“I agree. But the kids could be down by then.” Ken stared straight ahead. “How do we tell them?”
Mellie and Jake. Yes, how? Marit would be straightforward. Although Ken, Marit, and she had discussed this eventuality, the discussion was only in the most general terms, more along the line of wounded or dead. Not MIA. Even the acronym sounded ominous. “How about you go call Marit, and I’ll keep the kids in the kitchen? Then we tell them together. You cuddle Jake, and I’ll hold on to Mellie.”
Ken nodded, cocked his head. “Here comes Jake.”
“I better start breakfast. I’ll fix some strawberries to put on cereal.” How could such a simple thing sound so insurmountable?
Jake, in his Spider-Man jammies, blankie in hand, climbed up in Ken’s lap, like he did every morning. Ken kissed the top of his head. “How’s my buddy this morning?”
“We goin’ fishing today?”
“Not this morning, maybe this evening.”
“’Kay.”
“Is Mellie awake?”
“Reading. Grammy, can I have peanut butter toast for breakfast?”
“With cereal and strawberries?”
“’Kay.”
“You want to get the toaster out? Grampy has something he has to do.”
“’Kay.”
Ken nodded his thanks, let the boy slide down his legs like he liked, and pulled his cell off his belt on the way out to the garage. Mona had the strawberries ready for serving when he returned. “She’ll talk with you later.”
“All okay?”
He grimaced. “She’s managing. Jake, let’s go get Mellie and get you dressed.”
“Breakfast in five.”
Jake scrambled up the stairs, pulling off his top as he climbed. “Mellie, hurry up, Grammy said five.” His ultra-soprano yell echoed through the house.
From somewhere up there came, “I’m coming.”
They were about finished eating when Ken and Mona exchanged a warning look. It was time.
“Kids, we have something important to tell you,” Ken began.
“Daddy called?” Mellie dropped her spoon.
“No, but we found out why he hasn’t. Let’s go in the other room.” Ken led the way, and they gathered on the sofa as if they were going to read. Jake climbed up on Ken’s lap, and Mellie sat between her grandparents in the circle of Mona’s arm.
“Last night…” Mona choked.
Ken picked it up. “Last night your daddy’s commanding officer came to tell us that your daddy”—he stumbled but regained—“is what they call missing in action. That means that no one knows where he is and they have not heard from him. But the commander will let us know as soon as they can find out what happened.”
“Did my daddy go to be with Jesus?” Mellie asked.
“We don’t know. We do know that right now he cannot call us or Skype us, but he will as soon as he gets found.”
Mellie gripped Mona tighter. “Are they looking for him?”
“Oh, I’m sure they are. They want him to be safe, too.”
Mona’s thoughts took off on her. At the back of her mind, she heard, sensed, Trust me. “We pray for your daddy every night, don’t we?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And we ask God to keep him safe?” Mona could feel Mellie nodding. “Then we will keep on praying, and Jesus said He would answer our prayers.” Please, Lord, don’t let it be no. “So we must be very brave.”
“Daddy said if something happened to him, he would call us as soon as he could.”
“And he will. Your daddy always keeps his word.” And so does our heavenly father. Mona knew she was reminding herself and would need to keep on doing that. Every time fear snuck back in, only the name of Jesus could drive it out. Trust Him. Lord, I trust You. But my trust is so fragile and momentary.
“Let’s pray for your daddy right now,” Ken said. “Lord God, thank you that Steig is in Your hands and You are holding him safe.”
“Help Daddy get found so he is not missing in action. Make him better if he is hurt.” Mellie’s eyes were squeezed tight shut.
Jakey added, “And make him come home to go fishing with Grampy and me.”
“Thank you, Jesus, that You are right here with us.”
Jakey looked up. “’Cause Jesus is right here in my heart.” He pointed to his chest. “Daddy said so.”
“Yes, Jakey, He is right here in all of our hearts.” Ken heaved a sigh. “Help us, Lord, to get through the days ahead.” He hugged Jake and gripped Mellie’s hand. “And we all agree.” They said the amen all together.
Mellie looked up at Mona. “You will tell me as soon as you know something?”
“I will.”
“Even in the middle of the night?”
“Yes.”
“Or if I am at school?”
“If I can.”
“You could come and get me.”
Mona turned and put a hand on both sides of Mellie’s face. “I promise I will let you know as soon as I can.”
Mellie stared into her eyes, then nodded. “Okay, Grammy. Daddy always said his mommy and daddy would take care of us, but Grammy”—her eyes filled with tears—“I miss him so much.”
“Me, too, baby, me, too.” She reached for a tissue for each of them. “And when you have questions, you come ask, okay?”
“Okay, Grammy, I will.”
Ken glanced up at the clock. “We better hurry, or you will be late for Bible school.” Both kids bailed off their laps.
“Ten minutes,” Ken said. “The car leaves in ten minutes.”
When the kids pounded up the stairs, Mona clenched her husband’s hand. “You sure are a good grampy.” She sniffed. “And an even better husband and daddy.” She chewed her bottom lip. “We’re going to get through this, right?”
“We sure are. Jesus said so. And that makes it so!” He held up their clasped hands. “One day at a time.”
“Sometimes one moment at a time is about all I can manage.” Her head suddenly felt so heavy she wouldn’t be surprised to see it plunk on the floor.
“How about you go up after we leave and sleep for a while?”
“I look that bad?”
“Let’s say I can tell when you are nearing the end of your rope.”
“What about you?”
“I got a pretty decent night’s sleep. You didn’t.”
“Thank you.”
After she hugged and kissed the kids and Ken good-bye, climbing the stairs took every ounce of energy she could dredge up. Falling on the bed, she didn’t even remember pulling up the sheet and light blanket.
Something tapping? What was that noise? Mona fought to resurface. Finally her eyes opened enough to see that the light coming in the window was now from the west, and she sat up, realizing it was Mellie at the bedroom door.
“Come in, sweetie.” Even her voice didn’t sound right.
“Grammy, are you all right?” Mellie stood in the door.
“I was just sleeping.” Mona spread her arms wide, and Mellie flew into them.
“I thought you went to be with Jesus, Grammy…” The sobs obliterated any further conversation.
“No, no. Oh, Mellie, no. Grammy was just terribly tired, that’s all, and Grampy let me sleep. I’m getting up right now and…” She glanced down to realize she never had gotten dressed. “You go on down, and I’ll get dressed and be right there. Is Grampy making supper?”
“He said to tell you that supper is almost ready. I set the table.” She sniffed again and took the tissue Mona handed her. She started toward the door and turned back. “You are coming?”
“Let me get dressed. I’ll hurry.”
Knowing there was no time for a shower to help get her fully awake, Mona splashed cold water on her face, pulled on a pair of capris and a T-shirt, slid into sandals, and made her way downstairs, following the voices coming from the kitchen. Lord, please get my mind in gear. I feel trapped in whatever I was dreaming. Just as she hit the main floor, h
er mind caught up. Steig was MIA. If Ken had heard anything, surely he would have called her. Her eyes sent him the question as soon as he looked up, and he gave a minute shake of his head.
“Can I do anything to help?”
“No, sit down, we’re all ready.” Ken pulled out her chair, and as she slid into it, he kissed the top of her head.
She smiled from Jake to Mellie sitting on the opposite sides of the square kitchen table. “Now, how did Bible school go today?”
Ken took his chair and made the time sign. “Let’s have grace, and then you can catch Grammy up on the news.” They joined hands. “Jake, your turn to say grace.”
The pause stretched until Jake started. “Dear Jesus…” He sniffed. “Please take care of my daddy and bless this food. Amen.” The last words came in a rush.
Mona squeezed both their hands. “I love you, Jakey and Mellie, and don’t you ever forget it.”
“Me, too.” Ken’s voice rasped, quite unlike his usual tone.
Jake looked at Ken. “I sure am hungry, Grampy.”
“You are always hungry, Jakey.”
Ken and Mona tried to keep straight faces. Ken rolled his eyes, and Mona shook her head—and gave up. Ah, Lord, thank you for laughter.
“Pass your plates, please.”
“What are we having?” Mellie looked dubious.
“I forget what this said on the wrapping. I just grabbed a package out of the freezer and stuck it in the oven. Smells good.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Jake.
Jake studied the serving dish a moment and announced, “Tonight we are having meatball and bisketti.”
“Jakey, it’s spaghetti,” Mellie said as if putting up with her little brother was a horrid chore.
“Oh, really?” Ken looked down at the plate. “Well, so it is. Grammy, you want to pass the lettuce wedges as I dish up the…” He looked at Mellie. “Spa-ghet-ti? Right?”
Ken managed to keep the dinner conversation light, getting both kids to fill Mona in on the big event at VBS.
“And Grammy, he bleeded all over his shirt, and…” Jakey sucked in a breath.
“Who had the nosebleed?” Mona asked, trying to sort through the story.
“I-I don’t ’member his name, but two big boys smashed into each other playing dodgeball and…”
“Is he all right?”
Mellie took over and Jake nodded right along with her. “Aunty Marit brought an ice pack, and they took him to the clinic, and he came back before we left, and his nose was big, but it stopped bleeding.”
“So what did you do all afternoon?”
“We helped Grampy in the garden and had Popsicles, and he said we could not go wake you up, no matter what!”
“Can we go for a walk after supper? With Ambrose and Hyacinth, too?” Mellie asked.
“Not Hyacinth,” Jakey said firmly.
“Yes, Hyacinth,” Mona replied gently. “She’s part of our family.”
“We sure can.” Ken looked at Mona. “We’ll clean up in here while Grammy gets ready. And then we can go walk.”
Mona nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
How could everything seem so ordinary when their whole world turned upside down last night?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Remember what the chaplain said. If we have questions to feel free to call him?”
Ken glanced up from his newspaper with a nod.
“I’ve been making a list.” She handed him a sheet of typed questions. “If you have more to add, do so. I am going to call him.”
“What about Pastor Oliver?”
“He’s not in the military.” Mona watched as Ken read through the list. “What do you think?”
Ken nodded. “If we can meet with him while the kids are at Bible school.”
Mona found his business card and punched in the phone number. When he answered, she identified herself and nodded. “Thank you. Ken and I are wondering if you could answer some questions for us.” When she finished the call, she held the phone for an instant, sucked in and released a deep breath, and said, “He’ll be right over. I’m going to text Marit and ask her to take the kids out to lunch or over to her house until I call her.” She took another deep breath and sniffed, fighting back the tears that seemed to wait right at the back of her eyes, ready to attack at the slightest break in her defense.
“Good idea.”
The doorbell rang as Mona finished fixing a tray with iced tea. That was fast.
The doorbell had sent Ambrose into full-scale announcement mode. She brought the tray into the living room as Ken shushed the dog and opened the door. He ushered Chaplain Bernov in, keeping one hand on Ambrose’s collar. “Thank you for coming so quickly. We had assumed we would need to make an appointment. Ignore Ambrose. He’s all bark and no bite.”
Chaplain Bernov smiled. “He’s a Lab, what can you expect?” He reached out, palm down, and let Ambrose sniff his hand. “Yes, Ambrose, I have dogs, too, so you have lots of good stuff to sniff.”
Ambrose wagged and whimpered, welcome written all over him.
Ken waved a hand. “We thought we might sit out on the deck, if that’s all right with you.”
“Sounds delightful.”
They followed Mona and her tray outside and within minutes were comfortably seated around the shaded table.
“What a lovely retreat you have out here. A view of the river and the trees. I’m sure this place gets plenty of use.” He nodded his thanks and helped himself to the cookies Mona pushed his way. “Now, you said you have a list of questions. I’ll answer all I can.”
Mona burst out, “Is there any word on Steig?”
“None that I’ve heard, and I will be one of those notified immediately with any news.”
“But someone is looking for him?”
“I would assume so.”
Mona’s face must have registered her consternation, because he added, “Understand it is not as easy as we might think. If someone gets lost hiking in the forest, the proper agencies launch a search. Because Steig is in Special Forces, where he went and why he went there is classified information.” He raised a hand. “But we have not found bodies, either, so that’s good news.”
Ken had not touched the cookies. “I’ve been watching the papers closely, looking for military operations, hot spots—possibilities, you might say. Could he be a hostage or prisoner of war?”
“I suppose it’s possible.” Chaplain Bernov smiled. “However, we’ve not heard any gloating. Usually if hostages are taken, someone brags to the media immediately. That someone may not be the actual party who took the hostage, but that doesn’t stop the bragging. Two of their unit went missing, Steig and another Special Forces man. If these men are still alive, they know how to go under to survive. That’s part of their training, and both of these men are known for their resiliency. They will not do anything stupid to hurry things along.”
He reached over and patted Mona’s hand. “The waiting and staring at the unknown is the hardest part of being a military family.”
“God keeps asking, ‘Are you going to trust me?’”
“And your answer?”
“What are my choices?”
“I see.” His smile made her feel warm and known.
“Who or what else is there to trust? He alone knows what is going on, and I know He is in the answering prayers business. I know that whatever happens, God will not let us go and we will get through.”
“Well said. But the moment by moment is rough.”
“It is.” Ken’s voice sounded bleak. “But we have to keep chins up for the kids.”
“True, but they need to know that you hurt like they do. The pain and fear are so real and so very human.”
Mona snagged a tissue; she’d come to keeping tissue boxes on every table. “Can I ask some procedure questions?”
“Of course. Ask away.”
“If he is severely wounded…”
“You will be notified, and he will be airlifted to the nea
rest hospital, given emergency treatment, although first aid would be done immediately. If he is able to speak, we will set it up so he can talk with you. If he is unconscious, one of the staff will tell you all they know.”
“No surprises?”
“Not if we can avoid it.”
“I assume then that he will be sent to base hospitals?”
“Right. All will depend on the severity of the injury.”
“And if they find his body?”
“The coffin will be shipped home with full military honors. I know that is not much of a comfort, but…”
“If he is too severely wounded to come home or at least stateside, will we be able to go to him?”
“That is a possibility.” His gentle smile made Mona blink again. Right now the load was so heavy, she felt like a huge hammer was driving her right into the ground.
“Is there anything we should be doing for the children while we wait for news?” Ken asked. “Everything happened so fast before Steig left, and we thought we’d be in touch. It’s been a long time since our kids were so young.”
“Have you been over to the commissary yet or set up appointments with the doctor there for preschool exams?”
Mona and Ken both shook their heads. “I never thought to do that yet. I mean, August is not even near.”
“Sometimes it is hard to get in; I’ve learned to think way ahead. You have all their medical records?”
“Yes, Steig made sure all the paperwork is in order.”
“You have all their medical cards and such. And have you checked his bank to make sure his check was deposited?”
“No.”
“But your name is on all the banking? If I were you, I’d follow up on everything to make sure it is in place.”
“Thanks for the advice; we’ll take care of all of that. Any other advice for now?”
“I know, school. I wouldn’t wait; I’d go to the school where they’ll be going and take in all their records and get them signed up. Summer is flying by, that’s for sure.” He drained his glass. “Feel free to call me whenever you need me.”
“Thank you. Do you live here in Stoughton?”
“Yes, I pastor the First Methodist Church on the highway just east of town. I know your pastor well, fine man of God. I know you are in good hands with him.”
The Second Half Page 21