Finding Hope

by Katlyn Grace

  He watched as the back of an ambulance opened and emergency medical technicians rushed to get a stretcher inside the ER. The raised voices caused so many sentiments to bubble up inside of him. He could hear the EMT’s as they shouted and tried to save his parent’s lives. He could see his mom struggling for her last breath. Ethan despised the hospital with a passion. No one was ever there for a good reason. It was almost as depressing as his own life.

  After asking a male secretary at the front desk where Sara was staying, he headed up to her room. His palms began to sweat profusely as his nerves built inside of him. Ethan hadn’t seen his sister for quite a while because of his own selfishness.

  As he raised his hand to knock on the door to her room, a nurse on the other end swung it open. “Finally, a guest!” Her smile stated she didn’t mean any harm by her statement. “Come in, but please be quiet. We gave her some pain medication a few minutes ago and she drifted back to sleep,” she whispered. “Poor Sara hasn’t had anyone here for her since the wreck yesterday evening.”

  Ethan felt a pang of responsibility settle on his shoulders. After all, he was Sara’s one and only brother and he was supposed to be there for her, yet he had failed immensely. “I’m her brother.” He half-smiled as the nurse held out her hand to greet him.

  “I’m Clara, Sara’s nurse. I’ve been working around the clock to take care of this sweet girl.” The nurse was older, but she seemed genuine, and he found no judgment in her eyes.

  “I appreciate that.” He diverted his attention to his sister lying on the hospital bed with beeping machines surrounding her. “How’s she doing?”

  Sara looked uncomfortable on the long hospital bed that probably felt like cement. He stared at the brace around her neck and winced. Ethan wanted to run the other direction, but he kept his feet firmly planted on the ugly green tile floor. Sara’s long brown hair was sloppily pinned up in a messy bun. He knew if his sister could see herself, the most of her worries would be about her hairstyle. If she put her hair up, it was always neat and slick, never a mess.

  Even as she slept, Ethan could sense the pain she felt. The facial expression settled on her face spoke volumes.

  “She’s lucky to be alive. I’m surprised that she’s doing as well as she is already. Typically, she wouldn’t even be talking at this point, but she’s trying and succeeding, which is a huge sign of improvement.” The nurse sighed and continued to explain. “Now she does have what we would call temporary paralysis. With her being as young as she is and already doing as well as she is, she will fully recover from that in no time.

  “The neck though, it’s going to take quite a while. Her doctor is preparing her for surgery in a couple hours, then physical therapy until she gets back to normal.”

  He cringed. “She’s going to hate that.” Sara’s strong-willed nature always kept her accomplishing things by herself, hardly ever accepting help.

  The nurse proceeded to finish. “I wouldn’t be worried about her fractured ankle, it’s tightly wrapped, but only a minor fracture. It will cause getting back to her feet a little more difficult, but again, it’s the last thing you need to worry about.

  “The gash on her forehead is bandaged and stitched up, the most it will do is cause some headaches. The whole situation is no fun. She’ll have to cope to diverse ways than she’s used to.” Clara paused. “Sir, you’re very blessed that your sister is alive. If I were in your shoes, I’d be on my knees thanking God. He’s performed miracles on Sara already. I truly believe that she wouldn’t be doing this well if it wasn’t for Him. He kept His hand over her.”

  Ethan hadn’t thought about God. He hadn’t had time. If God were real, his sister wouldn’t be sitting in the hospital dealing with excruciating pain right now. He just simply gave the nurse a small smile, not wanting to argue with her.

  After excusing herself, Clara stepped out of the room to give Ethan some time alone with his sister. He took a seat in an uncomfortable black leather chair beside of his sister’s bed. The beeping noises all over the room were still running smoothly, and he found himself thankful for that.

  He gingerly picked up Sara’s dainty hand and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, Ethan was the one that had let their bond fall apart. They had been each other’s best friends—inseparable—until he had let alcohol come between them and ruin their relationship. He had selfishly thought, after their mom and dad’s passing, that he was the only one hurting. That the pain was his to bear. He never took consideration of his sister’s emotions and what she was going through.

  The guilt about being alone and not having anyone there for him for so long pressed on his shoulders. It was all his fault. The decision to shove his sister out of the way three years ago had been a wrong one. He realized then that he had wasted so much time only thinking of himself. Selfish. He could have had someone there for him all this time, but he’d pushed Sara away.

  Why had it taken him this long to realize it?

  “I’m sorry,” was all he could whisper.

  Sara needed a brother, and starting right now, he was going to try to be a better one… no matter how much sacrificing it took.

  She opened the back of the delivery van and Anne, Brianna, and Mark started carrying several boxes of cupcakes. Catering the desserts to weddings was one of Hope’s favorite things about running a bakery. She was thankful Mark volunteered to help them on his day off duty. She had to admit that if her business was going to stay this busy, she was going to have to hire more staff. She never dreamed people would love Funfetti Café and Bakery this much. She thanked God for the business and for fulfilling parts of her dreams.

  The reception area was an immense enclosed pavilion with a lake and field for its scenery. The pavilion didn’t even seem like it was enclosed. There were so many windows and so much space. It was like a fairytale that made Hope’s jaw drop as she walked in. Everything was stunning. Lights were strung everywhere, along with colorful tulle wrapped around many balloons. The Hammons had picked a perfect location for their reception.

  “Oh, my stars! This is gorgeous.” Brianna sat a tray of cupcakes on a table and took in her surroundings.

  “It’s perfect!” Hope glanced around the room for the cake display table. It looked like the caterers for dinner were here and possibly a wedding planner, she assumed as she saw a woman dressed in slick black pants with her hair perfectly pinned away from her face, heading toward them. She carried a clipboard and held her nose high in the air.

  “We’re here with the desserts. I’m Hope, and these are my assistants.” Hope smiled and introduced everyone.

  “Nice to meet you, Madame. I’m Adalene. If you follow me, I’ll show you where you may display the cakes.” The wedding planner’s French accent made her even more professional. Hope already knew that Brianna envied Adalene, Bri had always wanted an accent.

  Beside of the bride and groom’s table was a table decorated especially for the cakes. There were labels already in place for the assorted flavors of the cupcakes, and a large golden stand for the cake in the center. Hope expressed her thanks to Adalene, who was already a step ahead of Hope. It shrugged away less stress on Hope’s own shoulders.

  After showing them around, Adalene ran off to make sure there were enough flowers for each table. The woman definitely had more patience than Hope.

  “Let’s get to putting the cupcakes on their stands, shall we?” Anne clapped her hands together and opened a box of cupcakes.

  “Mark, can you help me get the wedding cake out of the van?” He only nodded and followed Hope like a lost puppy in unfamiliar territory. Bless his heart. They left Anne and Bri to start displaying cupcakes.

  They stepped out into the fresh, yet chilly air. The breeze tossed Hope’s long hair back and forth as it blew. Almost a week had passed, and she had heard nothing from Ethan. She hadn’t even seen him linger around her shop. She was beginning to get worried about him. Was it something she said that
he didn’t like? Maybe she shouldn’t have given him her phone number, but she thought it was a nice, genuine offer. Hope didn’t like questioning herself, especially when she thought she initially did the right thing.

  She decided to change the subject on her mind by talking to her brother. “Thank you for coming on your day off. I really appreciate it.”

  “It’s the least I could do, considering I basically steal your cupcakes most of the time.” He opened the back of the van.

  Hope smiled, he’d do anything for her and she knew it. “How has work been this week?”

  “Yesterday, there was a shooting at the mall.” He shook his head. “It was ugly, there were injuries but luckily no one died. The worst part was that the shooter killed himself.” Hope watched in awe as her brave brother spoke of this as if it were normal.

  Being police chief came with a price. Hope always feared that one day he’d get himself into an even bigger situation. One where she wouldn’t be able to do anything but pray.

  She picked up the edge of the wedding cake as Mark grabbed the other end. “I don’t know what I’d do without prayer.” She sighed, knowing that without prayer, her life and the people around her would crumble. “Speaking of prayer, I’ve been praying for the girl that was in the car accident. Did you ever get a name?” she asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

  “Sorry, I meant to tell you. Her name was Sara Grey. They said she broke her neck and fractured her ankle. The drunk driver died.”

  Hope stopped in her tracks, almost dropping the cake in her hands. “Grey? Does Ethan Grey have any siblings?”

  Mark cocked his head sideways and squinted his eyes—his thinking face. Hope wanted to laugh at her brother’s thought process procedure, but she kept it to herself. Mark had probably been too busy to even think about Sara’s accident, he had bigger cases to work. It made sense though. She couldn’t think of any other Grey’s that lived in Alton.

  Hope knew the way her brother thought, he was worried about her getting involved with Ethan. Being a cop, he saw the ugly side to every situation. He wouldn’t want her to get hurt. But also, being a minister called by God, he would understand her deep desire to help and share God’s love with others. She knew her brother like the back of her hand.

  “It makes sense. You haven’t talked to him in a week, and it’s almost made a week since the accident.” He clicked his tongue.

  “He must not have known about it when he came in the day after.” Hope took a shot in the dark.

  “I can give Brandon a call once I’m free and he could check it out for me if you’d like,” he offered. He probably knew that if he didn’t do something about it, Hope would just find out for herself.

  “That’d be great.” She let the gratitude show.

  “Now, we have a wedding to cater to, my little lobster.” Mark grinned at the nickname that would never die. They started carefully walking the cake to the reception area.

  If she didn’t have a cake in her hand, she would’ve whacked him. “I will take my whisk and beat you to a pulp,” Hope threatened.

  “Not that intimidating.” Mark smirked at her threat.

  Many hours later, a shower, and change into comfy clothes, Hope finally plopped down onto her couch. While weddings were her favorite, they were exhausting. The bride was ecstatic when she saw the cake. The word perfect rolled off her tongue more than once. Hope smiled to herself. It couldn’t have gone any better.

  On the car ride back with her siblings and Anne, they officially decided to hire more staff. At least two more people to help in the kitchen and two or three more to help in the café. After this weekend was over, she already had orders for two birthdays and one anniversary. She needed more help for her growing business.

  Hope and her sister, Brianna, started with a small dream as little kids. Their parents fully supported them, and they went after it. After two years in culinary school for Hope and waiting for her sister to graduate and take classes herself, they took out a loan and bought a building. Introducing Funfetti Café and Bakery to the world. Hope honestly didn’t know how the bakery had received this much publicity. It was amazing to look at where they started versus where they were at now. It was a blessing from God, was the only explanation.

  She headed to the kitchen with a blanket snuggly wrapped around her shoulders. The weather had her craving a hot chocolate. November was settling in, and before long it would be winter. She loved this time of year—baking the pumpkin pie cupcakes, drinking hot chocolate, and being with family even more than the usual. And of course, the cheesy Christmas romance movies that even her brother secretly liked.

  She grabbed a mug with a hand drawn turkey on the front of it. It had been given to her as a gift a year ago from a preschooler that she taught in Sunday Bible class. Teaching the youth was something she loved doing. Kids made her happy to be around, and she loved reading and teaching them the accounts recorded in the Bible. Although many of the kids were ornery, she couldn’t help but admire them. They always seemed ecstatic for a new lesson and craft.

  Once her hot chocolate was made, she headed back to the living room to watch a movie. As she sat her mug full of marshmallows and cocoa on the marbled end table, her phone rang. She picked it up and read the caller ID. Mark.

  “What’s up, big bro?” she answered, wishing she had an annoying nickname for him.

  She placed him on speaker as she sat down on the couch. “Hey, I just got off the phone with Brandon.” He sighed. “Ethan indeed does have a sister, and it’s Sara.”

  Hope hung her head low. Ethan’s sister had been in a car accident.

  “Apparently he’s been at the hospital by her side ever since he heard the news. That’s surprising seeing how hungover and depressed he’s been lately.” Her brother filled her in on all the details.

  “Maybe this could be an eyeopener.” Hope bit her lip, a habit she often made when she was nervous. She prayed that this situation could open Ethan’s eyes. He needed Christ in his life. He needed hope beyond life’s problems.

  “Maybe so. From what Brandon got out of the doctors, she’s made tremendous improvement. She had temporary paralysis, but she’s recovering from that. Her nurse said that she came out of surgery for her neck well. She has lots of physical therapy time once she recovers from the surgery,” Mark informed her. “Being a brother to sisters automatically places you a role as a protector. Maybe this will cause Ethan to see it’s time to step up and be one.” He added a glimmer of hope.

  Hope treasured the last two sentences of Mark’s. She truly appreciated him. “Do they have any other family in the state?” she asked curiously.

  Hope could hear her brother mutter something but couldn’t place what he’d said. “Could you speak louder?” she requested.

  Mark took a deep breath. Hope didn’t understand what was taking him forever. “Three years ago, they lost both of their parents in a very brutal car accident. They took a hit by a semi. I guess I could see why he lives the way he does. To him, it seems like no one’s there for him. So, he’s drowning his life in alcohol as an excuse to forget everything. I told you, everyone has a reason behind their ways. I believe this is his.”

  Three years. He’d been a drunk for three years. He’d visited the bakery for almost three years, and Hope didn’t even know half of the man’s story. Hope couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t imagine losing her own parents, especially the way Ethan had. Her family, along with God of course, was her life. Losing them would be like losing an enormous chunk of life. It’d never be the same. “That’s awful, I couldn’t even imagine it.”

  “Neither could I,” Mark’s melancholy voice whispered.

  “What hospital is Sara staying at?”

  “The local one. Downtown.” He paused. “You’re planning on visiting, aren’t you?” She could almost hear his smile through the way he worded the question.

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” A smile formed on her own face.

  “Do you
need someone to come with you?” Mark was already offering to do something else for her, and she chuckled.

  “Haven’t you done enough already? Besides, I’m going to have Bri go with me tomorrow.”

  “Does she have plans for tomorrow?” he asked, amused.

  “She does now.” Hope laughed. It didn’t matter what, she was always volunteering her sister for something. “So, I should probably get off the phone and warn her. Thanks for this.”

  He laughed. “She’ll do anything for her precious older sister, and apparently so will I. Even if I am the oldest. Seems like I need to stand my ground.” He caused her to laugh. “Goodnight, Hope.”

  “Goodnight, Bub,” she sang as she hung up the cell phone.

  Hope found herself feeling more than relieved at the discovery that Ethan wasn’t just ignoring her, but she felt terrible that his sister was hurt, and Hope had a feeling so was he. Maybe not physically but hurt mentally and spiritually.

  Hope took a sip of her cocoa and dialed her sister’s phone number. Bri picked up after the third ring.

  “Hello?”

  “I need you to be at my house in less than fifteen minutes. Pronto!” And with that, Hope hung up the phone.

  four

  “D id you fill the coffee thermos?” Hope asked whilst she checked her pockets for keys.

  Bri and Hope had stayed up most of the night to come up with the perfect recipe for mixed berry streusel muffins. After three batches were tossed, they finally resulted with a fabulous blend of triple berry and blueberry streusel muffins.

  “Yes, and the creamer is inside of the bag,” her sister called from Hope’s closet. “Hope, I’m borrowing one of your sweaters. Seeing how you called me last night and I had no clue what was going on, you owe it to me. My current shirt is covered in streusel crumbs and flour.” Brianna blamed her sister.

  When Brianna finally made it to Hope’s apartment last night, she had mistaken Hope’s urgent request for her as a serious emergency. When Hope explained that she wanted to personally gift Ethan and Sara muffins, Bri nearly socked Hope in the face. Hope had to apologize for being so hasty and scaring the life out of her little sister. Though, once she fully explained Ethan’s situation to Bri, Brianna completely understood and was more than happy to help Hope. They had worked so hard last night that they ended up crashing in the living room after their baking success. Hope considered the two of them a team.