by Karen Malley
Laughing, the women went over to sort them out.
“All right, Katie, I’m taking these two boxes with me and I’ll put them on the moving truck.” She hoisted Emma’s box and carried her toward the door.
Ben jumped out of his box. “No, Mommy, it’s us!”
Anne laughed again and put down the box.
Bandit, after a few minutes of struggle, freed himself and dashed to Emma to lick her face.
“Come on, kids. Let’s go make dinner before Daddy gets home.”
After saying goodbye, Kathryn took a mental inventory. It was Thursday. She’d go to cooking class tonight, spend a full day packing tomorrow, and make the drive to Boston on Saturday. Or maybe Sunday. She didn’t need to be at work until Monday. Maybe she would get one more Sunday at Faith Community. The drive would be six hours if she didn’t stop. She could still get to the apartment before dark if she left right after church. Anne was right. She didn’t need to take everything with her now.
33
Adam grabbed his hard hat and gear and headed onto the job site. Good thing he got some decent sleep last night. This would be a strenuous day. They would be starting demolition on an old building that sat where the new parking deck would go.
“Hey, preacher boy. You’re on with me today!” Mac’s voice carried across the lot.
Adam resisted a frown. Another day of Mac’s sarcasm was the icing on the cake. In spite of the teasing, Mac was a hard worker, and they would get a lot done.
As the day wore on, the two men managed to fall into a rhythm. Nearby, a crew was cutting a structural beam near the building’s perimeter. Suddenly, shouts rang out.
Adam turned just as steel and bricks rained down around them. Acting on pure instinct, he grabbed Mac and pulled him out of the way as a section of the building collapsed. Adam cried out when concrete pinned his left leg to the ground.
He and Mac huddled, hands over their heads, as the building demolished itself over them. Coughing, they protected their faces the best they could. Finally, all was quiet.
Dazed, and with his ears still ringing, Adam pressed his fingers to his forehead.
A faint ray of sunshine filtered through the rubble surrounding them, all that was left of the landscape that was there only moments before.
Mac crawled over to Adam, his whole body shaking. “What happened? Dude, are you OK?”
Sweat beaded on Adam’s forehead. He grabbed his leg, pinned by the rubble and grimaced. The pain was agonizing. “I don’t think my leg will be good for much after this.”
Mac tried lifting the concrete section laying on Adam’s leg, but it was too heavy for him to budge. He crouched down beside Adam. “Dude, you saved my life. Why would you do that? You almost got killed!”
“Mac, I only did for you what was done for me. I was headed toward death, but Jesus gave His life for me so I could live. He did it for you, too.”
Mac lowered his eyes. “Aww, man. That’s great for you, but God gave up on me a long time ago.”
“Mac, look around you. Do you see how the wall fell? You shouldn’t be alive right now. Do you think that was a coincidence? God sure sent an angel to take care of you.”
Mac took in the scene. Two sections of wall had fallen, perfectly intercepting one another to form a space just large enough for the two men. Mac stared at the wall for a long time. He turned to Adam, his voice quavering. “Do you think so? That God cares about me, you mean?”
A rush of compassion for the broken man kneeling beside him filled Adam’s heart. “I know so. He loves you because you’re His child.”
Mac took off his hard hat and wiped his forehead. “I’m not so sure about that. I’ve done some bad stuff.”
“Mac, the Bible is full of people who did bad things and God welcomed them with open arms. Liars, cheats, murderers, prostitutes, you name it, it’s in there. The fact you admit you’ve done things wrong is the first step.”
“I could never be like you. You’re good all the time. I’ve watched you for a long time. I kept watching to find something that would prove you were a hypocrite just like everyone else, but you were always so nice to everyone, even when we were giving you grief. I don’t get it.”
“Mac, there’s nothing special about me. I asked God to change me, and He did. I used to be a power-hungry lawyer. My priorities were money and moving up the corporate ladder. I’m not proud of it, but I used people. I partied on the weekends just like you, but God showed me there is a better way.”
Mac nodded. “You’re different from these other guys. This might sound a little weird, but you kinda remind me of my grandmother.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“No, I mean it. She used to go to church and read her Bible all the time. She was happy, like you. She used to take my brother and me to church, but my old man said religion was for sissies, and he wanted his kids to grow up to be real men. I guess that’s what I always thought about you. That you couldn’t be a real man and believe in Jesus. I guess I was wrong. You’re a good worker, and the way you shoved me out of the way proves you’re strong.”
Adam tried to shift his position. “You know what, Mac? Jesus himself was a man’s man. He was a carpenter. He worked with his hands his whole life too.”
“Don’t tell anyone I asked you this, OK?” Mac’s face was somber.
“You have my word,” Adam assured him.
“What do I need to do to be like you? To be like you and my grandma?”
“Would you like to pray with me?” Adam asked.
Mac gave a small nod.
Adam’s heart quickened. Was this really happening? Was he about to pray with the biggest bully he’d ever met? He sent a silent prayer to God to give him the words, and prayed along with Mac for him to receive God’s gift of salvation. After Mac echoed his “Amen,” Adam stared at him.
Tears were streaming down Mac’s face, making trails in the dust that covered it.
Was this the reason he was sent to this construction team? It must be. Tears filled his own eyes. Seeing Mac full of emotion was overpowering. “All it took was a near-death experience for you, eh, Mac?”
Mac wiped his face with the back of his sleeve, smudging it even further.
At that moment, muffled voices sounded nearby. The other members of the construction crew were calling out, trying to locate them.
Mac regained control. “We’re over here, me and my buddy Mr. Goody-two-shoes! We’re all right, just need a hand getting out of here.”
Adam marveled. Mac was right. They were all right. He wasn’t sure how well his leg would hold up, but his heart was full. God was good. He heard sirens in the distance before everything went black.
34
Across town, several emergency vehicles sped past Kathryn. She drove home, groceries in tow, determined to practice what she’d learned in the previous night’s class. She may not have anyone to cook for, but she would learn to do it. Even with only two nights left at home, she still needed to eat. After getting home, she flicked on the evening news for some background noise as she laid out her purchases.
“This just in. Breaking news. A building collapse at the construction site of the Pine Springs Mall has left two workers trapped. Rescue crews are trying to clear away the rubble. There’s no word yet on the condition of these two men, but our news team is on the site.”
Kathryn stiffened. Adam. That was Adam’s crew. Was he OK? She stood there, glued to the screen. Behind the reporter, workers milled around. There, under the hard hat, brown curls stuck out. Was that Adam? The man turned and revealed a thick mustache. Her heart sank. No. That wasn’t him. Where was he? Was he hurt? She called Anne and Mark. “Turn on the news!”
“Whoa, Kathryn, slow down. What’s going on?” Mark’s voice came through the phone, calm and steady.
“It’s Adam. Or it might be Adam—I don’t know. There was an accident at the construction site.” Kathryn cried. “We need to do something.”
The TV sounded in stereo
as Mark tuned to the station.
“You’re right—that’s his crew, but how do you know he’s a part of the accident? Did you try calling him?”
Kathryn slapped her forehead. “No, I didn’t think of that. Call him!”
“Hang on, let me tell Anne to call.” Mark spoke away from the phone. “Give Adam a call. Make sure he’s not involved in whatever’s going on there.”
Minutes dragged by.
“He’s not picking up.” Anne’s voice was shaky.
Panic rose in Kathryn’s chest. “No, no, no, this can’t be happening!” She fought to control her breathing.
“Katie, we don’t know anything. Can you come over here? We can deal with this together. I’ll try find out some more information. Are you OK to drive?”
“Yeah, I’ll be over. Can I bring Bandit?”
“Of course. The kids will be happy to play with him. Drive safely.”
Kathryn grabbed a box of Bandit’s things and led the little dog out to the car. They drove the fifteen minutes in silence to the Campbell’s house. When Anne opened the door, Kathryn collapsed in her arms. Ben and Emma came running, so she wiped her tears and hugged them close.
“What’s wrong, Aunt Katie?” Ben asked.
“I’m worried about someone but I’m sure everything is OK.” She turned back to Anne.
“Where’s Mark?”
“He drove over to the site. He’s hoping maybe because he’s a pastor they’ll let him in.”
“That’s good. He always knows what to do.”
Anne took the kids into the kitchen while Kathryn watched the news in the other room. Several minutes later the phone rang. Anne came back out into the living room, her face grim.
“Is it Adam?” Kathryn gripped the arms of the chair, her knuckles white.
Anne nodded and quickly added, “He’s trapped, but he’s alive. Both he and the other man are alive.”
Kathryn blew out a breath. “Oh, Anne. I couldn’t go through that again.”
“I know, Katie.”
“Anne, I’m afraid…” She rubbed her forehead with her hand. “I’m afraid I’m in love with him. The thought of losing him forever…”
“Shhh.” Anne stroked Kathryn’s hair. “It’ll be OK. I’m sure they’ll get him out of there fine. They’ve found where they are, but it’s taking some time to dig them out.”
Kathryn stood up. “I can’t stand by and wait. I’m going.”
“Katie, no. You should stay. There’s nothing you can do there.”
“There’s nothing I can do here. At least if I go, I can find out what’s going on as soon as it happens.” She walked into the kitchen where Bandit was sprawled on his back, Ben rubbing his tummy. “Ben, can you take care of Bandit for me for a little while?”
Blue eyes gazed up at her. “You mean it, Auntie Katie?”
“I mean it, buddy. I’m sure you’ll take good care of him.” His excitement warmed her heart.
“Sure thing! I’ll do a good job!”
Kathryn ruffled Ben’s hair, grabbed her purse and mouthed a quick “thank you” to Anne.
As she approached the site, emergency vehicles blocked the road. She pulled off to the side and stood behind the police barrier. Time dragged. God, please. Get him out of there. Please, God, please! Over and over she repeated the silent prayer. A hand touched her shoulder. Startled, she turned. Mark. Wordlessly, she leaned against him, and they stood, shoulder to shoulder, waiting to learn Adam’s fate.
Movement in the distance alerted them.
Kathryn’s heart caught in her chest.
They were bringing a man out of the rubble. He was covered in dust and dirt. Not Adam. This was a much larger man. They hurried him over to where an ambulance was waiting. He seemed to be fine.
Encouraged, Kathryn’s gaze fixed on the spot. There. They were lifting out a second man now. Adam. Kathryn’s heart pounded harder. Something was wrong. He was on a stretcher. “Why could the first man walk out of there, but Adam is on a stretcher?”
“He must be injured. Maybe something landed on him during the collapse...”
Kathryn didn’t wait for Mark to finish. As the ambulance pulled away, she ran to her car to follow it.
Fifteen minutes later, she sat frozen in the hospital parking lot, her knuckles white on the steering wheel, staring at the hospital doors. Her cell phone rang.
“Katie?”
“Hey, Anne.”
“Mark said you just took off.”
“I’m at the hospital.”
“How’s Adam doing?”
Kathryn rolled her neck to release the tension. “I don’t know yet. I can’t bring myself to go in. The last time I walked through those doors, I watched Robert die. I can’t go through that again.”
“Oh, Katie. You poor thing. Mark was going to the hospital, but came back home to say goodnight to the kids first. He can go in with you, if you’d like.”
“No, this is something I need to do myself. I doubt I’d be able to see Adam any time soon, anyway.”
“Hold on a second. Mark’s on his phone with the hospital now.”
Kathryn waited, rubbing her thumbs along the steering wheel, willing her breathing to slow.
“Katie, Adam is in surgery. Apparently, a beam fell on his leg. It sounds as if his leg is in bad shape, but the rest of him is fine. The doctors are sure he’ll be OK.”
Kathryn exhaled deeply. Shakily, she responded. “Thank God.” Hanging up the phone, she made her way through the hospital doors.
She stood in the waiting room, hoping for news about the man she loved, amazed at how much her life changed since her last trip to this hospital.
She asked God to forgive her for the lie she was about to tell. She made her way to the nursing station and introduced herself as Adam’s sister.
An hour later, a nurse approached her chair.
“He’s resting comfortably now. We needed to amputate below the knee, but otherwise, he’s doing remarkably well. He’s still heavily sedated, and will most likely be sleeping, but you can go in and see him now.”
Kathryn tried to process the information. A leg was a small price to pay if the rest of him was in one piece. Entering his room, her heart filled at the sight of him. She couldn’t help but compare the image of Robert to the sight in front of her. Adam appeared to be sleeping peacefully. She remembered the morning at the Campbells’ house, when Adam awoke to Ben climbing in his lap. Full of gratitude to God for sparing his life, she sank into the chair next to the bed.
“Oh, Adam. I realize you’re asleep, but I had to see you. I was so worried. You have no idea. There’s so much I wish I could tell you. Maybe it’s a good thing you’re asleep.” She took his hand. “I thought I lost you today. Not that I ever had you. When I found out you were back with Gina, it broke my heart. That was the same day I lost my job and found God. I wanted to tell you about it, but you were with Gina.” She leaned over him and pushed the curls back from his forehead. “Thank you for all the time you spent with me. It meant more than you can imagine. I guess this is goodbye. I’m moving to Boston this weekend. I got another job.”
She paused, stroking his hand. “I’m happy you found happiness with Gina again. I guess forgiveness worked out for you. I’m still working on that myself. You’re much better off than you would’ve been with me. I’m a mess.” Kathryn took a deep breath. She’d held it in for so long, the idea of finally telling someone was a relief. She didn’t have anything to lose. “You want the truth? I’ve never told anyone this.”
She took a look around the room, then walked over and shut Adam’s door.
She sat on the edge of the chair, her heart pounding. “When I was in grad school, I worked with a guy named Charlie. He was the lab manager, a research professor. He was tall and charming, intelligent. My professor didn’t have a whole lot of time for me, so it fell to Charlie to help out the new grad students. I wanted Charlie to think well of me.” She paused for a moment, her mind being taken b
ack in time.
“During the first couple years I was in the lab, Charlie discovered I had a knack for crystallizing compounds. I guess I impressed him with my skill, because he asked me to crystallize what he synthesized. He told me not to tell the other grad students so they wouldn’t feel bad. It made sense at the time. I was so impressed by him. I would do anything he asked. Soon, he asked me to help him with a special project. He provided me with starting material and gave me the procedures to follow. My professor didn’t have a clue about it, I realized later.” She turned away from Adam, tears threatening.
“I swear, I didn’t know what I was making. We were working on pain compounds, similar to what I was doing at M. K. We had a collaboration with another lab that would test the compounds we synthesized. Compounds that were active against the receptor responsible for giving a high were rejected, while we tried to develop drugs that didn’t give a high. Charlie took one of the drugs that gave a high and made more of it on his own. He asked me to make more and more material, and it wasn’t until then that I questioned what it was for.”
“He got angry and said I should do what I was told. When I told him I wanted to talk to our professor, he threatened me. He’d worked with our professor a long time, and our professor trusted him. If Charlie gave me a bad recommendation, I never would’ve gotten a job. It wasn’t until a couple of Charlie’s associates paid me a visit I figured out what I was getting into. Charlie tricked me into making a drug he was selling out on the streets.” Kathryn wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
“I was so scared of those guys I kept doing it, even after I knew it was wrong. I couldn’t tell anyone. They told me they’d go after me and my family.” Kathryn leaned her forehead on Adam’s hand.
“I worked hard on my dissertation work and never told anyone what else I was doing. I worked such long hours no one thought it was strange I was in the lab when no one else was around. Charlie never mentioned it again after those guys visited me. He left starting materials in my hood and I left finished products in his. As long as I kept supplying him, there wasn’t any trouble. I never saw his two friends again, at least not in real life.” She closed her eyes. “I can still see their faces as if it were yesterday, though.”