Courting the Clearwaters

by Jill Penrod

Chapter 7

  “Can I look?” Tony asked as Alex popped the hood of Mom’s car.

  “Sure, buddy,” Alex said, frowning at Seth and Shawn. “I’m glad someone here is interested in knowing how the automobile works.”

  Seth grinned and picked up the basketball off the porch. On Monday Mom’s car had completely died, and Seth had managed to get Alex and Tom to come Tuesday night to look at it. Asking for their help made Shawn uneasy still, but he swept the feeling away and watched his younger brother looking with interest at the engine, wedged between the two large brothers.

  “Your brother’s a good kid.”

  “I think so,” Shawn said. “At least I hope so. Thanks for calling Alex and Tom for me.”

  “No problem. In payment you have to come have dinner with me again this week. I don’t think I like living alone.”

  “Deal. Hey, I talked with Julie.”

  “I know. She told me in the car when I took her home. It was wise to tell her how you feel.”

  “I’m understanding the courtship thing a little more now. Guard her heart.”

  “What?” Seth asked.

  “It’s what Mr. Carpenter told me. He’ll respect my friendship with Jenny if I guard our hearts.”

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure that’s always possible.” Seth looked uncomfortable, and Shawn wondered if he was thinking of Violet. Seth hadn’t mentioned her in the past few days.

  “Maybe.” Shawn stretched, sore from carrying drywall all day.

  “Long day?”

  “Not really. I’m remembering muscles I’d forgotten I had. Do you think things went well on Saturday?”

  “They were great. You were wise to notice everyone burning. I hadn’t even thought about it.”

  “I guess I’m sensitive to burning,” Shawn said, grinning a little, wondering if the joke was out of place. Seth laughed.

  “I suppose you would be. Was Mr. Clearwater pleased?”

  “That’s why I asked. He said four times today how pleased he was, and he only saw me for twenty minutes. What did he expect us to do out there? Just sit on the roof and drink soda?”

  “He forgets how many of us grew up at Hope. As soon as you get to middle school at Porter church, you spend many weekends with a hammer in your hand. We’re fairly skilled, and we know we’re expected to work, and we get a lot done.”

  “I’m just glad he was pleased.”

  “He should be. In a way, he took a gamble putting you in charge. I mean, he doesn’t know much about you. None of us do, I don’t think. But it worked out.”

  “You don’t think you know me?” Shawn asked, surprised to hear this.

  “I know you. I don’t know about you. I know who you are now, but I don’t know the facts. I don’t know how you got here. It’s okay, but it’s true.”

  Shawn watched Alex go under the car, thinking about this. Seth was right. But, he figured he didn’t know much about anyone else, either. Maybe it was enough just to know them now.

  Alex spent several minutes under the car, and when he slid out he conferred with Tom before approaching Shawn.

  “We’ll need to go pick up some parts. Can we take Tony along?”

  “Sure. Can I pay you for them when you get back?”

  “Not a problem. This kid knows a lot about cars.”

  “His friend’s father is a mechanic. He spends a lot of time there.”

  As soon as they left his mom pulled in. When she got out of the car Shawn knew she’d had a long, non-productive day.

  “Hey, Mom. I’ve got pizzas coming later. Are you hungry?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Ask me after I shower. Hello, Seth.”

  “Good evening, Mrs. Carpenter.”

  “Where’s Tony?” she asked, her voice nearly frantic.

  “Two friends are here to work on your car. He went to pick up parts with them.”

  “Two friends? Do we have any sodas in the fridge? Or any food to offer them? If I’d known, I’d have come home earlier.”

  “Mom, it’s okay,” Shawn said. He glanced at Seth, who nodded as Shawn took his mother inside. She sat at the kitchen table, tears in her eyes.

  “I didn’t know your friends would be here. I’m not much of a hostess.”

  “Mom,” he said, hugging her from behind. “You’re the best mom ever, regardless.”

  “Somehow hearing you say that doesn’t make me feel better.”

  “You had a long day.”

  “One client bought a home for sale by owner, and another changed agents after I showed her twenty houses. I guess I just don’t feel too appreciated today.”

  He poured her a glass of tea and patted her shoulder. “Come out and sit with Seth and me. The weather’s perfect tonight, and nobody can feel bad with Seth around.”

  “True. He’s a very cheerful young man.”

  Shawn chuckled and convinced her to come out, where Seth didn’t let them down. He had her laughing out loud when Alex and Tom returned.

  “Mom, meet Alex and Tom. And guys, this is my mother.”

  “You’ve got a great car, Mrs. Carpenter. Looks good for a car its age. You’ve got a great son here, too,” he said, patting Tony on the shoulder. He looked at Shawn then and winked. “Two great sons.”

  “Thank you,” Mom said. “Do you think you can fix my car?”

  “Oh, sure. It wasn’t anything big.”

  They got back to work, talking about parts Shawn had never heard of before. They stopped to eat pizza, but then they were back at it, and Mrs. Carpenter seemed very surprised.

  “How much do I need to pay them?” she asked when the crickets began to sing and the yard cooled with the nearing night.

  “Pay them?” Seth said. “Pizza’s enough. A few weeks ago Shawn installed a computer thing for a friend, and last semester I helped Tom with a Spanish paper. It all works out.”

  “Well.” Mom looked at the trio at her car and smiled. “Okay, I guess. These are friends from your church?”

  “Yes,” Shawn said.

  “They were there on Saturday?”

  “Alex had to work, but Tom was. Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Seth grinned at Shawn as his mom looked at her car in wonder. Tom got in just as the sun was disappearing and turned over the engine, which started as though it was ready to fly.

  “Hey,” Alex said. “Are we good, or what?”

  “You guys are the best,” Shawn said, shaking his hand. “I owe you, man.”

  “I take a computer class in the fall, so you’ll pay,” Alex said, laughing loudly. “Mrs. Carpenter, it was our pleasure to work on your car. Pretty soon old Tony here will be able to do it for you.”

  “Thank you,” Mom said.

  “We should go,” Tom said as he got out of the car. “We’ll see you guys tomorrow?”

  “I have to work,” Seth said.

  “But I’ll be there,” Shawn said. “Guys, I really appreciate this. I haven’t paid you for the parts yet.”

  “Tony has the receipt,” Tom said. “Just bring it tomorrow, or whenever.”

  “Good. Thanks. Goodnight.”

  Seth had come with them, all of them picking up Shawn at work, since his mom had his car today, and when they left his mom shook her head.

  “Your friends are amazing.”

  “They’re cool,” Tony said. “They were really nice to me. Mom, can we go to Shawn’s church someday? Alex said they had a class of kids my age.”

  “Maybe we will,” Mom said. “Shawn, do you think we could go with you this Sunday? Are they all that nice?”

  “All that I’ve met. I’d love to have you.”

  “Okay. We’ll try to go this week. It’s the least I can do, I guess.”

  Shawn was sure, if his mom actually sat in a church and heard about God, she’d understand and believe. Tony, too. It was what he wanted more than anything in the worl
d, and he found himself smiling the rest of the day thinking God was going to answer this prayer for him.

  “I have the best news,” Shawn said, almost running up to Jenny when she came in. He paused, then, realizing something was strange. “Where’s Julie?”

  Jenny laughed. “She did too much today. Her back gives her trouble sometimes, so she’s at home with a heating pad.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I do that sometimes, too.”

  “Your news?”

  “Right. My mom said she’d come to church this week.”

  “What?” she said, looking as excited as he felt. “Come sit down and tell me about this.”

  He told her of Alex and Tom and how they got on with Tony, and how Seth had managed to lighten Mom’s mood, and then how she’d surprised him by saying she’d go this week.

  “She’s nervous, though. Being a widow makes her feel out of place.”

  “I know exactly who we’ll introduce to her.” She looked around the room and waved Tom over.

  “What’s up?”

  “Shawn’s mom is coming to church this weekend. It’s her first time. Will your mom be here?”

  “Sure. Yeah, Mrs. Carpenter and my mom have a lot in common. I’ll make sure they get together. Margaret Tanner is a single mom, too, and she’s great at making women feel welcome.”

  “That’s right.”

  Tom left, and Shawn laughed. “I feel like we’re planning an ambush.”

  “In a way, we are. When Tom and Alex came here, their mom had just gotten divorced. It’s embarrassing, but our church didn’t do very well at making her feel at home. We’ve gotten better since then.”

  “I can’t imagine anyone feeling left out in this church.”

  “I wish that were true. We haven’t had enough new people lately, and we get out of practice. Our college group has to deal with new people all the time, so we’re pretty friendly, but the church at large…. Don’t be offended by this, but I know your family doesn’t make what mine does. Do we ever make you feel bad because of that?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  “Good. A girl joined us a few times last year, and she said she left because we were snobs.”

  “No, you’re not. I think some people just feel it’s unfair if anyone makes more money than they do. I see that a lot, being down in the lower money bracket. They somehow think everyone deserves to be rich, whether they work or not.”

  “I wish everyone could have what I do, but it just doesn’t work that way,” Jenny said, truly distressed by this.

  “You do what you can. Your entire summer is spent helping get people into houses. That means a lot.”

  “I hope so. So many people out there hurt. I’m not as bold as Seth, and I don’t have the money to be as generous as Daddy, and sometimes I worry that I don’t do enough.”

  “I think what you do is important,” Shawn said, smiling at her. “I worry sometimes, too. I know I have a tendency to hide out. I work at the computer, or I work a million extra hours, and I don’t spend enough time with people. Now that I’m a Christian I realize people are the most important thing. Maybe the only thing that matters at all.”

  “You’re right. I never really thought of it that way, but it’s true. That’s why we’re going to ambush your mom and make sure she knows how special she is. I’m glad Alex and Tom were able to help her. In John’s Gospel, during His last prayer before He died, Jesus prayed for our unity, that people will know us by the love we have for each other. Since it was one of the last things He said, you know it really weighed on his heart. It’s important to Him for us to have each other.”

  “It amazes me when you do that,” Shawn said.

  “Do what?”

  “Quote Scripture. You all remember so much—I get overwhelmed. I’m not sure I’ll ever catch up.”

  “Sometimes we memorize passages here in group. Ben loves it. Maybe we should suggest to him that we do it again.”

  “That might be nice. It might be easier to memorize with a group.”

  “It’s fun. Mark learns everything first. He has quite the photographic memory. And Julie’s pretty good herself. Hey, she told me you two talked.”

  “What did she say?” Shawn asked, concerned.

  “Only nice things. I had a feeling she was more interested in you than you were in her. I’m glad you got it straightened out. That kind of thing can really cause trouble in a group of singles like this.”

  Shawn nodded, saying nothing. Mark and Violet appeared in a moment, and the subjects then changed until Ben started group. Shawn realized halfway through that this was the first time he’d come to group without Seth. He now thought of this as his group, not a place where he was just a visitor. It felt nice.

  As Shawn was leaving, Jenny stopped him in the parking lot.

  “I almost forgot. I know you were nervous last week about heading up one of the projects, but you did a good job. Think you could do it again?”

  “I thought Marty and your dad were going to be here this week,” Shawn said. Marty was Hope Homes’ foreman.

  “They are, but Dad wanted to get one more site going. It’s just interior painting. He asked me to do it, but it’s better to have guys in charge, I think. Well, mostly I guess I just hate being in charge.”

  “I can do it,” Shawn said, smiling at her uneasiness. “Interior painting’s not a problem.”

  “Good. Thank you. Really.”

  She smiled and went to her car, and Shawn grinned. He enjoyed sharing a job with her. And, since it was supposed to be ridiculously hot Saturday, being indoors might be nice. Of course, right now he felt so good about things almost anything sounded good to him.

  “You’re early,” Seth said as he opened the door.

  “I could stand in the hall for fifteen minutes,” Shawn said, grinning.

  “Very funny. Get in here.”

  Normally they got together Tuesday mornings for breakfast and a quick Bible study before work, but Seth had had to work third shift and hadn’t been awake. Now Thursday, Shawn sat on Seth’s sofa and put his Bible down beside him.

  “Hey, I have news. Mom and Tony plan to be on church Sunday.”

  “That’s wonderful. It seems we’ve been praying for this forever.” He laughed. “Why is it that we ask the very Creator of the Universe for something time and again for months, and then we’re amazed when he answers us?”

  “I’m just glad He did. I hope everyone’s nice on Sunday. One bad experience and she might not come back. Tom and Alex are planning on having their mom introduce herself.”

  “Good idea. Have faith, my friend. Hey, I have some news, too. Yesterday I was accepted to seminary, pending I keep up my GPA this year.”

  “That’s great,” Shawn said. “We’ve having a good week.”

  “That we are. Unfortunately, after I read my mail last night I lost track of everything else and didn’t prepare a study for us.”

  “That’s okay. May I ask a question and put you on the spot?”

  “Shoot.”

  Shawn opened his Bible, and Seth sat beside him.

  “In Genesis. I’ve been thinking about the passage where Isaac gets a wife, thinking about its relationship to contemporary times. Why do you suppose Rebekah was given so many gifts by the servant? Did she go with him because of the money? I have trouble applying this passage to today.”

  Seth read the passage and scowled. “To be honest, I’m not sure. There’s no mention of a bride-price, but that was a common practice, for a man to give a woman and her family wealth when he married. Opposite of the Indian dowry practice. It could also be a sign the servant was who he said he was. Abraham was kin to Rebekah’s family; they would know of his prosperity even if they’d never met Isaac.”

  “Okay,” Shawn said. “It helps to know the culture, doesn’t it? Gives some clues to motives and feelings, things that aren’t always obvious in the text.” />
  “Do you want to study Bible-time cultures? I have some books you can borrow. They shed a lot of light on both Old and New Testament lifestyles.”

  “Right now I’m beat when I get home at night,” Shawn said. “A good book might be nice.”

  Seth went to his room, where he kept a large, messy collection of books, and Shawn looked over the Genesis passage again, imagining a servant coming to his door and asking to take his daughter away to marry a stranger. Suddenly he understood Mr. Clearwater’s reluctance to see Jenny matched with Shawn, a virtual stranger himself.

  “Start with this one,” Seth said, handing him the book. “You look like you’re thinking deep thoughts out here.”

  “Maybe. Will you be at Hope this Saturday?”

  “I’ll be there. What are we doing this week?”

  “Mostly interior work, I think.”

  “Jenny’s got her pool open, I hear. I bet it will feel nice after working construction all day.”

  “I don’t know,” Shawn said. “I suppose I should show up a couple times so I won’t offend people.”

  “Why don’t you want to go?”

  Shawn gave Seth a dark look, and he frowned.

  “Oh. But you can wear a shirt if it makes you that uncomfortable, like you did at the beach. Anyway, it’s not as bad as you think.”

  “You didn’t see your face when you saw it,” Shawn said, shaking his head.

  “I’m sorry,” Seth said sincerely. “It just surprised me. Sometimes I feel like I’ve known you forever; I forget you had a lot of life before I met you.”

  Shawn looked at his Bible uncomfortably. “I’ll be at the pool sometime this summer.”

  “I won’t push,” Seth said, “but if you ever need to talk about it, you know I’m here.”

  “I know. It was just a small fire. Not that much to tell.”

  Seth didn’t look convinced, but he said no more about it. Instead, they ate hot cereal and talked about things they’d learned in their devotion times this week. Seth answered a lot of questions for Shawn, and Shawn soaked it all up, trying to learn everything he could about the Bible as fast as possible. Everything he learned changed his perspective of God in some way, and it fascinated him to find such depth. Seth had once said a person never stopped learning about God’s character, and Shawn found he agreed with that more each day.

  Eventually he had to go to work, and he spent the day thinking about Jeremiah and Isaac and the disciples, mulling over his limited Bible knowledge as he cleaned up a work site. He hummed something from Sunday morning, a hymn whose words he couldn’t recall, and he had to laugh at himself. Until recently he wouldn’t have listened to a hymn unless it was played by an electric guitar, and now he hummed them in his spare time.

  At some point he realized Mr. Clearwater watched him from the roof of the house. He waved hello, and the man came down and approached him.

  “Mr. Carpenter, how is your knee?”

  “Fine, sir.”

  “Good. I want you to do some roofing for me.”

  “No problem, sir.”

  “Good. Benny’s going over right now. You go with him, and I’ll bring your car over later.”

  Shawn fished the keys out of his pocket and handed them to his employer, his cheeks a little warm. “It’s a mess, I’m afraid.”

  “You’ve seen the bed of my pickup,” Mr. Clearwater said, chuckling. “Go. Roof.”

  Shawn jogged over to Benny’s truck and slid into the passenger seat. Benny was a young guy, probably in his mid twenties, who’d worked with Mr. Clearwater since high school. He was deceptively small; he could lift more than Shawn by nearly fifty percent.

  “So, where are we going?”

  “Kirkland Hills. You been there?”

  “No.”

  “Mansions, man. The kings of England didn’t live better. The hardest part of this job is making houses a thousand times better than anything I’ll ever live in. I mean, I help build them, but I wouldn’t even be welcome in these driveways when they’re done. And they don’t deserve it, lazy bums. Sit in front of computers all day or have secretaries do their work while they golf. Only consolation is knowing they’ll get fat and die of heart attacks and leave rich young widows who like working-class guys like me.”

  Shawn stayed silent, unsure what to say. Benny didn’t seem to mind as he laughed and continued.

  “I hear you’re a college guy. You’re good on site; why waste your time crackin’ books?”

  “Somebody’s got to get rich and leave the widows for you,” Shawn teased. Benny laughed with abandon.

  “You’re pretty cool, man. Not stuffy like some college guys we get here. You live in town long?”

  “All my life.”

  “Me, too. My family’s all here—aunts, grandparents, about a million cousins. You got family here?”

  “Just my mom and brother.”

  “Your dad walked? So did mine, when I was no bigger’n a grasshopper. Didn’t matter so much—I’ve got enough family to make up for it. You the oldest?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And no family. Is it tough?”

  “It’s life,” Shawn said, shrugging.

  “You said it, man.”

  They continued in silence to a section of town unfamiliar to Shawn, and he whistled when they got to Kirkland Hills.

  “Didn’t I tell ya? Mansions.”

  Benny hadn’t exaggerated. The homes were huge brick buildings with iron lamps lining the driveways and brass lions at the property lines. Maybe half the homes were completed, and the lawns were landscaped flawlessly and had Porsches and Mercedes in the drives.

  “I didn’t know we had this much money in the whole city,” Shawn said.

  “Them roofs are high, too. Even I get a little nervous up there sometimes.”

  Benny stopped at a home with three garage doors. Two men were already on the roof, and Benny took some tools out of the truck and climbed the ladder to join them. Shawn followed. The men at the top were older and smiled at the pair.

  “Dan, Al, this is Shawn, college guy of the summer. He’s a native like we are, and he’s roofed before.”

  “You really roof?” Dan asked.

  “Hyden Homes. A couple summers.”

  “Clearwater had him run roofing at Hope a week ago,” Benny said. “From what I hear, the roof don’t leak and nobody died.”

  Shawn laughed, and the day wore on without problem. The men were nice enough, especially Benny, but at the back of Shawn’s mind a voice seemed to whisper to him that his co-workers were lost. They talked like their only goal was surviving until Friday, when Dan and Al played poker and Benny went to clubs in the darker parts of town. His heart ached for them, and it surprised him.

  “Clearwater’s coming,” Benny said when the day was nearly over. Shawn watched his car drive in, and Mr. Clearwater mounted the ladder and came to the top.

  “I’m impressed, gentlemen. You’re farther than I expected.”

  He surprised Shawn by pulling out a roofing hatchet and helping for the next hour. When quitting time came, he asked Shawn for a ride home.

  “Of course, sir.” They climbed in and rode in silence for a couple minutes until Shawn broke the quiet with a question that had bothered him all afternoon.

  “Mr. Clearwater, do you ever hurt for unsaved people? How do you know when is a good time to mention something about Christianity?”

  “I do hurt for them. And yet, I wish I hurt more, because then I might be bolder. I’m not sure there’s a wrong time to discuss eternity, but I think people are more likely to listen to someone they trust, someone in whose life they see God working.”

  “Seth became my friend before he really said much about God. In a way I felt he set me up—gained my trust so he could sway my heart—but it was the most wonderful set up ever, and he got nothing out of it. It was unselfish of him.”

  “True, it was unselfish,
but I think he also got something out of it. Good friends are invaluable. We as Americans are very isolated people. We hear about disasters minutes after they happen, but we don’t know our neighbors. I’m thankful for the Porter group you and Jenny and Seth share. You’re all part of something intimate and special. Don’t lose it.”

  Shawn thought it an interesting warning, but it also made him a bit fearful. He hadn’t considered the possibility of losing these friendships, not after he’d waited so long to find them.