Right Where I Belong (32 page)
Thirty minutes later Brian stood in Spencer’s driveway. This was not something he wanted to discuss over the phone.
“You and Natalia?” Spencer asked after Brian gave him a brief account of his conversation with Natalia—doing his best to make it sound as unromantic as possible.
“Are you mad?”
Spencer looked out over the pond beside his house. “A little. But not at you.”
“Really?” Spencer’s jaw twitched. Brian understood. He
had felt the same way when Spencer spoke with him a few days before. Natalia was one in a million.
“What am I supposed to say, ‘You can’t have her, I want her’?”
Brian stuffed his hands in his pockets. “You could.”
“I want to.” Spencer smiled. “But I kind of guessed. She talks about you a lot. You guys work together. You have the same interests. It makes sense.”
She talks about me a lot.
Brian still felt like he was in shock, that he would wake up very angry from the best dream ever. “I was sure she was into you. I still don’t know what she sees in me.”
“Look, man. You’re better than you think you are.”
“So we’re good?”
“We’re good.” Spencer nodded once. “But don’t ask me on any double dates with you guys for a while, okay?”
D
id I tell you how good you look?” Brian laced his fingers through Natalia’s as they walked the long driveway to Spencer’s new home, decorated with lights and balloons for the homecoming celebration.
“I can’t remember.” Natalia squeezed Brian’s hand. “Tell me again.”
“You look good,” Brian whispered in her ear, sending shivers down Natalia’s spine. “And I love that you’re wearing heels. Now you’re only a foot shorter than me.”
“Hey.” Natalia laughed, standing straighter. “I am ten inches shorter now, thank you very much.”
“Oh, excuse me.” Brian gazed down in Natalia’s eyes. “You ready for this?”
Although everyone at school knew Brian and Natalia were an “item,” in the month they’d been together they had made a point to continue the way things were. They didn’t want to rush into anything or to neglect their friendships
for their budding relationship. Because of the sparks that flew every time they touched, they had committed not to be alone together, and they each had a friend keeping them accountable to that promise. This relationship was far too special to mess it up by letting their passions overrule their better judgment.
Tonight, though, they were coming to the homecoming party as a couple. Their first “official” date in front of the whole school. All the girls in the Bible study had been talking about it, helping Natalia pick out a dress and hairstyle. Her school in Madrid hadn’t had homecomings, so this was new. The football game a few hours before had been fun and loud. Afterward she went to Lexi’s house to change. Brian picked the two of them up in a borrowed convertible.
But now they were here. Lexi had run ahead, wanting to give the couple a little time alone before facing the crowd. Natalia enjoyed the peace and quiet, the feel of Brian’s hand in hers.
Then Brian rang the doorbell. The spell was broken.
“Welcome.” Spencer answered the door.
Natalia had dreaded this encounter more than any. Spencer had mostly avoided her in the last month. She understood why, but Natalia still felt bad. She didn’t mean to hurt him. She was impressed, though, that he maintained his commitment to help on Thursday nights. With Natalia taking the children—a group that had already grown to almost twenty—in another room, she and Spencer didn’t have much contact those evenings. Natalia was relieved that Spencer was confiding in Brian more and growing in
his faith. The change that began in Costa Rica was real. Natalia was happy for him.
“Come on in.” Spencer hugged Brian. “Enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
Natalia looked at Brian. “What?”’
“I tore this place apart this summer.”
“Oh, that’s right. I had forgotten.”
“Yep.” Brian looked around. Natalia followed his gaze. The old mansion was beautifully restored, resembling pictures out of an interior design magazine. “The change is amazing.”
“Kind of like me.” Spencer smiled, this time meeting Natalia’s gaze. “The old has gone, the new has come.”
Brian slapped Spencer’s back and walked into the large sitting room. Several couples from school were gathered around tables filled with delicious-smelling food.
The doorbell rang, and exclamations resounded from her classmates. She turned to see Kara McKormick and Chad Beacon enter. Their new show was boasting some of the highest ratings of any teen show ever. But, Addy had told Natalia, they wanted to come tonight because they wouldn’t get a homecoming. Their school was on set, just the two of them. Kara had come to Tampa the week before to join some of the TCS girls looking for dresses at Lexi’s mom’s shop. Natalia enjoyed getting to know the extroverted star better. Natalia waited until the crowd dispersed before joining the celebrity couple.
“Hi, Kara.” Natalia hugged her new friend. “Chad, I’d like to introduce you to Brian Younger.”
The boys began talking about the show, school, and the
Bible. Natalia listened for a while and then turned to Kara. “Is Addy with you?”
“No. She and Jonathon will be here later.” Kara smiled. “They have to wait for Secret Service, you know.”
Natalia looked again at Brian, so handsome in his double-breasted suit and tie his mother had made to match her tangerine-colored dress. “I’m glad I don’t have a boyfriend who is famous.”
“Yes.” Kara winked at Natalia. “Tall pastors’ sons are more your style, right?”
“Definitely.”
Lexi stepped in between Natalia and Kara. “Kara.” She hugged the new celebrity. “I love the show. It is amazing. I don’t know how you don’t crack up all the time, though. The skits are so funny.”
“We do crack up all the time.” Kara took a drink from the table. “Whenever the camera cuts away from one of us, it’s because we’re laughing and we don’t want the viewers to see. You need to come to one of the live shows again. You’ll see it all then.”
“You got it, girl.” Lexi gave Kara a high five.
Natalia stood to the side and enjoyed the girls’ banter.
“So who’s your date?” Kara asked. “And I love the dress.”
Natalia agreed. Lexi had continued with the “Gramps and Gran” diet plan and looked fabulous in her electric blue cocktail dress that enhanced her curves.
“Thank you.” Lexi twirled around to show off her dress. “And I’m here with Jesus tonight. He’s a great date. Doesn’t care what I look like and loves me unconditionally.”
Natalia glanced around the room and saw the many
girls who, desperate for a date or a boyfriend, had forgotten that truth. “You are the best, Lexi.”
“I know.” Lexi put a hand on her hip. “Me and Jesus need some more of those little meatballs, though. Catch you later.”
“They’re playing our song.” Brian returned to Natalia and pointed to the dance floor set up under a white canopy in the backyard.
“We have a song?”
“We do now.” Brian pulled Natalia outside. The air was perfect, about seventy-five degrees with a slight breeze coming off the Gulf. Heaven. Until . . .
“Ours is a Justin Bieber song?” Natalia grimaced as they walked past the impossibly loud speaker. “Really?”
“Just go with it.” Brian wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
Natalia laid her head on Brian’s chest, listening to his heart beat and moving in time to the music. She thought back to the day she arrived in Tampa, confused, unsure, wanting to get back on a plane to Madrid. She thought of Maureen’s depression and her struggles with school and the culture, even the language.
Then she thought of the ESL group, the girls in her Bible study, her trip to Costa Rica. And Brian. Who would have known that one decision to get on a plane with her stepmother would have led to this? God had given her a purpose, a future, and a hope. He had replaced her fears with truth and given her far more than she ever thought she deserved.
“What are you thinking?” Brian pulled Natalia away and looked into her eyes.
“I am thinking that God is very good. Look at all he’s done in just the last few months.”
“It is amazing.” Brian stepped closer to Natalia. “But this is only the beginning.”
1. Natalia’s story is loosely based on Ruth. What parts of the biblical story did you see in
Right Where I Belong
?
2. Natalia moves from Spain to Florida. What difficulties does she face in making that move? If you had to make a major move, what would you miss the most?
3. As a pastor’s son, Brian has faced greater scrutiny than some of his friends. Do you know any pastors’ kids? Do they feel that way too?
4. Some of the girls at Natalia’s school meet weekly to study the Bible together. How does that help them? Are you part of a small group like that?
5. Divorce has affected many characters in this book. Discuss which characters’ struggles you most identified with and why.
6. Maureen is struggling with depression through much of the story. Have you ever known someone who is depressed? If so, how did you respond to that person?
7. Natalia and Brian help with the ESL ministry at their church. Are you involved in any ministries? What are they? If not, is there one you are interested in being part of?
8. When the group goes to Costa Rica, they spend part of their time working with missionary kids. Have
you ever known any missionary kids? What do you think would be difficult about going with your parents to serve God in another country? What would be exciting about it?
9. Spencer is an interesting character. What brings about change in him? Do you think he’ll stick to the commitment he made in Costa Rica? Why or why not?
10. Natalia learns that God gives good gifts to his children. But it takes awhile for this lesson to really sink in. Why is this something some people have a hard time believing?
I
always leave little pieces of myself in my novels. Writers have to do that. We can only write what we know. But in this book, I left huge chunks of me. I’ve been Natalia and I’ve been Maureen. I’ve even had my “Spencer” moments. Our family attended that language school in Costa Rica. A few years later we took a group down there to run a VBS for the missionary kids, just like a group had done for us when we were there. I’ve walked the cobbled streets of Madrid, and I still remember getting on the Metro that last time and crying, praying that God would give me friends as I left that beautiful city and prepared to move back to Tampa.
And God answered that prayer for me just like he answered Natalia’s prayer. I teach at a school very much like Tampa Christian, where my students give me daily inspiration. They make me laugh and cry and, more than anything, they make me proud. I work with people who love Jesus and encourage others to do the same. I attend a church where God’s Word isn’t just taught, it is modeled. I am part of a Bible study with other women who encourage and challenge me to live a life that is pleasing to my Savior. I can only write what I know. I want to write truth and encouragement. These students, coworkers, and friends breathe truth
and encouragement into my life so that, hopefully, I can pass that on to you, my readers.
I am incredibly blessed to be working with the Thomas Nelson Fiction Team. Amanda Bostic and Becky Monds are fantastic. They give me ideas, help, and hope when I am floundering. Julee Schwarzburg comes in and cleans up all my messes. You’d think an English teacher wouldn’t leave modifiers dangling or use the word
look
583 times. And thanks to Julee, you don’t have to know. Except that now you do.
My husband, Dave, and my kids, Emma, Ellie, and Thomas, are my greatest ministry and, behind Jesus, my highest priority. I am a blessed wife and a blessed mama.
But the reason that I write, that I teach, that I get up each day is to bring glory to Jesus Christ. My prayer is that those who read my books will see that though the characters are fictional, the God they serve is not. He is real and active in our lives. He loves us more than we can fathom, and his plans for our lives are far better than any plans we can dream up on our own.
