Folding her arms in front of her chest, Karen sat across from her, shaking her head, causing her stylishly cut dark hair to bounce. “Well, I certainly hope so. Monica and I are very concerned about your health.”
Anna turned away from Karen, focusing on Monica. “So, how have you been, girl?”
Monica pulled out a seat, joining her best friends at the table. She immediately changed the subject. “You picked the right time to bring over some éclairs. It’s been a rough day.”
Karen narrowed her eyes. “Did Scotty get in trouble at school again?”
She placed her head in her hand, still grateful for the support of her two best friends. “Not really.”
“Well, what happened?” Anna prompted.
Monica’s mouth watered as she opened the box and sniffed the enticing scent. “How about I make some coffee and we enjoy these éclairs before I give too many details?”
“I’ll do it,” Karen volunteered. After setting three plates on the table, Karen breezed through the kitchen, starting a pot of decaffeinated coffee and gathering coffee cups and napkins for them to enjoy their snack. After the coffee was brewed, Anna and Karen served themselves. Karen poured a cup of coffee for Monica, adding a generous portion of cream and sugar.
As they ate, Monica informed them about her unusual day.
“A tutor would be good for him,” Anna said. “I hope everything works out.”
Monica lifted the pastry from the plate, inhaling the rich scent. Her mouth watered so she took a bite, enjoying her favorite dessert. “This is so good.”
Anna’s dark face glowed as she enjoyed her treat. A dollop of vanilla cream fell from the éclair onto her plate. Taking her finger, Anna wiped up the cream and placed the filling onto her tongue. “Well, I brought an éclair for Scotty. Maybe you can give it to him in the morning for breakfast.”
Monica shrugged. “If he behaves himself, he can have it in the morning. If he misbehaves, I’ll be eating that éclair myself.”
Suddenly thoughts of John French swirled through her mind like a fine mist.
Anna placed her large hand on Monica’s arm. “You’re not telling us something. I can tell.”
Anna leaned back into her chair, and it creaked. She grinned, displaying twin dimples in her cheeks. “You almost look happy.” She ate the last bite of her éclair. “As a matter of fact, this is the happiest I’ve seen you since Scotty came to live with you. What happened today?”
Wincing, Monica wished she could keep her attraction to John a secret for a while longer. Under Anna’s and Karen’s intense scrutiny, she explained herself. “I’m attracted to Scotty’s tutor.”
Anna burst out laughing, the loud noise filling the small kitchen. Karen smiled, seemingly amused by this news also.
“Anna, will you be quiet! You might wake Scotty!” warned Monica. She folded her arms in front of her chest, narrowing her eyes. “I fail to see why this is so funny.”
Still chuckling, Anna covered her mouth with her hand, her dark eyes shining with warmth. “You act like it’s a death sentence. What’s wrong with being attracted to him?”
“I agree with Anna,” Karen admitted. “What’s wrong with being attracted to somebody?”
“I’m happy for you,” Anna said. “I just think it’s hilarious that you can’t be happy for yourself! Maybe now you can get Kevin off your mind!”
Rolling her eyes and pursing her lips, Monica glared at her friend. “I am so over Kevin. He’s been married for over a year now.”
Karen groaned. After finishing her coffee, she walked to the pot, her high-heeled pumps clattering on the tiled floor. After refilling her cup, she returned to the table. “You say that, but I saw the way you looked at him and his wife and child in church last Sunday. I think it’s awful the way he dumped you two years ago and got engaged to Tamara six months later.”
Turning away from her friends, she took a deep breath and wished they hadn’t brought up such unpleasant memories. Since she’d gotten Scotty, she barely spent time thinking about Kevin and her nonexistent love life.
Anna squeezed her arm. “Hey, we didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
“Look, I don’t feel bad. It’s just that since Kevin dumped me, you two always seem to mention him once in a while. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention him again until I say I want to talk about him.”
Anna put her arm around Monica. “I’m sorry. I love you like a sister, and I can tell when you see Kevin that it still hurts.”
Karen nodded, placing her manicured hand on Monica’s shoulder. “Yes, sometimes when you look at Kevin, you look like you’re going to cry.”
Monica shook her head. “No, I don’t, not really. I’m glad that Kevin and his wife are happy together.” When their church had held a baby shower for Kevin’s pregnant wife, she discovered how hard it was to put her bitterness aside and purchase a gift for Tamara’s child. A lot of the church sisters had given her looks of sympathy, and she wished the fact that she’d seriously dated Kevin for two years could be erased from the parishioners’ minds forever.
“Sure, you’re happy for them,” stated Anna sarcastically. “You mentioned to me right before Scotty came to live with you that you couldn’t believe Kevin strung you along for two years.”
Monica shook her head, still wishing her friends would drop the subject. The first year Kevin had dated her, he treated her like a princess. She’d fallen in love pretty hard. When the topic of marriage didn’t come up, Monica was about to broach the subject with him when his mother suddenly died of a heart attack. He’d been so close to his mom, and their fairy-tale romance took a nosedive after the tragedy. When she finally did try to discuss it with him, he’d stated he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk about marriage and he was still grieving for his mother. He gave her the same line for almost a year before he dumped her for another woman.
She forced the unpleasant thoughts from her brain, focusing again on Anna and Karen, who still had their hands on her arm. “John is coming by this Saturday for Scotty’s first tutoring session. He wanted us to go out, but I didn’t think it was a good idea,” she said, changing the subject.
They released her, and Anna placed her elbow on the table, propping her chin in her hand. “Well, let me ask you this: Is he a Christian?”
Karen crossed her slim legs and nodded. “Anna brings up a good point. Is he a Christian? If he is, I don’t see any harm in going out with him. The eligible bachelors at our church are practically nonexistent. If you find a good Christian man and he’s interested in you and you’re attracted to him, you should at least give him a chance.” She sipped her coffee. “You can’t blame John because Kevin was a fool.”
Monica shook her head. “I can’t go out with him. Not now. Scotty has a lot of problems, and he needs me to be there for him. He needs my support, and I can’t support him fully while I’m fawning over some man.” She paused for a few seconds. “I’m not sure if he is a Christian. When I was speaking to him, we mostly talked about Scotty’s educational needs.”
“Have you even prayed about this?” Karen asked.
“No,” Monica answered.
Karen shrugged. “Why not? I know you just met the man today, but hand it over to the Lord and see what He says to you. You’re always telling others to pray about things. Now I think it’s time for you to heed your own advice.”
Anna nodded. “Karen does make a good point. Besides, maybe God has placed John in your path for a reason. He might be the one God intended for you to spend your whole life with.”
Monica was silent as she finished her snack, thinking about the advice her friends had given her. No longer wanting the conversation to focus on herself and John French, she asked Karen how the hair salon was doing.
“You know how it is, girl. It’s busy in that shop. I barely
had time to eat my lunch this afternoon, I was so occupied.”
“How are things in the bakery and your catering business?” Monica asked Anna.
Anna chuckled. “Okay. A lot of people are preordering pies and cakes for special events. My staff and I are going to be pretty busy filling orders next week. This Saturday we’re catering an anniversary party.”
Monica filled them in on the details of her job at the marketing services company. “Remember not long before Scotty came to live with me, I was promoted to senior executive assistant?” Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair. “Clark has me doing all the scheduling for the marketing promo conference next year for the whole company.”
“So you just make some hotel arrangements and be sure all the participants have their registrations in?” Anna questioned.
“Yes, but it’s harder than it sounds. There are forty people in the company attending the conference. A lot of them have specifications about the kind of hotel room they want, and they all have special travel arrangements.” She shook her head as she thought about the humongous project. “Also, a lot of people want to take their spouses and significant others, so I have to book arrangements for them, too.”
Karen spoke up. “The company pays for the spouses to go?”
She shook her head. “No, they have to reimburse the company for their spouses’ expenses. When they turn in their expense reports for the trip, it makes things harder for the accounting department because a lot of them forget to report the amounts of their companion’s expenses and give the company a reimbursement check.”
Anna shook her head. “I’ll bet they’re just trying to get a free trip for their spouses. They probably don’t forget anything.”
“I agree. It’s always the same people who make that mistake.” She told them how having Scotty in her life was affecting her attitude at work. “It’s hard when Scotty’s teacher calls me about a problem in the middle of the workday. Clark is sweet, and he understands everything I’ve been going through, but it’s still hard to get used to having a child around while I’m working a full-time job.”
They continued talking about their jobs for a while before Anna and Karen said they were tired. They gathered their purses and Monica told them good-bye as they exited her house. As she opened the curtain and watched her friends drive away, she reminisced about the deep bond they’d developed ten years ago when she’d joined their church. Anna’s cooking skills had been put to good use when the church opened a soup kitchen for the needy. Anna, Monica, and Karen had been three volunteers who came each week. While ministering to others, they’d gotten to know one another. As each of them struggled with relationships and work-related issues, they’d encouraged one another to focus on God. Due to financial problems, the soup kitchen could not function as often as it used to; however, Anna, Karen, and Monica continued to meet regularly after their soup kitchen duties had ceased, and they’d found solace and comfort in their friendship.
❧
The next day John taught his classes as if he were in a daze. As large classrooms filled with college students asking questions about molecular biology and photosynthesis, he tried his best to focus on listening to them before answering.
After giving a few pop quizzes and assigning chapters to read, he kept thinking about Monica. Afterward he walked from the George Washington Carver Science Building to his office in Hazel Hall and passed several students on campus. Some rode bikes and others laughed and joked as they strolled to their next class in small groups, carrying backpacks full of books.
He opened the door to his building and spotted a young couple standing inside on the steps. The female wiped tears from her eyes, and her male companion patted her on the back.
He shook his head as vivid memories flashed through his mind of the time a woman had tearfully ended her relationship with him. Gritting his teeth, he took the steps up to his office, determined not to let such recollections spoil the euphoria he felt about seeing Monica the following day.
The next morning he wanted to sing from the top of his roof. Humming, he took the mail from his box and minutes later dropped the pile of envelopes onto the glass-topped coffee table in his living room.
Plopping into his favorite chair, he checked his watch, noting he had to be at Monica’s within the hour. That woman was like a ray of sunshine on a dark day.
He relaxed for a bit, then entered his bathroom and shaved away his stubble. After showering and dressing in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, he completed his ensemble with a baseball cap.
He still hummed as he left his house and drove to Monica’s, his heart pounding as he thought about the time they’d spend together. He was halfway to her house when he stopped his car. “Oh man!”
He returned to his house and gathered the items he’d forgotten. He needed his braille flash cards, his abacus, and other items to assist Scotty with his studies. After he had all the necessary items, he returned to his car and drove to her house.
The warmth of the day enveloped him. As he stopped at a light, he gazed toward the trees and noted a few leaves were starting to fall to the ground, a sign of the cooler fall weather that was bound to come within the next month. He smiled as he pulled into her driveway. He rapped on her door, eagerly awaiting another opportunity to see her again. When she opened the door, the scent of seafood filled his nose. Her dark brown eyes sparkled. “Scotty, Mr. John is here,” she announced.
Scotty soon appeared at the front door beside his aunt. “Hi, Mr. John.”
“Hey, sport.” John squeezed Scotty’s shoulder. “Are you ready for your first lesson?”
The boy frowned. “I guess so,” he mumbled.
She guided her nephew into the living room and John followed. She turned toward him. “Come on into the kitchen.” He followed her into the adjoining room, enticed by the scent of her perfume.
She was wearing an oversized T-shirt with a wraparound cloth beach skirt. The tangerine color complimented her brown skin.
Her dark eyes met his. “Are you okay?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes, why?”
Giggling, she entered the kitchen, and he followed her. “You’ve been staring at me since you came into the house.”
He shook his head, ashamed. “Sorry. You look pretty today.”
She seemed to accept the compliment and removed food from a frying pan. “I made some crab cakes for us to eat on the beach. This is my mother’s special recipe, so the cakes should taste good cold. I also have lobster salad and cake for dessert.”
“You purchased lobster?”
“Yes, my friend Anna owns a bakery and she has a side catering business, so she can sometimes get me pricey food at a bargain. She gave me the cake also.”
“The crab cakes smell good,” John said.
Scotty came in and sat at the table. “It sure does smell good! Aunt Monica can cook real good. She cooks more than my mom does!”
John remained silent as he watched Monica continue with their picnic preparations.
“I figured you and Scotty could get started with your lesson as soon as possible,” she said as she pulled a cooler from the pantry and dampened a towel to wipe the interior of the container. “I have a few things to do upstairs, so I’ll just leave you and Scotty to do your tutoring session.”
John finally sat at the table beside Scotty and opened his briefcase. As he usually did with his new students, he tested Scotty’s ability with the braille alphabet by using braille flash cards, giving Scotty each card and listening to him as he tried to read each word, running his small brown fingers over the bumpy white paper. The boy hesitated before reading each word aloud.
He next tested his math abilities. He pulled out an abacus and asked Scotty if he knew how to use one. The boy nodded as he counted out the white beads on the small contraption. His math skills wer
e lousy, and John was determined to make him a more adept student before the end of the school year. He was so engrossed in helping Scotty, he didn’t realize a whole hour had passed until Monica returned to the kitchen and began placing food into containers. John reached a stopping point, so he wrapped up his tutoring session with Scotty.
John glanced at Monica, smiling. “Are you ready to leave for the beach?”
She nodded and his earlier excitement returned as he anticipated Monica’s home-cooked meal.
Three
Monica wiped her hands on a dish towel, glad to see that Scotty had warmed up to John during the tutoring session—which was a good sign. But she had to wonder about her own attraction to the man. Was he a good, honest man who wouldn’t break her heart the way Kevin had?
After enjoying the pleasant, scenic view as they drove to the beach, they now sat on the sand watching the tourists strolling around the water. A few people flew kites, but the beach wasn’t as crowded as it was during the tourist season.
John set up the beach umbrella, and she set the picnic basket and cooler on the sand.
“Aunt Monica, I’m hungry,” complained Scotty.
“Honey, we’re getting ready to eat.”
John helped her by guiding Scotty to a spot on the blanket. The lobster salad was packed in three bowls, and she had packed plastic forks. The crab cakes were wrapped in aluminum foil, and Monica chuckled when she heard John’s grumbling stomach. “I guess you’re hungry,” she said. John smiled sheepishly. She took Scotty’s hand as John stared at them. “We usually join hands before we bless the food.”
John nodded but made no effort to hold Monica’s and Scotty’s hands.
When his hands remained limp beside him, disappointment filled her soul. The wind blew, fluttering the flaps of their umbrella.
She tried to hide her emotions as she said grace over the meal. Her voice rang clear and strong in the hot late-summer wind as she thanked God for their food.
Nobody said a word as they enjoyed Cokes, lobster salad, and crab cakes. When they finished eating, they removed their shoes and walked along the shore of the ocean, letting the frothy waves kiss their feet. The sun was a brilliant globe in the striking blue sky, and seagulls dipped toward the beach, seeking crumbs of food from beachgoers. Monica described the scenery to Scotty and reminded him about the story of creation he’d learned in his Sunday school class. “Remember God created the birds and animals,” she said.
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