Noble Pursuits (18 page)

Craig was already jogging to his car. “Come on, Burke.”

“But what?” Nolan didn’t like the look of alarm on Craig’s face.

Before Craig could answer, Melanie came running up to them, panic-stricken. “Craig! Grace just
drove
out of here!”

Nolan looked from husband to wife, hoping that someone would enlighten him. “And your point is?”

Craig turned to Nolan with a grave face. “Grace doesn’t drive, Nolan.”

“Well, I knew she didn’t have a car, but—”

“There is a reason she doesn’t have a car. She refuses to drive. I’ll explain later, but we have to go. If she gets pulled over, they could arrest her. She has no license.”

The scene at Grace’s house exceeded anyone’s imagination or expectation. After hitting every red light in town, Craig pulled up to her house a full ten minutes behind her. The front door stood wide open without regard for the cold assaulting the house. All her hard work keeping out the elements was tossed out the door in the crazed search for a mouse.

Grace stood over the bathroom toilet sucking the water into a shop-vac. The kitchen had already been apart, and Verily stood in the living room trying to calm her down. Relief washed over his features when the men arrived.

Craig began explaining to Verily while Nolan went to Grace’s assistance.

“Grace?” His voice was low and questioning. “What are you doing?” Nolan tried to remain as visibly and audibly calm as possible as he watched her flush the toilet and then suck the water up again into the vacuum.

“Drowning the little sucker. And don’t sound so nice. You
hid
him from me!”

Nolan heard a tremor in her voice and calmly took the hose from her. He led her to the living room and indicated that she should sit before returning to the bathroom to deal with a very soggy rodent. As he carried the canister past Craig, he handed it out in jest and quipped, “Do you need this for evidence, or can I dispose of it?”

Nolan’s nonchalance seemed to settle Verily’s concerns, and he shuffled toward home, apologizing for being of so little help. Craig’s fury was unleashed on Grace once their bemused friend walked away. Nolan listened to Craig’s verbal assault on her irrational fear of mice until he couldn’t take it any longer.

“
Craig
! Stop. She’s fine, she didn’t hurt anyone, and she doesn’t make a habit of stealing cars and assaulting mice with vacuums. Now settle down, go back to the restaurant, and get your wife. I’ll sit with Grace, and then we can all clean up the kitchen when you get back.”

Craig seemed to calm down. He walked over to Grace and hugged her before suggesting that she lie down for a little while. As he entered the living room and headed out the front door, he turned to Nolan. “I am not going to pretend that I like this, Burke. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Is it because there is a genuine problem, Craig, or is it because you feel threatened?” Nolan debated how far to take the conversation with Grace’s excellent hearing just in the next room.

“She’s my only sister. I’m all she has.”

“And you like it that way.” Nolan was treading difficult territory.

Craig sank onto the couch. “You’re right. Since she was born, I was taught that she was the most precious thing that God had ever given me and would ever be until God gave me a wife, and I’ve taken that very seriously.”

With a deep sigh, and his voice heavy with emotion, he looked up at Nolan, who sat in his chair looking uncertain as to how to handle the situation. “Too seriously, huh? Lately anyway. Ever since you came into her life.”

Nolan shrugged and let the man continue. He seemed compelled to talk, and Nolan was more than willing to listen. “She’s all grown up now, and I forget that. It’s a result of our upbringing. The men in our family take protecting our women very seriously.”

He couldn’t help a snicker. “Yeah, you said that.”

Craig rolled his eyes at himself. “I think I went overboard after Dad died, trying to make up for the loss.”

“It’s possible. I bet she feels loved, though. Every woman needs that.”

Craig stood. “I have to go get Mel. Thanks for understanding.”

Nolan began cleaning the kitchen in a slight state of shock. For the first time, he and Craig had discussed Grace without him feeling like a womanizer. Whistling as he scrubbed down shelves, the spirit of the day took over and soon he was singing his own rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

“You better watch out,

Or you’re gonna die.

You better watch out.

I’m telling you why.

Gracie’s gonna see that you drown.

She’s losing her cool;

To stay you’re a fool.

Better get out,

Before a cat drools.

Gracie’s gonna see that you drown.

She sees when you are sneaking.

She don’t think you’re so great.

She thinks that you are bad, not good,

So get out for goodness sake.

You better watch out,

Or you’re gonna die.

You better watch out.

I’m telling you why.

Gracie’s gonna see that you drooooownnnnn.”

A muffled giggle brought Nolan out of his musical reverie. He stood in the middle of the kitchen with a broom for a mic and stand. In his opinion, he looked like a fool. Grace’s applause rang throughout the kitchen, and Nolan blushed.

“I’m calm now. I’d like to help clean up before everyone gets back here.” Grace seemed subdued.

“Craig said he was taking them home.”

“He forgot that we’re wrapping here. I have all the paper!”

They worked in companionable silence. Nolan spent much of his energy trying hard not to laugh at the lengths that she went to avoid the vermin ever touching her food or dishes. She wrapped entire bundles of dishes at the back of her cupboards with Saran Wrap and zip lock bagged her trash bags. Before Nolan could poke fun at her, the rest of the group bustled in from the cold.

“Come on, Grace; it’s after two. Are you ready to go get the trees? It’s our first year with two trees!” Melanie’s excitement was contagious.

Grace looked uncertainly at her kitchen. Was she ready to chance that she’d missed some area that the mouse had roamed? Or did she just not want to leave while she and Nolan were enjoying themselves?

Nolan watched her struggle and couldn’t take it anymore. Bending low, he whispered into her ear. “It’s time to let this rest. You can deal with it tomorrow if you need to.”

The move appeared quite intimate and personal to the onlookers, but Grace and Nolan were oblivious to the scrutiny. Craig struggled against his fears while Melanie mentally began practicing the wedding march. Paige simply sighed. Nathan looked around at the group with an expression of comical inquiry. “Did I miss something? Aren’t we going to find trees? You know those tall green things that you loop with lights and popcorn and load with ornaments and presents until the thing finally becomes a fire hazard and you cut it up and burn it?”

The group became “guys against girls” as they piled into segregated cars and caravanned to the Christmas tree farm. The men planned their strategy, while the women discussed how to thwart the men’s tendency to grab the first tree and run. In the end, the result was stereotypical. The men agreed to every tree suggested, and the women found great delight in suggesting almost every tree.

Melanie found her tree first. It was wide enough to fill the picture window in her dining room. Craig pretended to grouse about having to move around the furniture and things, but it was quite apparent that he was as excited as she was. Grace deliberated between two trees until the decision made her head ache. Seeing her hesitation, Paige mentioned that she’d like the smaller of the two if Grace decided against it. Grace immediately chose the taller tree and motioned for the owner of the farm to come chop them down.

As the man began to saw the tree, Grace turned and fled. Her friends looked at each other in bewilderment. Shrugging his shoulders, Craig started to follow, but Nolan stopped him. “May I? Somehow I think I can get her to talk.”

Grace was silently weeping in the back seat of Paige’s sedan. Seeing Nolan enter on the other side, she quickly tried to hide the evidence of her distress. He brushed away one last tear clinging to the corner of her eye with the back of his hand. “Want to talk about it?”

Blushing, Grace shook her head. He tried a new approach. “Feel up to twenty questions? Nod or shake your head appropriately?”

With a sportive grin, she nodded. Nolan fired questions at her. “Are you too tired to mess with the tree?” Grace shook her head.

“Is it because it’s the first time to have your own tree?” Another shake.

“Are trees too expensive this year?” Nolan knew the tree wasn’t the issue but continued to discuss shopping and trees and decorations for a time.

“Does it have to do with driving my car this morning?” Nolan knew that he risked a lot to bring the subject up but also knew that this was likely the problem. If Grace didn’t drive, and yet it was obvious that she knew how to drive, there was likely a reason that she didn’t, particularly since Craig and Melanie had made such an issue of it.

“Oh, Nolan, I could have destroyed your beautiful car. It wasn’t even legal!” Her tears flowed again.

“Grace, I wouldn’t care about that, even if you had. We were concerned about you, not the stupid car. Craig said that you don’t drive. Will you tell me about it?”

She took a deep breath. The tears refused to cease. Unaware that he did, Nolan gathered Grace into his arms and silently prayed as he wiped her tears away and made comforting sounds, as if she was a child. “It’ll be ok. You’re safe. I’m safe. Craig and his little family are safe. No one got hurt but a scurvy little mouse.”

Nolan smiled at the sound of a weak giggle. She sat up, straightened her sweater, wiped her eyes, and suppressed another sob. “Nolan. I haven’t driven since I was sixteen years old. I can’t believe I remembered how!”

“Why don’t you drive? You couldn’t have had your license for long,”

“I had it for half a year. We went down and I took the test the day after my birthday. I was so excited about it. Then, six months later, Mom and I went to Rockland to do some Christmas shopping. Mom was tired when we got done, so I begged to drive home. I wasn’t used to freeways and things but …”

“Oh, Grace.” Nolan took her hands. He knew what she was going to say before she could finish the story. He’d read similar stories in the Rockland Gazette for years. The Woodland Park Bridge had been covered with black ice. A car in front of her braked and Grace slammed hard on her brakes, sending them into a skid from which she couldn’t regain control.

“She didn’t suffer. They told me she died instantly. I was in the hospital over Christmas that year. I’ll never forget the look of shock and concern that came over her face as she woke up when I hit the brakes. She was more worried for me than the fact she was being thrown at a light pole at sixty miles per hour.”

“She loved you, Grace. It’s what a mother does.”

They sat in silence for a while. Nolan noticed that the group all stood near the car, wanting very much to know that all was well, but he wouldn’t budge. Grace had fears to deal with, and stuffing them back into a little corner of herself wouldn’t be healthy.

“Grace. When did you quit driving?” The question was a precarious one.

“Well, I did try to drive to school in January that year. I was fine until Paige asked for a ride home. They said that I just sat with my hands frozen to the wheel. I wouldn’t budge. They had to call the paramedics to come and get me out. Dad always thought that once I had a break—was a little older and more mature—that I’d feel more comfortable, but I just…”

Nodding, Nolan wiped the last traces of tears from her eyes. “You didn’t trust yourself. You were fine driving
you
somewhere, but when it came to someone you loved…”

“You understand. Most people don’t.”

“I also understand that it isn’t healthy for you to let this fear overcome you. It is very likely that if your mother had been driving, that you would have died instead. It was one of those things that only the Lord can understand right now.”

Grace nodded slowly. She knew he was right. Craig had pushed her for years to ‘get over it,’ but somehow, Nolan’s words seemed to hit home more truly. “Well, I do think you’re probably right. I’ve prayed for strength from time to time, but I know it wasn’t truly genuine. I just wanted to ‘do my duty,’ so that I could say that I had been praying about it.”

“Well, we all do that, but it doesn’t do us much good in the long run does it? Amazing to think of all the trouble that one little mouse has caused, isn’t it?”

She punched him lightly. “And that mouse isn’t the only one in trouble. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about it.”

“Well, you are a little over the top when it comes to mice, and we had a lovely morning planned…”

“I know I’m afraid of mice. They’re nasty little creatures that love to jump out when you least expect them, but letting them roam about my kitchen just for a shopping trip…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that it was just a shopping trip. I thought it was a time for you to do something with friends and your family. I thought it was about people and relationships. I guess I should have told you. You could have cleaned your spotless kitchen, and I could have done your shopping for you.”

Her expression grew cold and she leaned away from him, reaching for the door. “Nice, Nolan. You have a talent for sarcasm. I’d love to spar with you on this, but I have a tree that I really can’t afford to pay for and add to the rest of today’s bad choices. Excuse me.”

Feeling guilty, Nolan urged, “Let me buy the tree for you, Grace. I’d love to.”

Grace shook her head emphatically. “I think not. If I want a tree, I can certainly afford to buy one. Spending this much money in one day always makes me a bit nervous, but I’ll be ok.”

Nolan knew he’d been forthright; however, her reaction was much stronger than he’d anticipated and immediately, he realized he’d pushed a wrong button somewhere. Hurrying back to where the group stood, he overheard her forced laughter and joking. She made a few self-deprecating remarks about her silliness and, with forced glee, marched off to pay for her tree, while the men loaded it on to Craig and Mel’s minivan. Nolan’s mind worked as he wondered how to handle the situation.