by Irene Brand
As she undressed for bed, Summer considered that their emotional life was becoming more complex. Where could they go from this point? She always felt comforted and cherished in David’s arms. Could she be in love with him?
As David walked back to the dorm, his arms felt empty without Summer in them. The hours he spent with her and the children were satisfying, and the cabin home had the same atmosphere he’d always enjoyed as a child. But it disturbed him that Summer occasionally mentioned returning to New York. It seemed as if she still had to hold on to the past.
Chapter Fifteen
Summer made her bed on the sofa, but disturbed over her reaction to David’s advances and wondering just what he meant by them, she couldn’t go to sleep after she turned out the light. She was still awake when Timmy called, “Daddy! Daddy!”
Hoping to keep him from waking his grandparents, she jumped out of bed and sprinted down the hall in her bare feet. He wasn’t calling out in his sleep. The child was awake, and his eyes were wide. She went inside the bedroom, closed the door and groped in the darkness until she found the light above his bed.
“I want my daddy.”
“Uncle David just went home. He’ll be back in the morning.”
“No. I want my real daddy. He was supposed to come for Christmas. Why’s he hiding from me?”
Nicole’s feet were dangling over the side of her bed. “I told you, Timmy, that Daddy isn’t hiding. He and Mommy are in Bolivia. They’ll be back in a few months.”
“But I want him now!” Timmy started kicking the blankets on his bed. “Now! Now!”
Oh, dear God, what can I do? Summer prayed. She couldn’t leave the children and go for David. She could call Joyce or Patrick, but they were mourning enough already without having to deal with the children’s fantasies and fears. No, she was on her own.
She sat on the bed beside Timmy, and he started pounding her legs. “Get away! Leave me alone. I want my daddy.”
Summer caught his flailing arms. “Stop it!” She gathered him in her arms. “Nicole, come sit beside us.”
Timmy started sobbing, and the sounds unnerved Summer. When Nicole sat on her other side, Summer took a blanket and covered the three of them, putting an arm around each child.
“Listen to me. Your parents are not in Bolivia. Nicole, you must not tell Timmy that again. Spring and Bert have gone to live with Jesus, and they aren’t coming back. You must believe it.”
“I don’t think they’d go off and leave us forever,” Nicole said stubbornly.
“You were at the farm when they were buried. You saw them in their caskets.”
“That wasn’t them—just somebody made up to look like them. Like we saw in a wax museum once,” Nicole insisted.
“If they went to be with Jesus, why were they in them boxes?” Timmy wanted to know.
“I don’t understand it very well,” Summer admitted, “but we’ve got bodies and souls. The soul goes to Jesus, but the body is put in the ground. Someday the body and soul will be together again.”
“Do you really believe that?” Nicole asked.
Summer hesitated, and the children watched her face intently. “Yes, I—I do,” she stammered. “I don’t understand it, but I believe it’s true.”
“I want them back,” Timmy said.
“I miss them a lot, too, and wish they were with us, but it’s not going to happen. We have to accept that. They asked your Uncle David and me to take care of you, and we’re doing the best we can.”
“You’re doing all right,” Nicole said, “but it helps to believe they’ve just gone away and will come back someday.”
Summer wished she understood the basic Christian doctrine that everyone who died in Christ would someday live again, but even if she knew how to explain it, it would be too deep for the children.
“They can’t return to us, but someday Jesus will take us to see them again.”
“When?” Timmy asked.
“I don’t know. Nobody knows except God.”
“I don’t understand,” Nicole said.
“Neither do I. We’re not expected to understand God’s ways, just accept them,” Summer said, realizing she’d just taken another giant step of faith in trusting God for the future.
Nicole sniffled, and Summer tightened her arm around the child.
“Can’t you go to sleep now? We want to get up early in the morning to open presents. I’ll stay with you.”
Nicole refused to get back in her bed, so Summer said, “You stretch out beside Timmy, and I’ll curl up at the foot of the bed until you’re sleeping again.”
The cabin was quiet when David walked up on the porch the next morning at six o’clock, but Summer heard him and opened the door.
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” he called, and she held up a cautious finger as he took off his coat and hung it in the closet.
“I don’t think your parents are awake yet. I’m trying to get dinner underway before the children get up. What are you doing here so early?”
“I figured everybody would be up by now, ready to tear into their gifts,” he said quietly, “and I didn’t want to miss the fun. Besides, it was lonesome in that room all by myself.”
Summer’s mouth curved into a smile. “Okay, if you’re looking for sympathy, I feel sorry for you. Last night I’d have gladly traded places with you.”
She continued to crumble bread for dressing, and David stood beside her at the cabinet and started chopping celery and onions.
“What happened? I thought your voice sounded listless.”
“I spent most of the night in the children’s room, after learning that they still think their parents are coming back.”
“Poor kids!” David said compassionately, and then he added, “And poor Summer for having to deal with it.”
She explained what had happened and what she’d said to them. “I don’t think I convinced them, but I did calm them and they went back to sleep.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Perhaps I should have called your dad to talk to them, but your folks are having a difficult time themselves, so I toughed it out. Just when I think we’re doing pretty well at this parenting business, something else comes up.”
“I have a feeling that real parents feel the same way. Rearing children is a big job.”
“But I’ll admit I understand now why people choose to have children. I’m fond of Timmy and Nicole, and they aren’t even mine. I find myself planning for their future, hardly ever thinking about my own aspirations. They’ve completely turned my life around, but I don’t seem to mind.”
“Neither do I.” The onion scent made David’s eyes water, and sniffing, he turned to Summer. “You’re a pretty special person, Summer—at least, to me.” He leaned toward her, but straightened when the hall door opened.
Summer turned and greeted Joyce and Patrick. “Merry Christmas,” she said.
Joyce came toward them and she put her arms around Summer. “I heard Timmy cry out last night,” she said, “but I was too much a coward to go to him. I stood in the hallway and heard you talking with the children. Thank you, my dear.”
Patrick cleared his throat and took Summer’s hand.
“But I didn’t know what to say,” Summer answered. “I’m only beginning to understand the Christian faith myself so I can’t explain it to anyone else.”
“You did as well as anyone could have,” Joyce said. “I believe God directed you. You’re doing great with the children.”
Summer took David’s hand. “But not without David’s help.”
“Let’s have a prayer before the children get up,” Patrick said, and the four of them joined hands while he prayed.
“Lord Jesus, we’re sad this morning because our two loved ones aren’t with us, but we know they’re with You, and that makes us happy. We pray that You’ll give David and Summer an extra portion of Your grace as they guide, protect and parent Nicole and Timmy. We ask, too, that David and Summer, following the path started by B
ert and Spring here at The Crossroads, will find fulfillment for their own needs. Amen.”
Sorrow was soon replaced by joy as Timmy and Nicole burst into the room, faces happy, as if the episode of the night before had never happened. Acting upon suggestions from Summer, her family had sent numerous books for the children, as well as warm clothing. David’s parents had brought checkers, dominoes, and other table games. Summer welcomed these as good games for David and her to play with the kids.
Summer had vacillated for weeks before she finally bought David a red-and-gray pullover sweater. He was pleased with her choice, and he put it on at once.
She was amazed when she opened David’s gift for her—a four-day bus tour to a resort hotel in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, usable any time during the next six months.
“Why, David! How thoughtful,” she said. David’s sensitiveness to her needs was one of the things that made him so special to her. After the first few weeks of frustration, she’d accepted the fact that she couldn’t expect to have any time alone, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to break away occasionally.
“Thank you very much. I do appreciate it,” she said softly, and for a few tense seconds, his brown eyes met her blue ones. Summer forgot they weren’t alone until Timmy crowded against her and demanded, “What’d you get? Must not have been much in a little box.”
“Nice gifts don’t always come in big packages,” Summer said, and she lifted the gift certificate from the box. “This entitles me to a four-day vacation in the Smoky Mountains.”
“Are we goin’ too?” he asked.
“Nope,” David answered. “The idea is for Summer to have a vacation from us.”
“Gee whiz! Who’s gonna look after us?”
“I’ll do it,” David said. “And we’ll have pizza every meal.”
“Oh, boy!” Timmy shouted.
Paper and ribbons littered the floor. Nicole was modeling a new dress, and David was placing batteries in a toy for Timmy when a knock sounded at the door. As fond as she’d grown of the students at The Crossroads, Summer was a bit annoyed that they’d come today. She had hoped for a family holiday.
David opened the door to Stonewall Blackburn. The mountaineer’s black hat was white with frost and his whiskers bristled in the cold air.
“Come in, Stonewall,” David invited.
“I’ll step inside for a minute. Mighty cold out this mornin’.” He touched the brim of his hat and nodded toward Patrick and Joyce. “Just come down with a gift for the children,” he continued. He opened his coat and took out a puppy with a smooth white coat, black-and-tan patches and long drooping ears, and set it on the floor. The beagle yipped, waddled across the floor, grabbed a red ribbon in his mouth and tossed it upward.
“His name is Pete,” Stonewall said.
Summer sensed three pairs of eyes staring at her. Two sets of beseeching juvenile eyes, and David’s questioning gaze, displaying a bit of humor.
“Did you know about this?” she accused him.
His mouth twitched in amusement. “Not at all. I’m as surprised as you are. But I think it’s a good idea. I like dogs.”
“I know when I’m beaten,” Summer said with a sigh. She turned to Stonewall. “Thank you, Mr. Blackburn. I’m sure the children will enjoy having a puppy.”
Timmy and Nicole squealed and dived for the puppy. As they wrestled on the floor, Pete howled and ran away from them, dragging the red ribbon behind him.
“I want to hold him first,” Nicole shouted.
Timmy shoved her away. “No, he’s mine.”
Smirking at David, Summer said, “You can settle the quarrel while I show Mr. Blackburn out.”
“I’ll build a house for the dog in a few days,” Stonewall assured her.
“Please do,” Summer said. “That way, the puppy can stay outside most of the time.” She closed the door when Stonewall lumbered off the porch.
“He can sleep in our room,” Timmy said, and Summer shook her head.
“No. Mr. Blackburn will build a house for Pete. Until then, we’ll put him in a box here in the living room. Pete is a hound—he’ll be happier outdoors, and so will I.”
“Aw, gee,” Timmy said and twisted his lips into a pout.
“Summer says the dog stays outdoors,” David said sternly. “Don’t argue about it, or we’ll give Pete back to Mr. Blackburn.”
“All right,” Nicole said, and Timmy’s face retained its sullen look, but he didn’t argue anymore.
Though his support made her days a lot easier, it irritated Summer that the kids would argue with her, but never with David.
Christmas night, David and his father took Nicole and Timmy for a walk while Summer and Joyce quietly washed the dirty dishes that had accumulated. Into the midst of this companionable silence, Joyce said, “Do you and David plan to get married?”
The dish Summer was washing dropped from her hands into the dishpan, splashing suds in every direction. For a full minute she was startled into silence, but her pulse quickened at the suggestion. “What gave you such an idea?”
Joyce laughed merrily. “Sorry to surprise you. It just appears to be the obvious solution. You seem quite compatible.”
“Not always,” Summer replied tersely. “We’re wearing our company manners now.”
“I’m sorry I mentioned it, but I wanted you to know that Patrick and I would approve if you should decide to marry. We appreciate what you’ve done for our grandchildren. We’d have taken them gladly, but I believe this arrangement is better, as Bert and Spring must have known it would be.”
They planned the excursion to Biltmore on the day after Christmas and, fortunately, the weather cooperated. When Anita said, “I’m glad we’re doing something special on our Christmas break, but what’s so great about Biltmore?” David and Summer decided they needed to have an orientation before they started the day’s journey. David circulated the news that everyone going to Biltmore should meet in the dining hall at eight o’clock.
All the students had gathered when Summer and her household arrived, and the noise in the cafeteria was deafening, but they settled down when David’s shrill whistle sounded in the room.
“Today,” he explained, “we’re going to one of the most outstanding private homes in the United States. At the end of the nineteenth century, George Vanderbilt was responsible for the construction of Biltmore, a 250-room chateau near Asheville. It took hundreds of stonemasons and artisans six years to build the house, which was completed in 1895. We’ve arranged for a guide to take us through the large home, and I know you’ll enjoy it. Be sure and follow directions and listen closely.”
Summer drove the former Weaver van, and with David driving the school bus that belonged to the elementary school, they started off in a festive mood. Mayo had brought his new banjo, and he rode in Summer’s van, leading the group in singing Christmas songs.
The weather was sunny, and they made the trip through Asheville and to Biltmore’s private property without any trouble. Summer was caught up in the excited anticipation of the students, who stopped talking abruptly when they had their first view of the four-story stone house with the snow-covered Blue Ridge Mountains for a backdrop.
Anita moved to Summer’s side. “You mean people actually live in that mansion!”
“I believe the owners live somewhere else,” Summer answered, “and use this for special occasions only.”
“I can’t believe it.”
David didn’t have to caution the students about their behavior as they trailed behind the guide through the elaborately decorated home. In addition to the forty-foot-tall tree in the banquet hall, there must have been fifty other trees in the house, all decorated differently. It was a step back in time for the students as they saw the house as it had been a century ago.
After walking for three hours, they were ready for lunch by the time they finished their tour in the basement where Mr. Vanderbilt had provided a swimming pool, gymnasium and bowling alley for his family and g
uests.
Patrick bought lunch for everybody at the snack bar, and Summer took candid pictures of the group as they ate, intending to send them to her parents. Clara and Landon would be glad to know how she’d spent the Christmas present they’d sent her.
On the return trip, as they left Asheville behind them, Summer encouraged her passengers to talk about the day. “What impressed you the most?” she asked. “What did you like the best?”
“I liked the music room and the organ pipes in the banquet hall,” Mayo said.
Others voiced their delight in the winter garden filled with orchids, tall palms and banana trees. One girl was impressed by the library with its numerous books.
Anita was sitting in the front seat beside Summer, and she didn’t respond. “Didn’t you have a good time, Anita?” Summer asked quietly, her words covered by the chattering students behind them.
Although Anita usually enjoyed a chance to go out in the van, she stared straight ahead with stony brown eyes.
“No, I didn’t enjoy it,” she said harshly. “I’d have been better off not to see the way rich people live.”
“The Vanderbilts have always been generous with their money, giving large amounts to universities and other worthwhile civic projects.”
“Makes no difference. They had no right to squander money on a house like that when people are in need. When I compare Biltmore to the house my mother and I lived in, I could scream. What kind of house does your family have?” She eyed Autumn belligerently.
Summer risked a glance at Anita’s stormy eyes before she swung into a wide mountain curve. “Nothing to compare with Biltmore. My parents have a nice, comfortable home, but I don’t think it’s fair to resent people who have money. Today’s trip wouldn’t have been possible if my folks hadn’t paid for it.”
“I thought the school took care of it.”
Summer shook her head, keeping her eyes on the road for they’d reached the mountain, and she was never comfortable driving over that route.
Anita’s moody expression remained, so Summer asked, “How was your visit with the Blackburns?”