Take Two (20 page)

“Not me.” He leaned in and kissed her softly. “It’s what God wants. Every prayer we’ve lifted to Him, He’s answering for us.
You watch.” His eyes shone. “We’re going to do this, baby. We’re going to change the world with the power of film. God’s letting
it happen.”

“Then … I’ll keep praying.” It was the one thing she could do, even when she didn’t feel like talking to God. She would pray.
And maybe tomorrow she would toss the junk and try to eat better — salmon and broccoli, egg whites and vegetables, yogurt
and flaxseed. She knew the drill. Now she only had to want it badly enough to change.

Chase pulled his suitcase to the front door and gave them all another round of good-byes. “I’ll call when we get in tonight.”

“You’re staying at the Georgian again?” Kelly swung Macy up onto her hip.

“Yes. Same place, same room. Our home away from home.”

Turned out Ben Adams knew the owner of the Georgian, so now the guys were getting a much lower rate. A good thing, since their
savings were gone and they still had another few months of screenings before a studio might reimburse them for the money they’d
invested in
The Last Letter
. Chase hoped that if Brandon Paul liked the movie well enough, they’d get a screening with NTM’s home entertainment division,
and maybe the film giant would pick up the movie. It was one more area they were praying about.

Kelly, Molly, and Macy stood on the front step and waved as Chase drove away in his used four-door. The girls then wanted
to go out back and play on the swings. “Push us, Mommy! Please!” Kelly opened the door for them and promised to be out in
a few minutes. When she was alone, she pulled a bowl of M&Ms from the cupboard and set it on the counter. She needed energy
if she was going to handle another week of single parenting. She grabbed a small handful of the candies and popped them in
her mouth.

“Mommy!” Her girls squealed with delight as she came into view. The yard was small and boxy, the swing set a rusted leftover
from the last tenant. But the girls didn’t care. For them it was paradise, a playground within a few running steps of the
back door. “Push us, Mommy!” Molly was trying to pump her little legs, but she wasn’t getting very high.

“Push!” Macy was sitting in the swing next to her sister, clinging to the chains so she wouldn’t fall off.

“Hey, not fair. It’s my turn!” Molly whined and stuck out her lower lip.

“You’ll each get turns.” Kelly gave her oldest daughter a look. “You have to be patient with your sister.” Kelly pushed Macy
a minute or so, and then stepped to the side and pushed Molly. “See … you each get turns.”

While she pushed the girls, Kelly noticed that the yard was overgrown again. But the mower needed new blades or a tune-up.
One more thing they couldn’t afford. That, and both girls had dentist appointments tomorrow — which meant a fifteen-dollar
copay each. She blinked back tears as she kept pushing.
Dear God, I feel so overwhelmed. Please, help me get through this. I can’t do this by myself.

Precious daughter, you’re not alone. I am with you always.

The reminder rang clear and true across the lonely places in her heart. On the mission field she’d heard God’s voice constantly.
But here He was easily drowned out by the noise of merely living. Fresh peace cast light across the moment.
Thank You, Lord … for seeing me here, for caring.

“I’m swinging higher than you, Macy.” Molly stuck her chin out and kicked her feet high into the air.

“Nah-uh! I’m higher too!”

“Time for a break.” Kelly straightened and pressed her hand to her lower back. She hoped for another gentle whisper, but not
over the bickering of her little daughters. “Let’s go inside and color.”

The girls hesitated, but then they grinned at each other, slid down off the swings, and ran laughing into the house, their
petty arguments forgotten. Kelly raked her fingers through her shoulder-length dark hair and followed them.

Inside, Molly raced into the kitchen and immediately found the bowl of candy. “Hey!” She pointed to the bowl. “It’s M-a-Ms.”
She giggled. “That’s better than coloring, don’t you think so?”

Heat rushed to Kelly’s cheeks, but she recovered quickly. Molly didn’t understand the idea of hiding food, so she wouldn’t
connect the fact that candy was out now that Daddy was gone. “Candy’s for special times.” She slid the bowl toward the back
of the counter, partly behind a plant and definitely out of sight from the girls’ heights. She wanted her girls to eat healthy,
to grow up avoiding the junk food that had so often trapped Kelly. “Maybe a few pieces after lunch.”

“Mommm.” Molly’s whine was quick and incessant. “Please, can we have some now?”

“Later.” She put her hands on her hips. “And never if you keep whining like that.”

Molly took a few seconds to transition, but then she found her happiest, sweetest smile. “Okay, Mommy. Sorry about the whining.”

A half an hour of coloring and Kelly was settling the girls down in front of a rerun episode of
Bear in the Big Blue House
when the phone rang. Kelly spotted Chase’s phone number on the caller ID, and she smiled. Of course. He would be calling
to apologize for not realizing the sacrifices she was making. He was having all the fun, and she was doing the work. Certainly
an hour on the road would’ve been long enough to realize his mistake.

“Hello?” Her voice was pleasant, understanding. “Chase?”

“I’m sorry, babe.” He sounded more frustrated than repentant. “Kendall just called. She’s arranged a meeting with Brandon
and his agent for Friday — it’s the only day they’re both available.”

Her blood ran cold. “Molly’s birthday?”

“Yes.” His sigh rattled across the phone line. “I’m so sorry. Let’s celebrate it Sunday, after I get home.”

“She’s not two, Chase. She knows what day she turns five, and she’ll know you missed it.”

“What can I do?” His tone held an edge, as if he didn’t expect an argument. “I’d be there if I could, you know that. It’s
not like —”

“What?”

“Come on, Kelly.” A softness crept back into his voice. “I hate this as much as you do. It’s a sacrifice we need to make.”

“We
?” The week ahead loomed like a series of cloudy, gray afternoons without the slightest chance of sunshine. “Fine, Chase.
Whatever you have to do.”

For a long while he didn’t say anything. She could hear the rush of wind and traffic in the background, and finally he groaned
quietly. “I’m doing my best, baby. You gotta believe that.”

Molly and Macy were sitting in the living room, their arms around each other’s necks, glued to the TV. The three of them would
get through the week, and Kelly would have to come out whole on the other end. What choice did she have? She closed her eyes
and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I believe you.”

“Okay, then.” He sounded relieved. “Let’s talk later tonight.”

The conversation ended, and Kelly felt the beginning of tears. How could she explain that she didn’t want to run their home
by herself, that she was tired of being a single mom so much of the time. With all the great news about
The Last Letter
and
Unlocked
, there were still no guarantees. And every step of the way seemed to take Chase further from her, further from the simple
missionary life they’d once shared.

God … are You there? Really?
She sniffed and listened, but this time there was nothing. No response, no Bible verses to lend her wisdom or comfort or
peace. Suddenly she felt like running — fast and far, somewhere away from the aging little house. She wanted to open up to
Chase, but she wouldn’t think of telling him about her spiraling battle with discouragement. Depression, even. He wouldn’t
want to come home at all. But that meant she had little to say. Not to him, and not to herself. She grabbed another fistful
of M&Ms and downed them in a single motion. Then she walked to the back of the house, stared out the window, and cried. Not
just because of the dark place she’d worked her way into.

But because she no longer knew how to find her way to the light.

K
EITH WATCHED HIS FRIEND CLICK HIS
cell phone shut and drop it back down on the console between the two seats. A ripple of alarm wrapped around his heart and
tightened a little. “How’s she doing?” Keith was driving this first leg of the trip. He glanced at Chase, studying his frustration.

“Not happy.” Chase anchored his elbow on the window frame and let his head fall into his hands. “Sometimes I think she doesn’t
understand. The time away’s hard on me too.”

For a while, neither of them said anything. Then Keith took a long breath and stared at the road straight ahead. “My dad used
to tell me life was like an uncooked pizza crust.”

Chase gave him a side glance.

“Think about it.” Keith sat back in his seat, one hand on the wheel. There was no traffic, and this far out of San Jose the
afternoon was blue skies and mid-seventies. He adjusted his sunglasses. “You get one ball of dough for life, and you spend
your days rolling it out, making it go as far as it can possibly go.” He caught another look at Chase. “As you roll the dough,
little cracks develop along the edges. Fix them right away, and there’s no problem. But let them go and they’ll rip right
through the center of the crust.”

“That’s what your dad used to say?” Chase sounded tired.

“Smart man. Used to make homemade pizza for us once a week. Told the story just about every time.” Keith pictured his father,
rolling out the crust and stopping every minute or so to fix the edges. “Cracks are like that in pizza and in life. Catch
them early, or lose everything you worked for.”

Chase dropped his hands to his lap and narrowed his eyes. “Cracks.” He angled himself so he could see Keith better. “Like
the one between Kelly and me?”

“Exactly.” Keith didn’t want to make the moment too dramatic. Chase had been struggling in his relationship with Kelly for
a while now, and always they seemed to work things out. But if a crack was developing, now was the time to fix it. His expression
grew more serious. “Whatever you have to do, Chase, whatever it is, take care of the crack. You and Kelly, your marriage,
your family. It’s more important than the whole ball of dough. Know what I mean?”

Slowly, Chase nodded. He turned and looked out the side window and again there was quiet in the car. Keith was fine with the
lack of conversation. Maybe God was giving Chase a picture in his mind: the pizza maker, rolling out the dough and stopping
along the way to smooth out the cracks.

God, speak to him. Give him wisdom where Kelly is concerned. We’ve come too far to let this movie-making hurt things at home
for either of us. Please, God.

I am with you, Son. I am the strong tower you can run to in troubled times. I am here.

The silent answer resonated in Keith’s heart, the way it often did. He didn’t care if Chase thought the analogy about the
pizza crust a little hokey. It was a visual that worked, one that had stayed with Keith since his boyhood days. Keith wasn’t
truly worried about Chase’s marriage. Not now. But that was the beauty of saying something early. Trouble had been splintering
the edges for Chase and Kelly long enough. The time had come to do some mending, or watch something far worse develop.

A split that neither of them could repair.

C
HASE HARDLY BREATHED DURING THE SCREENING.
He could barely take in what was happening around him. He’d never been anywhere like Kendall’s house — a plush, expansive
tri-level with entire walls of glass, built into the Hollywood Hills. And sitting with him around the room were people he’d
once only read about. Kendall and her father, Ben; Stephanie Fitzgerald; and Brandon Paul. Even Luke Baxter had flown in for
the week of meetings, confident he could help on a number of levels.

Kelly had asked Chase if he ever felt like his life had become surreal. He’d told her no, that he wasn’t overwhelmed by the
glitz and glamour of everything happening around him. But here, every few seconds, Chase asked himself what in the world he
was doing rubbing elbows with some of the most powerful people in the industry.

The Last Letter
seemed to take twice as long to finish, and more than once Chase and Keith exchanged a look that said neither of them could
wait for feedback from the people watching. Everything about their future with
Unlocked
hinged on the next few hours.

Chase tried to relax and enjoy the film, but it was impossible.
God, it’s in Your hands. Let them love it, and give us success here. Please …

In response, Chase remembered one of his favorite Bible verses, something from Philippians chapter 4.
“Present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.”

Yes, that was it. He needed to place all his questions and fears in the hands of Christ, so that the peace of God would rule
over not only this moment but whatever other moments the night held. Success or not.

When the film finally ended, Chase noticed something he hadn’t before. Stephanie was crying. She wiped her fingers beneath
her eyes and for a long while the group sat in the dark, watching the credits and saying nothing. Stephanie found a tissue
from the coffee table and blew her nose. Then she turned to Chase and Keith and grinned bigger than anything she’d given at
their first meeting. “That —” She motioned with her elbow toward the large screen, “— was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”
She stood and went to Keith first, and then to Chase, hugging each of them and practically lifting them off the ground. “That’s
what I’m talking about! I knew you were the right guys. Everything I’d seen and read told me that — your skill and determination,
your talent and your faith.” She stepped back and let out a loud victory cry. “Thank you, Jesus! We got nothing but sunshine
and clear skies ahead.
Unlocked
is going to be amazing!”