by T. K. Chapin
“Yes, I’m trying to hurry. I need to drop this resume off at Petco to the hiring manager and then I’m going.”
“Wait one minute.” Setting her knitting needles and yarn down beside her chair, Grandma Faith rose to her feet and went into the kitchen. Returning with a plate of chocolate chip cookies with a foil cover, she handed them to Kylie. “Give them to that gentleman at Petco. It’ll leave a good impression.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, dear. Now run along.”
Kylie went back into the bedroom she shared with her two-year-old son Peter and kissed his forehead. He was asleep. “Do well for Grandma, little man.”
Taking her purse and coat off the rack near the front door, Kylie lifted a prayer of thankfulness to God and left. Grandma Faith had been sweet enough to let her move in two years ago after the friend she was living with suddenly passed away. Kylie had made mistakes, but Grandma Faith loved her regardless of them. That woman’s love was a constant reminder to Kylie of how much God loved her, despite her imperfections.
Chapter 6
Kylie - Age 7
WHEN KYLIE’S FEAR-LIT EYES landed on Grandma Faith for the first time, she turned in the doorway and sprinted to the car that had brought her. She didn’t want to live with a stranger. She wanted to go back home to be with her mom. She wanted to go back to their little apartment on Ash Street where she had friends like Neese and Kanya to play with and her mom there with her most evenings. Kylie didn’t want a new life.
The social worker pried Kylie’s fingers off the door handle of the car and brought her kicking and screaming back to the house. Once inside, the social worker told her to sit on the couch and spoke with Grandma Faith in the kitchen. Kylie, arms crossed and heart full of anger, didn’t move from the couch cushion she was placed on. When one of the other girls tried to invite her to play with dolls, she refused.
“I don’t play with dolls. They’re not real.”
The little girl walked away with glistening tears in her eyes and a broken heart. Kylie turned her body away from the other kids in the room and looked at the TV that was turned off. She remembered her mom. Just a few days ago, they were watching SpongeBob and laughing together. Now everything was different. Everything was wrong. How long do I have to be here? She wondered. How long until her mom would come find her and rescue her from this unknown place? Would her mother even be able to find her if she tried? The lack of the possibility terrified her little heart.
After the social worker left, Grandma Faith came into the living room.
“Family meeting. Go tell the others.” She smoothed a hand over one of the little girl’s heads. The young gal scurried off to tell the others, while the kids still in the room took seats on the couches. There were three kids in the room, not including Kylie. All the children soon filled the room.
Grandma Faith came and sat down beside Kylie, but it caused Kylie to turn away more. She placed a hand on Kylie’s shoulder.
“I know you’re scared, but you don’t have to be scared anymore. You’re home now.”
Whipping around, Kylie sat up. “This isn’t my home! My mom is going to come get me and she’ll take me home.”
“Okay. Well, until that happens, how about you try to make the best of it? Maybe think of it as a sleepover.”
“A sleepover with strangers? No, thanks.”
“We don’t have to be strangers, Kylie. We’re all friends here.”
Kylie glanced at the other children. There were nine girls in total. Grandma Faith had everyone in the room introduce themselves to Kylie. When it came to Kylie’s turn, she didn’t speak.
“Oh, come on, Kylie.” The girl that went by the name of Betty pushed her to speak. “Don’t be a sissy baby. Introduce yourself.”
“Now, now, Betty,” Grandma Faith warned. “Show God’s kindness.”
“What’s the point of sharing?” Kylie opened her arms up, glaring at each girl in the room, then at Grandma Faith. “I won’t be here long. My mom is going to find me.”
“Yeah, I thought that too.” Betty shook her head. “The quicker you get to accepting reality, the quicker you can move on and face the sad music.”
Grandma Faith cut Betty off. Touching Kylie’s shoulder softly, her mouth curved into a smile. “If you don’t want to share, that’s fine. Maybe tomorrow, you will change your mind.”
The family meeting moved forward without participation from Kylie. They discussed their latest adventures in the back yard which consisted of a tree house and a full-sized playground. They also talked about a gentleman by the name of Albert who came weekly and taught the children about God, manners, and life. All the children appeared to be okay with their living arrangements at Grandma Faith’s house, but Kylie wasn’t going to be one of them. She’d have her mom back soon, and things would go back to normal. The Faith House was just a temporary stop.
Chapter 7
HANDING THE PROPOSAL TO TYLER, Jonathan turned to Rose in her high chair beside him and gave her another saltine cracker. She took it willingly. His brother kept quiet as he thumbed each page carefully. On the pages with the design sketches, he’d turn the booklet sideways, analyzing each drawing, studying it carefully. After he was finished, he tossed it back to Jonathan, letting it slide across the table and fall into his lap.
“I’m sorry, brother, but it’s sub-par work. We’ve been working together for how long now?”
“You know how long.”
“Yep, I do. And in all of our time working together, I’ve never seen anything so half-way done before in my life. What is wrong with you?”
The waiter came over to their table and refilled their glasses of water. As the waiter finished, he told Jonathan and Tyler he was about done with his shift and a new waitress would soon be taking over the table.
“Okay, thanks. You’ve been great.” Jonathan reached into his back pocket and pulled out a ten and handed it to him. He put his wallet away and the waiter left their table. Jonathan knew the work he had done was sub-par on his part. That’s why he had spent the majority of last night trying to fix everything wrong with it, but even his last-minute changes weren’t enough. He couldn’t hide from the truth. Not with himself, and not with Tyler. He was treading water and barely keeping his head above the surface. He let out a heavy sigh and looked at his brother across the table. “I don’t like blaming a child, but I know that’s the difference in my life right now. I’m struggling to balance my work and taking care of her.”
Tyler smiled at Rose for a moment, then looked back at Jonathan. “You have plenty of money. Hire someone to take care of her during the day.”
He had already thought about that idea, even acted on it. He went as far as running an ad on Spokane’s Craigslist for half a day. He ended up taking the ad down, though, after he received over twenty applicants in the matter of a couple of hours. “I did try that, put an ad out, but got way too many applicants rolling in. Do you know how long it’ll take to interview each of those people? Read all their emails and also work and take care of Rose? That’s without mentioning the fact that I wouldn’t know who they were or anything and let them into my home for the interview.” He shuddered at the thought. “I don’t want a bunch of random people coming into my house.”
A waitress came over to the table with Jonathan and Tyler’s food. She was pretty and had curly dark brown hair pulled back into a nice ponytail. After setting the plates down, she bent down to eye level with Rose. “I’ll be right back with your food, munchkin.”
She asked if there was anything else the two of them needed.
Jonathan laughed. “Yes, one more thing. Can you watch her for me Monday through Friday?”
She blinked without speaking a word. Then after a moment passed, she spoke. “Are you serious?”
Tyler looked at Jonathan, Jonathan at Tyler. Then he turned to her. “Maybe . . . ?” He lowered his voice and leaned toward her while she leaned toward him. “Are you looking to leave your job he
re?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I just took a plate of cookies and a resume to Petco.”
“Hmm. Can I have a plate of cookies?” Jonathan tipped a smile. “I’m just playing. Do you have any experience with children?”
“I have a two-year-old son, and I helped a lot with my sisters when I was growing up.”
Jonathan fished a business card from his pocket. “You’re hired. Come to my house on Monday morning at seven o’clock and we’ll get you started.”
“What?”
“I said come to my house on Monday. The address is on the card.”
She appeared confused. “Um . . . what’s the pay?”
“Whatever you make here, doubled. You’ll have evenings and weekends off.”
Kylie’s eyes began to water. “Wow, Mr.” —she peered at the card— “Dunken. You are an answer to my prayers.”
Jonathan’s heart jolted at her mention of ‘prayer.’ He hadn’t done much praying since Marie. Disregarding it and embracing the fact that he had just hired a nanny, he smiled. “Sure. See you Monday.”
As she walked away from the table, Tyler’s mouth gaped open. “You sly guy. You just snagged yourself a solution to your problem in just a couple of minutes.”
“Maybe now I’ll be able to get some work done.” Jonathan picked up his glass of water and took a long drink as he glanced in Kylie’s direction.
Chapter 8
KYLIE MET WITH HER FRIEND Savannah the following Sunday after services at their favorite little sandwich shop on the north side of Spokane. The May sun was warm, but not hot, so the two of them chose a table out on the balcony. Savannah was one of the ladies from the Bible study she had started going to on Tuesday nights. Kylie brought Peter along to their lunch date.
As the waitress took the menus, Kylie brushed her hand over the top of Peter’s head as he sat in his high chair. She loved being near him any chance she had. There wasn’t a lot of time left in the week after her work and online college coursework.
When the waitress had left their table, Kylie turned to her friend. “I got a job. I start tomorrow.”
Savannah’s face lit up, delighted to hear the wonderful news since Kylie had been struggling at Ethan’s for months. She knew all about how often she was stuck late into the night, missing out on time with Peter.
“Do tell. Where?” Savannah asked, then her shoulders sagged as something seemed to come to her mind. “Please tell me it’s not at that horrible gift shop in the mall you applied to a few months ago.”
“Actually, it’s not. It’s kind of random how I got it. I’m going to be babysitting for a guy.”
“For a guy?” Her friend’s guard and eyebrows went up. “What guy?”
Kylie grabbed Jonathan’s business card from her purse and handed it to her. “He’s an architect and seemed really nice at the restaurant.”
“At the restaurant? You mean you met him at Ethan’s?”
“Yep.”
Savannah adjusted in her seat, crossing her arms. “You’re serious about this? Someone at one of your tables offered you a job and you just accepted on the spot? Did you already quit Ethan’s and are just hoping it doesn’t turn into a bad joke?”
Kylie shook her head. “Don’t worry, Savannah. I’ll quit once I make sure tomorrow that everything is legit. Frankly, I’m not too worried about it though. People aren’t as shady as you think they are. He had his daughter with him. Pretty cute.”
“The kid or him?” Savannah’s head was tilted, a smile curling on her lips. “Please tell me this guy is not attractive, dear. Just please tell me this at least.”
A blush crawled up Kylie’s neck and into her cheeks. She found Mr. Dunken very attractive at the restaurant, but she hadn’t thought that influenced her decision . . . or had it? She started to question herself. She steered the conversation toward the little girl. “His daughter was darling.”
Savannah said, “And he was . . . ?”
Kylie studied her friend’s face as she eagerly awaited a response. “He was attractive, but this is business. Plus, the guy is probably married.”
Savannah shook her head. “Girl, don’t be dumb. You can’t honestly think he’s married and he needs someone to watch his daughter?”
“I’ll be fine. I promise.” Kylie held her eye contact with her friend. “Believe it or not, I can make good choices in life. Plus, he lives really close to Grandma Faith’s house, so I get more time with Peter since I have a shorter commute and don’t have to work nights. This is a God thing. Trust me.”
After the meal, when it was time to leave, Savannah lingered at the table as Kylie loosened Peter from his high chair. Savannah touched Kylie’s arm gently and looked at Peter, then at her. “Know that I love you and don’t want you to get hurt again.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your friendship and concern for me.” Standing up with Peter in her arms, she looked at her little guy. “I know God will lead me and help me. I just have to keep trusting and walking in His will and His Spirit.”
#
Jonathan turned around from leaning into the back seat of his Camaro to find Rose had vanished. Worry flickered in his heart as his eyes darted all around him. He had only spent a minute trying to figure out how to tighten the straps on her five-point harness car seat and that appeared to be just enough time for her to escape. His heart pounded.
“Rose!” His voice got louder as he continued calling out to her. Seconds piled on one another and his forehead began to perspire.
Stepping out onto the sidewalk, he spotted her little red dress a block away. Relief came over him. Sprinting down the sidewalk, he quickly made his way down to the yard she was in, and as he approached, a woman came into view on her knees in front of a garden bed.
“Hey. Sorry, I turned my back for a second and she was gone.”
The woman turned on her knees and he recognized her eyes under the brim of her dark brown sun hat. It was the woman from the restaurant, the one he had hired. “Kylie?”
“Yes?” She paused, squinting as she held up a gloved hand, peering at him. “Oh, Mr. Dunken! I knew you lived around here because of your card. I just didn’t think we’d see each other so soon.”
“Wow, it’s a small world. Call me Jonathan, please. You live here?”
“Yes, I do. With my grandmother. You know, I thought I recognized her when she came up to me. By the way, what’s this girl’s name? You never told me at Ethan’s.”
“Rose. It’s her mother’s favorite flower.”
“Mrs. Dunken must be a lucky lady.” Jonathan heard the comment but was too stricken by a slice of pain rippling through him at the mention of Mrs. Dunken that he didn’t respond to it. Then Kylie took off her gardening gloves and set them to the side. Then she picked a ladybug off from the collar of Rose’s dress and set it on her own index finger. Holding her finger up a few inches from Rose’s eyes, she whispered softly. “Be gentle with God’s creation.”
Wide-eyed and eager to touch it, Rose delicately brought her little fingers up and brushed the back of the ladybug. “Pretty.”
Jonathan peered over into the grass and saw a bag of fertilizer and some garden tools. “You like to garden?”
She put the ladybug into Rose’s hands and stood up. Brushing her hands off on her jeans, she shook her head. “Not really. I do it for my grandma. She’s getting older and can’t do as much as she’d like to do.”
“That’s nice of you. Hey, we were just going to head to the park. Did you want to come with us? You can get to know the clientele.”
“I have a sleeping kiddo inside myself, or I’d say yes for sure.”
“Oh, that’s too bad about the sleeping kid. Maybe next time!”
Taking Rose by the hand, he told her to say goodbye to Kylie. She waved.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Absolutely. Looking forward to it.”
Walking back to his driveway, he glanced over his shoulder at Kylie down the block. It seemed t
hat even if he hadn’t met her at the restaurant, they would’ve met regardless when he lost Rose. It made him think of his old faith in God he had left behind after losing Marie four years ago. He knew exactly what he’d say about the coincidences going on all around him. He’d say something about how God was helping him with Rose. How God had orchestrated it. Though he had faded from his faith, he still had it and thought about it from time to time. The difference between that time before Marie passed and now was that the power had gone from his faith. Now it was but a shadow of something that once was and is no longer, just like his wife.
Chapter 9
MONDAY MORNING AT SEVEN O’CLOCK, Kylie gave Mr. Dunken’s large oversized oak door a few solid knocks, then stepped back and waited. She had struggled that morning on whether she should dress comfortably in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or in a dress, but she ended up settling on something in between. A nice pair of well-ironed gray slacks and a semi-fancy blouse. The outfit gave her a sense of style but was also comfortable. She knew she’d be chasing a two year old as her primary job, and that meant she needed clothing that allowed for flexibility.
When there was no answer after a few minutes, she decided to ring the doorbell. Soon enough, the door opened.
With a towel around his neck, a layer of sweat on his sculpted body, and only a pair of gym shorts on, Jonathan didn’t make her feel very comfortable.
A blush climbed up her neck and into her cheeks at his appearance. She shielded her eyes and turned around. “Didn’t you say seven?”
“Yes, sorry. I lost track of time on the treadmill. Turn around and come on in.” Jonathan held the door open as he patted his face with the towel. “I’ll go take a quick shower and meet you in a short while. Go ahead and go hang out with Rose. I just put her in the living room with some toys.”
Still guarding her eyes, Kylie crossed the threshold into the house. Keeping her eyes on the floor and not on his impeccable physique, she walked through the foyer and into the living room. As her eyes fell on Rose, she smiled and felt the awkwardness between her and Jonathan melt away. Removing her hands from her face, she approached Rose and knelt to greet her.