“Wimp!” Sierra spouted.
“What is with all you guys?” Katie asked. “Why are you so afraid of us women?”
“I’m not afraid,” Todd said.
“You don’t count anymore,” Katie said with a coy glance at him.
Todd playfully clutched his chest as if her words were arrows that hit their mark.
“I’m serious, you guys,” Katie said. “Why is it no men on this campus . . . no, make that no men in this world, know how to initiate a relationship with a woman?”
“What is she talking about?” Sierra asked, looking directly at Christy.
“I’ll tell you what I’m talking about. I’m talking about romance and risk and men who aren’t afraid to be men. I’m talking about a man who will walk boldly up to a woman and say, ‘Hey, your hair is like a flock of goats. Will you go out with me?’ ”
Christy burst out laughing, and the others joined in. She didn’t know if any of them understood Katie was referring to a quote from the Song of Solomon.
“Flowers are optional,” Katie stated over the subsiding laughter.
“You know what?” Matthew said. “You’re right. I’m going to go find Jenna right now, and I’m going to ask her out.”
“You sure you don’t want us all to go with you?” Sierra teased.
Matt’s eyes lit up, and he turned to focus on Sierra. “That’s a great idea. Instead of Randy and me trying to put together some kind of awkward double date, why don’t you guys all come? I could tell Jenna a bunch of us are going, so it won’t feel like a date.”
“You’re hopeless,” Katie said. “Here I try to offer you useful advice, and you turn us all into a bunch of decoys to hide behind.”
“You’re no decoy, Katie,” Matt said with an admiring expression. He leaned across the table, and even though everyone could hear what he said, he spoke the words to Katie only. “You are a one-of-a-kind woman, and I’m certain some guy out there will match your wit and your charm. I’m sure you’ve figured out, though, that it won’t be a farm boy.”
“Aw, shucks,” Katie said. “I thought farm boys were the only ones who knew that flock-of-goats line.”
“Not this farm boy.”
“No, not you.” Katie said the words so tenderly, Christy was certain Matt and Katie had firmly established their friendship.
That night, once the two of them were back in their room, Christy asked Katie, “What was all that between you and Matt and the farm-boy stuff?”
Katie was tapping away on her laptop, throwing together a three-page summary that had been due that day in one of her classes, but she had forgotten about. Katie seemed to forever be turning in papers a day late, but for some reason she charmed her teachers into not lowering her grades.
“We had a talk yesterday. No, the day before,” Katie said between taps of the keys. “It was Monday. Monday afternoon we talked about you and Todd.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“You were asleep when I came in the past two nights.”
“What did you say about me?”
Katie looked around the corner of her desk to where Christy was snuggled under her covers. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yes, I would!”
“It was nothing big. Just how happy you and Todd are and how totally in love you are and how that’s what we all wish for someday.”
“Awww,” Christy said. “How sweet.”
“Yeah, I know. Matt and I also decided that, since chances are good we two would end up in your wedding party, we better stick close so we can help each other out when it comes time to pull those prewedding pranks on Todd.”
“Prewedding pranks?” Christy said. “You might be waiting awhile. We don’t even have reason for you to come up with pre-engagement pranks.”
“It’s only a matter of time,” Katie said. “You know that. I know that. All of us know that. You’ll see. Todd is clever and creative. He’ll make the moment memorable.”
Christy slipped back under the covers and listened to the speedy click-clicking of the laptop keys. Her heart was at rest. Whenever Todd did get around to asking her to marry him, she knew she would be ready with the answer.
Katie kept typing but asked, “Are you and Todd going to The Dove’s Nest with everybody?”
“I think so. Are you?”
“No, I don’t think I’ll go.”
“Why?”
“Oh, come on, do the math, Chris. You and Todd, Matt and Jenna, Randy and Vicki, Sierra will bring Paul. I obviously would be Mambo number nine.”
“But we’re all friends,” Christy said. “I want you to come. No one would make you feel left out. You could bring some of your tea, like Donna suggested. It’s going to be fun. Come on. We’ll invite Doug and Tracy. You haven’t seen them in a long time.”
“Oh, Doug and Tracy. Make me Mambo number eleven, then. Christy, any way you work it, I’m the leftover. I’d rather stay here.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Christy said. “You would be miserable here, knowing that all of us were out having a good time.”
“You know what?” Katie walked to the door. “We weren’t going to sing this song anymore, were we? The old chorus about poor Katie. I’m going to open this door, and that old song is going to leave. Ready?” She opened the door, made a few grand whooshing motions with her hands, and then soundly closed the door. “End of discussion. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a paper to type.”
19 Christy didn’t bring up the subject of going to The Dove’s Nest with Katie again. After thinking about Katie’s response to the situation, Christy decided to let it go.
Matt stopped by the bookstore late Friday morning to tell Christy that Jenna had agreed to join the outing and to say that the two of them would drive in his truck unless Todd and Christy still had room in their car.
“I think Todd offered Sierra a ride if Paul doesn’t come.”
“What about Katie?”
Christy tried to make her voice sound causal. “She’s not going.”
“Why not?”
“You would have to ask her.” Christy didn’t know if that was too telling an answer or if Matt would read between the lines and drop it.
Fortunately, Christy had a customer and had to cut the conversation short.
“We’ll see you there, then,” he said.
Christy nodded and waved. When work ended, she went to her dorm room to grab a sweater. The Dove’s Nest was only ten miles from Rancho Corona, but going there as a group had become a big event for everyone.
Christy considered leaving Katie a note, urging her to grab a couple of girls from their floor, jump in Baby Hummer, and drive on down to The Dove’s Nest. But Christy didn’t.
Todd was waiting for her in the lobby. To her surprise, he handed her a single white carnation.
“Just because,” he said.
Christy was touched but also curious about where he had bought the flower. She knew no place on campus sold flowers.
“Did you go into town this afternoon?” she asked.
“I went to church for a couple of hours.”
They drove down the hill with the windows open and the heater on full blast. It had become a habit because they liked the feel of the fresh air, but it was cold outside, now that the desert climate had settled in to its winter season. The days could still be warm and bright if the sun was shining, but as soon as the sun went down, the thermometer dipped dramatically.
“Were flower vendors on the street corner like at Thanksgiving?” Christy twirled the carnation and drew in the spicy sweet fragrance.
“No.” Todd looked at her with a grin. “It’s killing you trying to figure out where I got that, isn’t it?”
Christy hid her grin. “I’m just curious.” She imagined his making a special stop at a florist and ordering a single carnation. Only the flower didn’t come wrapped in florist tissue.
“I saw it at church in the Dumpster,” Todd said.
“Oh.” Christy laid the flower a
cross her lap. Suddenly it didn’t seem so sweet or sentimental.
“They had tossed out the flowers from a luncheon or something, and I saw that lone white carnation, and it made me think of you.”
Christy knew it was the thought that counted. She knew with Todd it was always the thought that counted, and it most likely would always be that way.
“Thank you,” Christy said. “I love it.” Then, leaning over and giving his cheek a kiss, she said, “And I love you.”
“I love you more,” Todd teased.
“No, I love you more.”
“I loved you first,” Todd said.
Christy laughed. “Okay, you win. You loved me first. But I still love you more.”
“Don’t think so.” Todd glanced at her as he drove. “I don’t think it’s possible for you ever to love me as deeply and as completely as I love you. I don’t think anyone could ever love another person on this earth as much as I love you.”
Christy couldn’t compete with that. She didn’t want to.
“I talked to your uncle today,” Todd said. “Have you talked to him lately?”
“Not since Thanksgiving.”
“He said the pictures turned out great, and he’s sending them to us. He also said Marti told him last night that she’s not leaving.”
“Really? What did he say?”
“I guess she quit her art classes and told Bob she was willing to put the effort into working on their marriage as long as he was willing, too.”
“Do you think she’ll go to church with him?”
“I don’t know,” Todd said.
“Do you think they’ll go to a marriage counselor?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“I’m glad you told me. That’s a big relief. I’m glad she decided to try to work things through. Don’t you think that when you stayed with them it helped bring them back together because they had you as a mutual project to work on?”
“Possibly,” Todd said.
“I think that helped a lot.”
“Are you saying they should have a baby?”
Christy was surprised at Todd’s suggestion. “They’re too old, aren’t they?”
Todd shrugged. “Don’t ask me.”
There was a pause before Todd said, “How many kids do you want to have?”
Christy thought a moment. “I don’t know. Sometimes I liked that there were only two of us, even though David and I weren’t real close. When I was younger I thought I wanted to have a huge family with six or eight kids. Then I worked at the orphanage. I think two is good. Four maybe. I think even numbers are better.”
A wide grin spread across Todd’s face. The afternoon sun was low in the December sky and came streaming in through the driver’s window, illuminating his profile. “I want four,” he said soundly. “Two boys, two girls. But I’ll take whatever God grants. And if they’re healthy, so much the better.”
Christy was amazed they were talking so naturally about their family. Their future. Although she shouldn’t be surprised. They had been having more conversations like this lately. Both of them spoke freely and openly, even though neither of them had yet used terms such as “our children” or “whatever God grants us.” The understanding that they were discussing their life together was there, under the surface.
Todd reached over and took her hand in his. He glanced at her with a contented smile, then looked back at the road. Christy smoothed her finger across his hand, delicately tracing each scar.
“Do these hurt anymore?” she asked.
“Not really. A few of them are tender.”
“I love your hands.” Christy drew his hand to her lips and kissed it before pressing it against her cheek.
“You do?”
“Yes, I do.”
They both glanced at each other a little awkwardly and smiled. Christy’s “I do” had prompted her, and apparently Todd, as well, to think of how those were the words they would one day say to each other at the altar.
Go ahead, say it, Todd. Say, “Will you marry me?” You know I’ll say yes.
Todd didn’t say anything. He pulled into the parking lot of The Dove’s Nest, and Christy felt a mixture of bliss and impatience. If she had a single brazen cell in her body, she would construct a sentence that had the word “marry” in it that ended with a question mark. That would prompt Todd to speak up.
But in the secret place in her heart, Christy was at rest. She and Todd had come so far. They were so close. Everything was just about perfect. If Todd uttered his anticipated proposal to her in three minutes or in three days or in three years, she could wait.
As they walked hand in hand through the parking lot, Todd said, “Isn’t that Baby Hummer?”
“Katie came?”
“That’s good,” he said. “I’d hoped she would.”
“Did you say anything to her about it today?”
“No.”
Christy was proud of her friend. She must have thought it through and realized she would be happier spending Friday night with her friends than letting the couples part of the event bother her.
When Todd and Christy entered the contemporary-looking café, Christy was drawn to the fireplace, where the dancing golden flames waved to her and bid her come closer.
“Todd, they have a fireplace,” Christy said. She noticed Sierra, Paul, Randy, and Vicki all seated near the fire. They had pulled together two small, round tables and had collected a sufficient number of chairs.
“Christy!” Sierra waved to her. Paul, wearing a tweed cap, was seated next to Sierra. Christy had seen him only a few times before, but she hadn’t remembered the round glasses perched on his straight nose.
“Have you seen Katie?” Christy asked after she greeted the four.
“She’s in the bookstore with Matt and Jenna.”
“Did anyone come with Katie?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Are you guys going to order something to eat?” Todd asked.
“We already did,” Sierra said.
Just then a deep voice behind Christy and Todd said, “Did you say food?”
They turned to see Doug and Tracy.
Christy laughed as they all hugged. “I should have known you would show up when food was mentioned,” she said to Doug.
“Do you know what you want?” Todd asked Christy. “I’ll order for us if you do.”
She hadn’t seen a menu; how could she know what to order? How could she decide?
“Any kind of sandwich would be fine,” Christy said. “Roast beef, if they have it. If not, then whatever.”
Todd and Doug exchanged glances as if they were sharing a private insight into Christy’s restaurant-ordering abilities.
“That had to be the quickest meal decision I’ve ever seen you make,” Doug said. He punched Todd’s arm. “Looks like you two are having a good effect on each other.”
“Yeah,” Todd said, “she even talks me into putting gas in the car before the gauge registers in the red zone.”
“My point exactly,” Doug said. “What a team you two make!”
Tracy looked meaningfully at Christy, who read her married friend’s expression to mean, “Has he asked you yet?”
Christy closed her eyes slowly and shook her head ever so slightly.
“We’ll place the order,” Doug said to Tracy. “You might need to pull up another table or at least a few more chairs if all these already are spoken for.”
Christy and Tracy figured out how many were in their group and arranged the chairs accordingly. Christy took the seat closest to the fire and let the warmth seep through her jeans. She loved the café’s ambience. The fireplace was draped with a fragrant evergreen swag decorated with tiny Christmas ornaments and bright red berries. Glowing white Christmas lights lined the windows, and a large wreath hung on the front door.
The café reminded Christy of a coffee shop she and her friends used to go to in Basel. The amber-toned lights and dark wood tables, doors, and tr
im made the cafe feel homey. Christy liked the large windows and the deeply aromatic coffee.
What she liked most, though, was being with her friends. She noticed a bronze plaque inset on the side of the fireplace that read Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a fire? C. S. Lewis.
Christy decided that when she lived in her dream house with Todd one day, they would have that quote engraved on a plaque and displayed by their fireplace.
When Katie, Matt, and Matt’s date, Jenna, joined the group, Christy felt the circle was complete. And having the café decorated for Christmas made it magical. “I’m glad you came,” she quietly said to Katie. Katie sat down in the empty seat beside Christy. “What did you say?”
“I said, I’m glad you came.”
“Me too. You were right. This is where I belong.”
Christy smiled.
“Is it seven o’clock yet?” Randy asked, getting up.
“It’s five after seven,” Tracy told him.
“I’m going to see if the manager is in yet. They said he was coming back at seven.”
As Randy walked away, Tracy said, “Why does he want to see the manager? Does he know him?”
“No,” Sierra explained. “He’s in a band, and they want to play here sometime.”
Todd arrived at the table with napkins and silverware, which he handed to Christy. He took the chair directly across from her.
“Do you want to sit next to Christy?” Katie asked.
“No, I’m happy to sit here and gaze into her killer eyes.”
Christy hadn’t heard anyone refer to her as having “killer eyes” since high school. And that phrase had not come from Todd.
Todd leaned over to Matt, who was seated on his left, and using his hand to cover his mouth, Todd whispered something to Matt.
“No fair telling secrets,” Katie said.
“It wasn’t a secret,” Todd said.
Matt didn’t comment. He just left the table. Christy couldn’t figure out what was going on. She decided not to try to wring out of Todd the un-secret he had told Matt, even though whatever it was had made Matt leave.
Christy was facing the door; the order window was behind her. She noticed that more people were arriving, and she was glad they had claimed their seats by the fire when they did.