Morgan rolled her eyes and let out a groan.
“No, it’s cute,” said Maureen. “I like it.”
“Thanks.” Morgan turned to Mom. “I’m supposed to go to Chelsea’s to try on our costumes for the parade. Can you give me a ride?”
“You’re going to be in the parade?” asked Maureen.
“Yeah … we’re going to be elves.”
Maureen laughed. “Well, you’ll be a cute elf, Morgan. Hope you can keep that hat on with all that hair.”
Morgan was silent as Mom drove her up to Chelsea’s house.
“You’re not sorry you did it, are you?” asked Mom when she pulled into the driveway.
“Kind of …”
“You’ll get used to it, sweetie.”
“Yeah, sure …” Morgan didn’t want to talk about her hair, didn’t want to think about her hair and, more than anything, she didn’t want to show her friends her hair. She wished that she’d never gotten it changed. What had she been thinking? “Thanks for the ride.”
“Call me when you’re done,” said Mom.
“Thanks.”
Then, feeling like a lamb being led to the slaughter, Morgan trudged up to Chelsea’s front door.
“Morgan?” said Chelsea’s mom. “Is that you?”
Morgan nodded. “Yeah, unfortunately.”
“Did you change your hair?”
“Don’t ask.”
Mrs. Landers chuckled. “Well, I suppose it might take some getting used to, but I think it’s really pretty, Morgan. Just look at all that curl.”
“Yeah,” said Morgan. “Just look.”
“Morgan!” cried Chelsea from the top of the stairs. “What happened to your hair?”
“Your hair!” screeched Emily. “What have you done?”
Soon all four girls were clustered around her. Staring and touching and expressing their regrets.
“I loved your beaded braids,” said Emily. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“Me neither,” said Carlie. “I hate my own curls. Why would you trade your braids for curls?”
“The curls are supposed to relax more,” said Morgan.
“Do you like it?” asked Amy.
“Of course not,” said Morgan.
“Then why did you do it?” demanded Emily.
“I don’t know …” Morgan felt on the verge of tears now.
“It’s going to be okay,” said Chelsea. “Morgan’s probably right, it should relax more. In fact …” Chelsea patted her own red curls. “I might have just the thing for you. Come on, Morgan, let’s play beauty shop.”
Soon Morgan was seated in front of Chelsea’s dressing table. Chelsea was putting something in her hands, rubbing it around and then she was rubbing it into Morgan’s hair. She twisted and tugged and rubbed and slowly, slowly, Morgan’s hair began to settle down.
“Wow,” said Emily. “That’s looking really good, Chelsea.”
“Yeah, maybe you should become a beautician,” said Amy.
“Chelsea’s helped me with my hair,” said Carlie, putting a hand on both Chelsea’s and Morgan’s shoulders. “We curly-heads need to stick together.”
“Guess we straight-heads should stick together too,” said Amy as she put her arm around Emily. Then they all laughed.
“Thanks, Chelsea,” said Morgan as she stared at her image in the mirror. “That really is better. Although I wish I had my beaded braids back.”
“You’ll get used to it,” said Chelsea.
“I’m actually starting to like it,” said Emily.
Morgan felt a little better. And soon they were all trying on their elf costumes, which really did need some help.
“I don’t know about you guys,” said Morgan as she looked at herself in Chelsea’s full-length mirror. “But I am not going out in public with my rear end showing through these green tights.”
“Exactly,” said Chelsea.
“The hats and shoes are cute,” said Emily.
“But we need shorts or skirts or something,” said Morgan. She took off the oversized felt collar and held it at her waist like a skirt. “Something like this would work, if it was a little longer.”
Before long, Morgan had taped together some newspapers to make a pattern for a circular skirt. “Tell your mom to buy enough felt to make five of these in red,” she instructed Chelsea. “I’m sure the lady at the fabric store can help her. And get, let’s see, about ten yards of red ribbon to use around the waist.” Then Morgan took the scissors to the huge collars and after a bit of trimming and shaping, they didn’t look too bad.
The girls explained their plan to Mrs. Landers and she completely agreed. “Morgan, you really are good at design.”
“And Chelsea is really good at hair,” said Morgan as she patted her tamed-down curls.
“I’ll pick up the fabric tomorrow afternoon,” said Mrs. Landers. “Can I drop it by your house after school then, Morgan?”
“Sure,” said Morgan. “And maybe we can have a fitting by Thursday.”
Soon the girls were downstairs eating pizza, and Morgan kept telling herself that she should be happy. Here she was with her good friends, having a good time … but something was still bugging her. She couldn’t help but notice the connection that seemed to be growing between Chelsea and Emily. They made what seemed like private jokes about things that happened on the slopes. They talked about clothes as if Emily could actually afford to buy them. Finally, just when Morgan felt she couldn’t stand it any longer, Mrs. Landers announced that Amy’s sister was here to pick her up.
“Anyone need a ride?” offered Amy.
“Sure,” said Morgan.
“Me too,” said Carlie.
“My mom is picking me up after work,” said Emily. “But that’s not for an hour. Maybe I should go ahead and ride with —”
“That’s okay,” said Chelsea. “Stay here until your mom comes, Em. I want to show you this snowboarding website my brother just emailed me about. They have some awesome stuff and the graphics are totally amazing.”
So Emily stayed and the others left. And as An drove them back to the trailer park, Morgan tried not to feel jealous.
“Hey, you’re home,” said Mom when Morgan came in. “I thought I was going to pick you up.”
Morgan explained about the ride. “And we had pizza, so I’m not really hungry.” She looked around the living room. “Where’s Grandma?”
“Resting.”
“Oh …”
“I’m so glad you made that doctor’s appointment for her,” said Mom. “I plan to take her in tomorrow afternoon, and then I’ll stick around to hear what’s really going on.”
Morgan nodded.
Mom patted Morgan’s hair. “Hey, it looks better already. I think I’m getting used to it.”
“I forgot to ask, Mom, did any socks sell today?”
Mom frowned. “It was pretty quiet in the shop. But then I suppose that’s because so many people were out shopping during the weekend. It’ll pick up though. Don’t worry.”
“I guess I should go make some more socks,” said Morgan. “The church bazaar is Saturday.”
“What about homework?”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Morgan. “I’ll do that first.”
By the time Morgan finished her homework, she only had time to sew up two pairs of socks. At this rate, she wondered how she’d have many pairs to sell at the bazaar. Or if she’d even make enough money to go on the ski trip.
The next morning, as they were walking to school, Carlie invited the girls to go with her and her dad to cut down Christmas trees on Sunday afternoon. “Dad found out that the Christmas tree permits are only to use for your own family. The trees can’t be sold or anything.”
“Oh.” Morgan sighed. “Well, the youth group is still going to a tree farm on Friday afternoon. Anyone who helps cut trees to sell at the bazaar gets to apply the profits toward the ski-trip expense.”
“Are you going?” Emily asked Morgan.
/> “I don’t know …” Morgan considered this. “I think it might be a better use of my time to make socks.”
“Last night, Mrs. Landers told me that she might have a babysitting job lined up for me on Friday as well as Saturday,” said Emily. “So maybe I should pass on the tree thing too.”
“I’m going to pay my deposit for the ski trip today,” said Amy. “I don’t want to take any chances of missing out.”
“I need to go in and pay mine too,” said Carlie. “My parents signed the form and everything. Maybe we should go together.”
“How about you guys?” Amy asked Morgan and Emily.
“Mine is taken care of,” said Emily.
“Huh?” Morgan turned and stared at her. “How’d you do that?”
“Actually, Mrs. Landers paid it for me. She said I can pay her back after my babysitting job. Chelsea was worried that I wouldn’t get it in on time …”
“Oh.” Morgan frowned.
“Have you paid your deposit, Morgan?” asked Amy.
“Not yet.”
“Well, you better get on it.” Amy shook her head with disapproval. “I mean it was your idea in the first place.”
Morgan mentally calculated how many pairs of socks she’d need to sell to get fifty dollars. Seven would cover it. She wondered how long it would take for seven pairs to sell at her mom’s shop. She’d consider asking Mom for a loan, but Mom had already covered her at the hair salon. And Grandma had already helped her with buying fabric. No, Morgan decided, she was on her own now. Still, it was hard not to feel envious of Emily. It seemed unfair that Chelsea’s mom had covered for her. Wasn’t this ski trip supposed to be about having faith and trusting God to provide? Still, Morgan wasn’t even sure how strong her own faith was at the moment. It seemed more impossible than ever right now.
No one was home when Morgan came home from school. Then she remembered that Mom had taken Grandma to the doctor. Morgan prayed that it would go well, and that the doctor would figure out a way to make Grandma feel better. Then Morgan sat down to sew socks. She was just starting the first pair when she heard knocking at the door.
“Here you go,” said Mrs. Landers as she handed a large plastic bag to Morgan. “I got just what you said to get.” She laughed. “In fact, I nearly cleaned out the fabric store of their red felt. The ribbon is in there too. And I got some red thread and pins and things just in case.” She smiled. “It’s so nice of you to help like this.”
Morgan nodded and looked down at the bulky bag. “Sure, Mrs. Landers. No problem.” But as she closed the front door, she wasn’t so sure. How was Morgan supposed to create five elf skirts and sew enough socks to pay her way for the ski trip? This just didn’t seem fair. Normally, at a time like this, she might ask Grandma to help. But if Grandma was still feeling tired … well, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.
Morgan took the pile of red felt and spread out the fabric all over the beige living room carpet. One good thing was that she could use the whole room without worrying about getting in anyone’s way. Then she took out her circular newspaper pattern and laid it out and began cutting. At least it was a very simple design. And being that it was felt fabric, it wouldn’t involve much sewing. By five o’clock she had all five skirts cut out and ready for their ribbon waistbands to be attached. The only problem was that little pieces of red felt were all over the rug. She didn’t want Grandma to come home and see the mess. So before she could even begin sewing, she would need to vacuum. But before she could vacuum, she realized she would need to replace the vacuum cleaner bag. And when she attempted to replace the vacuum cleaner bag, she accidentally dropped the full bag on the kitchen floor. Just as she was attempting to clean up this mess the phone rang.
“Morgan,” said Mom. “We’re running late. The doctor sent us over to the hospital for some special tests for Grandma, and it’s taking longer than we expected.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” said Morgan, relieved that she had more time to clean up her mess.
“What I was hoping is … could you start dinner? I know that Grandma is hungry, and she had some hamburger thawed out that she was going to make spaghetti sauce with.”
“I don’t know how to do that.”
“I know. But there’s a package of Hamburger Helper that you could put it with.”
“I don’t know how to do that either.”
“It’s easy. You just follow the directions. You can follow directions, can’t you?”
Morgan sensed the impatience in her mother’s voice. “Yes.”
“And make a little green salad too.”
“Okay.”
“We should be home after six.”
As she hung up the phone, Morgan looked at the messy kitchen floor and then over at the living room rug, scattered with streaks of red and looking as if a wild animal might have been slaughtered on it. And yet she hadn’t sewn a single sock yet. It seemed like her chances of making it to the ski trip were getting slimmer and slimmer.
chapter eight
Somehow Morgan managed to clean things up and get dinner started before Mom and Grandma came home.
“You go and rest,” Mom told Grandma. “I know you’re worn out from all those tests and things.”
Grandma didn’t argue, and Mom hung up her coat and then came into the kitchen to help Morgan.
“How did the tests go?” asked Morgan as she sliced a tomato for the salad.
“We won’t know for a few days.”
Morgan considered telling Mom about the frustrating afternoon she’d had, but she could tell that Mom was worried. No sense in making things worse. Together they finished putting dinner together, then Mom fixed up a tray for Grandma, and Morgan took it in to her.
“Oh, that wasn’t necessary,” said Grandma when she saw Morgan coming in with the tray.
“Hey, we can spoil you if we want to,” said Morgan. “You might as well enjoy it while you can. We’ll probably find out that you’re perfectly fine in a few days, and then you won’t get all this pampering.”
Grandma chuckled as Morgan set the tray in front of her. “You make a good point.” She slowly opened the paper napkin and set it on her lap. “So how is the sock sewing coming?”
“Okay,” said Morgan quickly. She knew there was no need to worry Grandma about her sock concerns.
“Your hair looks nice.” Grandma nodded her approval.
“Thanks.”
Then Grandma bowed her head and said a blessing, adding an extra line of special thanks for her granddaughter and asking God to help Morgan get enough money for the ski trip.
Morgan smiled. “Thanks, Grandma. I’m sure God listens especially closely to your prayers.”
“God listens to everyone’s prayers, honey.”
Then Morgan returned to her sewing projects. She decided to tackle the elf skirts first. Her plan was to get them out of the way so she could focus exclusively on socks, socks, and more socks. But by the time she finished three of the skirts, she remembered she still had math homework to do. And by the time she finished that, it was time for bed.
“Did you sign up for the ski trip yet?” Amy asked Morgan as they walked to school the next morning.
“Not yet,” muttered Morgan.
“Well, the office lady at your church told me that it’s filling up fast,” said Amy. “You better get on it.”
“Yeah,” agreed Carlie. “That’s what she told me too.”
“I will,” said Morgan. “I need to see how many pairs of socks have been sold at my mom’s shop. Things were so busy last night that I forgot to ask.”
“Are you going to church tonight?” asked Emily.
“Is it Wednesday already?” asked Morgan.
“Yeah,” said Emily. “And since I missed church last week, I’d really like to go.”
“I’ll let you know,” said Morgan. “My grandma hasn’t been feeling too great. It’ll probably depend on her.” Morgan had actually been hoping that they wouldn’t be going tonight, ju
st so she could stay home and finish up her sewing projects. She knew that was probably wrong, but it was the truth.
“How are the elf skirts coming?” asked Carlie.
“Almost done,” said Morgan.
“Good,” said Amy. “Remember we’re supposed to try them on tomorrow.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Emily, “I just remembered something, Morgan. The youth group was getting together before church tonight —”
“The wreath-making party!” exclaimed Morgan. “I totally forgot.”
“Me too,” said Emily.
“That sounds like fun,” said Carlie. “Can anyone come?”
“Of course,” said Morgan. “The reason for making the wreaths is to earn money for the ski trip — they’ll divide up the profits from the bazaar with whoever helps out.”
“Hey, maybe I can come too,” said Amy.
By the time the girls got to school, it was all worked out. Emily’s mom had the day off, so she could probably give them a ride to the church. “Just meet at my house a little before four,” Emily told them.
But when four o’clock came later that afternoon, Morgan was still sitting at her sewing machine, finishing up the last elf skirt. And when that was done, she started in on socks. She was just finishing up her third pair of socks when Mom called her to dinner. And after dinner, which Mom had cooked, Grandma announced that she wanted to go to church that night.
“You’re sure you’re up to it?” asked Morgan.
“I think it might energize me,” said Grandma as she put on her coat.
“Sounds like just the ticket,” said Mom.
As Mom drove them to church, Morgan tried not to obsess over the fact that she was way behind on her sock-sewing project. She knew that all she could do was to trust God. If he wanted her to go on the ski trip, he would have to make it happen.
“There are only three spaces left on the ski trip,” Emily told Morgan when they met in the foyer of church. “And there were a couple of kids at the wreath-making party who hadn’t even signed up yet.”
Morgan shrugged. “Nothing I can do about that.”
“But what if you don’t get to go?” asked Emily.
She shrugged again.
“You should’ve come to the wreath-making party,” said Emily. “It was really fun. Carlie and Amy got to know some of the kids in youth group, and it was pretty cool. And we made a ton of wreaths. If they all sell at the bazaar, there’ll be lots of money for the ski trip.”
Raising Faith Page 6