Raising Faith

by Melody Carlson

  “Thanks for your help, Grandma,” said Morgan as she opened the bag and fingered the soft fabric. “Do you think eight dollars a pair is too much?”

  “I think that sounds about right for handmade socks,” said Grandma. “I know my feet are nice and cozy right now. And these socks are just perfect for my rain boots.”

  By Saturday afternoon, Morgan had sewn up three pairs of socks. She was just about to start another pair when Grandma called her to come out of her room. “Amy is here to see you,” she said.

  “Oh, hi, Amy,” said Morgan, wondering why Amy had on a dress. “What’s up?”

  “Miss McPhearson’s tea,” said Amy in a slightly irritated tone. “And you do not look ready to go.”

  Morgan slapped her forehead. “Oh, man, I totally forgot.” She looked at the clock on the wall. “Do I have time to change real quick?”

  “Just hurry,” commanded Amy. “Carlie is in the car. My sister An is driving us over there.”

  Morgan rushed back to her room, opened her closet, and pulled out a dark green velvet jumper that Grandma made for her last Christmas. She didn’t really like the jumper because she felt it looked too juvenile. But she figured Miss McPhearson might appreciate it. And it would make Grandma happy. Hopefully it wasn’t too small. She tugged it over her white turtleneck, and fortunately it fit. Then she shoved her feet into her black knee-high boots and added a beaded necklace. She grabbed up her coat and was about to hurry out when she noticed a finished pair of purple socks on her bed. Would it be too weird to give them to Miss McPhearson? She stuffed them into her coat pocket, and then hurried back to the living room. She could figure that out later.

  “Wow, that was quick,” said Amy, peering curiously at Morgan’s outfit as she pulled on her coat.

  “Don’t you look pretty,” said Grandma. “You girls have fun now.”

  Morgan thought that was probably unlikely. She did like Miss McPhearson, but the old woman could be moody sometimes. And it would probably set her off if her young guests arrived late. But fortunately, they made it on time. Cara, Miss McPhearson’s housekeeper and Amy’s friend, answered the door and took them to the parlor. “May I take your coats?” she asked. As the other girls gave her their coats, Morgan slipped the purple socks from her pocket and rolled them up and hid them in her hand. Maybe it was silly to give Miss McPhearson socks. She didn’t even know if they would fit. But it was too late to put them back in her coat pocket because Cara was taking their coats away.

  “Welcome,” said Miss McPhearson as she entered the room. “Please, have a seat.”

  The three girls sat down and, as usual, Miss McPhearson directed most of her conversation to Amy. Amy was the one who originally befriended the lonely old woman. But the other girls had gotten to know her as well. And as odd as it might seem to someone who didn’t get it, they all got along fairly well. At least as long as the girls minded their manners. Miss McPhearson was a stickler for manners. Sometimes Morgan thought the purpose of their visits and teas was so that she could turn them all into little ladies. Still, it was interesting, and Miss McPhearson’s house, set high on a bluff overlooking the ocean, was like a museum full of interesting old stories.

  “What’s that in your hand, Morgan?” Miss McPhearson asked as Amy poured the tea.

  Morgan swallowed. “I, uh, I brought something for you, Miss McPhearson.”

  “Well, what is it?” the old woman said impatiently.

  “Something I made,” explained Morgan. “But I’m not sure they’re the right size. I wasn’t really thinking.”

  Miss McPhearson held out her hand, and Morgan set the pair of socks in it. “What is this?”

  “They’re socks,” said Morgan. “Polar fleece socks. I made some for my grandma, and she really liked them. I thought you might like them too.”

  Miss McPhearson unrolled the socks and held them out to examine them. “Very interesting, Morgan. Thank you very much.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Then Miss McPhearson set the bright purple socks aside in a way that made Morgan think it had probably been a mistake after all. “Where are the other girls?” she asked. “Emily and Chelsea?” Amy explained about the ski trip, and Miss McPhearson immediately launched into a colorful story about the first time she and her family went skiing, up at the very same lodge, and how she broke her leg on the very first run. “I never skied again.”

  Morgan just hoped that wouldn’t be the case with Emily. Or Chelsea, for that matter. She shot up a little prayer for both of them to come home safely and in one piece.

  chapter six

  Morgan missed Emily at church on Sunday. And although she sat with Mom and Grandma, she felt lonely. It seemed wrong not having Emily there, not sitting up in the front pew together. And it didn’t feel right having a whole Sunday afternoon without Emily, and without having a meeting at the clubhouse since Amy was working and Carlie was watching her brothers. But Morgan used the afternoon to sew up more socks. By the time Mom told her to go to bed, she had ten pairs completely finished.

  “Can you sell these in your store?” Morgan asked her mom.

  Mom examined a pair of red and green socks. “I don’t see why not. Can you think of a way to connect them together so the pairs don’t get mixed up? Maybe make a tag with the size and the price on it?”

  “Sure.”

  The next morning, Morgan got up early and made tags for her socks. She sewed a piece of yarn to connect the socks and the tags. Then she emptied her scarf basket and filled it with the ten pairs of socks. By the time she finished, she thought the whole thing looked very professional.

  “Here you go, Mom,” she said as she handed over the basket.

  “I’ll put it by the cash register,” Mom promised. “People seem to notice things up there.”

  “Do you think eight dollars a pair is too much?”

  Mom considered this. “I guess we’ll find out.”

  Morgan hurried to finish her breakfast and then gathered up her things for school and was just going out the door when Grandma asked why she was going so early.

  “I just wanted some extra time to see Emily,” said Morgan. “I want to hear about the ski trip without having everyone else around.”

  Grandma smiled. “Oh, yes. I see.”

  It was drizzling outside, so Morgan pulled on her hood and jogged over to Emily’s house, knocking loudly on the door.

  “Oh, hi, Morgan,” said Mrs. Adams. “Emily’s not here.”

  Morgan frowned. “Where is she? Did she get hurt snowboarding?”

  Mrs. Adams laughed. “No, but they got home so late last night, Emily spent the night at Chelsea’s.”

  “Oh.”

  “Sorry. But you’ll see her at school.”

  “Yeah …”

  Morgan trudged back home.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Grandma when Morgan went back into the house and dumped her backpack by the front door.

  “Nothing …” Morgan stood near the door, just staring at her somewhat soggy reflection in the hallway mirror. Her glasses were splattered with rain, and her beaded braids looked droopier than usual.

  Grandma came over and stood behind her. “Is something wrong with Emily? Is she sick or hurt?”

  “She spent the night at Chelsea’s,” said Morgan sadly.

  “Oh.” Grandma nodded as she fingered one of Morgan’s beaded braids. “And you’re feeling bad?”

  “I guess …” Morgan turned and looked at Grandma. “Do you think I should lose the braids?”

  “What?” Grandma blinked.

  “My beaded braids. I was thinking maybe I’m too old for them now.”

  Grandma smiled. “Well, I think that’s up to you, dear.”

  “I think I want to have normal hair now. You know, like my friends.”

  Grandma nodded. “Well, I’m sure that can be arranged.”

  “Maybe I can use some of my sock money to do that,” said Morgan eagerly. “I mean I don’t know how muc
h it’ll cost … but I think it will be worth it.” Then she pointed to her glasses. “And maybe I should get contacts too.”

  Grandma frowned. “Why are you so interested in changing yourself, Morgan?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Is it because you’re worried about Emily?” asked Grandma. “You think she might like Chelsea more than she likes you? You think that changing yourself will make a difference?”

  Morgan shrugged. “I think I’m just tired of looking like this all the time. I think it’s time for a change.”

  “Well, as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons …”

  “Doing what for the right reasons?” asked Mom as she came out of her bedroom dressed for work.

  So Morgan explained her idea for changing her hair and getting contacts. Mom blinked in surprise. “Wow, that’s a lot to change all at once. And getting your curls relaxed and getting contacts won’t be cheap.”

  Morgan pointed to her sock basket. “But I could use some of my sock money. And I could buy more fabric and make more socks.”

  Mom grinned. “You certainly are industrious.”

  “So, do you think I could do that?”

  “Is that what you really want?” asked Mom.

  Morgan nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Well, let me give Crystal a call and see if she can get you scheduled for hair. As far as the contacts go, why don’t you give that a little more thought, Morgan?”

  So Morgan agreed. Then, since it was raining even harder now, Mom offered to give her and her friends a lift to school. And as Morgan rode in the front, with Carlie and Amy in the back, she imagined how she would look with her new hair. Her plan was to keep her mini makeover a complete secret. Even from Emily. She would surprise everyone.

  “There’s Chelsea’s car,” said Carlie as Mom pulled up in front of the school. And soon all five friends were clustered together in front of their lockers. Chelsea and Emily were telling the others about the spectacular time they had riding the slopes, and how they even met some cute boys who thought they were in high school, and how they’d both gotten really good at snowboarding.

  “We had a nice time at Miss McPhearson’s on Saturday,” said Amy, as if that could compete with Chelsea and Emily’s weekend. Then the warning bell was ringing, and they all headed off to their first class.

  “I can’t wait until the ski trip,” Emily told Morgan on their way to English. “It’s going to be totally awesome.”

  “I started sewing socks,” said Morgan. “It’s not very hard, once you figure it out, and I think it’ll be a good way to make money for the ski trip.”

  “I have a plan for making money too,” said Emily.

  “What’s that?”

  “Babysitting.”

  “Babysitting?”

  “Yeah, Mrs. Landers has some friends who wanted someone to watch their kids while they go to a Christmas party next Saturday night. I guess it’s supposed to last until really late. Mrs. Landers said I could make a lot of money in just one night. She said it might be close to a hundred dollars if the parents tip me. And the kids will mostly be sleeping.”

  “I didn’t know you liked to babysit.”

  “I used to babysit sometimes … before we moved here.”

  “Oh.”

  “Anyway, it’s all set,” said Emily as they went into English.

  “Cool,” said Morgan. Although she really thought it stunk. She had hoped that she and Emily could do the sock project together. She had imagined them taking turns cutting and sewing, then selling them together at the bazaar. Now it looked like Emily had a completely different plan. A plan that didn’t include Morgan. Still, Morgan knew that she should be happy for her friend. This meant that Emily would for sure be able to do the ski trip. Unless the babysitting thing didn’t work out. Making a hundred dollars in one night did sound pretty farfetched. Besides, that was only half of what Emily needed.

  Morgan glanced over at Emily, as they sat across from each other in English. It seemed like something had changed about her. Oh, she had the same blonde hair, same blue eyes, same petite frame, but something was different. Then it hit Morgan. Of course, she was wearing Chelsea’s clothes. Not only that, but she seemed to be sitting up straighter. Like she had some new sense of confidence. Was it because she was dressed like Chelsea? Or was it something more? Just then, Morgan noticed Mrs. Robertson giving her a warning look, and Morgan knew it was time to pay attention.

  Morgan tried to put worrisome thoughts about Emily out of her mind during her morning classes. So what if Emily and Chelsea were friends. Morgan was their friend too. Besides, Morgan still had Amy and Carlie. And they had their clubhouse. Maybe Morgan should plan a meeting for this afternoon.

  “We need to try on our elf costumes today,” said Chelsea as the five girls sat together for lunch. “That way if we need to alter any of them, there will be time to get it done before Saturday.”

  “Want to do it at the clubhouse?” suggested Morgan. “I thought maybe we should have a meeting today anyway.”

  “No,” said Chelsea. “I think you should come out to my house this afternoon. There’s more room to try stuff on there. Besides, I think my mom wants to see us dressed up. In fact, I’ll call her and tell her to order some pizza. And she can give us a ride after school. How’s that sound?”

  Everyone, except Morgan, thought that was a great plan. And Morgan didn’t let on that she wasn’t overly thrilled. She wished they could meet at the clubhouse — that things could be the way they had been. But already, Chelsea was letting everyone use her phone to call their parents and make sure it was okay to go home with Chelsea after school.

  “Your turn,” said Chelsea, handing Morgan the phone.

  Morgan dialed her home number and waited for Grandma to answer.

  “I’m so glad you called, honey,” said Grandma happily. “Your mom called a while ago and it looks like Crystal can get you in for your hair today. I’ll pick you up after school and take you over.”

  “That’s great,” said Morgan. “See ya then.” She hung up and handed the phone back to Chelsea. Then, putting on a disappointed face, she said. “It looks like I can’t make it this afternoon.”

  “Why not?” demanded Chelsea.

  “I have an appointment. My grandma has to pick me up right after school.”

  “But I thought you were going to help us redesign the elf outfits, Morgan,” said Chelsea.

  “Yeah,” said Emily. “You’re really good at that.”

  Morgan considered this. In a way it was both flattering and encouraging. “Well, could we do the fitting tomorrow instead?”

  Chelsea frowned. “I guess …”

  “I can’t,” said Carlie. “I promised Mom I’d watch the boys.”

  “I’m out too,” said Amy. “I have to work.”

  “Well, what if I came over after my appointment?” suggested Morgan. “Although it might be late … like around five or so.”

  “That’s okay with me,” said Chelsea. “We can just hang until you get there.”

  “Maybe we’ll even save some pizza for you,” teased Emily.

  So it was settled. And Morgan thought maybe it was a good plan after all. She could show up with her cool new hair and surprise everyone at once. It was hard to concentrate on school during the afternoon. Morgan kept wondering what her new hair was going to look like. And what would it feel like? And what if something went wrong? Finally, during math, she realized that worrying wasn’t doing her one bit of good. So she shot up a quick prayer. It didn’t seem like too much to ask. God could help to make sure that her hair turned out okay.

  “How are you feeling?” Morgan asked Grandma when she got into the car.

  “Oh, so-so …”

  “I hope it’s not wearing you out to take me to —”

  “No, no … driving isn’t a problem at all. And Cleo said to just drop you off and you can walk over to the shop when you’re done and ride home with your
mom.”

  “No problem.”

  “Good luck,” said Grandma as she pulled in front of Crystal’s salon. “I hope it’s all that you want it to be.”

  Morgan crossed her fingers. Then she told Grandma that she’d already prayed about it. Then Grandma waved and drove away. Still, Morgan felt a little uneasy as she walked into the salon.

  “Hey, Morgan,” said Crystal. “I hear you want a new do.”

  Morgan nodded as she removed her coat. “Do you think it’ll look good?”

  Crystal patted Morgan on the back. “You’re such a cutie that I think anything would look good on you.”

  “I don’t want to see it,” said Morgan as she got into the chair. “Not until you’re all done.”

  “Deal.”

  chapter seven

  Morgan’s eyes got big as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. “Is that really me?” she asked, feeling slightly horrified at the balloon of dark brown hair encircling her head. It was such a change after the beaded braids.

  “Don’t worry,” said Crystal, “the curls should continue to relax.”

  Morgan nodded, but didn’t feel convinced.

  “Your mom already paid me, so you’re free to go.” Crystal handed her a bottle of something. “Put some of this on before you go to bed. Not too much. Read the directions.”

  Morgan stuffed the bottle into her backpack and glanced at her watch. She suddenly remembered her promise to join her friends at Chelsea’s house. Now she wasn’t so sure. She wished she had a hat to put on, something to flatten out her really big hair. But she thanked Crystal and headed over to Mom’s shop.

  “Oh, my,” said Mom when Morgan walked in. “You look so different, Morgan.” She came over to see it close up. “Do you like it?”

  Morgan frowned. “I’m not sure. The curl is supposed to relax more.”

  Mom nodded as she gave Morgan’s curls a squeeze. “Yes, that’s how mine is after I get it done too.”

  “Oh, Morgan!” squealed Maureen, the high school girl that Mom had just hired to help out part-time during the holidays. “Look at you, girlfriend.”