by Becky Melby
She walked through the front door. The new floor plan never failed to make her smile.
Dorothy would be happy here.
And Emily would spend the rest of her life fighting a new kind of regret. Too late, she’d realized her flip had become home. Vanessa would probably say home was just a state of mind. If she could feel it here, she could feel it anywhere. Was there a mantra for convincing herself that was true?
In the kitchen, she picked up the treasure can. Several Squiggles had occupied the can, but Michael had recently declared, “Frogs hiberate in really hot summer.” She opened the zipper bag and placed the treasures, one by one, back in the can. All but the tiny carved frog that sat on the windowsill above the new sink. The wooden Squiggles would leave with her.
She opened the cellar door, running her hand over the rough edge. Like feeling history. Dorothy agreed the door should remain as is.
She walked down the creaky steps, across the uneven floor, and opened the sliding door. Jake had oiled the wheels and they slid easily. Without picking up the flashlight, she stepped down into the room and sat on the bench, setting the can next to the carved inscription. In a few days, when she moved out to divide her time between St. Louis and the apartment above Tina’s garage, the can would stay. The treasures belonged to her imaginary friends whose memories lived in the walls.
Footsteps sounded overhead. “I’m down here!” she yelled. At that moment, her phone vibrated.
Dorothy. Her finger moved slowly to answer the call. She wasn’t in the mood to listen to more plans for wall colors or room arrangements. “Hi, Dorothy.”
“Emily? I—oh, is Jake there yet?”
“I’m in the cellar, but I think he just got here. Do you want to talk to him?”
“Well…”
“We’re coming down!” Adam called from the kitchen. Laughter and footsteps followed. Breathless twins tumbled in. The rip of Velcro sounded and an LED light lit the room.
“Just a minute, Dorothy.” She looked at the kids. “Is Jake with you?”
“Yeah, but we gotta ask you something before he gets here.”
“I’m on the phone.”
Lexi bent over, hands on her knees. “This’ll only take a sec.”
Heavier footsteps sounded overhead. Adam nudged Lexi. “Hurry.”
Lexi nodded and gulped air. “It’s like this. Jake wants to help you more with your house in St. Louis, but he’s stuck with us, but Adam and I decided it would be really good for us to get away from here for a year after all that’s happened and St. Louis sounds like a cool place to live so we decided we should all move there and since you’re a teacher we were thinking you could homeschool us and it kinda wouldn’t work unless you”—she looked at Adam and he nodded. The cellar steps creaked. Lexi scrunched her face. “Would you”—they said in unison—“marry us?”
“Alexis!” Jake appeared in the doorway, nailing Lexi with a horrified look.
Mouth agape, Emily looked up into lake-blue eyes.
The stunned look slowly melted from his face. He shrugged, shook his head, and grinned. “Well…what they said.”
“Uh…”
Tears brimming his eyes, Jake reached out for Lexi’s hand then Adam’s. In one fluid motion, all three were on their knees at Emily’s feet.
“Emily Foster, will you do us the honor of making us the happiest family in the whole world? Will you marry us?”
Mouth still wide open, Emily nodded. “Yes. Yes. To all of you!”
Jake stood and pulled her to her feet. He held her gaze for a heart-stopping pause then bent and pressed his lips to hers. Her arms slid around him.
Adam covered his eyes. “That’s disgusting.”
“Hello? Hello? Emily?” The muffled voice came from somewhere behind Jake’s right shoulder.
“Dorothy!” Emily pulled away, laughing, and put the phone to her ear. “Dorothy, I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s me who’s sorry, dear. Jake just left here and he said I should call you while he was there with you and—oh, I know it’s too late, but Jake just showed me how he could knock out just one wall and make my house so much like yours that it…”
Emily narrowed tear-filled eyes at the man whose grin hovered inches from the phone. “It would feel so homey that it just wouldn’t make sense for you to move, right?”
“Y-yes.”
“I understand that feeling, Dorothy. I’ll let you out of the contract.”
“Oh dear, thank you. I’m so sorry for any inconvenience this—”
“No inconvenience, Dorothy.” She traced Jake’s lips with her fingertip. “None at all.” She nestled into waiting arms.
Safe. Warm. Home. Where she belonged.
BECKY MELBY has been married to Bill, her high school sweetheart, for 40 years. They have four married sons and eleven grandchildren. Becky has co-authored nine books for Heartsong Presents and is working on her third novella for Barbour Publishing. Tomorrow’s Sun is the first of three stories in The Lost Sanctuary series. Becky’s favorite pastimes are spoiling grandkids and taking trips with Bill in their RV or on their Honda Gold Wing. To find out more about Becky or her books, or to let her know your thoughts on Tomorrow’s Sun, visit www.beckymelby.com.
Discussion Questions for Tomorrow’s Sun
1. Long before Emily arrived in Wisconsin, she decided not to make friends there. Have you ever entered a situation or relationship determined to guard your heart and keep everyone at a distance?
2. Jake had his own boundaries in place because he thought a relationship would take his focus off of gaining guardianship of the twins. How different would his interactions with Emily have been if he’d been able to trust God with the details of his future? Have you drawn boundaries around any part of your future? What would it take to leave it in God’s hands?
3. Jake blames Ben for much of what has gone wrong in his life. That’s a very normal, human tendency. If there is a person who has hurt you or seemingly changed the course of your life, how are you dealing with it? In light of this, do you find the promise found in Romans 8:28 comforting, or very difficult to accept? Have you experienced good things coming out of bad situations?
3. Have you ever discovered a “secret” room, a lost treasure, or old letters in an attic or basement? Have you moved into a house that held clues about previous owners?
4. Hannah’s faith appears so strong even in the face of great danger. In what ways might it have been easier to trust God in a “simpler but harder” era? What “faith advantages,” if any, do we have in this age of information?
5. Emily has a full “toolbox” of techniques for quelling panic. What “tools” have you found helpful in anxiety-producing situations?
6. The letters and the secret room begin to erode Emily’s “wall”, and she embarks on a mission to discover more about the letter writers. Adam longs to be involved in “something like the Underground Railroad.” What causes exist today that Christians are, or should be, championing? Are you involved in something “significant,” or do you long to be? What is God calling you to do that you haven’t acted on yet?
7. In her pain and fear, Lexi lashes out just like her injured cat. Do you have regular contact with a coworker or family member who responds to the world like a porcupine— bristly and unapproachable? How does (or would) knowing the painful events in this person’s life soften your reactions?
8. Jake and Lexi sit side-by-side in church, hearing the same music. One responds in joyful worship, the other can barely utter a word. How do the events in your daily life color your attitude toward worship? We know God is worthy of our praise no matter what our circumstances, so how can we more readily respond to Him simply because of who He is?
9. Emily’s driving force is her need to make restitution to Sierra. In what circumstances does God ask us to make restitution, and for what purpose? The Bible tells us in many places that God’s forgiveness doesn’t come with a “to do” list we must check off before experiencing His grace. Emily could
not escape the knowledge that her choices resulted in Sierra’s handicap, but what would her mind-set about her own future, and Sierra’s, have been if she’d accepted God’s forgiveness and plan for her life earlier?
10. What was your initial reaction to Jake’s lack of response when Emily told him she couldn’t have children?
11. Second Corinthians 1:3–4 speaks of God comforting us “in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” We see this principle played out in the lives of Hannah and her father. Familiar with grief after Elizabeth’s death, they minister to George and Isaiah with tenderness. Do you know people who, like Emily, have experienced miscarriage, infertility, or the loss of a loved one who are able to comfort others in the way they have been comforted?
12. Hannah acknowledges that Liam left without her because he didn’t want to endanger her. Has there been a time in your life when you were on the giving or receiving end of a selfless love that “doesn’t feel like love”?
13. God’s faithfulness to His children in spite of their actions is always humbling. Emily’s choices hurt Sierra. Describe how Emily must have felt when she was allowed to take part in rescuing Adam and Lexi.
14. What do you think the future holds for Jake, Emily, Adam, and Lexi?
If you enjoyed
TOMORROW’S SUN
be sure to look for
YESTERDAY’S STARDUST
Lost Sanctuary
Book Two
Available Summer 2012