The Living Room (54 page)

For that party Amy had made a princess costume for Megan and put together elaborate gift bags for every girl who came.

“What are you going to do?” Amy asked.

“Just hang out. We may have some fun doing silly things with a new app Alecia found on her phone. It switches faces and puts them on other people’s bodies.”

“Bobby showed me that,” Ian said. “It’s funny.”

“It’s great that you and Bobby have something in common,” Jeff replied.

“If we put Alecia’s dog’s head on Ian’s body, nobody would be able to tell anything different,” Megan said.

“Megan—” Amy started.

“It’s okay, Mom,” Ian cut in. “I forgive her. That’s pretty good.”

Amy stayed on the sidelines as the rest of the mealtime conversation went between Megan and Ian about goofy phone apps. She never would have guessed the two siblings would have discovered common ground. As soon as the children cleared out of the kitchen, Amy told Jeff about the e-mail from Lynn Colville, her conversation with Bernie, and the stake driven into the heart of her writing dreams.

“I’m sorry,” she concluded. “I’ve tried to do my best.”

“At least you went back to work at the law firm,” Jeff replied soberly. “I thought it was a good idea at the time, but I had no idea how important it would turn out to be. Do you really think your chances of holding on to a job are good when Emily comes back from maternity leave?”

Amy was stunned that Jeff immediately went to the practical side of things.

“Well, I believe Mr. Phillips is pleased with my work, and he halfway promised me a permanent position the first day I reported back. Emily’s baby is about a month old, so I should find out soon. But I’m devastated by what happened with the editor.”

“And I know it will take time to get over it. I’m just thankful there seems a way forward for us as a family.”

Amy didn’t have the strength to convince Jeff he should have more sympathy for her. As soon as the dishes were put away, she fled upstairs to the writing room. She didn’t necessarily want to be alone, but she couldn’t mope on the couch while Jeff sat in front of the computer. She sat in her writing chair, her computer untouched. There was no use working on
Deeds
of
Darkness
. It had joined her in the orphanage.

Amy stared out the window at the familiar landscape. Spring had come during the past two weeks, and dusk was pixilated by pockets
of daffodils and tulips. She wished there was color to brighten the darkness of her mood. Sighing deeply, Natalie’s book popped into her thoughts.

She took out her copies of the lovely illustrations created by her friend. As she looked at each one, the slightest of smiles formed at the corners of her mouth. The paintings reflected the irrepressible joy of Natalie’s life—a perfect antidote for melancholy. By the time Amy reached the last one, her imagination had left the attic room and was walking on warm beach sand, feeling a gentle breeze.

Turning on her computer, Amy returned to the spot where she’d stopped working on the text. A fresh idea popped into her head, and she started typing. An hour later she reread what she’d written. Regardless of anyone else’s opinion, the words worked.

Amy was still a writer.

thirty-five

B
efore leaving the writing room, Amy called Natalie and told her what happened with the editors and Bernie. “I wish I was there to give you a huge hug,” Natalie said when Amy finished.

“You helped me in a way you wouldn’t guess.” Amy told her about the positive effect of working on Natalie’s story. “I know I’m going to struggle with my feelings, but this evening it kept me from sinking into the pit.”

“I’m glad for that. When can we get together?”

“My schedule tomorrow is hectic, and Jeff’s birthday is Saturday.”

“We’ll be out of town Saturday anyway. Would you be able to squeeze an hour out for lunch on Tuesday?”

That was the day Chris was going to depose Dr. Kelly and Nurse Jackson.

“Maybe. It depends on whether I have to help one of the young lawyers prepare for some depositions. I should know if I can get away by midmorning.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks for listening.”

The following morning Amy finished organizing Mr. Phillips’s mail and returned to her office. A few minutes later the senior partner buzzed and asked her to come into his office.

“Where is the letter I dictated to Dr. Ramsey?” the lawyer asked. “I don’t recall signing it.”

“On my desk,” Amy replied without explanation. “I’ll get it.”

She retrieved the letter and placed it in front of Mr. Phillips, who signed it with a flourish.

Instead of leaving, Amy remained standing in front of his desk.

“What is it?” Mr. Phillips asked.

Amy cleared her throat.

“Do you remember Dr. Lawrence Kelly and Beverly Jackson, the doctor and nurse who helped take care of Mr. Dominick?”

“Of course.”

“I had a dream about them.” Amy paused. “And Mildred Burris. It was very specific. Would you like to hear it?”

Mr. Phillips gave Amy a frustrated look.

“I’m not trying to confuse things—”

“No, go ahead. I’ll decide if this is relevant to anything.”

Mr. Phillips’s eyes opened wider as Amy talked. At one point he started to take notes but stopped. Amy hesitated.

“Keep going,” he said. “I’ll wait until you finish.”

“That’s all I remember,” Amy said. “Chris knows about this. That’s why he moved up the depositions of Kelly and Jackson and obtained financial records from them. Do you know what he uncovered?”

“Not yet. We’re scheduled to meet later today so he can brief me.”

Amy told him about the money.

“That may or may not be significant. Sonny gave away lots of money over the years. He would go to Las Vegas and drop a ten-thousand-dollar tip on a showgirl or a bellhop. And I remember one time he gave the man who cut his grass twenty thousand dollars as a Christmas gift. But he made money faster than he could give it away. He had a rare knack for being in the right place at the right time.”

Perhaps remembering another instance of Mr. Dominick’s random generosity, Mr. Phillips stared past Amy for a moment. The lawyer refocused and clapped his hands together.

“This changes one thing. What’s my schedule look like next Tuesday when Chris is going to depose Kelly and Jackson?”

“Let’s see. You’re going to an executive board meeting for PKT, Inc.”

“Bryce Pointer will have to move the meeting if he wants me there to hold his hand. I’m going to take these depositions myself.”

After Chris met with Mr. Phillips, the younger lawyer buzzed Amy’s phone.

“Can you come up to my office?” he asked.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

As soon as Chris saw Amy, he motioned for her to come inside.

“You’re really out of the closet, aren’t you?” he asked.

“I hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but I guess so.”

“And you have Mr. Phillips wrapped around your finger.” Chris smiled. “If you told him you had a dream in which he was handling contingency fee cases, he’d start chasing ambulances.”

“Nobody has Mr. Phillips wrapped around their finger. Not even his wife. And ambulances get out of the way when they see his car coming.”

Chris chuckled. “You’ve gotten my attention, too,” he said, but then paused. “But not in exactly the same way as Mr. Phillips.”

Amy gave him a puzzled look. Chris continued, “I love Laura, but as you probably know I’ve never really tracked with her on the religious stuff. Not that I’ve been antagonistic—”

Amy raised her eyebrows.

“Maybe a little bit,” Chris corrected himself. “But I’m going to go home tonight and apologize for my attitude. You haven’t met Laura, but she is awesome. I mean, she’d rather open the screen door and let a fly out than grab a swatter to smash it. She’s always claimed it was her faith that made her that way, but I didn’t buy it.”

“The note she wrote me was very sweet.”

“Yeah, and what I need from you is advice on how to talk to her the right way. I always catch myself treating her like a judge I’m trying to convince of my legal position.”

“What exactly do you want to say to her?”

“That after living with her for the past two years and working with you for the past few months, I’ve realized there really might be a God.”

“That’s a good opening line.”

“But she’ll want more details.”

“Of course she will. For a woman, the journey in a relationship is as important as the destination.”

“Yeah, guys are all about the bottom line.”

“I think I can help.” Amy smiled. “But it’s going to require some role play.”

After a few minutes, Chris had refined his speech for Laura and cut out several disclaimers that Amy knew would have caused her to question his sincerity. Still, he wasn’t quite getting it.

“You’re not preparing a business contract designed to limit a company’s liability down the road,” Amy said. “Is your goal to show Laura that you want to learn more about God?”

“Yes, but not just facts.” Chris pointed to his chest. “I want to know about it in here.”

“Then make sure you say that.”

Amy’s conversation with Chris lifted her spirits in a way few things could have. The opportunity to actually see God using her in another person’s life made her feel valuable. That evening she told Jeff about the young lawyer’s openness to the Lord, and they prayed for him. Jeff ended his part of the prayer with a request that he would learn how to better communicate with Amy.

“Amen!” Amy said, a bit louder than necessary.

“Don’t rub it in,” Jeff replied, opening his eyes.

Jeff was showered with love on Saturday in the forms of family time, birthday gifts, and his favorite foods. Sunday evening Amy finished her revisions of Natalie’s book. By cutting a third of the words, she’d maximized the effectiveness of the illustrations to release the reader’s imagination. But it wasn’t just deleting words that made the book
better. She’d restructured the entire narrative and given the children’s point of view a unique voice that oozed innocence, the wonder of discovery, and the excitement that nature can bring to a fresh heart. Before she sent the revised text to Natalie, Amy took the book with illustrations downstairs to Jeff, who was sitting in front of the computer.