Happily Ever After

by Jenn Faulk

~David~

  They’d arrived at the coast just half an hour before sunset.

  David had rushed through buying the best fish and chips in town, chatting with Camille as they’d walked into the shop together, then hurried back out again to his truck. He sped the entire way back down to the beach, stopping just in time to jump out, lead her over to the seawall, and point to the horizon as she sat down.

  The sun was just beginning to slip down into the water.

  “Amazing,” she had said, her eyes bright as she watched it. “You get to see this every day, huh?”

  He did. And he’d not once stopped and thought it “amazing” as she’d said, given how many other “amazing” things he saw here.

  After they’d eaten, he took her from one amazing location to the next, telling her stories about how his ministry here had started, where it was going, and what his days looked like. In her eyes, he saw it all anew as she took in what he was saying, as she looked around at the places where God had done the work, and as she sighed contentedly.

  “Amazing,” she had said again.

  And it was. It really was. He was more excited for this new school term now, given who would be here to see it all alongside him, given how well she’d already connected to the girls in Tsumeb.

  They had talked all the way to the Botha house, where Kait lived with Piet’s mother, Ana Marie.

  “Will I meet her tonight, then?” Camille asked.

  “No, actually,” he shook his head. “She’s in the States visiting her brother for the next few months. Then, she’ll be going on to Asia to visit her other son.”

  “Wow,” Camille murmured. “World traveler.”

  “And you would know,” he pointed out, smiling as he pulled into Ana Marie’s driveway. “Anyway, it was a surprise to us that you’re... well, you’re a woman, obviously. Which I know, obviously.”

  Obviously. David kicked himself a little for sounding like a dunce.

  Camille only looked at him, no offense or chiding in her eyes.

  “Anyway,” he said, “your living arrangements had to be changed in light of that. Kait suggested that you stay here, if that sounds okay.”

  “Oh,” Camille said, looking to the house. “Well, that should be fine, I guess. It’s been a while since I’ve had a roommate... but it’ll probably be nice to have Kait around to help me adjust, huh?”

  “Probably,” David said. “We do a lot of work from here anyway, so it should be convenient.”

  “Great,” she said. “Then, I’ll go ahead and get my bags –”

  “Oh, no, let me get it all for you,” he said, already getting out and going to the back to get everything for her, leading her up the walkway as she protested and offered to help him.

  “Camille, it’s fine,” he said, his hand already in the air, ready to knock on the door –

  When it flew open on its own.

  “There you guys are!” Kait practically yelled at him. Her eyes fell on Camille. “Well, welcome home, Camille. Come on in.”

  David watched as Camille moved into the house, taking stock of everything around her. “Oh, this is beautiful. David was telling me that this is Piet’s mother’s house?”

  “Ja,” Piet said, coming out from the kitchen, smiling. “The house I grew up in. David, let me take those bags for you. Kait said you wanted to go over plans for the party. We’ve already got everything set up in the kitchen ready to go.”

  “When’s the party?” Camille asked, smiling, even as Piet left the room with her bags.

  “David told you all about them, huh?” Kait asked.

  “He did, and the teenagers did as well,” she said.

  “Teenagers?” Kait asked. “Did you get to meet some of them in Tsumeb?”

  “Yeah,” David said, smiling. “She’s already BFFs with all the girls.”

  Camille smiled at him appreciatively. He loved that look on her face.

  “I’m so excited to meet even more of them,” she said.

  “Well, the party is set for tomorrow night. Right, David?” Kait asked.

  “That’s the plan,” he said. “If we can get everything sorted out and ready.”

  “Already done,” Piet said, coming back in. “Kait and I came back from Tsumeb early and spent most of the afternoon working on it all.”

  “Then, what’s left to do?” David asked. “Let’s go ahead and finish it up so we’re ready.”

  They all made their way into the kitchen, where bags and boxes of all kinds of supplies were laid out. School supplies, personal items, snacks, and Bibles on every surface in the Botha kitchen. Kait showed them all what had been done, David made some recommendations, and in no time at all, all four of them were gathered around grouping things together, separating everything, and getting it lined up and ready for the party. Halfway through their work, Kait slipped her phone into the radio and started a playlist.

  It began with a song about Texas.

  David looked up to find Camille smiling at him.

  “I come all this way, only to hear about home,” she said.

  “I hate this song,” Piet noted.

  “But it’s about home,” David said. “And you don’t hate it. I taught you to dance to this one, Piet.”

  Camille raised her eyebrows at this.

  “He did,” Piet acknowledged.

  “Yeah, and he taught Ana Marie as well,” Kait said, grinning. “She was so besotted with the way he danced that she told him she’d marry him. Told him he could be Piet’s new papa and all.”

  “Who’s your daddy, Piet?” David grinned over at him.

  “Ja, well,” Piet grumbled, “that’s enough of that.”

  “What dance did David teach her?” Camille asked.

  “We’ll show you,” David said, reaching out for Piet. “Come on, dance with me. Camille’s watching, too, so make it good.”

  “I do not want to be the woman again,” Piet said, frowning, coming closer to him. “You must let me lead, David.”

  “I would,” David said, “but you’re pitiful.”

  “I’m a great dancer,” Piet swore, taking David’s hands anyway, allowing himself to be led.

  “Not with this,” David said.

  “Camille, do you know how to do the funny dance he always does?” Piet asked her, grinning, even as David began dancing him around the room with a smile on his face. “Because Kait had never even heard of it.”

  “Well, it depends on what you’re doing,” Camille asked, smiling as well, watching them. “But, yes, I think I know that one.”

  “Yeah,” David said, letting go of Piet, hoping for a better partner as he glanced over at her. “She taught me this one herself, so there’s no need to demonstrate any more of it for her.”

  And as she acknowledged this with a nod, his mind went back to that lazy Saturday afternoon when Cammie knocked on his bedroom door.

  He was lying in bed, a game controller in his hand, creating the perfect NBA team using their roster of real live players... plus a player of his own creation. He deleted Trent Patterson right off of his team and put that new player, a rookie named David Connor, in his place.

  The David Connor on the screen was a big dude. Huge muscles. Over seven feet tall. Handsome, if he did say so himself. And way better than any other player out there or any other player that had ever lived, quite honestly.

  David Connor, NBA star.

  The pounding on his door began only a few minutes into the championship game with David Connor already putting points up onto the board. He ignored the knocking for a long while, pretending not to hear it, until it was clear that the person on the other side wouldn’t take a hint and go away.

  “What?” he said, a groan in his voice even as he made his way to the door, thinking it was Charity, with bossy instructions from his mother, forever relishing the opportunity to pick at him.

  He flung open the door, ready to really tell her off.

  But his voice caught when he saw her, Cammie Evans, s
tanding there instead.

  He was twelve. And she was over at the house all the time, just like she’d always been.

  But it was different now. It had been different for a while. Because Cammie was different.

  Taller. Prettier. Looking very, very grown up.

  David? Well, not so much. Everything David Connor the fake NBA player was the real David Connor was not. Short, too skinny, and kind of weird looking.

  He was kind of like a hideous elf, standing next to a supermodel princess, here with beautiful Cammie Evans. He was sure she noticed the incongruity between the two of them.

  It only made it seem more strange and disconcerting, the way that his heart raced whenever he saw her, even if he did well to never let her see how she affected him.

  “David,” she said with some urgency, reaching right through the doorway and pulling him out of his room. “I need you.”

  Oh, glory. She needed him. And she was touching him!

  He didn’t even ask any questions as she dragged him down to Hope’s room. Anything Cammie needed him to do, he would do. Anywhere she wanted him to go, he would go. Just as long as she didn’t take her blessed hand off his suddenly favored arm.

  His attention was only momentarily torn from her beautiful face when he got to Hope’s room and saw his sisters holding one another in an embrace.

  He frowned at this and opened his mouth to question what was going on, when Charity said to Cammie, “Okay, show us.”

  And Cammie took David’s hand in hers and put his other hand on her waist.

  He very visibly swallowed... and started sweating. This was a dream. Surely this was a dream, and he was going to wake up any minute now –

  “David,” Cammie said, authority in her voice. “I’m going to lead this time. But you figure it out so that you can lead next time.”

  “What?” he asked, certain that if this was a dream he wouldn’t be sweating nearly this much. “What are we doing?”

  “Dancing, David,” Hope muttered. “Charity and Cammie have dates for the Homecoming dance. And Charity doesn’t know how to dance. We’re trying to teach her some basics, at least.”

  But David had been caught up on something else. “Dates? You have dates?”

  “With seniors!” Charity squealed.

  Cammie smiled a little at this as well.

  “Older boys?” David asked, still holding onto Cammie, hating the idea of anyone else standing this close to her, holding her like this. Especially not taller, older, manlier guys who didn’t resemble elves. “Is that a good idea?”

  “Probably not,” Hope said dismissively. “Well, go on, Cammie. Teach us. Use David. Show us what to do.”

  David didn’t much like the idea of being used.

  But if Cammie Evans was going to be the one using him –

  “Got it,” she said. “Okay, David. Stand up straight.”

  He did... and it put him at eye level with her chest. He tried in vain to find anywhere else to look.

  “The rhythm is one, two, one,” she said as he continued to stare.

  “One, two, one,” he said, finally closing his eyes so he could concentrate for a moment.

  One of the twins flipped on the music as he continued chanting the rhythm to himself, his eyes closed, even as Cammie began to move and he began to move with her.

  And as she moved rather gracefully beneath his hands and he attempted to focus, he found that for all that he couldn’t do as a dweeby, awkward, little guy... well, he could do this. Elves could dance, apparently. He moved closer to her, continuing on in the rhythm she’d started for them, keeping pace right alongside her, and opening his eyes at last, smiling to see how she beamed at him.

  “Do you see how easy it is? Even David’s a natural,” Cammie said to his sisters, even as she reached out and messed up his hair, letting him go for a moment, much to his disappointment.

  “She keeps stepping on my feet,” Hope groaned. “Charity, you’re like a graceless cow.”

  “Hope!” Charity gasped. “Did you really just call me a cow?!”

  “Well, if the hooves fit,” Hope said. “Seriously, all over my feet. You’re going to look like a fool at that dance.”

  Charity, panicked at the thought, began whining to Cammie. “I need to see it again!”

  Cammie nodded, then looked to David. “Okay, you lead now. Now that you’ve figured it out. Think you can do that?”

  “I can do anything for you, Cammie,” he said, so ready to be her dancing elf.

  “Okay, then,” Cammie said, missing the look in his eyes. Thankfully. “Here we go.”

  And he danced and danced, twirling Cammie Evans around and around, praying that God wouldn’t let that song end and that Charity would never figure it out so that he could spend the rest of the night just like this...

  “I remember teaching you,” Camille said, all these years later, all grown up, smiling at him now in Swakopmund. “Tried to help your sister.”

  He nodded. “You did, but she was hopeless.”

  “She didn’t even end up using those skills anyway,” Camille shrugged. “She spent the whole dance in a dark corner of the gym, kissing the creep of a guy who took her.”

  Kait raised her eyebrows at this. “Wild preacher’s daughter.”

  “Yeah,” Camille and David said together... then smiled.

  “But you danced that night, right?” David asked, wondering who her date had been back then, hoping he had treated her better than Charity’s date had treated her.

  “I did,” she said. “But just one dance. I went with a guy from the church. He was too nervous to even hold my hand. Or call me again after that one date.”

  David was glad for this. And as the music continued on at the Botha house, he grinned, going for levity, even as his heart pounded.

  “Well, we need to show Piet how it’s really done. Because he makes a miserable woman.”

  “Thank you for that,” Piet muttered, even as David held out his hand for Camille.

  And she took it.

  “You lead this time, huh?” she asked, glancing up at him.

  “I’d love to,” he answered, draping his arm over her shoulders, just as she drew closer to him.

  “Well, you’re taller than you were last time,” she noted, a gleam in her eyes as she smiled.

  “Yeah, I’m staring at your forehead now, instead of...” And he stopped the thought, but not before Camille could raise her eyebrows at this. “Never mind.”

  As the music continued on, sounding so much like home with this woman who had been so much a part of who he’d always been, David found himself pulling her closer, his lips just a breath from her cheek. Cammie Evans...

  “I think you’ve been practicing,” she chided softly, squeezing his hand.

  “Better than I was at twelve, huh?” he asked.

  “I think so,” she breathed, just as the song ended.

  Camille backed away, still smiling at him.

  “Well, that song was a lot shorter than I would have liked,” David said, very simply, his eyes still on her.

  “Too long still, though,” Kait said in her no nonsense voice, as Camille’s eyes regrettably drifted from his. “Let’s get the rest of this work done so we can all go to bed at a normal time, huh?”

  And David went to it, still remembering the feel of Camille Evans in his arms.