Texas Weddings 3 & 4 (16 page)

Unusually quiet, the
little girl sat in the corner, staring at a puzzle, but not touching it.
Instead, she rubbed at her arms, brow wrinkled, and lips curled into a pout.

“Charity, are you
okay?” Shauna knelt down next to her, wondering at the red-rimmed watery eyes.

“I want my daddy.”

“Oh,
honey.
. .” Shauna ran her hand through Charity’s curls,
“Are you missing your daddy?”

Charity nodded then
rubbed at her arms again. “Go home.” A lone tear trickled down the youngster’s
cheek.

“It’s not even lunch
time,” Shauna explained. “But I’m sure we’ll have a fun day together. Why don’t
you play with your puzzle like the other boys and girls?” She began to fit a
couple of the pieces together, but Charity shoved them aside and began to cry
with full-fledged tears.

“I want my daddy.” The
little one now clawed at her arms and curiosity got the better of Shauna.

“Can I see your arms?”
She rolled up Charity’s sleeves and gasped as her gaze fell on several tiny
sores. “What in the
world.
. .?”

“Arms hurt.” Charity
scratched at the spots.

Shauna quickly pulled
down Charity’s sleeves then placed a palm on the child’s forehead, suspicions
mounting.
She’s burning up.
Shauna
reached for the walkie-talkie and signaled the front office with great concern.

“Mrs. Fritz?”

The director’s voice crackled a bit over the receiver. “Yes,
Shauna?”

“Charity isn’t feeling well. I’ve got my suspicions, but I’d
feel better if you took a look at her.”

“Oh, dear.” The older woman’s voice reflected her concern.
“I’ll do that, but I’ll go ahead and telephone her grandmother. Give me just a
couple of minutes, and I’ll come down to your room and pick her up.”

“Thanks.”

Shauna settled the
other children down for a nap then scooped Charity into her arms. The little
girl nuzzled against her shoulder.

“Mrs. Fritz is calling
your grandma, honey. She’s going to come and take you home.” Even as she spoke
the words, Shauna thought about Kent and wished she could call him herself to
let him know. Maybe during her break she would do just that. Her heart
quickened as she reflected on his situation. Single parents sure had their work
cut out for them. She had to give him a lot of credit.
You should tell him that. Encourage him. Let him know what a good job
he’s doing.

“I go home?” Charity
rubbed at her arms, and Shauna tried to distract her.

“Yes. Soon.”

“You come with me,
teacher?”

Shauna’s tried to hide
her surprise. Did she really just say that? “I can’t go with you, honey. I have
to stay here and work.”

Charity nuzzled a
little closer. “I love you, teacher.”

Shauna’s heart
swelled, and she embraced the toddler with a newfound joy. “I love you, too,
honey.”

Mrs. Fritz entered the
room, a look of concern on her face. “How’s our girl?”

“She’s burning up.”
Shauna mouthed the words.

“I called her
grandmother, but she’s out of town on business. I tried her father, but he’s
out of the office. I’m trying to track down his cell number.”

“I have it.” Shauna
shifted Charity’s weight and reached for her cell phone.

“You do?” Mrs. Fritz’s
eyes reflected her curiosity.

Shauna took just a
couple of moments to quietly explain her relationship with Kent
Chapman—how they met, the things they had in common, and the things that
divided them. She spoke in hushed tones so that she wouldn’t wake Charity, who
now dozed in her arms. Ultimately, Shauna had to confess, she found herself
drawn to this man, though it defied all logic.

When she finished, Mrs. Fritz smiled. “Oh, Shauna,” she
said. “It must be wonderful to be young—to see your future with such
clearly defined borders. Everything is so black and white.”

“I thought it was. Now I’m not so sure.”

“I have the benefit of many years behind me,” Mrs. Fritz
said. “And I can tell you, things don’t always turn out like we think they’re
going to. No matter how carefully we lay out our plans, the Lord’s plans for
our lives are grander still. Sometimes, they’re so far beyond our comprehension
that we can’t see them, even when they confront us at every turn.”

“I know what you mean.” Shauna held Charity a little closer
and stroked her hair. “Sometimes we miss what’s right in front of us.”
Isn’t that what Kent said that evening at
the coffee shop? Didn’t he say that people spend more time connecting with
people they can’t even see and ignore the ones they’re with? Didn’t he say that
we should take advantage of the small moments and really connect with people?

Mrs. Fritz’s face widened into a broad
smile.
“Well, if I use my
imagination, I can see some things quite clearly. For instance, I can see you
happily married to a man like Kent Chapman, with a beautiful little girl like
Charity to
raise
together. I can see your plans
completely messed up, replaced with new and better plans. I can see all of
that.”

Shauna felt her cheeks
flush. “I’m not sure what the Lord wants,” she whispered. “I really am not. I
thought I had my life so carefully planned out—down to the last detail.
But God apparently has other ideas. He’s leading me in different directions.
That’s not easy for someone like me—someone who likes to have all their
ducks in a row.”

Mrs. Fritz chuckled.
“I know you want to lead a well-planned, ordered life, honey. But how exciting
to think the Lord trusts you enough to knock a few of those ducks out of the
row. Makes for a great adventure.”

“I just hope I’m up
for it.” Shauna sighed. “I thought I knew so much, and it turns out I’m
clueless.”

“Which means you’re in
a wonderful place of submission to the Lord. Don’t you see? When we take our
hands off of things, He’s free to move. Maybe God has been waiting for you to
admit that you’re clueless so that He can clue you in.”

Shauna smiled. “That’s
a funny way to look at it, but I’d be willing to bet you’re right.”

“Could be. Time will
tell.” Mrs. Fritz winked at her then moved in the direction of the door. “I
could stand here and talk all day,” she said, “But I’d better get back to the
office and call Charity’s Daddy.”

“I go home?” Charity
awoke with a start.

“Yes, honey.” Shauna
stroked the little girl’s hair. “You’re going home.”

***

Kent walked through the sanctuary, taking in the Christmas
decorations.

“What do you think, Pastor Kent?” Delia Vasquez, one of the
church’s older parishioners, asked. “Did we do a nice enough job?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, overwhelmed at the
transformation. “I don’t know how you did it,” he said finally. “You ladies
have outdone yourselves this year, Delia. Honestly. I don’t know when I’ve ever
seen anything more beautiful.”

He couldn’t help but notice her cheeks flush as she
responded. “Thank you.” She pointed to the back of the stage. “I particularly
like the white lights against all of the greenery. Very classy.”

“Very. And the Christmas tree looks better than ever. Did
you make all of those bows yourself?”

She nodded. “Every last one.”

 
“I’m sure the whole thing will be perfect for
the Christmas program.” He touched her shoulder gently. “I can’t thank you
enough. You work harder than most anyone I know.”

She shrugged. “I figure it’s just another way to tithe. I’m
on social security, you know—so my financial giving is limited. But I can
sure enough give of my time.” Her face lit up in a broad smile.

“I wish everyone felt that way.”

He looked around the room once more and couldn’t help but
think about Shauna. He hadn’t seen her since Thanksgiving week, but could
almost picture her face as she looked around the sanctuary. “Not very
twenty-first century,” she might say. “Looks pretty traditional to me.”

“Wait till you see our 3-D tree on the big screen,” he might
joke. “It’s superimposed, but looks just like the real thing—only without
all the work.”

“Pastor?” Delia nudged him. “Thinking about Christmas?”

“I guess you could say that.” He turned to face her. “I’m
excited about all of the activities, especially the candlelight service.”

“I’m so happy to hear your sister will be joining us this
year.”

“Jessica and her husband Colin are driving in from Dallas to
be here,” Kent added. “Should be arriving any day now. I haven’t seen her in
months.”
I wonder what Jessica would
think about Shauna? Would she like her?

“Jessica has the voice of an angel,” Delia said. “I still
remember how beautifully she sang ‘O Holy Night’ all those years. That girl is
so gifted.”

“Her husband is very good, too,” Kent added. “He directs
some of the larger performances at the Dallas Metropolitan Opera. God sure knew
what He was doing when He paired those two up. You should hear them sing
together.
They
’re
a perfect
match—in every way
. In fact, they’re so much alike, it’s
remarkable.”

“Funny how God works,” Delia said with a goofy grin.
“Bringing two people together like that. He did just the opposite in my case.”

“What do you mean?”

“My husband and I were as different as night and day. If I
said a thing was black, he’d argue it was white. If I wanted to live in the
city, he’d rather settle in the country. Seems like every time we turned
around, we had to compromise. But that’s what love is all about. I’m not sure
I’d enjoy living with someone who agreed with me on every little thing. Might
make for a pretty boring life.”

Kent chuckled. “I understand. A little disagreement can be
healthy, I suppose.” His cell phone rang out, and he excused himself to answer
it. “Hello?”

“Mr. Chapman?”

“Yes?”

“This is Mrs. Fritz up at the day care.”

She sounded worried. Something must have happened to
Charity. Kent’s heart began to race as he asked, “Is everything okay?”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this over the phone, Mr.
Chapman, but it looks like Charity has the chicken pox.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, I’m sure all right. She’s covered in spots. I’m
surprised you didn’t notice them yourself.”

Shame washed over Kent immediately. “To be honest, I did
notice a few spots, but they looked like bites of some sort. We spent Saturday
afternoon outside at the park, so I just
figured.
. .”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to come and pick her up,” Mrs. Fritz
explained. “Chicken pox is highly contagious. We don’t want to run the risk of
infecting the other children.”

“Of course.” He glanced at his watch, trying to figure out
how—and when—he could get away to pick her up. “I have a luncheon
with twenty local pastors at noon,” he explained, “and three private counseling
sessions this afternoon. Maybe I could call my mother and
. .
.”

“I spoke to your mother just a few minutes ago. She’s at
some sort of a book festival in Austin.”

“Oh, that’s right.” He bit his lip, trying to think of a
solution. “Maybe I could come around one
thirty.
. .”

“I really think it would be best if you could come sooner,”
she argued. “Charity is miserable. She’s been scratching all morning. She’s
here in my office with me, but really wants to go home with her daddy.”

“Okay.” He looked at his watch again. “I’ll be there in
fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you. I know Charity will be happy to see you.”

Mrs. Fritz signed off with a click, and Kent flew into
action. He took three phone calls in the car—two from members of the
congregation and one very encouraging call from Michael Kenner, one of the
church’s elders. He then telephoned his mother, letting her know about
Charity’s condition. Coincidentally, she and Andrew were already on the road,
headed home from Austin.

When he walked through the front door of the day care,
Charity rushed into his arms. “Daddy.”

He held her tightly and whispered in her ear, “How’s my
girl?”

“I sick, Daddy.” She clawed at her arms, and Kent pushed her
sleeves up, gasping as he saw how irritated the little sores had become. He
felt terrible for not noticing what should have been so obvious—more
foolish still for not realizing she could have infected the other children.

Mrs. Fritz stood nearby with Charity’s jacket in her hand.
“I’m awfully glad you’re here. She really needs her daddy today.”

“Looks like it.” He planted a kiss on her tiny cheek and
slipped her jacket on, one arm at a time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kent saw Shauna enter the
large playroom to his right with her other students. He willed her to look his
way. She glanced up, and their eyes met in a clear connection. A smile lit her
face, and dimples appeared. Her beauty almost left him speechless. Kent waved,
feeling more like one of the children than the grown man he was. Shauna waved
in response and blew a kiss in Charity’s direction.