Appointment at Christmas Bay

by Chase, Diane

  A check for the boat hit his account yesterday for $19,000. Some would help pay his bills, but in the big picture it wasn’t much and wouldn’t go far. He lost his livelihood, had no prospective career, and once the money was gone, had little chance of earning more than the $14 an hour that Melcher’s paid him.

  He drove to a sandwich shop nearby and pulled into a parking space in front of a cleaners. A little lady came through the door with her garments over her arm and a red purse dangling from the other. African American and in her eighties, maybe, she crossed in front of him.

  Couldn’t be. He jumped out and watched her get in a red sedan at the end of the row of cars. Man, he pulled in just four cars over and hadn’t take a second look at the vehicle. He scurried down the sidewalk and stopped at her hood. The woman inside frowned a few seconds. Then her white teeth gleamed in a wide smile.

  “Well, I’ll be.” A warm feeling gushed on his insides. Thank you, Lord.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Fourth of July seemed like a bad day to travel to Freeport, but the little lady who identified herself as Mrs. Ruby May insisted she come today. Late morning, Juliette drove out to Bluewater Highway from Galveston and in Surfside Beach turned onto the bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway. The oncoming traffic to the beach was thick despite the blanket of clouds.

  She eyed the GPS programmed with the address from Paul Quinn, 1013 Palm Meadow Drive. Her heart thudded past the landmarks he mentioned. Before long, she approached the intersection of Mrs. May’s street. With trembling fingers, Juliette dabbed the corners of her eyes, determined not to show up blubbering at the woman’s doorstep.

  Yesterday afternoon, Paul rescued her from a tense lunch with her bridesmaid, Sarah. Juliette had told her about Ameropolix, and Sarah said, “Porn’s about as common as sports among guys these days. Is it really such a big deal, Jules?”

  When Paul phoned, Juliette had been stammering for a reply. Lunch ended shortly thereafter, and within the hour she’d arranged to visit the woman.

  Juliette pulled to the curb of the white brick home. Ivy trailed along the long porch railing, and ferns and snowy impatiens trimmed the shrubs under several windows. A live oak canopied most of the lawn, including the driveway where a shiny, maroon sedan was parked.

  As the days went by, the memory of Christmas Bay diminished, the woman she barely glimpsed receding even more to the shadows. The lone event—a marvel beyond anyone’s understanding, even hers—came and went, its sole witness gone forever along with the truth. Until now.

  This time when she freshened her lip gloss, she didn’t take for granted the way her left fingers clutched it. She tucked her small purse under the car seat. When she looked up, a little lady stood on the porch. Dressed in cherry-red pants and a white blouse adorned with a light blue scarf, she didn’t wave, call out, or smile.

  Juliette trembled all the way up the cracked sidewalk. At the base of the steps, she gazed up. “Mrs. May?”

  The lady nodded, her eyes moist and nostrils pinked. “My oh my, I said to that boy yesterday. What wonders will my God do next?”

  She took the steps slowly. Mrs. May pulled her close with surprising strength, and Juliette dropped her head to the woman’s boney shoulder. From some new depth, tears sprang forth by the spoonful. In her whole life, she never felt more love.

  After a few minutes, the woman gripped her forearms. “Okay, now, we’ve gone and messed up our faces.”

  Juliette followed her through the small but cheerful living room and dining room to the kitchen. Sunlight poured through the window over the sink, and the brightness burned her watery eyes. Mrs. May pointed to a chair.

  She prepared two glasses of iced tea in silence and sat down. “Oh, my girl, I’m so glad to see you again.”

  Juliette tried to breathe through the congestion. “I know. Me, too. Did Paul Quinn tell you I left my cell phone in his truck?” She rested her elbows on the table and folded her hands under her chin.

  “He didn’t mention it, but I prayed I might see you someday.” Her tear-strained face settled into a serene expression.

  A tumble of emotions threatened to spill out, and Juliette sucked them back with a deep breath. “You don’t know how many times I’ve thought it didn’t really happen, Mrs. May. Like the whole thing was a dream.”

  The lady chuckled lightly. “Oh, it happened. Uh huh, it sure did.”

  “I’m grateful. But sometimes…” She shook her head. “It’s been so much. That day my whole life changed.”

  Mrs. May’s jaw clamped shut. “That’s something. Of course, you might have been maimed forever or even dead.”

  Juliette raised her brows feeling silly for how she must sound. “True. I need to remember that.”

  “I should say.” Mrs. May massaged the knuckles of her huge hands and sighed, a far-off look in her eyes.

  “I just want to know why all of this is happening.”

  “My daughter Georgia still don’t serve the Lord even after I prayed and prayed. She has all kinds of problems, most of ‘em rubbing off on my grandkids. My husband got killed walking to work. Shot in the back, you see. He was just twenty-four years old, and the baby was only two.” She blinked her eyes back to Juliette’s. “I don’t ask why.”

  Juliette sipped the tea wishing she could see Mrs. May everyday the rest of her life. “If you’ve had so many problems, what did you think when God healed me?”

  “I knew Jesus was teaching me. He was saying, ‘Ruby, I can do anything. I could’ve let your husband survive or patched up your daughter or wiped out your arthritis with my breath. But I have a plan smack in the middle of those things.”

  Understanding came and went like a shooting star, but Juliette cherished every word that parted Mrs. May’s lips. They sat a few minutes in silence.

  “I had an appointment that day at Christmas Bay,” the woman finally said.

  “With me?” A chill crossed Juliette’s bare legs and arms.

  Mrs. May shook her head. “No, with him so I’d understand.”

  “Oh,” she said, clueless but wanting another of the woman’s hugs.

  “I made some egg salad for us and bought some of those little carrots my doctor said to eat. You want to put sliced bread on our plates?” Mrs. May leaned on the table to get up.

  As they readied lunch, the woman shared tidbits about her family and childhood. With the two assembled sandwiches before them, Juliette bowed her head at the table too excited to fully concentrate on Mrs. May’s prayer.

  So many times she’d wondered why. Why her? Why didn’t God prevent her injury instead of healing it? And all along she assumed he did something for her when maybe it’d been for Mrs. May.

  She crunched a carrot, and that explanation came and went like all the others she conjured.

  ****

  Close to five o’clock, she arrived home and found a note on the dining table. Lexi and Skipper had gone to the Golightlys. Had something happened? Pepper was suppose to give her a ride from the church around three.

  Tired from the day and the traffic, she nevertheless felt a lightness and clarity like the cobwebs finally cleared from her mind. She paused at the porch steps in the shade of the scruffy live oak and said a word of thanks for the couple’s friendship.

  Mrs. Golightly answered the door dressed in Bermuda shorts and a red and white striped blouse. From behind her, the dog scampered into Juliette’s arms and lapped her face.

  “Hi, honey, we were just discussing whether to call you.”

  Juliette put Skipper down who bolted to the den. “Is everything okay. I got Lexi’s note.”

  “Yes, yes. Asher had a chocolate chip cookie craving, but we can’t keep five dozen around the house. When I brought you girls some, Lexi and I got to talking, and she came over to look around.” She gestured Juliette inside the foyer. “Then we ended up back at your place to see all that business on her computer. Oh, and she showed us your Sistine Chapel in that backroom. Goodness. A bit ago, Asher talk
ed her into dominoes.” She smiled and looped Juliette’s arm. “Come on. We want to hear about your day.”

  Had they felt responsible for looking after Lexi? When she checked on the kid earlier, the girl seemed insulted.

  They greeted one another in the dining room, and she settled at the table. The floor plan with the adjacent seating area resembled theirs, except the Golightly’s looked more lived in and had the big-screen TV, on but muted.

  “They started a movie and got off into this.” Mrs. Golightly peered over her husband’s shoulder at his dominoes.

  “We’re still going to watch it.” He slid a domino across the table. “Guess that adds up to ten. Make sure you’re getting my points right.”

  Lexi giggled as she scribbled down the score. “I’m still winning.”

  “I was just getting some clam dip and crackers together.” Mrs. Golightly’s rosy complexion glowed even more when she smiled. “Tell us how your visit went with Ruby May. Oh, before you get started, we discussed going over to the seawall for the fireworks display.”

  Lexi wriggled in her chair. “Can I go even if she doesn’t?” Skipper sensed the excitement or heard go and jumped in the girl’s lap. “Can she come, too?”

  Thank goodness for the couple’s involvement in their lives. Both eyed her without answering Lexi. “Oh, sure. That sounds like fun.”

  “Cool!” Lexi rolled her hand at Mr. Golightly. “Uh, your turn, dude.”

  He fluttered his eyes and cleared his throat.

  “Sorry. I mean when you’re ready, it’s your play, sir.”

  From the kitchen doorway, Mrs. Golightly knowingly raised her brows at Juliette. “So, we planned to leave about eight-thirty. Okay, on with your story. I’ll be listening while I get the snack.”

  Juliette sighed and sat back. She barely began when Mrs. Golightly returned with the clam dip and crackers. Everyone dove in but remained silent as she recounted the day. Sharing it felt strange.

  When she finished, Mr. Golightly smiled slightly, his blue eyes set off by a powder-blue shirt. “Amen.”

  His wife pressed a napkin against the corners of her eyes. “Juliette, what a wonderful story! I’m so glad Asher and I had a chance to hear it.”

  He heaped dip on a cracker and stared at it. “Peg and me are fixing meatloaf for dinner. Lexi wants to eat about seven. How about you?”

  “Oh, it seems like we’ve already imposed.”

  Mrs. Golightly laughed and got up from the table. “Who’s she talking to, Asher?”

  “It’s settled, ladies.” He looked over the score pad. “Anyway, I need to catch up.”

  “Aunt Peggy, that’s not fair, is it?” Lexi asked.

  Juliette passed the neighbor a questioning look.

  “We established the informal names earlier, honey. From now on, call us Asher and Peggy, uncle and aunt for Miss Lexi.” She wiped her hands on her apron while her eyes twinkled at the girl. “And, honey, you’re right. You won fair and square.”

  “Well, everyone, I better tend to a few things at home. I’ll see you around seven. Or wait, earlier to help.” Juliette got up from the table.

  Asher raised his hand. “Number one helper, right here. You just come back and eat.”

  Feeling the love flow from them warmed her heart. “Okay, I’ll see you guys later.”

  “That ceiling’s a prophecy,” Asher called out.

  Juliette stopped in the arched threshold of the foyer. Somehow his words hooked her soul, but wasn’t he a plumber or some kind of city service worker before retiring? Peggy warned her about getting him started on Bible prophecy, but she turned around.

  “I showed him a diagram of the people,” Lexi said.

  “I left you a list of scriptures on the coffee table in there. Oh, girl!” he boomed at Lexi. “You’ve really done me in this time.”

  Juliette pressed her fingers over her mouth and waited while they chuckled. “Interesting. I’ll talk to you about it later.”

  She hurried home and in the library found his list of twenty or so Bible references relating to the Sistine chapel and prophecy. Excited that he might be onto something, she hovered over the pieced copies.

  Rather than some epiphany, irony sank in. She studied religious art for a decade, was on the brink, some said, of becoming an expert, and yet she hadn’t believed in God. Now, that she did, the familiar work was a complete mystery.

  Meanwhile, time was making the decisions right now. Tomorrow, Dr. Cabot expected the summary, the short but defining portion of the dissertation proposal. “Just to keep you on track,” her advisor said in April of the extra step she dreamed up.

  Well, she knew for weeks it was coming to this. Juliette settled at the computer and opened a blank email. No big deal. She agreed to the deadlines and just as easily could break them, not the best form, but not the worst either.

  Dr. Cabot,

  Rather than tomorrow, I’ll be submitting the Summary of the Problem July 19. The committee meeting for the full proposal remains August 27.

  She thought of the life she wanted and forged ahead.

  By the way, I’m exploring the feasibility of changing topics. Perhaps we could talk before the revised deadline.

  Juliette

  She studied the words. Besides the extension, Dr. Cabot needed to know about the possible research overhaul now or be shocked down the line. Juliette mashed send.

  Maybe it didn’t start out as a big deal. Now, it sure was.

  ****

  After dinner, Asher tapped his pencil on the dining table. “So, here’s what I’m thinking about that corner piece with the Israelites.”

  “Alright.” Already stuffed with meatloaf and potatoes, Juliette picked at the apple pie. Lexi and Peggy clanked dishes, talked, and laughed in the kitchen.

  Asher twisted his lips and passed Juliette a black leather Bible. “Numbers. Chapter twenty-one, verses four to nine. Read that.”

  Juliette studied the passage and wondered if she read it before. Basically, God sent the complaining Israelites a load of venomous snakes. Later, when they repented, he had Moses fashion a bronze snake on a pole. Anyone bitten by the snakes could look at it and live. She handed Asher his Bible. “I remember the story from somewhere.”

  “From here.” He patted the Bible. “It’s a prophecy of Christ.”

  “A prophecy of Christ?” She thought a few minutes. “The cross. The pole is like the cross. Any Israelite with a snakebite was healed who looked at it, just like those who come to the cross.” Had that ever occurred to her? She put her trembling hands in her lap.

  Asher pursed his lips and pointed his finger at her. “That’s right.” He passed her the Bible again. “Turn to John, chapter three. Start reading about verse ten and stop at fifteen.” He fixed his gaze at the painting of a shrimp boat over the dining buffet.

  Juliette skimmed the red words of Christ. She spoke the last few lines softly. “‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.’ He’s referencing the same snake sometime later.”

  “Yes, ma’am, about fourteen hundred years later, give or take.” He dipped a forkful of apple pie in the melting ice cream. The cinnamon aroma filled the air.

  Juliette sipped the decaf coffee. “Okay, Asher, I’m trying to understand. You’re saying the ceiling is prophetic about the birth of Christ.”

  He nodded. “In that portion, He’s the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy.”

  “Surely someone’s seen this. Maybe, me.” She scratched her head. “But it can’t be an original concept.” She couldn’t help thinking about her dissertation.

  Asher chuckled. “You can count on it. There’s nothing new under the sun, Juliette.”

  She folded one arm and bit her thumbnail. “But it’s cool. Very cool.”

  “Like I was telling you, look into those scriptures. It seems to me his first coming is prophesied in the ceiling, and he’s coming again, just
like it shows on that little picture.”

  Delighted at his interest, Juliette realized Asher referred to the photocopy of The Last Judgment. “That’s actually a whole wall behind the altar.”

  “I see. Well, I don’t know about all those naked bodies in the place—”

  “Asher!” Peggy called out from the kitchen.

  He winked. “Did you save me those pots, ladies?”

  “Yes,” they called out.

  Juliette’s phone rang from her purse in the adjoining sitting room. “Excuse me.” It turned out to be Harry. “We’re just finishing dinner at the Golightlys. Hang on.” Unsure how a talk with him might go, she headed to the porch. A couple with two kids and a German shepherd waved on their stroll past. “Okay.”

  “I just wanted to let you know Trevor and Jenny should arrive about six or seven tomorrow. I’m trying for a little earlier, but I’ll have to see.”

  “Alright.” Juliette strolled out to the sidewalk. “Harry, I had an idea. Mrs. May invited us out Sunday afternoon. What if you went back to Houston from there? We had such an incredible day today.”

  He hesitated. “Kind of a packed weekend, isn’t it? What if we went next Sunday?”

  “Well, that’s the problem. Mother and Daddy are coming in, remember? We’re suppose to meet with Holly?”

  “I thought that was Tuesday.”

  “It is, but they’re arriving Sunday, I think.” All the days seem to jumble together. She listened while he worked out the traffic details if he left from Freeport, a hopeful sign.

  “Okay, that’s fine, for a short visit anyway,” he finally concluded.

  Grateful for the easy agreement, she strolled back inside. If Asher wasn’t washing pots yet, they might still be able to talk about the chapel ceiling.

  Juliette opened the door to the aromas of dinner and dessert and the happy chatter of Lexi and her new friends.

  Sweet joy poured back in her mind and heart.