Indemnity: Book Two: Covenant of Trust Series (22 page)

“
The game’s not over already, is it?”

“
It’s halftime. I can be back at my place almost before the second half starts.”

“
Without speeding?” Bobbi raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

“
Not much,” Brad confessed.

“
Here, let me pack some of these burgers up for you.”

“
I’ll get them tomorrow.” He kissed his mother on the cheek. “Goodnight.”

Before he stepped through the back door, she called out to him. “Brad, you were really good with Jack.”

“
He’s all right,” Brad said, then waved and left.

Homework on a Saturday night. He was brooding about something. When the coffeemaker kicked off, Bobbi poured a large mug, and went into the study. This would put an extra room between Joel and them. She sat on the love seat, took a long drink from her mug, and waited.

“
Can I apologize first?” Chuck asked from the doorway of the study.

“
Only if you know what you’re sorry for.”

“
For being an idiot.” Chuck joined her on the love seat. “For minimizing the struggle that you are so admirably waging, and for being insensitive.”

“
That’s a decent start,” Bobbi said. “Now, do you really believe all that, or did you just say it?”

“
Bobbi ...”

“
Chuck, you know, you’ve
always
known, exactly what to say to get what you want. You’re doing it again.”

“
That’s not true. I’m trying to help you see beyond your prejudices about Tracy.”

“
Oh no, these aren’t prejudices. Prejudices are unfounded. I’ve got all kinds of evidence that she’s irrational and dangerous.”

“
She’s not dangerous,” Chuck said, his voice rising.

“
And you’re not objective! You will not admit that this is damaging your family and your relationship with your children.”

“
How is this damaging us?”

“
Your son Joel is on the brink of disaster because he thinks he’s following your example.”

“
We dealt with Joel already.”

“
We had a meeting, that’s all.”

“
Honey, you apologized to him and told him to bring his fiancée home.”

“
I was forced into it because three days later I had to go to court with your mistress.”

“
Will you stop calling her that?”

“
What would you prefer?”

“
Can’t you just use her name?”

“
I never want to say or hear her name again, to be truthful.” Bobbi took a long, cleansing drink of her coffee.

“
See, that’s ridiculous.”

“
Chuck, you’re not listening. In thirty-six days, everything in my life has been upended. I feel like I’m going above and beyond to accommodate you, and what I hear in return is a demand for more,
and
a reproof for having misgivings about anything. That’s not fair.” She softened her tone. “Did you even ask Brad how school was going?”

“
He would have told me if there was anything going on.”

“
And did you tell your dad about your first week of law school?”

“
I didn’t have to. He called me every night ...” Chuck caught himself. He leaned back, and closed his eyes. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “Completely, unequivocally right.” He opened his eyes and looked at his wife.

“
Can we just slow down now that you have everything you wanted? Especially when he’s not here? We need to soak this in, and you need to spend some time with your sons and your daughter. They’re going through some major life events, and they need you right now.” She sipped her coffee, and then laid her hand on his. “All three of them, not just Jack.”

“
What about you? What do you need?”

“
I need you to stop pressuring me to accept things before I’m ready. Stop forcing my hand, and take my concerns seriously.”

“
Will you concede that I might know what I’m doing?”

“
You might, but we went six years without Jack. Another month or two wasn’t going to matter that much, was it?” She set her mug down and settled in close to her husband. “People are more likely to buy into change when they think it was their idea all along.”

“
Oh really?”

“
Oh yeah. I use that on you all the time. You think everything we’ve ever done has been your idea.”

He grinned and kissed her. “A little manipulative, aren’t you?”

“
I use my powers for good and not evil. Remember that.”

Sunday, September 9

Bobbi leaned up to the mirror in the master bath, and began smoothing foundation on her cheeks. Could she just say, “this is Chuck’s son”? Nobody needed any more information than that, did they? Then she’d just have to act as if it was the most normal thing in the world to bring your husband’s illegitimate son to Sunday school. Piece of cake, right? As if.

“
Mommy! He doesn’t have to wear a tie, does he?” Shannon called from Brad’s room.

Bobbi walked down the hallway, and peeked in the door of Brad’s room. Jack stood yanking and twisting his necktie while Shannon inspected him. “Shannon, Jack doesn’t need help getting dressed. I’m sure he’s been doing it by himself for years.” She took her daughter by the hand. “Let’s leave him alone.”

“
He’s never been to church before, Mommy. Can you believe it?”

“
He’ll be fine,” Bobbi said. “Go brush your teeth. I’ll be there in a minute to check.” Shannon glanced back at Jack, then turned and skipped toward the bathroom. Bobbi knelt down, and straightened Jack’s shirt collar. “You don’t have to wear the tie.”

“
Did Brad wear a tie?”

“
Only for Easter.” She pulled the tie off, and laid it gently in his open suitcase.

“
Thanks,” Jack said, through a frown that was Joel made over.

“
What’s wrong? Did Shannon say something?”

“
No,” he answered, still scowling.

“
Do you want me to get your dad? Would you rather talk to him?”

“
No. It’s just ... Is church like school? ’Cause I’ve only ever been to school. That’s all I know how to do.”

“
You can’t mess up at church,” Bobbi said, smiling gently. “In fact, there is nothing we like better than having someone there who’s never been to church before. You’ll be like a celebrity.”

“
Really?” he asked, brightening.

“
Really.” Bobbi stood and patted Jack’s shoulder. “You’ll have fun, I promise. Now go brush your teeth. We’ll be ready to go soon.” He didn’t move to leave. “Is there something else?”

“
Thanks for letting me stay in Brad’s room and not the garage.”

“
Jack ... you didn’t ... did someone tell you you’d have to sleep in the garage?”

“
No, but, you know how Cinderella’s stepmother made her sleep in the cinders by the fireplace?”

Bobbi hung her head, and then motioned for him to come close, but a hug was too much. Instead, she took both of his hands. “I never, ever want you to feel unwelcome here, but I’ll admit this is a little hard for me. I’m not sure exactly how you fit in.”

“
Me either.” His lower lip jutted forward. “So what do we do?”

“
We give ourselves time, and let things happen on their own, without trying to force them.”

“
So I won’t try to be your little boy.”

“
And I won’t try to be your mom.” She smoothed his hair, her hand lingering on his cheek. “But I can still love you as Jack.”

“
Good, ’cause I think I already love you as Mrs. Dad.”

Jack watched his dad shift a big, black book from hand to hand, so he could unlock the car door. “Hey, I don’t have a book,” he said once his dad got in.

“
What are you talking about, Jack?”

Jack could see his dad’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “A book, like you have, like my grandma had, like everybody else has but me.”

“
A Bible? I’ll get you one in time for your next visit.”

Jack nodded and settled back in his seat, watching out the window for the rest of the drive. At last, they turned into a wide asphalt parking lot with a large, columned, white building in the back corner. Jack felt a flutter in his stomach. “It’s big,” he whispered.

“
Not when you get used to it,” Shannon said.

He didn’t believe her. He dragged himself out of the car, and shuffled around the back end of the car, the long way.

Mrs. Dad came to the rescue again. “Jack, I teach the kindergarten class here. If you’d like, you can come with me and Shannon until you get the hang of things.”

Go with her and his sister. That would be safe, but what about the other little kids? “Won’t they know I’m in first grade? ’Cause I can read, you know.”

“
Kids go to different classes all the time, especially when they’re new to church.”

“
Are you sure it’s okay?”

“
Positive.” Mrs. Dad took his sister’s hand to walk inside, and he wished his mother was there with him. Then Mrs. Dad put a hand on his shoulder. “Chuck, why don’t you give Jack the grand tour to help him acclimate, and then bring him back to class?”

“
Sure thing,” his dad said. “Come on, buddy.”

Mrs. Dad squeezed his shoulder as soon as his dad said “buddy.” Did that mean she liked it, or was she mad? Jack twisted around to face her. “Am I in trouble?”

“
Of course not, why?” she asked.

“’
Cause you squeezed me when my dad called me ‘buddy.’” Jack saw his dad look at her, his eyes narrow. Now he was mad, too. Great.

“
Your dad always called Joel ‘buddy,’” she said. “It surprised me to hear him call you that. I flinched.”

Jack didn’t believe her. “You flinch hard,” he said, rubbing his shoulder.

“
I’m sorry, Jack. Truly. Now let your dad give you the tour.”

His dad motioned for him, but he kept his eyes on Mrs. Dad as she walked away.

“
Are you and Mrs. Dad gonna have a fight later?”

“
We don’t fight.”

Jack didn’t believe him, either. “So where are you taking me?”

“
Up to the front entrance. We’ll start your tour there.”

“
It smells nice in here,” Jack said. “Not like school.”

“
It’s better than school.” His dad led him into a huge room, like a theater only there was no screen and it wasn’t dark. “This is where the big stuff happens,” his dad said. “We’ll come back here later, and sing, and then the preacher will preach.”

“
The who will what?”

“
We’re really starting at square one with you.” Then his dad snapped his fingers. “Let’s just go meet the preacher. It’ll make more sense.”

Jack had to skip to keep up with his dad’s long strides. “Is he like the president?”

“
More like a combination leader, teacher, and kind of a dad.” His dad knocked on a door, then pushed it open slightly. “Glen? Can we bother you for a minute?” He didn’t call him mister or anything.

“
Hey, Chuck! Come on in!” The preacher talked like a cowboy, and when he walked around his desk, Jack saw his boots and smiled. The preacher smiled back and held out a hand. “I’m Glen Dillard.”

“
I’m Jack Ravenna.” He pumped the hand of the preacher cowboy, and then he felt his dad’s hand on his shoulder. He hoped his dad didn’t flinch.

“
This is my son,” his dad explained, without flinching. “It’s his first time at church, so I was showing him around.”

Jack looked at his dad and the preacher cowboy. They were about the same size. They both looked old, but not that old. “You don’t look old enough to be everybody’s dad,” Jack said.

“
Everybody’s dad? What?”

“
My dad said you were the leader-teacher-dad for everybody.”

“
Well, that’s a big part of it.” He picked one of those books off his desk.

“
Everybody has one of those but me!” Jack said.

“
I’ll take care of it, Jack,” his dad said. “I promise.”

“
Check downstairs, Chuck,” the preacher said. “There should be some in the kids’ hallway. He can have whichever one he wants.”

“
Thank you, Mr. Dillard,” Jack said, eyes wide.

“
All right, first rule. You can call me Pastor Glen. That mister stuff is for people you don’t know, okay?” Jack nodded. That wasn’t what his mom told him, though. She said grown-ups were always mister.

The preacher got down on one knee, and held his book open. “Now what I was gonna tell you, this book is full of the stuff God wants us to know. It’s my job to help people understand the stuff so they can do what God wants them to do.”

“
When my mom talks about God, she’s mad. Does God make people mad?”

“
Sometimes, I guess, but you’ll find out there’s a lot more to Him than that. He knows all about you, and He wants you to know all you can about Him.”