Michele was just about to call Allan when she heard a car pull up out front. She and her mom were still watching the movie, but for the last half hour, she had been pretty distracted. Allan’s visit with Ray was taking much longer than he had said. He was supposed to be home by about the time they had finished dessert and coffee.
That was almost an hour ago.
When she got up, her mom said, “Do you want me to pause it?”
“That’s okay. For some reason, I’m just not into this. Allan just got home. I think we’ll get going. I feel a nap coming on.”
“I’m feeling pretty sleepy too. Maybe it’s this movie.”
“That and the big dinner and the fact it’s Sunday afternoon,” Michele said. “Anyway . . .” She walked over to her mom. “Don’t get up.” She leaned down and gave her a hug good-bye. “Thanks for feeding us, again.” Through the window she saw Allan coming up the sidewalk. “Well, gotta go. Talk to you soon.”
She did her best to sound upbeat, but she was a little annoyed. Allan probably had a good excuse for being late. As she opened the front door, she reminded herself it wasn’t a big deal.
“Hey, babe,” Allan said as he approached the front steps. He noticed her purse. “You’re ready to go?”
“I’ve been ready for almost an hour.” That came out with more edge than she’d planned.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve called. Ray and I just got to talking, and I lost track of the time.”
Okay, maybe he didn’t have such a good excuse. “I’m pretty tired. I already said my good-byes.” She came down the porch steps.
“Did Doug already leave?”
They headed back down the sidewalk toward their car. “Yeah. Mom’s watching a movie. Dad’s asleep. And Tom and Jean are upstairs with the kids. Haven’t heard a peep out of them for a while.”
“Maybe they’re sleeping too,” he said. “And Christina?” He opened her car door.
She knew what he was doing. He could tell she was upset, so he was making small talk. “I guess she’s settling in the apartment. Haven’t seen her since we finished coffee and dessert. Which . . . was quite a while ago.” She sat in her side of the car. He walked behind the car and got in the driver’s side. Take a deep breath, try to calm down. This isn’t a big deal. Don’t give him such a hard time.
He pulled away from the curb and headed toward their townhome. “Guess this isn’t a good time to tell you what Ray and I talked about.”
She didn’t answer.
“Things are really coming together for this orphanage plan. I figured it would take months for some of the things that have already started happening. Guess I got caught up in the flow. I’d love to tell you about it sometime.”
She knew he meant right now. But she didn’t want to hear about it right now. She also knew if she didn’t hear him out, he’d keep thinking about it the rest of the afternoon and evening. It would sit on top of anything else they did. “Why don’t you tell me about it now? Not all the details, just the headlines. You can talk until we get home.”
He smiled. That broke the tension.
“Well, you know it’s all about the kids, the ones living in that dump called Korah. Ray said all the guys are having the same trouble I’m having reconnecting with life back home. He’s feeling it too. I think if you had come on this trip with me, you’d know exactly what I’m saying. They’re just living every day in that place, rummaging through garbage to find something to eat. Day after day, week after week, with no hope of it ever changing. I can smell it right now just thinking about it. You can’t imagine it, Michele.”
And she didn’t want to. “We’re gonna be home before you know it. You already told me all this.”
“Right, well . . . did I tell you about this guy named Henok? He grew up in Korah.”
“I’m not sure.”
“He’s the one who brought us there, the one who told Ray about it in the first place. Anyway, Ray asked him to coordinate everything over there for us. He plans to make him the orphanage director, I think. Once it’s all set up. The thing is, Henok emailed Ray a pretty lengthy update. So far, it’s all good news. It looks like God is opening a wide door for this thing to happen. The local government is open to the idea, especially when they heard it wouldn’t cost them a dime.”
“So where’s the money coming from?” Allan took care of the bills, but he always went over them with her, once a month. She dreaded the thought of their next financial chat when the tally for all these mission expenses came in. Not to mention the fact that he used up precious vacation time on these trips. Time they could’ve spent together.
“Our church for one,” he said. “Ray said the elders are meeting this week to discuss the idea of our church making this orphanage part of their mission budget. Sounds like each of the other guys on the team are talking to their churches about the same thing. We might be able to pull this thing off with just that level of commitment. Things over there are so much cheaper. That’s kind of where I come in.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to put together the battle plan, lay out all the different expenses involved in setting up and running this orphanage. That’s part of the reason why I was late. Ray helped me hammer out all the different categories. My job is to figure all that out and give the team a bottom line. A financial goal to shoot for. Well, that’s the first part of my job.”
Allan’s face was all lit up. She wished she could share his joy. All she could think about was how much more of his time and attention—his spare time and attention—would go to this. And how much less time and energy he’d have to spend with her.
“Is anything wrong?”
She looked through the windshield. Their street was just ahead. What should she say? “Did you even remember I have a doctor appointment this week?”
“What?”
She could tell by the look on his face, she might just as well have asked if he remembered she was taking a trip to the moon.
“I guess I didn’t. Why? Is something wrong? Are you okay?”
Be careful, she thought. It’s not his fault. “No, I’m not okay. There’s something very wrong with me, or with you. Maybe with both of us. That’s why I’m going to the doctor. We can’t seem to have children, and we’ve been trying for over a year. Remember?”