Just at that moment she heard a tapping noise at the window and startled when she saw someone standing there. Through the rain streaked window, she could see it was Steven. She opened the passenger door for him and he climbed in with his dripping umbrella.
“I was headed back from uni and saw your car up on the gutter. Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes showing concern.
“I—I think so,” she stuttered. “My phone ran out of charge and I couldn’t call anyone.” She wiped away her tears.
“It’s okay. It’s just the tyre that’s damaged, not the rim. If you have a spare, I can change it for you,” he offered.
“That would be wonderful!” she said, relieved.
They waited for a pause in the rain and she held the umbrella while he removed the damaged tyre and replaced it with the new one. She carefully observed what he was doing, even asking a few questions now and then, just in case she ever needed to change a tyre again. He was completely drenched, yet he didn’t complain. As he lifted the busted tyre into the boot, she could see the bulge of his biceps under his wet shirt. His hair was tousled with the rain and he had a smear of grease across his cheek, under his right eye. She couldn’t help but smile at how cute he looked.
“Thank you so much. I thought I was going to be stuck out here forever!”
He smiled at her exaggeration. “You’re welcome. Are you okay to drive home?” he asked.
“I think so. I still feel a bit shaken up, though.”
“Just take it slow. I can follow you if you like, just to make sure you get home okay.”
“That would be great, thanks. I really appreciate this, Steven.”
“No problem.”
She arrived home safely and waved goodbye to him. She couldn’t believe how helpful he had been, especially after his harsh words to her several weeks ago. Thinking back on her actions, she realised how much she had screwed up. She hadn’t really given him a chance. While on their date, she’d had her mind on Nate the whole time. She remembered the look on Steven’s face when he saw Nate with his arm around her. It made her sick to her stomach. How could she have treated him like that?
She walked into the house and headed to the shower, not wanting to explain anything to her parents until she could feel her toes again. Jeremy bumped into her in the hallway and cracked up laughing as soon as he saw her.
“What?” she asked.
“You need to look in the mirror,” he told her, a serious expression on his face.
She ran to the bathroom and her mouth dropped open in horror when she saw her reflection. Her hair was a frizz-ball and her face was covered in black smudges, with an especially black section under her nose that looked like a moustache. She must have touched the tyre when she was checking if the tyre had blown, and then wiped her nose when she was crying—before Steven arrived. She wanted to die of embarrassment. If she’d entertained any thoughts of having another chance with him, she now threw them into the dirty wash pile along with her wet clothes.
She hopped into the hot shower, letting the water run over the top of her head, rinsing off the worries of the day. She took extra time, shaving her legs and washing her hair with her nice smelling shampoo and conditioner. She emerged from the shower feeling fresh, clean, and warm.
“I hope you left us some hot water,” said her mum as Rachel entered the kitchen.
“Sorry, Mum. I had an awful day and I needed to unwind.”
“What happened?”
“I had an accident on the way home,” she said, anticipating her mum’s reaction. “Don’t worry, I’m fine and there’s no major damage. I dented the bumper and blew a tyre. I was lucky that no other cars were around.”
“You need to be careful honey. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you,” said her mum, giving her a hug.
“What’s going on?” asked her dad, walking into the room.
Rachel explained what had happened, including the fact that Steven had come to her rescue. When she mentioned his name, her mum and dad exchanged a smile, as if they were sharing some secret.
That night, after reading her Bible, she prayed.
Father God. Thank You for protecting me today. Obviously You still want me here, and not with You in heaven just yet. Thank You that You have a plan for my life. Please bless Steven and thank You for sending him to my rescue. I pray that You would protect Nate and soften Erin’s heart so that she would trust in You. Please help me to trust You too, no matter what Your plan is.
* * * *
Chapter 20
Six weeks later
Hannah carefully slid the heavy box onto the kitchen bench and gave her aching back a quick massage. She had been moving boxes all weekend and she felt as though she would be lucky to recover before the wedding, which was now only a fortnight away. She sighed as she thought about the honeymoon they had planned in Fiji. There would be plenty of time later to relax at the luxury 5-star hotel Tim had managed to book.
She looked around the small rental apartment, littered with an assortment of boxes. When am I going to find time to sort out all this mess? College had been extremely busy lately. It had taken a while to catch up on the work she had missed while she had been in Oakley, plus now she had two essays and two exams due before the wedding.
Despite all the craziness, she still felt a great sense of peace. It was amazing how many things had fallen into place to help this wedding come about. She could see the hand of God in her life and thanked Him every day for His sovereignty.
If only Rachel could be as happy as I am right now. She had phoned her friend yesterday, checking on flight details. Rachel was really excited about the wedding, but Hannah could sense that she was not her usual chirpy self. She figured it probably had something to do with Nate. A few weeks ago, in one of their phone conversations, Rachel had told her that Nate’s heart was with Erin and probably always would be. Nate had been so excited when he called Rachel and shared that Erin had given her heart to Jesus. He and Erin were going to try and work things out so they could be a proper family again. Rachel had said that she finally knew the reason God had brought Nate into her life—to help bring a broken family back together. Hannah admired Rachel’s faith.
Hannah heard a noise at the door and Tim walked into the apartment with a box labelled ‘books’.
“Hey, where should I put this one?” he asked.
“Um, in the lounge room, I guess. Do we even have a bookshelf?” she asked.
They had ditched the wedding registry idea and had suggested their guests buy them gift cards instead. Hannah mentally added a bookshelf to the list of things they would need to buy for their new home. Having both lived with roommates, their combined possessions didn’t amount to much.
Tim deposited the box in the lounge and joined her in the kitchen as she boiled the kettle. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck and sending tingles down her spine.
“I can’t wait to marry you,” he said, his hands grabbing her waist.
She slowly turned and pushed him away.
“Easy, tiger. You only need to wait another two weeks.”
“Two weeks is too long.”
She laughed at him. He looked like a little boy who had been denied an extra scoop of ice-cream.
“Let’s go out for coffee. I forgot to pack the mugs, and it’s probably safer anyway,” she said, winking.
As they sat in the café and waited for their coffee, she got out her pen and wedding organiser. It had been a gift from Rachel and had lots of scrapbook pages so she could jot down ideas for the wedding. She ticked the boxes on the wedding checklist, but as she reached the last items on the list, she realised she had forgotten to arrange something—music for the reception.
“Tim, we haven’t got a DJ.”
“Aren’t they expensive?”
“Yes. I was hoping to call a friend from Oakley to help me out. He was DJ at a friend’s wedding. It’s probably too late to ask him now.”
“Why don’t you call him anyway? The worst he can say is no.”
When they got back to the apartment, she dialled Steven’s number.
“Hi, Steven. It’s Hannah. I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time?”
“Hi, Hannah. You’re not interrupting me. What’s going on?”
“This is going to sound really random, and I don’t want to put you under any pressure, but I wondered if you were able to come to Sydney and DJ at my wedding reception. It’s on September 4th, two weeks from now. We would pay for your flights and you could share a room at the hotel with my brothers, so you wouldn’t need to pay for accommodation. Do you want to think about it? I’m sorry it’s late notice.”
Steven laughed as she finished her verbal barrage. “That’s a coincidence. I was actually thinking of coming down to Sydney that weekend for a comic convention. It’s on the Sunday, so that sounds perfect to me. Do you have any idea of the type of music you want me to play?”
For the next 20 minutes, they discussed wedding music while Tim unboxed some of the engagement presents.
She was about to say goodbye when Steven interrupted. “Just one more question. Will Rachel and Nate be at the wedding?”
“Rachel will—she is one of my bridesmaids, but she and Nate broke up a few weeks ago,” she said, thinking it strange that he didn’t know.
“Right, okay,” he said. “I’ll see you on Saturday the 4th then.”
It was only after she had hung up the phone that she thought about Rachel, and hoped her friend wouldn’t feel awkward about Steven being at the wedding.
* * * *
Chapter 21
Rachel knocked on the front door of the Phillip’s house, at the last minute wondering whether she should turn and run. For some reason she was extremely nervous about meeting Erin for the first time. Nate had driven Erin home from Queensland two nights ago, and he had asked Rachel to come over for dinner.
She heard the door unlatch and Nate smiled at her as he opened the door. He looked tired, probably from all the driving. He gave her a quick one armed hug and led her inside. As she walked down the hallway, she could hear Luke talking in an excited voice. Nate paused at Luke’s bedroom door and Rachel looked past him. Luke was sitting on his bed beside an attractive blonde woman. He was busy telling her something that had happened at pre-school that day. Erin listened attentively. After a few seconds, she realised they were both standing at the door and she gave Rachel a shy wave. Rachel waved back, then followed Nate down the hallway to the kitchen where he was nearly finished making dinner. She sat at the bench while he set out the plates, ready to dish up.
“Luke seems happy,” she said.
“Erin is so good with him. They get on so well. We haven’t told him that she is his mum yet. I wanted to give them both some time to get to know each other first—that way there is no pressure.”
“That sounds like a good plan. Has she been staying here with you?”
“Yeah, I’ve been sharing a room with Luke and Erin is staying in my room. We’ll have to work something out later, but I don’t want her to be on her own just yet.”
They ended their conversation, realising that Luke and Erin were headed down the hallway. Luke spotted Rachel and ran towards her, giving her a big hug. Rachel looked up, hoping Erin wouldn’t feel jealous, but the smile on her face said otherwise.
“How are you, Luke?” asked Rachel.
“I’m good. Guess what, we have a special visitor. Her name is Erin.”
“I heard that. That is really special. I also heard that you and your daddy are sharing a room. Do you like being in the same room with your dad?”
“Not really. He snores really loud!”
Rachel and Erin both laughed as Nate looked at Luke with a murderous expression. He served up dinner and they ate together. Rachel noticed Nate glance at Erin a lot during the meal. He seemed to take in every word she said. She really was pretty, with her delicate features and long eyelashes. Even the little gap between her front teeth added to her appeal.
After Nate put Luke in bed, the adults sat for a while, chatting. Erin told her how surprised she’d been when Nate walked into her room at the rehab clinic. He had come back every day during visiting hours and told her about God, convincing her that there was more to life than what she had been experiencing. After leaving Oakley four years ago, she had tried to start a new life in Queensland. She had found work at a travel agency and lived out of her car for a couple of months until she earned enough money to rent a place. She didn’t socialise much, fearful that people would find out that she had deserted her baby.
Erin wasn’t quite sure what had prompted her to check into the depression clinic. Looking back now, she could see it was God at work. The clinic was only a few blocks from the travel agency and she would walk past it each day during her lunch break. One day, she just walked in the gate and checked herself in. They had diagnosed her with post-natal depression and tried her on a few different medications, along with some other therapies. After a couple of months, she began feeling like a new person. That was when Nate had come along.
“How do you feel now?” asked Rachel.
“I feel fine. I’m not cured and I don’t know if I ever will be, but I definitely feel as though I’m in a good place now. Knowing that I’m forgiven for everything I’ve done has been the best thing though. I can’t thank you enough for letting Nate come and see me. He told me how good you’ve been about all this.”
“No worries,” said Rachel, embarrassed by the attention.
It was getting late and she realised she should be getting back home. She had an early start at the next day. She gave Erin a quick hug and Nate walked her to the door.
“Erin is wonderful,” she said to him quietly.
“I’m sorry, Rachel. You deserve so much more than this.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m a big girl. I’m glad that everything is working out for you. And Luke will be thrilled to have his mother in his life.”
“I hope that you are right. I know we have a long road ahead, but we’ll just take it one day at a time.”
She hugged him and walked back to her car, feeling a little sad. Nate was somebody else’s now and she needed to move on. As she drove home, she thought about Hannah’s upcoming wedding and wondered if there would be any single guys there. As soon as she had the thought, she chastised herself. Here she was, building up her flimsy tower of dreams again. She knew in her mind that no man would make her truly happy, but her heart still needed some convincing.
* * * *
Chapter 22
Two weeks later
Hannah’s wedding was less than 24 hours away and she couldn’t contain her excitement. Tomorrow she would be a married woman. She wondered what Tim was up to. He was spending the day with his family and she wouldn’t see him until the wedding.
A few hours ago they had arrived at the hotel where she would be staying that night with her family and Rachel. It was the last opportunity she would have to spend time with them before the wedding. She peeked into the room where her sister Alana and Rachel were having their final dress adjustments. They looked beautiful in their pastel green, halter neck dresses. A middle-aged woman knelt down, pinning up the hems.
After the dress fitting, Hannah asked Rachel if she wanted to go for a swim in the rooftop pool of the hotel. The weather was slightly chilly, but she didn’t want the luxuries of the hotel to go to waste.
“It’s freezing,” said Rachel, dipping her foot in the water. “Maybe we should sunbake instead?” she suggested.
“What sun?” asked Hannah, looking up at the clouds as they laid back on the banana lounges.
“I can’t believe you are getting married.”
“I know. It feels so surreal. I don’t know if I’m really ready to be a wife yet. I mean, don’t you think there should be a course or something that prepares you for this?”
“You’ll be fine,” Rachel reassured her. “You love Tim and that
is what matters. I don’t think he’ll care if you can’t iron properly, or cook, or wash clothes, or—”
“Hey!” She punched Rachel in the arm before she could continue.
“You better be careful. You don’t want a black and blue bridesmaid do you?” Rachel rubbed her arm.
Hannah rested her head back against the lounge. “I always thought you would be the one to get married first,” she said. “Even from when we were teenagers, you’ve always dreamt of getting married and having kids.”
“I thought I would be first too,” said Rachel, “but God has perfect timing, and I trust that he knows what’s best for me.”
Hannah smiled. “You’ve changed, you know. I like this new you.”
They relaxed by the pool for another 20 minutes before heading back to their room to get ready for dinner. Over the meal at the hotel restaurant, Hannah’s family had great fun telling stories about her as a child, such as the time her brothers had tried to teach her how to burp and she ended up vomiting instead. There was also the school ski trip when she had run into a ski instructor, knocking him flat on his back. Hannah laughed so hard she cried.
Later that evening, she lay beside Rachel in the queen-sized bed, listening to her friend’s gentle breathing. She wished she could’ve fallen asleep so easily, but she had too much on her mind. It occurred to her that, while Rachel would always be her best friend, things might not be the same between the two of them once she was married. The thought made her sad, but she also looked forward with anticipation to the new life she would share with Tim.
The next morning, Hannah was woken by the smell of coffee—Rachel and Alana had ordered room service. It was a busy morning, with various women from the church coming in to help them with their hair and makeup. Hannah and her bridesmaids nibbled on pieces of toast for breakfast, trying not to smear their lipstick. The photographer soon arrived and took photos of them getting ready. She posed for the photos, hoping that the bags under her eyelids had been hidden under the layers of makeup.