Raising Faith (11 page)

“We have an emergency,” said Morgan when all the girls were finally seated in the clubhouse.

“Where’s Emily?” asked Chelsea.

“Exactly,” said Morgan. “That’s the emergency.”

“Did she get hurt?” asked Amy.

“No.” Then, since there seemed to be no reason to keep this thing secret any longer, Morgan explained why Emily’s family had to flee so suddenly this afternoon.

“Wow,” said Chelsea. “I had no idea.”

“Poor Emily,” said Carlie.

“That’s crazy,” said Amy. “Why should Emily’s family have to run away from a dad who treated them like that?”

“That’s what I think too,” said Morgan.

“They need a lawyer,” said Chelsea.

“I’m sure they can’t afford one,” said Morgan.

“My dad has a friend who’s a lawyer,” said Chelsea. “In fact, Emily babysat for them to earn money for the ski trip.”

“This means Emily is going to miss the ski trip,” said Amy sadly.

“Not if we can help them,” said Morgan.

“How can we help them?” asked Carlie.

“Do we even know how to reach them?” asked Chelsea.

Morgan considered this. “Not really.”

“Then how can we help them?” asked Amy.

“By praying,” said Morgan. “We’ll start by praying.”

So, right then and there, all four girls bowed their heads and prayed for Emily and her family. They prayed for God to protect them and to get them safely back to Boscoe Bay and Harbor View.

“Amen,” said Morgan when they’d finished.

The girls sat quietly in the bus for about a minute. All they could hear was the sound of the Oregon rain beating down on the roof of the bus.

“So, I guess this means our Christmas party is off,” said Amy sadly.

“I know I don’t feel much like a party,” said Morgan.

“Me neither,” added Carlie.

“I’m calling my dad,” said Chelsea as she opened up her cell phone.

“Why?” asked Morgan.

“I’m going to ask him to talk to Mr. Lawrence. He’s a lawyer, and Dad can ask him if he can figure out a way to help Emily’s family.”

“Great,” said Morgan.

“But even if Mr. Lawrence is willing to help them … how do we let Emily’s mom know about it?” asked Amy.

“Yeah,” said Carlie, “it seems pretty impossible.”

“I guess we’ll just have to keep praying,” said Morgan. “Because God is the only one I know who can do what’s impossible.”

“And we’ll do whatever we can to help,” said Carlie.

Morgan held up her arm with the rainbows rule bracelet. “All for one, and one for all?”

The other girls, including Chelsea — who was talking to her dad now — held up their arms in unison.

“I know, Daddy,” said Chelsea. “But this
is
an emergency.” Then she told him about Emily’s situation, painting a dramatic account of how Emily’s family was, right this minute, fleeing in fear for their own safety. Chelsea listened for a minute or two. “Yes,” she said with excitement. “That’s exactly what I thought too. They need a lawyer. What about Mr. Lawrence?” She waited again. “You will, Daddy?” She smiled happily at her friends now. “Thanks so much! Yes, I’ll leave my phone on. Thank you, Daddy!” Then she closed her phone.

“Is he going to talk to the lawyer?”

“Yep.”

“But, even if he talks to the lawyer,” Amy reminded them, “we don’t know how to reach Emily right now.”

“That’s why we have to keep praying,” said Morgan.

They called their meeting to a close earlier than usual, and all of them promised to keep praying for Emily.

“Can I stay at your house until my mom gets here?” Chelsea asked Morgan as they started trudging down the wet sandy trail back to the mobile-home park.

“Sure,” said Morgan.

Although it was still raining, all four girls paused briefly in front of Emily’s now abandoned house. They just stood there looking sadly at it.

“This isn’t over yet,” proclaimed Morgan.

Now Chelsea stuck her hand with the bracelet on it in the air. “Here’s to rescuing Emily,” she said.

“To rescuing Emily,” echoed Morgan, and the others joined in. Then they ran off to their houses.

Once Morgan and Chelsea were inside the house, and before they even removed their wet jackets, Chelsea was calling her mom to ask her to pick her up. “We quit early,” she told her, explaining about Emily’s family’s unexpected departure. “Daddy is calling Mr. Lawrence right now,” she said. “We’re all going to do whatever we can to get Emily back here.”

“Excuse me for eavesdropping,” said Grandma as the girls came into the living room. “But who is Mr. Lawrence?”

Morgan told Grandma about Chelsea’s idea, and Grandma smiled. “Yes,” she said. “That’s exactly how a community should work. People helping one another.”

“Do you want a Christmas cookie?” asked Morgan. “Emily and I decorated them just the other day.”

“Sure,” said Chelsea, following Morgan into the kitchen.

“Want some too?” Morgan called out to Grandma. “And some tea?”

Soon the three of them were back in the living room having cookies and tea and discussing ways they might be able to find out where Emily’s family was.

“You have to give your license plate numbers when you stay at a hotel,” Chelsea said between bites. “I know, because my mom never can remember hers, and I usually have to run out and check.”

“But we don’t know Emily’s mom’s license number,” said Morgan. “At least I don’t.”

“Me neither,” said Chelsea. “Do you have any idea which way they were going? North, south, east, or west?”

“Not west,” said Morgan. “That would be straight into the Pacific Ocean.”

“And I doubt they’re going east,” said Chelsea, “if they originally ran away from Idaho like you said.”

“My guess is south,” said Grandma as she set her teacup down.

“Why?” asked Morgan.

“A couple of reasons … one, it’s warmer down there in the winter time, and two, there are more people down in California, it’s probably easier to disappear.”

“That’s true,” said Chelsea. “It’s a lot more crowded down there than up here.”

“We need a map,” said Morgan suddenly. “A road map.”

“There’s one in my car,” said Grandma. “In the glove compartment.”

So Morgan dashed out to the carport and returned with a map, which she soon had spread across the coffee table. “So,” she began, “if they’re going south, they might be on this highway right here.” She looked at the clock. “They left almost two hours ago.” She glanced at Grandma. “How fast do you think they’re driving on this highway?”

“Not more than sixty miles an hour,” said Grandma. “That’s a curvy road, and the weather isn’t very good for driving.”

Morgan checked the key on the map and did some quick figuring. “Well, Emily’s mom still had to pick up Kyle, so that used up some time. So if they’ve been on the road for, say, an hour and a half, maybe that means they’re about here by now.”

“Hey, that’s pretty good,” said Chelsea. “Do you really think so?”

Morgan shrugged. “If Grandma is right and they’re really going south.”

Just then, they heard a horn honking. Morgan jumped to her feet, dashing to the window, thinking that it was Emily’s mom again. But it was just Mrs. Landers in her
Mercedes. “Your mom is here,” Morgan called back to Chelsea.

Chelsea tugged on her still-wet parka.

“Well, let’s keep in touch,” said Chelsea. “We need to do everything we can to get Emily back here.”

“And let’s keep praying,” Morgan reminded her.

“Absolutely,” said Chelsea. Then Chelsea did something that Morgan couldn’t ever remember her doing before. She reached out and hugged Morgan. “I’m glad we’re friends, Morgan.”

Morgan nodded. “Me too.”

“And somehow we’re going to get Emily back here.”

“See ya,” called Morgan as Chelsea dashed out into the rain.

Morgan closed the door and went back to where Grandma was just finishing up her tea. “Chelsea seems like a nice girl,” said Grandma.

“Yeah,” agreed Morgan. “I’ve had my doubts sometimes, but I think you’re right. She really is a nice girl.”

Grandma chuckled. “I suppose that some people can be just as prejudiced against rich people as others are prejudiced against black people.”

Morgan sighed. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

“Aren’t you glad that God sees past all that?”

“That’s for sure,” said Morgan as she cleaned up the tea things.

“Well, I suppose I should go have a little rest,” said Grandma.

“Need any help?” offered Morgan.

“No, honey, I’m fine. I feel stronger every day.”

Morgan thought about Emily as she rinsed off the plates and cups in the kitchen sink. She wondered if her calculations about their road trip were even close. Was Emily’s car really about a hundred miles south of Boscoe Bay right now? Were they still driving along the Oregon coast highway, wipers slapping against the windshield so that they could see their way through this rain? She wondered how Emily and her brother were feeling just now. Were they all talking? Or was the car silent and somber? She imagined the three of them packed in there between all their personal belongings. Was it cramped? Surely Emily must feel as if her whole life had just been jerked out from under her — all over again. Her family would have to relocate, get started in new schools, get new jobs. It was overwhelming for Morgan to even try to wrap her head around it. And what about Christmas, which was less than a week away? Where would they be by then? In some shabby motel room? Morgan couldn’t imagine how she would feel if she were in Emily’s shoes. Poor Emily!

Out of habit, Morgan reached up to finger one of her beaded braids. It was something she did when she was feeling anxious about something. And then she would pray
about whatever was bothering her. But, as she touched a soft curl, she remembered that the beaded braids were gone, and she instantly wished that she’d never gotten her hair changed. What had she been thinking? Of course, she knew exactly what she’d been thinking. She’d been jealous of the developing friendship between Emily and Chelsea. She had wanted to look less her African-American self and more like them. How totally stupid! And now Emily was gone and Morgan actually was starting to like Chelsea much better. Grandma was right. Morgan had been wrong about Chelsea. Funny how life could change like that — so quickly.

As Morgan stood there, she was looking directly across the road at Mr. Greeley’s house. Suddenly she remembered something that Emily had said about Mr. Greeley, about him knowing that Emily’s family was leaving and having a key to their house so they could pick up their things. Well, some of the things at Emily’s belonged to Morgan — although, in her heart, she had given them to Emily. Still, it provided a good excuse to go snoop around. And maybe she could uncover something that would help them locate Emily. Something that could help bring Emily and her family back here — back where they belonged!

No one spoke in the car for quite awhile. Emily knew that they were all feeling very sad about leaving Boscoe Bay. Kyle had put up a lot of protest when Mom picked him up at the gas station where he’d been working these past few months. Kyle even suggested that he might stay behind and live with a friend, but Mom wouldn’t hear of it. Mom had told him that he didn’t understand the problems of child custody laws. And even when Emily tried to chime in, Mom had shut her down. Mom said she didn’t want to hear a single word from either of them right then, that she needed them to be quiet so she could focus on driving safely and so she could figure out what their next move might be.

For the next hour, Emily wrote in her journal. She wrote and wrote and wrote. And as she wrote, she remembered a book she’d just read. She’d picked it out just before Christmas break from the recommended reading list from her English class. Morgan had thought the book looked boring, but the story had really gotten to Emily. In fact, she wished she’d brought it with her because she thought she’d like to read it again.

It was called
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
. The girl in the book, Anne, had been a real person. And, like Emily, she had written in a diary about her life. And, like Emily, Anne had been thirteen. And she had been faced with a frightening dilemma. But Anne’s troubles were far worse than Emily’s. And by the time Emily finished the book, which in Emily’s opinion was too short, she decided that Anne Frank was one of the bravest people she had ever read about. And for some reason this gave Emily a bit of hope.

If Anne Frank could be brave when all looked hopeless, so could Emily. Besides, Emily reminded herself, she had God. That was something that Anne had struggled with a lot. Emily wanted to go back in time and tell Anne that God really was real and that she should trust him more. Maybe Anne did eventually … before she died in the concentration camp.

And that’s when Emily really began to pray. She begged God to turn this thing around … and to get them safely back to Boscoe Bay. She wanted to have as much faith as Morgan and Grandma right now. But as their car kept driving about sixty miles an hour due south, it wasn’t easy.

“I’m sorry if I sounded grouchy,” Mom said finally. “It’s just that I am really stressed over this. It wasn’t what I wanted either.”

“But I don’t see why we have to be the ones on the run,” said Kyle from the passenger seat in front. “Dad’s
the one who messed up. He should be running … from the law.”

“It has to do with taking you kids across the state line,” Mom explained. “Your dad used to warn me that if I ever ran, if I ever took you guys out of Idaho, he would hire a lawyer and get full custody. Do you know what that means?”

“That we’d have to live with dad?” said Kyle.

“Yes,” Mom said with a sigh. “I know I should’ve done it differently, but I felt so desperate at the time. I just wanted to get away. I saw the chance and I took it.”

“And I’m glad you did, Mom,” said Emily from the backseat. “It was the right thing to do.”

“It seemed right,” agreed Mom. “But according to the law, it was wrong.”

“Do you know that for sure?” asked Kyle.

“I know that your dad is your parent, as much as I am,” said Mom. “And that means he has the right to accuse me of kidnapping —”

“Kidnapping?” cried Emily. “That is perfectly ridiculous. You know that we wanted to come with you, Mom. We hated how Dad treated you. He should be in jail!”

“Yes, I know,” said Mom. “But sometimes the law doesn’t work like that.”

“Well, then the law is wrong,” said Kyle.

“As soon as we get settled,” said Mom, “and as soon as I can afford it, I will contact a lawyer. I was about to do
that back in Boscoe Bay. I even had the name of a guy in town … but then this happened. I just never really thought your father would find us. I don’t even see how he did. Especially after we changed our last name. I switched cars … I thought I did everything I could.”

“Do you think it was from those two times my friends and I were photographed and in the newspaper?” asked Emily in a weak voice.

“I don’t know …”

“It’s such a small paper,” said Kyle. “I don’t see how.”

Even so, Emily felt guilty. She hated to think that their problems were all her fault. She should’ve been more careful. But after getting settled into Boscoe Bay, after making new friends, she probably had let her guard down. She should’ve known that Dad wouldn’t give up that easily on his family. He was a stubborn and proud man, and she should’ve known that he would do whatever it took to find them.

Emily had always been afraid of her dad. He had never actually hit her, not like he hit her mother or Kyle, but he had yelled at her and carried on to the point where Emily felt it was likely she’d be next. She had even tried to talk to someone about it once. She had trusted Aunt Becky. But Aunt Becky, just like everyone else, couldn’t believe that Emily’s dad would ever do anything like that. No one could imagine the rages that he could go into when things
didn’t go his way. He managed to keep up an image of such a nice guy when he was out in public. In fact, that was one of the things that would set him off. He didn’t want anyone to mess up his perfect image. And he couldn’t stand it when anyone in his family, whether it was Kyle or Mom or Emily, did anything that he felt was “inappropriate behavior.” Dad loved the phrase
inappropriate behavior
. He had a whole list of things that could fall into that category. Emily wrote them down in her journal.

Being disrespectful of Dad
(It was okay to be disrespectful of Mom as long as it wasn’t in public.)

Not having perfect manners
(It reflected poorly on Dad.)

Wearing unclean or wrinkled clothing
(It reflected poorly on their family.)

Using bad grammar
(although Dad sometimes did without knowing it)

Getting a bad grade or in trouble at school
(Kyle got caught skipping in middle school, and you would’ve thought he’d murdered someone.)

Being late, not doing your chores, not standing up straight …

Emily knew she could make the list longer if she thought hard enough, but she was tired of thinking about Dad. She wasn’t sure if she actually hated him — and she
knew that was probably wrong — but she did know that she didn’t want to see him again, and she didn’t want to remember how it had been living in the same house with him. And even though they had nicer things and more money then, Emily would never choose to go back to that kind of life. She had never felt comfortable in her home. And she had never wanted to have friends over. She had seen Dad tear into Kyle in front of a friend once, and she had never wanted that to happen to her. As a result, she didn’t have many close friends. For sure, she’d never had anyone like Morgan to hang with. This was so unfair.

“Mom,” said Emily in a timid voice. “I was just thinking about something that Morgan’s grandma told me.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, she said that it might be safer for you — and for us — to stay in Boscoe Bay.”

“Why would it be safer? Can you imagine what would happen if your dad found us?” Mom shook her head. “He would probably show up with the police, accuse me of kidnapping you two … and for all I know they would take you away and throw me in jail. How would that be safer?”

“That’s so wrong,” said Kyle as he hit his fist into the dashboard.

“Morgan’s grandma said that we have a
community
in Boscoe Bay. She said we have friends who will stand up for us and help. We have our friends in Harbor View and
friends at church. She said that we would be safer there than out here on our own. I mean, think about it, Mom, what would we do if Dad found us out here on the road or staying at some motel? We wouldn’t have anyone to turn to.”

“I’m sure that sounds sensible to Morgan’s grandma,” said Mom. “But she does not know your father. She doesn’t know what that man is capable of. He can be very convincing. I tried before to tell people what he did … don’t you remember what happened after that?”

“But you still have those photos I took of you, don’t you?” asked Kyle. “That’s proof of Dad’s abuse. And Boscoe Bay is different than where we lived before. The people there don’t know Dad. But they do know us.”

“That’s right,” agreed Emily. “We might have a chance back in Boscoe Bay.”