Mark walked out of Brian’s apartment and into his own with a contagious grin on his face. He walked around for all of five minutes with a nervous energy before he headed to the bus stop and over to Julia’s. He couldn’t wait to tell her. He really couldn’t wait to tell Olivia. Even though Jessi would be unhappy about the whole thing, he was more than sure Olivia would be thrilled.
As Mark rode the bus and waited for his stop, he watched people get on and off and wondered where they were going and what the story of their lives was. A few looked happy and sad, while most looked like it took everything they had to just exist, like he used to look. To think, so many didn’t know the joy of salvation. Everything changed when you had a relationship with God. It wasn’t circumstances; it was how you looked at things. The real changing took place inside, deep in the heart of a man, which, in effect, changed the circumstances, making them more bearable. These people needed hope. They needed Jesus. Mark was beginning to get a glimpse of God’s will for his life. He had a passion for the souls of the lost. Would God use his failures to help others? Only time would tell.
At the next stop, Mark got off the bus and started the short walk to his sister’s house, praising and thanking God the whole way for the miracle he had performed on Mark’s behalf. He had to use Julia’s phone to call Bill and the guys from the men’s prayer group. They would want to know how God had chosen to answer their prayers. Mark had been forewarned that God might not choose to answer his prayer the way he wanted it answered. He’d prayed for understanding if that was to be the case but was very glad it wasn’t.
Julia opened the door, surprised to see Mark standing before her smiling like an idiot. “Thank you, Jesus!” came out through tears as she hugged her brother, ever thankful for him being in her life.
She hung on for a long moment. All the years of worry he’d put her through seemed to be fading into the past, gone like a bad dream with the first rays of morning. She’d prayed hard for him during those years. Sometimes she had to separate herself from him physically, but she never left him in her prayer life. She was thankful to find out that Aunt Merry had been praying during those years too. Now she joined Aunt Merry in praying for Jessi. The final ending had yet to be seen.
Mark pulled away first. “We have to celebrate, sis. I’m taking you out to dinner. No amount of protesting is going to work. It’s final. You’ve cooked for me so much lately; it’s your turn to be treated. Where do you want to go?”
“Well, since you put it like that, I want a chimichanga. How does Mexican sound?”
“Mmm…great. I haven’t had that in ages. Can I use your phone before we leave? I need to call Bill and some of the guys from prayer group. They are going to want to know how everything turned out.”
“Sure, go ahead. I need a few minutes to get cleaned up, anyway.” Julia disappeared down the hallway to change.
Mark made his phone calls, letting the guys know his good news. They offered all sorts of encouragement, and everyone seemed genuinely happy for him. He and Julia made their way downtown to her favorite authentic Mexican restaurant. They talked mainly about the future and how they envisioned things to come.
Julia had her own good news. “Mark, I’ve decided to go with you to Wisconsin. I’ve done nothing but pray since we first discussed it, and I have a positive feeling about it. I believe it is God’s will for me to move on. This place holds so many memories for me, both good and bad. I feel like I too need a fresh start. Do you think you could handle being so close to your sis?”
“Do you really mean it?” he went on without waiting for her answer. “This keeps getting better and better. Yes, yes, I can more than handle it, sis. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it on my own. At least here I have you, Bill, Aunt Merry, and the church supporting me. There I’m going to have no one, and the only adult I will know doesn’t want to be in the same room as me.”
They planned their move to coordinate with Julia selling her house. It might mean moving a couple of weeks later, but it would also be the answer to how he was getting to Wisconsin, seeing as he couldn’t drive, and where he would live once he got there. Until Julia found a house, they would share an apartment. They went on for a couple of hours, talking and finalizing their plans.
***
Jessi curled up in her room with Aunt Merry’s journals. Aunt Merry was at Mabel’s house, and Olivia had been invited to spend the night with a friend from church, so Jessi had some free time to sit and read. She had been looking forward to reading them again and had just been too busy to do them any justice. She picked up where she had left off. The next entry was dated Tuesday, October 8, 1963:
Lester and I went walking after church on Sunday. He held my hand, and we walked down by the creek. I loved having him close to me. We talked about all sorts of things. He told me what he wants to do with his life. He’s hoping to go to college in the next year, if he saves enough money. His dad wants him to stay and work the farm, but he doesn’t want to. He wants to be an engineer and work and live in the city. It sounds so exciting. I haven’t given much thought to leaving our little country town, but given the right circumstances, I’d do it in a heartbeat, especially if they would include Lester. I think of Lester every night before I go to bed. I think I’m in love.
Meredith.
“Who is Lester, and why haven’t I ever heard of him?” Jessi asked herself out loud. She continued reading through the entries, some of which were just normal day-to-day events of a teenager, and then others, like this one, really surprised her.
Wednesday, December 11, 1963
I can’t believe my dad said yes. Lester and I are going to the movies on Saturday night. Of course, we’re really not going to the movies. Lester was invited to this really groovy party, and he’s taking me. Of all the girls Lester could ask, he asked me. I can’t believe my luck. I must be the luckiest girl in the world. I found a great hiding place for my journal now, as I dare not let anyone see it.
Sunday, December 15, 1963
I had to pretend being sick today for church. I felt so sick after last night. I got in late, and mom and dad were already in bed, thank heavens, because one look at me and they would have known that I had managed to get into something bad. As it was, this morning I had to make up an excuse as to why I couldn’t go to church. I told them Lester bought me something to eat after the movie and it must have been bad. They believed me. I thought for sure I was found out. Nope. They completely believed me and told me to just rest and it would probably pass. Yeah, it’ll pass. I’m not sure that I’ll ever try that again. A guy at the party had some joints that his cousin brought when he was visiting from California. At first I didn’t want to try the joint that was being passed around, but Lester told me he wouldn’t have invited me if he thought I’d still be acting like a baby. So I gave in, and for a while it was great. We were drinking beer and passing around the joint. I felt so grown up and cool. Then my stomach started hurting, and I started throwing up. Yuck. Lester took me home right away. I can’t believe I acted like such a baby. No one else was sick at the party. He probably won’t ever ask me out again! I’m so mad at myself. Why can’t I just be more grown up? Ugh!
Jessi closed the journal, not sure how much more she could take for the night. This was a side of her aunt she could never have imagined. Why was her aunt letting her read these? Why would anyone want someone else to read about the skeletons in her closet? Jessi headed downstairs and put tea water on and waited for her aunt.
When Merry walked through the door, she could tell that Jessi had something on her mind. She bent down to give her niece a kiss. “How are you, dear?”
She started busying herself with the tea, knowing that whatever was on Jessi’s mind would come out when she had sorted it out herself.
“I was reading your journals. For what reason could you possibly want me to read them? I’m just surprised by what I’m reading, and even more so that me reading them is okay with you.”
Jessi looked downright troubled.
Merry sat down opposite Jessi and took her hands in her own. “Sweetheart, I want you to know firsthand that the perfection you see in me is just not so, and if reading about my past is going to help you do that, then so be it. I’ve tried to tell you that I too have made mistakes in my life, but you refuse to believe me. This way there can be no question. Oh, don’t look so down. There isn’t all bad in those journals. Some very good things happened too. You’ll just have to keep reading to find out what.”
Merry gave Jessi the best “wouldn’t you like to know” look she could muster up and hoped it worked. They continued to talk a while until they both started yawning. Each woman closed her bedroom door, lost in her own world of thought, Jessi wondering if she really even knew the woman down the hall, and Aunt Merry on her knees, desperately praying that Jessi would continue reading. It would be a long time before sleep came to either woman.
Chapter 19
Olivia woke up and looked at her surroundings, startled, until she remembered she had spent the night with Bethany, her friend from church. Today was going to be a fun day, and she couldn’t wait to get started. She could smell breakfast, and it smelled really good, so she nudged Bethany, who was sleeping in the twin bed next to her own. Bethany’s mom, Mrs. Bowers, had promised to make homemade waffles with strawberries for breakfast. Bethany had a beautiful bedroom. She had two beds in her room, both decorated with pink and white polka dots, a white nightstand in between, and pretty matching curtains. She even had a seat that had a pink cushion on it by the window. She had a big white dollhouse with lots of furniture and dolls to play with, and there were pretty pictures on the walls of ballerinas. As far as Olivia was concerned, it was a dream bedroom, kind of like the one she slept in at Aunt Merry’s house, her mom’s old room. Olivia pushed Bethany even harder. “Hey, come on; wake up. I’m hungry, and I can smell breakfast.”
Bethany’s eyes slowly opened, and she rubbed them with the backs of her hands. “I don’t want to get up.” She groaned before slowly swinging her legs to one side of the bed.
Olivia had always been the type of kid who would take off running the minute her feet hit the floor. Bethany was clearly not like that. Olivia walked over to her and looked closely at her friend. “My mom wakes up looking like you do, all grumpy. Do you need to go downstairs and drink some coffee before we can discuss our day?”
Bethany looked at Olivia like she was a crazy person. “Are you kidding? I’m not allowed to drink coffee. I’m just a kid, like you.”
Olivia stood and walked to the door then turned and looked at Bethany. “Well, you need it, just the same. Can we go downstairs now?”
Bethany grumbled and followed Olivia downstairs to the kitchen. Mrs. Bowers, who was used to Bethany’s morning moods, was surprised to see the girls awake and entering the kitchen. “Wow, you mean I don’t have to go up and drag you out of bed? I thought for sure, as late as you two were up, I’d be dumping cold buckets of water on you.”
Olivia laughed.
Bethany scrunched her face and said, “Not funny.”
Both girls sat down at the table, and soon Mr. and Mrs. Bowers and Bethany’s little brother joined them. They bowed their heads, and Mr. Bowers said grace. After breakfast, they headed off to church in the family’s minivan.
Olivia had never been to church so much in her whole life. She had been going with Aunt Merry every Sunday since they came. Now she was going with her friend and her family. Did everyone here go to church? She wondered why they never went to church in Wisconsin. She’d have to ask her mother about it.
Olivia liked being with Bethany and her family, even if Bethany was a grump in the morning. It was easy to pretend that she was a part of a real family with a mom and a dad and even a brother and sister. She hummed all the way to church thinking about the things she’d learned so far, things about Jesus. She would have to ask Aunt Merry about him. She would know about Jesus, since she talked about him so much. She sat and listened to a man talking up front. Bethany called him “pastor.” She wasn’t sure if that was his name or what. It seemed odd to not call him Mr. Pastor, but Olivia did as she was told and just called him pastor.