Sure it is.
“If you’ll give me your address, I’ll pick you and your daughter up in, what do you think, twenty minutes?”
“Hmm.” Adrianne’s mind raced. She grappled with many confusing thoughts, not the least of which was the idea that this guy could turn out to be anything but what he presented himself to be. “Tell you what,” she said finally, “I’ll meet you at the coffee shop on the corner near my apartment complex. That way you won’t have to mess with the code for the security gate. Sound okay?”
“Sounds perfect.”
She relayed the directions and he ended the call with a joyous, “See you soon, then.”
As she snapped the cell phone shut, Adrianne slapped herself in the head. “Why in the world did I just do that?”
“Do what, Mom?” Lorelei entered the room with a portable video game in her hand.
Adrianne shook her head and sat on the sofa with her shoes in her hand. “That was a man I work with. He’s picking us up.”
“Why?”
Why, indeed? “It’s a work thing,” Adrianne explained. “He wants to talk to me about the museum. He’s going to drive you over to Grandma’s and then we’ll go on from there.”
“In his car?”
“Yes.”
Lorelei shrugged. “Okay, Mom.” She turned her attention back to the video game. Twenty minutes later, mother and daughter entered the coffee shop. The whole place was alive with activity. People stood at the counter, ordering up every conceivable type of coffee. The place, which smelled delicious, calmed Adrianne’s nerves at once.
She looked through the crowd until her gaze fell on James Kenner. “Ah. There he is,” she said.
“He’s handsome, Mom,” Lorelei whispered.
Handsome didn’t seem to be an adequate word. In his black tuxedo with his dark wavy hair carefully groomed, James Kenner looked like something from a magazine.
“Adrianne.” He extended a hand as she approached, his amber eyes alight with joy. “You look amazing.” He looked down at Lorelei and smiled. “And you must be. . .”
“Lorelei.” The youngster stuck out her hand, and he took it for a firm handshake.
“Lorelei, it’s great to meet you. I’m Mr. Kenner.” He offered up a playful smile as he asked, “Are you a coffee drinker?” He gestured toward the crowd of people with countless cups of coffee. “Could I order something for you?”
She giggled. “No. I can’t drink coffee. I’m just a kid.” She looked up at her mom with a smile, then whispered, “But sometimes my mom lets me have just a little.”
Adrianne felt compelled to explain. “Actually, I just give her a glass of warm milk with a teensy-tiny bit of coffee in it.”
“It’s yummy!” Lorelei added.
James laughed. “You two are funny. I like you.” He flashed a dazzling smile in Lorelei’s direction. “I’ll call you Latte for short. Is that okay?”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
James now looked at Adrianne. She felt his gaze sweep her from head to foot, and a flush warmed her cheeks as he asked, “Are we ready to go?”
“Sure.” Adrianne draped her wrap over her shoulders. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Lorelei chattered all the way to her grandparent’s house, telling Mr. Kenner about her role in the church play, her video games, even her passion for cooking. Adrianne wondered if she might be wearing on the poor fellow’s nerves, but he seemed to take the youngster’s enthusiasm in stride.
“See you later, Latte!” he said as they dropped her off at the house.
“Later, gator!” she responded.
Adrianne glanced at her watch as they left her parents’ house. “Yikes. We’ve got to get going. I’m going to be late.”
“I won’t let that happen.” James chuckled. “No damsels in distress in this car.”
They settled into an easy conversation, and Adrianne relaxed, in spite of everything. She took in the man to her left. He appeared to be genuinely nice. Clearly, he hadn’t been as interested in talking business as she’d hoped, though he did managed to bring up the grant money and the banquet a couple of times.
As they drew near the museum, James glanced her way, and a shy look crossed his face. After a moment of silence, he finally stammered, “You. . .you look amazing, Adrianne.” He offered an admiring gaze. “I really mean that.”
“Thank you.” She felt her cheeks warm.
“And I haven’t had a chance to tell you this yet, but I’m so impressed with the way you’ve pulled together this evening’s event. I hear you’ve been working round the clock.”
“Yes.” Thank goodness. It’s kept me sane for the past week since Chris—
No. She wouldn’t think about him. Not tonight.
“It’s going to be wonderful,” James continued. “And a lot of my colleagues will be there. I’ve encouraged them to be exceptionally generous this year.”
“Wow.” Adrianne tried not to get too excited about his comments lest she be disappointed later. “We really just want people to give because they love the museum or admire our work there.”
“There are a great many things to admire.” James looked over at her with a penetrating gaze and she understood his meaning at once.
“I—I. . .”
“Promise me one thing, Adrianne.” He took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. “When this is all over with, promise me you’ll let me take you out for a celebration dinner. Say, one night next week?”
“Oh, I don’t know—”
“Or the week after. Seriously, I won’t take no for an answer. You’ve worked so hard. You deserve a night out to celebrate. And besides”—he feigned a back-to-business face—“we still have a lot to talk about.”
Yes, but we’re not talking business now, are we?
Adrianne leaned back against the seat and prayed her stomach would settle down before the evening’s events got underway. They arrived at the museum in record time. The entire lobby had been transformed. Adrianne gasped as she saw it, then rushed to Dani’s side. “It looks amazing in here.”
“I used a lot of your ideas, so of course it looks amazing.”
Adrianne looked up at the large swags of fabric and twinkling lights, and then shifted her gaze to the many dining tables, each fully decked out with fine china and crystal. The whole place was absolutely magical—like something out of a. . .a fairy tale.
“Just pray this works,” she whispered. “We need funds to come in.”
“I’ve already prayed,” Dani assured her. “Stay calm, Adrianne. Tonight is a night for relaxing. Celebrating.” She chuckled. “Okay, and maybe a little arm wrestling with a few deep-pocketed patrons, too.”
Adrienne nodded, then glanced to her right as her boss made his appearance. “We rarely get to see you in a tux, Bob,” she acknowledged.
“Yeah. I can’t stand ’em, but my wife made me.” He pulled at his bow tie with a grunt. “Said it’d be good for business.”
“She was right.”
He chuckled, then looked around the room. “Adrianne, the place looks great. Great. I’ve heard nothing but complimentary things from our guests.”
“Really? I’m so glad.”
Just then, James slipped in behind her, sliding an arm over her shoulders. “She’s quite a girl, isn’t she?” The words were meant for Mr. Martinson, but his eyes twinkled in Adrianne’s direction.
“She is.” Bob gave her a wink, then turned his attention to James. “Mr. Kenner”—he extended his hand—“we can never thank you enough for all the work you did on that grant. You’ve been a tremendous asset to the museum, and we’re all very grateful.”
“My pleasure. I’ve always loved this museum.” James released his hold on Adrianne’s shoulder to shake Bob’s hand. “But never more than lately. There are a great many things here to draw my attention.” He shifted his gaze, just for a moment, back to Adrianne. Bob looked up with a fatherly glance, and Adrianne felt her cheeks flush. “Well, I
should head on over to chitchat with some of the others,” he said. “I’ve got a little hobnobbing to do.” As he moved on to greet the other guests, Adrianne turned to face James.
Just as she opened her mouth to tell him that he had embarrassed her, Joey joined them. “Hey.” He gave a little whistle as he saw Adrianne’s dress. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you.” She gave a little twirl, but immediately wished she hadn’t. The eyes of both men now locked firmly on her. For a moment, anyway.
After just a few embarrassing seconds, Dani cleared her throat. “Well, I. . .um. . .I’d better go check on the caterers.”
Adrianne did her best to alleviate the awkwardness. She reached to give Joey’s hand a little squeeze. “I know you had a lot to do with this. Thank you so much for helping set up the room.”
“No problem. I’d do anything for y—the museum,” he stammered. “You know that.”
“Well, it turned out great, and I just want to give thanks where thanks are due.”
Joey reached over to give her a warm hug, and for the first time since meeting him, Adrianne saw James Kenner’s expression shift from genteel to perturbed.
What in the world?
Joey pulled back but never lost his focus. She looked at him with an uncomfortable smile, wishing she could just this once pull a Cinderella and run from the room.
Nope. Too awkward. She must stay put, no matter how difficult. As Adrianne stood there, with one man to her right and another to her left, she suddenly wished, for all the world, she could have the one in the middle, the one on the other side of the world.
Prince Charming.
❧
“Chris, my friend, I can’t tell you how happy we are to have you back. We were at a loss without you.”
Chris looked across the dinner table at fellow missionary David Liddell, and shrugged. “Looks like you did pretty well when I was away. I see a lot of progress.”
David shook his head. “Things are never the same when you’re on furlough. But I know you deserved the break.” He flashed a warm smile. “And I do hope you had a good trip back to the States.”
“I did.” Chris’s thoughts shifted at once to Adrianne. His trip had presented some interesting challenges, but some amazing blessings, as well.
“How was the wedding?”
“Oh, great. Stephen and Julie were wonderful hosts, and the ceremony was beautiful. I wish you could have seen the church. I’m not sure you would have believed it, especially after some of the buildings we’ve worked on here. It was amazing.”
David let out a lingering sigh. “I know Stephen will be happy, married and living in the States, but I just keep thinking about him when he first came to Managua five years ago. I don’t remember ever seeing such excitement in a young missionary’s eyes.”
“Right. I remember.”
“We had some great years together.”
“We did,” Chris agreed, “but God has called him to a different season now.”
“Right.” David grew silent. Finally, he looked up with a smile. “Did you get some rest when you were in Philly?”
“Um. . .not really. No.”
“Hmm. I was hoping you’d come back rested and refreshed. We’ve got a lot on our plates over the next few weeks. The church in Masaya is really struggling. I’m going to make a trip down there in a couple of days and hoped I could talk you into coming with me.”
“Sure.” Chris answered more out of rote than passion. For whatever reason, he couldn’t quite seem to get back into the swing of things since his arrival in Managua a few days ago.
“I hear Pastor Alejandro is in need of some building supplies,” David continued, “so we’ll load up the truck before we go. Oh, and one more thing”—he glanced at his watch— “I’ve got to get over to the airport to pick up Brent in a few minutes. He’s on the 8:15 flight.”
“Brent?” Who’s Brent?
“Brent Ferguson. He’s from California, originally, but I understand he’s done a lot of missions work in Guatemala and has a lot of experience with some of the more remote Spanish dialects. He’s married to a nurse.”
“Wow.”
“He wants to join us for a couple of weeks to see what we’re all about.”
“I see. Well, at least we won’t have to train him. That’s a relief. Where is he staying?”
David gave him a knowing smile.
“Oh no.” Chris slapped himself in the head. “He’s staying with me?”
David offered up a shrug. “It’s either that or a hotel. There’s too much construction going on over at my place. And I didn’t have the heart to ask him to pay for a hotel room for two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” Chris groaned.
“Yep. But don’t worry, Chris. He’s a nice guy, and he loves the Lord. And he has a heart for this kind of work. I know you’ll enjoy getting to know him.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
Chris wished he could garner up even half of David’s excitement, but found his attention drawn to other things. He couldn’t stop thinking about Adrianne and Lorelei. What were they doing right now, at this very moment? Were they eating dinner? Was Adrianne helping Lorelei with her homework?
Where are they? And why am I here, so far away from them?
EIGHTEEN
Adrianne paced across her parents’ living room, wearing a path in the carpet. For several minutes, she had struggled with whether or not to tell Adrianne about Chris. Her thoughts on the matter shifted back and forth, much like her emotions over the past week, since his departure.
She muttered her thoughts aloud, grateful the room was empty. “If I tell her that he’s her father and he doesn’t play that role in her life, she’ll be even more hurt, more disappointed than ever.”
Back and forth Adrianne walked, her thoughts rambling.
“On the other hand, if I don’t tell her the truth about who he is, then I’m not being completely honest with her. And she’s old enough now for me to be open and honest, even about something this difficult.”
Adrianne paused to look out of the window, thinking she’d heard a car pull up in the driveway. Just Dad starting the car. He’s ready to go and I’m holding him up. And for what? I’m not making any progress, anyway.
She continued on with her ponderings as she marched from one side of the room to the other. “I’m going to tell her. It’s just a matter of time. I need to make sure I do this at exactly the right time and the way the Lord wants me to. I don’t want to hurt her. That’s the last thing I’d want to do.”
“Mom, are you coming?” Lorelei entered the room, dressed in blue jeans and a matching jacket. Her eyes glistened with excitement, and her ponytail bobbed up and down as she clapped her hands in glee. “It’s time to go.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Grandma says you’re lollygagging. What does that mean?”
“She’s trying to say I’m taking too much time. But I’m coming now.” If my mom knew what was going through my mind, she would give me the time.
“Grandpa says all the fish in the river will be gone if we don’t leave soon.”
“Okay, okay.”
As Adrianne started toward the door her cell phone rang. Her heart flip-flopped as she reached to grab it from her purse. Finally. She had waited for Chris to call for days, and now...
She glanced at the number and groaned. James Kenner. Should she take it or let voicemail pick it up? If she didn’t take it, he would probably be offended. She responded on the fourth and final ring with an all-too-cheery hello.
“Adrianne.” His voice dripped with sweetness. “I’m so happy you’re there. I was hoping I would catch you.”
“Actually, we were just heading out,” she explained. “My parents are taking us fishing this morning.”
“Oh.” The usual lilt in his voice all but disappeared. “Well, I understand. I had such an amazing time with you last night, and I was. . .well. . .just hoping we could spend the day together.”
<
br /> “I’m sorry.” Adrianne glanced at her watch: 8:15. Her mother and father had already been waiting in the car a good five minutes.
“Wait, I have an idea!” James practically sprinted through the next few words. “I have a great little boat. The Pocket Yacht. I keep it at the Delaware River Yacht Club. What if I met you and your family there in, say, half an hour?”
“Oh, James, I don’t know.”
“Please let me do this, Adrianne.” His tone softened a bit. “I want to meet your parents. And I know Latte would love the boat. They were made for each other. Besides”—he sounded remarkably coy, even a little embarrassed—“I really want to get to know you. Outside of our work environment, I mean.”
“James, I—”
At that moment, Adrianne’s dad entered the room with a frown on his face. He gestured to his watch, and then shrugged, as if to say, “What’s taking so long?”
“James, my dad is right here. If you’ll hold on a minute, I’ll run this by him. I’ll be right back.”
She quickly relayed the information he had given her, praying her father wouldn’t take the bait.
“A yacht?” Her father’s eyes grew wide. “Are you kidding? Of course we’ll go. I’ll tell your mother.” He bounded from the room, a smile as broad at the Atlantic on his face.
Good grief. Men and their boats.
Adrianne turned her attention back to the call, wishing with everything inside of her that she hadn’t taken it in the first place. “James,” she spoke with a sigh, “we’ll meet you at the Yacht Club in thirty minutes.”
At that very moment, another call came through. She didn’t take the time to look at it, since James was still talking. “Do you know where it is?” he asked.
Sadly, yes.
The lilt in his voice continued on. “I could give you directions, if you like.”
Another beep in her ear let Adrianne know the second caller was still trying to get through.
Red, White and Blue Weddings: Red Like Crimson, White as Snow, Out of the Blue Page 11