Behind Her Smile (25 page)

Oh Father, You know my concerns already. And I believe You are doing a mighty work in our precious Maddie.

She glanced at the photo again and remembered how Phil had been able to make their great grandkids laugh. Although he was gone, his love lived on in all of them.

Returning to her purpose, she continued to pray silently. Even though you are already at work, I know You want Your people to pray. So here I am. And tonight I especially want to intercede for Madison’s future. She seems so defeated. The enemy is after her, Father. And she doesn’t yet recognize that You have secured her victory.

Oh that wretched devil. He wants to convince her she’s not worthy of love, especially the love of a good young man like that Luke fellow. Would You please open her eyes, Lord? Help her to really understand the cross and the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood? It’s all she needs. It’s all any of us need.

She paused and waited for what to pray next.

And Father, if You do have a plan for Madison and Luke to be together, would You give that young man the confidence to reach out to Maddie? Would You help him have wisdom beyond his years to grasp the wonder of grace and his possible role of communicating that to her?

Joan waited again in the silent stillness of her room. And then it happened. A peace filled her heart, and she knew her prayer was finished. With a quick
Thank you, Lord,
she pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. It was only eight-thirty, but she was soon in a deep sleep.

Madison was in her bedroom reading a few emails when her cell phone rang. The screen showed Luke’s picture, one she’d taken shortly before he left for Missouri that summer. Her heart danced in her chest as she hit the answer button.

“Hi, Luke,” she said, trying to sound relaxed and casual in her tone.

“Hi there. What are you up to?” he asked.

“Not much. How about you?”

“I was thinking of going to the show. Wanna come along?”

She hesitated for a moment. Was he asking her out?

Before she could reply, he piped up, “It’s that new sci-fi film playing at the Town Cinema,
Inclusion
. Have you heard of it?”

“About the guy who discovers a secret language transmitted from space with some kind of hidden warning?”

“Yeah. That’s it,” he said. “Kind of a guy movie, I guess. But I just thought I’d see if you were interested.”

Normally it wasn’t a movie she’d choose to see, but something about Luke’s voice sounded different. Almost lonely. And she knew he wasn’t expecting anything more than friendship from her. She could do that. Right?

“Okay, yeah.” she replied. Glancing at the clock she noticed it was already after eight. “What time does it start?”

“Eight-fifty. I’d need to pick you up in about twenty minutes. Is that too soon?”

She stood and glanced into the mirror. Finger combing her hair into place, she replied, “No, that should be fine.” Then she thought about it for a moment. She was just getting settled back into living at home. “Let me run it by my parents, and I’ll call you back in a few.”

“Sounds good,” he replied.

Madison found her dad sitting in his recliner watching the news while her mom was finishing addressing Christmas cards. She cleared her throat to get their attention and her dad hit the mute button on the remote. “Something up?” he asked.

“Luke just called. He wants to know if I can go to the show with him.”

Her mother’s eyebrows arched. “Really?”

“Yeah. It’s that new movie,
Inclusion
.”

“Are we talking about tonight?” Steve asked.

“Yeah. Is that okay? It starts at eight-fifty.”

He glanced down at his watch and then over at Michelle, who gave him a nod. “Okay, so you’ll be home before midnight?”

“For sure,” Madison promised.

“If this were anyone else, I’d probably hesitate,” her father warned. “But I trust Luke, so go ahead and have a good time.”

“Thanks, Dad. And don’t worry about staying up for me. I’ll take a key.”

Her parents exchanged glances again. She could tell they were trying to find the right balance between setting boundaries and trusting her. “I want you to come into our room and let me know when you get home,” her mother said. “I’ll be setting my alarm clock for twelve-fifteen. Just tell me you’re home, and shut off the alarm before you go to bed.”

Madison smiled and nodded. That had been their policy in the past. Before Miles. If she happened to be going somewhere that involved a late night return, her mother always set an alarm to wake up fifteen minutes after Madison was due back. That way she’d wake up and know if her daughter hadn’t made it home yet.

“And be sure Luke walks you to the door,” her father added.

“Dad, you know Luke,” she replied. “There’s no way he’d drop me off at the curb.” She gave him a kiss and thanked him, then headed upstairs to call Luke and quickly get ready.

Fifteen minutes later, she heard the doorbell and then her parents’ voices mingled with Luke’s. Grabbing her purse and tossing her phone into it, she made one last check in the mirror and then went to greet him.

“We told Madison to be home by twelve,” her father was saying as she approached.

“No problem. We should be back by eleven-thirty,” Luke replied. “The movie’s only an hour and twenty-five minutes long.”

As they walked out to the car, Madison again felt the awkwardness and stiffness she now felt with Luke. It was so different to be with a guy who wasn’t draping his arm over her shoulder and copping a feel from time to time. For just a brief moment, she imagined what it would look like if the two of them really were a couple. She flashed on an image of them holding hands—a memory from her junior high days.

Luke clicked the car fob to unlock the doors and then opened hers for her, waiting for her to be seated before closing it. Then he jogged around the front to the driver’s door and climbed in. “I’m glad you could make it,” he said with a warm smile.

“Me, too,” she replied.

As they took their seats in the theater, she noticed him turning off the volume on his cell phone and followed suit. Soon the theater was dark and they were immersed in the drama of this suspenseful tale. At one point, a hand reached out and touched the shoulder of the main character as he was intently decoding a cryptic message of doom on his computer screen. It jolted not only the character, but many in the theater as well, including Madison, who instinctively reached out and grabbed Luke’s arm as she gasped for air.

He turned and smiled at her, putting his other hand over hers and giving it a squeeze before releasing it.

She could feel her cheeks flushing hot and red and was thankful for the darkness surrounding them. A little while later, another tense scene found her clutching her purse and covering her eyes with it. A moment later, she felt Luke’s hand guiding the purse back to her lap.

“It’s safe now,” he assured her with a little laugh.

She glanced over and could see the humor in his eyes. Flinging her purse his way, she bopped him on the arm in retaliation.

Then he began leaning toward her during the more suspenseful parts and whispering funny things to put her at ease. She flashed him a smile of gratitude, and a moment later felt his arm over the back of her seat. She glanced at him questioningly, and he said, “In case the alien shows up here.”

By the end of the movie, she was in adrenaline fatigue. “That was exhausting,” she said, as they stood to leave the crowded theater.

Luke reached back and took her hand as they wove through the people toward the front exit. Madison knew it was only a practical measure to keep them together, but his hand sure did feel good in hers. As soon as they were in the parking lot, he released his hold. “So other than being exhausted, what did you think?” he asked.

“I actually liked it,” she admitted. “I’m usually not that into sci-fi, but the idea behind the movie was pretty cool, and I liked the way it ended, leaving something dangling but still solving the main problem.”

“Yeah. You can tell they’re planning a sequel,” he agreed. Pulling out his cell phone, he flipped the volume back on and checked the time. “So it’s only eleven-twenty. Want to stop for a coffee and chocolate chip cookie at the Coffee Stop? They’ve got these huge new cookies for the holidays.”

“Sure. Sounds good,” she replied. “But I’ve got to be home by midnight for sure if I ever want to go anywhere at night again,” she added.

“Got it,” he said. “We’ll get you home before the stroke of midnight. I promise.”

She laughed at his dramatic tone. “Even if we encounter an alien with an end-of-the-world message?”

“Depends on whether or not the end will be coming before midnight,” he said with a grin.

As they entered the Coffee Stop, the aroma of coffee bathed their senses. “Smells good in here,” Madison observed. She really wasn’t much of a coffee fan, but the smell of fresh roasted beans was one of her favorites. They ordered their drinks and bought a cookie to share, then sat down at a table.

“You know, a year ago I wouldn’t have even thought of coming here,” Luke replied, looking around the restaurant. “But I’m definitely into coffee now after doing some of my work hours at the campus coffee shop. And this stuff’s gotten me through some long nights of studying,” he added as he stirred the creamer into his cup.

Madison nodded. “I’ll bet,” she said. After a moment of silence she added, “College must be really fun.”

He nodded. “It is. I like it more than I thought I would. But I’m also missing home more than I expected I would.” His eyes seemed to linger on her for a moment.

“Well, I’m sure I’d get a little homesick, too,” she agreed. “It’s like I’m looking forward to it in so many ways, but I can’t imagine living that far from my parents and everyone.”

“You should think about my school,” he said. “Then at least you’d have me bugging you from time to time.” Smiling at her, he winked.

And her heart was awakened again. Trying to appear unaffected, she laughed nervously and changed the subject. “We’d better get going pretty soon.”

He checked the time on his phone. “Yeah. I’ll get lids for our cups.”

When they pulled up in front of her house, Luke turned off the motor and turned to her. “Madison?”

“Yeah?”

“I had fun tonight,” he replied, suddenly looking a little nervous himself.

“Me, too,” she said.

“I was thinking,” he began, and then paused. “Well, I was wondering if…” his voice trailed off.

Madison’s stomach started doing somersaults. She looked at him and waited, trying to figure out where he was going with his thoughts.

“What I’m trying to say is…do you think you’d maybe want to kind of go out with me while I’m home?”

“You mean like tonight?” she asked.

He looked a little frustrated. “I mean, like on real dates.”

She didn’t know quite what to say. Her heart screamed yes, but her mind told her to run as fast as she could before she got hurt again. There was no way in the world Luke would ever want to date her if he knew everything.

Luke must have read her hesitation as a
no
because he said, “Hey, no worries. I hope I didn’t make you feel uncomfortable just now.”

“No, it’s okay,” she stammered. “I just…I just wasn’t expecting you to say that. I mean, I had such a huge crush on you in junior high,” she admitted.

“Junior high, huh?” He flinched like he’d been wounded. “Hey, like I said, no worries.”

She wanted to turn the whole conversation around and say, ‘YES. Yes, I want to go out with you!’ But a voice warned her to let it go.

Just then, her phone beeped, giving her a warning it was almost midnight. “I’d better get going,” she said. “But, Luke?”

“Yeah?”

“I had a really good time. Really. Thanks for asking me.” She unbuckled her seat belt and opened her door before he could get around to do it for her.

They walked up to the front door with a couple of feet between them. No chance of any physical contact.

Then she quickly opened the door and slipped inside, whispering another thanks for the evening.