“I still can’t believe this,” she said.
Sierra sat next to her while Christy and Tracy sat across from them. Sierra noticed that Christy looked different. Two weeks ago, when they had first met at Carnforth Hall, Christy had walked around every day with worry lines across her forehead and with a clenched jaw. Now she was radiant. Her eyes danced with the light from the fire, her cheeks looked warm and pink, and her smile was contagious.
“I’m dying to hear what’s going on!” Sierra said. “You look like a different person, Christy. Please don’t tell me it’s because you’re in love or anything.”
“Sierra,” Christy said, trying to make a straight face, “I am so totally in love it even makes me sick.”
Tracy giggled joyfully. Katie slumped down in the couch and moaned. “I can’t believe this is happening! Our club is dwindling, Sierra. It’s just you and me now.”
“I don’t understand,” Sierra said. “Can you really be this in love with someone from Spain? Someone you just met a week ago?”
“No, I mean yes. I mean, we didn’t just meet,” Christy fumbled. “Do you remember that night in our room when Katie told you about Todd?”
“Wasn’t he the gorgeous blond surfer who went to be a missionary on some island?” Sierra asked.
Just then Doug’s voice behind them said, “Well, you got three out of the four right. He didn’t go to any island.”
Katie sprang from the couch and gave the guy next to Doug a long hug while she cried, “I can’t believe this!” Tracy was right behind her giving the guy an equally long hug and shedding just as many tears.
Sierra felt as if she didn’t quite belong since she didn’t understand what was happening. When Christy rose to give Doug a sideways hug, Sierra stood up, walked around the couch to where everyone was hugging, and stood there grinning and feeling like a dork. Why was this reunion such an emotional one for all her new friends? Who was this Todd guy anyhow? What was the big deal with his being there and Christy being in love with him?
Tracy let go of Todd, and he looked over at Sierra. She met his gaze and caught her breath. Sierra was looking into the most incredible blue eyes she had ever seen. It was more than his eyes, though. There was a look about Todd. She could tell he was different from other guys. God was going to do something special through this man.
“Sierra,” Christy said, “I’d like you to meet Todd.”
Todd stuck out his right hand and shook Sierra’s. He gave her a broad smile, which showed off the dimple on his right cheek. “Christy’s told me a lot about you,” Todd said. “I’m really glad to meet you.”
“And from what we overheard,” Doug added, “Christy has told you all about Todd.”
Sierra felt a little embarrassed that Todd and Doug had heard her call Todd gorgeous. She also had a fleeting thought that if Doug didn’t have a brother, maybe Todd did.
“We all thought Todd had gone to Papua New Guinea,” Tracy said. “None of us have seen him for almost a year.”
“But he was in Spain!” Christy said triumphantly. “He met me at the train station.” Tears beaded up in Christy’s eyes. She looked up at Todd and smiled. “With a big bouquet and my bracelet.”
“Don’t tell me,” Katie said. “White carnations. Am I right?”
“Yeah,” Todd said. “And do you know how long it took me to find white carnations in January? I had to drive almost two hours down the coast and back. I almost missed her train.”
“That’s what he gave her when they first met,” Katie explained to Sierra, “a dozen white carnations. She was only …” Katie turned to Christy. “How old were you? Fourteen?”
“No, it was right after my birthday. I was fifteen.”
“Anyway,” Katie continued, as if Sierra were the only one around, “Todd gave her white carnations when they met almost four years ago, and she has kept them all this time in a Folgers coffee can. They’re all brown and withered, and they smell gross.”
“They do not,” Christy protested.
“You kept those?” Todd asked. He slipped his arm around Christy’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“I almost tossed them out a couple of times,” Christy confessed. “But I still have them. And they don’t smell.” She made a face at Katie.
“Trust me,” Katie said to Sierra, “they smell like moldy coffee. But that’s not the point here. It’s the bracelet. See, Todd gave her that forever bracelet for Christmas—”
“It was actually New Year’s three years ago,” Tracy corrected. “Right after the party at my house.”
“Okay, so New Year’s,” Katie said.
Doug interrupted with, “All Todd gave me that year was the book 101 Things to Do with a Dead Hamster. You remember that?”
“Yes!” Christy and Tracy said in unison. They didn’t appear to have as many fond memories of the book as Doug and Todd seemed to.
Doug and Todd both had their arms around their girlfriends but managed to slap each other a high five in memory of the dead hamster book.
“Will you guys let me finish!” Katie said, stomping her foot. “So, you see, Sierra, they’ve been pretty much together for the past three years. But then Todd received this letter to go full time with some mission organization, but he didn’t want to go because he and Christy were getting so close.”
“It was really because I didn’t want to have to sell Gus, my VW bus.”
Katie continued, ignoring Todd’s sarcastic comment. “But Christy broke up with him. She let him go, no strings attached, so he could serve God full time. It was the most noble act the world has ever seen. I’m not exaggerating. And when they broke up, she gave him back the bracelet. Todd said if they ever got back together again, it would be because God had done it. He said if he ever put that bracelet on her wrist again, it would be forever!”
“If I ever suffer a memory lapse, I’m coming to you, Katie,” Todd teased. “You seem to know my life better than I do.”
“I didn’t know he was in Spain,” Christy explained to Sierra. “I thought the mission had sent him to Papua New Guinea because that’s where he always wanted to go.”
“The need was greater in Spain,” Todd explained. “Once I went through the training, it became clear that God wanted me to go to Castelldefels. It didn’t hurt a bit that the surfing there is pretty decent.” A grin crept onto Todd’s face.
Christy went on. “Todd didn’t know I was in England or coming to Spain until he received a fax the day before I arrived, explaining who he was supposed to meet at the train station. That’s why this is such a shock to everybody. We couldn’t have planned getting back together like this. God did it. And we had such a fantastic week of ministry!”
“I want to hear all about it,” Tracy said. “Is that the dinner bell?”
They all paused to listen. It was indeed time for dinner.
“I need to wash up,” Sierra said. She felt as if she needed to walk away from all of them. The sooner, the better. “I’m glad to meet you, Todd. And Christy, I’m really happy for you. For both of you. That’s amazing how God worked it all out. I’ll see you guys at dinner.”
Sierra was about to slip out when Todd reached over and gently grasped her shoulder. “Sit by us at dinner, okay?”
“Okay,” Sierra said, not sure why he was being so nice to her. She made her way into the nearest bathroom and, locking the door behind her, turned on the water and splashed her face two, three, four times. With each splash her tears mingled with the chilly water and washed down the drain.
“This is stupid,” Sierra muttered to herself. “Why are you crying?” She looked at herself in the mirror above the sink. “I’m happy for Christy. I really am. And for Tracy and Doug too. Am I so self-centered that I can’t share their happiness just because I didn’t meet anybody on this trip? That is so immature, and I hate myself for even thinking it!”
Sierra washed her face again and commanded the tears to cease. She was surprised when they obeyed. Smiling at her r
eflection, Sierra felt her confidence returning. She had never felt so overwhelmed by her emotions.
Maybe I wanted to cry like everyone else was because I was happy for Christy, but I didn’t feel I could because I’m not part of their group. I mean, I am, but only for a week. They have been friends forever. Forever. Just like her bracelet. Will there ever be anyone who will promise to love me forever?
Sierra took a deep breath and ran a finger through the wet, matted curls around her forehead. They’re all older than I am, she reasoned. Christy and Katie are two years older; Doug’s five years older; and Todd must be at least four or five years older. So why am I comparing myself to them? They’re all in college, and I still have a year and a half of high school. I knew it would be awkward on this trip being one of the youngest. I guess I thought I was mature enough to handle it.
She smiled again and adjusted one of her earrings. If Todd was the kind of guy she thought he was, he would save a seat for her at dinner. She would sit with Christy and Todd and all their friends—make that, all her friends—and she would be just as mature as they were. And if all else failed, she would pull her chair next to Katie. She and Katie could always call an emergency meeting of the P.O. Club and go off together and sulk.
three
SIERRA ACTUALLY HAD A GOOD TIME at dinner. The conversation switched from all the love stories and turned into equal-opportunity sharing time. Sierra felt like one of the group again. She sat next to Katie on one side and Doug on the other. Christy and Todd were across the table from them.
A couple of times Sierra caught Christy and Todd giving each other heart-stopping looks of admiration and mutual affection. It reminded Sierra of her brother. Cody had been enamored with his wife, Katrina, all through high school. They started going together when they were sophomores and were married right out of high school, with the blessing of both sets of parents. Cody and Katrina were meant for each other. It was obvious to everyone. They were still intensely in love. They had an adorable little boy, Tyler.
Maybe I want it to be easy for me, like that. Maybe I feel behind since Cody was so in love when he was my age.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Katie said toward the end of dinner, “but being around you guys like this is making me homesick.”
“You miss your family?” Todd asked.
“Maybe a little bit. I’m mostly homesick for being young again. You know, going to the beach and everything we did together. Our high school years were the best. Don’t you think so? I don’t know how we got so old so fast.”
“I know what you mean,” Christy agreed. “My brother, David, is thirteen. I don’t know when he grew up. He’s somehow turned into this lanky teenager, and I hardly know who he is. He answered the phone when I called this afternoon, and I had no idea it was he. My baby brother! All grown up!”
“Well, almost grown up,” Katie said. “David will always be a little dweeb in my book.”
“What about you, Katie?” Sierra asked. “Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“Two older brothers. They’re both big dweebs.”
“And you, Todd?” This was the answer she was most interested in. What if Todd had a brother just a few years younger? Someone just like him, only closer to Sierra’s age.
“None. I’m the only kid. What about you, Sierra?”
“Four brothers and one sister.”
“You have six kids in your family?” Doug asked. “Do you guys wear name tags to keep everyone straight?”
“Of course not! Six isn’t a lot. My dad came from a family of nine kids. I have two older brothers. The oldest one is in college, and the next one is married and works in construction. My sister is two years older than I, and then there’s Dillon and Gavin. They’re eight and six.”
“Sounds like your mom kind of did kids in pairs,” Katie said. “At least you each had someone your own gender to share a room with.”
“I hate sharing a room. Tawni is super picky about everything. Whenever I have a really good dream, it always involves not having to share a room with Tawni.”
“Do you guys really all have cowboy names?” Katie said.
“They’re not cowboys names,” Sierra said.
“Okay, then western names. What’s your oldest brother’s name?”
“Wes.”
Everyone started to laugh.
“No, wait, you guys!” Sierra held up her hands, trying to get their attention. “That’s just his nickname. His real name is Wesley. That’s because Wesley was my mom’s maiden name. She’s related to Charles and John Wesley, who were famous Christians a long time ago.”
“And your next brother?” Katie prodded, on a hunt for more cowboy names and not at all impressed with Sierra’s family history.
“My married brother’s name is Cody.”
Again everyone laughed.
“See? They’re all cowboy names. What does your dad do? Run a ranch or something?” Katie said.
“No,” Sierra said, and now she started to giggle.
“What does he do?”
“You’re going to laugh. My dad was a county sheriff.”
They laughed with Sierra, and Christy asked, “Did he have a silver badge and everything?”
Sierra nodded and wiped the laughter tears from her eyes. “I guess we are a bit on the western side. I never thought of it before. I always thought of us as Danish, since my grandma is from Denmark.”
“What’s her name?” Christy asked.
“Mae. Mae Jensen. We call her Granna Mae. I do have her name as my middle name, if that counts for anything. Mae’s not a western name, is it?”
Christy shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
“What’s your middle name?” Sierra asked Christy.
Christy looked at Todd with a shy smile. “It’s Juliet.”
Now everyone was laughing, especially Doug.
“All right, Douglas!” Tracy said with a hand on her hip. “If you think that’s so funny, tell everyone your middle name.”
Doug turned sober. Tracy’s eyebrows rose. “Would you like me to tell them?”
Doug quietly said, “Quinten.”
Another round of laughter followed as Doug tried to explain that it was a family name, just like Mae and Wesley, and there was nothing funny about it all.
By the time the six of them left the dining room and headed for the chapel for the evening meeting, they had laughed themselves silly. All of them were weary from their travels, which made them all the sillier. Especially Katie.
Sierra couldn’t believe how fast Katie’s mind seemed to be working, providing a funny response to everything everyone said. It was going to be hard to come back down to earth in chapel.
The assistant director of Carnforth Hall stood at the chapel’s back door and greeted each of the students. When Sierra arrived with her group, he grasped Todd by the arm and said, “Dr. Benson had to go to a funeral in Edinburgh so I’m heading this up. Have you guys got the music covered?”
“We’re all set,” Todd said. He let go of Christy’s hand, and he and Doug headed toward the front of the chapel. Sierra sat next to Christy, Tracy, and Katie. It was back to just the girls, and it was kind of nice.
Four guys were up front with guitars, and Todd seemed to be in charge. Since Todd and Doug were so wired from dinner, they started off the music with three rowdy, hand-clapping songs. They got the whole room full of students singing and clapping. It seemed that all the returning groups were pretty keyed up.
Sierra loved it. Her little church in Pineville was pretty conservative. They would never have been so vigorous in their worship.
After the fourth song, the assistant director came to the microphone and asked everyone to sit down. “Before we move into the worship and praise portion of chapel, I wanted to make a few announcements. First, I’d like to introduce Todd Spencer here on the guitar.”
Todd smiled and gave the casual chin-up gesture to the group of forty or so gathered in the chapel.
br /> “Todd is our mission director in Spain. He’s on a two-year commitment, working with the teen outreach at Castelldefels. Todd is also completing his college degree by correspondence. When his term is up with the mission a year from this June, he’ll have a B.A. in intercultural studies. It you have any interest in finishing up your degree while in full-time ministry, see me, and I’ll get you all the necessary information.” He looked back at Doug and the other guys playing the guitar. “Was there anything else? Doug? Were you the one who said you had an announcement?”
Doug shook his head.
Katie, who was sitting next to Sierra, suddenly blurted out, “Doug wanted to announce that his middle name is Quinten!” At first people around the room didn’t laugh. They all looked at Doug, who took it good-naturedly. He gave Katie a thumbs-up gesture and then threw back his head and laughed. The rest of the room joined as the assistant director shook his head. “It’s always the Americans,” he said in the microphone.
Katie leaned over to Sierra and said, “I’ve been waiting for that one for a long time. Ever since Doug gave me a black eye right before the first day of my senior year in high school.”
The crowd settled down as Todd began to strum a set of familiar chords on his guitar that led into a moderately lively song. Soon the group was singing as one, song after song. They went from fast tempo to slower. Then a hush settled over the room as they prayerfully sang the final chorus. Sierra closed her eyes and sang from her heart, listening to her voice blend perfectly with Christy’s and Tracy’s.
A time of prayer followed in which people spontaneously thanked God for what had happened with their teams in the cities they had just returned from. Many of them prayed by name for people they had met. Sierra prayed for an elderly woman in Belfast who said she believed she would get to heaven simply because she was a good person. She had refused to believe she needed to trust Christ for her salvation. Something in the woman’s appearance or mannerism had reminded Sierra of Granna Mae, only Granna Mae was one of the strongest Christians Sierra had ever met.