by Arlene James
“Dallas, you’ll stay with the children, won’t you?” Maryanne asked smoothly.
Dallas shuttled a glance helplessly back and forth between Phillip and their mother. “Of course, if that’s what everyone wants.”
“Well, it’s settled, then,” Murdock decreed heartily. “We’ll go right after breakfast tomorrow.”
Phillip glanced at Carissa, ready to argue the matter if she balked, but she nodded. His parents took their leave of the children with handshakes and shoulder pats, but at the very end, Phillip caught a wink that his father sent Nathan. The boy’s conspiratorial smile turned the butterflies in Phillip’s stomach to lead weights.
Something was afoot. Phillip just knew it, and he meant to find out what it was.
Chapter Fifteen
After his parents and Dallas left, Phillip hung around the suite while Carissa spoke to the children about their day. Dr. Maryanne, as they’d been told to call Phillip’s mother, had apparently anticipated Tucker’s every move and kept him smoothly in check, leaving Grace to her “bffn” Dallas and Doc to shepherd Nathan. He could just imagine his father pumping Nathan for information about his mother’s relationship with Phillip.
Because the children were tired, Phillip stuck around to help tuck them into bed. He was shocked when Nathan sat up in the lower bunk and said, “Doc doesn’t treat me like a stupid little kid.”
Phillip glanced into the hallway, saw Carissa pass into the sitting room and backed up, carefully closing the door behind him. He crouched down beside the bed. “That’s because you’re not a stupid little kid.”
Nathan flopped down onto the pillow and folded his arms atop the covers. “Doc says the Chatams don’t have stupid kids.”
“He’s right about that.”
“But I’m not a Chatam.”
Phillip wanted to say that he could be. Instead, he said, “So, what else did you two talk about?”
Nathan removed his glasses and set them on the bedside table before softly answering, “Forgiveness.”
Jolted, Phillip sat cross-legged on the floor. “What about forgiveness?”
Nathan drew his brows together. “Doc says I’m mad at God for letting my dad die.”
Phillip caught his breath, but he managed to keep his cool.
Nathan continued. “Doc said I could just ask God to forgive me, and He would, because of everything Jesus did on the cross.”
“That’s right,” Phillip managed.
Nathan went on in a thick voice. “Doc said I could say it anywhere, anytime, that I didn’t have to wait for church or anything. So I prayed with him.”
Phillip reached out and clasped the boy’s hand. “You know something, Nathan? I need to ask for forgiveness, too. I haven’t always given my dad the respect and honor he’s due. Maybe...maybe you could help me pray now.”
Nathan rolled onto his side, facing Phillip, and closed his eyes. “Sure,” he said, his hand still in Phillip’s. “Just say, ‘God, I’m sorry’ and stuff.”
Smiling, Phillip began to pray, words pouring out of him without thought. “Lord, thank You for my father, and thank You for Nathan’s father. I don’t know why Nathan didn’t get to keep his, but I’m glad I got to keep mine, and I’m glad I get to know Nathan. Forgive me for not always appreciating my dad and how much he cares for me. Forgive me for not always appreciating You and how much You care for me and all of Your children. Help me make my dad proud. And Nathan, too. And You especially. In Jesus’s name. Amen.”
“Amen,” Nathan said.
“Amen” came from the top bunk.
Nathan rolled his eyes. Phillip bit his lip and winked. Nathan rolled onto his back and showed every sign of falling asleep. Phillip resisted the urge to ruffle his hair and instead rose to swiftly cross the room and slip out.
He took a moment to compose himself before sauntering into the sitting room. Carissa looked up from the sofa. “Everything okay?”
“Sure. Nathan just wanted to talk for a minute.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he likes my dad,” Phillip said lightly. “Go figure.”
Her brow furrowed as if she wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but then she smiled. “Sounds like they had quite a day.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Well,” she said, abruptly getting to her feet, “we have a busy day scheduled tomorrow. Best call it a night.”
He let her see him out, knowing that he had some thinking and praying—and maybe some growing up—to do. He’d jumped from experience to experience, relishing the new and the unusual, responsible for no one and nothing but himself. He’d felt himself beneath the attention of God, and that had been fine with him—until he’d met Carissa and her children. Now he knew how wrong he’d been. God had been trying to get his attention for a very long time, and he had ignored Him, just as he’d ignored his parents.
Phillip had never worried about finding or keeping a job, always knowing that he could find work somehow doing something, but now he was afraid to fail and afraid to succeed. If he failed, Carissa and her children would continue to suffer, and if he succeeded... The idea that Carissa and the kids might not need him anymore was almost more than he could bear. He loved them. He loved her. He loved everything about her: her never-say-die determination, her work ethic, her pragmatism, the dreaminess in her deep blue eyes that she tried so hard to hide, her laughter and her tears, her breathtaking beauty and the way she fit into his arms. He even loved the way she accepted each of her children for the individuals they were and how she revered her late husband’s memory, though he had left her in a heap of trouble.
For the first time in his life, Phillip Chatam had found something that he truly wanted, and he had no idea how to get it. All he could do was ask God to make him worthy of Carissa and her children. He wished fervently that he’d listened to his parents when they’d counseled him to build for the future—and prayed that it wasn’t too late.
* * *
Nathan’s cheerfulness worried Carissa. She feared that he knew Phillip’s parents intended to torpedo his relationship with her, with Nathan’s help, no doubt. Still, it was all in God’s hands. She couldn’t make Phillip want her—them—and she couldn’t make his parents approve. All she could do was trust God to do what was best for her and the kids. So she rose Tuesday morning and prepared herself to spend the day viewing office space with Phillip and his parents. When she called her employer to say that she would be taking off another day, she was warned that her job was in jeopardy. She had done well the previous week, but if she failed to meet her monthly quota, she would be fired. So be it.
Immediately after breakfast, they set out, with Phillip driving his father’s car and Murdock sitting beside him, leaving Carissa in the backseat with Maryanne. They looked at a number of properties: one particularly attractive office building just off the downtown square, several unique structures with many commercial possibilities and what amounted to an estate with a large house and a barn converted to a small leather-goods factory that had outgrown its space. The final stop was a spacious but affordable home in a well-established neighborhood a couple of blocks off Main Street. Zoned as mixed use, the house occupied a large lot with deep driveways on both sides. One led to a three-car garage, the other to an attached office of a similar size. It was the house itself that captivated Carissa, however.
Built of creamy brick and native rock with a tan roof, it might have appeared rather vanilla in appearance if not for the graceful crepe myrtles, sheltering oak trees, neat shrubbery and clinging ivy that surrounded the building. She knew that the children would flip over the pool in the backyard, a smaller version of the one at Chatam House, but Carissa stared in delight at the pale tile floors that flowed through the light, airy great room and the large, open kitchen, separated only by a freestanding fireplace with a deep hearth
all the way around. Four bedrooms and a den completed the first floor with a game room above. This was the kind of home where children could run and play as they grew, where a couple could entertain friends poolside on a summer day or fireside during the winter.
“This would be perfect for you and the children,” Phillip said, “and the office space seems adequate.”
“But what about you?” Carissa asked.
“Oh, he can stay on at Chatam House,” Maryanne put in nonchalantly.
“For now,” Murdock added.
Ignoring his parents, Phillip took her hand in his. “You really like this place, don’t you?”
She chose not to answer that. It would be unfair for her to wind up with this beautiful home while all Phillip got out of it was a place to work. “I think we need to pray about it.”
Maryanne looked around with dismay on her face. “Oh, but it’s such a perfect—”
Her husband cleared his throat, his hands alighting upon her shoulders. “Carissa has a point. It never hurts to say an extra prayer on a matter.”
“You’re right, Dad,” Phillip said.
Murdock harrumphed, cleared his throat again and gave his wife a nudge, saying, “Let’s give these two a moment to talk, shall we?” Maryanne nodded, and they went out.
“We’ll pray on it,” Phillip said, watching his parents through the window as they got into the car, Maryanne in the front passenger seat this time, “but something tells me this is the place.”
The place for her and her children, Carissa thought. Then he would be free to carry on with his adventures. Without them. She looked around at this beautiful house and her eyes swelled with tears.
* * *
After checking to make sure that the app had gone live as planned, Carissa insisted on working at her regular job on Wednesday. Phillip insisted on taking care of the children so she could make phone calls. His parents insisted on staying in town one more day.
“You agreed not to track participation until this evening after church,” Murdock said at breakfast. “So, we’ll get the first reading on the success of this thing, then we’ll be on our way in the morning.”
Phillip seemed not to mind, and Carissa couldn’t see what difference it made. Phillip would do what Phillip would do, no matter what his parents wanted. He always had. He interrupted her just after lunch to say that the head of advertising of a climbing-gear manufacturer had called him to inquire about buying ad space with Chopper Apps. Phillip had promised to put the company’s name on a list and get back to them.
“That’s a good sign, don’t you think?”
“A very good sign.”
Nevertheless, by the time they left for the midweek service, Carissa felt that her insides were tied into knots. She prayed fervently for the success of the business, the well-being of each of her children and for Phillip. She prayed for herself, too.
Phillip drove her old van as they returned home after church. As they crested the slight rise in the long, circular drive, a trio of vehicles came into view: the aunties’ town car, his parents’ sedan and one other. Carissa groaned.
At the same time, Grace cried, “Lexi!”
“Oh, no,” Phillip and Nathan said in unison.
“Just what we need,” Carissa muttered.
“It’ll be okay,” Phillip promised, but the idea of his parents and her mother in the same room was enough to make Carissa physically ill.
They found them sizing up one another in the front parlor. The aunties had already made the introductions and ordered a tea tray. Alexandra seemed to be trying to decide how to enlist these newest Chatams to her cause.
“Both doctors,” she purred from the settee next to Magnolia. “Impressive. Then again, the Chatams have so many more resources than most folks. I guess that’s why my daughter has taken such shameful advantage of your sisters, Dr. Chatam, sir.” Behind her, Leander shifted uncertainly.
“No one takes advantage of my sisters, madam,” Murdock said, taking a stern tone. “It is impossible to take advantage of those as generous as my older sisters.”
“At any rate,” Maryanne put in from a striped wing chair, “Carissa is almost family.”
“Oh, my, yes,” Hypatia agreed smoothly from her usual seat. “Why, she is the dearest niece of our own Chester.”
“And our son’s business partner,” Murdock added, moving to stand behind Maryanne’s chair, Dallas perching daintily upon the chair’s arm.
Kent occupied another side chair. Odelia sat upon its twin next to him, her vibrant red-and-yellow-striped suit in stark contrast to the tasteful gold damask upholstery. Phillip, Carissa and the children clustered together in front of the fireplace, until Alexandra enticed Grace to come to her as Chester carried in the tea tray.
“Don’t you want to sit in Lexi’s lap, darling? I’ll share my sweets with you.”
Grace looked to her mother for permission and, at Carissa’s nod, slipped across the room. The aunties passed around cups of tea and plates of goodies. Chester hovered near the door, shadowed by Hilda.
“Now, what is this about a business?” Alexandra asked offhandedly as Grace nibbled cookies.
“Carissa has developed a smartphone app,” Phillip explained succinctly.
Alexandra chuckled dismissively. “More of her computer nonsense. It never comes to anything.”
“It will this time,” Carissa said softly. “It was Phillip’s idea, you see, and the Chatams have invested in it.”
“You’ll run it into the ground, Carissa,” Alexandra predicted, “just as you did the last time.”
“This is different,” Carissa asserted.
“For one thing,” Phillip said, “this is a viable thing. For another, she’s not alone anymore.”
“For how long?” Alexandra scoffed. “Until you run off to your next little adventure? I know all about you, Phillip Chatam. Before long, you’ll be off flying helicopters or hang gliding or something else equally foolish.”
“I won’t,” Phillip insisted, looking down at Carissa. His hand found hers and pressed it. “I promise you. We’ll do this together.”
“They’re already doing it together,” Maryanne observed, “and very well, it seems to me.”
“Carissa is no more equipped than you to run a business,” Alexandra said to Phillip, ignoring Maryanne. “She has three children, and because she refuses to let anyone help her, it’ll be years before she’s free to concentrate on anything else.”
“You won’t help me by splitting my family,” Carissa said flatly.
“There. You see? She won’t take help even when it’s best for her little ones,” Alexandra accused, wrapping her arms around Grace.
“You are not splitting up this family,” Phillip declared with some heat. Carissa noticed that Nathan slid back a step and pressed close to Phillip’s side. Tucker, who stood in front of his mother, tilted his head back to gaze up at Phillip.
“I don’t see what you have to say about it,” Alexandra sniffed.
“He might have a lot to say about it,” Maryanne muttered. Carissa cut a sharp look at her, at which point she rolled her eyes. “Oh...just marry the woman, Phillip, and have done with it.”
Phillip gaped at her. “But you...you said she’d targeted me!”
Maryanne waved that away. “I only wanted to see if you’d defend her, and you did. It’s as plain as the nose on your face that you adore her.” Carissa gasped. “Even your brother says it’s just a matter of time before you marry, so do it.”
Grace screamed with delight and jumped off Alexandra’s lap. Running to Dallas, she threw up her arms, crying, “Auntie!”
Dallas caught her and swung her up. Glancing around guiltily, she explained, “I told her she couldn’t call me that until...that is, unless...”
“
No more bffn!” Grace declared, grinning.
“Best friends for now,” Carissa murmured.
“You haven’t reformed at all!” Phillip blurted. “What on earth made you think...?”
“I don’t know,” Dallas all but wailed, half in apology, half in defense. “It’s just that when I saw you with these three and then her, it seemed like a match. But all I ever did was tell them what a good guy you are.”
“And that you need us,” Tucker put in.
“As much as we need you,” Nathan added in a rusty voice.
Carissa’s mouth fell open. “Nathan?”
Suddenly Phillip squeezed her hand hard enough to break bones.
“I, um, don’t know that I really have very much to offer, n-nothing that you and your mom don’t already have,” he said.
“Yes, you do,” she said softly, urgently.
“Do I?” he asked, finally looking down at her.
“Oh, Phillip,” she whispered, clasping his hand with both of hers, “you’ve given me more hope than anyone ever has.”
“Hope,” he echoed. “It takes more than hope, sweetheart.”
“I have hope because of the things you’ve done,” she said, “everything from grief support to moving us in here, taking a hand with the kids, coming up with the app and inviting me to take part, even getting your family and friends to buy in. You’ve even made me feel pretty again.”
“You aren’t pretty,” he told her. “You’re beautiful. And I love you, Carissa. I love all of you.”
She twisted, shook free of him and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, too! I have for a long time. I didn’t dare dream that you could feel the same way.”
“Shhh.” He folded her close. And felt Nathan’s arms steal about his waist from behind. He reached down a hand to the boy, only to feel Tucker jumping up and down on his foot and Grace climbing him like a tree. Chuckling, he caught them all up in the sweep of one arm.
“Daddy Phil,” Grace piped, “Doc Doc is crying.”
“What?”
“Doc Doc is crying.”