by T. K. Chapin
#
After showering, Jonathan put on a pair of jeans and a white button-up shirt. His hair was still wet and a few of the top buttons of his shirt undone when he finally came downstairs. Finding Rose with a smile and enjoying her time with Kylie, Jonathan was relieved. He already felt the arrangement working marvelously for all three of them. She joined him in the kitchen, and they went over the employment paperwork she had to fill out to get paid.
“What exactly does my job entail?”
“That’s a fair question. Um, I just need your help. You’re basically here to help make my life easier.”
“So, taking care of Rose. Doing some laundry? Shopping?”
“Sure.” He laughed as he caught sight of the pile of laundry sitting randomly on the table in his kitchen. Pointing it out, he looked at Kylie. “I was going to get to that today. I swear.”
Her smile was pleasant as it broke across her lips. It made him feel easy, relaxed. Raising her hands up, she shook her head. “I’m not here to judge. Just here to help. I’ll take care of that and anything else around the house you need done for what you’re paying.”
“Sounds good to me. I appreciate your taking this on and giving it a chance. I know it was odd how it happened.”
She tilted her head, still smiling. “Yes, a tad unconventional, but then again, a lot of what God does is that way.”
Her mention of God was the third time in a row, making a mention of Him once every time they were together. The mention at the restaurant about answered prayers, the mention of God’s creation to Rose, and now this. “You value your faith a lot, don’t you, Kylie?”
He picked up an apple from the counter and bit into it.
“Well, of course, Mr. Dunken.”
Waving his hand as he finished chewing, he shook his head. “I already told you yesterday to call me Jonathan.”
“Okay, Jonathan. Yes, my faith is my strength and it comes with me everywhere I go. Is that going to be an issue with you?”
He wanted to say ‘yes,’ but that small voice in the depths of him knew he couldn’t truthfully tell her that. “No, that’s not a problem. Just curious.”
Glancing at his watch, he held out his hands. “I guess I’d better get to work.”
“That is why I’m here, Jonathan.” She left the kitchen back to where Rose was in the living room. Smiling as a sense of freedom filled him, Jonathan headed to his studio to work on the redrafting of the designs for the project proposal.
Chapter 10
Kylie - Age 12
KYLIE HAD POSITIONED HER BED NEAR the window in her shared room with Jenny at Grandma Faith’s on purpose when she first came to live there five years ago. She’d spend the evenings, after lights out, sitting on her bed and staring out into the moonlit night, waiting for Mama to come find her. She didn’t pray to God but instead to her mother, hoping she’d be able to hear her somehow. Her roommate, Jenny, knew of her nightly prayers and tried a few times to tell her about a friend of hers she prayed to named Jesus. Kylie shut her down every time, just like she did with Grandma Faith.
One night, while her head lay pressed against the glass of her window, she was about asleep when Jenny sat up.
“It’s been five years, Kylie. Isn’t it about time you face reality?”
Blinking her eyes to fight away the tears, Kylie lifted her head from the glass pane. She turned to Jenny. “I don’t know how to let go.”
“Just give it to Jesus. He will take it for you.”
Kylie didn’t like it when Jenny or anyone at The Faith House tried to talk to her about this Jesus fellow. It was always ‘Jesus this and Jesus that.’ They spoke of a man as some sort of magical genie, and she just couldn’t buy into the concept of a Savior. The only man she ever knew left her and Mama when she was just a toddler. “Tell me this, Jenny. If this Jesus guy is so great, why’d He ever let my mom get rid of me? Why’d He allow for your parents to get rid of you?” Her eyes turned back to the window. Peering down at the street light on the corner of Emerson and Place Street, sadness invaded her heart. “Seems to be if there was some big loving God in the sky out there, He wouldn’t allow for so much pain.”
Jenny didn’t speak again that night. Instead, she rolled over and prayed for Kylie. The entirety of The Faith House household prayed for Kylie. She needed the Lord’s peace a lot more than she had realized. It had been hard for Kylie since coming to the house. Multiple times, she had attempted to leave. Luckily, everyone on the block had eyes on the lookout for kids running away from The Faith House. They’d phone Grandma Faith every time a child tried to run off, which happened more often since Kylie had arrived. Sometimes, it was Kylie running, and other times, it was other girls who wanted to run from Kylie.
As Kylie continued to look outside that evening, she knew in her heart that her hope was running dry on her mother. It had already been five years and not a peep from her.
#
A couple of weeks later, Grandma Faith asked Kylie to come join her for afternoon tea alone in the living room after her Bible lesson with Albert. The rest of the children were outside playing while they spent time one-on-one. These meetings might have been ‘requests’ by Grandma Faith, but every child in that house knew they weren’t optional. Kylie plopped down on the couch while Grandma Faith was already sitting down in the recliner. At Kylie’s arrival, Grandma Faith rose from her seat and poured cups of tea for the two of them.
“What do you want to talk about?” Kylie pressed, not wanting to spend too much time with the woman she held responsible for her misery.
“I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in my adopting you. As you know, it’s been over five years now. You’re also at the age where the judge will ask you if you desire to be adopted.”
“No.” Kylie jumped from the couch, her arms opening up. “You seriously think I’d want to be adopted by you?”
Grandma Faith’s hands trembled as she sat down with her tea in the recliner. She didn’t take a drink of her tea or speak a word in that moment. She merely listened.
“If you want to do something for me, you can find my mom and tell her where I am so I can get out of this prison.” She started to cry as she flung her hands in the air. “I’ve been waiting and waiting for her and I know she’s out there looking for me! She just doesn’t know where I’m at!”
Setting her tea down on the end table beside her chair, Grandma Faith held a heavy frown in her expression. “My child. You have no idea, do you? I figured with the internet in the recreation room, you would’ve found out by now.”
“Found out what?” Kylie wiped her eyes, eager to learn even a shred about her mother. When a moment passed and Grandma Faith still hadn’t spoken, Kylie pressed again, wanting to know.
“Your mother passed away, dear. It was shortly after you arrived here. I’m sorry. I thought you knew.”
The breath in her lungs pressed out, and Kylie sat down on the couch in the living room. Numb inside, burning tears filled her eyes. “How is that possible?” Touching her chest with a trembling hand, she continued. “Why couldn’t I feel that all this time? I should’ve been able to know she was gone.”
Compassion lifted Grandma Faith up from her seat and brought over to the couch beside Kylie. Wrapping an arm around her, she brought Kylie in close. “I’m so sorry you didn’t know.” She kissed the top of Kylie’s head and rubbed her back in a circular motion. “This is your family now. Betty, Jenny, Clair, Mary, and Albert. They are your family, and we all love each other.”
“Yeah, but who knows how long those kids will be here? They can be here today and gone tomorrow like the others who were here when I first came. You love to tell us how you offer structure and balance and consistency, but then you have kids coming and going.”
Grandma Faith didn’t say anything in response for a long time. Then, she finally did say something. “I wasn’t sure if you’re old enough to know this, but I think you are. I am working on closing down the foster care aspect of
the house. It’s already in the process. My plan is to adopt all of you as soon as I can. You’ll be the first one, Kylie. If you allow it.”
Still distraught over losing her mother, she couldn’t agree to it, not now. “I’ll think about it. Right now, I need to learn more about my mom.” Rising to her feet, Kylie went into the recreation room of the house and got on the family computer. She needed to know what happened, no matter how painful it might be. She had to know what her mother’s untimely death entailed, even if it was horrific. Was she a drug addict? Maybe she was a really bad person and that’s why Kylie felt angry all the time? Maybe it was just part of her DNA?
A soft hand touched her shoulder before she started. It was Grandma Faith.
“My child, once you go down the path, there’s no coming back from it. It’ll change your thinking of her, warp your mind.”
Kylie thought for a moment of her father. He had left her and her mother when she was only two, headed for Memphis, Tennessee to become a rock star. He was never heard from again. “I know. But I need to know who my mother truly was, good or bad.” Turning back to the computer, she clicked the mouse on the screen.
Chapter 11
SKETCHING IN HIS STUDIO THE next morning, Jonathan’s hand cramped and he set his pencil into the cup on his design table. Standing up, he clasped his hands together behind his back and stretched. Kylie soon entered the studio with a cup of steaming black coffee and a newspaper in hand.
“Thank you.” Jonathan studied her as she crossed the smooth floor and over to the counter that lined the wall and was near to where he was standing. She set the cup down, then the newspaper. She looked pretty today. A nice dark blue dress, her hair pulled up, but a few strands down. She was a bit more relaxed than she was yesterday. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he hadn’t answered the door sweating like an animal and half-undressed. Regardless of the reason, he was glad.
“You don’t see that a lot anymore, do you?” Jonathan’s eyes lingered on hers as she met his gaze.
“What?” She blinked, a look of uncertainty flickering in her eyes. He approached her, then reached for the paper. Grabbing it and the coffee, he walked back over toward his design table.
“The newspaper. People don’t read anymore these days.” He set his coffee down on the design table, then opened the paper, flipping to the business section. He grabbed his cup of coffee and took a deep drink, letting the hot liquid slightly burn as it traveled down his throat. She walked over to him.
“I thought the same thing when I saw it on your porch this morning. Newspapers in themselves are a dying breed from a different generation.”
“You’re right. I’m still subscribed because I love the way it smells. Honestly, the smell of anything in print is delightfully appealing to me. I also enjoy the feeling of turning a page in the newspaper or in a book. You can’t get that flicking a screen.”
“That’s true. By the way, when Rose woke up this morning and I retrieved her from her bed, she had a stuffy nose. I couldn’t find anything in the cupboards in the kitchen. Where do you keep your medicine?”
Folding the paper, he set it down on the table. “The medicine cabinet in the bathroom in my bedroom has all my medicine, but I don’t have anything for children. You’ll need to go to the store for that.” Jonathan pulled out his wallet and handed her a credit card. “Grab some food while you’re out also. I know there isn’t much.”
“Okay.” The card slipped out of her hand and she bent at the knees to grab it off the floor. As she did, Jonathan noticed the top of a tattoo on her neck. The collar of her dress hid most of it, but he saw enough to know there was more to her than just the God façade she’d been putting off since they met. Curiosity piqued in him as she stood back upright. “I’m sorry. My fingers are a little clumsy at times.”
“It’s okay. Tell me, Kylie. What is your biggest regret in life?”
“A bit personal, don’t you think?”
Jonathan raised his hands. “My apologies.”
“It’s okay. I am curious about something about you.”
“Please ask.”
“You don’t have medicine for your child and you suddenly are in need of someone to watch Rose. I feel like I’m . . .”
“Missing something?” Jonathan finished her sentence, tipping a smile as he did. He raised a hand. “I should have explained things more to you. Rose is my niece. My sister-in-law showed up a while back and left her child with me. I’ve been doing what I can to take care of her, but with my work, it’s just too much.”
“Oh, I see.”
Sensing her uneasiness, Jonathan raised his eyebrows. “My work is demanding and I don’t see the situation with Rose’s mom changing anytime soon. Don’t worry about anything. I have temporary guardianship of Rose right now, and I have a court date in two months for permanent guardianship.”
She hesitated to respond. He sensed it.
“What? Go ahead. You don’t need to be shy with me, Kylie.”
“And Mrs. Dunken?”
He didn’t expect her to go there, though it made sense for her to ask. Jonathan could have been tipped over with a feather at the mention of Marie. Jonathan’s spirit felt jolted and jumbled around like a pair of Yahtzee dice. “Why would you ask about a Mrs. Dunken?”
Her cheeks went crimson. “Sorry. I mentioned a Mrs. Dunken on Sunday and you didn’t say anything, I figured then there wasn’t one, but I saw on your mantle a wedding photo and—”
He held up a hand. Jonathan wanted her to stop talking about her, to stop mentioning her in the conversation. It only drove the dagger deeper into his heart. He had spent the last three years trying to feel okay enough to get through a day without tears. He didn’t need someone stirring the cauldron of pain. “There is no Mrs. Dunken anymore. Let’s leave it at that and not talk about her again, please.”
Awkwardness soon invaded the quiet between them, but Kylie moved. She lifted a drawing from his table and looked it over. He glanced to see which one it was. It was a structure that he had designed for a ritzy single Malibu schmuck who wanted modern and chic. She studied it carefully and then set it back down without a word.
“What do you think of it?” He wanted to hear how she viewed his work.
“Seems a bit much. The curves along the whole right side? Wavy? Like, seriously?”
Jonathan laughed, crossing his arms and covering part of his mouth. “I know. The guy who requested the design is a bit much himself.”
“Oh, so the design fits the gentleman.”
They both laughed.
She was about to leave when she turned to Jonathan and peered into his eyes. “By the way, Jonathan. You’re doing the right thing by taking Rose in and raising her. No matter how long that ends up being. I just wanted you to know that.”
“Thanks.”
She left his studio and he returned to work. As he sketched, he felt distracted. He couldn’t think clearly. Marie had danced across his thoughts and rested on his mind. Crinkling the paper, he tossed it into the garbage can. Then he started sketching what came to mind—the tattoo on Kylie. It had only been a small portion he had seen on the back of her neck, but it had intrigued him. When he finished the drawing, he set his pencil down, then picked up the paper. He turned it and studied the odd shape. It had words, but he didn’t get a good enough mental image to know what it said, and then a pattern that reminded him of something Irish. Setting the paper back down, he pulled out his colored pencils and filled in the colors. Shaded with dark blue, outlined purple. Setting his colored pencils back into their drawer, he leaned back in his chair and studied the image. Letting his mind concentrate more on the design, questions surfaced. Was it just a small design on her neck? Or did the tattoo spread over the entirety of Kylie’s neck and onto her back? Regardless of its size and purpose, it told Jonathan one thing. Kylie had a past too.
#
A few days later, Kylie got a call from Savannah. She wanted to catch up over coffee and
learn about how the new job was going. They met at a coffee shop near Savannah’s apartment complex on Francis Street in Spokane. After getting their coffees, they sat down at a table inside the shop. Peter didn’t come along for the trip. He was already asleep in his bed by the time she left the house.
“So, is he married?”
“No, but he was at some point.”
Savannah must’ve noticed something in Kylie’s face at that point. “Was he rude about it or something?”
“Kind of, but not really. I don’t know. He just didn’t want to discuss it.”
“She’s either dead or she cheated on him. Mmmhmm. He’s damaged goods, honey. Run.”
Kylie shook her friend’s notion out of her head. “I’m working for him, not dating him.”
“You keep it that way. A man like that never changes without the power of God. Is he a Christian?”
“It’s hard to say. He doesn’t curse or anything like that, but he gets quiet anytime I mention my faith.”
“And you do that a lot, so I’m sure he’s somewhere between believer and doubter. You toss in a cheating spouse or a dead one, and you’ve got yourself a mental basket case for a man.”
“Well, like I said, good thing I’m not dating him. Right?”
“Yes.”
For the next hour, Savannah started telling Kylie about a new guy she had met at the coffee shop earlier that week. She was crushing on the guy after one date, talking about how they were going to get married, he was going to give her beautiful babies, and how she planned to get a dog after they got settled into their new house after marriage. Savannah had high hopes and a good heart with every man she dated, but she moved too quickly for all of them and they ended up running by the third or fourth encounter with the lady.
“Going back to this Jonathan fellow. You’re not attracted to him. Correct?”