Pretense (22 page)

A look came over Mackenzie's face that neither of her parents could miss. Paul spoke kindly to her, his heart praying for patience and wisdom.

"Micki, don't be angry at your mother because she's choosing to be thankful."

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"But how can she be?"
Every ounce of Mackenzie's frustration came out in those words. "Mom loves Grandma, and now she's going away. It just makes me so mad.I
don't feel thankful at all!"

"Your mother and I could be feeling the same way," Paul said, keeping his voice even. "We've chosen otherwise. That's not to say we won't ever be angry and upset, but if we're thinking well, we'll see that God has been in control all this time, and that's what thankfulness is all about, honey-understanding that God is sovereign, and trusting that the things He brings into our lives are His best for us."

"I don't think I could ever have that much trust," Mackenzie said softly, and Paul worked at not letting defeat rush through him. He reminded himself that the time had not been long, but right now it seemed that Mackenzie's heart would never soften.

God is sovereign, Paul. Remember what you just told her.

"I'll be praying for you then, Micki, just as I always do," Paul said. "I'll pray that God will help you to trust in His Son, since He's the only One worth putting your trust in."

"You're not mad at me?" She was feeling guilty about being snotty when her parents were upset.

"No, I understand exactly what you're thinking," Paul said.

"Trust is hard, Mackenzie," her mother spoke up. "It takes a lifetime to get it down."

"Is Grandma scared?" Delancey's voice sounded for the first time in some minutes.

"No, honey, I don't think she is. I'll be going to see her next week, and that's what she wants more than anything else right now."

"Are we going?"

Delancey cried at the small shake of her mother's head. Marrell was certain it was the events of the last half hour and the news of her grandmother, as well as the knowledge that her motherwasleaving. Delancey looked more like a young woman with every month that passed, but she was still a 12-year-old girl inside.

"Come here, honey." Marrell held her youngest daughter next to her side. No longer did she fit into her lap. "It's going to be all right. We're going to hurt and cry, but God will take care of us."

"Will we see Grandma again?"

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"I don't know. Maybe."

And that was all the promise Marrell was willing to give. The days that followed were hard. The girls dealt with their pain in separate ways: Delancey shadowed Marrell's every move, but Mackenzie distanced herself from everyone. Paul spoke with her on many occasions, even taking her to dinner-just the two of them-in an attempt to draw her out. By the time Marrell left, she felt her daughter was coming around.

Colorado Springs

"This is another one of your mother." Pearl held up yet another picture for Marrell.

"Why have I never seen these?"

"I think they were just tucked away. I'd completely forgotten about them until I started going through things."

"I knew you would do this."

"Do what?" Pearl asked, looking innocent.

"Sort everything in the house, planning to get it done before I arrived."

This was so close to the fact that Pearl laughed.

"Do you have diet restrictions or anything like that?" Marrell asked suddenly.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Because I'm hungry for something from the Mexican restaurant that we went to last time I was here."

"Oh, I know the one. Sounds good to me."

"All right. Why don't we move some of these photos to the kitchen table? I think it would be more comfortable."

"All right. You'll have to do the big box."

"I've got it."

This was the way they spent most of their days. They turned out closets, went through old photos and letters, and in the evening watched old movies and musicals while they ate popcorn and drank tall glasses of Pepsi over ice. Marrell didn't know when she had been so rested. The phone seldom rang, and few demands were made on her time, freeing her to spend time with her grandmother.

Like a long walk down memory lane, Pearl and Marrell sorted through boxes of memorabilia, threw out what they didn't want,

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and repacked the containers, marking them clearly for future reference. And through all of this activity, they talked of the Lord. Pearl had started a study on heaven, and the things she shared with Marrell delighted her.

"Did you know that there's no need for the sun?"

"In heaven? No, I didn't know that."

"God shines so brightly that He is all the sun heaven needs."

"Where does it say that?"

Pearl got her Bible and showed her the place in Revelation 22. She even read it out loud.

"Listen to this: 'And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.'"

"I've never read that." Marrell's laughter was soft with wonder, as she sat in silence and looked at her grandmother. "I don't think I could leave here in four days if I didn't share your hope now. I would be devastated."

For the first time since Marrell arrived, Pearl cried. "I can't tell you what it means, Marrell. To know I'll be with you and Paul again ... I just can't tell you. I pray for the girls every day."

"We do too. I know that God will reach them. Someday in His time and way, He will save my girls."

"And your coming-" The older woman was still overcome. "I can't tell you what it means to have you here. Thank you for coming, Marrell. Thank you so much."

Marrell went to her, and they hugged for a long time. This was the woman who had raised her and loved her. When she should have been able to put her feet up a little, she found herself with a young girl to raise, but Marrell never felt any bitterness from her. Pearl had made Marrell's wedding dress, and when the girls were small, sewn outfits for them every month. It was like losing a part of herself to think of Pearl gone.

However, Marrell was able to leave with a clear heart. If she didn't see her grandmother on the earth again, she would know nothing but peace. A small corner of her heart told her that she would have more time with her and that Paul and the girls would see her again. She told Paul as much when she was finally home, tucked in for the night in her own bed. Paul kissed her and said that he hoped it would work out that way. But Marrell was wrong.

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Their plans to be with her grandmother for Christmas that year were radically changed. Pearl Walker was gone on December 15.

Delancey ignored the other girls' conversation, even though she could hear every word. She bent a little farther over the math book that lay on the library table and tried to concentrate.

"She's such a snob. I can't stand her."

"She has such cool clothes, though, and they all look so good on her."

"I heard someone say she looks like a model. Tell me how many models have zits on their faces."

"She doesn't have very many, Darcy-not as many as Kay Parks."

"We're not talking about Kay Parks!" the other girl snapped, and Delancey was relieved to have the other table fall quiet. The temptation to reach up and touch the pimple on her chin was nearly overwhelming, but she wouldn't give them that satisfaction. She knew who the girls were and why they hated her, but it wasn't her fault. She wasn't interested in Kevin Bains and never asked him to break up with Rosa Castro to go with her. Rosa even knew that, and she and Delancey were still friends.

"Hey, D.J." Mackenzie was suddenly beside her. "I got a note to come to the office and call Dad. Mom's gone with Shay to the hospital. Her water broke."

"When?" Delancey's smile was huge.

"Just now when she was at the house with Mom. Dad said he would come home and let us in if Mom's not back by the time we get out of school."

"I hope she has a girl."

"Yeah, but a boy would be cool too. When Mom and I were out shopping on Tuesday night, we saw the cutest little jeans."

"Shh." This came from the table of malicious girls.

"Shut up, Darcy," Mackenzie wasted no time in saying, her voice not all that soft. She turned back to her sister. "I think the administration office should check birth certificates more often. Some of your classmates act like they're in the third grade, D.J. I'll see you at the bus."

Mackenzie left with that parting shot, and Delancey had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She forced herself not to look

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at the other girls. She was almost three inches taller than her sister these days, but she still felt loved and protected when Mackenzie stood up for her. She had just gone back to her math paper when Rosa sat down at her table.

"Hey, Rosa."

"Hi, D.J." The other girl's face was sad.

Delancey was about to say something else when she realized the girls from the other table were staring at them.

"May I help you?" Delancey's voice was at its most sarcastic.

The other girls just stared.

"Come on, Rosa," Delancey started to gather her books. "Let's move over here where Big Ears and Company can't hear."

It gave Delancey great satisfaction to have her friend accompany her and sit with their backs to the other girls.

"It's a girl," the doctor told the redheaded couple in the delivery room. "Red hair too."

He put the baby on Shay's stomach, and she gasped in delight. Oliver was kissing her, and she looked up into his eyes.

"A girl. Delancey will be thrilled."

"Yeah. You did it."

"I feel as though I've run a marathon."

Shay felt the nurse's hands take the baby as the little person was whisked away for a few minutes. Shay had torn quite badly, so the doctor worked to repair her, and Oliver went to help with the baby. He was back just a short time later to hand Shay her daughter.

"Oh, Oliver, she's perfect, just perfect."

"Look at this hand."

"Is Marrell still here? I want Marrell to see her."

"No, honey, she went home before midnight."

"Oh, that's right. Call her."

"It's four o'clock!"

"She won't mind." Shay looked so convinced that Oliver laughed.

The nurse wanted to take the baby to the nursery, and since Shay was still being worked on, Oliver went along. Shay lay with her eyes closed, thinking about the miracle of birth.

It's so amazing, Lord. Your design is so perfect. I hurt, butIhave a little girl. We made it, Father, the whole pregnancy. I'm

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not a kid anymore, but You had her for us. She's so precious, and You gave her to us. Thank You for Marrell
-
thank You that she could be here-and for Oliver. He's going to be a wonderful father. Help us to show her You. Help her to see her need for salvation and not to fight You as I did. Provide the right house for us in Your time, Lord. Lombard is so busy.
Shay stopped then and nearly laughed out loud. She'd just had a baby, and here she was being distracted by the home she and Oliver hoped to find. Talk about obsessive!

Suddenly Shay was tired. The attendants transferred her to another bed, and she was drifting off as they wheeled her to her room. After adjustments and checking the chart, the nurse assured Shay that she would inform Oliver where she was. And then she was gone. It was nice to be alone.

Shay's hand went to her stomach. It would probably never be flat again, but she didn't care. She had a baby ... a wonderful baby girl . . .

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Thirteen

T
he track runner in Mackenzie that showed promiseas a seventh grader emerged as a team leader in

the eighth grade. Delancey was trying out as well

this year, and if the length of her legs was any indication, she

would be as swift as her sister.

From where she was standing, Mackenzie looked over to where Delancey was getting instruction from the coach and wondered how she was doing. Brett Cooper, now at the high school as a ninth grader, chose that minute to walk by. Irritated over the fact that he would even visit the junior high, Mackenzie only glanced at him without a flicker of interest.

A year ago was a long time, but she still remembered the way he had given her the cold shoulder when she wasn't able to date or agree to meet him without her mother's knowledge. If rumor could be trusted, he was interested in Delancey, but Mackenzie knew her sister. As soon as Delancey found out the way Brett had treated her, she wouldn't think him cute anymore. Mackenzie would be surprised if Delancey even gave him the time of day.

"Okay, Bishop," the coach called. "Let's see your jump."