Tears Fall at Night-The Blessed One Box Set (Praise Him Anyhow and Blessed and Highly Favored Series) (19 page)

Shawn stopped walking and lowered his head.

“What’s wrong, Son?” Joel asked when Shawn stopped walking with him.

Shawn lifted his head and looked at his father with sorrow-filled eyes as he said, “I need to tell on myself this time, Dad. But I’m too much of a coward to rat on myself.”

Joel pulled his son into an embrace. Shawn’s arms went around his dad. When they pulled apart, Joel said, “Whatever it is, Son, your family is here for you.”

“Give me a little time, Dad. I thought I could tell you this morning, but I just can’t talk about it.”

Joel put his hand on Shawn’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m here when you’re ready, Son.”

“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate that. Let’s just go eat for now. Okay?”

After breakfast the entire family spent time together in the media and game room. They watched several of Joel’s old movies. Lunch was brought to them in the media room, then they played pool, monopoly and table tennis. So far Elaine had beaten everyone at table tennis. Shawn was her last victim and he was giving her a hard way to go.

Shawn slammed down the ping pong ball on Elaine’s side so hard that she couldn’t knock it back over to him. “Now what, little sis? You think you’re bad. I told you, girl, you are up against a real athlete now,” Shawn kept selling his wolf tickets.

“I’m not afraid of you, Shawn. This is not the football field and you are going down,” Elaine told him.

“That’s right sis, you get him,” Isaiah said as he walked over to the table.

“Oh, no you don’t. Shawn, wipe the table with her,” Dee Dee said as she joined them.

Eric was sitting with his family, watching his dad’s last movie when his brothers and sisters started their usual competitive ways. He laughed as he got up and walked over to them. “Looks like I’m going to have to referee this match to make sure everything is on the up and up.”

“Yeah, come on over, Eric. Elaine is going to need to cry on her big brother’s shoulder when this game is over,” Shawn said.

Game was set for the score of seven. So far Shawn had six points and Elaine four. The ball traveled back and forth between the two. A lot of trash talk went back and forth and then...Elaine scored. She turned to Isaiah and said, “You must be praying for me.”

“I certainly am. I don’t want this bully to brag about beating a girl,” Isaiah told her.

“Don’t you worry,” Shawn said. “When I’m done whupping on her, I’ll gladly take you on, big brother. Then I’ll be able to say I can beat men and women.”

Tanya came over and stood next to Isaiah. She told him, “Keep praying, honey. I want Elaine to smash that ball in Shawn’s face.”

Shawn looked over at Tanya with a scowl on his face. But just as he turned his head away from the table, Elaine hit the ball in his direction. By the time he turned back, he missed the ball and the point went to Elaine.

“The game is now six to six. The next point will determine the winner,” Eric announced.

Dee Dee shoved Shawn. “Watch the table, boy. What are you doing?”

“Yeah, watched the table, boy,” Elaine taunted.

“Oh I’m watching, so bring it on,” Shawn said as he hunched over, positioning himself to hit the ball.

They volleyed back and forth; neither willing to relent. Then Joel walked back into the room with a handsome young man at his side.

“Hey Elaine, look who came all the way to the Bahamas to see you,” Joel said, clearly happy to see this new visitor.

Elaine hit the ball back to Shawn, looked up and then dropped her paddle just as Shawn hit the ball back to her. “John! What are you doing here?” she exclaimed.

He pulled her letter out of his jacket pocket and said, “I came to talk to you about this.”

Shawn jumped in the air when Elaine missed the last ball. He yelled, “I won, I won, I won!”

But Elaine no longer cared about winning a ping pong game. She was too busy thinking about how much she had lost in life as she walked toward the man she so desperately wanted to have and hold.

***

They walked on the beach, hand in hand. At times, Elaine rested her head on John’s chest and put her arms around him. Elaine kept hugging him and loving on him because she knew that this would be her last moment of normal with the man she was in love with.

“I don’t get it, Elaine. Why would you send a letter breaking off our engagement when you’re still in love with me?”

She sat down in the sand and gazed out at the ocean. “Isn’t this beach lovely? I’ve always enjoyed it here. The water is so clear you can see right to the bottom.”

John sat down next to Elaine. He turned her face toward him so he could look into her eyes as he asked, “Why do you keep changing the subject? I need to know what’s going on.”

Elaine put her hand on John’s cheek. There were tears in her eyes as she said, “Let’s not talk about that until later. Can we just enjoy what we have right now?”

“I don’t understand why you won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“I will. I promise. Just give me today,” Elaine asked.

John wiped the tears from her face and gently kissed her. “Okay, hon, we’ll do it your way.”

CHAPTER 8

The next morning the family gathered in the foyer for a day of sightseeing. Dee Dee noticed that Elaine, John and Joel weren’t with them. She asked, “Didn’t John spend the night in the guest room last night?”

“Yeah, Dad made him cancel his hotel reservation,” Shawn confirmed.

“Well, then why didn’t Elaine tell him we were going sightseeing today? And where are Elaine and Dad?”

“They’re all in Dad’s prayer room. I saw them go in there when I came downstairs,” Linda said.

Dee Dee nudged Drake. “Now do you agree with me? Elaine is up to something. Acting like she was surprised to see John. Give me a break.”

“You are quite paranoid. Are you on medication for that?” Eric asked.

“Laugh if you want, but I’m not about to stand around here and watch Little Miss Buttercup pray her way into my inheritance. I’m going to see what they’re doing.”

“Why don’t we just wait until they’re done and then we can all leave together?” Dee Dee was aggravating him, but Drake was trying not to let it show.

“I will not! I’m going to that prayer room.”

“Don’t interrupt Dad in his prayer room, Dee Dee,” Shawn said.

“Shut up, Shawn. Just because you spent your childhood lurking around Daddy’s prayer room, afraid to go in, doesn’t mean the rest of us are.” She walked out of the foyer ignoring the protests of her husband and brothers. Heading down the hallway she kept mumbling, “I’m not going to let Elaine’s slick fiancé steal what belongs to me.” She knocked on the door. When no one responded, Dee Dee knocked again and then said, “Daddy, it’s me. Open the door.”

By the time Joel opened the door, Drake and Isaiah were standing at the door trying to get Dee Dee to come with them. But she refused to budge.

Joel had tears in his eyes as he said, “Can you all give us a few more minutes?”

“Why are you crying, Daddy?” Dee Dee asked with her hand on the doorknob, refusing to allow Joel to close the door.

Joel took Dee Dee’s hand off the doorknob. “Why don’t you all go on with your sightseeing and when you get back, we can have dinner together?”

“Is everything okay, Dad?” Isaiah asked with concern in his voice.

“We’ll talk about it this evening, Son.” With that, Joel closed the door and locked it.

Dee Dee turned to Isaiah. “What do you suppose that’s all about?”

Isaiah grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the prayer room. Drake followed behind them. “I don’t know, but I think we should do exactly what Dad asked us to do.”

Dee Dee rolled her eyes, but kept walking. When they were back in the foyer with everyone else, Eric asked Dee Dee, “So did you satisfy your curiosity?”

“Absolutely not. Daddy wouldn’t tell me a thing.”

Drake told Eric, “Your father did ask that we all go sightseeing without them. They want us to join them for dinner tonight.”

“Is Joel not feeling well?” Tanya asked.

“He was certainly crying, so something has to be wrong,” Dee Dee said and then stepped away from the group. “You all can go. I’m staying here until I find out exactly what’s going on.”

“Why was Dad crying?” Shawn asked.

“We don’t know, but I think he wants some time alone with Elaine and John. So, let’s just go,” Isaiah said.

Shaking her head, Dee Dee told the group, “If he wanted to be alone with Elaine and John he shouldn’t have invited all of us here. This just isn’t fair.”

Eyes rolling heavenward, Linda exclaimed, “You are such a drama queen.!”

In a huff, Dee Dee turned toward Linda. “This is none of your business, so you can just go get a drink and let me talk to my family.”

Drake raised his hands to ward off anymore back and forth comments. “Look, we all decided to go sightseeing today, so let’s just do it. All right?”

Dee Dee let out a loud huff, but went along with the group.

***

Inside the prayer room Joel felt as if his heart was breaking into irreparable pieces. Elaine had asked him and John to sit down so she could talk to them. He thought she was going to tell them that she didn’t want a big wedding, that she couldn’t deal with spending all that money on gowns, flowers and caterers. Joel was prepared to hear his kindhearted daughter say that she wanted to have the pastor marry her at home, so that he could donate the wedding money to a worthy cause. But Elaine didn’t say that.

She stood before her father and fiancé with her hands clasped in front of her. Elaine hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, turned to her father and said, “John came here this week because he wants to know why I called off our wedding.”

Joel looked confused as he turned from Elaine to John and then back to Elaine. “Called off the wedding? What happened? What’s wrong?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out,” John said.

Elaine looked from her father to John. There was compassion in her eyes. “I’m sorry if it seems inconsiderate of me to tell you this at the same time.” Her voice broke as fresh tears trickled down her face. “But I didn’t want to go through this twice.”

John stood up and wrapped his arm around Elaine. “What is it, honey? Why are you so upset?”

Elaine laid her head on John’s shoulder and cried. They clung to one another until Joel stood up. “You’re scaring me, Elaine. I need to know what’s going on.”

Elaine pulled away from John and wiped the tears from her face. She pointed at the seats Joel and John had exited. “Can you please sit back down?”

“Just go ahead and tell us, Buttercup. It can’t be that bad,” Joel said.

Another tear rolled down Elaine’s cheek, she wiped it away. “I’d rather that you and John sit down. Okay, Dad?”

Joel and John sat down. Elaine didn’t hesitate this time, she opened her mouth and said, “I hadn’t been feeling well for a little while, so I went to the doctor and after he ran several tests, he discovered that I have…” she took a deep breath and finished, “ovarian cancer.”

Joel stood, but his wobbly legs wouldn’t hold him so he fell back in his seat. “No, that’s not possible!” He stood back up and rushed to Elaine’s side. “What doctor said this to you?” Joel asked as if he was going to confront the man and make him change his diagnosis immediately.

“Dr. Perrin.”

“Is he the only doctor you’ve seen?” John asked in a calm, but concerned voice.

She nodded.

“Well then, you need a second opinion. Let’s pray; then I’m going to call a doctor in the States and get you back there immediately,” Joel told her.

“Thank you, Father. I know this is a tough thing for you to go through, especially after losing your other children all those years ago. I apologize for not getting to the doctor sooner.”

“Hush with that, Buttercup. We’re going to get you to a specialist and get this thing taken care of. You’ve got many years left to live,” Joel said with confidence.

“I hope you’re right, but if I don’t make it, I need to ask you to do something for me.” She held up a hand as both John and her father tried to object. “Just hear me out.” She hesitated for a moment, but then carried on. “I know that you are supposed to be telling us about changes to your will this weekend. I just wanted to ask you to start a foundation for missionaries with my portion.”

Joel walked over to his daughter and wrapped his arms around her. When they parted his eyes were aglow with tears of love. “You are the most generous child that I have. We will start that foundation for missionaries while you are alive and you and John will be the first partakers.”

Elaine’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at John. She nodded agreement. “Okay, Daddy. John and I will do missionary work together again, I promise you. But there’s one last thing.”

Joel sat down fearing that his heart would give out if his child revealed anymore bad news. “What is it?”

“I can’t check myself into the hospital until I know that Natua will be provided for.”

John put a hand on Elaine’s shoulder. “I think it’s best if we get you to a doctor right away.”

“I understand that John, but I can’t abandon Natua.” She turned to her father imploring him to help her. “I will go to the hospital and do whatever you ask, if you can help me to convince Dee Dee to go to Uganda and adopt Natua.”

Chapter 9

Elaine’s request was something Joel didn’t know if he’d be able to pull off. He knew his children, and although he loved each of them, he wasn’t blinded by their faults. Where Elaine was sometimes too generous, Dee Dee was selfish. When she was a child, Joel had indulged Dee Dee’s behavior. His wife had warned him that he would come to regret letting that girl have her way so much. He just hoped that today wouldn’t be the day.

As his children and their spouses sat around the dinner table eating the apple pie Mary made for them, chatting amongst themselves, Joel took charge. He stood up. His children quieted down and turned in his direction. They had expectant looks on their faces as if they knew something was coming, and had been on pins and needles waiting for it. “I was going to wait until tomorrow after breakfast to discuss the changes to my will; but something has come up and Elaine and I will be leaving the Bahamas first thing in the morning. So, I figured now is as good a time as any.