Nick dabbed Maria’s head wound with gauze soaked in hydrogen peroxide. She pulled away in pain.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s pretty sore.”
He was trying to remove a large clot of blood around the sutures.
Nick looked at Anna. “This thing was so dirty, I’m afraid it’s going to get infected if I’m not pretty aggressive with keeping it clean.”
“Try to hold still while the doctor looks at your wound,” Anna told her. “We don’t want it to get infected.” She held Maria’s shoulders and translated for Nick.
“Thank you for taking care of me, doctor, but do you think you will be able to do anything for my son?” Maria asked through Anna.
Nick searched her eyes. There was such a sincere depth to her request that it made it difficult for him not to empathize with her.
“Well, there is a chance. I usually don’t do that kind of surgery, but I talked with a friend in Seattle, and he may come down to help. I can’t guarantee anything yet.”
Anna continued to translate as Maria took Nick’s arm. “Thank you for trying, doctor. I cannot repay you for your kindness.”
“You certainly have a lot of courage,” Nick said as he snapped off his exam gloves and tossed them into the trash can near the exam table.
“I took little Danilo to the government hospital, but they told me that I would have to pay for the supplies for the surgery and for the hospital stay. His father and I tried and tried to save enough money. There was never enough. I think my husband was hoping he would get paid well for his last job.”
“What was his job?”
“He was a tour guide for the ruins in Tikal. His father was the same, so he grew up doing that. He knew so much about the Mayas and the ancient ruins.”
She continued to wring her hands, and Nick could tell the discussion was difficult. But he encouraged her because he was anxious to get more information about John’s death. Maggie had not told him very much. After a brief investigation, Maria told him, the police had closed the case. They believed Dr. John was in the wrong place at the wrong time, apparently something that happened all too frequently in the country. They did think it was odd how the doctor had been killed, but because the presumed murderer was found dead himself, they had nothing to go on. The rain had washed away all traces and clues. Therefore, the case was closed.
Maria seemed to read Nick’s thoughts. “Danilo was an honest man. You have to believe me. He was a kind man. I never saw him cheat anyone. He was not a violent man.”
Nick sat back in his chair, glanced at Anna, and pressed on. “Where do you live?” he asked Maria.
“We live in El Remate, south of the ruins.”
“How far away is that from here?”
“It is very far, maybe two days on the bus.”
“Did you ever see Dr. John there?”
“The police asked me the same thing. They showed me his picture, and I had never seen him before. We get lots of tourists there, I don’t pay them much attention.”
“Why do you think Dr. John and your husband were out there together?”
She looked him straight in the eyes without blinking. “I don’t know, doctor. I wish I did. Maybe he was giving him a tour? Maybe they ran into the drug cartel? I just don’t know. None of it makes sense to me. All I know is, Danilo could never kill anyone.”
Sweat formed on her upper lip and forehead, and she trembled. “Really, that is all I know. I have been very afraid that, whoever they are, they would come for little Danilo and myself.”
Anna wiped Maria’s brow with a cloth.
Nick rubbed his eyes and crossed his arms.
Had he really lost his best friend from some senseless act of violence? What was John doing in that part of Guatemala anyway?
He stood, as if to conclude the interview and told Maria, “I know this is hard for you, I am sorry for your loss.”
“You were friends with Dr. John?”
Nick nodded. “Yes, he was my friend, my best friend.” He decided he couldn’t talk about it anymore and headed to the door. Holding the doorknob, he turned back to Maria and Anna. “Did you say that your husband told you he was being paid well for his last job?”
“Yes, but I thought it was with the men from FOCO.”
“Foco?” Nick asked.
“Foco,” Anna repeated. “It’s spelled f-o-c-o. I don’t understand how she’s using it, but the word means focus in Spanish.”
Anna asked Maria what she meant.
“It is a group that has been helping villages in our area,” Maria said. “They drilled a new water well for our village. I must have been confused.”
“Did you tell the police about that?”
“No, I thought I was mistaken.”
“Well, if you think of anything else, let me know,” Nick said. “I’d really appreciate hearing about it.” He turned back to the door.
“Dr. Hart, I am so sorry,” Maria said.
* * *
Maggie and Nick sat in tranquility on the bench under the mango tree; it was a respite they looked forward to at the end of a busy day. They watched in companionable silence as the moon rose over the mountains. Only the hushed voices of children at the orphanage whispered in the night.
“I talked with Maria today when I changed her dressing,” Nick said, breaking the stillness.
“She doing okay?”
“Yeah. I’ve been pretty worried about her wound.”
But her wound wasn’t all he wanted to talk about. Nick wasn’t sure where to start. He had so many questions. “Do you know what John was doing up in that area of Guatemala?”
Maggie sighed. She’d known he was bound to ask, but didn’t want to talk about it. “I don’t know, Nick, I guess checking on some of the villagers that we see. He would often travel all around Guatemala. Honestly, I thought he wanted to get away from here every once in a while,” she smiled at Nick, “for a fresh perspective.”
“Was there anything different about this trip? Did he say anything?”
“I don’t know. I’ve racked my brain about that. He was just going to be gone a few days. The only thing that I have been able to remember is he told me that some of the villages in the north were having fertility problems. John thought it was the pesticides they use so heavily in their agriculture that was causing the problem. What’s weird is that I can’t even remember that much about the day he left. You know happy-go-lucky John—he gave me a big kiss and a smile and was gone.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“I’m really sorry, Maggie. I’m sure it is hard to talk about.”
“It’s okay, Nick. Maybe it’s just my Blackfeet blood. We don’t like to talk about the bad things. My God, if we did, that is all there would be to talk about.”
Nick saw Maggie’s discomfort and his brain raced for a positive subject. “I can’t believe how all this is working out. My instrument rep in Memphis gathered all the implants and supplies together, but I couldn’t figure out how to get them here until I thought of my friend Buck. I called him yesterday and thought he was going to jump on a plane that moment, he was so excited. He flies in tomorrow with eleven boxes of implants. Unbelievable.”
She finally smiled. “Goes to show that nothing is impossible with God.”
“Well, I guess I have to admit, it sure appears that way.”
Nick drank some iced tea. “You’re really going to like Buck. He is a gem of a guy and women always swoon over his good looks.”
“Nick, how come you never got married?” It was Maggie’s turn to change the subject. “Weren’t you pretty serious with that one girl in med school?”
“Michelle? Yeah, I guess, but it didn’t work out. I don’t know, maybe I’m too picky or too busy or just too handsome.”
“Certainly not too humble,” Maggie retorted.
“I guess the real reason is that the best one was already taken.” He rolled his eyes at Maggie.
“Oh, stop it,” she said, punching his arm.
“John was very lucky. That’s all I can say.” He wasn’t kidding around.
Their moment was broken when Nick’s cell phone rang. He answered immediately. “Hey Tod, let me put you on speakerphone. I’m sitting here with Maggie Russell who runs the Hope Center.”
“Hi, Maggie,” Tod’s voice came through the speaker. “You want the good news or the bad news?”
Nick grimaced. “I guess you better start with the bad.” He had prepared himself all day for this. What am I going to tell those kids and their parents?
“Well, the bad news is that you are going to owe me big time,” Tod roared with laughter. “The good news is that you are going to have to put up with me and my family for a few days.”
Nick wanted to stand up and shout, and Maggie did.
“Oh, that is so great, Tod. Thank you so very much. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”
“Kim, the girls, and I prayed about it, and we really felt like we were supposed to do this. Honestly, I wasn’t so sure. You know the whole money thing. We were sitting at the table eating, and my youngest girl looked up and asked, ‘You know what we learned in school today?’ ‘What?’ I asked. And she said, ‘We were reading out of First Samuel. We learned that for God, obedience is better than sacrifice.’ I told her she was getting too smart for her own britches,” Tod guffawed.
“The real clincher for the deal was when I called my friend, the travel agent,” he continued. “I forgot we had taken out trip insurance. Turns out we could change our plans without losing a dime. Then she got us some screaming deals on the flight to Guatemala. Goes to show nothing is impossible for the Lord.”
Nick laughed. “Seems like I just heard that.”
Maggie was still dancing. See, I told you so, she mouthed to Nick.
“We get in on Tuesday. I figured that would give us Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to get all the kiddos done. That okay with you?”
“Oh man, I don’t know how I am ever going to pay you back for this one, my friend. Honestly, I’m speechless.”
“Well, that’s payment enough,” Tod hooted. “See you Tuesday!”
Nick hung up. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, a good place to start is, thank you, Jesus.” Maggie sat down again, jiggling her knees with joy. “God is so good. Don’t you think?”
“I don’t know, Maggie, I’ve never thought of God that way. I don’t know. I guess I thought of Him as out there somewhere. The great observer.”
Maggie put her hand on his. “And now?”
“I guess some would say it’s all coincidence.”
Maggie tilted her head, “Really? Is it that hard for you to see God’s fingerprints all over this?”
“Well, honestly, no.”
“Then what is it?”
Nick turned away and thought for a long time. “I don’t know. I guess it’s easier for you to think of God like that. Most of my time is either not thinking about God or thinking that he’s mad at me.” He turned back, his face crossed with pain. “I haven’t been the best person in the story of my life.”
Maggie squeezed his hand. “Then you’ve been reading the wrong story.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, Nick, God loves you so very much.”
“I don’t know about me, but I can see why he loves you,” he said.
Maggie leaned back and crossed her arms.
“Maggie, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Did you ever wonder why John and I never had kids?”
“Well, yes. I guess I did.”
“You know I grew up in Browning on the Rez—not the easiest of places for a kid. Our parents were pretty darn strict, but we got into our share of trouble.”
Maggie searched for words. “Nick, I haven’t told anybody about this except my parents and my best friend growing up. And, of course, John. I got pregnant. Twice. One ended with an abortion and the other an ectopic pregnancy. The second one just about killed me. They flew me to Great Falls for emergency surgery.”
“Oh, Maggie,” Nick hugged her shoulder.
“That was the end of my baby days. It caused me a lot of shame for a long time. When I met John, I didn’t tell him right away. I was so afraid to lose him.”
Maggie shifted in her seat.
“When I finally told him, he just held me, and we both cried buckets. But he didn’t cry out of hurt or anger or anything like that. He cried because he felt God’s heart break for me. He said God’s heart broke for the pain and shame that I carried.”
Tears fell from Maggie’s eyes as she looked at Nick to see if he understood.
“I know God loves me,” she said. “He sent his only Son to redeem me. He has become so real to me. John would tell me that God takes ALL things and turns them for good. Talk about good,” she smiled. “Look at me now—I have seventy-three children.” She wiped her tears and laughed.
Nick smiled briefly and looked up at the stars. “Maggie, I’m trying to understand. It’s like my brain hears, but my heart can’t translate.”
Maggie put her hand on his. “You see, Nick, we all have our stinky stuff. That is why we need a Savior. People have it so very wrong so much of the time when they turn away from God. They think He’s a killjoy, a party pooper. They couldn’t be more wrong. If they only knew the joy Jesus brings. If they only understood what is available to them from heaven. I pray that you will come to understand what I’m saying.”