Take Two (8 page)

He was okay with letting their friendship slip away.

Everyone was setting the table when she returned to the kitchen, and the dining area was a joyful chaos of little kids being
seated at one of three tables and highchairs sliding into place. Bailey pitched in, setting bowls of sweet potatoes on the
various tables and finally taking the place between her mom and Ricky. All around the dining room people talked and laughed,
celebrating the time together and remarking about the look and smell of the food spread out before them.

But Bailey felt no hunger. She wanted to call Cody and tell him to quit being so distant, to get in his car and come over
so they could walk down to the lake in the snow and find what they’d lost these last few months. The idea was ridiculous for
a lot of reasons, not the least of which was that Tim would be here in an hour.

When everyone was seated, Dayne stood and prayed. “Father, we come to You this Thanksgiving Day with full hearts. Thank You
for giving us eternal life, and for the people around this table. Thank You for long-lasting relationships, and for new life
—” He paused, his voice rich and full. “— like baby Sophie and baby Janessa. We have so much to be grateful for, dear God.
Bless this food to our bodies, and thank You for providing it. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

A round of amens echoed from around the room.

After everyone served their plates, Dayne asked them to share what they were most thankful for.

“One rule.” Katy smiled at the group. “An answer can only be given once.”

“I’m first!” Cole, Ashley’s son, jumped up and raised his hand. Landon helped him back to his seat.

“Cole will go last.” He put his arm around Cole.

“Ahh, Dad.” Cole wasn’t really that upset, because his eyes still danced. “All the good answers will be taken.”

“You can be thankful for me, Coley!” Maddie, Brooke’s oldest, cast a teasing look across the table at her cousin. “Unless
that one’s already taken.”

Everyone laughed, and the round of thanks began. Bailey was glad for the distraction. People quickly moved from being thankful
for God and family and friends and food to specific things — the success of the local crisis pregnancy center, the way the
Colts were coming together for Bailey’s dad, and her brother Shawn’s
A
on a recent biology test. Bailey felt her phone receive another text message just as her turn arrived. She ignored it. “I’m
thankful for my roommate, Andi. She’s sort of like a sister, and I’m grateful for that.”

Finally it was Cole’s turn. He thought for a long moment, clearly struggling to think of an answer. Finally he threw his hands
in the air. “Okay, fine. I’m thankful for Maddie.”

“Thank you, Coley.” Maddie folded her hands on the table and gave her cousin a satisfied smile. “I’m thankful for you too.”

Again everyone laughed, and conversations broke out all around. Bailey poked her fork around in her peas and mashed potatoes,
but all she could think about was the text waiting for her. Even during a regular dinner, her parents didn’t like them texting.
Today that would be especially true. She ate a few bites of turkey and set her fork down.

“You okay?” Her mom’s smile was full of compassion.

As usual, she could read Bailey’s heart and mind even though nothing had been said about the text messages. Bailey shrugged
one shoulder. “Cody texted me.”

“And?” With so many people talking around the room no one listened to them.

“Wished me a Happy Thanksgiving.” She sighed. “I told him I missed him, and instead of saying he missed me, too, he just asked
me how Tim was.”

Her mom gave her a sympathetic smile. “Maybe he’s being smart.”

“How?”

“He’s making you think about your decisions.” She put her arm around Bailey’s shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Look
who you’re sitting here thinking about.”

Her mom had a point. But was Cody’s silence really deliberate? With all the time he spent talking to Andi, it seemed like
only a slight possibility. “Maybe he’s interested in Andi. He doesn’t want me missing him, when I’m supposed to be thinking
about Tim. You know …” She met her mom’s eyes. “So I don’t do something stupid like start liking him again.”

“I don’t think so.” Her mom picked up her knife and fork and cut a bite of turkey.

“You seem so sure.”

“I am sure.” Confidence shone in her eyes. “I saw how he looked at you that day at our house. He adores you, Bailey. No matter
what you decide, I think maybe he always will.”

Bailey hung onto that thought.

When dinner was over, everyone worked together clearing the tables and loading Katy and Dayne’s two dishwashers. Bailey was
helping her mom and Ashley place ten pies along the granite kitchen bar when the doorbell rang. Dayne answered it, and Bailey
watched from where she worked as Tim Reed stepped inside. He and Dayne talked for a minute, the way they always did when they
saw each other. Tim had been one of the first CKT kids Dayne met, and the two shared a special friendship. Dayne was a sort
of mentor for Tim, which was a great situation for a lot of reasons.

Their conversation gave Bailey the chance to watch Tim from a distance. He was taller than back in his CKT days, and handsome
in a polished sort of way. He loved God and he fit in well with Bailey’s friends and family.
Why, then
, she asked herself as she pulled three pie servers from a drawer and set them on a napkin,
aren’t you head over heels for that guy?

She had no answers.

Tim finished talking with Dayne and crossed the room to the kitchen. He smiled when he saw her, but she wasn’t sure his eyes
actually lit up. Not the way she would’ve liked. “Hey … Happy Thanksgiving.” He gave Bailey a quick hug as he studied the
pies. “Looks like I got here just in time.”

They compared notes about the day and ate pie and played a new board game — Eye to Eye — and when the night was over sometime
after ten o’clock, he hugged her again and they went their separate ways. The ride back was quiet, with Ricky and BJ nodding
off before they had gone far. The trip gave Bailey time to review her evening with Tim. They’d had fun, for sure. They laughed
and enjoyed being together. But if she was painfully honest with herself, something was missing. Something in the way Tim
looked at her.

She remembered her mom’s words.
“I saw how he looked at you … He adores you.”

Maybe that was it. Tim looked at her on a surface level. He smiled and seemed happy to see her. But when Cody looked at her,
there were no layers left, nothing he didn’t reveal, nothing he couldn’t see. He didn’t really look at her so much as he looked
into her. To the deepest, most real, places in her heart and soul.

Her mom seemed to sense she needed alone time, so she didn’t ask about Tim or how Bailey had felt seeing him. Good thing.
Bailey didn’t have an answer for herself, let alone her mother. Not until she was changing out of her jeans did she remember
her phone and the text message she’d never read. She pulled it from her pocket and clicked a few buttons.

I MISS YOU TOO.

She was drawn into those four simple words as if he was standing right here beside her. Again her breath caught. Tears stung
her eyes, and she blinked them back. She wasn’t crying because she was sad. The tears were because maybe her mother was right.
He must care more than he let on or he wouldn’t have sent this text a full hour after his last one. Maybe he’d analyzed his
message about Tim and how Bailey hadn’t answered, and finally — after a very long time — he’d texted how he felt. How he really
felt.

He missed her too.

As she finished getting ready for bed, her thoughts moved from the text message to her conversation with Ashley earlier that
day. Love was complicated. That was true with Tim, and it was true with Cody — whatever sort of love she had for the two of
them. Landon had been the difficult path for Ashley, and right now Cody was the difficult path for Bailey. So maybe Cody would
be a bigger part of her life again someday. Or maybe they’d only be friends. Even that was more than they now shared.

She thought about Ashley’s advice: to pray about Cody and Tim, of course, but also to look for the answers.
“That sort of love rarely happens twice.”
Yes, that’s what Ashley had said.

Bailey climbed into bed and lay still on her pillow, the darkness around her.
I’m looking, God. I want to hear You, but nothing seems very clear.

I am here, my daughter. All things work to the good for those who love me. Remember that.

The answer came quickly and easily, the way it rarely did. The response was part of a Bible verse from Romans chapter 8. Something
she’d read yesterday morning before class. But still … it was sort of surreal to think God loved her enough to speak peace
to her like that. That He loved her whether she heard His responses or not. He was here, with her, regardless.

She closed her eyes, wrapped in the Lord’s arms, loved and cared for. Only one thought from the day remained as she drifted
to sleep, and it made her smile, lying there in the darkness.

Cody missed her.

One more thing to be thankful for.

T
HE DEADLINE TO FINISH EDITING THEIR
movie was a living, breathing being, hounding them through every day and crawling into bed with them at night. Even still,
Chase and Keith took Thanksgiving off. Their families deserved that much. Chase had pushed for dinner at their house, since
that way they could put the girls to bed after dessert. But now the meal was behind them, he wondered if he’d made the wrong
choice. Maybe pulling off a big dinner had been too much for Kelly, or maybe she was still upset with his schedule. Whatever
it was, Chase hadn’t been able to lighten her mood all day. It was late now, and they sat around the room with the Ellisons
and their daughter, Andi, talking about the week ahead.

“You really think you’ll finish before the fifth?” Lisa sat next to Keith, but the question was directed to Chase. He was
the director, the one with the skill in the editing room.

“We have to do color correction and sound mixing. The principles are scheduled to meet us at the studio early next week for
voice touch-ups. And we’ve hired someone to work on color. The guy’s amazing.”

“Is there money for that?” Kelly’s question came out sharp, pointed. She sat across the room in a worn-out chair they’d gotten
at a garage sale. One more sacrifice in the quest to make movies.

“We’re still working with money Ben invested at the close of filming.” Chase dug deep for an extra dose of understanding.
He’d told her this before. “We can definitely get through the editing process.”

“But if there’s no theatrical release?” Kelly looked tired and anxious, the lines between her eyes deeper than usual. She
didn’t have to spell out the dire financial consequences. Not with Andi in the room.

“No one’ll take you seriously if you go direct to DVD.” Andi sat on the other side of her father. She’d been a great help
with Molly and Macy today, and now they were asleep she seemed glad to be part of the adult conversation.

Andi was right. If she hadn’t said it, Chase would have. The financial concerns were only part of the trouble they faced.
They had to wrap up editing and submit to the film festivals Kendall had lined up. Then they needed to pray for a favorable
response from the festival committees. If that happened, they’d have a good argument for a theatrical release when the studio
screened the film. Not only so people would take them seriously, but so they would have a chance to earn back the money they’d
spent.

“Luke Baxter is working on the studio contract, looking for a loophole. But he agrees that we need to pray. God’s the great
Counselor, after all.”

Kelly raised a wary brow. “Lawyers don’t work for free. It all costs so much.”

“We’ve accounted for that, Kelly. Obviously.” Chase immediately regretted his tone. Kelly had a right to feel nervous.

“I was just asking.” Kelly tried to hide her hurt, but her eyes gave her away. She stood and headed for the kitchen, glancing
first at Keith’s wife. “More coffee?”

“Definitely.” Lisa joined her, and they rounded the corner into the kitchen.

At the same time, Andi stood and headed to the back room to work on a paper for her English class. Once they were gone, Chase
heard Kelly’s defeated laugh. “This thing is going to break us all — you ever feel that way?”

Chase couldn’t hear Lisa’s answer, but his wife’s lack of confidence made him feel suddenly tired — too tired to continue
the conversation. He looked at Keith and saw his friend had also heard Kelly. He kept his voice low so the wives and Andi
wouldn’t hear him. “I thought we were past this. A few months ago she was nothing but supportive.”

Keith was within arm’s reach, and he put his hand on Chase’s shoulder. “You can’t blame her for being worried.”

“Lisa’s not.”

“Of course she is.” Keith’s smile was layered with wisdom. “She doesn’t talk about it the way Kelly does, but if we don’t
make our money back on this movie, we’ll lose our house.”

The news hit Chase with a cold wave of reality. “That bad?”

“Yes.” Keith clasped his hands and stared for a moment at the place between his feet. “We took out a second mortgage on the
house, and the payments are way beyond our comfort zone. Same as you.”

Chase nodded, his mind drifting. He and Kelly rented the house they were in, so as long as he drew a salary from their work
they wouldn’t be homeless. But their credit cards were maxed out. If the money ran dry, and if the studio waited too long
for a DVD release, Chase and Keith could reach a point where there would be no money even for a meager paycheck. He pictured
himself talking to Kelly, explaining that she would need to get a job so they could pay their bills, and he shuddered. He’d
quit making movies and clean toilets at a gas station before he’d ask Kelly to get a job. Especially if it was to support
him while he followed his dreams. The sobering reality of that made him understand a little of what had Kelly feeling down.