| |
There were only four people in the Lindgrens’ temporary home, but Sandy was bustling around so much it seemed as if there were half a dozen extra bodies. Kennedy glanced at the motel room, which she’d helped Woong tidy, spray, dust, and vacuum that afternoon.
“How much time do we have left?” Sandy opened the oven, leaned forward, and thumped on her bread rolls.
“It’s ten to six. Exactly three minutes since you asked the last time.” Carl was straightening his tie, glancing at his reflection in the small hanging mirror.
“I want a X-box.” Woong seemed to know his parents were busy and didn’t put too much emphasis into his demand.
“Should I call them?” Sandy asked. “They might need directions.”
“He’s got a GPS, and he has our phone number,” Carl answered back. “Everything’s going to be fine. You need to stop worrying.” He leaned closer toward the mirror and tried picking a nose hair with his fingers.
Kennedy finished chopping the vegetables for the salad and set the wooden bowl on the table. The motel room came with a few random utensils, but Sandy had insisted on transplanting her entire kitchen to get ready for tonight’s big dinner. There was no way to cram everything into the cupboards, so pots and spatulas and even blenders and crockpots piled out of boxes strewn against the far wall.
“I just can’t believe it’s been ten years. I wonder if ...” A knock on the door made Sandy freeze. “Should I get that?” she asked. “Maybe Carl should get it. Maybe that would be more appropriate. Carl, you gonna get that, honey?” She wiped her hands on her apron, another item she had snatched from her home while the builders worked on repairing the fire damage.
“Well, look who’s here!” Carl’s booming voice held no hint of the general state of nerves and anxiety that had zipped around the Lindgrens’ home all afternoon.
Kennedy and Woong held back as Carl welcomed in the young man. “It’s good to see you, Guy.” He shook his hand warmly. “And who’s this?” He leaned down toward a young boy who held onto Guy’s leg.
“This is Alec.” Guy pried his son’s arms free. “Say hello to Grandpa Carl.”
Alec muttered something and sneaked right back behind his dad.
Sandy rushed forward with her arms outstretched. “Hello, Guy. Hello, Alec. We’re so glad you came. Where’s Felipe?” She strained her neck to look behind them.
“He couldn’t make it.” Guy cleared his throat, and there was an awkward silence before he squatted down. “And you must be Woong. Your mom’s told me a lot about you already.” He glanced at Carl and Sandy. “You say he understands English pretty well by now?”
Woong made an annoyed face and plopped down in front of some Legos.
“Why don’t you go join him?” Guy tried to push Alec forward, but Alec refused to budge.
“Well, don’t just stand here in the entryway. Come in.” Sandy swept her arms grandly like a queen displaying her entire kingdom. “It’s not much, but it’ll work out fine for a week or two. Now, sit down. Dinner’s already on the table, so I don’t see any reason why we don’t jump right in. Carl will pour the drinks, and you can tell us all about your design work. I hear you’ve been quite successful.”
Guy had a handsome smile and looked quite a bit younger than Kennedy expected. Alec shied up next to his father at the table, and Guy kept a protective arm around him.
“You’re sure a quiet one, aren’t you?” Sandy asked as she filled Alec’s cup with milk.
Guy nudged his son twice before Alec responded with the expected, “Thank you.”
Sandy had to pick Woong up and set him in his chair to get him to leave his Legos, but at least he didn’t throw a fit.
“Now, let’s see.” She stared at the table. “Everything’s out except the rolls, and they just need another minute or two in the oven. I think we’re ready to pray and bless the meal.” She turned to her husband.
“Sounds like a good plan.” Carl adjusted the collar of his dress shirt. Kennedy wasn’t used to seeing him in a tie outside of church on Sundays. He bowed his head. “Let’s pray, then.”
Alec leaned over and whispered something in his dad’s ear.
“Everything ok?” Carl asked.
Guy cleared his throat. Kennedy couldn’t tell if it was the lighting in the dining room or if he was blushing. “We’ll talk about that on the way home, all right, bud?”
Sandy leaned forward. “What’s he need? Does he drink milk? I should have asked first. We have orange juice too if that’s better.”
Guy shook his head. “It’s not that.” He looked toward Carl. “Go ahead. Everything smells delicious.”
Carl bowed his head once more. “Lord, great God and heavenly Father ...”
Another whispered interruption from Alec’s end of the table. This time it was clear that Guy really was embarrassed. “I’m sorry. He ...” He glanced at his son. “I should have done a better job explaining it before we got here. I just ...” He sighed. “I forget sometimes how much they pick up, you know? Things you don’t think they’ve caught onto yet.”
He held his arm around his son’s shoulder. “Alec was just asking me if you were the ones who got mad at me for marrying his papa. I’m sorry. Like I said, we should have talked about it on the way here ...”
Carl got out of his chair and knelt down beside Alec. “Listen, buddy, that’s a really good question, and you know what it shows me? It shows me you’re a really smart kid. So I’m gonna give you an honest answer, ok? Your daddy and I had some disagreements. And that’s not always a bad thing, you know. Even grown-ups disagree. And we get hurt feelings, too, and sometimes those feelings hurt bad enough it takes a while before it can get better.”
Alec stared at Carl with wide eyes and leaned closer to his dad.
“The important thing to remember is we love your dad very much. We love you, too. And your papa. And sometimes we might not agree, but that doesn’t mean we’re mad at each other. It certainly doesn’t mean we stop loving each other. Does that make sense?”
Alec nodded. Carl stood back up with a groan and returned to his seat.
“Now where were we? Oh, yeah. I think we were about to pray.” He bowed his head. “Great God and heavenly Father, we praise you for family. We praise you for love. We praise you for the way you can take people from so many different backgrounds, so many different stories, and you can weave our lives together so intricately. So beautifully.
“Sometimes it hurts, Lord. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. Sometimes it hurts real bad when we can’t see eye to eye. But Lord, first and foremost, you’re a God of love. And today we declare that if your love is strong enough you carried that cross up the hill to Golgotha, if your love is strong enough you died for us while we were still your enemies, if your love is strong enough you reached out to us in our filth and sin and squalor, well, Lord, we’ve just got to believe your love is strong enough to help us see past our differences. Help us see past our debates.
“Only you can do that, Lord. Only you can cover over these divisions that have plagued us for so long. Only you can heal the hurts that have been experienced on all sides. Only you can let your perfect truth be proclaimed with perfect grace. You alone are God, and we love you, and we praise you, and we lift this up in the powerful and precious name of Jesus Christ.”
The amen that sounded around the table mingled with the inviting smells of bread rolls, fresh fruit, and savory soup. It settled somewhere around Kennedy’s shoulders, wrapping her up in a blanket of love and warmth before floating upward toward heaven, a perfect offering and fragrant aroma she was certain was pleasing and acceptable in God’s sight.
***
From Alana Terry
If you’re thinking that Kennedy needs a break right about now, you’re right! Which is why she’s so excited to be spending her upcoming Christmas break in Alaska...
If her flight ever makes it there, that is.
But the way things are going, it’s not looking too good for her ... or any of the other passengers on board.
As the danger in the air intensifies, the question isn’t whether she’ll come out of her journey stronger in the end.
It’s whether she’ll come out of it at all.
Dive straight into Turbulence, book 5 in the most binge-worthy Christian suspense series. Available today.
Buy Turbulence now. (Just be prepared to stay up late.)