And the Greatest of These Is Love: A Contemporary Christian Romance Novel (35 page)

“Well, that’s not a problem, little bro because I do. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“Gabi, I’m hungry,” Antonio whined as he dragged himself forlornly into the kitchen.

“Well, I’m sorry, Buddy. You’re just going to have to be patient,” she said, “the pizza should be here soon. Why don’t you go wash up, and then we’ll set the table?”

“Okay.” Somehow his energy returned, and Gabi shook her head and smiled. What a sweet, little boy. She loved him so very much.

“Wow. I’m nervous,” Andrew whispered as they made their way up the narrow, wooden staircase.

Bryan just smiled back at him. “Here it is.” He pointed to the door in front of them. “You want to knock or should I?”

Andrew took a deep breath to steady himself as his heart threatened to pitch him headlong back down those stairs. Then he swallowed that and nodded. “I will.”

At the first sound of the knock, Gabi set the plates on the table and grabbed her purse from the cabinet. “Antonio, pizza’s here.”

“Pizza!” Antonio yelled as he dashed in from the bathroom, and Gabi laughed as he bounced past her to the door.

She pulled her wallet out and knew with one glance they were in trouble. The ten she was expecting to be there was nowhere to be seen. Where would she have put it? Her concern mounted as she heard Antonio open the door around the corner of the kitchen.

“That’s odd,” she muttered to herself digging in the extra compartment. “I know it was here this after…”

“Andrew!” Antonio gasped.

“Andrew?” Gabi asked in confusion as she rounded the corner, and in one instant her world stopped dead.

There, standing in her doorway, looking more handsome than he had in any fantasy she had dreamed up was Andrew Clark holding, hugging, and obviously not wanting to ever put down the little boy who clung to him just as frantically.

“What…?” she asked, trying to figure out how this was possible. “What are you doing here?”

“The assistant DA came forward.” Bryan beamed from ear to ear as he watched the reunion that was in-progress.

“Came forward?” Gabi asked, the reality of having Andrew standing here in her living room erasing all logical thought from her mind. “What does that mean?”

“He was ‘anonymous’,” Bryan said, laying the final piece of the puzzle down for her to see.

She stared at Andrew in disbelief. “So, you’re… out?”

“I’m out.” Andrew grinned at her as he clutched the little boy to him, savoring the words. “I’m free!”

Gabi wanted to run and jump into his arms too, but something kept her feet planted on the floor. This was their moment — theirs — not hers.

“Did someone order a pizza?” a young man asked suddenly appearing on her landing behind Bryan.

“Oh, uh. Yeah. I did,” Gabi said as the gears of her brain jerked forward, stopped and then jerked forward again. Then she looked down at her purse, remembering she didn’t have the money to pay for her order. “Just… Just a second. I think I have the money in the other room.”

Quickly she escaped into her bedroom, trying to keep her mind on the search and off of the people currently in her living room. He was out, and he was here, her mind screamed at her as she dug through one drawer and then another. There had to be some money somewhere.

She slammed that drawer and looked around the room — the nightstand. She went over to it and slid the drawer open. Most of the money there was change, but finally she scraped together $8.95 just as she heard the front door close.

“Sorry, it took me so long,” she said, running back out into the living room as she recounted the coins in her hands. But when she looked up, the pizza guy was gone, and three smiles beamed back at her.

“Don’t worry about it, Gabi,” Bryan said, replacing his wallet. “Supper’s on me.”

“Oh. You didn’t have to do that, Bryan,” she said as wave after wave of embarrassment washed over her. “I could have gotten it.”

“I wanted to,” he said simply, and she ducked to hide the heat creeping up her cheeks.

“Pizza!” Antonio rocked back and forth in Andrew’s arms. “Pizza!  Pizza!  Pizza!”

Andrew and Bryan laughed as Gabi fought to find a way to right her world or even to make sense of it.

“How about we feed this hungry boy!” Andrew said, looking at Gabi as if she had lost her last marble.

“Oh, y-yeah. Sure.” She willed her mind to work as she looked down at the change in her hand. “Um, just let me put this away.”

“Pizza! Pizza!” Antonio said again as Gabi disappeared into her room.

How could this be happening? she asked herself over and over again. How could Andrew be standing here in her living room? This had to be a dream. That was all there was to it. But the second she stepped back into the kitchen, she knew it was no dream.

There he sat with Bryan at one elbow and Antonio perched happily on his lap, and in spite of everything she smiled at the picture they made. Right had never looked quite so perfect.

“Come on and join us, Gabi.” Bryan waved her over, and the second he looked up, Andrew’s heart felt ready to burst. She was here, and this was really happening. What he wanted to do as he watched her cross the kitchen was take her into his arms and never let her go. But there would be time for that later. Now was the time to enjoy his son again.

Gabi took a slice of pizza from the box carefully although she knew there was no way she would ever be able to eat it. The nerves in her stomach were balled up leaving no room for anything else. She took one nibble, pulled her foot up to the chair with her, and forced herself to breathe.

“So, how was school today, Antonio?” Andrew asked, purposely keeping his focus away from the beauty sitting right next to him.

Antonio’s eyes widened as he munched on the pizza. “Irvin came!”

“Irvin?” Andrew asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, I think he was the teacher while Gabi was gone.”

“Irvin?” Andrew repeated, looking at Antonio for another second and then over to her.

“Yeah.” Curled there, she looked like the epitome of beauty. “Wait ‘til you see what he’s done since you’ve been gone.”

And in one breath she realized that now he could come back and be with her in the class, and that thought sent what was left of her sanity sailing out the window.

“Irvin?” Andrew asked, never losing the amazement.

“He’s gonna do the Christmas play with us,” Antonio said as his first piece of pizza disappeared. “Isn’t that right, Gabi?”

All she could do was nod. So many things to talk about, so many bridges that had been crossed in his absence. She wondered how he didn’t feel what she did — completely overwhelmed.

“Well, it looks like I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Andrew said, smiling and hugging Antonio to him. The prospect of returning to a real life was even better than he could ever have imagined.

In no time at all the pizza was gone, and Antonio’s little frame was slumped against Andrew’s chest as though it had never left.

“Well,” Andrew sighed, not wanting to leave, but knowing he needed to get the little boy home and into bed, “thanks for the pizza.”

“No problem,” Gabi said softly. It was odd how normal it now felt to have the three of them in her apartment.

“I think we’d better be heading out,” Andrew said, looking at Bryan who nodded.

“Yeah. I need to be getting home, too.” Bryan stood from the table as Andrew stood, resettling the little boy in his arms.

“Oh,” Gabi said with a start, suddenly realizing that Antonio would be going with Andrew. She jumped up. “I... um... let me… get his things.” And with that she left them standing in her kitchen.

Things
, she thought as she looked around her bedroom.
Antonio’s things.

“Um… clothes.” She went over to the closet and pulled out the outfits they had bought together. “Toothbrush.” Dashing into the bathroom, she pulled the little toothbrush from the holder as ache clawed up her heart and into her throat. “Socks. Underwear.” She willed the hurt and the tears away from her as she threw his things into the little suitcase. “Um, shoes...”

“I still can’t believe this is really happening,” Andrew whispered, hugging Antonio tighter, and Bryan smiled.

“Believe it, little brother. You won.”

“I think that’s it,” Gabi said, striding into the living room carrying the suitcase and willing her hand and her voice not to shake as she handed the bag to Bryan. She kept her gaze away from the others because she knew she would lose it if she didn’t. “Um, I put his bath toys in a plastic bag, and his toothbrush is along the side.”

“Okay.” Andrew nodded as he tried to follow her instructions and keep his mind off her standing right next to him. He wanted to hug her more than life itself.

“If I find anything else, I’ll bring it to you,” she said as her words tumbled out of her mouth in a vain attempt to keep the hurt from catching up with her. She looked around the room — anything to keep herself from looking at Andrew and little bundle he carried. “Umm. Oh. Here’s his coat. It’s probably cold out.” In one swipe she picked up the little coat and laid it over the top of the figure sleeping on Andrew’s shoulder. “Take care of him.” Putting her hand on the child’s back, she looked at Antonio, and in that heartbeat the hurt caught up with her. She shook her head to keep it from taking over.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Andrew said gently, and Gabi nodded afraid to trust her voice. “Thanks, Gabi.”

“Yeah,” she squeaked out, “anytime.”

“I’ll see ya tomorrow?”

She simply nodded as her heart broke inside her.

“Well, we’d better get going,” Bryan said, and Andrew nodded.

“Take care, Gabi.”

“I will,” she said, the words barely finding the air, and with that they were gone.

Closing the door, she reached up and slid the dead bolts into place, and then reluctantly she turned back to the empty apartment. He was gone. They were gone. Tears reached up and stung her eyes and nose. She swiped at them, but they were going nowhere.

Antonio was better off with Andrew, she told herself as the first tear wound its way down her cheek. He was only hers on loan, but even as she told herself that, she knew that nothing she could tell herself would ever make the ache go away.

She had just lost another little boy, and that realization ripped her heart out as the remaining shreds began to bleed uncontrollably.

“I wanna kiss Gabi,” the tiny little voice said from the midst of the pillows when they were back home.

“It’s okay, little guy.” Andrew tucked the child in tighter. “We’ll see Gabi tomorrow. Here, why don’t you scoot over, and I’ll stay out here ‘til you fall asleep?”

Antonio laid his head in Andrew’s arm and looked up at him. “Gabi’s nice.”

“Yes, she is,” Andrew agreed, seeing her face again as they left. His heart broke for her at the memory.

“She’s a good mommy,” Antonio said as he drifted out.

“I’m sure she is,” Andrew said, noticing the little eyelids drooping closed.

“I wish she was my mommy.” And then Antonio drifted off into dreamland.

Andrew smiled. “I hear you, Buddy. I hear you.”

Gabi pulled her coat closer around her to block out the swirling wind. Her head hurt from too much crying, and little, tiny drops of blood still dripped from the hole in her heart. As she climbed the steps and unlocked the heavy door, she could feel the little hand that was no longer in hers, and she knew no matter how long she lived, life would never be the same again.

“Where’re we going?” Antonio asked, bouncing in his seat in awe as they drove past the tall buildings.

“I thought you might like to see where I used to work,” Andrew said as his body navigated the car without any help from his brain.

“Oh, boy!” Antonio said, and there was no holding back the smile that Andrew felt throughout his entire being at that moment.

“Shaniquille, sit down,” Gabi said in total frustration. Why did everything feel so incredibly off? It was like the world had tilted and dumped her into another dimension.

“But I just wanted to show Bobby…”

“I said, ‘Sit Down!’” Gabi almost yelled as she worked to shore up the rapidly crumbling dam inside her head, which wasn’t working at all. “Now!”

The elevator doors slid open, and with Antonio by his side, Andrew stepped out into the newsroom.

“Andrew!” someone called from the copy machine, and instantly every reporter and copy boy in the entire place looked up and began cheering.

Andrew waved to them with a bit of embarrassment, but for all their adulation, the smile on Antonio’s face was the only thing that actually made its way to his heart. Stories would come and go. These people cheering him on right now would be first in line to knock him down to get to the next big, breaking story, but Antonio’s smile would be there no matter what. Stories or no stories.

“Hey, Andrew.” Rob stepped up with outstretched hand to greet him. “What a story…” But just then he caught sight of Antonio. He checked his words twice before he spoke again. “And who is this?” As he sat on his feet to get a better look, astonishment was evident in every movement.

“Rob, this is Antonio. Antonio, Rob,” Andrew said, and when Antonio reached his little hand out, Andrew’s heart almost burst with pride.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Antonio.” Rob took the child’s hand in his own and shook it.

“Nice to meet you,” Antonio said, and Rob smiled with even more astonishment as he stood to face Andrew again.

“Cute kid.”

“Thanks,” Andrew said. “So is Bill in?”

“Yeah, I think he’s in his office.”

“K.” Andrew exhaled to regroup his courage. “Do you mind watching Antonio for a minute?”

“Sure.” Rob looked down at the child and took him from Andrew. “Come here, Antonio. You ever play on a computer before?”

Andrew watched as Rob took Antonio over to his desk, and without even being able to hear anything they said, he knew Antonio was working his magic on Rob’s heart just as he had his own.

As the kids colored quietly, Gabi looked at the clock again. It had been more than twelve hours since they’d walked out her door, and although her head said they’d be here anytime now, her heart warned her not to get her hopes up.

Maybe Andrew had decided not to come back. After all he had a job at the newspaper that he hadn’t been to in more than a month. But what had he done with Antonio? Surely he would keep bringing the little boy to the center.

It was then that she remembered where Andrew lived, and the thought hit her that it would be much simpler for him to just take Antonio to one of the daycare centers on that side of town. There was no reason to keep coming back here. No reason at all.

“So, how does it feel to be a free man?” Bill asked, leaning back in his chair.

Andrew smiled. “Wonderful.”

Bill smiled as well and nodded. “Well, I’m glad things worked out.”

“So am I,” Andrew said, searching for the words to say what he had come to say. “Umm, listen…”

“So, when are you coming back to work?” Bill asked, breaking into Andrew’s racing thoughts before he could get them to line up.

Andrew dropped his eyes and gathered his courage before looking back at Bill. “That’s what I came to talk about.”

Somehow a miracle had occurred, and all the children were on their blankets asleep. She had no idea how that had happened. As Gabi looked out across them, her heart filled with ache again. She wished with everything she had that she could simply curl up with them and make the world go away. It had been hard enough to lose Andrew, but losing Antonio too was all but unbearable.

And as the first tear slid down her cheek, she knew it was useless to stop them. So instead of fighting, she simply let the pull of the desktop take her head.

As he yanked the heavy door open, Andrew knew he was finally home.

“Are we going to go see Gabi?” Antonio asked, his excitement bubbling over as he hopped, skipped, and jumped to keep up with Andrew.

“Yeah,” Andrew said, realizing his own excitement was evident even in the single word. He could see that the lights were off in the room, and he knew without checking a clock it was nap time. “But we have to be quiet. They’re sleeping.”

“Okay,” Antonio whispered as if they were breaking into Fort Knox.

Softly Andrew opened the door, being very careful not to wake anyone, and for a moment, he thought she must not even be here. But then he saw the beautiful waterfall of hair cascading across the desk, and he smiled.

This time he was determined — the butterfly would not flit from his grasp again.

The tears were coming slower now, and she sniffed the last of them away. It still hurt, but somehow she had to find a way to go on. Somehow…

“Gabi,” the little voice wove its way into her head, and for a second she thought she must be dreaming. “Gabi?”

When she peeled her eyes opened and looked up, she had to blink twice to make sure they were really there, standing there,— looking down at her — smiling.

“What? Oh, my…!” she gasped, totally forgetting the sleeping children. In less than a heartbeat she was out of the chair, on her knees hugging the little boy to her. “Oh, Antonio! I missed you so much!”

Andrew watched them together, and he knew with everything he had that Antonio was right. Gabi was a very good mother, and they belonged together — all three of them.

“But how?” she asked, standing and wiping at the tears as her eyes searched his for an answer.

“We’re back.” Andrew looked right at her, one side of his smile going up. “If you’ll have us.”

For the first time in her life, she didn’t fight it. She simply let the hope flood through her as she stepped over and into his arms.

“I love you, Gabi,” he breathed into her hair as she clung to him. “I always have, and I always will.”

She held him for a few more seconds willing herself to never forget a single thing about this moment, and then she pulled away enough to look at him. “Wait. What do you mean, you’re back?”

“Well, I talked to Bill this morning, and as of right now I’m unemployed.” Andrew watched for her reaction. “I was kinda hoping there might be an opening here.”

And with that remaining pieces of the dam in her heart crumbled.

He was there with her through music time and story time, but when Irvin showed up, Andrew said he had some business to take care of.

“No problem, Mr. C,” Irvin said solidly. “I’ve got it all under control.”

And Andrew had no doubt that it was true.

“I’ll be back,” he said to Gabi as Irvin left them alone at the door. She smiled at him with such love that he knew in his heart he had made the right decision.

“Hurry back,” she said softly, and he winked at her just as Irvin corralled the students into the corner to get clay.

“I will,” he said, and for one brief moment he hugged her to him, and then he was gone.

“Now, I know what you’re going to say, Jerry.” Andrew paced the tiny room in two strides. “There’s not enough money to hire me on permanently, but I’m willing to work for nothing — for a while anyway — until we get this whole thing up and running.”

“Andrew.” Jerry shook his head with amusement. “Sit down, Son.”

And Andrew obeyed, still feeling like a caged animal. Once in the chair, he summoned his courage and looked at Jerry. “Just give me a chance, Jerr. I know I can make a difference. Please.”

Jerry smiled and shook his head. “I’ll give you more than that.” Reaching into his desk, he pulled out a stack of papers and slid them across the desk to Andrew.

“What’s this?” Andrew asked as his brow knotted.

“Open them,” Jerry said, barely containing his smile as Andrew picked up the top letter and spun it in his hands.

Slowly he took one more look at Jerry and then opened the envelope. He held it out and willed his eyes to focus.

“’Dear Sir or Madam’,” he read slowly. “’It is with great pleasure that the Coleman Foundation has decided to award your organization a grant of $10,000.’  $10,000? Jerry, that’s awesome!”

“Keep reading.” Sitting back, Jerry nodded to indicate the remaining letters in the stack, and Andrew immediately grabbed another one.

“’Dear Sir or Madam, Recently we saw the articles about your organization in the newspaper, and we at The Vaden Society would like to help. Enclosed is a check for $7,000. We hope it will be of assistance.”

Andrew looked up, but no words would come.

“They’re all like that,” Jerry said, still unable to believe it himself. “Grants, donations, offers. that stack alone is worth almost $50,000, and I have two more stacks just like it in my drawer.”

Astonishment barreled into him as Andrew’s eyes went wide. “You mean...?”

“Yes, Andrew. The center is in business again — permanently,” Jerry said, and Andrew ducked his head trying to keep the tears of joy from overflowing. This was too incredible. Things like this just didn’t happen. Not in the real world. “But there’s only one problem.”

Of course, there had to be a catch.

He cleared his throat as he looked up from the letter he held. “Problem?”

“Yeah,” Jerry said as he folded his hands in front of him. “You see, Andrew, I’m not as young as I used to be, and well, I don’t really have the energy to keep a place like this going anymore.”

Andrew’s heart hit his shoes — surely after all they had been through Jerry wouldn’t just throw in the towel now.

“However, I have been thinking about hiring someone on to run things in my place,” Jerry said, watching the young man in front of him carefully. “You wouldn’t know where I could find anyone who’d be interested in long hours, writing a lot of grant proposals, and dealing with tons of kids, now would you?”

It took everything he had not to jump out of the chair.

“Are you serious?” he asked, eyeing Jerry in disbelief and willing himself to stay calm.

“Yes, Andrew, I’m very serious. When would you like to start?”

“I… uh… now.”

“Okay, Miss T,” Irvin said, taking hold of her shoulders, “you stand here.”

“Okay,” she said, not wholly sure she could comply without asking a few more questions.

“Now, here’s your script.” Irvin handed her a set of papers.

Her eyebrows arched. “My script?”

“Yeah. I wrote it last night. Now, I want you to just say it for now. You’ll have to memorize it by the actual play of course.”

Gabi looked at him in amazement. She had created a monster.

“I heard you were writing grant proposals in jail,” Jerry said as Andrew sorted the letters in front of him.

He shrugged. “There wasn’t much else to do.”

“Gabi told me you were also working on some sort of a plan?”

“Oh. Yeah. I forgot.” Instantly forgetting about the stacks of letters, Andrew jumped as if jolted by a 120 outlet. “I can show it to you if you’d like.”

“I’d like.”

“You know I was thinking maybe we could use the stage in the gym for the play,” Irvin said, sitting on his perch by her desk after most of the children had left.

“Ugh.” Gabi wrinkled her nose. “That thing is horrible.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, yeah, now it is, but I don’t think it would take all that much to get it into shape.”

“I don’t know, Irvin,” she said, shaking her head, already tired at the thought of the project. “I kinda thought we’d just have it in the main lobby.”

“No. Not enough seating.”

“Oh? How many are you expecting?” she asked, trying not to sound amused.

“I don’t know — three or four hundred,” he said without a trace of sarcasm, and Gabi almost choked on her own air.

“Irvin, I’m not so sure,” she started just as her door flew open and Andrew practically floated in.