Nickels (24 page)

They both went silent again, just listening to the music. 
His left leg tapped to the beat of the music.  He looked like he wanted to sing
along, but trapped the music before it left his lungs.

“Can I ask you a question?” Niki asked.

Matt nodded.

“Kyle says that God doesn’t intentionally harm us—like what
happened with my family or what happened with your dad.  What do you believe?”

“I would agree with Kyle, though it took me a long time to
understand it myself.  I ran from it for much too long.”

“Funny choice of words,” Niki mumbled.

“Which?”

“Run.  Kyle says I’m running.”

“That’s pretty natural.  Most of us run from pain and grief
and even God.”

“You ran?”

“Yes.  I ran, hard and fast.  In college I drank, that’s how
I ran.  I drank so much so that Joe finally knocked some sense into me.”

“You knew Joe in college?”

“Yeah, we were roommates.  Anyway, he confronted me one
day.  Told me to stop running.  Then he found my stash of booze and dumped it
all out.  Took me to a Campus Crusade meeting.  My life changed that night as
the fog began to lift.  I didn’t need alcohol.  I didn’t even need my dad.  All
I needed was God.  And that’s who I found.  After that, when I felt the need to
run, He’s who I ran to.  He has never abandoned me like my dad did.  He’s
always there for me when I need him.”

“You make it sound like life has been perfect since then.”

“Did I?  I don’t mean to give you that impression at all. 
Life is still…  Life.  It’s hard.  There are still days when I struggle with
feeling abandoned.  It’s just that I know I’m not alone.  I don’t have to face
the tough stuff by myself.”

She looked out the window as they climbed one of the many
steep mountains on the interstate.  She looked at the valley below.  Desert
shrub dotted the hills and valleys as far as she could see.  She never would
have thought behind this nice guy was someone who suffered such pain.  And he
lived to tell about it.

“You know, Niki, you are more than welcome to join us on
Wednesday nights at our small group.”

“What’s that?”

“We get together and study the Bible, talk about our lives,
help each other.  No one has to go through life alone.”

Was this what she needed? 

“I don’t know.  I’m a pretty big mess.”

“Aren’t we all?  Just think about it,” Matt said.

Chapter 21

Kyle drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.  He’d been
stewing since they left Niki’s house over an hour ago.  Joe tried to engage him
in conversation, but he wasn’t in the mood.   Instead, he let Joe pick a radio
station, which he mentally tuned out.

Marcy’s overly dramatic announcement that he wasn’t to lift
anything still bothered him.  He hated being treated like an invalid—even if
his back was killing him.  As soon as they got to the campsite, he would take
half a pill.  Why did it have to act up this weekend?

When Marcy first mentioned the idea of the camping trip to
him, he almost declined.  Sleeping on a thin air mattress on the ground
probably wasn’t going to be good for his back.  But, he needed to get out and
do something different.

Besides, it was a great opportunity to spend time with Niki
outside of work.

“Mind if we stop and stretch for a bit,” he asked as they
neared an exit with a few fast food places.

“I could use a break.”

When he pulled the truck to a stop, Joe jumped out and
headed inside.  Kyle slowly got out of the truck.  He opened the back door of
his double cab and rooted around in his bag.  He grabbed a bottle of ibuprofen
and stuffed it in his pocket before going inside.

He ordered a soda and used it to wash down two pills.  Then
he walked around the restaurant until Joe was ready to go.  It was going to be
a long weekend if his back didn’t ease up soon.

“Want me to drive?” Joe asked.

Kyle hesitated.  It would be nice.  He shook his head.  He
couldn’t do it—not after Marcy’s comment earlier.

As he pulled back onto the freeway, Joe started the
conversation.

“How long have you known Niki?”

“Since high school.”

“Wow.  Have you always liked her?”

Kyle stiffened.  “Um…”

“You do like her, don’t you?  I mean, it seems like you do. 
You talk about her a lot at small group.”

He sighed.  “I do like her.”

“Knew it.”

The conversation faded.  Another song came on the radio.  He
ignored it.

Instead, he wondered just how many people figured out that
he liked Niki.  Did she know?

“Is she a Christian?”

The question sliced through him.

“I don’t know.”

He lied.  Marcy already warned him about giving his heart
away to Niki.  She didn’t believe what he did.

Only, Marcy didn’t know two things.  First, he was positive
that God wouldn’t let him have such deep feelings for Niki if He didn’t plan
for them to eventually be together.  Second, Kyle prayed fervently that her
heart would change—not only towards God, but towards him.

By mid-afternoon, the caravan of campers arrived at the
campground.  Marcy motioned them around to the two adjoining campsites she
reserved.  Then the chaos began.

This was one of Niki’s favorite parts of camping—the set
up.  She grabbed the girl’s tent from the back of Kyle’s truck and started to
work.

“Think you can teach me how to set that up?” Joe asked.

She dug around in the bag for the directions she didn’t need
and handed them to Joe.

“Niki!” Marcy gasped.  Everyone turned to look at Niki and
Joe.  “Please tell me you did not just hand a man instructions!  I’m not sure
that he would know what to do with that.”

Joe smiled.  “Oh, I thought it was kindling for the fire.”

A roar of laughter floated between the tall ponderosa
pines.  Niki snatched the paper back and stuffed it in the tent bag.  “Guess
you’ll just have to learn the old fashioned way—trial and error.”

Twenty minutes later, on his third try, Joe finished setting
up the tent.  “I hope it gets easier with practice.”

“Ugh!” Niki yelped and swatted at her ankle.  Ants.  Ah, the
great outdoors.  “Marcy, I think this bright pink nail polish you made me wear
is attracting ants.”

Marcy came over and looked at Niki’s flip-flop clad feet. 
“I think if you weren’t standing on their home, they might not care so much.”

She looked down.  Sure enough, she was standing in an ant
hill.  She quickly jumped to the side, brushing the ants from her feet.

Taking a seat at the picnic table, she leaned with her back
against the table.  It was so nice—getting up to the campground a day before
the big crowds.  They always left on Fridays and got the best campsites, even
if they were infested with ants.  Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and
hungrily swallowed the fresh pine air.  This was relaxing.

“Niki Turner, is that a satisfied smile?”

She opened her eyes in time to see Kyle sit down next to
her.

“I think you must be learning.”

“How to have fun, you mean?  Just you wait.  This weekend is
my favorite out of the entire year.”

“Why’s that?”

“For once, there are no laptops, no cell phones…  Well, I
guess I do still have my phone.  No TV’s.  Just nature, good food, and fun
games.  This is the ultimate fun.”

Chad and Marcy started warming up the grill for dinner. 
Matt and Joe joined Niki and Kyle at the picnic table.

“So, what do we do now?” Joe asked.

“Having city withdrawals already?” Matt teased.

“Niki, have you seen the lighter fluid?” Marcy asked.

“Did you check the labels on the bins?”

Marcy rolled her eyes and started scanning the labels on the
plastic bins holding all their camping stuff.

“You label your bins?” Matt asked.

“I’m a software engineer.  I label everything.” Niki smiled,
shrugging.

“Really?” Joe asked.  “I’m a business analyst.”

“An unemployed one,” Matt muttered.

“How long?” Niki asked.

“Since January,” Joe said.

“Ouch.  Why don’t you send me your résumé on Tuesday? 
Brian, my boss, is looking for an analyst.”

“I don’t have a whole lot of experience.”

“That won’t matter to Brian.  He likes people he can shape and
mold.  Give me your phone,” she said, holding out her hand wiggling her
fingers.  He handed it over.  She added herself as a contact with her cell
number and her work email, before handing it back.

“Thanks.”  Joe smiled.  Then he nudged Matt.  “You owe me
five bucks.”

At Niki’s raised eyebrow, Joe added, “I bet him five bucks
that I could get your number first.”

She looked at Matt.  “All you had to do was ask.”  She
thought it was cute.  “Actually, I’m surprised you all didn’t have it already,
with the way Marcy likes to give it out. I swear every man with a pulse in the
Chandler area must have my number.”

“I’m not that bad,” Marcy said as she flipped a steak on the
grill.  “Besides, don’t ever underestimate the power of a friend giving out
your number.  You just never know where it might lead.”  She turned a dreamy
gaze towards Chad.

“Hey,” Kyle said, handing Niki his phone, “I feel left out.”

“I’m sure you already have my number.”

Kyle shook his head, thrusting the phone toward her.  She
scrolled through his contacts.  Marcy.  Mom Home. Mom Cell.  Dad Cell.  Matt. 
Alana.  That was it.  Her list wouldn’t look much better, if it wasn’t for the
long list of business contacts.  With a few taps on the screen, she added her
number.

“Happy?” she asked, handing the phone back.

“Ecstatic.”

After a delicious camp dinner, Marcy broke out Taboo.  Niki
hated the game.  It was almost impossible to win.  Since Kyle was sitting next
to her, they ended up on opposite teams.  Kyle, Marcy, and Chad were pitted
against Niki, Matt, and Joe.  Niki was the first to read.

“You’re kidding!” she exclaimed as she turned over the first
card.  She had to describe a sunflower without saying sunflower, yellow, plant,
or seeds.

“Come on,” Matt encouraged.  “You can do it.”

“A tall organic pl… growing thing that you eat its seeds—”

Buzz
.  Kyle pressed down on the buzzer, holding it
next to her ear.  Why did she have to get paired with him?

“Stop that.”

“You said seeds.  You can’t do that.”

“Since when did you become the rule master?”

“Next card, Niki,” Matt said.

She tried the next card and failed miserably.  Then it went
to Kyle.  He got “birthday cake”.  She was ready with the buzzer.  If he missed
it, he was going to get an earful.

“Marcy made this for me on January 31st.”

“Birthday cake!”  Marcy shouted.

“That is so not fair,” Niki grumbled as he flipped to the
next card.

By the time his turn finished, his team guessed eight
correctly and Niki didn’t get to buzz him once.  She was glad when the game was
over, even if Kyle’s team thoroughly trounced hers.  Thankfully, Marcy let her
pick the next game—Rummy.  She felt vindicated when she won.

As the sun set, they stopped playing games and sat around in
the dark talking.  Kyle kept shifting in his camp chair.  Even in the glow of
the lantern, she could tell he was hurting.

Marcy whispered something in Kyle’s ear.  He got up and
walked towards the guys’ tent.  He paused as he passed Niki.

“Thanks for letting me tag along this weekend.”

She nodded, confused as to why he just thanked her.  He was
Marcy’s brother.  Of course he was welcome.

Looking up at the sky, she tuned out the conversation
humming around her.  The stars looked so much brighter up in Flagstaff than
they did in Phoenix.

A rush of emotion flooded her heart.  Could God really be
out there?  Did He really care about what happened in her life?  Matt said he
knew he didn’t have to face the tough stuff alone anymore—that he knew God was
with him.  Could God really take away her aching loneliness?