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Nobody talked about Marcos or any of the Abernathys as they piled into Carl’s maroon Honda. While Woong let out an occasional protest to tell his parents he was hungry, Carl and Sandy debated where they should go. The fire marshal hadn’t cleared their home yet, and the arson investigation was still ongoing. Nick’s place had worked on short notice, but Kennedy was glad that nobody was seriously talking about staying there long-term.
“I say we splurge and get a hotel room,” Carl was saying. “I’ll be at my office, but you and Woong can spend your days in the pool. I think he’d like swimming, don’t you?”
“I’d have to buy him trunks,” Sandy mused. “And we still haven’t finished our back-to-school shopping. Did you know that checklist we got from the school has over thirty items on it? I swear, Target and Walmart must be giving the school district a share in the profits or something. I don’t remember ever having to spend so much the last time we sent our kids off to school.”
“The last time we sent our kids off to school, Reagan was running for president.”
Sandy shook her head. “Well, the budget’s tight. That’s all I’m saying. Have you talked with the insurance agent yet about the fire?”
“No. I’ve only been awake for an hour, babe.”
Sandy sighed. “Well, we need to figure that out. We have enough for groceries for the rest of the month, but Woong’s supplies plus the clothes he’ll need is gonna be another couple hundred. I just don’t see how we’ll pay for a hotel without dipping into our emergency fund.”
“That’s why they call it an emergency fund,” Carl muttered.
Kennedy leaned her head against the neck rest. She hated sitting in the back seat of cars. She felt like an eight-year-old making the five-hour drive upstate to visit her grandma.
“I’m hungry.”
Woong’s parents ignored him.
“Well, I say we book a hotel for the night. That gives you and Woong a place to stay. And you’ve got Kennedy, too. Dorms don’t open until Friday, right?”
“Yeah.” Kennedy hated to think of Carl and Sandy going out of their way to accommodate her at a time like this. Maybe she’d call her dad and see if he could help deflect some of the costs of a hotel.
Sandy pulled a hard candy out of her purse and passed it back to Woong. “The other option is we could look for rentals. It’s got to be cheaper than a hotel.”
Carl turned on his talk radio show. “I think that’s a little drastic right now. Nobody’s condemned the house yet. Might just need to patch up Woong’s room.”
“And in the meantime, we need a place to sleep.” Sandy turned the volume down to low.
Nobody spoke. Kennedy had seen Carl and Sandy disagree plenty of times before, but this felt different for some reason. She hated to think that her staying with the Lindgrens was causing them so much stress. Maybe she could email the dean of students, see if she could move into her dorm a couple days early.
The radio host mentioned Wayne Abernathy, and Carl scarcely beat Sandy to shut it off.
“What about some kind of motel?” Sandy crossed her arms and stared out her window. “They’re furnished, aren’t they? More like a home than a hotel room. Don’t a lot of them rent by the week?”
“It’s a good idea, but we still have to see what the insurance adjuster says. I haven’t gone over that policy in a decade. I don’t know what it covers and what it doesn’t.”
“Even if insurance doesn’t cover it right away, it will give us something of a home for the time being. They have kitchens, so we can do our own cooking. Save money on food.”
“Yeah.” Carl sighed. “I’ll look into it. What about for now? I’ve got work to do at the church. Do you all want to tag along with me, or do you want me to drop you off at Nick’s place?”
“We’ll drop you off at the office and take the car to do our shopping. Kennedy, you’re welcome to ride along if you’re not too tired. Do you need to new school supplies, too?”
Kennedy smiled at the thought of Sandy buying her packets of erasers and black and white composition books for her college classes. “It’s all right. I can get all that stuff at the campus bookstore.”
“Yeah, but it’s so expensive there, isn’t it?” Sandy turned around in her seat.
“I guess so.” Eventually she’d need to find a place to take a nap, but she’d had a cup of coffee at Rusty’s and didn’t expect to sleep anytime soon. And actually, Sandy was right. It would be cheaper to buy her school things off campus somewhere. She had her dad’s debit card in her ...
“Oh, wait. Do you think we could swing by your house? My wallet’s back there, and ...”
“No, don’t you worry about that.” Sandy twisted around once more. Kennedy wondered if she’d have a kink in her neck for the rest of the day. “I know how it is for you starving college students. You’ve got more important things to do with the little bit of money you have, so you just sit back and let Carl and me spoil you for the day, all right? What about clothes? You need new shoes or anything?”
From the front seat, Carl muttered something about budgets and emergency funds.
“That’s ok.” Kennedy made a mental note to call her dad and get him to find a subtle way to reimburse the Lindgrens for anything they got for her over the next couple days.
Carl turned the radio back on, but as soon as he did, Sandy switched it to the praise and worship station.
Jesus, you’re my Healer, my Shepherd, my Shield.
Kennedy shut her eyes. Her soul drank in the words.
Jesus, you’re the One who makes me whole.
It had been a grueling thirty-six hours. There was no way she’d be starting her fall semester as rested and relaxed as she’d hoped. Somewhere, a teen boy was sitting in a jail cell for a crime he couldn’t have committed. A father was dead, as well as a counselor who’d done what he could to help others. Woong was working his way into another fit after Sandy told him it’d be another day of shopping centers and clothes stores. But somewhere deep within Kennedy’s spirit, buried so far down she had to channel all her mental energy to focus on it, was a peace.
A certainty.
The world was dark. Full of hatred and violence. But somewhere in the midst of the chaos, somewhere above the darkness and confusion, was a God of love. A God of refuge.
A God gentle and compassionate enough to give her soul the rest it so desperately craved.