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More Than This: Contemporary Christian Romance Novel

Page 33

by Stallings, Staci


  “A partner?” Liz backed up in surprise. “I thought she worked alone.”

  He smiled. “So did she.”

  When he left for the docks at five-thirty, Liz considered crawling back in bed, but when she sat down on the edge of the mattress, her gaze snagged on her jeans lying on the floor. Remembering, she reached down to them and pulled the little ring from the pocket, and she smiled. It was perfect. Just like him. Carefully, reverently, gratefully, she slipped it on her finger and held out her hand as the breath slid through her.

  The doubts and fears were gone now. Yes, the past was still there, but even it didn’t hurt like it once had. She slid from the bed to the floor and knelt there in the still silence of the room. “Thank You, God, for Jake. Please help us to learn how to be partners, real partners, in everything. Thank You for sending him and for not letting him give up on me. I needed that.” She smiled. “But You already knew that, huh? Yeah. You already did.” She shook her head. “Keep him safe for me today. Let him see You, so he knows not just how much I love him but how much You do too. Amen.”

  “So how was your day off, McCoy?” Arnold sat down at the lunch table next to Jake as his mind drifted back and forth from the present to the night before. It was all so strange as if it was some surreal dream that hadn’t really happened. Except he knew it had.

  “Oh. It was okay.” It seemed so very long ago. He bit into his sandwich, hoping the man would drop the subject.

  “So what’d you do? Sleep in all day?”

  Jake’s mind jerked back to the conversation, and he batted all of the rest of it out of the way. “Uh, no. I...” He had no clue where to go with that statement. “Um...”

  “I... um?” Arnold laughed. “Didn’t know you had a lady friend to I-um with.”

  That snarled Jake’s train of thought further. He was tired of being the butt of the jokes, and he was even more tired of hiding everything about himself that was real. “Well, if you really want to know, I was at the hospital getting some tests done.”

  Horrified panic slipped into Arnold’s gaze. “Oh, dude. Sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “No.” Jake shook out of that and rolled his eyes. “I’m not dying or anything. It’s just...” The words reached up and got caught in his throat. He had never said them out loud before, not like this, to people who didn’t already know. “Well, the truth is I’m getting some help with reading, or I will be once we get through all of this blasted testing.”

  Arnold said nothing for a very long minute during which Jake wished he could completely disappear or take the last four minutes and erase them from the record of time. Then just before he made an excuse to leave, Arnold looked around and ducked in a little closer. “You had trouble in school?”

  The quiet pleading in the man’s voice surprised Jake enough to keep him planted on the bench. “Well, truth is, yeah, I did. A lot of trouble actually.” He was already on the track, what sense did it make jumping off the rails now? “But there’s this new program thing they have over at the college. They’re testing people to see if they can figure out what causes it and how to fix it.”

  “Fix it?” Arnold’s eyes lit up and then misted over. “They can fix it?”

  There was such a note of praying there might be hope in those words that Jake swallowed before he could answer. How had he gotten here again? “I don’t know... yet. I... I hope so.”

  At that moment two other guys from the floor came in and sat at their table, talking about the Jets game from the weekend and how if they didn’t get it together, they were going to be out of the playoffs. Jake ducked his head over his meager sandwich and dissolved back into his own little world. Arnold did the same, and the rest of lunch was eaten in complete silence between the two.

  It was crazy to be so nervous about just walking in to work, and yet Liz could hardly keep herself going that direction. New Yorkers streamed by her seemingly not even noticing she was on the same planet. Her thoughts spun as they had for most of the day to what Mia would say, what she would think. Liz knew what her friend thought of Jake. What would she think of this?

  Her heart skipped yet another beat as she dug her hand into her pocket and pushed through the door into the warmth of the space she had come to know so well in the last few years. Yes, she was going to miss this place come Friday. It was hard to believe this chapter was coming to an end so quickly.

  “Oh, well, look who decided to grace us with her presence,” Mia said, looking up from the counter, but there was a smile rather than a sneer attached to it.

  “I told you I’d be here tonight.” Liz fought to smile, to act normal as she shrugged out of her coat. “Looks like they’re beating down our door to get in.”

  There wasn’t a single person at any of the tables.

  “You should’ve been here last night. It was a mad house.”

  In the back Liz hung her coat on the hook and her scarf as well. She grabbed her apron, spun it around her waist, and tied it. Then she took one more look at the little ring, closed her eyes to say a prayer for strength, and headed back out front.

  At the counter she snagged a rag and started wiping things down. On the opposite side by the cash register, Mia stood, counting and glancing her direction.

  “So are you okay?” her friend finally asked after several glances.

  Liz nodded, her chest wondering if she would live through this. “I am.”

  Mia half-nodded and kept counting. “Finals are good?”

  She nodded again. “They are.”

  “And everything else?”

  This was it. With a deep breath, Liz laid the rag to the side and faced her friend. “So how do you look in blue?”

  “Blue?” Mia’s gaze came over to her filled with worry and puzzlement. “Why?”

  A moment and Liz lifted her hand to her chest, the one with the tiny, little sparkly diamond. “Because I’m thinking maybe a summer wedding, maybe early June.”

  Understanding slid across Mia’s face, followed by a very small, almost sad smile. Then she nodded as if accepting the shift the world had just taken. “You know that boy is the luckiest guy on the planet, right?”

  Who met who? It didn’t really matter for in the next second they were hugging right there behind the counter. Liz’s heart burst with love and gratefulness for her friend. She didn’t deserve to be standing here, and yet she was. That had to be a God thing. Mia’s hug spoke of friendship and hope, something Liz hadn’t felt in a very long time. For others maybe, but never for herself.

  When she stepped back, she swiped at both her eyes, knowing she would be a raccoon if she didn’t get a handle on the mascara quickly.

  “So let me see it,” Mia said, taking her hand and examining the rock.

  Liz slipped backward a bit into her spirit. “It’s not very big.”

  “Hey, girl,” Mia said as she looked into her friend’s eyes. “It’s not the size of the rock. It’s the size of the love.”

  With a smile she could hardly contain, Liz nodded just as the bells jangled behind her. Mia looked up first as Liz continued to swipe at the tears, and when she got her gaze back up, she saw the look of acceptance on Mia’s face.

  “Well, look who just showed up. It’s Loverboy himself.”

  Liz spun around to find herself gazing at the only dream that she had ever wanted to come true. He looked more than a little wary, but he was here. She walked over to him and put her arms over his shoulders.

  Gently he kissed her and hugged her tightly.

  “I was hoping you’d show up.”

  “Where else would I be?”

  Friday night when the last customer was gone, and the lights were out, the three of them stood by the door, not quite ready to leave.

  “So,” Liz said as she stood in the shadow of Jake’s protection.

  “So,” Mia replied.

  “I guess this is it,” Liz said, rocking back and forth.

  “I guess so.”

  For as excited as she was about t
omorrow, Liz did not want to see tonight, this minute, go. Good-byes had never been her strong suit. Mia looked at her with eyes that said everything that was in Liz’s heart.

  “You know I’m going to miss you, girl.” Mia stepped toward her, and Liz took her friend into her arms. “And you’d better come back. Often.” When they stepped apart, Mia was wiping her eyes. Then after only a second, she stepped over to Jake. “And you.”

  Jake wrapped her in his arms as if he’d done it a million times.

  “You take care of this one, you hear me?”

  He nodded. “You got it.”

  Mia came out of his hug, and he replaced his arm around Liz.

  “Well.” Mia swiped at her eyes and laughed. “I guess we’d better get on home. No sense standing around here blubbering all night.”

  Together they went out into the cold, which really was cold. Much too cold to stand on the sidewalk and say lingering good-byes.

  Mia locked up and bundled up in her coat. “Don’t be strangers.”

  “K. Take care of yourself.” Liz hugged her one more time, and then seeing no way to prolong things, she reluctantly turned with Jake the other way.

  They walked halfway down the block before he looked at her. “You okay?”

  “No,” she said honestly. “But I will be.”

  Chapter 19

  The next morning at the Literacy Center, Liz headed off in one direction to start her training, and Jake went the other way to the testing center. IQ tests. He hated the term.

  During one of the breaks, Mrs. McLaughlin came over to see how things were going.

  “Well, compared with the MRI, these aren’t too bad,” he replied when she inquired about the testing.

  “So I’ve been told,” she said with a laugh. “I just wanted to express my thanks, Jake. We haven’t had a lot of time to really talk about things, but I know what a special young man you must be. I know how highly Liz thinks of you.”

  He ducked his head and kicked the toe of his shoe on the carpet.

  “I also know what a difference you are going to make to so many people out there even if you don’t see that right now.”

  The praise felt out of place and too heavy. He shrugged as he looked up at her. “I’m just Jake.”

  But she shook her head. “Oh, I beg to differ. You, my dear, are a Godsend.” She nodded thoughtfully. “We’ll talk later about everything.”

  “Jake?” the testing person said, and he look over at her with a sigh.

  They were ready. Time for more tests.

  “Liz,” Mrs. McLaughlin said at eleven o’clock.

  “Yes, ma’am?” Liz stood at the summons and tugged her shirt down in the back. Fascinating. It was all so fascinating.

  Mrs. McLaughlin ducked closer so the others wouldn’t hear, and fear rose in Liz. “Dr. Melody, the optometrist, just got here. She’s going to be testing Jake. I wondered if you would like to come observe with me.”

  More fear. Liz looked at her mentor with saucer-wide eyes. “Is that allowed?”

  “It is, and I think it would be good for you to see.”

  “O... okay.” Tugging at her shirt again as she followed the woman, Liz prayed that Jake wouldn’t be upset by her presence. She knew how close to the vest he played this part of the game.

  They went across the center to a room on the far side. It was medium-sized with olive-gray walls and a temporarily-placed optometry chair on one side. A tall, thin woman with large eyes stood from the little table and extended her hand to Liz.

  “I’m Dr. Melody Taylor.”

  “I’m Liz.” The second her hand was back in her possession, she stuck it in her pocket.

  “You’re welcome to sit in those chairs. I just talked to Carla. They’re almost finished with the first round of vision tests.”

  They nodded and had just started to the chairs when Jake walked in, looking like he’d just shown up for his own execution.

  Dr. Melody was the first to move. “Hi, Jake.”

  “Hi.” He shook her hand, his eyes going wide and fearful though it was clear he was trying to be brave.

  “It’s so good to meet you,” Dr. Melody said. “This is like a marathon, huh?”

  He considered that and then nodded. “Kinda.”

  She headed over to the chair as Mrs. McLaughlin and Liz took seats directly in front of it but several feet away. Liz hated feeling like she was part of the audience. In fact, that chair look a bit like an electric chair to be really honest. She sent up another prayer for him.

  Across the room, he followed Dr. Melody slowly as if being dragged there, all the way until she turned and pulled him up short.

  “Before we get started, I just want to tell you a little about what we do.” She smiled a bright smile with lots of teeth. “I know this all looks daunting, but it’s really not as bad as it seems. I’m just going to have you sit here.” She took hold of Jake’s jacket and guided him to the chair where he shifted twice before getting settled. “Now, pretty much what I’m looking for is how your eyes move together. We’ve done some of the testing of this with the computer.” She nodded at Jake who nodded back. “This is going to give us some visual indication of how your eyes work.”

  Reaching over, she took a small ball on a long thin wire stick. “First, I’m going to move this ball in front of you, and I want you to keep your eyes on the ball. Ready?”

  Jake shifted, settled, and nodded.

  “Okay.” Dr. Melody started moving the ball side to side, then up and down, then in arcs around him.

  Liz wasn’t sure what she should be watching for, but then Dr. Melody stopped and took the ball away. Immediately Jake reached up to wipe his eyes.

  “You’re doing great.” Dr. Melody got set again. “Now this time, I want you to follow the ball.” She started it in motion. “And I’m going to ask some very easy questions.”

  Jake’s eyes curled and circled, catching on to the movement of the ball.

  “Good. Now, what is 1 + 1?”

  The hesitation was slight but obvious.

  “2.”

  “Good. What is 5 + 2?”

  This time he blinked as his eyes shifted, losing track of the ball for a whole second. “7.”

  “Good. Now spell your name.”

  It was almost as if something or someone else had snatched control of his eyes. They shook and shifted in the five seconds before he started. “J. A. K. E.”

  This time when Dr. Melody took the ball away, it was several seconds of eye-rubbing before Jake stopped blinking. It was as if someone had just flashed a bright light right into the back of his eyes. He rubbed, and Liz could see his eyes watering from all the way across the room.

  “You’re doing great,” Dr. Melody said, and Liz was incredibly impressed by the woman’s ability to be so reassuring. She vowed to work on that. “Now, I’m going to take the ball, and I want you to follow it from here.” She held it out about ten inches from him. “All the way in to your nose. Okay?”

  Jake nodded, but Liz saw the fear. God, he needs you. Help him out here.

  He let out a long exhale and readied himself.

  “Okay.” Dr. Melody held the ball out, and he anchored his gaze to it. She slowly drew it toward his nose.

  Liz completely expected his eyes to cross like hers would have, and one of them, the right one, actually tried. The other stayed almost straight forward. Dr. Melody nodded as she withdrew the ball back toward her.

  “One more time.”

  Sure enough. The same thing. Liz gulped a large slice of air. She fought not to react. Dr. Melody stopped and stepped back so she could talk to all of them as Jake went into desperately-trying-to-get-his-eyes-to-stop-watering mode. He rubbed and sniffed and rubbed again. And when he stopped, there were red rings around both eyes.

  Dr. Melody turned to them. “One of the central issues with reading is the ability of the eyes to team, or work together.” She moved the ball in front of her eyes. “They should be able to pass the i
nformation easily from one eye to the other. To come in, to go out. What we’re finding is that some kids who are diagnosed with dyslexia actually are having problems with their eyes. As you saw, Jake’s eyes ‘shake’ when he tries to hold focus and think through even something simple. It’s as if he can do one or the other, but not both. Because his eyes and his brain are working so hard at taking things in visually, it leaves precious little processing power for comprehension. As you’ll see in a little while when we look at the computer generated tests, not only are his eyes requiring a lot of concentration to team, they are also not smooth when he reads. They jerk back and forth. They don’t always go all the way to the left of the page and then all the way to the right.”

  Then she stepped over and smiled at Jake. “But the good news is, almost all of this is fixable. It just requires teaching the eyes to team and strengthening those muscles so they can.”

  “And that will fix the dyslexia?” Liz asked.

  “That will bring him to a place where he can begin to process things reliably and quickly through his visual system. Then it’s a matter of reteaching how to decode words and getting everything to work together instead of fighting for brain space.”

  At 12:20, they walked out of the LC hand-in-hand, headed for a little cafe down the block.

  “That was rough, huh?” Liz asked him.

  Jake thought through the question and shrugged. “Actually it was kind of interesting.”

  She nodded. “You look wiped.”

  He smiled. “Exhausted. Thanks for asking.”

  She angled her steps into his. “But happy?”

  Reaching around her, he grabbed the door, opened it and held it. “Very.”

  It was a good thing Jake was holding onto Liz’s hand when they got back to the center. Had he not been, he might not have stopped running short of Canada.

  “We weren’t planning to do this quite so quickly,” Mrs. McLaughlin said, meeting them at the door, “but everyone is here, and with Christmas coming up, we might not have much of a chance until well after the holidays.”

 

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