this. Never."
A comforting arm encircled her shoulders. "It's going to be okay, Elaine. Just give him time to heal. He's been critically wounded in body -- and where it really counts -- his ego. God can heal him through His love and mercy. Maybe God will use this time to draw David to Him."
The words calmed the immediate storm brewing in Elaine's soul, but she feared what lie ahead in the days to come.
For a week after her arrival back to Charleton, Elaine was the center of attention by members of the community and the media alike. She tactfully declined interviews on celebrity shows and other news programs. For a time she remained with her parents inside their cozy ranch home, trying to recover from her harrowing ordeal. Each day brought a new bouquet of flowers or cards from around the country, and each day, Elaine hoped one of the communications might be from David. She had not heard a word from him since leaving Miami. The silence proved deafening. Plagued with confusion and pain over their separation, Elaine spent long hours thinking and reading the Bible, hoping to make sense out of it all.
The flurry of attention died down when news came of David's return. Elaine watched the proceedings on the television in her parents' living room. Her eyes misting over when a camera focused on his face. Instead of the anger she had witnessed in Miami, David smiled for the cameras. He readily offered interviews, even though Elaine could detect a distinct sadness in his eyes that no one else seemed to notice. Sitting in a seat, dressed in his expensive clothes, Elaine wondered about the bag of troubles -- the colostomy that spawned his anger and depression. Yet he carried himself good- naturedly on television, answering even the difficult questions with relative ease.
Mom joined her on the sofa for one such interview, watching with Elaine while David answered a question concerning his damaged intestines.
"It's just one of those unfortunate things," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not going to let it stop me. I have to go on living, you know."
Elaine shook her head. "He's hiding the pain," she sadly observed. "He must be dying inside, but no one sees it."
"But you see it and God sees it," Mom said, giving her a hug.
"I think I might try visiting David," Elaine decided, watching the rest of the interview. "Maybe I'll pose as one of those fancy reporters and see if he'll give me an interview. A real interview too, and not this plastic-coated version they show on television."
Mom raised an eyebrow. "You're not seriously considering such a masquerade, are you?"
Elaine laughed. "I'm just joking, Mom. Maybe everything's okay now. Maybe he's really recovered from all that's happened since we last met. I mean now he's a celebrity. Denise told me he was angry that he had lost his masculinity, his appearance, and his status. With all these interviews, he must have some respect restored."
Mom sighed. "I don't know, honey. One minute you're telling me the man is concealing his pain, the next you're hopeful that he has changed. Perhaps you should look to God's will in all of this and see if He really wants you to keep a relationship going with this man. Maybe you should use this time to break free from him and get on with your life. Wait for David to contact you."
Elaine considered this in the light of what happened. "Maybe. I need to know one way or the other."
The answer came two days later while Elaine was walking down the street. She saw a couple coming towards them, and stepped behind several other people to conceal her identity. To her horror, David's arm lay curled around another woman, whispering words in her ear that elicited a giggle. Elaine trembled, feeling as if she had been dropped into a vat of ice. She followed the couple at a distance until they came to a brand new car parked by the curb. She bit her lip, watching David with his back to her open the passenger door for the woman. Before disappearing into the car, the woman came up on her toes and planted a full kiss on his lips. The exchange lingered for several agonizing moments, branding Elaine's heart like a hot iron.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She knew at that painful moment the finality of everything they had endured together. Their relationship was over. Elaine hurried away. Her mind was a mixture of turmoil and confusion. How could this have happened? "We were never for real," Elaine admitted, kicking at a stone. "It was all a fake from the beginning. I thought he cared, I even thought he loved me. All those words we shared in the truck, everything, it was all a lie. He just said that stuff to keep me calm...or because he thought we were going to die..." She wiped the tears from her face. "At least I can go on with my life. I'm free once and for all from David and his empty words."
David sensed he was making the biggest mistake of his life that evening when he arrived at Darlene's condominium, but forced the conviction from his thoughts. Turning off the ignition, he sat in the car for several minutes, cursing the terrible itch from the new bag placed by the private duty nurse earlier that evening. Despite the strong cologne he used, David could not rid his mind of the dreadful thing. Darlene knew about his handicap, but somehow he felt less than a human being and more like a broken machine. Perhaps he needed a night like tonight to prove to himself and everyone else that he was still a man, despite his condition. David rose out of the car, scanned his outfit, then strode to the lighted building of the condo. Mother was happy about the relationship. She had tried pushing Darlene on him several times, but there was something blocking the way.
Now rapping on Darlene's door, he suddenly envisioned Elaine in her suit and high heels during the interview at the outlet center. A smile filled her face. She shook out her long curly hair and laughed. The door flew open, replacing the image of Elaine with a sultry Darlene clad in a tight fitting, black silk dress. She smiled at him with a set of perfect white teeth, framed by a pair of tantalizing red lips. Ash colored hair showered around her shoulders.
David tried to steady his nerves. He accepted the glass of wine Darlene offered in the hopes it would relax him. Candles flickered from the table that Darlene had painstakingly set with expensive china. In every corner of the room sat illustrations of her mounting wealth from the numerous stage shows she had done. Her beautiful singing voice and natural acting ability entertained many audiences in her career. Many urged her to try out for the highly competitive jobs on Broadway.
Darlene passed him a plate of cheese and crackers, than sat down next to him. She tipped her head in such a way that a golden earring rested atop the cushioned sofa. "You look a million miles away, David. What's the matter?"
David shrugged and quickly thrust down the wine in an effort to calm his anxiety.
"C'mon, you've opened up to me in the past," Darlene coaxed. She paused, studying him as he stared at a statue decorating an obscure corner. Inhaling a deep breath, she inquired, "Does this have anything to do with...you know..." She nodded at his stomach.
David jumped as if stung by a wasp. An angry flush filled his cheeks. "I'm fine. I wish everyone, and especially the media, would quit pestering me about my innards. I'm still a human being."
Darlene placed her glass on a lamp table and drew close to him. "I'm sorry. It's okay, you know." She then asked brightly, "Are you hungry? I made my famous lasagna dish tonight. I even asked your mother what you liked in it, so I put in some eggplant."
David's mood lifted with this announcement. He strode to the pretty table, decorated with a single red rose in a crystal vase. The rose reminded him of Elaine and her great love for flowers. He could envision her long finger tracing each silky petal during the Christmas Ball, and a delicate nose savoring the sweet scent. David shook his head to clear his thoughts and took a seat opposite Darlene. The dinner looked delicious: steaming lasagna dripping with mozzarella, garden salad dribbled with Italian dressing, a loaf of the finest French bread, topped off with Italian red wine. By the end of it, David had forgotten about Elaine. He sat mesmerized by Darlene while she described her newest singing assignment in a classy nightspot.
"Sounds promising," he commented with a smile. "You may just end up on Broadway."
Darlene returned the smile. "And what about you, David? Have you decided whether or not you're going back to the outlet center?"
David shrugged. "Dad left the option open for me. He won't force me one way or the other. I'm thinking of going back in a day or two to check on the store --- just to make sure the employees are confident of the operations, that sort of thing. I heard we lost a third of the sales force after the incident."
Darlene lifted her eyebrows. "A third! How dreadful."
"When it was discovered that one of the employees was directly involved in the robbery, I guess it spooked some of the people. Dad thinks if I show up there, morale will improve. He also plans on inviting the media for a few shots in order to bring in the business."
"Has the company suffered?"
"A little. Actually all the media coverage has boosted sales figures over the Internet. Dad thinks this can all turn around for the better."
Darlene reached across the table to touch his hand. "It must have been a terrible ordeal; going through what you did with those awful men. I know you never talk about it David, but..."
"I prefer not to," he answered shortly, rising to his feet and walking out to the living room.
Darlene followed with two glasses of wine. "I understand, really I do. Life will get better. You've been dealt a raw deck; it can only get better."
"Yeah," he mumbled, again sensing the terrible itch of the pouch beneath his shirt. He cringed and twisted before sitting down hard on the sofa. Why this now, just when everything is going like clockwork? He tried to concentrate on Darlene who appeared so alluring in the dim lighting of the living room. She sat down beside him and crossed her sleek legs, offering him a dazzling smile and an after-dinner mint in a glass bowl. Popping one in his mouth, the two conversed for a time longer before Darlene's hand crawled up his forearm and around his shoulder.
The itching was driving him crazy by this point. He silently cursed the nurse who had applied the bag, wondering what she could have done to cause such irritation. He tried desperately to relax as they shared a kiss, but felt his body straining. Muscles tensed like strings on a violin. He tried adjusting his position. Darlene seemed unaware of his discomfort, but instead, came close to him, settling her lips on his with persistence.
All at once she jerked away with a confused look on her face. She wriggled her nose and jumped to her feet. "David...y-you're leaking something!"
He cursed when he saw what had happened and yelled at her to get him a towel. Shame and embarrassment filled him. Pushing the towel against himself, he bolted out the door of Darlene's apartment, rushing down the stairwell and into the cool of the night.
Once inside the car, he lifted his shirt to discover the pouch had become detached. He swore and banged his fist on the steering wheel. "I can't believe this! I-I've never been so...what an absolute...God, how could you have let this happen to me? Haven't I been through enough? Why did you let this happen on a night like tonight when everything else is fouled up in my life?"
He pulled out of the parking lot and drove around the town of Charleton, wondering what to do about his predicament that was a perfect illustration of his spirit at that moment. He needed medical assistance in replacing the pouch, but felt too embarrassed to go anywhere. Finally he opted for the emergency room of the Charleton Community Hospital -- the same hospital where Elaine and the cab driver had taken him after the car-jacking incident. To his relief, David found a sympathetic nurse on duty who reapplied the appliance and gave him a worn shirt to wear out of the Lost and Found.
After his humbling experience, David drove to some of the old spots around town. First he went to Charleton High and walked the all-weather track where he contested many races in his younger days. Next he drove by Kranston's Pizza Parlor where Elaine once worked as a waitress, and eventually ended up at Elaine's apartment building. A lump filled his throat. How could he have ostracized Elaine like he had? She had done everything to help him that awful night in Miami, and maybe even saved his life. David noticed the window to Elaine's apartment glimmered with light. He stared at it for a long time before parking the car, pocketing the keys, and striding up to the building. He hesitated on the stairs, wondering what he would say to her. At last he knocked on the door.
An elderly man greeted him. "Sorry, but no Elaine Reynolds lives here."
"But I'm positive this is her place. Did she leave a forwarding address?"
The man shook his head and closed the door, leaving David to ponder her whereabouts. His feet shuffled along the walk with his hands thrust deep into his pockets. A cool breeze ruffled his dark hair. Reluctantly he headed back for the mansion where his mother met him, along with the private duty nurse. David scowled at the nurse and headed for his suite on the third floor.
"David, you must have the nurse change your bag," Jacqueline Edwards insisted, following him up the winding staircase.
"I don't need my bag changed, Mother. You make me sound like a trash can." He spat the words with venom, entered his room, and locked the door. The persistent knocking and pleading by his mother finally forced David to admit her into the suite.
"That stupid nurse you hired ruined my entire evening," David snapped. "The bag came detached right in Darlene's apartment."
Her eyes widened in alarm. "Oh dear! How terrible."
"I was never so humiliated in my life. Not only did it ruin my clothes and her sofa, but our relationship, too."
Jacqueline placed a manicured hand on his arm in an effort to soothe him. "Now dear, I'm sure Darlene understands. It wasn't your fault. In fact I'll go call her right now and explain. I'm certain I can smooth things over. We'll replace the sofa."
"Forget it. Things are bad enough as it is." He plopped down in an easy chair and placed his chin in one hand. "My life is a complete disaster right now and I don't know what to do about it."
"Dear, I'm sure Darlene isn't upset. She's very understanding and I know she thinks the world of you."
"Mother, it's not Darlene. It's...I can't explain it."
Jacqueline sat in a chair opposite him.
"Look, I don't think Darlene and I are cut out for each other," David finally said.
"Of course you are! Caroline and I think you two are a perfect match. You shouldn't let one small accident come between you."
David shook his head. "It's not the whole bag bit. We both come from rich families and hang out with the social elite. I've basked in this status of mine since I've been home from Miami, and I can tell you for a fact, I hate it. I hate being rich. I hate feeling abnormal. I hate myself."
"David, please don't say that," Jacqueline mourned. "You're just upset about what happened. Tomorrow you'll feel differently."
"No, I won't. Somehow my life's changed. I thought I could go back to the person I once was, the only son of a millionaire who enjoyed his popularity, rich friends, and extravagant lifestyle. But I can't. I don't want any part of it. I have no peace at all."
Jacqueline studied him silently for several minutes. "I know you've been through so much these last few weeks." Her eyes narrowed. "If only you hadn't gotten mixed up with that destitute woman with those ugly glasses, none of this might have happened. If those terrible kidnappers hadn't used her to trick you into coming to the outlet center that night..."
"Mother, you can't blame Elaine for that. She had nothing to do with it."
"She had everything to do with it! Now look at you...scarred, bruised, and so unhappy. If I ever lay eyes on that girl again, I'd tell her exactly how I feel."
David slumped back against the chair, realizing his mother's words only served to deepen the hurt buried within him. It opened his eyes to his own mistreatment of Elaine. He recalled the vow he had spoken within the truck as it barreled towards Miami -- how he promised that nothing would separate their love. Now as his hand brushed the hated pouch beneath his shirt, he realized that many factors played a role in disrupting their relationship, including the unresolved conflicts from the past. After his mother left, he looked around his room until his eyes fell on the phone book. He reached over and grabbed it up, flipping through the pages for the phone number of Elaine's parents. Perhaps she lived with them.
The phone rang three times before a gruff voice answered.
David cleared his throat. "Is this, uh...the Reynolds?"
"Yes. Who's this?"
"I...uh," he stammered. "Is Elaine there? I must speak to her."
"No, she's not. Look, if you're the media, we're not interested in anymore interviews. I've had it up to here with you people."
"Actually I'm a friend. I heard about what happened and I wanted to tell her I'm sorry."
Pause. "Oh. Well, she living with a young lady from her church. Her name is Denise Adams. You can find her there."
"Thanks," he said, replacing the phone. He recalled someone named Denise while he lay in the intensive care unit of the hospital. She was polite, kind, with an easy-going temperament -- someone who might be a good influence on Elaine. David sat back and tapped his fingernails on the armrest of the chair. Maybe there was hope after all.
"Do you feel ready to go back?" Denise asked Elaine over cups of hot coffee they shared at the breakfast nook. Elaine played with the spoon in her dish of oatmeal before taking a few bites.
"I need to go back. It was a good paying job. I have nowhere else to turn to right now."
"You know you might run into David. Are you ready for that?"
Elaine shrugged. "I don't care anymore. I know our relationship is over. Now that he has a new girlfriend, I'm just going to move on with my life like Mom suggested. She said that God might use this time to help me break free from David. You and I both know he's not a Christian. I probably had no real future with him anyway."
Denise stared at her thoughtfully. "I'm just having a hard time believing that you're really supposed to be free from him. Going through what you did down there in Miami, well, it's hard to just put it aside and pretend it never happened. God uses all things in our lives for a reason. It may not be apparent right now, but one day it will be."
Elaine jumped to her feet and grabbed her purse, all the while choking back the anguish brewing inside her. "Maybe someday I'll understand why all of these strange things have happened. But for now I have to forget about all this, Denise. I really have to move on."
Denise rose to fetch her keys. "Okay, I won't argue with you. You need to do whatever God tells you. But I wouldn't be so quick to give up on David entirely. You may be the only one left in the world who can reach him."
Elaine gave her friend a quizzical look before shaking her head. "I can't believe I'm the only one," she said as they strode out to Denise's car. "I mean, there are many Christians around."
"Of course, but God allowed you to have a special relationship with him. I don't think God causes accidents, do you?"
"David isn't an accident."
"No, he's not. He may be making bad choices right now, but he needs to see the love of God."
Elaine sighed. "I know you're right. I just don't have the strength to reach him right now. There's too much emotion at play here. If I open myself up anymore, I may break in two."
Denise patted her arm in comfort as she drove to the outlet center. When they arrived, several vans with satellite dishes pointing skyward surrounded the building, along with camera crews. "I wonder what's going on?"
"I hope it's not another break-in or something."
Denise elbowed her. "You think they may be waiting to interview you?"
Elaine shrunk down in her seat at the thought, hoping to appear invisible to any reporters that might stroll up the sidewalk, armed with microphones and cameras. "Please, no. Let's sit here a few minutes and wait. I know a side entrance we can use if this doesn't clear out."
They waited, watching cameramen and reporters line up along the sidewalk, straining their necks to see down the road. Finally one of them shouted, "Look, there's his car! It's him! Get ready!"
Huge cameras pointed at the limousine entering the parking area of the outlet center. Reporters swamped the vehicle when it came to a stop.
"Who do you think it is?" Denise wondered.
Elaine flung the strap of her purse over one shoulder. "I don't know, but I'm going to make my break now while they're all occupied. Thanks for the ride." She quickly opened the door and scooted out, keeping her face low while she slipped past the knot of reporters hovering around the limousine. She overheard a multitude of questions fired at the occupants of limousine.
"How does it feel to be back since the robbery?"
"What are your plans?"
"What steps are you taking to safeguard against future break-ins?"
Elaine could hear the reporters shouting questions, and kept her sights focused on the entrance of the outlet center until a reporter spotted her.
"Hey look, it's Elaine Reynolds!" the reporter shouted.
All at once, men and and women with cameras came bounding over to her. Lights flashed in every direction. Microphones poked in her face. Elaine tried to shield herself from the onslaught of questions that poured out like a volley of cannon fire. She then watched in shock as several reporters maneuvered David alongside her. He stood clad in an expensive suit, staring at her in surprise before whirling to face the reporters.
"Look everyone, this is our first day back on the job," he snapped. "How about a little consideration here?"
"How does it feel to be reunited after that night in the outlet center a month ago?" a reporter asked, ignoring his plea.
"Are you two still seeing each other?"
"What is your first priority on the job?"
"What of the rumors that henchmen of the drug lord in Miami are still on the loose and might be in the area?"
"Have you recovered from your injuries?"
Elaine felt a protective arm encircle her and gently escort her to a small office down the hall, away from the probing mob. Elaine pushed back the hair hanging in her face while David peeked out the window behind a set of blinds, watching the media attempt to gain access to the outlet center. "It's like an invasion from outer space," he remarked with a chuckle. "The weapons are the microphones and the cameras." He turned to Elaine who folded her arms as if to protect herself from some untold danger. "It's okay now," he told her soothingly. "Security will take care of them."
Elaine only stared down at her shoes, unable to speak.
He continued to observe her apprehension. "Is this your first day back to work?"
She nodded. "I-I wasn't expecting that kind of greeting," she mumbled.
"The media are slick. I had some news truck tailing the limo the moment we left the mansion." He peered out once more. "Good, they got the message. They're packing up their equipment."
"I'd better get going," Elaine said softly, sidestepping her way to the door.
"Elaine, wait a minute will you?" David licked his lips and scuffed a shoe across the floor. "Look, I'm sorry that...well, I know we haven't really talked to each other since..."
Elaine shrugged. She tried to smile.
"Look, I was wondering...you want to go out for pizza after work? Your favorite hangout, Kranston's?"
Elaine blinked, stunned by the invitation. "No, I don't think so, David. It's over between us." Her hand slipped around the doorknob, tugged open the door, and left.
"Elaine, wait!" he pleaded.
Elaine hurried to the inspection department, her mind a whirl of confusion over the unexpected invite. Why on earth would David ask her out? Didn't he already have another woman? Elaine could not begin to figure out the reason. When she stepped into the inspection room, all the employees jumped out of concealed places within the department. A cheery "Surprise!" filled the air.
Eugene Tyson came forward to offer her a handshake. "Welcome back, Elaine."
Elaine stared at the helium balloons floating from tabletops, some with the word heroine printed on it. A huge decorated cake sat on the countertop next to a crystal punch bowl. Janet came forward and gave her a hug. "It's good to have you back," she whispered.
The entire department then broke out into a joyful song, "For she's a jolly good worker, for she's a jolly good worker, for she's a jolly good worker...that nobody can deny!"
"Wow, this is really great, guys," Elaine managed to say, wiping away a stray tear that trickled down her cheek. "Thanks a lot."
"After everything you've gone through, you showed a lot of class coming back to work," said Mr. Tyson. "I also have something I want to present you on behalf of Mr. Edwards and the entire Edwards Electronics division." He handed her a long white envelope.
Elaine took it with shaky fingers and managed to unseal it. Inside was a company check, the amount of which left her head spinning. For a moment she considered what to do with the money, until thoughts of David overshadowed her joy. She pushed the envelope into Tyson's surprised hand. "You keep it. I'll just take my normal pay."
His eyebrows lifted in amazement. "What? Don't you think you deserve it after everything that's happened?"
Elaine pondered the question before shaking her head. "No, I don't deserve it. I thought I deserved lots of things for the kind of life I had. But I realize I don't deserve money, popularity, people, anything at all. About the only thing I really want in my heart right now is peace." She strode away, looking for the employee locker room to stash her purse. The face of David haunted her everywhere she went -- his eyes searching hers, his voice echoing in her ears. With a quick jerk she opened the locker, threw in her purse, and slammed it shut. "This isn't going to work, is it?" she said to herself. "There's only one way I can find the peace I need. That's to get as far away from this place as possible. Al will take me back at the pizza place until I find new employment." She opened the locker and took out her purse. Walking back into the main work area, memories of that fateful night assaulted her. When she passed the glass room where Sly had pointed the rifle in her face, a shudder gripped her. In determination she continued to Eugene Tyson's office.
He looked up from the paperwork on his desk and smiled. "Change your mind about the check?"
"I've changed my mind," she said, "but not about the money. I'm leaving, Mr. Tyson. I-I have to get out of here and make a fresh start somewhere else."
He rose to his feet. "I understand. There's still bad memories here, isn't there?"
His mannerism so reminded Elaine of a father that she began to cry. "Yes, and much more. I have to begin with a clean slate. This place is a part of my life I would rather forget. I'm sorry. I thought I could come back here and things would go back to the way they used to be..."
Tyson picked up the envelope with her name on it and handed it to her. "At least take this with you so you'll have some money to start over. It makes no sense to live in poverty, does it?"
Elaine shook her head and took the money. "Thanks for being a great boss."
"Thanks for all your hard work. We'll miss you."
Elaine cracked a faint smile before tucking the envelope into her purse and heading out the door. The walk down the hallway seemed endless, as if it were miles before she reached the exit. When she finally made it to the glass doors, she heard her name echo down the hall.
"Elaine? Where are you going?"
She turned to see David standing in the doorway of an office. His shirtsleeves were rolled up, his tie discarded. She inhaled a breath, thinking how handsome he appeared in just a plain white cotton shirt against the deep ebony color of his hair. "I just told Mr. Tyson that I'm leaving. I guess you can say I've given my resignation."
"Your resignation?" He scanned the hallway before motioning her to his office.
Elaine reluctantly went into the office and sat down in a chair, keeping her eyes trained on the floor to avoid the dark eyes that stared at her. "Look, it won't do any good, David. I have to leave this place. All the memories...I can't take it."
"I know. It's been hard for me too, but I don't have a choice." He went to a dispenser and filled a paper cup with spring water, which he handed to her. Elaine gave a lopsided smile and took the water.
David pulled up a chair and sat opposite her. "I know you're really upset with me. I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you. I don't know why I kept you away. Maybe I was placing some of the blame for my condition on you."
Elaine turned away from him to focus her attention on the potted plants arranged on the windowsill, and a framed college diploma from a business school hanging on the wall. Her eyes traveled to the desk that contained a picture of his parents in regal attire, goblets from various prep colleges stuffed with pencils and pens, and his name, David Jonathan Edwards, etched on a brass plate. The name warmed her heart for a brief moment, but it was too little, too late. "I'm just not meant to be here," she said, tossing the paper cup into the trashcan.
"Where will you go? Not back to that pizza place."
"For now. They'll welcome me back."
"Elaine, please let me welcome you back into my life," he said gently. "Give me a chance to make it up to you."
"David, just forget about me. You're a successful guy with a gorgeous lady friend. You can have any woman you want. Like I've told you many times, let me get on with my life and you get on with yours."
His hand brushed over his face. "Elaine, I can't go on with my life. Don't you see?" His voice cracked with emotion. "No one will associate with someone like me. Okay, maybe there was another woman, but she didn't mean anything to me. I mean look at me. I've got this thing hooked to me." He pointed to his shirt. "It's caused me more humiliation than I could possibly imagine. No one wants someone who's abnormal."
His words jarred Elaine. She stared at him wide-eyed.
"You're the only one who will accept me. Like I said to you in the hospital, you like the nobodies, the ones everyone else spurns because they aren't molded after today's high society." He leaned forward. "Please don't hate me for what's happened. I could use some acceptance right now."
"David, I don't hate you. I know you're going through a lot, with this colostomy and all. There are too many differences between us -- there always have been."
"So what? What's wrong with being different? You know very well that I'm different. But that's what makes a relationship special. Still does, in my opinion."
Elaine shifted her purse strap to the other arm. "Look, I'm sorry for what's happened to you. At first I was willing to accept you and even love you. But you gave me the brush-off so many times. Now it seems you see me as your last resort..."
"I know -- and I'm sorry. Wow, you don't know how sorry. If I could redo it all, I would. I'd take back everything I ever did and then some."
Elaine shifted her feet. "Look, I'd better go."
"Can I call you? Or better yet, will you go out with me?"
Elaine heaved a sigh and shook her head. She then turned and rushed out of the room before the struggle in her throat came forth in a wail.
David never felt lower in his life than he did at that moment. After work he drove out to the cemetery and walked the grounds until he came to Mark Ryan's grave. There he sat on the grass, staring through hollowed eyes at the pot of pansies, wondering why he hadn't died at the hands of Jose in Miami. Why was he left alive while the good and decent lay dead? He reached out a hand to touch the tombstone bearing the name of the one who owned Elaine's heart, even in death. At that moment he came to a decision. "I have to make right what's wrong. I know revealing the secret I've kept all these years might separate me from Elaine forever, but I'm willing to take the chance. Maybe I'll find peace in my soul after it's done." He came to his feet, kicking at the grass, and went to his car. He did not stop until he arrived at the huge complex that housed the corporate headquarters of Edwards Electronics and his father's office.
Clyde Edwards greeted David with a warm smile, ordering the secretary to fetch him fresh coffee and find him the most comfortable chair. "I'm sure you found it difficult going back to the outlet store," he said, watching through narrow eyes as David sipped the mug of coffee the secretary gave to him.
"I'll get through it."
"You must realize how much I appreciate what you've done with the store," he continued. "Despite the whole fiasco, our sales are up by thirty percent, thanks to your sound management. If you think you can still handle it, son, I want you to stay on. You've made me proud. Proud that you can stand on your feet and not let some hoodlums wreck what we've worked so hard to gain."
"Actually Dad, that's not why I'm here." David set the mug down on the huge oak desk. "I'm hear to talk about that accident."
"Accident? What accident?"
"The accident nine years ago...when I killed Mark Ryan."
His father turned red in the face. "Why on earth do you want to bring that up? That was settled years ago."
"It isn't settled. You used our money to cover my sin, and that was wrong. I should have been charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident." He bowed his head.
Clyde Edwards went into a round of coughing. He then took out his handkerchief and mopped the sweat from his brow. "David, the matter was settled. Everyone accepted it, even the Ryan's. You're not guilty."
"I am guilty. You and I both know it. I wasn't paying attention while I was driving that night. I had music blaring from the stereo, my hands were beating against the steering wheel, and wham -- I hit him. I've never forgotten the sound of the collision. I hear it in my brain all the time." Tears clouded the vision of his father sitting before him. "And what did I do? Did I check to see if he was okay? No. I took off and left him lying there, dying on the street."
"David," he began. "You didn't know what you had hit. You thought it was a deer."
"You mean who I hit. I hit another human being, a loved one, a son, and someone's boyfriend. I killed him."
The red hue on his father's face deepened. "You can't dredge this up after all this time. Think what it will do to us and to you especially. The media is already hot on our tail because of what happened to you. Bringing this up now will ruin us!"
"Dad, I don't think I care. Money and fame don't mean a hill of beans to me. Peace means more. Mark Ryan is dead because of my stupidity. Mark paid for it with his life, and what did I pay? Dollars -- to get me off."
Clyde twisted his lips. "So tell me, what brought this up all of the sudden? Does this have anything to do with that employee at the outlet center? If you ask me, she's the cause of all our troubles."
"She's no longer an employee."
"Good. Stay way from her. She's too much of a bad influence on you, if you ask me. You're all uptight. You've been thinking too much. Let it go."
David felt his muscles tighten in response. "Elaine's been an excellent influence on me. She opened my eyes to see my selfishness. She's made me realize that there's more to life than keeping a name or making a buck. I'd rather live in a hole the rest of my life than live with what's been inside of me these last nine years. It's killing me. I have to get it out somehow, whether you agree with me or not."
"David, listen to reason. We went through the proper channels. We went to the Ryan family and offered a settlement just so we wouldn't have to face criminal charges or a lawsuit. They accepted the agreement and that's why there was never any charges pressed. As it was, our lawyer said there wasn't anything you did wrong. It was an accident. You only left the scene because you thought you'd hit some animal or something."
"Yeah, an animal," he spat. "I'm the animal."
"All the parties agreed to it. Bringing this up now is ludicrous, not to mention what it would do to the Ryan's and to us. Why do you want to do such a thing?"
"Because it hurts. I hurt. I'm tired of the pain and the guilt of paying people off just to ease my conscience."
Clyde held out his hand to him. "David, you have paid. Look at you. You've suffered enough. Let it go. Between the ordeal in Miami and this, you're going to ruin yourself. I won't let that happen to you. You're my only son."
David rose to his feet. "I'm not satisfied," he said stiffly. "It's not over, not for me. I'm going to do whatever I can to see that this is resolved. I just hope you can accept that." He turned on his heel and left.
David sat alone on the park bench, ignoring the cold wind that ripped through his shirt. The wind felt good after the confrontation with Mark Ryan's family earlier that day. He covered his face with his hands, unable to rid his mind of the face that peered at him from the door -- the face of a mother who had lost her beloved son. Many times David wanted to turn around and leave, but he forced himself to go to the house. Mrs. Ryan appeared genuinely surprised to see him. She invited him into the living room where his eyes immediately fell on a portrait of Mark as a senior in high school. It sat squarely in the middle of the dining room table. His throat swelled. He took a seat as far away from the picture as possible and focused his eyes on a framed print hanging on the wall. Mrs. Ryan appeared with a glass of cold lemonade, but he could hardly swallow it. She sat down opposite him. Instead of talking about Mark or asking why David had killed her son in such a brutal way, she only inquired about his injuries sustained in the abduction.
David trembled when he confessed to her the internal pain he suffered from his condition. He knew the pain he bore did not begin to compare with the death of her son. Yet Mrs. Ryan only leaned forward in interest. Her large eyes filled with compassion.
"There's only one person who knows about pain," she told him gently. "Jesus took away my pain when I lost my son. He can take away your pain and your confusion."
"I don't see how," David responded, unable to meet the gentlewoman in the eye. "My life is a mess. My family messed up your lives. Everything is messed up."
"Yes, but God can restore it. He restored our happiness. I know He will restore you."
David jumped to his feet and paced the carpet before pausing at the picture of Mark. Words rushed out of him like a spigot of water turned on full blast. "How can you sit there and say that to me? Don't you know that I'm the one who ran Mark over that night? Don't you remember that my dad paid off everyone so I could walk away scot- free?" His hands began to quake. "I can't take this guilt anymore. I can't. I wish I had died. I should have died in Miami. I want to die and bring Mark back. He deserves to live, not me."
The gentle hand that rested on his arm sent him into spasms. He choked from the grief that filled his throat. Tears ran down his face.
"David, you can't do this to yourself. Blaming yourself won't bring Mark back. I know he is in a much better place -- with God in heaven." Her voice cracked. "Of course I would rather have him here with me and the family. He was a precious son, a wonderful young man, kind and loving. But he has gone on, and now we have to go on, too."
"I can't go on."
"Yes, you can. God can help. Find Him and His forgiveness. Then you can find the strength to forgive yourself."
David turned to see her soft eyes filling with tears, but a slow smile spreading across her face. The smile shocked him into a realization that some inner strength commanded her. Even now, as he sat on the park bench, this same strength beckoned to him. He rose to his feet and looked at his watch. Wednesday evening. He took off toward Main Street and to the familiar singing echoing through the windows of the Main Street Church. He didn't care that this was Elaine's church. Some unknown strength tugged on his heart, urging him forward, carrying him into a sanctuary filled with the most beautiful music he had ever heard in his life.
Elaine was grateful Al had given her the night off from the pizza place to attend the service Wednesday night. Since the scene with David a week ago, her heart remained in turmoil. She tried in vain to forget about him, but found herself reminiscing about their cross-country ski trip, or the walks they took, or the feel of his arms holding her in the midst of danger. She shook her head, closed her eyes, and tried to enter into the singing that filled the room. When she sat down to listen to the message, she found her mind wandering. If only she could cut loose this tie with David. How could God have possibly meant for them to be bound together in such a way?
The words of the preaching filled her ears. "What is impossible with man is possible with God." Elaine blinked her eyes and stared as the pastor continued with the message. A relationship with David seemed impossible, but could God make it possible?
At the conclusion of the message, Elaine bowed her head and listened to the usual call for those wishing to surrender their lives to the God of impossibility. An elbow suddenly jarred her. Elaine opened her eyes to see Denise acknowledging the front of the room. She nearly fell out of her seat. David Edwards stood in the front of the room, accepting the greatest gift of all before the entire congregation. When the service concluded, Elaine tried to reach him, but found the men of the congregation surrounding him, giving him their support. From afar she noticed the new light shining in his face. Tears filled her eyes. The unthinkable had come to pass.
"You need to call him, Elaine," Denise pressed. "Tell him how glad you are that he's accepted Christ. This is the best thing that could have happened."
Elaine stared at the phone. "I should, but I don't know if I have the nerve."
"Sure you can. You were going to see him tonight at the service, weren't you?"
"Yes, but all those people hovered around him."
"Then call him. Now's your chance to make things right between you two. This could be the start of something new."
Elaine heard the swish of the door close before her eyes reverted to the telephone sitting on the table. With shaky fingers, she picked up the receiver and punched in his cell phone number, not knowing what she would say or how she would react when his voice came on the line. When the voicemail activated, she swallowed down the phlegm that collected in her throat. "David, it's me, Elaine. I...uh, just wanted you to know I'm happy about what happened to you tonight." She hung up the phone and sat back. "I should have said more than that," she voiced in dismay. The sudden ringing of the telephone jarred her out of her seat. She swiped it up, issuing a breathless hello.
"Elaine, I'm so glad you called me."
She sat down with a thud. Anxiety swept over her. "I-I wanted to see you after the service, David, but..."
His joyful chuckle spawned a smile on her face. "I was a little swamped," he admitted, "but it was the good kind, much better than nosy reporters and heavy cameras. I've never felt such acceptance in all my life."
"The church is great. The congregation has been there for me through everything..."
"You tried telling me about it, but I was too stubborn to see it. Now that I can see, I feel so much better. Soon I'll have this hole in my stomach closed and that will be a day to celebrate. But for now, I know I can handle what's happened to me."
"I'm glad, David, really I am." A pause came over the line.
"Look Elaine, I have something I need to confess to you. It's something I should have told you a long time ago, only I was too chicken."
"David, it's okay."
"No, I really need to get this out. After everything that's happened, I know I'll feel better if I can let it all out. Then there'll be no more secrets between us."
Elaine sat up straight in her seat. "Secrets?" she repeated.
"Look, can I meet you somewhere? The park?"
"Sure," she managed to say. "I'll see you in about half an hour." She replaced the receiver with doubts swimming in her head. What secret could David be talking about? She refused to speculate, but only readied herself for the late evening meeting. Whatever it was, the burden needed to be removed. Maybe, just maybe, with everything out in the open, as David said, God might be ready to perform another miracle in their lives.
David sat on a park bench, waiting for her as he promised. He rose to his feet when she arrived, staring for a moment or two before offering a quiet greeting. They sat side by side on the bench, silent for a time, each contemplating the mixed emotions stirring within their hearts.
David was the first to speak. He inhaled a sharp breath in determination. No longer would he keep the knowledge of the past from her. After witnessing the love, both at the home of Mark Ryan's family and at church, the time had come to reveal everything about Mark's tragic death. Slowly, carefully, David unfolded the details of the past. He told her of the car accident involving Mark, and how his father had used the family wealth to clear his name. He then told her of his visit with Mark's mother who shared the love of God in a way that propelled him to the church meeting that night. When all was said and done, he breathed a long, loud sigh, thankful the burden he carried on his shoulders for so long had finally been lifted.
Elaine sat in stunned silence. The pain she had stored away all these years now reared up like a monster, tearing at her heart and soul. Mark's sweet face, the laughter of David at the high school prom, the scene in the auditorium, the funeral...all came flooding back in a torrent. "I can't believe this!" she cried. "You knew all along you were the one responsible for Mark's death." She jumped to her feet in a start. "All this time, it was you!"
David saw the abrupt change in her voice and the hostility that brewed thick in the air. A feeling of dread came over him. "Elaine, I-I didn't want anymore secrets between us. I wanted everything out in the open."
"But you did nothing about it until now," she shouted. "For nine years, it's been David Edwards' dirty little secret. All along you knew what happened, yet you and your rich family did nothing. Nothing!"
"Elaine, please," David begged, reaching out a hand in an attempt to draw her back "I've tried to make things right. It's just like what Mrs. Ryan said. We have to go on. I know I've made mistakes and I'm willing to pay for them. What can I do so that you'll trust me again?"
The words pierced her brain like a shower of nails. She responded with a tremor. Trust. How could she ever trust again? All her life she tried trusting in people and they abandoned her. First there was Kathy Cleary, then Mark Ryan. Next her father...and finally, Tim Gray, her coworker. All these people she trusted in one way or the other, and all of them had betrayed her. Now a man she once detested with every part of being dared to ask the same thing of her. Elaine shook her head. I'll never trust him. "I'll tell you one thing," she snapped, "I don't need you anymore. I'll never need you, your help, your money, nothing. All you've done my whole life is cause me pain and grief. I'm so tired of everything...and tired of you. From now on, just leave me alone." With that she hurried away into the night.
"You don't mean it, Elaine," a voice drifted on the breath of wind.
"I mean every word of it," she snapped back. Her feet stomped the pavement. At the corner she paused, waiting to hear the patter of footsteps and the pleading look in David's eyes, wishing her back. Only a lone car meandered down the road. Again she marched off, the anger fueling her footsteps. Hot tears trickled down her cheeks. After all these years, hovering over Mark's grave, it had been David. All the time David had tried to foster a relationship with her, or she had tried to kindle one with him, the secret lay wedged between them.
Forgive him.
"I can't." Her words choked in response. "How can I?" She slowed to another park bench and plopped herself down. In the distance, a bank clock illuminated the numerals of midnight. Deep in her heart she knew she must forgive him, but the pain ran too deep.
The last few days had been the loneliest Elaine had ever known. She spent evenings walking the streets, thinking about David's words, wondering why all this was happening to her. At times the pleading in his voice would soften her heart. Then the knowledge of the past would come forth and push her back into a deep pit of unforgiveness from which there seemed no escape. Denise encouraged her to open up about the meeting with David, but Elaine remained silent. She knew what Denise would say. It had become a resounding gong in her head, day after day. Forgive him.
That evening, Elaine sat huddled in her jacket on a park bench near the cemetery, lost in thought. Earlier she had visited Mark's grave, and just the sight of the marble stone with his name engraved on it sent the waves of pain coursing through her. David killed Mark. He ran over him with his car. "How can I forgive something like that, God?" she wrestled out loud. "How can I?" She closed her eyes. There has to be a way to release this, but how?
A dark figure approached at that moment and took a seat on the opposite end of the bench. The creaking of wood sent her eyes scanning the figure, cloaked in a short leather jacket. She could see spikes of black hair. Had David followed her, bringing with him more apologies? The figure took out a pack of cigarettes and lit up a smoke. No, it was not David. The figure took several drags on the cigarette and blew circles of smoke in the air. Elaine stirred in her seat and rose, preparing to walk away, when a foreign voice stopped her short.
"Hola, senorita."
The words caught her like a hand slamming against her chest. All the air escaped. Her muscles tightened. She could hardly draw a breath.
"I have a message for you." He flicked a hail of gray ash on the ground. "Simple message."
Elaine began to shake. She wanted to run, but instinct warned her not to.
"Simple message," he said again, resting an arm across the back of the bench with the smoking cigarette tucked between his fingers. "Tell your boyfriend, David Edwards, I watch you. I know where you live. I know where you go." He took another drag on the cigarette. "Tell him I want money. His inheritance...his trust fund. Tu comprendas?"
Elaine could barely nod.
"Sí. Tell him to give me money in small bills. Put in black bag. Meet me tomorrow night, at bridge outside town, at midnight."
Elaine began to shake her head and shuffle her feet.
"Ah, so you don't believe me?" He rose and circled her. "Then I tell you what you say to my boss, Jose, in little room. I bring chair to room, you see. I was there. I plan to finish what Jose start. So tell Edwards what I tell you, senorita. No one else is to know. No police, no reporters, only him."
Elaine heard a click in his pocket. Oh God, he has a gun!
"Tell him, senorita. If you tell anyone else, you and family see mi leetle amigo here."
Elaine shut her eyes. When she opened them, he had vanished. "Oh God," she moaned. She looked around, sensing his eyes staring at her from the darkness. "Oh God." He's watching me, he sees me...oh God, help me!
Elaine took off down the street as fast as her legs could carry her. At the intersection, she found a policeman leaning up against a light post, reading the evening newspaper. She paused in her tracks. If she told him her story, surely he would keep her safe. He would put her in a hiding place, surrounded by bodyguards. But the man knows where I live. He said so. Denise could be in danger. And he threatened Mom and Dad! What can I do?
Elaine walked onward, numbed with fear. Her legs began to ache. The darkness consumed her. David, I need you. Oh God, I need David! I know what I said the other night, that I didn't need him, but now I need him! She had to find David and tell him. Already her legs were cramping from fatigue. She dismissed the pain and walked on, limping along the pavement.
Finally she stopped by a telephone at a convenience store. The music drifting out of the place soothed her raw nerves for only moment. Somewhere that man was watching her every move, cradling in his jacket the pistol he called his friend. The mere thought sent tears welling up in her eyes. Her fingers shook as she punched in the number to his cell phone. "Please answer, David," she begged. "Please." The phone ran several times before the voicemail activated. No, no. David you have to be there. God, please make him answer.
"Hello?" answered a voice.
Elaine heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh David, help me!" she cried.
"Elaine? Elaine what's the matter? What's going on?"
"David...I..." Elaine nearly dropped the receiver when she saw a dark-haired man in a leather jacket enter the convenience store. The odor of cigarettes wafted in the air. "Oh God, help me."
"Elaine, what's going on? Where are you?"
"David, I-I have to see you. I'm at the Quick Mart on Seventh Street. Hurry, please." She hung up the phone and waited. Her insides felt tied in knots. She could barely breathe. Elaine clung to the phone booth. She dare not go inside the mart with the man possibly hovering in some corner, ready to threaten her again. She stared back at the phone, considering dialing 911 and asking for help. If only she could. Her fingers lifted the receiver. It wouldn't take long. Just a quick call for help. The man would never notice. Then she thought of Mom, with Dad helpless in his wheelchair. She shuddered and replaced the receiver. Will this nightmare ever end?
When David arrived, Elaine leapt into the passenger seat of the car and locked all the doors. "Drive, David. Just drive."
"Elaine, what's going on?" He swerved the car around and took off down the dark street.
"Just keep driving. Go to the next town, anywhere. Just get as far away from Charleton as possible."
"Elaine, please talk to me." Instead he watched her stare out the window, searching the depths of the night for something, though he didn't know what.
Finally she relaxed in her seat and took off her glasses, wiping away the streaks of dried tears with a crumbled tissue. "David, they're here. They're back. Remember the rumors that some of Jose's men had escaped from Miami and might come here?"
David's eyes widened. "You saw them?"
"One of them. I was taking a walk tonight and stopped at a park bench. He sat on the other end of the bench -- and began talking in Spanish. Oh David, what are we going to do?"
"What did he say?"
"He told me he wants your money. Your trust fund. He said to put it in a black bag and deliver it at the bridge outside of town, at midnight tomorrow."
David stared at the road. Had she heard right? Were Jose's men in town, looking for revenge? Or was her mind gripped by fear, telling her things, planting strange words and scenarios in her brain. "Are you sure that's what he said?"
"Of course I'm sure. I didn't make it up. He sat right there and said it."
"Maybe it was just some homeless man trying to scare you. Or an obnoxious high school kid who heard the news reports. I used to be one, you know."
Elaine slapped her hand across her forehead. "David, I wish you would take me seriously. How many men do you know sit down and say 'Hola, senorita?'"
"Did you recognize him?"
Elaine shook her head. "I don't know. He said...he said he saw me, with Jose. He brought in the chair for Jose to sit. He said he would finish the job Jose started. He was there, David."
David gripped the steering wheel. "We'd better go to the police with this right now."
"No!" Elaine shrieked. She yanked on his arm, nearly causing him to lose control of the car. "He said no police. If you go to the police, he will kill my family. He said he knows where I live. He said he's been watching my family and me. Only God knows what he's capable of doing. I know what happened in Miami. You were too sick in the van to understand, but I know they murdered Tim and his brother."
"Then we have no choice but to go to the police. We can't have some thug of Jose's following you or I around. It's too dangerous."
"David, don't you understand what I just said? Do you want me dead? If you don't give him what he asks, that's what he'll do! Just give him the money."
"Elaine, you know we can't give in to his demands. If we do, then he wins. Jose wins."
"So your precious money means more to you than me?"
"Elaine, c'mon. I'd give all my money if it would protect you. That's not the point."
"Then do what he says, David. Give him your money. Please." She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.
David reached out his hand to caress her hair. "We'll do what's right, I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you."
For the next few hours he drove around the countryside, taking the long way back to Charleton. When he did, Elaine begged him to take her to her parents' home. "I have to make sure they're okay."
"I don't know if I want you staying there by yourself. If that guy is hanging around like you said, then it's not safe." He sighed. "We need the police in on this, Elaine. It's the only way to make sure nothing happens. You know we won't get any sleep tonight with that kook on the loose. The police are good with this sort of thing. They can nail him in his tracks. He'll never know what hit him."
Elaine shook her head, unconvinced. "David, he told me no police. For all we know, there may be more than one. I can't take that risk."
Just then David's cell phone beeped. He flipped it open as he steered the car into the subdivision where Elaine's parents lived.
"Hello?"
"David Edwards?" asked a thick voice, heavily accented.
"Who's this?"
"Hola, senor. Chica tell you of my plans, no? You meet me tomorrow night, at bridge, with money in trust fund."
"Who is this? What's your name?"
"Think I tell you?" The voice began to snicker. "Do what I say and no harm to chica or her family. You don't want them ending up like you, eh? No insides left?" A raw cackle sent a chill racing through David. His hand brushed the hated bag lurking beneath his shirt.
"David, who is it?' Elaine asked.
He shook his head and pulled the car to a stop by the curb. The only thing he could do was delay the man as long as possible until he came up with another plan. "Look, I need more time. One day is not enough."
"Tomorrow at midnight. And no police or it go very bad."
"Look, you have to give me a few more days to access my..." The phone clicked in his ear. David tossed the phone onto the dashboard and sat back.
"It was him, wasn't it?"
He nodded.
"He asked for the money again, didn't he?" She began to shake. "What are we going to do? I'm so scared."
For the first time, David had to admit he was scared, too. The man meant what he said. If he was anything like his boss, Jose -- ruthless, unfeeling, and dangerous -- the man would not hesitate to blow someone away to satisfy his needs. Once again, danger had come calling when David least expected it. Yet this time he felt an inner strength within him that had not been there before. Images of the meeting at the church earlier that week gave him peace. No longer was he alone in all this. Now he had God with him. Surely God was great enough to overcome the enemy.
"I'll take you home," he decided, "but I won't leave you there alone. Will your folks let me sleep on the couch?"
"They're going to wonder what's up, David."
"I'll come up with something. We can't tell them the truth. It would scare them half to death."
"I know," Elaine answered quietly, gnawing on her bottom lip at the thought.
Elaine's weary mother answered the knock on the door, startled by the sight of David and Elaine standing on the porch so late at night. Instantly a barrage of questions came tumbling out. "What happened? Is something wrong? Are you hurt? You look terrible."
Elaine managed a weak smile. "Oh, it's nothing, Mom. David was uh..."
"Locked out of my house," he supplied. "I didn't feel right crashing in on Elaine's roommate."
"Oh, I understand. Unfortunately we only have one spare room."
"I'll just crash on the couch for a few hours if that's okay," David said. "My folks are out on one of their all night shindigs and should be back before dawn. I can use my cell phone to check when they're home."
"Oh, feel free to use our phone. Let me get you some sheets and a blanket."
Elaine's mom scurried off to the linen closet while Elaine and David occupied the couch. Their fingers intertwined, conveying the unspoken message of anxiety they both were feeling. When she returned, they jumped to their feet.
"Thanks," David said, taking the linens. "Sorry to be such a bother."
"Oh, you're not at all. I'm just surprised to see you." Mom took a seat across from them in the recliner.
"Is Dad asleep?" Elaine asked.
She nodded. "I worry about him. He's still very depressed. He's lost another five pounds."
Elaine and David exchanged glances. She felt his fingers curl around her hand and give a slight squeeze that communicated his concern. "I wish there was something we could do."
"I wish so, too. I pray everyday for a solution. I've checked out those rehab hospitals, but they are so expensive, even with medical coverage."
Elaine sensed a frustration rise up within her at the thought of the Spanish man taking the money that David once offered to use for Dad's rehabilitation. Yet it was better to give the man the money rather than risk danger to her parents. The mere fact of the man holding a gun before Mom and Dad sent shivers racing through her.
"Are you cold?" Mom asked. "I don't know, but you two look like something is on your minds."
"Did you know that David accepted the Lord?" Elaine suddenly blurted out.
Mom straightened in her seat. "David, that's wonderful news!"
"I had a lot of junk in my life, Mrs. Reynolds," he said, turning to the window when a set of headlights passed by along the street. "I went to the service last Wednesday night and God grabbed a hold of me. He hasn't let go since."
She came to her feet and offered him a hug. "I'm so glad to hear that. What a blessing! Elaine, you must be thrilled."
Elaine noticed David's preoccupation with the window and stared into the night, trying to figure out what drew his attention.
"Elaine?"
"Mom? Oh yeah, I am. It's wonderful news."
Mom yawned at that moment. "I guess we've all had a busy day. I'll see you in the morning, David?"
"I may leave early before you get up, but thanks Mrs. Reynolds."
She offered him a pleasant good night, then walked off to the bedroom. Both David and Elaine exhaled sighs of relief when the bedroom door closed, leaving only the sound of the ticking cuckoo clock to serenade their concerns.
"At least we managed to hide the truth," David murmured. "It wasn't really a lie. Mother and Dad are always out late at night. And the doors to the mansion are locked this time of night."
"We did what we had to do." For the first time, Elaine wrapped an arm around his broad shoulders. "Thank you so much for volunteering to stay here and look out for me."
"Elaine, I wouldn't do any less." He traced a finger down the curve of her cheek and across her lips. "You mean so much to me. I can't believe how blind I've been, like I've been walking around with a paper bag thrown over my face. How I could've done the things I did to you..."
Her finger lightly touched his mouth, silencing his complaints. "David, it's over. You're clean now. Jesus made you clean. We can start over, the both of us." She took her finger away and replaced it with her lips. He responded with an equal fervor, drawing her close to him. When they parted, their eyes remained on each other.
"Once this is over, we've got plans to make," he said.
"Plans? What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll let God guide me, step by step. But I have a feeling there are some big plans in store for us." Again he kissed her. "But first thing's first. We've got to get through midnight tomorrow."
"David," she murmured, clinging to him, drawing strength from his stout form and the warmth of his arms around her. "What are we going to do?"
"I have all night to figure out a plan, Elaine. Go on and get some sleep. I'm here and nobody is going to touch you or your family."
"David, I love you."
"I love you, too. And we're going to make it. We've come too far not to make it now."
Sleep refused to come that night. David lay awake on the sofa, listening to the ticking of the cuckoo clock and the bird that would leap out every hour, chirping at him. He thought of trying to turn the clock off, but realized the noise was probably a blessing in disguise. The clock kept him awake, enabling him to listen for anything that might spell trouble for Elaine and her family. Occasionally a car would pass by on the road in front of the house, carrying late arrivals to their homes. He stirred on the couch and flopped over on his side. Through the rays of moonlight glimmering between the blinds, he could see the glass coffee table before him containing a bowl of potpourri, a music box, and a large family Bible. On the lamp table behind his head stood a picture of a young man in a military uniform. Pressed flowers lay all around it. David stared at it for a time before clicking off the light. Elaine never mentioned a sibling to him. Something must have happened to him.
Earlier he had spent time examining other trinkets within the room, thinking it as good a time as any to find out more about the woman he loved. Beneath a table, he found a ragged photo album. In it were many pictures from Elaine's days as a young girl. His stomach twisted in discomfort when he saw the pictures of her running track, wearing the pink gown the night of the prom, and a picture of her beside the smiling face of Mark Ryan. He closed his eyes, thinking about the words that Mrs. Ryan had shared with him. Now that he had accepted Christ's forgiveness, could he find the inner strength to forgive himself? Somehow he must.
David followed a stream of light that played on the opposite wall, belonging to another set of car headlights. This time the lights lingered, illuminating the cuckoo clock that ticked methodically on the wall. David stared at it. A shiver rose up within him. He flung off the sheets, rose from the sofa, and tiptoed to the window. He parted the blinds. A car had parked a few houses down. With the light of the moon, he could make out the banana-colored paint and illuminated sign of a taxi. He watched for several moments, licking his dry lips. His neck muscles tensed, sending a wave of pain running through his temples. The taxi turned and drove away. "The driver just let someone off," he reasoned, allowing the blinds to fall back into place. "Quit imagining things." He turned and found a light flashing through a window behind the house. Trees and bushes glowed in the darkness.
The hairs stood up on the back of his neck. His heart began to pound. Someone's there! He pushed aside his anxiety to think of Elaine's family. Slowly he unlocked the front door and stepped out into the cool of the night. He ducked behind several large bushes as he approached the backyard. In the distance he heard the crackle of leaves belonging to the feet of some intruder, followed by silence. David stood still as well. Each listened to the other. When you least expect it, I'm gonna nail you, David thought, summoning up the courage within him. There won't be any need for a little meeting at the bridge tomorrow night. Your home is gonna be the county jail. David flexed his hands and stepped out from behind the bush. He could see the outline of the intruder in the distance. He advanced toward him, praying with all his might that the man would not turn around and spot him.
All at once, something leapt at him from behind a bush and knocked him to the ground. Hands clamped down hard on his neck, choking him.
"You're not clever, senor," the harsh voice snarled. "You tell about my plans."
David shook his head, trying to rid himself of the man's powerful grip. When the man finally released him, David coughed and sputtered, "N-no, I didn't tell anyone."
"You did! You tell family."
"No. We didn't say anything. No one knows anything. I swear."
The Colombian sat back on his heels, allowing David to sit up. David rubbed his sore neck, wondering how he could have mistaken the figure he saw in the shadows of the night. Only when he glanced back did he noticed the scraggly limbs of a tree. He groaned in frustration.
"Not too well, eh?" The Colombian grinned, poking at David's side. "Not too good. I read the papers...what they do in hospital to you. You a machine."
"Never mind about me. What are you doing sneaking around here?"
"I don't trust you. Here at home of girlfriend, you keep bargain of money for girlfriend family. Sí?"
"So you're going to camp out here all night?" David glanced around, trying to come up with a plan of action.
Just then a police cruiser slowly headed down the road. The Colombian jumped behind the house, pulling David with him. He poked the muzzle of the gun into David's side. "Say nothing."
David stood still in his place until the cruiser proceeded down the street and out of sight. The man then whirled him around and shoved him to the ground. "You tell police! Now they come!"
"I didn't say anything."
"You tell." The man landed him in the side. David grabbed his stomach, feeling as if he had again ruptured what had already begun to heal from the trauma endured in Miami.
"I give you more!" the man growled. "Then I give more to your girlfriend and her family. They never get out of bed and see the day when I'm done!"
"You do that and you'll never get your money," David said through gritted teeth, holding his side. "I-I can get you m-money right now if you want it."
"How?"
"There's money in the company vault. T-Thousands of dollars. I can access it. I know the code. It will be enough to tide you over until I can open the trust fund at...at the bank tomorrow. You'll get double for your trouble."
The Colombian considered this. "We go right now. I take what you got. But any tricks and you die, along with girlfriend and family." He gestured at David with his gun. "We use your car."
David rose to his feet, clutching his side, and hobbled over to the car. When he started the engine, he half expected Elaine to come bolting out of the house, wondering what was wrong. He didn't want her to see what was happening. Thankfully the house remained dark. For now it was just the Colombian and him.
David drove through the darkened streets when suddenly he began to feel lightheaded. The streetlights wavered before his eyes like images reflecting on water. His arms felt weak. When he reached the company building, he glanced down to find his shirt sticky and damp. The lights of the parking lot reflected the strange stain spreading across the grain of fabric.
The Colombian lurched from his seat, his face panic stricken when he saw the strange stain. "What is that? You bleed?"
David didn't answer, but went limp in his seat.
The Colombian uttered a curse word in Spanish and fled the car. David batted open his eyes and glanced down. A grin spread across his face. For once he was grateful for the bag that had only been a curse to him these past few months. This night it had saved him.
"David, did that man really come to the house last night?" Elaine asked, her eyes wide, her face creased with lines of anxiety as he rested in an easy chair within the mansion of the Edwards estate.
The radio blared the headlines -- how the Colombian had been apprehended on the streets of Charleton, moments after leaving David in the parking lot of Edwards Electronics. When Elaine first awoke that morning to hear the news on the radio, she immediately phoned him, only to discover that he was at the hospital, being tended to after the ordeal. He came home shortly afterwards.
"It's a long story," David sighed, yawning from weariness. "For once in my life, I was glad for this contraption I've had to wear. It came detached at the right time, enough to scare that dude away. Actually it's saved me in more situations than one. I thought when I first got it, God had put a curse on me. Now I know better. It may be a thorn in my side, but God used it save me." He began to chuckle. "First it was my soul, then it was my life." He patted the pouch beneath his shirt. "I may actually be sorry to see it go in a few weeks when they close the incision."
Elaine leaned over and placed her head on his shoulder. "Oh David, I can't believe what happened. If you hadn't been there, that man might have..." She choked back the words until they became lodged in her throat. Just the image of the man sneaking around the property, looking to harm her and her family in the middle of the night, sent fear coursing through her.
David ran his fingers through her hair. "It's okay, Elaine. God looked out for us both."
She raised her head. "I talked to Charlie, my cabby friend, before Mom brought me over here. He said that some strange Spanish man hired him to drive around late last night. When he dropped the man off on my street, Charlie became suspicious and notified the police. They tracked your car after you left the house."
"Thank you, God." David yawned.
"You're really tired, aren't you?" Elaine crooned, gently smoothing back a crop of dark hair that had fallen across his forehead.
He stirred in his seat. "Exhausted. And the hospital gave me something." He yawned again. "They said I needed to rest after last night."
Elaine only continued to smooth out his hair until his eyelids closed and he began to drift off into a sound sleep. She welcomed with open arms the love for him that burned bright within her; a love she had fought so long to suppress. Now it was strong and unwavering, unwilling to be extinguished even by the fiercest wind of doubt or trial. She knew it was a love God had birthed within her.
Elaine walked out of the small sitting room adjacent to the third floor suite, closing the door behind her. Downstairs she could hear voices talking about the incident. Slowly she descended the stairs, thinking about calling a cab to take her back to her parents, when she saw a uniformed police officer talking to a man with graying hair. The man, clad in a sweater, held a cup of coffee in one hand. With the other hand, he raked fingers through the hair, making it stand on end. They both turned when she approached.
"David's resting," she said softly to the man whom she presumed was Clyde Edwards -- David's father and the CEO of Edwards Electronics.
"Would you excuse us?" Clyde Edwards said to the officer. He gestured with his cup towards the parlor. "Coffee?'
Elaine shook her head and followed him into the ornate room, decorated with plush furniture. The formidable appearance of Clyde Edwards inside these foreign surroundings proved intimidating. After all the situations involving David, she had yet to formally meet his father, the entrepreneur of the successful electronics business. She recalled with anxiety the scene in the hospital when David's mother had shouted at her, warning her to stay way from David. Now she couldn't help but twist her fingers in agitation, wondering if his father felt the same way.
"It seems you and my son have grown close over these last few weeks," he said thoughtfully, sipping from the cup.
Elaine nodded, keeping her gaze averted to the soft carpeting beneath her feet.
Clyde Edwards sighed. "I don't know how you two became mixed up together. Sometimes my son doesn't seem to understand what's good for him."
Elaine jerked her head up in response. "I'm not sure I understand."
"It's just that David is used to people of his caliber, you know, his status. Trying to draw him away from what he knows so well, it's bound to hurt him in the end. In fact, it already has."
Elaine stirred in her seat. Despite her anxiety, she could not help but speak the words that came forth from her heart. "Sir, I know you think that David's association with me has been the cause of all his pain. But I think if you talk to him, he would say the opposite is true -- that our being together has helped him, not hurt him."
"He's already said as much," Clyde confessed. "I just don't know if this is the best thing for him."
"Sir, I have every confidence that if this is not right, God will close the door. I've already tried to close the door on this relationship, and so has David. But it hasn't happened. We end up together, no matter what we do. I don't think it's accidental."
Clyde stared into his coffee cup. "I suppose I'm not one that advocates change," he confessed. "When David got hurt, I saw our lives changing. Like him, I tried to keep the status quo. But when I saw the changes happening in him, I knew nothing in our family would be the same. Try as I might, even with all my power and money, everything is different now."
"Maybe it's a good thing," Elaine said softly. "Change can be good. The best thing I ever did was to forgive the past and go on. Now David's forgiven the past, too. We're not the same people. And I know our families won't be the same either."
Clyde gave her a lopsided smile before rising to his feet. "Perhaps instead of fighting this, I should try to understand what this change is all about. I know a large part of it has to do with you. Trouble is, I really don't know much about you. I met your parents briefly on the flight to Miami. I know you have gone through difficulties in your life, from what David has shared. Maybe I need to change my status a bit and have you and your parents over for dinner sometime."
The softening of the hard exterior that once encompassed David's father stunned Elaine. If only David was awake to see this, she marveled. She rose and shook the elderly man's hand. "Thank you, sir, for your acceptance. I'll tell my parents about your invitation."
He escorted her to the door. Elaine whirled and without thinking, offered a swift embrace to the head of the electronics empire, nearly upsetting his now cold cup of coffee clasped in one hand.
The encounter seemed to melt away any further inhibitions. "I never had a daughter," he confessed. "Maybe there are a few things I can still learn in life. By the way, do you have a ride back to your home?"
"I can call a cab."
"Nonsense. My chauffeur will drive you home."
Elaine was never more elated than after the meeting with David's father. All her life she had thirsted for approval, and now she welcomed it with open arms, like refreshing rain pouring into her soul. "Oh God," she murmured, "it feels so good to finally be accepted."
"You look good."
"I feel good."
"Actually, you look like a million bucks."
David raised a dark eyebrow, scrutinizing her from where he lay in the hospital bed. "Is that a rib about my money, or do you mean it?"
Elaine leaned over and kissed him. "Of course I mean it." She pulled out a stuffed teddy bear and tucked it inside the pastel blue sheets beside him. "Thought he might cheer you up some until you can sign out of here."
David stretched his arms above his head. "It shouldn't be too long. They say I may even sign my exit visa tomorrow."
"Tomorrow! So it went that well?"
"Despite having my insides knocked twice in two months, the doctors said the intestines healed up just fine. The hole's been plugged. I'm back to normal, average, everyday David."
"You're not average, everyday, or normal."
David again lifted an eyebrow. "But that's why I had the surgery done, to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again."
"David, nothing will ever be the same again, even if you are back together."
"That's true," he agreed, "and I don't mind the change in the least."
At that moment, the door to his room opened. His parents entered, followed by Elaine's mom carrying a vase of flowers, and her dad, rolling along in his wheelchair. Observing the people that had come to visit, David realized that everything had indeed changed. The dinner between the parents inside the home of the Edwards family had gone remarkably well. David's father listened intently to Mr. Reynolds who shared some of the business tactics he had learned, working in a warehouse before his paralyzing accident. Elaine's mom and his mother talked about flowers and cooking. Jacqueline was actually cordial. David spent the majority of his meal staring at Elaine, watching her eat and thanking God that He had brought the two of them together.
"So how are you feeling, dear?" Jacqueline inquired, fixing the pillows behind his head and pouring out some ice water.
"Mother, you can quit with the babying routine," David said, flushing a bit and hunkering down inside the covers. "I'm as good as new."
"We heard the news from the doctor," Clyde Edwards acknowledged. "Everything went well."
"We're happy for you, David," said Elaine's mother, placing a vase filled with flowers on the table.
"How lovely," Jacqueline purred. "Are those roses from your garden? I've tried to get our gardener to grow roses, but maybe I'll just have to learn how to do it myself."
"It's really quite easy, so long as you think of them as your children," Elaine's mother said with a wink. "They like to be babied." The two began to talk in-depth about roses while Elaine and David squeezed each other's hands.
"We've been talking, David," Clyde said, "and we think it might be good for us all to get away for a vacation, maybe to our beach house on the ocean. And I hope you don't mind, but we invited the Reynolds family along."
"Mind?" Both David and Elaine burst out laughing. "I think that's the best idea you could have come up with, Dad," David said, "next to opening the outlet center."
Clyde began to cough. "Well, I'm not so sure about that. To be honest, I'm thinking of closing the place down. I won't have you go back there, and I'm too busy to manage it."
"What about Mr. Reynolds?" David suggested.
Elaine's father straightened in his wheelchair. "Huh?"
"You could handle a managerial position, couldn't you, Mr. Reynolds? You had some great ideas at dinner the other evening."
"I-I don't know, I've never..."
Clyde glanced over at him in interest. "Excellent idea, David. Al here has been sharing some of the ideas his warehouse employed. Want to give it a try, Al?"
"Well...I-I don't know if..."
"David can show you all the ropes. It's mainly problem-solving. That's what you seem to be good at."
Elaine watched the color return to her father's face and a strength grip his once flagging muscles. She lifted her eyes to the ceiling and thanked the Lord.
"Sure!" he agreed. "I'll try my hand in it."
"I think we have a deal." Clyde shook Al's hand.
"Can you believe this?" Elaine whispered to David. "It's like a dream come true for my dad. This is what he needs -- a purpose in life. Mom always thought walking would make him happy. Just someone needing him, thinking he's still useful despite his handicap, this is the best rehab of all."
"Elaine, we're seeing more than just my healing in this hospital," David said with a wink. "I think we're seeing a healing of the families, too."
She sighed. "I know, and it's great."
"This came for you, Elaine," Denise said a few weeks later, after David was released from the hospital. In her hand she held a manila white envelope, clearly labeled with her name.
Elaine stared at it quizzically. She took the envelope from her roommate's hand and unsealed it while Denise asked about David.
"He's doing great," she said, analyzing the contents.
"What is it?"
"Looks like an awards ceremony for the former employees of Edwards Electronics. A note on the bottom says I'm to be the guest of honor."
Denise peered over her hand to study the invitation. "Isn't that great? Of course you're going, right?"
"Only if David is." She went immediately to the phone to call and ended up leaving him a message on voicemail. She plopped down in a chair to study the invitation. "I guess I should have realized this might be coming. Now that Dad is working at the outlet center, we've found ourselves more involved with the company business. Dad goes to all the executive meetings. He wears fancy suits, and even bought himself a new lightweight wheelchair so he can maneuver around better. It's just amazing what's happened."
"That means everything is going good between your folks and David's parents?"
"They're getting along." Elaine began to chuckle. "Mom invited David's mother over for coffee not too long ago, and told her to wear old clothes. Mrs. Edwards came in this sparkling gold top and black pants, claiming it was the rattiest thing she had in her closet. Mom then had her in the garden, pulling out weeds and explaining rose care. It's funny imagining David's mother kneeling in the flowerbed, wearing dirty gloves and actually having fun."
Denise laughed along with her. "It looks like God has definitely redeemed both families."
Elaine couldn't help but nod in agreement, thinking about the turbulent times of the past, now replaced with a bond closer than anything she could have possibly imagined. Only God could have turned all this around so perfectly, and in His own timing. Now she traced the italic wording on the invitation, hoping there would be a band so she and David might share the dance floor once again under the sparkle of the crystal chandelier.
Elaine arrived at the Main Street Hotel, clad in her newest dress picked out at a shopping boutique. She had offered to go with her parents, but at the last minute they canceled out; her father claiming he was too tired to attend a social gathering. They wished her well and gave her a gift of new pearl earrings for the occasion.
Elaine tried to steady her jitters while she climbed the familiar steps she had traversed many times in her life. She wondered what this night would entail. When she arrived in the hotel lobby, she noticed the absence of people milling about. The faint strands of a lone violin could be heard in the ballroom where all the previous occasions had taken place. Worry assailed her, wondering if she had made a mistake with the time or date of the occasion. She rummaged in her handbag, looking for the invitation, when the concierge came up to her, dressed in a suit and tie.
"Ms. Reynolds?"
"Yes." Elaine glanced at her watch. "I wonder if I'm early or if I have the wrong night. No one else seems to be here. This is the night for the gathering of employees of Edwards Electronics, isn't it?"
"Just follow me, Ms. Reynolds," he said, leading the way to the double doors of the ballroom. Elaine could barely see inside, with the dim lighting of the chandelier, until her eyes fell on a lone table in the middle of the vast room. A huge bouquet of red roses in a glass vase decorated the table. Twin candles glimmered beside crystal goblets. Yet it was the sight of David, dressed in a coat of tails, that grabbed her attention.
Elaine gasped and nearly fainted. "David."
He only grinned, performed a regal bow, and offered her his hand. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to escort her to the dance floor. A lone violin struck up a waltz.
"I remember this," he said with a grin as they began to dance.
"So do I, but where are all your guests?"
"I have my honorary guest, right here in my arms." He nuzzled his face in her neck. "I love you so much."
"David, these last few weeks seem like something out of a dream. Just seeing my dad working with your father, and our mothers planting flowers together...and now us." She began to giggle when he nibbled on her earlobe. "And to think that God knew what would happen between us when we danced back at the Christmas Ball."
"He knew, but we had to find out over the course of time."
They swayed gently to the music, enjoying the presence of each other under the soft lights of the chandelier. When the violinist had played the last chords of music, David led her to a table set for two. "Only the best this night," he said, "for the best and the most beautiful woman there is. A five-course dinner."
"David, I don't think I could eat a bite. I'm just so overwhelmed by all of this."
He offered her his hand once again. "Then let's just dance," he murmured softly, gathering her in his arms. "We'll dance away the hours. No one is here to stop us." They swayed to the music, feeling the electricity build. When their lips met, Elaine could only thank God for the miracle that had drawn them together, giving them in its season -- love.
To learn about other books Awe-Struck publishes, go to the Awe-Struck E-Books website at http://www.awe-struck.net/