A Sister's Forgiveness (37 page)

“I’m going for a shower,” he said, barely looking at her as they passed in the kitchen. After twenty minutes, she heard the water stop running, and a minute later she heard Geoff in their bedroom opening drawers as he dressed. Game night meant an early supper so he could be at the school early. She laid the hospital bill on the counter as she hurriedly searched the refrigerator for the makings of a cold supper. She cut up fresh fruit and put that out with potato chips and turkey and cheese sandwiches for him. She was just about to pour him a tall glass of lemonade when she remembered the bill.

She reached for it just as he came into the kitchen carrying the stack of bills she’d left on his desk. She hadn’t heard him come downstairs, and his sudden presence startled her so much that she dropped the hospital bill and nearly dropped the pitcher of lemonade in the process.

“Easy there,” he said as he bent to retrieve the bill. He glanced at the masthead as he pulled out his chair ready to sit down for his supper. “Another bill?”

Jeannie held her breath as he opened it. It seemed as if it took him a long time to read it—far longer than it had taken her to grasp the contents.

“It’s high,” she said. “I had no idea that—”

Geoff scraped back his chair and picked up the phone and punched in a number. “Roger? Yeah. Something’s come up. Can you handle the team tonight? Okay. Yeah. Appreciate that.”

He hung up and without a word headed for the door, taking the car keys as he went.

“Geoff?”

He stopped but did not turn around. “Do not try to stop me, Jeannie,” he growled.

“Where are you—?”

“It’s pretty clear to me that at least this is one bill we don’t have to be responsible for. It clearly was sent to the wrong address,” he said waving the bill in the air. “I’m going to make sure it gets delivered to the person responsible.”

“Geoff, no. Please wait.”

He kept walking and got in the car. “Jeannie, you have to face facts and choose already. Me or your sister and her family. You can no longer have it both ways. I’ll be back later. In the meantime, you decide how it’s going to be.”

“Geoff, wait!” Jeannie shouted the words this time as he backed down the driveway and drove away fast. Don’t you get it? I have chosen. I chose you.

Next door she saw a curtain move and knew that she had attracted the attention—and no doubt curiosity—of their next-door neighbor. She smiled and waved as she went back inside. To what purpose? Did she really hope the neighbor would simply think that Geoff had forgotten something? Not likely. It seemed to be well known up and down the street that the Messners were having marital problems.

Besides, she had more pressing matters that needed her attention. She ran inside, and for the second time that day, she picked up the telephone to call Emma. This time she was calling her sister to warn her.

Chapter 38

Lars

L
ars was in his workshop when Emma came rushing in holding the phone. “Jeannie called. Geoff is on his way over here,” she said breathlessly. She was still clutching the phone, and when the beeping told Lars she had forgotten to disconnect, he took it from her.

“All right.” He lifted his white-blond eyebrows and waited for more information. Jeannie and Emma had not spoken for days, and the stress had begun to wear not only on Emma but on all of them. She walked through her days a lost soul, and he would have thought that a call from Jeannie would be something to lift her spirits.

“They got an enormous bill from the hospital today. Jeannie was going to try to tell him about it after tonight’s game, but he found it, and now he’s coming here.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Jeannie thinks that he plans to present the bill to Sadie, Lars. To tell her that the charges are her responsibility. She’s just come back to us…”

“Go back inside, Emma. I’ll see to this.” He had no idea what he would say. His brother-in-law was so different in both personality and temperament. The two men liked each other, but it had been clear for years that they walked along different paths when it came to what they believed and how best to put those beliefs into action.

Emma hesitated and then did as he asked. A few minutes later, Geoff’s car pulled up in front of their house. He sat there a moment, staring straight ahead as if trying to remember why he’d come.

“Geoff?” Lars approached the car. “It’s good to see you.”

Geoff looked at him and blinked then got out of the car, pausing to pick up an envelope from the seat beside him. “I hear Sadie’s home,” he said ignoring Lars’s greeting. It was apparent that he was struggling to keep his tone conversational, casual.

“Ja.” Lars positioned himself between Geoff and the house. He didn’t want to appear threatening, but at the same time, he had a duty to protect his family.

“I’ve got something for her,” Geoff said, tapping the envelope against his thigh.

Lars held out his hand. “I can make sure she gets it. She’s been spending most of her time in her room. The adjustment has been difficult.”

“Really?” The word came as a sneer, but Geoff recovered. “No, I came to deliver this in person. I just need a minute of her time.”

It was not in Lars’s makeup to play games, and he was uncomfortable with this one. “We heard about the hospital bill, Geoff. Is that it?” He nodded toward the envelope.

Geoff’s face went red with fury. “So, she made her choice,” he muttered. “Did my wife call to warn you?” This time there was no attempt to disguise his contempt. Lars realized that it was directed not at him but at Jeannie.

“Come on, Geoff. What’s to be gained by this? Sadie knows what she did. She’s going to have to live with her guilt over Tessa’s death for the rest of her days. Our hearts are with you and Jeannie, of course, but surely…”

To his surprise, Geoff laughed and looked up at the sky. “Let me get this straight, Lars. Your kid runs my kid over, and you want me to have compassion for her?”

Lars did not flinch. “That’s exactly what I’m asking. For her and for Matt as well.”

“Let’s leave Matt out of this,” Geoff said, looking away. “I’ve made an effort there, and your son…”

“We are family, Geoff, and we need to start acting like that again. Tessa’s death has—”

“You and your family have no right to breathe my child’s name,” Geoff growled, his fist tightening around the envelope now, crumpling it.

“We have every right, Geoff, and you know it,” Emma said coming forward to stand with Lars. “Tessa was like our own daughter. Sadie and Matt are as much your children as they are ours. If Sadie had been your daughter—if she and Tessa had both been your daughters—would you have turned your back on her? I don’t think so. She’s family, Geoff. Yours. Ours. It never mattered before, and it shouldn’t now.”

Emma moved a step closer to Geoff as she continued to talk without giving their brother-in-law a chance to reply. It worked. Slowly but surely, Lars saw Geoff’s fingers relax slightly. “Won’t you come inside, Geoff,” Emma said, “so we can talk about this calmly? This bill has come as an added blow to you and Jeannie at a time when…”

It was as if she had reminded him why he’d come. He thrust the envelope toward her. “I want you to give this to Sadie. It’s the least you can do for us—me. I want, need for her to see the dollars and cents cost of her actions, actions that cost a fortune and still ended up with Tessa dead.” His eyes filled with tears. “Do it,” he pleaded as he stumbled blindly back to his car.

“Geoff, I’ll drive you,” Lars said, following him.

“No,” he shouted and slammed the car door behind him.

“Come on, Geoff,” Lars pleaded, trying the door and finding it locked.

Geoff was pounding the steering wheel with his palms. After a moment, he stopped and his body sagged as if suddenly and finally all the fight had gone out of him. He opened the window a crack. “I’m okay, Lars,” he said, sounding utterly defeated. “Could you just please go on inside and give me a minute?”

Lars did as he asked. Emma watched anxiously from the kitchen window and reported that Geoff was just sitting there, his forehead resting on the steering wheel. “I’m calling Jeannie,” she said. But just as she picked up the phone, Geoff started the car and drove away.

“Was that Uncle Geoff?” Sadie asked coming into the kitchen and glancing out the window.

Lars looked at Emma, and she nodded. “Ja,” Lars said and pulled out one of the kitchen chairs. “He brought something that he wants you to see.”

He saw that Emma was about to protest, but Geoff was right. There was no point in shielding Sadie from the aftershocks of her actions. “Sit down, Sadie,” he said quietly even as he saw Emma signaling him not to do this.

Sadie did as he instructed and accepted the envelope her father handed her. She unfolded the bill and glanced over the figures. Lars knew the exact moment that she realized that the bill was for Tessa’s care in the hospital. Her entire face seemed to simply melt. Her mouth sagged as her eyes became little slits, and her hands began to shake until finally he reached over and gently took the bill from her.

“There is a price to our actions, Sadie,” he told her. “An emotional and physical cost and often a financial cost as well.”

“What have I done?” she said, staring up at him. “Oh Daddy, what have I done? I’ve hurt so many people and now this. How will Uncle Geoff ever be able to pay such a large amount?”

“He’ll have help,” Emma told her as she pulled up a chair next to her and wrapped her arm around Sadie’s shoulders. “That’s what community is about.”

“Sadie, this is the one thing we can fix,” Lars said, “After everything you’ve been through—the accident, detention, the court proceedings—paying this bill is not your worry. It’s not why I wanted you to see it.”

“But, Dad, I have to find a way to help. Will the hospital give us time to pay it off? I could get a job after school and on weekends.” Her face went suddenly blank. “Unless…”

“Unless?” Emma asked.

“What if the judge sends me away? How can I possibly contribute anything if I’m locked up somewhere clear across the state?”

Emma and Lars looked at each other. “How about we call Rachel Kaufmann?” Lars suggested.” She might have some ideas.”

“Yes, let’s do that,” Sadie said, getting up to get the phone.

“Sadie, wait, let’s talk about this some more,” Emma cautioned. “You’ve got so much on your shoulders right now. Maybe…”

“Mom, this is like the first clear sign that God is hearing my prayers to show me some way that I can make this better for those I love—for you and Dad and Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Geoff. This is a way that I can own up to the fact that it was my thoughtless behavior that brought all of this on our family. That it’s time to stop feeling sorry for myself and really take a good hard look at how everyone around me is suffering.”

“Oh Sadie, please don’t take all of this on yourself,” Emma pleaded. “There’s blame enough to go around. We may not have been in the car, but your father and I could have stopped you from getting in Dan’s car that morning. And what about Dan and his responsibility in all of this?”

“No. Rachel told me that how I decide to carry my guilt and remorse is what will matter when my turn comes to face God. Please let’s just call and ask her what she thinks.”

Lars had never been more impressed with his daughter. He, like others, had always thought of her as a girl more like Jeannie—full of laughter and lightheartedness—even giddiness. But the events of her life these last weeks had changed her, matured her. He felt hopeful again. Perhaps one day they might get past all of this—not forget Tessa, but heal the gaping wounds her death had brought.

“Sadie?” Lars touched her forearm to gain her attention. “Do you understand this program that Rachel has told you about? I mean, do you grasp the extent of it?”

Sadie nodded, but Lars was still not convinced.

“It’s a two-way street—offenders and victims—both sides must be willing to participate, to honor the process. Even if you decide to make the effort required, it can’t happen unless Jeannie and Geoff agree.”

“And you and Mom and Mattie and Gram and Gramps and probably others I haven’t even imagined,” Sadie said. “Yes. And I also understand that in spite of everything I may still have to… go away for a while.”