Castles in the Sand (42 page)

Little Shay Rose-Marie Carlucci sat in Pepper’s embrace, one chubby arm wrapped around her grandma’s neck, her sweet yellow dress bunched up like a puffy pillow around her. She bobbed her head about, her deep-set sapphire blue eyes taking in the entire scene. She could easily steal the whole show with a flicker of a playful smile that already resembled her mother’s.

Zeke signaled to Drake. Susan heard him and Kenzie draw in deep breaths, and she smiled.
Thank You, Lord, for this moment
.

As the musicians played “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” she and her husband walked their daughter down the four gritty concrete steps, onto the squishy sand, and along the makeshift center aisle between the chairs. When they reached the end, Zeke formally greeted everyone and asked the question “Who gives this woman in marriage?” Both Drake and Susan replied. After kissing their daughter’s cheeks and watching her step over to Aidan’s side, they took their places. Susan moved to Kenzie’s left to serve as matron of honor. Drake stood beside Zeke. He’d asked his best friend to stay close, in case he couldn’t quite make it through the ceremony with voice intact.

Drake’s tongue stumbled now and then through the familiar words, and his eyes glistened. Susan silently encouraged him, all the while marveling at the journey they’d taken.

Although Aunt Nattie suspected that her niece and Aidan would eventually marry because they were absolutely perfect for each other, Susan wasn’t so sure. Kenzie outright did not believe it. Doubts plagued her for months as she struggled, but she sought wise counsel and blossomed from a hurting child into a young woman secure in the love of her parents and God.

Not until late November did something click in her heart. It was around the time when Aidan met a radio station manager who agreed to play one of his new songs on the air. Phone calls poured in; other stations picked it up, secular and religious. One thing led to another. His band’s earlier recording hadn’t led to a contract for more, but this single hit opened all kinds of the right doors.

Sung as a solo with only his keyboard for backup, Aidan titled the soft ballad simply “Kenzie.”

Now, as part of their wedding vows, he began to sing it to her. Susan pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve, placed there in anticipation of the inevitable. A few stray tears were not going to be the end of it. During rehearsal the previous day, she’d blubbered like Shay in dire need of a nap.

Susan knew it wasn’t the song or the taste of fame that allowed Kenzie to finally accept Grandma Bella’s beautiful aquamarine ring and set the date. It was God’s healing of hearts that did it.

She remembered the exact hour Kenzie’s doubts fled. Natalie and Rex were visiting. It was a Saturday afternoon, and they all chatted in the family room by a cozy fire, making plans for Thanksgiving. Great-Aunt Nattie rocked the baby. In the midst of the pleasant setting, without warning, Kenzie burst into tears. Susan and Drake rushed to her side.

The display was not all that uncommon. The months since Kenzie had moved back in with them had been, to put it mildly, emotionally charged.

“I want to marry him!” she cried. “I want to marry Aidan. I’m ready!”

“All right,” Drake said matter-of-factly.

Susan thought they needed more information. “That’s wonderful, honey. Do you know why you’re ready?”

“Because of Dad.” Kenzie turned to Drake. “Because of you, Dad.”

He stared, a blank expression on his face.

“Because I want my little girl to have a daddy like you. Aidan loves me and Shay the same way you love me and Mom, but he can’t do it long distance. We can’t receive it long distance.”

Drake smiled softly.

His minimal usage of words still boggled Susan’s mind.

“Do you think he’ll ever ask me again?”

Drake coughed discreetly, hiding the sob Susan figured was close at hand. “I could say something to him. I could mention that the blessing I gave is still in effect. Something along those lines. Shall I?”

“Oh, would you? I love him so much it hurts!”

That afternoon dissolved into more tears and laughter.

Aidan did ask again, on Thanksgiving. Kenzie accepted.

And now the knot was tied. Simple wedding bands were exchanged. The bride and groom kissed.

Susan swallowed her tears and cleared her throat. Drake stepped next to her, taking her hand. They were going to sing at their daughter’s wedding. Who could have thought such a thing possible a year ago? Even six months ago?

He squeezed her hand. She gave him a slight nod and began to sing a cappella. On cue, Drake joined in, and their voices wove in and out of each other, carried aloft by the gentle breeze. They sang the words of an ancient marriage blessing over the newlyweds.

Susan imagined that God Himself sang His own blessing over them all.

1. With news of her unwed daughter’s pregnancy, Susan begins a journey to wholeness, a painful process of becoming broken and letting God put her back together in a new way. What are some of the first difficult steps she takes in giving up control of her world?

2. In what ways do others help her along the path? Natalie? Julian? The Martha Mavens? Pepper?

3. What are some turning points that reveal she is living more from listening to her heart and less from listening to what she thinks Drake would say?

4. Why is Drake threatened by her newfound strength? Describe his and Susan’s relationship at the beginning and at the end of the story.

5. Have you, like Susan and Drake, been thrown for a loop that led to God performing some healing work in you?

6. Susan feels God blesses her through the gift of song. This especially speaks to her because of her interest and talent in music. How has God touched you in a way that you feel is unique to your personality or abilities?

7. While the journeys of Pepper and Natalie are not as dramatic as Susan’s, these women deal with faith-stunting issues as well. Talk about their personal changes.

8. What do you think are some of Kenzie’s wounds? How are they revealed? How are they resolved?

9. Susan and Pepper dealt with their children’s situation in ways that stemmed from their own personal experiences. How did you agree or disagree with the choices Susan and Pepper made? How might others respond?

10. Natalie urges Susan to listen to her heart, to live from its center. Do you relate to this advice? How do you/don’t you live from your true center?