Always There: Christian Inspirational Romance

by Georgia Grace

  Her heart sank and her stomach churned. Did Dave have cancer? That didn’t make sense to her. He was as spry as she was. Then it dawned on her. Barb. Now it made sense why she always seemed so tired and spent most of her time inside the motor home. Elise’s heart ached. Dave and Barb had become like surrogate parents to her, and Jilly truly thought of them as grandparents since she never had any.

  “Elise?” She froze in place upon hearing Barb’s frail voice behind her. Turning around, she saw Barb standing in the doorway of the motorhome as Dave came up behind her. He looked shocked when he saw Elise standing in the middle of his living room holding an IV bag from the refrigerator.

  “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have come in here. The door was open… I was worried… No one answered…” Elise found herself stammering for words.

  “It’s okay. We would’ve done the same thing. I guess we didn’t push the door all the way shut, so thank you for caring enough to check on us.” Barb’s voice was much quieter than she expected, but then she hadn’t seen her a lot in the last few days. “I need to sit down,” Barb said as she slowly lowered herself onto the white leather sofa.

  “Elise, why don’t you sit down?” Dave said. He pulled the door shut behind him as Elise made her way to the plush brown built-in recliner across from Barb. She didn’t know what to say.

  “I suppose we need to explain.” A tear rolled down Barb’s cheek as Dave joined her on the sofa and held her hand.

  “You don’t owe me any explanations,” Elise said. “Just please tell me if there’s anything I can do or any way I can help.” Elise found herself starting to tear up, but she tried to hold it together for Barb’s benefit.

  “We think of you like a daughter. We feel like God sent you here to fill the void of my own daughter. We love you and Jilly like family, and we never meant to hide anything from you. It’s just so hard to face the facts that I’m dying,” Barb said. She pursed her lips together in an effort to hold back the tears and took a deep breath in through her nose. Dave stroked his thumb over her hand repeatedly in an effort to soothe her, or maybe it was an effort to soothe himself.

  “Oh, Barb. Surely there’s something that the doctors can do…”

  “No, sweetie. This is my third bout with cancer. We’ve tried everything really. Chemo several times. Radiation during my second bout. Even some experimental stuff. That’s what you saw in the refrigerator over there. Didn’t work like they’d hoped,” she said as she looked lovingly at Dave.

  “We came to Seaview originally because there was a doctor in Wilmington who thought they could help Barb. We stayed because we fell in love with this place and these people.”

  “I love this ocean,” she said pointing out the window behind her. “When it became apparent that this wasn’t going to end well, I asked Dave to keep me here, so we stayed. This is where I want to die, so Dave has been trying to take care of me the best he can. I was going to chemo treatments once a week, but the doctor told us a couple of weeks ago that they aren’t working and there is no recovering from this.”

  “The doctors don’t know everything,” Elise said, mainly trying to convince herself. “You know, I know one of the best cancer doctors in Atlanta. Why don’t you let me give him a call…”

  “Elise, please. Stop.” Dave said with more strength than she’d heard out of his mouth before. “Barb has made her decision. She’s tired of fighting, and she’s ready for God to call her home. But I’ll never be ready.” He reached around and pulled her into an embrace as Barb quietly sobbed against his chest. Elise was sure she’d never seen anything sadder in her entire life. And that included seeing her own father on the floor of the living room.

  Barb had no choice in this. She was full of life, and even at her advancing age, deserved to have at least twenty more years to do everything she wanted to do. Inside, Elise found herself questioning God yet again and wondering why He made the decisions He did. Why take this wonderful woman whom she had grown to love instead of some terrible person who was doing awful things?

  Barb quickly dried her eyes and leaned back. “Dave, would you mind doing me a favor?”

  “Anything, my love.”

  “I have a hankering for one of those double cheeseburgers from Joe’s down on Main. Would you mind getting one of those for me?” She smiled a knowing smile as if to tell him he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Dave smiled, nodded his head and kissed her on the forehead before taking the car keys and walking out the door. Elise sat there, completely unsure of what to do. “No need to be worrying about my expanding waistline at this point,” she joked without laughing.

  “Barb, is there anything I can do for you?”

  “Actually, Elise, there is. That’s why I wanted Dave to leave. You see, I’m not worried about dying. I dealt with that many years ago when I was diagnosed the first time. I think I’ve been living on borrowed time for years. But I’m worried about Dave. The depth of our love is amazing, and I don’t want to leave him here alone.”

  “The what about your daughter?” Elise knew they had mentioned her before but they didn’t talk about her a lot and no one ever came to visit.

  “I wish I could say that our daughter would take care of him, but that’s not true. Unfortunately, she’s very busy with her own life and preoccupied with her own problems. We haven’t seen her in over a year.” The sadness in her eyes pained Elise. What she would give to have her mother and father back. How could any child just completely abandon her elderly parents like this? She didn’t understand.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like me to contact her?”

  “Oh, sweetie, you’re so sweet for offering, but no. I’m afraid the favor I have to ask of you is a lot bigger than that. Dave adores you and Jilly. I haven’t seen him this happy in many months, maybe even years. My illness has taken a toll on him, aged him. I’m scared that he won’t go on living his life. He’s got so many good years ahead. And I was kind of hoping that you and Jilly might stay by his side, be his surrogate family, help him through this.”

  Elise was truly touched by her request. Finally, someone needed her other than her eight-year-old daughter. And she wasn’t going to let Barb down. She had no idea how much longer she had on this earth, but she was determined to help Dave and Barb for as long as she could.

  “Barb, I’m so honored by your request. You know, I lost my father when I was very young and my mother before I even got married. I feel like I’ve missed out on having a real family all these years, and you and Dave have been that for me. God blessed me when he chose this little campground as my new temporary home. I will promise you,” she said as she knelt down in front of Barb and held both of her hands. “that Dave will be my adopted father until the day he leaves to join you in heaven.”

  A stray tear rolled down Barb’s cheek and a look of relief washed across her face. Elise didn’t just feel like she was doing a good deed for an elderly couple. Instead, she felt like she was solidifying an unspoken relationship. She was adopting a new set of parents, although one of them would leave soon to be with God. The thought of having to watch another “mother” leave the world due to the scourge of cancer was almost too much to take, but the reality was that she would have to do it all over again.

  “Have the doctors told you…” Elise started to ask but didn’t have any idea how to finish the question. How do you ask someone how much longer they have to live?

  “I’ve chosen not to ask,” Barb said. “But I don’t think it’s going to be very long, honestly. I can just tell. Things are changing, my strength is waning. But I have my sights set on something much bigger and greater than this earth. I feel the angels around me all the time, my grandmother, my own mother. I think they’re waiting for me. And now that I know that Dave will be okay and in good hands, I’m ready.”

  “You’re ready?” Elise was shocked by her statement. How can anyone be ready? She’d read all about heaven in the Bible and listened to every preacher throughout her life, but th
ere was still a little hint of fear there. The unknown. Had she lived a good enough life to go to heaven? And then Ted’s face popped into her head. Had he repented before he took his life? Was he truly saved? The unknown aspects of another person’s heart was one of the most difficult parts of death. Would she see him again? She wasn’t sure, and probably never would be.

  “Yes, I am. I would never tell Dave that, but I’m tired, Elise. My body is just worn out, and I’m ready to break the chains of illness and live in a perfect body with my perfect Jesus. You know, none of us knows the date or time when we will go to meet Him, so make your life count. Don’t waste time being sad or angry or confused. Your life is what you make it, so make it great,” she said with a smile as she rubbed Elise’s hand. “Now, enough of this morbid conversation! What’s going on with you these days?”

  Elise was stunned at how quickly Barb’s expression changed. She was smiling bigger than Elise had ever seen her, and she could only assume that the weight of worrying about Dave was lifting.

  “Well, I’m going to take what you said to heart. I’ve been putting some things off, and I need to get back to living my life.”

  “Yes, you do. Honey, you’re young, and I know losing a husband is terrible. But life goes on. The world keeps spinning whether you’re crying or laughing. Your job is to take your gifts and talents that God gave you and use them for good. You are to be a light in this world.”

  “I know, and I thank you for reminding me of that,” Elise said as she leaned forward and hugged Barb. “I’m still praying for you Barb,” she whispered.

  “I’ll take all the prayers I can get,” Barb said.

  ***

  After spending some time with Barb, Elise let Dave take back over when he returned. It still wasn’t quite time to pick up Jilly, so she decided to do something that Pastor Tex had suggested – go talk to Mamie Sue. She wasn’t exactly sure why she was going to talk to her, but there was a stirring inside her heart that said that the pastor was right. Mamie Sue had something to say, and she wasn’t going to ignore it.

  She pulled into the bowling alley parking lot, she hoped that she wouldn’t run across anyone scary lurking behind the building. She got to meet a lot of homeless people in the area at the Saturday lunches, but she still wasn’t completely comfortable walking up to the areas where they lived. It could be dangerous, a fact that wasn’t lost on her after living in the city as long as she had.

  She grabbed her purse and held tightly to the mace on her key ring as she walked around the edge of the building. Sure enough, there sat Mamie Sue humming a song and knitting something.

  “Mamie Sue?” The old woman turned her head and stared in Elise’s direction, but then she remembered that she couldn’t see very well so she walked up closer. When she was about three feet away, Mamie Sue smiled.

  “Oh, hello! I have a visitor!” she said with a grin. “Come, sit down where I can see you better.”

  Elise walked over and sat down next to Mamie Sue on the large blue tarp. “Hi. I don’t know if you remember me or not, but I came with Dave one time to see you.”

  “Of course I remember you. You asked me how I could be happy living out here.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry. I hope that wasn’t an offensive question.” Elise felt kind of bad for it now after having gotten to know many of the homeless in the community. Judging them seemed like a terrible thing to do, but hindsight is 20/20.

  “No offense taken at all, my dear. I’m used to it. I’ve been living out here for so long now that I feel sorry for people who don’t get to live like I do.”

  “Why do you think that is? I mean, why do you think you’re so happy out here when so many people who have every material possession seem to be so unhappy?” Elise wasn’t even sure why she was asking the question but it seemed very relevant at the moment.

  “Well, it’s hard to say because I don’t know their hearts. But, I can tell you that I once lived like those people. I had everything. The big house, the fancy car, the perfect husband. And it sure didn’t make me any happier than I am right now.”

  Elise was surprised to hear that she had had that kind of life. After all, she assumed that every homeless person who was living out behind a bowling alley would have made some terrible choices in their life up to that point.

  “So what happened? You chose this life over that one?”

  “Not exactly. I was kind of pushed into this position in the beginning, but it turned out to be the best thing for me. See, my husband got into some kind of deep depression. He just couldn’t climb out of it. I tried to help him as best I could, but back in those days there really weren’t a lot of psychologists and such. No self-help books or newfangled drugs to help them get over it. Then one day, he went out behind the house and shot himself. Back in those days, the woman didn’t work so I had nothing to fall back on. Instead, I ended up on the streets. Thankfully, God didn’t see fit to give me any kids so I didn’t have to drag any poor little children along with me. Over time, I learned how to make ends meet out here.”

  “Wow. Something similar happened to me. My husband also committed suicide, and honestly he left me financially destitute. All I have is a little bit of money and a motorhome.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a rough time lately. But you know what? My husband’s actions couldn’t take my spirit. He couldn’t take my love of God or the spiritual gifts he gave me. Even in the worst of circumstances, we are called as Christians to use our spiritual gifts to help others. So I set my sights on doing that right from the beginning even if I had to live out here behind a bowling alley to do it. I felt my calling was about more than living in a nice house and driving an expensive car. My calling is about helping others who are in a worse position than I am.” Elise immediately went back in her mind thinking about Barb and the position she was in. But then she thought about Ben, and she wondered what kind of position he was really in.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure thing,” Mamie Sue said with her almost toothless grin.

  “Do you know Ben?” Mamie Sue’s face changed for a moment before she went back to smiling.

  “I surely do. Now there’s somebody who’s had a tough time. But he’s a good man, and he’s going to do great things with his gifts. He just got a little off track for a while. You know, love did him in. Love and pride and protection.” With that, Mamie Sue picked up her knitting and started doing it again. It was like she had decided she wasn’t going to talk about Ben anymore.

  “Protection? I guess I don’t know what you mean?”

  “Dear, I’m getting pretty tired. I think I might want to take a nap. Maybe you can come back another day.” Again, she didn’t look up. Why was it that no one wanted to talk about Ben? It was like they all knew some big secret that she didn’t know. And it was time she found out what it was.

  Chapter 13

  Elise was exhausted by the time she picked up Jilly from dance camp. It had been an emotional day after learning about Barb’s illness and speaking with Mamie Sue. She hadn’t intended for the day to be so life-changing, but her perspective had totally shifted. She wasn’t feeling as sorry for herself and her situation as she had been before. She wasn’t feeling quite as powerless either.

  Barb had encouraged her to live her life and move forward, leaving all of the terrible parts of her past behind. Mamie Sue had been a perfect illustration of that.

  Jilly had come bounding into the car, as usual, full of enthusiasm and information about her day. She was learning to twirl like a real ballerina, she said. She spent most of the rest of that afternoon twirling and twirling and twirling around the campsite. As Elise sat in her folding chair outside, she felt truly at peace. Watching her daughter embrace life like she did, even with all the recent changes, gave her inspiration and encouragement.

  “Wow, those are some amazing twirls you’re doing Jilly,” Dave said as he rounded the corner of his motorhome. He was doing some kind of work to i
t, as usual. He loved to tinker with every part of that motorhome like it was his baby. It occurred to Elise that he probably got a lot of joy out of it since it was something he could control in his world. Barb’s illness wasn’t something he couldn’t control.

  “Thank you, Mr. Dave,” Jilly said.

  “Hey, Jilly, I was thinking something,” Elise said with a smile. “I know you’ve always wanted a real grandpa, right?” She winked at Dave.

  “Yes, but my grandpas are gone. Did you know I never met my grandpas, Mr. Dave?” Jilly asked.

  “No, I didn’t know that, Miss Jilly. That’s sad because grandpas are awesome people. They take you to get ice cream, see movies, fishing…”

  “But you do that with me, Mr. Dave.” Jilly had a look of confusion on her face as she looked back at Elise.

  “That’s what I was thinking about, Jilly. You know, grandpas don’t have to be blood related to you. A grandpa is someone who cares about you and wants to spend time with you and make sure that you grow up to be a good, young woman. I don’t think you can find a better grandpa than Mr. Dave, do you?”