Love Finds You in Snowball, Arkansas

by Sandra D. Bricker

  “Speaking of which,” Dave interjected with a smile, drawing the group’s attention back to worship.

  Several minutes later, Dave closed in prayer and the group disbursed. Lucy joined Betty Sue in front of the enormous window, and they both watched in silence as the snow continued to fall.

  “This is just nuts, isn’t it?” Lucy asked. “I’ve seen tornadoes and rainstorms in October. But has there ever been snow like this?”

  Betty Sue wrapped an arm around Lucy’s neck and pulled her into an embrace. “I think God mistook us for donuts,” she observed, “with all that powdered sugar He’s sprinklin’.”

  A sudden shriek of joy sounded from the hillside, and Betty Sue clamped her hand over her mouth as one of the Bender teens flew by atop a makeshift snowboard. After several seconds, the other two boys followed suit, one seated behind the other on a flattened cardboard box.

  “Esther, you’re going to want to see this,” Betty Sue called out to the matriarch of the clan.

  Laughter drew Lucy’s attention, and she spotted Wendy and Matt standing together in front of the fireplace. Wendy leaned in toward him and tugged on his sweater, beaming at him like a schoolgirl.

  “They sure are getting on well, aren’t they?” Alison observed as she stepped up beside Lucy.

  “Mmm,” Lucy agreed, feigning nonchalance.

  “I’m going out to wrangle up those sleds,” Dave interrupted, and he gave Lucy a pat on the arm as he passed. “Betty Sue, don’t we have a box of just-in-casers? Coats and gloves and things?”

  “It’s on the back shelf,” she told him. “I’ll come and show you where.”

  Lucy set out across the room toward Matt, but Justin cut her off at the pass. “Hey, are you up for some sledding?”

  “That sounds like fun,” she replied and then called out to Matt. “Mattie, let’s go sledding.”

  “It’s snowing too hard for sledding,” Wendy commented. “I’d rather stay inside, warm and dry, and watch until it stops.”

  Matt shrugged at Lucy and then smiled. “Warm and dry strikes me fine at the moment. But, uh, are you sure you want to do that, Luce?”

  Disappointment pinched her, and Lucy grimaced. “Maybe they’re right,” she said to Justin. “It is snowing awfully hard out there.”

  “Are you kidding? This is the perfect time to hit the hills. Come on, we’ll have a blast.”

  Matt had returned to his conversation with Wendy, and Lucy’s grimace evolved into a full-fledged frown.

  “Okay. I’ll have to check the just-in-case box and see if there are some gloves I can borrow.”

  “The what box?”

  Matt stepped up to the window alongside a group of others in time to see Dave drag a couple of sleds and a plastic saucer with rope handles out to where the patio would have been if the snow hadn’t covered it. Betty Sue followed behind him with a small box and two more saucers.

  He watched as Justin zipped up Lucy’s parka and tightened the scarf around her neck while she slipped on red mittens that were far too large for her hands.

  The minute they were securely in place, she dove for a handful of snow, packed it into a ball, and hurled it at Justin. A full-on war ensued, Justin chasing Lucy over the slope of the yard while Alison, Cyndi, and Rob followed in hot pursuit. It looked like so much fun that Matt, watching from the window, found himself wishing he’d gone with them.

  The sky was hazy and gray beyond the curtain of snow falling from it, and Matt thought that it looked more like dusk than late morning.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Wendy asked him, setting down two cups of coffee on a nearby table and nodding him over. “Black?”

  “Yes, thanks.”

  “Lucy and Justin have really found their stride, haven’t they?” she asked, and Matt felt a whoosh move through his gut.

  “Looks like it.”

  “I think she really likes him.”

  “I think so, too.”

  They watched Justin grab Lucy’s hand and drag her toward a sled Matt recognized as a Flexible Flyer. Justin threw it over his shoulder, and he and Lucy hiked across the white carpet and made their way up one of the steep hills.

  “You really have a beautiful voice,” Matt told her.

  “Thanks.”

  “Have you been singing your whole life?”

  “Just about. I was seven the first time I performed in front of our church and ten when I learned to play the guitar.”

  “I admire that kind of gift. I certainly don’t have it.”

  “Well, it’s like the scripture says, each of us has his or her own gifts.”

  Matt gazed across the table into Wendy’s crystal eyes, and the sweetness in her was almost palpable. She was such a beautiful girl, with a heart to match.

  “Listen, Matt,” she said reaching across the table and taking his hand into hers. “I was wondering if you—”

  Matt just happened to glance beyond Wendy and out the window to see Justin hurrying across the snow, Lucy draped over his arms like a sack of potatoes.

  “Oh, no,” Matt exclaimed, popping up to his feet. “Lucy’s hurt.”

  “What?”

  He didn’t wait for Wendy, nor did he think to grab for his jacket. Matt just flew out the back door and raced toward them.

  Her face and hair were dotted with crystal clumps of snow, and a strange little ice formation in the shape of a miniature dagger was hanging from one eyelash.

  “What happened, Luce?”

  “My foot,” Lucy cried, wincing in pain.

  “What happened?” he asked Justin.

  “She wanted to steer,” he explained. “And she steered us right toward a tree.”

  “Then I made the very bad decision to try and stop the collision with my foot.”

  “Ohh,” Matt groaned. “That had to hurt. Is it broken?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I don’t think so,” Justin told him as he carried her into the lodge. “But I couldn’t tell anything out there.” Justin set Lucy down on one chair and scraped another in front of her to support her foot. Flicking her scarf from around her neck, he balled it up and placed it like a pillow underneath her ankle.

  “Does that hurt?” Justin asked her.

  “Only a little.”

  He began to brush the snow from her hair, but Matt pushed his way past Justin and barked, “Here, stand back.” Matt leaned over Lucy’s foot and said in a much gentler voice, “I’m going to take your shoe and sock off, okay, Luce?”

  “Okay.”

  “Wendy, would you go find Betty Sue?”

  “Sure.”

  “Justin, get her something hot to drink?”

  “Of course.”

  Lucy let out a screech as Matt removed her shoe, and he wrapped both hands around her ankle protectively. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

  Matt bit down hard on his lip as he peeled back her sock and eased it away from her swollen foot.

  “Can you move it?”

  She gasped as she tried and then nodded. “Yeah. It hurts, but I can move it.”

  “Good. I think that’s a good sign.”

  Betty Sue scurried through the door from the kitchen and rushed to close the gap between them.

  “Okay, sugar, tell me what happened.”

  “I stopped us from running into a tree. With my foot.”

  “Ouch.”

  “That’s what I said, except louder.”

  “Did you hear a crack?”

  “No. More like a pop.”

  Betty Sue placed her hand over the swollen part of Lucy’s ankle and gave it a gentle press.

  “I think it’s probably sprained,” she told her. “We’re going to put some ice on it, and you’re going to sit here for a little while. We’ll see if it bruises or becomes misshapen. That will tell us a lot.”

  “Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?” Matt suggested.

  “We could, but Dave says the roads are already a mess.”

  �
�They are?” Lucy blurted. “How are we supposed to get home in the morning?”

  “We’ll cross that blizzard when we get stuck in it. Meanwhile, we have enough food stocked up to get us through to Christmas. We have power and heat. We have friends around us, and God’s hand beneath us. We’re just dandy. Right?”

  Lucy nodded, and Matt was relieved when her lips tilted into a grin.

  “Okay. I’m going to go get you an icepack. You keep that foot right where it is, and don’t dance any jigs before I get back.”

  “I promise.”

  Matt dragged a chair next to her and straddled it backwards. “You gave me a pretty good scare when I saw Justin carrying you across the yard.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I’m thinking no more outdoor activities of any kind for you for at least six months.”

  “Or more,” she agreed, her chin angled downward as she raised her eyes and looked at him. “Sorry, Mattie.”

  “Sorry?” he replied. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Luce. I just thank the Lord you didn’t get hurt more seriously.”

  “We all do,” Wendy added.

  Matt raked his eyes away from Lucy and toward the sound of Wendy’s voice. He hadn’t remembered that she was there.

  “Here we go,” Betty Sue said, and she scuttled toward Lucy with a bright blue cup and a plastic bag of frozen peas. “The peas will stop the swelling, and the hot cider will warm your heart.”

  Lucy thanked her and stirred the drink with the cinnamon stick poking out of it. She took a sip from the enamel mug and sighed. “Mmm, Betty Sue. This cider of yours is so great. What’s in it?”

  “Secret family recipe,” she told her. “But you’re family now, aren’t you, sugar?”

  Hot Apple Cider (Betty Sue)

  1 tbsp. allspice (whole)

  1 cinnamon stick

  3 cups apple juice

  1 cup orange juice

  ½ sliced lemon

  1 tsp. honey

  3 tbsp. hot cinnamon candies

  Tie allspice into a piece of cheesecloth. Place in a medium saucepan with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir, simmering until the candies are dissolved. Remove the spice bag. Stir cider with the cinnamon stick and serve while hot.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “THE TIN MAN. A creaky door.”

  Lucy’s forehead was creased in concentration. Suddenly the crease vanished.

  “And old Mrs. Dilson from tenth grade Earth Science! Get it? Things that need to be oiled!” she exclaimed, giving Matt a high-five.

  “And that’s the game,” Jeff announced, shaking his head. “Matt and Lucy have won three straight games.”

  “Who’s next?” Matt asked them. “Who wants to be humiliated and virtually slaughtered?”

  “I think we should change games,” Justin suggested, the slightest hint of irritation detectable.

  “You don’t like $20,000 Pyramid?” Lucy exclaimed. “I love this game!”

  “I can see that,” he said with a tentative smile.

  “Oooh, darts!” Wendy chimed in.

  “No one wants to play darts against you, Wen,” Cyndi remarked with a chuckle. “We’ve seen you play.”

  “Can’t we play something that no one excels at?” Brenda said. “Maybe try a level playing field?”

  “I’m sorry,” Lucy cracked, feigning a very serious expression directed at Matt. “A level playing field? When we’re in the game? I don’t think so.”

  “Let’s break in that Wii game of Dave’s,” Justin called out, already heading across the length of the lodge before the others began to follow.

  “Want a ride over?” Matt asked, nodding toward Lucy’s bandaged ankle. “Climb aboard.”

  He crouched down while Lucy slid to the edge of her chair and wrapped her arms around Matt’s neck.

  “It’s been a lot of years since anyone gave me a piggyback ride,” she said on a giggle as Matt provided a smooth and safe transport to the other side of the room.

  Wendy pulled a second chair toward Lucy once she was settled, and Alison slipped the scarf pillow beneath her ankle.

  “Thanks, gang.”

  “Need anything?” Matt asked her. “Soda? Snack?”

  “Nope. I’m good.”

  Brad and Sharon Reynolds finished up a game of virtual bowling while the others looked on. But a large, spinning Scrabble board set up on a nearby table drew Lucy’s attention, and before long, she had convinced Alison, Rob, and Matt to join her in a game. Esther and her sisters joined the rest of the singles group over coffee, and as their conversation erupted into laughter, Lucy thought how well the two groups fit together.

  “Double word score,” Alison declared. “That makes it fourteen points.”

  Matt’s grin announced Betty Sue’s entrance just before she called out, “Look what I found!”

  “What are those for?” Annie asked with excitement as she stomped in the back door, leaving behind two foot-shaped tracks of snow on the floor. “Can I try them out?”

  “They’re for Lucy. She hurt her ankle,” Betty Sue replied as she scurried toward them, a pair of crutches extended over her shoulder like a hobo’s sack on a long stick. “These should help you get around a little better.”

  Rob adjusted them for her, and Lucy took the crutches on a test drive in a circle around the Scrabble table.

  “I think if you stay off that foot for a couple of days,” Betty Sue told her, “you’ll heal much faster.”

  “Thanks, Betty Sue.”

  “But I want you to be sure to get an X-ray when you get back to town, all right, sugar?”

  “I will.”

  “Can I try them, Lucy?” Annie asked her when she sat down again.

  “I don’t think so, sweetie. These are grown-up sized. The last thing we want is your getting hurt on crutches and then needing crutches.”

  Annie found that hilarious somehow, and her childish laughter reached a place inside Lucy that she hadn’t thought about in a very long time. Throughout her twenties, Lucy’s primary goal had been to become a mother, but lately she’d started to abandon the idea.

  “If you still want another cooking lesson, Lucy, I’m going to start dinner in a while. Would you like to help?”

  “I’d love that.”

  “Can I help, too?” Annie asked them.

  “I don’t see why not,” Betty Sue told her.

  “Yaaaaay,” the little girl exclaimed, clapping her hands with glee. “What are we having?”

  “Oh, all sorts of good things. We’ll make some vegetable beef soup, and some dumpling biscuits, and a brisket with broccoli and cheese casserole.”

  “What’s briskets?”

  “If your mama says you can help me in the kitchen, you’ll find out what a brisket is.”

  Annie wasted no time at all. She simply turned and took off running toward the door, flung it open, and hollered for her mother.

  “Was I ever that enthusiastic about anything?” Brenda said with a chuckle as she sat down at the table. “I don’t think I was.”

  “Meet you at the kitchen counter in half an hour?” Betty Sue suggested to Lucy.

  “Thirty minutes? If I start hobbling now, I might get there by then. Half an hour it is!”

  Betty Sue was a champion at setting up a kitchen assembly line. After settling Annie atop a tall barstool with a bowl full of biscuit ingredients to stir with a large wooden spoon, she began piling vegetables in front of Lucy.

  “You chop these for the soup while I get the beef in the marinade,” she instructed.

  Lucy rolled a few zucchinis across the cutting board and picked a knife out of the wooden block. As she chop-chop-chopped, Annie chattered on at breakneck speed, telling her all about her life back in Bellevue, Washington.

  “Miss Reesin, that’s my teacher, she says I have the knack. That’s what she calls being good with numbers. I know almost all my times tables up to the tens, and I can say the fives without even looking. Wann
a hear?”

  Lucy opened her mouth to reply, but she wasn’t given the chance.

  “Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five, forty—”

  Matt joined in as he walked into the kitchen, and they recited the multiplication tables in two-part harmony.

  “—forty-five, fifty, fifty-five...” They continued counting until they both shouted in celebration at the end, “one hundred!”

  “You know your tables good, too,” Annie told him.

  “Yep,” he replied. “Numbers are my game.”

  “Hey, mine, too.”

  Lucy grinned at him as she finished up the zucchinis and moved on to a bowl of bright red tomatoes.

  “You wanna do the tens?” Annie asked him.

  “Why don’t you do them for us,” he suggested. “And we’ll listen to make sure you’re right.”

  “Okay. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty…”

  Betty Sue dragged the bowl of dry ingredients across the island and finished the mixing on her own. When Annie reached one hundred, they all cheered, and Matt gave her an enthusiastic high-five.

  “You rock, Annie,” he told her, and the little girl grinned from one ear to the other.

  “I know. Miss Reesin says I have the knack.”

  “Well, she’s correct. You really do.”

  “What kind of numbers do you do, Matt?”

  “Oh, all kinds. I’m an accountant. Do you know what that means?”

  “Uh-uh,” she said, shaking her head, and Lucy thought she’d never seen a more adorable child.

  “That means I keep track of all the numbers and dollars and cents for the hotel I work for.”

  “Is that hard?”

  “It can be. But I sure do like it.”

  Annie turned toward Lucy, tossing her curls over one shoulder. “Do you got the knack, too, Lucy?”

  “Not at all,” she admitted. “My knack is more about making things pretty and keeping people happy.”

  “And she does that very well,” Matt said, helping himself to a chunk of zucchini from the large green bowl on the counter.

  “Is Matt your boyfriend, Lucy?” Annie asked, and all of the adults in the room exchanged glances.

  “Um, no. He’s my best friend.”