Journey 0f Hope (Journey 0f Love Book 2) Page 8

  Chapter 32-Mark

  INTO THE THIRD HOUR OF waiting, Bethany got a call on her cellphone. Mouthing the name ‘Grace,’ she took the call in the hallway outside the waiting room.

  Entering the waiting room as she left was Christopher. In his hand were two giant cups of gas station coffee. He came over and handed me my cup of steaming hot energy.

  “Thank you,” I said gently, being sure not to disturb the sleeping Easton and Ester. He took a seat where Bethany had been sitting moments prior and leaned in toward me.

  “How you holding up, man?”

  Taking a drink of my coffee, I nodded and relaxed into my seat, allowing the question to filter down through my entire being. After a moment, I looked at Christopher. “No matter the outcome, she’ll be okay.”

  “Wow,” he replied and took a sip of his coffee. “I wish I had the faith you did, man.”

  “I thought you were a believer now.”

  “I am, but there’s still an uncomfortable haze surrounding the afterlife. When I think of Heaven, I see babies with wings flying around with harps and a bunch of clouds and halos. It just seems so unreal.”

  Shaking my head, humor lighting up my eyes, I said, “None of that is in the Bible.”

  He seemed surprised. “What’s it say about Heaven?”

  “Not a whole lot.” Smiling as my Savior and the Word of God came to mind, I continued. “Jesus said he went to prepare a place for us. It makes me think about how I prepare my home after Bethany has been gone for a couple of days. I go through the whole house with her in mind and prepare it for her. I’ll set out a nice bouquet of flowers. Vacuum the floors. This kind of thing. Well, it takes me maybe a couple of hours. Jesus has been preparing a place for us for over two thousand years!” Smiling, I continued, “God is good. Purely good. Heaven won’t be anything short of amazing.”

  “Wow. I’ve never thought of it like that.”

  Just then, Bethany stuck her head into the waiting room and beckoned me with a finger to come out into the hall, her face conflicted.

  “Excuse me.” I got up and went out into the hallway.

  “Grace said she’s in recovery and doing well now.” Her face didn’t look content with the words coming out of her mouth.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, touching the side of her arm. “That’s great news."

  Biting her bottom lip as her eyes filled with tears, she said, “James left rehab and relapsed.”

  I brought her in close and just held her. There were no words that would reach her heart at the moment. I knew she just needed to be held. She was hopeful for her brother, and though she didn’t believe he’d get better, she still held onto hope that he’d find his way. As I held her, I thought of my conversation with Ed the other day. He had called it. James hadn’t made it.

  Chapter 33- Bethany

  FINALLY, A SURGEON EMERGED FROM the double doors that fed into the waiting room. Grasping my husband’s hand, we both stood up at the sound of our last name and walked toward him.

  “Thompson.”

  Christopher followed us over to the surgeon. The surgeon, Doctor Matthews, took what felt like an eternity to speak.

  He broke into a grin. “Elly’s doing great. The surgery went well and now she’s in recovery for about an hour. You’ll be able to see her shortly after that.”

  Both of us released a heavy sigh of relief and turned to one another for an embrace. I cried into his shoulder tears of joy. Mark reached over to Christopher, beckoning him over to our circle, and my heart warmed to see him show such kindness.

  As the surgeon left us, my phone started to ring.

  It was Grace.

  Our hug broke up and I answered the call.

  “She’s in recovery and the surgery went well!”

  Crying screeched across the airwaves of the cellphone. I knew immediately that there was a problem.

  “What happened?” Stepping away from Mark and Christopher, I walked a few strides to the other side of the room. Numbness engulfed me as Grace struggled to tell me what had happened.

  “They took her! She was fine, Bethany! She was fine! Then she started clutching her chest and nurses and doctors came in. They said it could be a blood clot going to her heart. She could die!”

  I couldn’t utter even a word in that moment.

  “Are you still there?” Grace asked, crying wedged between her breaths on the other end.

  “Yes.” A faint whisper of a voice, I couldn’t help but feel so lost, so confused. Touching my forehead as I couldn’t grasp reality, I asked, “What if Mom dies?”

  Hearing my distress, Mark came over to me and placed his hands on my arms behind me. His touch made my skin crawl, as if his touch made what was happening more real. Stepping away from him, I shook my head. “She’s okay, Grace. Everything has to be okay.”

  There was silence, then Grace said, “The doctor just came out. I’ll call you back.”

  Hanging up, I shook my head as I turned toward Mark. Though I had pushed him away only moments prior, he still came up to me again. He wrapped his arms around me, and I fell apart and began to cry on his shoulder.

  My phone rang a few moments later and I cried harder.

  I knew without answering it that my mom had passed.

  Chapter 34- Bethany

  DAD WASN’T ABLE TO TALK the morgue into waiting for Elly to be released from the hospital before having the funeral, so after she was released, we went and visited her. After the grim visit at St. James Cemetery in the Spokane Valley, we went out to visit my dad at the house. He hadn’t been doing well since Mom had passed two weeks ago. Grace told me he hardly ate anything and just sat in his chair in front of the TV not saying a word. She said it’s as if he was just waiting to die. Mark wanted to come out with us as a family, but he had a job interview in Spokane.

  Letting myself in at my dad’s house, Easton, Ester and Elly all came through the door to find my dad asleep on the couch. Hushing the kids, I led them through the kitchen and out the back door to go find Auntie Grace in the guest house out back. As the younger ones, Easton and Ester, eagerly darted down the steps off the back door and across the yard, Elly hung back with me at a slower rate of walking.

  “Mom.”

  “Yeah?” I said, turning to her as we stopped in the yard.

  “I know it had to be hard having Christopher up at the hospital. I just want to thank you forever and ever for being a great mom and letting him be there for me.”

  My heart panged. Hearing the words ‘great’ and ‘mom’ in the same sentence was a reminder of the woman who had taught me everything no longer being alive. My eyes welled with tears as I smiled at Elly. Cupping her face in my hand, I said, “I love you, Elly. I’d give you the world.”

  “Why are you sad right now?”

  “Grandma.”

  She nodded, her gaze falling away as she seemed to feel guilty for bringing it on somehow. In an effort to redirect the atmosphere of sadness, I grabbed her hand.

  “I want to show you something that was very important to your grandmother, and I think you’d find it special.”

  Leading her by the hand, we walked past the open door of the guest house. Stealing a glance inside, I saw Grace inside with the kids. She was handing out snacks in the kitchenette.

  Taking Elly around the corner of the barn, we ventured up to the oak tree near the Chevelle.

  “This tree was your grandmother’s favorite place to read. She’d rest in the shade of the tree while your grandfather would work in the barn on various little projects.”

  Elly released my hand and walked up to the oak tree. Placing her palm on the tree, she looked up into the branches and leaves and bathed her face in the warmth of the sunlight shining down.

  “What a beautiful memory you must have of her out here reading.”

  Nodding, I joined her side and looked up. “She always said the tree was given to her by God for the shade. It reminded her of God’s shelter, His protection. I felt like
I was sitting under this tree as I sat by you in the hospital and read hour after hour for that month. I was in the shade of God’s protection even though I felt lost and hurting.”

  Reaching into her pocket, Elly pulled out the painted rocks that Ester had given her. There were five rocks in all, two yellow, two blue, and one red. Bending at the knee, she placed the rocks in the shape of a circle under the oak tree.

  Taking a step back, she turned to me.

  “In memory of Grandma.”

  Wrapping an arm around her, I kissed the side of her head. “I love you so much, kiddo.”

  “I do too,” my father said from behind us.

  We both turned around.

  Smiling, he opened his arms wide as tears ran down his cheeks. It was the first time I had seen him show any kind of emotion since that day in the hospital. Elly and I walked up to him and we all embraced with tears in our eyes. She might’ve been gone now, but she wouldn’t ever be forgotten.

  Chapter 35- Mark

  “WHEN CAN YOU START?” THE question came by surprise. Up until this point, I had thought I was bombing the interview at Coca-Cola to be the plant manager. The job opportunity came through my father-in-law after he had learned of my recent release of employment from Sportsman’s. It so happened that his old co-worker at Coca-Cola had mentioned on the phone only a week prior how they’d had to fire the plant manager and there was a spot open. It was nice of Ed to think of me even with this haze of grief surrounding him.

  “Wow. Um. Right away, I guess?”

  “It’s not easy work, and the hours are long while you learn the business.” Leaning across his desk, he continued. “Are you up for it?”

  “Of course. Does that mean I got the job?”

  “Yes, you have the job, but you’re on probation for the first ninety days. Ed raved about you on the phone. If you’re half the guy he said you are, I’m sure you’ll do just fine here.”

  My heart warmed knowing Ed had put in such a good word for me. After the interview in my soon-to-be office, Hank walked me through the plant and showed me around. He also introduced me to the people I’d be managing. Everybody on the staff had been there for years and liked what they did, thus the reason for an outside hire. They seemed like my type of team. Journeying back out to my car in the parking lot afterwards, I thanked God for His absolute control. It felt like luck, but I knew it was divine how it all had lined up the way it had.

  Though Beth and I were back on good terms in our relationship, I still met with Pastor Charlie weekly and I was headed there now after Coca-Cola. What started as counseling had transformed into a weekly inductive Bible study. Sometimes, we’d take the majority of our time catching up on each other’s lives and such, but there was always prayer and always at least a few Scriptures touched on. In the couple of weeks since we started, we had only made it through the first five verses of Romans.

  Stepping into the doorway, I straightway said, “Got the job.”

  “Way to go! See? God is always working! Praise the Lord.” Standing up, he came around his desk and hugged me.

  “Thank you. How’d the biopsy turn out for Serenah?” He had told me she had been in for a routine mammogram and they had found a lump.

  “They did the biopsy and had to send it in for testing. We won’t find out more information for a while. God is good even if it’s not good news. Just like with losing your job at Sportsman’s.”

  Sitting down in my chair, I said, “Your wife having cancer would be a little worse than losing a job.”

  He shrugged. “It’s all in how you think of it. Paul was beaten and imprisoned and killed. A lot of people might say God didn’t like him based on what happened to him, but we can’t base it on that. We have to base it on who God is, and God is good all the time. That doesn’t change, even if it’s not good.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Elly got out, right?”

  “Yep. She came home two days ago. She should be there on Wednesday night with us.”

  “That quick? Fantastic, brother! What time is the surprise barbecue tonight at Ed’s?”

  “Six o’clock sharp. Don’t forget to bring some of that special candy bacon.”

  He laughed. “I won’t forget.”

  Chapter 36-Bethany

  WALKING A PLATE OF BURGERS out to my father in the back yard, I heard a car pull into the driveway. It was Christopher and Elly. He had taken her for the day to go show off his new apartment before he started his new overnight stock boy job at a local grocery store. I never thought he’d take a job like that, but he was full of good surprises since he showed up in the hospital.

  Placing the plate on the flat top beside the barbecue, I rested a hand on my father’s shoulder as I caught him glaring at Christopher.

  “Be nice, Dad.”

  He shrugged and turned his eyes back to the grill. “I’ll behave, promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  I walked out to greet the two of them, and Elly came running up the driveway to me. “Mom! His apartment is so cute! It has a sliding glass door and this little patio thing. He said I can decorate the bathroom.”

  “Sounds great, dear.” My heart warmed at hearing her words lifted with such joy and her eyes lit up with life.

  “Go find your Aunt Grace. She’s in the guest house looking for the volleyball equipment.”

  “Okay!”

  Elly hurried along up the rest of the driveway toward the guest house. Turning back to Christopher, I saw him watching her.

  “You look happy.”

  He nodded, his eyes connecting with mine. “I am. I’m finally a part of my daughter’s life. I’m a fool to have waited so long.”

  “Try not to dwell so much on what you didn’t do, Christopher. Your past is forgiven.”

  “I know God has forgiven me, but I still haven’t forgiven myself. I think I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to that girl. God gave me a second chance with her and I’m not going to waste it.”

  “Good.”

  “Hey. Where’s Mark?”

  “He’ll be here soon. He called a half hour ago and said he was on his way. Had to finish up a few things at the plant before he called it a day.” Pulling my phone out from my front jeans pocket, I saw it was about five minutes to six. “Everybody should be getting here soon. I’d better keep moving if I want everything ready.”

  Chapter 37-Bethany

  AFTER WE WERE DONE EATING and the kids were all playing, I took a stroll down to the shoreline with Mark. He was holding my hand and my heart was filled with a mixture of love and sadness. Love for my family, for my life, for God. Sadness over the very recent sudden loss of my mother. As we stopped just before the sand, we both kicked off our sandals and ventured into the sand.

  Looking out to the water, Mark came closer to my side and put his arm around me.

  Relaxing my head against his shoulder, my thoughts jumped to James. “Grace just told me an old friend of James’s saw him out in Newport the other day.”

  Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “He using?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know, but he was with Heather, so probably.” Dwelling for a moment on the fact that James didn’t attend the funeral of our mother, I shook my head. “I think he would’ve come to Mom’s funeral if he was sober. How could you miss something like the funeral of your own mother?”

  Shrugging, he said, “The guy is in pain. He’ll come around.”

  Chapter 38-Mark

  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Ed standing by a picnic table talking to Charlie. As his gaze caught mine, I remembered his secret about being on his way out. Beth still didn’t know about her father’s terminal state that was approaching quickly. Seeing Bethany and Grace torn up over losing their mother, I knew they wouldn’t do well with losing their father soon either. It burdened me to know it was coming and to keep it in, but I had to, for Ed.

  I knew someday that Beth, Grace, and James would find out about their father, but I wasn’t
going to be the one who told them.

  Elly walked through the yard and came and stood beside us in the sand. We both peered over at her with smiles as she slipped her flip-flops off and journeyed into the sand. It was amazing to see her alive and walking and breathing. She was given a second chance at life, and God gave Beth and me a second chance too. Glancing up into the cloudless blue sky that was being colorized by the distant setting sun, I thanked God for my life, my marriage, and my family.

  Bethany chose that time to lean up and kiss my cheek. “Thank you for being you. I’m glad we get to do this thing called life together.”

  The End.

  Read book three to find out if James ever gets clean for good and what happens to Ed!

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  Prologue

  THE FIRST TIME I LAID eyes on Kirk was back in our senior year of High School while I was walking the track with Chloe. He was beneath the bleachers lip-locked with Vicky Haggar from the cheerleading squad. This wouldn’t have been an issue outside of the fact that he was dating my best-friend, Chloe. Not exactly a best first impression.

  Two years later when I was twenty, I decided to relocate from Albany, New York, to Spokane, Washington. Kirk had found out about the big journey across country through mutual friends and approached me about road tripping together. I quickly rejected him. When he offered to pay for all the gas, I couldn’t help but give in. With over 2,000 miles to reach Spokane and a strong desire not to rely on my parents anymore, I knew his gas money would help me in the long run. I was on my way to Spokane to stake a claim in my independence from my parents and to work at a software company as a receptionist. Kirk had been into hockey and hoped for a chance at the big leagues by trying out for the Spokane Chiefs.