That Dark Place

by W. Franklin Lattimore

  “Thank you. And about that, I’m not so far off as I was. When Dad said Jason’s name, God became more real than I could have fathomed. I’m not there there, yet—where all of you are—but yesterday took my breath away. I could no longer deny he existed. Heck, Dad’s comment made me realize that God knew a long time ago that I was going to exist! It’s surreal.”

  Tara took it all in as she placed a waffle into the toaster. “Do you want a couple?”

  “No, thanks. I’m good with my hot wakeup liquid right now.”

  “You’ve got to have questions after all of that,” Tara prompted.

  “Yeah, sort of. But I was thinking that I’d take some time to formulate them, maybe put them on paper, then ask you and Dad maybe later this evening.”

  “That sounds like a very good plan.”

  My girl is growing up. The thought made Tara giddy with joy.

  “And I, for one, am looking forward to all three of us sitting down together after dinner.”

  “I’m looking forward to it too,” said Elizabeth. “Definitely.”

  To Tara, everything was now right with the world.

  Chapter 51

  E

  lizabeth wasn’t taking any chances with her meeting with Mark Johnson. She was going to be prepared.

  She threw her small gym duffel—that never got used at a gym—into the back seat of her car. In it was a change of clothes and a few primping items. She was not going to look like a meal server to him again!

  She hadn’t heard from him, so she assumed that everything was still on for him to meet her in the restaurant parking lot at 5:00 p.m.

  While driving the six minutes that it took to get to work, she thought back to how fun the photo shoot had been. She’d do it again, if given the chance. And Mark.…

  Ugh. Keep your thoughts clean! He’s a professional and not interested in some underage amateur! And he’s too old.

  And cute.

  Stop it!

  She hoped that her workday would pass quickly. She’d also beg maybe fifteen minutes or a half hour off at the end of her shift. That way, she’d get to make herself presentable and hopefully curtail any food smells that would otherwise leave the restaurant with her.

  She was only about seven hours away from a great gift from a man with a wonderful heart!

  DREW WAS NERVOUS.

  He was excited.

  He was hopeful.

  He looked at his watch again. He was only minutes from being able to leave work. It had been quite a while since he’d taken any time off. Taking a half day almost made him feel guilty.

  Almost.

  Over and over, he’d tried to come up with a way to best find out the answer to a nagging question: Might Elizabeth find him worthy of something more than a just a casual meeting to hand over the portfolio?

  The rubber was about to meet the road. Would it grab or would he lose control?

  The solution had come to him only minutes ago. He would not meet her at the restaurant. He couldn’t. It would be far too risky. Instead, he’d request a rendezvous.

  If it worked, they’d have privacy and she wouldn’t feel either suspicious or threatened.

  Within fifteen minutes, Drew was in his car and on the road toward home. He withdrew his phone and hit the SMS text icon. He had already drafted the carefully constructed message, so he just had to hit Send.

  She probably wouldn’t receive the message until after she got off work, so he’d just have to wait to find out if he was as persuasive as he hoped.

  LEANN WAS IN top form. The woman was impressive in her ability to wrangle money out of men. She was twenty-eight going on nineteen. Even Elizabeth found her tantalizing at times. Sort of.

  As far as her own skills went, Elizabeth was proving to be quite the protégé. She could do some pretty good wrangling too. She wasn’t—and couldn’t be—quite as brash as LeAnn due to her age, but she had certainly learned how to play the flirt.

  Today, however, Elizabeth wasn’t raking in the tips. She was hardly noticing who she was serving because she couldn’t keep her mind off the upcoming get-together with Mark.

  She glanced at the clock in the kitchen. It was 1:27 p.m. In three minutes, she could take a fifteen-minute break.

  As she waited—while also dodging her customers and hoping the hostess wouldn’t seat someone else in her section—Elizabeth replayed the revelations from Brent’s long-ago dreams.

  Did God really find her so important as to interrupt his life like that? It dawned on her just then that it wasn’t merely three names in his dreams; it was her face.

  Twenty-some-odd years ago—almost ten years before she’d even been born—Brent knew her face. And he hadn’t forgotten it. Her face and her name in his mind changed the course of her life!

  She should thank God for it.

  But she was still struggling with the idea of a relationship with the one who had put her into the lives of emotionally destitute parents. How could she thank him for one thing and despise him for another? The two instances sort of counter-balanced each other, leaving her with a bit of a “meh” attitude and a yes-I-know-you-exist mindset toward him.

  1:30.

  Great!

  Elizabeth bounded for her work locker. She grabbed her cell phone and a candy bar and headed out to the back of the restaurant where some of the staff took smoke breaks.

  Turning on her phone, she received two text messages.

  The first, from Jenna: I’m thinking we need another chick night. U in?

  Hmm. Sounds good to me!

  She responded: UR right! Let’s do it. Food n dessert both?

  Send.

  The second text was from Mark. Her heart skipped.

  Wanted to give you a little extra to go with your portfolio. I think you’ll enjoy it. Instead of me coming to the restaurant, it will probably be more special if we met at the warehouse at the business park where we did part 3 of the shoot. Can you make it? Won’t take long. I’ll try to make it there by 5 PM. Mark

  Extra? More pictures?

  A thought gripped her heart with excitement: Did he share my portfolio with an agent? A magazine, maybe?

  She tried to tamper down the emotion. I could be wrong, though. Probably am. But what if?

  She typed in her response: See you at about 5:10! I’m excited!

  The remaining three and a half hours of her shift were now going to feel like fifty.

  MARK READ THE text. It had worked! His heart began to pound with anticipation.

  “I’m excited too,” he whispered to himself.

  He chuckled. If there was a god to pray to, I’d ask for help in turning our little get-together into a get-it-on together.

  Chapter 52

  O

  kay, so we take it back.”

  “We’ll only get store credit for it.”

  “Zach, where do we spend most of our money?”

  “There.”

  “And the problem is?”

  Zach laughed. “Just messin’ with ya.”

  Jamie wasn’t completely convinced of that. He rolled his eyes.

  Jamie and Zach walked up from the basement of the Lawton household, both still in their bright white martial arts gis. The two had both had practice—Zach with his Taekwondo and Jamie with his karate. It wasn’t uncommon for the two of them to follow up practice with two or three hours of gaming.

  The two of them had decided that the game they’d purchased only two days before was unworthy of their time and efforts. They walked into the living room where Jamie’s mom sat on the couch reading.

  “Mom, we’re going to Game Stock. Taking a game back.”

  His mom looked up at the clock on the living room wall. “Don’t spend all day. I just got a text from Elizabeth saying she’d be a little late getting home, so we’ll eat around 6:30.”

  Jamie looked at the clock too. 5:01.

  “So, you’re saying be back b
y 6:29. Got it.”

  His mom shook her head.

  “Zach, are you eating with us?” she asked.

  “Based on what I’m smelling … yep.”

  She laughed.

  THAT WAS SIMPLE ENOUGH.

  Elizabeth had just spoken with Tara. She hadn’t had to explain a thing about why she’d be a little late. She’s probably assuming I’m working a little later.

  A small stab of guilt.

  She got into her car and headed off to meet Mark.

  Again, she wondered about his cryptic text. What was the surprise? “A little extra to go with your portfolio.” That could mean just about anything, but she still hoped it was a chance at a true modeling gig.

  DREW SAT IN his car. He’d parked his BMW between two buildings. He didn’t want it to look suspicious sitting alone next to an abandoned warehousing facility.

  The building opposite the warehouse appeared to have a well-peopled business. Employees were leaving in droves at the end of their shifts. While he’d sat there, the four other cars occupying the single row where he’d parked had taken off. No matter. His car would still look as though it belonged to a straggler.

  He was nervous.

  Understatement.

  He was terrified that this whole thing would go sideways. He was about to proposition a minor.

  Hopefully, though, she wouldn’t take it that way.

  Five minutes earlier, he had scoped out a spot for them to talk on the far side of the old building. There was a large concrete slab that led away from what used to be an employee access door. A sign beside it read: ‘All Employees Must Put On Safety Gear Before Reentering.’ From that patio-like concrete pad, a set of steps led down to what might have been, in years past, an observation deck above a creek. It looked to be in fairly decent shape too.

  Too bad we didn’t notice this side of the building when we did the photo shoot. Hmm. Maybe I could still get a few photos.

  During the drive to Millsville, he’d been stuck on what reason he’d give Elizabeth for wanting her to meet him here. He may have just stumbled upon the perfect solution!

  As for her allowing him to take more photos, he doubted it. He was fairly certain she wouldn’t want to be photographed in uniform. She hated wearing it.

  Personally, I think it’s pretty hot.

  He looked at the dashboard clock. 5:06 p.m. She’d be there any minute.

  Drew got out of his car and walked to the warehouse. He’d wait for her there.

  Please, let me get this right, he prayed to no one in particular.

  JAMIE AND ZACH rounded the corner onto Narrow Road. They were glad for the safety of the sidewalk. Traffic at this time of day was thick, and cycling on the road was risky.

  “So, who gets the card?” asked Zach.

  “What card?”

  “The gift card with the credit on it?”

  Jamie smiled. “Do you think you should have it? It’s going to be a whole $22.35. I’m not sure you can be trusted with that much money.”

  “Oh yeah, I’ll just take that Game Stock card and run off to Vegas and place some bets.”

  “Yep. You’re definitely the safer bet to hold onto the card, then.”

  No reaction other than a smile from Zach.

  “Bet. Get it? You’re the safer bet?”

  “This is me laughing,” said Zach with a smirk.

  A minute or two later, Zach said, “Hey, isn’t that your girlfriend?”

  “Where?”

  “The business park entrance.”

  “Looks like her car. Come on, let’s see if we can catch up with her!”

  The two of them put into their pedals all that they had but still fell short.

  “That is her, though,” said Jamie as she made a right turn into the Millsville Business Park across the street from them.

  They continued to pedal, braking when they finally came even with the entrance. They could see her car go to the end and make a left out of sight.

  “Too bad for you, lover boy.”

  “Wonder what she’s doing here….”

  Zach shrugged. “So, Game Stock or the business park? As if I don’t already know what your choice is going to be.”

  There was no crosswalk button they could press to get the light to change, but there were a couple of cars approaching that were going to exit the business complex. When they pulled up to the light, they knew it would not be a long wait before it changed and they could cross.

  A minute later, they were biking toward the rear of the complex. Jamie hoped Elizabeth wasn’t making her way to another section of the business park that would make it impossible for them to catch up with her.

  When they reached the spot where Elizabeth had made her turn, Jamie found that he needn’t have worried. Her car was parked in a single row of parking spots between two buildings. The building to the right obviously wasn’t occupied, so he assumed that if she wasn’t still in her car, she would have gone into the business on the left.

  “Alcorn Enterprises,” said Zach. “What do they do?”

  “No idea.”

  “So, does she know someone in there?”

  “She must. Don’t you think?”

  Zach shrugged and shook his head.

  They stopped and got off their bikes near Elizabeth’s car. It was parked next to a nice BMW.

  “That’s a sick ride,” said Zach.

  “Yeah, pretty cool.”

  Both of them walked around the car. Jamie looked through the passenger side window.

  “Nice interior. The guy keeps it spotless.”

  He noticed a manila envelope on the passenger seat. It partially covered a stamped envelope. Only a few numbers were visible. Not that it was any of his business. But it did catch his attention.

  133

  069

  Whatever.

  “Well, do we wait around for your girl to come out?”

  “Will you stop it?” Jamie laughed. “She’s not mine.”

  “She’s not yours … yet.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go. It would kinda suck if she walked out here and saw us camped out by her car.”

  “Good call.”

  They got back on their bikes and made themselves gone.

  WHEN ELIZABETH ARRIVED at the warehouse, she noticed Mark’s car parked between the buildings. She decided to park next to it.

  As she put the car in park, she saw Mark waving to her from the end of the older building.

  He’s got a great smile.

  “Stop it, Elizabeth!” she muttered under her breath.

  She got out of her car and locked it. As she slipped her phone into her back pocket, she smiled back at him.

  “Wow! Look at you!” exclaimed her photographer. “I expected you to look all waitressy!”

  “Not a chance!” she responded, striding toward him. “Didn’t want you to see me looking like that again!”

  “Like I told you before, there’s something to be said for that 1950s waitress look.”

  “That look is only for work; it’s embarrassing in public.”

  As she got within a few feet of him, he held his left arm out, anticipating that she’d be willing to give him a friendly side hug. She obliged.

  “Good to see you, Elizabeth. Thanks for coming out here to meet me. I’ve got something to show you.”

  One thing that it appeared he wasn’t going to show her just yet was the portfolio. He was empty-handed.

  He led her around the corner to the backside of the warehouse. The vacant building was hiding some amazing beauty behind it.

  “Wow, this is really pretty!”

  “Yeah, I thought so too. Come check this out.”

  He took her hand in his. She almost thought nothing of it.

  Almost.

  It was a bit forward of him.

  Mark walked her to a flat concrete surface with stairs that went down through the t
rees and to the creek. His excitement was fun to see and also contagious.

  Nice to look at, she thought. The scenery is too.

  She caught herself again. What was she thinking?

  As she refocused her gaze off of Mark and toward the water, he said, “About that addition to your portfolio.…”

  “I was wondering what that might be,” she said with a playful grin.

  “I thought a few more photos might be in order.”

  She hadn’t expected that. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. It had, after all, been the first thing she’d thought of, but it most certainly hadn’t been foremost on her hope list.

  “Uhh.…” she stammered. “I … I’m not prepared for that. All I’ve got is what I’m wearing.”

  “And your server’s uniform?” he asked with a grin of his own.

  “You cannot be serious.”

  “Why, is it covered with gravy and ketchup?”

  Elizabeth laughed. “No. Today was a rather clean day for me.”

  “So, are you willing?”

  “Are you really being serious? I look … I look like a waitress in it!”

  “You must be forgetting what I can do with a camera.”

  “And just how would I know that, Mr. Photographer? You haven’t shown me a thing yet.”

  “Then I guess I’d better do that, hadn’t I?”

  “I guess you’d better!” she said with a laugh.

  She was enjoying the banter with Mark very much. He was proving, again, to be a great guy!

  Be careful, Elizabeth, he’s too old, she warned herself.

  Oh, shut it, she replied.

  “I’ll be back in a minute. Wait here.”

  As he turned and left, she took a quick look at his backside. It really is nice. Out here! It’s nice out here!

  She closed her eyes and shook her head in near disbelief that her mind was going there.

  Turning around, she walked to the edge of the stairs and sat down to look at the creek winding through the woods.