River heard the catch in her brother’s voice as soon as he knew it was her. What was going on?
“What do you want, River?” he said. There was a defensiveness in his voice.
“How about a ‘Nice to hear from you, Sis?’” she said.
“I’d say that, but I’m pretty sure you’re calling to chew me out, and I don’t want to hear it. This is my decision, and I’m comfortable with it.”
“That’s interesting, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. I called because Mom’s acting weird, and Hannah said you called. I’m just trying to find out what’s going on.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
There was a long pause. River waited it out. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like whatever her brother was about to say.
“Look, I know you’re going to tell me that I should have talked this over with you first, but I knew what your response would be. To be honest, I don’t care.”
“My response to what?”
Dan cleared his throat. Uh, oh. He was nervous. River tried to anticipate what was coming, but she couldn’t. What could he have said that would have upset her mother like this? Unless . . . Oh, no.
“Is it about Dad?” she asked slowly.
She heard her brother take a deep breath, and her heart thumped in her chest.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“No. I heard from him, River. CeCe left him for someone else. He’s devastated. I can’t turn him away. He’s my father.”
River’s first reaction was to burst out laughing. Maybe now her father knew how their mother had felt when he cheated on her. Good. He deserved it.
“I guess that’s karma,” she said. “But why would you tell Mom about it? She doesn’t need to know.”
“You don’t understand. He needs a place to stay so we’re . . .”
“You’re letting him move in?” River couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice. “Why? After what he did?”
“He asked for forgiveness, River. I told him it would be difficult but that I’d try.”
“You were there when he left. You know what he did to all of us. What’s wrong with you?”
River was trying to hold onto her temper, but her brother’s laidback personality, while something she usually admired, infuriated her now.
“Look, Becky and I talked about it, and we’re comfortable with our decision.” Dan hesitated for a moment. “You might as well hear the rest of it.”
The rest of it? There’s more?
River clamped her lips together, forcing herself to stay silent, but she was boiling inside.
“I know how much you hate church and Christians, but Becky’s been going for a while. The boys and I started joining her, and well . . . I . . .”
“What? You got saved? Are you serious? How could you possibly . . . ?”
Dan cut her off. “Look, River, I love you, but I don’t think I need your permission to make decisions about my life. Yeah, we saw some hypocrisy when we were kids, but being a Christian isn’t about following other people. It’s about following Christ.”
“And did Christ tell you to call our mother and drop this bomb on her? Do you really believe she needed to hear this with what she’s going through?
“We felt we should be honest with her. I didn’t want her to find out some other way. Especially since Dad wants to see her. To ask for her forgiveness.”
River had to lay the phone down for a moment so she could try to catch her breath. When she could finally get the words out, she put the phone next to her mouth. “You tell our father that I’m living here now, with Mom, and that he isn’t welcome. He’s caused enough damage. He’s not going to put her through anything else as long as I have anything to say about it.”
River quickly disconnected the call, sat down on the edge of her bed, and looked out the window. How could Dan fall for this? For the lie that was religion? She couldn’t believe he was that gullible. But that’s what Christianity did. Made people blind to the truth. It was a crutch waiting to get kicked out from underneath you when you least expected it.
An image suddenly popped into her mind. One she’d been trying to ignore ever since she’d been forced into that trunk and thrown into the river. In that moment, terrified and afraid of dying, she’d cried out to God to save her. No, she’d begged Him to save her. But once she was rescued, she realized she’d fallen back into a familiar pattern out of fear. Not because she really believed in God. She didn’t. It wasn’t God who saved her, it was just a bystander who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Certainly not an answer to her prayer. But as she thought about it, she was surprised to feel a little guilty. And that made her angry.
“No more guilt,” she whispered. “I’ve had enough of that.” She took several deep breaths, gathered herself together, and stood up. She was headed toward the dining room when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock hanging in the hallway. Six o’clock. Tony. She’d wanted to talk to her mother before he got here, but there wasn’t time now. She squared her shoulders and hurried to the front door before Hannah could get there.
When she swung the door open, Tony stood there with a smile on his face and something in his hands.
“Hey,” she said. “Glad you could make it. So what did you bring me?”
“I hope it’s okay to bring dessert,” he said, stepping inside. “If there’s something else prepared, I’ll take it back to the car.”
“All we have is ice cream,” Hannah said, coming up from behind River. “What a nice thing to do.”
River introduced Hannah and Tony.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Tony said.
Hannah smiled. “You too.”
“What is it?” River asked, gesturing toward the box in Tony’s hands.
“Well, this is Missouri . . .”
River laughed. “Don’t tell me. Gooey Butter Cake?”
Hannah held her hands out, and Tony handed her the box. “River’s mama loves Gooey Butter Cake,” she said. “This should put a smile on her face.” She nodded toward River. “I’ll put this on the counter and head home. It’s all ready. Your mama did almost everything.” She lowered her voice. “No major mistakes.” She frowned. “Did you find out why’s she’s upset?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you tomorrow. Are you sure you don’t want to stay and eat with us?”
Hannah shook her head. “Thank you, but Mark will be waiting for me. I promised to pick up cheeseburgers on the way home.” She cocked her head toward the kitchen, “Well, I hope she snaps out of it, but I can’t promise anything.”
“Is something wrong?” Tony asked.
River shrugged. “Just Rose being Rose.”
Hannah frowned at her. “She doesn’t like it when you call her Rose, you know. Maybe tonight’s not the best time to aggravate her?”
River sighed and nodded. “Okay. Point taken.” She held her hands out. “I’ll take your coat.”
Tony slipped if off and handed it to her. River hung it up in the hall closet. As Hannah headed to the kitchen with the cake, River motioned for Tony to follow her to the dining room. “As you guessed, my mother is upset about something,” she said softly to him. “If she acts up tonight, I apologize ahead of time.”
Tony stopped. “You don’t need to apologize to me. Are you sure you don’t want me to leave? Maybe your mother would feel more comfortable if we arranged this supper for another time?”
She looked up into his gray eyes. “I’m sorry, but the truth is, I can’t guarantee she’d act any better. Maybe this is just a bad idea.”
“River, I’m not some kind of easily offended, fair-weather friend. And believe me, things haven’t always been rosy between me and my parents.” He paused and gazed at her for a moment before saying, “Trust me.”
“I do,” she said softly. “I really do. But this isn’t your war to wage. It’s mine. We’re good friends, but that doesn’t mean you have to put up with my crazy mother.”
“Well, if I can put up with you . . .”
River shook her finger at him while he laughed gently.
“Lead the way,” he said. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”
River turned and continued toward the dining room with Tony following close behind. His words echoed in her head, but somewhere inside she was pretty sure he was about to be proven wrong.