One of them smiled, showing a mouthful of perfect teeth that probably cost her parents a bundle. “You’re the romance writer, aren’t you?”
“I am, but I’m a lot more besides. I hope you’ll be able to get to know another side of me this weekend.”
“But we want to know about the romance side,” said Louisa, the plainest of the three but the liveliest. “Only JoAnn is dating someone.” She stuck out her tongue at the only girl who hadn’t spoken yet. JoAnn pushed her sideways in response, looking like a mother dog who’s annoyed with her pup.
“Well, I probably won’t be much help. I’ve been single for a long time. That’s probably why I began making my relationships up in stories.”
This brought a laugh from all of them. Charlotte thought about how quickly the ice was broken with young people. They haven’t built up all the suspicions and wariness that adults immediately display. After buckling seat belts and waiting for the lead car, they took off for Camp Tohika.
Charlotte enjoyed the ride. They passed rolling fields of corn, bright red barns in need of repair, and pastures full of horses and cattle. The girls laughed and sang, making Charlotte kind of crazy by the end, but the overall cheerfulness of the girls made her happy. They pulled into the camp just an hour later.
The camp was set in a vast pine woods with a small lake in the middle. The lodge where they would stay was made of rough-hewn cedar logs, both inside and out. The males would stay on one side of the lodge and the females on the other. A large meeting room with a fireplace and open beams separated the two wings. Charlotte admired the large Native American blankets that covered the walls. Best of all was the view that overlooked the lake.
She took her bedding into the bunkhouse and chose a bottom bunk in the far corner before they all were taken. It was a fruitless worry since all the girls fought over the top bunks. She made her bed then sat on it as it sank down at least a foot. Oh well, nothing was perfect.
The first item on the agenda was dinner, so the gang walked in a large group to the dining hall. As soon as Pastor Gordon prayed, the teens descended on the buffet line like hungry wolves. He hung back with the other adults and commented, “Maybe we should make a rule that adults go first so that there will be some left.”
Mr. Donahue chuckled. “That sounds good to me. If I don’t get fed this weekend, I’ll get real grumpy. Won’t I, Sweetie Pie?” And he pinched Mrs. Donahue right on the bottom. She smacked his hand and acted annoyed, but you could see the delight on her face.
At long last, the line dwindled and the adults found plenty to eat. After settling at a table together, they discussed the evening’s activities. Pastor had a devotional planned, followed by several games that Bill and Sara would direct. Charlotte was glad that she was there mostly for crowd control.
The evening went smoothly, and Charlotte stayed up into the wee hours visiting with the girls who had, like her, drifted to the room early. As it turned out, they enjoyed conversing so much that they were still awake when curfew was called at midnight. They all declared that they were much too excited to go to sleep, so whispers continued long after the lights went out. Mrs. Donahue finally announced that enough was enough, and snores were heard throughout the room a few minutes later.
Morning dawned much too soon but the promise of pancakes got most of the kids out of bed, especially the boys. After breakfast, lots of singing followed with Bill playing the guitar, and Pastor gave another devotional. Then all the students were divided into small groups. Since Charlotte was new, she was given only five girls. Pastor gave her some questions to ask them, which she didn’t have time to read beforehand. In spite of that, it went smoothly until Charlotte got to the fifth question: “How do you think Jesus wants us to act around the opposite sex?” Then all hell broke loose. Literally.
“My dad says girls should wear clothes that cover their whole body. He wants me to go around wearing turtlenecks and long pants, even in the summer. I often change clothes as soon as I’ve left the house.”
“We all know that, JoAnn. You’ve been doing that since sixth grade. Everyone knows that except your dad.”
“Yeah, what about my mom?” added another girl. “She won’t let me date until I’m eighteen. How fair is that? I can’t even go to a school dance until I’m a senior. By then all the boys will have given up on me. I’ll be an old maid.”
“I’d hardly call eighteen an old maid,” Charlotte began, but got cut off right away by Marcie. “I think all our parents are totally out of touch with what it’s like to be a teenager. They should have to go back for a day and see what it’s like. One afternoon at my school and they’d be screaming for mercy.”
“I’m dying to make out with a guy. What’s it like, JoAnn?”
Obviously, JoAnn was the experienced one in the group. But Charlotte felt the discussion was as out of control as a runaway skateboard. “Enough, girls. We’ve gotten way off track. The question is . . .”
“I’m going to move in with my boyfriend as soon as I’m eighteen,” JoAnn declared.
Good grief, thought Charlotte, I’ve got the good girls?
“How cool!” chorused all but Louisa. She seemed to be very sober.
“It’s not cool!” yelled Charlotte, and the group suddenly looked at her as if they’d forgotten she was there.
“Oh come on, you’re a romance writer. You’re used to this kind of stuff.” JoAnn looked disgusted.
“Contrary to what you may think, romance can have moral guidelines. For heaven’s sakes, God invented romance in the first place,” Charlotte countered.
The girls stared at her shocked. Such a thought had never occurred to them. Louisa looked like she’d been given a brand new shiny penny. “You mean God approves of romance?”
“Of course He does. It’s just that He’s given us parameters so that we don’t hurt ourselves and others.”
“Will you teach us?”
“Teach you what?”
“A Bible study on what God has to say about romantic relationships.” Louisa was in charge now, and the others looked at her with interest.
This worried Charlotte a little. For all her defense of romance, she didn’t have a lot of concrete ideas to back it up, but something about Louisa’s face made her want to find out. “I guess so. I’d have to give it some thought.”
“Can we invite our friends?” asked Marcie. Louisa’s attitude had obviously infected her. In fact, all the girls seemed to have a renewed interest, except for JoAnn. She looked skeptical.
“Sure. Just give me some time to think about it.”
This seemed to satisfy the girls, and Charlotte was able to finish the questions. She imagined that Pastor Gordon had no idea the fervor his simple outline would cause.
The afternoon was taken with swimming, which involved the girls being regularly thrown in the water by the boys. At dinner the staff once again convened. “How did your discussion questions go?” Pastor asked.
Various comments were made, and Charlotte just nodded her head when Sara looked at her. “Louisa told me you were going to do a Bible study with them about romance.”
Charlotte turned red, but answered, “Yes, question number five was kind of like a bomb for our group. Did anyone else have trouble with that one?”
They all shook their heads, which made Charlotte turn even redder. “Well, my girls had a lot of misconceptions and a lot of resentment toward their parents.”
“The girls I gave you?” Mrs. Donahue looked astonished. “Why, I’d say they are the least rebellious girls in town.”
Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, but they sure assaulted me with questions.”
“Maybe it was how you posed the question.”
Charlotte cringed when she heard Gordon’s voice, but something about his accusation made her angry. “That may well be, but I got some honest answers and I’m not content to let the girls continue on with the ideas they’ve developed.”
Pastor nodded. “I’d l
ike to see that study when you put it together.” She frowned. “Not that I don’t trust you or anything,” he said with a straight face, but she felt sure there was some sarcasm hidden there. Nevertheless she agreed. The rest of the group moved on to other topics, but Charlotte ate in silence. Pastor Gordon could make her furious.
Charlotte was relieved that Saturday night’s discussion group went well. Fortunately there weren’t any questions about relationships. The girls settled down to sleep a little easier that night, and Sunday morning’s worship time was delightful, with kids sharing how the weekend had changed their lives.
Arriving back in Crispens Point, kids and adults alike looked haggard but happy. Charlotte was glad she’d volunteered for this, but she went home relieved she wouldn’t have to sit under Pastor Gordon’s disapproval any more.
CHAPTER fifteen
Charlotte had just gotten back and put her feet up when her phone rang. Hoping it was Frank, she answered quickly.
“Hello, little girl.”
“Oh, hi Mom. How was your weekend?”
“Not very good.” Her mother sounded so weary that Charlotte could almost feel the heaviness through the phone. “I hate to just drop this on you, but I had a bad visit to the doctor yesterday.”
Charlotte’s heart raced. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t tell you before, because I didn’t want to alarm you, but I found a lump on my breast.” As soon as Charlotte heard those words, she wished she could hang up the phone and pretend she’d never heard from her mom. “They did a biopsy last week and found cancer.”
“Oh no, Mom. Are they sure?”
“I’m afraid they are.”
“Well, you can beat this. Lots of women have breast cancer.” Her mom gave a sob which made Charlotte feel like someone had reached in and squeezed her heart. “What are they going to do?”
“I’m afraid I ignored it for too long. The cancer is everywhere. In my lymph nodes and even in my brain. They’re going to do chemotherapy and radiation, but I don’t know . . .”
“No, Mom . . .” Charlotte felt the tears coming although they were unwanted. She hoped to be strong for her mother.
“Don’t cry, honey. We’ll just take one day at a time. I won’t go home a day before Jesus wants me.”
“It was bad enough losing Dad . . .” Charlotte sounded like someone had run her voice box over sandpaper. Her mother was silent. “You’re all I have left.”
“I know. I’m praying God will give you a husband before I go. So I guess you’d better put the pressure on Frank.” She forced her tone to be cheerful but Charlotte knew it was an act.
Charlotte laughed, which came out as a kind of snort. “No. I’ve got plenty of time. You’ll be around for thirty more years at least.”
“That would be nice.” Her mother’s melancholy spirit showed its true colors in this simple statement, which made Charlotte sadder than anything else she’d said. “I’d better go now. I’ll call when I know more.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, darling.”
Charlotte clung to the phone a minute longer before she hung up, as if doing this would cause her mom to stay longer. When she finally put it down, she cried in earnest. About fifteen minutes later, the phone rang again. She thought irrationally that her mom was calling back to let her know it had all been a mistake, so she snatched it up and said, “Yes.”
“Well hello, beautiful. I didn’t know you’d be so eager to talk to me. A little time in the woods with all those teenagers makes me look pretty good, huh?” Frank’s cheerful voice, which ordinarily made Charlotte feel good, now grated on her nerves.
“I’m sorry, Frank, I can’t talk right now. I’ve just had really bad news.”
“Are you okay?” His voice held alarm.
“Not really.”
“I’ll come right over.”
“No!” Charlotte jumped at the power of her own voice. Frank did too. “I just need some time to process this, that’s all. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I don’t like this. Just blurt it out.”
“My mom has cancer.”
“Oh.” His boyish manner came through more than ever. He didn’t have any idea what to say, so he just sat there silently. All that came to his mind was that he hoped she had a good insurance policy, which he knew wouldn’t be good to say right now. Finally he said, “That is bad news. I’ll wait for your call tomorrow,” and he hung up.
Charlotte put the phone down quickly this time. She’d never felt so alone.
When the phone rang again a little while later, she thought of not answering at all, but the thought that it might be her mom made her lift it to her ear one more time.
“Charlotte?” She was startled to hear Pastor Gordon’s voice.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry to bother you, but one of the girls in your car lost her purse. Did you happen to see it?”
“No, but I’ll go look.”
“That would be great. Do you want me to hold?”
“Sure.”
Charlotte ran out to the garage. In the back seat a handbag sat unclaimed. She pulled it out and went back to the phone. “Yes, I’ve got it.”
“Great. Would you mind if I ran over to get it? She’s kind of distressed.”
“Okay.” Charlotte felt like it wasn’t okay at all. She had no desire to see Pastor Gordon, but she didn’t see what she could do about it.
Hanging up the phone, she dried her tears. Then she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy, her nose was red, and she was still a bit dusty from camp. But none of that mattered. She certainly didn’t care what Pastor Gordon thought.
He knocked on her door a few minutes later, and she opened it and handed him the purse without really looking at him. But he looked at her, perhaps more intently than he’d ever looked at her before. She looked terrible. “Are you all right?”
Charlotte just hung her head and nodded unconvincingly.
“You don’t look well. Can I do anything for you?”
“No, no one can do anything for me.”
“Charlotte . . .” Something about the tender way he said her name made her look up.
“Yes?”
“Can I pray for you?”
At these words the tears began streaming down her cheeks again. She couldn’t speak, so she just nodded. Standing in her doorway since she hadn’t invited him in, Pastor Gordon prayed for her. “Dear Heavenly Father. You know what’s making Charlotte so sad right now. I pray that You would lift her heart and help her to know that You are sufficient even for this difficult thing she is facing. Wrap her in Your loving arms and fill her with Your presence. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Pastor Gordon looked at her one more time and turned away. He thought he needed to leave quickly before he took her in his arms and never let her go.
After he left, Charlotte felt more alone than ever. She sat on the sofa and stared out into the room, arguing with God about the unfairness of it all. Finally she took a warm bath and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next morning she couldn’t face working on her book, so she decided to spend it reading and praying, which was an advantage of being an author and determining her own schedule. When she could no longer sit still, she went for a long walk to clear her head. By the end of the day, she was somewhat renewed in her spirit, at least enough to get perspective on her week. She called her mom and offered to come and stay with her, but Margaret resolutely refused. She was going to keep working as long as possible and carry on her life as usual. Charlotte had to admire her for that.
She eventually decided that she couldn’t put off calling Frank any more, although she didn’t feel like it. Making herself dial his number, she was relieved when the answering machine clicked on. She decided against leaving a message and set the phone back on its cradle.
A few minutes later the phone rang. She picked it up out of habit, dreading who it might be. She was surprised when sh
e heard Louisa’s voice. “Hi, Charlotte. I was wondering when we could start that Bible study. I told some more girls about it, and they want to come too.”
Instead of being a burden, this gave Charlotte new energy. “I’ll tell you what. Let’s plan on next Monday night. Will that work?”
“Yeah, that’s great. Thanks!” And the conversation was over.
Charlotte immediately called her mother again. “Mom, I need your help.”
“I’m not painting anything!” she said with laughter in her voice.
“No, I need to put together a Bible study on what God has to say about relationships for a group of high school girls. How about if I come over for the rest of the week? I’ll write while you’re at work, and in the evenings we can work on this study.”
Her mom was silent for a moment and Charlotte was afraid she was going to refuse. To her relief, she said, “I’d like that.”
“Great. I’ll be there at about dinner time tomorrow. We’ll go out to eat.”
“Thanks, little girl. That’s perfect.” And she knew her mom meant it. She understood her mother well enough to realize that the reason she hadn’t wanted Charlotte to come was that she didn’t want them moping around in the evenings. With something specific to do, the dynamic of the week changed. “Thanks, God. Your timing is perfect.”
She went to bed that evening feeling one hundred times better than she did the night before. It felt like being able to fly after crawling a long way.
Tuesday morning, she called Janice before work to tell her where she’d be, and left a message on Frank’s machine with the same information. It bothered her that she was once again relieved he wasn’t home. He was just too cheerful for times like these.
After doing laundry and paying her bills, she packed and put her suitcase in her car. She thought of Misty and her gang. They’d probably be by sometime this week and wonder what happened to her, but it couldn’t be helped. She felt almost lighthearted as she roared down the country roads toward the interstate. In just a couple of hours, she’d be there.
Pulling up to the little ranch style house that her father had built, she let herself in with the key she’d had since grade school. She’d often suggested that her mom move to a condo so she wouldn’t have to worry about maintenance and the yard, but her mother wouldn’t think of it. “No other place is going to have a pantry like this one that your dad made, with shelves just right to fit my containers. And think of the built-in bookcases in my bedroom. Where would I put all my books? And the flower garden—Dad hauled in enough dirt to fill a sink hole in Florida. No, this is the place for me.”
Crispens Point - Book 1 of the Blackberry County Chronicles Page 9