“Want a slice of the bread?” she asked.
“Uh, sure. Thanks, Mom.”
She smiled. The way to a man’s heart…she thought to herself. Carefully running the serrated knife through the warm loaf, she cut off a thick piece and set it on a plate. Then she retrieved the butter from the fridge and placed both in front of him. “Want some milk, too?”
He nodded without looking at her. “Yeah. Sounds good.”
After she placed his full glass on the table, she sat down across from him. “You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind,” she said.
For the first time, he made eye contact with her. She saw such pain in his eyes, that she almost looked away. “What is it? What’s going on?” she asked.
He sighed. “It’s Madison.”
“Is she okay?”
He shook his head. “Not really.”
“What? What’s wrong?” Kelly could feel her pulse quicken. Madison was like another daughter to her. Their friendship with Steve and Michelle during their early years in Sandy Cove had cemented the two families together in an inseparable bond.
“I don’t think I should tell you, Mom,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “But I’m worried about her.”
“You two have always had such a special connection,” Kelly said. “I’m sure your friendship is a help to her now, whatever the situation is.”
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know about that.”
As silence filled the room, Kelly debated about something that had been on her mind for a long time. Finally, she decided to speak up. “You know, Luke, I’ve felt for a long time like God’s been telling me that you and Madison are meant to be together. I know that sounds pretty presumptuous, and I don’t even really know what your feelings are for her. But deep in my heart, I feel certain God has a plan for your relationship, and I just can’t shake it.”
Luke leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. Then Kelly saw his shoulders begin to shake. Was he crying? She reached out and touched him gently. “Luke?”
He didn’t look up. Shaking his head in warning, she pulled back. I need to get Ben, she thought. Rising to her feet, she walked out of the kitchen and caught her husband as he was walking in the front door. She’d promised him freshly baked bread for lunch, and he was taking a break in his sermon preparation to feast on it.
“It’s starting to really come down out there,” he said as he greeted her with a kiss. “I can smell that bread from here.”
“Ben,” she said, grabbing a hold of his arm. “Something’s wrong with Madison.”
He stopped in his tracks. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, but Luke went to see her this morning, and now he’s a mess. He’s in the kitchen, and he won’t tell me what’s going on. Maybe he’ll talk to you.”
Ben nodded. “I’ll see if I can get him to open up.”
Walking into the kitchen, Ben saw his son slumped over the table, resting his head face down on his folded arms. “What’s up, bud?” he asked as he put his hand on Luke’s shoulder.
Luke lifted his head and gazed up at him, eyes red-rimmed but dry. “Hi, Dad.”
“I see you’ve already gotten a start on Mom’s bread,” Ben said, pointing to the crumbs on the plate in front of his son.
“Yeah. It’s probably still warm if you want some.” He sat up and rested back in his chair.
Ben helped himself to a slice and heated up a cup of coffee before joining him at the table. “So how’s your morning going?”
Luke laughed cryptically. “Not so great.”
“Your mom said you went to see Maddie today,” Ben probed gently.
“Yeah.”
“So why the long face?”
“It’s complicated, Dad.”
“Life usually is. But sometimes talking about it helps,” Ben suggested.
Luke nodded. “I could really use your advice. But this kind of involves Madison’s reputation, too. And it’s pretty personal stuff. Stuff she probably doesn’t want anyone knowing.”
“But she told you.”
“Only because I kind of backed her into a corner.”
Ben thought for a moment. “I don’t want you to reveal anything she shared with you in confidence, son, but from what your sister’s told me, I have a feeling this has something to do with that boy, Miles, that Maddie was seeing.”
Before he could stop himself, the words tumbled out. “He took advantage of her, Dad. Now she is really down on herself. She thinks she’s not worthy of a relationship with me.”
“And what do you think?” Ben asked, praying for God to give his son wisdom.
“I think I could kill the guy,” Luke confessed.
Ben sat back in his seat and nodded. “I can understand that.” He hesitated as he prayed for the right words. Then he said, “You know, Luke, I was that guy.”
Luke’s expression changed from anger to shock. “What are you talking about? You’re nothing like him.”
Ben smiled. “Not anymore, thanks to God. But trust me when I say that I was just like Miles in high school.”
“With Mom?” Luke asked, on the edge of his chair.
“No. Thankfully not with your mother. God got a hold of me before I met her.”
“Does she know? About your past, I mean?” Luke asked.
Nodding, Ben replied, “She does. She did before we started dating. We met through some friends who had been mentoring me in my faith. Your mom, well, for some reason, she took a liking to me. But she was so innocent and pure. I didn’t want her to get mixed up with someone who’d been such a jerk.”
“So what did you do?”
“I tried to convince her she deserved better than me.”
“That’s exactly what Madison said,” Luke replied, shaking his head. “So how did you and Mom end up together?”
“She finally wore me down,” Ben said with a smile.
Luke laughed. “She’s pretty good at that. Like Lucy.”
“Yeah. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Ben agreed with a grin as he thought about Lucy’s tenacity when she set her mind to something. “It wasn’t just your mom’s persistence, though, Luke. My buddy, the one who set us up, challenged me on the idea that I wasn’t good enough for her.”
“How did he do that?”
“He took me to the cross and asked me if I’d like a ladder.”
“A ladder?”
“Yeah, so I could climb up and tell Jesus face-to-face that His sacrifice wasn’t good enough for me and my past.”
“Whoa.” Luke slumped into his chair and stared at him.
“He said that if I was going to live in the shadow of my past, I’d never experience the real power of God in my life.” Ben looked into Luke’s eyes. “Do you love her, Luke?”
“I do.”
“Then maybe you’re the one to take that sweet girl to the cross and offer her a ladder, too. But with Madison, I’d say the ladder isn’t to challenge her to tell Jesus His sacrifice isn’t enough. It’s so she can get close enough to gaze into His eyes and see the depth of His love for her. A love that couldn’t be satisfied by anything less than the cross.”
Relief washed over Luke’s face. “Wow, Dad. You should be a pastor,” he teased.
Ben reached out and ruffled Luke’s hair like he used to do when Luke was a young boy. “Sometimes you can be a real smart aleck,” he said with a wink.
Luke tried to call Madison after his father went back to work, but she wasn’t picking up. He texted and asked if he could please talk to her one more time, but she replied that she wasn’t feeling well and was going to take a nap.
By morning, the storm had passed and the sun actually peeked out for an hour or so. Luke did his morning run, and while he was running, he prayed for Madison. With Christmas only a week away, he wished he had something really special to give her. Something that might help her realize how much he cared. And how much God cared, too. Maybe some kind of jewelry? Like a cross necklace or somet
hing? That would be okay even if they were just going to be friends, right?
After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, he took off for the jewelry store beside the library. It was small, but surely it would have something that would be good.
His spirits soared as he embarked on his shopping venture. The gloom that had taken root in his heart after his talk with Madison was replaced by an excitement over the idea of finding the perfect gift. His love for Madison was different now. Not just a human love, but a filling of supernatural love from above. And he wanted more than anything for Madison to experience it.
It didn’t matter whether or not they ever had a romantic relationship down the road. All that mattered now was for her to grasp the lavish love of God and to know in her heart that He’d never stopped loving her unconditionally.
The store was crowded with last minute Christmas shoppers, so Luke just worked his way around the displays. His eye landed on a glass-encased tray of silver charms. There were three crosses he liked. Then he spotted something else. A tiny ladder with a heart at the top. His heart leapt. He’d give her both on a silver necklace. Weaving through the customers, he found a girl about his age, who was wearing a name badge for the store. Crystal. He smiled at the appropriateness of her name in a shop that glittered with jewels.
Flashing a white-toothed smile, she asked, “Can I help you with something?”
Luke nodded and led her over to the charm case. “I’d like to look at the middle cross and the ladder.”
She used her key to unlock the display and carefully lifted out the two charms, placing them on a velvet cushion she’d also taken from the case. “That ladder’s pretty cute, isn’t it?” she asked. “I think it’s inspired by that country song, A Ladder to Your Heart. Have you heard it?”
He glanced up at her. “No. I don’t listen to country much.”
“Oh. Well, it’s kind of a love song about a guy who says he’d climb the highest ladder to get to her heart.”
“Nice,” he replied, still amazed at the symbolism in the tiny charm. “So, I want both of these. But I’ll need a chain to go with them.”
She pulled a small fabric pouch out of a drawer under the case and slipped the two charms into it. “I’ll show you the silver chains,” she said, turning and leading him to the far wall. “For charms this small, I’d recommend something light and pretty short.” She pointed to one of them, secured to the wall by a straight pin. It sparkled as she lifted the bottom of it and let it rest in her hand.
“I like it,” Luke replied.
Crystal unfastened the necklace from the wall and carried it to the register with the charms. After ringing them up, she offered to gift-wrap his package.
“That would be great. Thanks,” Luke agreed.
Soon he was in his car and heading for Madison’s house. The sun was no longer out, but the overcast sky was white rather than dark. Maybe he and Maddie could take a walk or something.
Michelle answered the door. “You looking for Maddie?” she asked.
“Yeah. Is she here?”
“No. Sorry. She’s at the beach. She said she wanted to get a run in between storms. Should I tell her you dropped by?”
Luke shook his head. “I think I’ll go look for her down there.” He had an idea where he might find her.
Sure enough, she was sitting on the old, worn-out picnic table where they used to have lunch when their families would go down there for the day. She was gazing out over the ocean, and he cleared his throat as he approached so as not to startle her.
“Luke? What are you doing down here?” she asked, scooting off the table and standing.
“Your mom told me you were here. I brought you something.”
She looked hesitant.
“It’s an early Christmas gift,” he added.
“Luke…” She sighed. “I don’t have anything for you.” She held up her empty hands.
“Perfect. I didn’t want to set this up as some big gift exchange between us. I just had something to say and something I want to give you.” He took a seat on the table and patted the place beside him. “Come on. Sit down.” He tried to give her his most casual smile, even though every fiber of his being was on high alert. He wanted this to go perfectly. For both of their sakes.
She sighed again, and then joined him, sitting down on the table next to him.
Luke placed the package on her lap. “Before you open this, let me explain.”
“Okay.”
“So, I wanted to get you a ladder.” He glanced over and saw the confused look on her face.
“A ladder?”
“Yeah. But I wasn’t sure how tall I needed it.”
She studied his face, and he flashed her another smile, this time winking, too. Her cheeks blushed, and she playfully pushed him. “What are you getting at?” she asked.
“I wasn’t sure how tall because I don’t know how high the cross was.”
Now her face fell, and she looked away. This was not going right. Luke knew he’d better get to the point. “Madison, I’m fumbling a little here. But there are two things you need to know. First, I love you.”
She glanced at him and gave him a warning look.
“I’m not just talking about romantic love. I mean I really love you. You—my friend. And yes, I admit I may love you in another way, too. But that’s beside the point. The point is that I can’t stand to see you down on yourself. I know you think you’ve really blown it. But who on this earth hasn’t?”
She shrugged.
“And that brings me to the second point. Whether you believe this or not, Jesus loves you, too. And that’s the reason for the ladder. If there was any way I could help you climb up a ladder beside the cross and look into His eyes, I know you’d see a love you’re not letting yourself receive. I’m not a pastor or a theologian, but I know this much—that cross is about a love that never ends.”
She looked into his eyes, and he saw a glimmer of hope.
“Anyway, I want you to have this.” He lifted the package and placed it in her hand. “Open it.”
“Now?”
“Yeah. Now.”
He noticed her hands shaking a little as she unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. She lifted the dainty necklace, and a sweet smile spread across her face. “A ladder. And a cross.”
He nodded.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. Opening the clasp, she tried to fasten it behind her neck.
“Here. Let me help,” he offered, carefully taking the two ends from her hands and linking them together. “There.”
She fingered the charms for a moment and then turned and hugged him. “Thanks. I love it.”
Luke smiled. “Good. So here’s the deal. We’ll stay just friends for a while. But I’m asking you to pray about our relationship this next semester while I’m gone. And I’ll do the same. Then we’ll talk more when I come back next summer. Okay?”
“But…”
“No buts. There’s no harm in praying, right?”
“I guess,” she replied, sounding skeptical.
“You’re still going on the mission trip, right?”
“Yeah, I guess,” she said again.
“So we’ll pray until then and see what God has for each of us. Agreed?”
She took a deep breath and let it out again. Nodding, she replied, “Agreed.”
This time it was Luke who reached out and hugged her.
EPILOGUE
Madison glanced across the room to find the source of the laughter. Luke was on the floor wrestling with a passel of boys from the preschool wing of the orphanage. As he feigned distress, they laughed uproariously and continued to pounce on him.
Finally, an assistant worker came to his rescue, peeling the boys away with a promise of lunch. As she led them out of the room to wash up and head over to the cafeteria, Luke stood up, brushed himself off and flashed Madison a smile. “I notice you didn’t come to my rescue,” he said.
“Who, me?” she ask
ed innocently.
He strolled over and took a look at the box she was unpacking. Vacation Bible School materials, including props and games, awaited sorting and preparing for their use. “This will be fun,” he said, pulling out a pack of brightly colored batons for the relays.
“Are you two coming?” a familiar voice asked from the doorway.
Luke looked over at his dad and nodded. “Come on. Let’s go get some eats,” he said to Madison.
After lunch, the children had a quiet time. The older ones read books, and the younger ones took siestas. It gave the team time to finish unpacking the supplies for VBS and go over their roles. Because of the summer heat, the events would be held in the evening after an early dinner. Beginning with songs of worship, they would then move into a Bible story told by Ben, followed by games, crafts, and special snacks.
The evening went well. No major glitches other than some initial problems with the sound system that were quickly corrected. The kids were so excited and seemed to have a great time. She noticed their willingness to help each other out at every station, even if it meant lending a hand to a friend on another team in the relays. They were tight—friends who had learned to stick together and be there for each other. Orphans who had made each other family.
Madison was impressed, and she could not believe how excited she was to be experiencing all of this firsthand. Here she was, in a foreign country, on a mission trip. Who would have thought, especially after all that had happened over the past year? And to be ministering beside Luke? That was even more unbelievable.
It will be really hard when he goes back to school, she realized. But all good things must come to an end.
“Time to take your group to snack,” Lucy said, nudging her.
“Oh! Sorry. I got lost there for a minute,” Madison replied, blushing. She rallied her troops and headed over to the snack station. From there, it was on to crafts and relays. Her team won the first prize, much to Lucy’s chagrin.
Behind Her Smile Page 23