“I gotta fly,” Katie said. “See you guys later.” As she stood up, she knocked Christy’s wedding notebook to the floor.
Todd and I sure didn’t get very far on our to-do list.
Exactly ten hours later, Todd and Christy were seated again at their table by the window in the cafeteria. Todd was about to dig into one of his favorite handcrafted salads that resembled a green volcano with an eruption of peas flowing down the side in rivers of white ranch dressing.
“Well, I called my mom,” Christy announced right after they prayed.
Todd raised an eyebrow. “What did she say?”
“She thought May twenty-second was a good choice, and she was sure Dad would agree. But when I told her we could use the meadow for the ceremony and the reception, she got real quiet.”
“My dad thought it sounded great,” Todd said.
“You called him already?”
Todd nodded. “I couldn’t wait. I called my mom, too. I had to leave a message on her cell phone.”
“Did you tell her about your graduation the end of this month? I mean, she’s coming for that, too, isn’t she?”
“I gave her the dates for both the graduation and the wedding. I hope it works out with her schedule.”
Christy caught an edge of hurt in his words. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for him to grow up without his mom’s involvement in his life. His mother had remarried years ago and had settled with her new husband and family on the East Coast. Todd had lived with them for a short time. He rarely talked about his mother, and when he did, it was briefly and with the explanation that she had been too young when she had Todd to know how to be a mother.
“I hope she can come to both your graduation and our wedding,” Christy said.
“Me too.” Todd quickly moved to other topics. “What about your aunt and uncle? Did you call them?”
“No, my mom said she wanted to talk to Aunt Marti about the wedding and reception being held here. I think she felt she could commiserate with her sister since they both wanted something other than what you and I decided.”
“It’s our wedding,” Todd said.
“I know. And I really think the meadow is the right location for us.”
“It’s the right location, and May twenty-second is the right date. We have a plan.” Todd grinned. “So what else do you have on that check-off list of yours?”
“Would this be a good time to show you the ideas I came up with for a ring?”
“Sure.”
Christy pulled the wedding planner from her backpack and turned to the pages on which she had pasted the pictures of rings and drawn a few rough sketches.
“This is the blue opal.” Christy pointed to the angled, wave-like setting in the middle of a narrow gold ring.
“And it’s inset, right?”
“Yes. I’d like it to be smooth with nothing raised up. On both sides, these angled insets are three tiny diamonds with three more over here.” With a sense of delight she said, “See, the blue opal is like an ocean wave. The diamonds on this side are like the sand, and these are like the stars. Whenever I look at it, I’ll think of how we met at the beach and how we fell in love while counting stars and walking barefoot in the sand.”
Todd stared at her sketch and didn’t say anything.
“What do you think?”
He looked up. “You’re amazing, Kilikina. This is beautiful.”
“You like it?”
“I love it. It’s exactly what I would want you to have. You’ve managed to fit a world of meaning into a simple band. You made it uniquely yours.”
“Uniquely ours,” Christy corrected him. “Yes, it’s uniquely ours. Should we have Mr. Frank make it for us, or do you know another jeweler you’d like to go to?”
“I think Mr. Frank would be fine. Just make sure he uses one of those deep aqua blue Australian opals with the purple and green flecks. Not the light ivory opals. I like the ones that look like the ocean.”
“Got it.” Todd reached for the notebook. “Mind if I take this? I can go out to Carlsbad tomorrow.”
“No!” Christy grabbed the planner. “This is my brain; you can’t take it from me. And you can’t see the pages with my dress design on them. I’ll make a copy of the ring pages and give them to you in the morning.”
“Do you want to go to Carlsbad with me?” Todd asked. “You can explain your idea to Mr. Frank in person, if you want.”
Christy was about to say yes because she wanted to go and she knew it would be easier for Todd if she went. But her day was already packed.
“I have to work five hours tomorrow starting at noon. I don’t think I’d have time to drive to Carlsbad and be back after my eight-o’clock class. I’ll write out notes for you.”
“If you know what you want for your wedding band, we could have that made at the same time,” Todd suggested.
“That’s easy. See this picture? I cut it out of a magazine. I would like a gold band like this that’s the same width as the engagement ring. What about you? What kind of wedding ring do you want?”
Todd shrugged. “I’ve never worn any rings. What do you think would be good?”
Christy thought a minute. She knew Todd would settle for a plain gold band and never think twice about it. But she wanted him to have something special. “How do you feel about wearing a larger version of my engagement ring?”
“Wouldn’t that look kind of girly?”
“Girly?”
“Yeah, girly.” Todd studied the sketches. “You know, what about having three little diamonds inset in your wedding band? Or maybe six diamonds all across the front here.” He made six tiny dots with Christy’s pen.
“That would be beautiful,” Christy said. “But it also would be more expensive.”
“That’s okay.”
“Would you like inset diamond chips in your band?” Christy asked.
“Nah, just a gold band would suit me.”
As Christy crawled into bed that night, she thought of how easily pleased Todd was. His tastes were simple; his expectations were reasonable. He was pretty wonderful in every way. The anxiety she had experienced a few weeks ago, when she realized how poorly they communicated, seemed to be alleviated. The more time they had to sit and talk, the more helpful it was for both of them.
She glanced at the clock—11:35, and Katie wasn’t back yet. Christy was more than ready to go to sleep. She had worked on embroidering her wedding gown’s bodice for two hours straight before taking a shower and washing her hair. If it weren’t for how eager she was to hear what Katie had to tell her, Christy would have turned out the light and crashed.
I’m sure what Katie has to tell me has something to do with Rick. Rick . . . That reminds me, Rick’s letter. I never read his letter.
Climbing out of bed, Christy pulled her suitcase from the back of her closet and ran her hand through the inside pockets. She found the crumpled envelope. Instead of returning to her warm bed, she coaxed herself over to the surfboard sofa and attempted to make friends with the beast by sitting down and leaning against the cold backrest. She tucked her feet underneath her and tried to get comfortable.
Opening the envelope, Christy pulled out two folded pieces of stationery. A hundred-dollar bill floated to her lap. Her surprised eyes quickly scanned the handwritten letter.
Dear Christy,
I hope I can hand this to you in person one day because that way I’ll be able to see your eyes, and I’ll know if you really have forgiven me for taking your gold bracelet. I think I already know that you’ve forgiven me, but it will help if I see it in your eyes.
The enclosed money is to reimburse you for what you had to pay to redeem your bracelet from the jewelers. If it’s more than you had to pay, then use it for something else. Just promise me that you’ll accept it as restitution for my foolish actions.
As you probably know by now, God has gotten ahold of my life. I still can’t believe He didn’t give up on me long ago. H
e patiently brought me back to himself, and I’m a different person. It’s all God’s doing, not mine.
What you don’t know is that you were there on a significant day in my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but God used an object lesson to get my attention years later. I’m referring to the first Sunday you visited our church and sat with me in class. Do you remember how the teacher had Katie stand on a chair and how he dubbed me “Peter Pagan”? “Katie Christian” tried to pull me up to her with no success. Then, with one little tug, I pulled her down to my level.
Well, I never forgot that. I realized that I had gone through my life pulling others down. When I finally hit the bottom, I kept remembering how vulnerable Katie was when I pulled her off that chair. I realized I didn’t have the kind of trusting relationship she had expressed with anyone. I knew I wanted to have that kind of trust in the Lord. I had sort of made a business deal with Him. You know, I told Him I’d follow the rules if He would keep me out of hell. But it doesn’t work that way. I found out He wanted all of me. He wanted me to open my heart and to receive Him fully. And once I repented, that’s what happened.
So please accept this restitution and know that I’m sorry for the way I treated you.
Your brother in Christ,
Rick Doyle
Before Christy had a chance to respond to the letter, the door opened, and Katie entered holding a bright bouquet of mixed flowers. Her face glowed.
“Well,” Christy said, “must have been a good first day at your job.”
“My boss gave these to me.”
“Nice welcome present.”
“Rick doesn’t give flowers to every new employee.” Katie was still standing by the closed door, as if she were caught in a dream and unable to move forward.
“No, I wouldn’t imagine he does.”
“I don’t know what to do with them.”
“They probably would like some water,” Christy suggested.
Katie swallowed and gave Christy a shy smile.
“What?” Christy asked.
Katie drew the bouquet to her blushing face and sniffed its fragrance. With a twinkle in her shimmering green eyes, she said in a very small voice, “I really like him. I mean, really, really.”
Christy said, “Oh? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
10 “Christy, I never expected this.” Katie sat down on the surfing sofa and held the flowers in her lap. “It’s only been a few weeks, but did you know that we’ve seen each other every day since you and Todd got engaged? Rick and I talk about everything. We had a great time together in Mexico, and Christmas was wonderful with his family. His mom loves me. His dad told me on New Year’s Eve I was a gift from God to their son.” Tears rolled down Katie’s cheeks.
Christy was waiting for the bad news. “So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about this morning? In the cafeteria you said—”
“What’s that?” Katie looked at Rick’s letter that Christy had left on the sofa.
“The letter Rick gave me. Go ahead, read it.”
Katie scanned the letter. She looked up at Christy with searching eyes. “What is God doing?”
Christy smiled. “My best friend, Katie, would call this a huge God-thing.”
“This is beyond huge. It’s mind-bending. And God is doing it, not me. I don’t want to run ahead, or get freaked and pull back. I just want to take each step as it comes and to be right in line with what God has for me. For us. I want God to fulfill His purpose for me.”
Christy tried not to let out a cheer for her impulsive friend, who was showing more caution and wise thinking than Christy had ever seen in her. Instead, Christy just nodded support and understanding.
“Yesterday Rick said that having me in his life has been like the song Doug was working on. Rick said that when the Lord brought us together, his life filled with joy and laughter. The flowers are a thank-you to me for being me. But I got nervous and thought maybe he was trying to tell me that our relationship was about to go to the next level, you know?”
“So what did you tell him?”
“I opened my mouth like only I can, and I told him exactly what I was thinking.”
Christy knew that Katie could be pretty brutal when she decided to be honest. Wincing slightly, she waited to hear Katie’s report.
“I told Rick I trusted him with our friendship. I told him I didn’t want either of us to make judgments based on the past. I forgave him when his letter came, and I truly know that I did. I don’t harbor anything against him in my heart. But I told him I’m not interested in a speedy relationship.”
Katie looked at Christy with self-doubt all over her face. “Then I said, ‘If there’s anything lasting that’s going to grow out of our friendship, then it will be here five months from now or a year from now or ten years from now.’”
Christy’s eyes grew wide. “How did he react to that?”
“He said he felt the same way. He said he was interested in a friendship that would last forever, no matter what. He had no expectations of me and wasn’t in a hurry to make any predictions about what God was doing in our lives.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“I know. So tell me I said the right thing.”
Christy sat next to Katie, putting her arm around Katie’s shoulders. “Of course you did the right thing. You’re an amazing, strong, incredible woman, and you handled what could have been an awkward situation with honesty and integrity.”
Katie smiled slowly, followed by a rhythmic nodding of her head. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I? For once in my life I did the right thing.”
“You do a lot of things right.”
“Not when it comes to guys. You know my long list of failures in that arena better than anyone. And if by any remote chance this guy is the one I’m going to end up spending the rest of my life with, I want to make sure I don’t go crazy and make all my decisions on impulse. I don’t want to run ahead of God.”
Christy gave Katie a glowing smile. “You are absolutely amazing.”
“Amazing nothing! I’m exhausted! Do you know how much emotional energy I’ve spent in the last twenty-four hours processing my feelings, starting a new job working for him, and trying to figure out how I was going to tell you all this?”
“I hope you expected me to be supportive.”
“I didn’t know what you would think.”
“I think God is doing His God-thing. Katie, you deserve the best, and I only want God’s best for you. For both of you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“I know,” Katie said quietly. She sat next to Christy and let out a deep sigh. “Chris, I have to tell you something. I know I should have told you a long time ago, but things changed in both of our lives, and I decided to let it go. However, in light of what’s been happening with Rick during these past few weeks, I think I better tell you.”
Christy couldn’t imagine any secret Katie could have kept from her, let alone a secret she had kept for a number of years.
“Do you remember the night we went to the sleep-over at Janelle’s when we were sophomores?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Do you remember how we all went out that night and T.P.’d Rick’s house? You didn’t run fast enough, and we took off in the motor home. You were left hiding in the bushes.”
“Katie, of course I remember all this. Rick’s dad sent him outside to clean up the toilet paper. I jumped out of the bushes, and Rick chased me down the street.”
“Right. And that’s when Rick became obsessed with you.”
“I wouldn’t say he was obsessed with me.”
“Well, that’s how I saw it,” Katie said. “Now, this is the part that’s hard for me to tell you. I thought then that if I became your friend, I could get closer to Rick, and that’s pretty much what I did.”
Christy let Katie’s words sink in.
“I used you, Christy. I’ve wanted to apologize to you for years, but it got kind of complicated.”
&nb
sp; “That’s okay. I never felt as if you used me.”
“That’s because you welcomed me into your life. I had never had a best friend before, and I ended up wanting to be your friend more than I wanted Rick to notice me. So I told myself I didn’t care about Rick. The truth is,” Katie said slowly, “I was being eaten alive with jealousy.”
“You never showed it.”
“Oh yes I did. You’re being gracious, Christy. I struggled all the time, and you know it. When you dumped Rick, half of me cheered that you took a stand and let him know what a jerk he had been to you. The other half of me hoped I might finally have a chance to get him to notice me. How sick is that?”
“I don’t think it’s sick, Katie. I think it’s honest. It’s complicated, like you said. Everything was a lot more confusing in high school.”
“I wish I had talked to you about all of this back then. There never seemed to be a good time. I almost said something during the spring of our junior year, when we went to visit the guys at their apartment in San Diego.”
Katie paused and then leaned forward before continuing her confession. “Actually, I should go back to January of that year, when we went to the Rose Parade. Rick kissed me at midnight—you know that. It was a spontaneous Happy New Year’s kiss. A big nothing for him. But it was my first kiss, and it was with Rick, and it was huge for me.”
Christy hung her head. “And I gave you a hard time about it.”
“Hey, this is my confession, not yours. Your heart was in the right place. You didn’t want me to get hurt. But I did get hurt. And then when we stayed at Stephanie’s next to the guys’ apartment in San Diego, Rick walked me to the door late that night. He kissed me, and I kissed him back. I never told you.”
“I knew,” Christy said softly.
Katie turned with a surprised look on her face. “You knew? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It was awkward, like you said.”
“Yes, it was. I gave Rick plenty of opportunities the next day at the zoo to make good on his kiss and to express interest in me. But he was a blob.”