Katie was already seated next to the far window. Christy slid in next to her. and Todd squeezed in next to Christy.
"Oh, I should have let you sit in front, Todd," Marti said as Bob pulled into the street. "You can sit here on the way home. There"s much more room."
Marti chattered all the way to church, apparently wanting to prove she was comfortable in this new experience. Todd"s church was big and open. The people were friendly and casual. Many of them wore shorts to church, which seemed to shock Aunt Marti.
Doug had saved a row of seats for them. Marti kept chattering even after the service began, and Christy felt sorry for Katie, who was sitting next to Aunt Marti.
Todd and Doug had no trouble partic.i.p.ating in the worship. Christy loved standing between the two of them and hearing their deep, rich voices blend on the praise choruses. She sang her heart out too. On the last song, Doug and Todd each held one of her hands. Christy was surprised at first, but then she noticed a lot of people were joining hands across the aisles. She peeked over at Bob and Marti. They were holding hands, but neither was singing.
I hope this church isn"t too contemporary for them, Christy thought. She noticed that the congregation was a mixture of older and younger people. Plenty of people were Bob and Marti"s age. She would love for them to become involved in the church and come to know the Lord personally. It had been her longtime prayer, and now they were actually here, in church, and she didn"t want anything to turn them off.
After the singing, everyone sat down, and the pastor took his place on the platform. Instead of standing behind a podium, he perched on a stool and held his open Bible in one hand. His words of teaching were strong, yet compa.s.sionate. He spoke with gentle authority. Christy closed her eyes for a moment and pictured Jesus teaching this way, urgently, lovingly coaxing people to turn their lives toward G.o.d.
She could imagine Todd being the same kind of teacher as this man. And she could imagine her aunt and uncle responding to the message and giving their hearts to Christ.
During the final portion of the message, the pastor read a verse about how there"s no greater love than when a man lays down his life for his friend. He said that was what Jesus did for us, and we show we are truly His disciples when we obey G.o.d to the point of giving up that which is most precious to us.
Christy immediately thought of Katie giving up her relationship with Michael because she knew G.o.d wanted her to. Christy hoped Katie would be encouraged by this pastor"s words and know that she had done the right thing. She also thought the message should be particularly convincing to Bob and Marti.
At the end of the service, the pastor prayed. He said if any individuals wanted to give their lives to the Lord, this was a good time to silently pray, confess their sins, and invite Christ to take over their lives. Christy prayed for Bob and Marti like she had never prayed before.
When they all went out to lunch afterward, Christy couldn"t wait to ask how they liked the service. As soon as they were seated at the large booth, Christy turned to Marti and said, "Did you like the church? Wasn"t the message great?"
Marti studied her menu and gave a noncommittal grunt.
"It was different than I expected," Bob said. "He"s not the usual black-robed, pulpit-pounding kind of preacher."
"And what kind of church music was that?" Marti peered over the top of her menu and shook her head. "Guitars and drums! The church I grew up in had an organ. That"s proper church music. And that so-called pastor didn"t even wear a tie! How does he think people are going to respect his position as a clergyman when he stands up there-or sits up there-looking like one of the original Beach Boys?"
Christy and Todd exchanged glances. Apparently Marti had heard none of the message. She was too distracted by the music and the pastor"s appearance. Something inside Christy"s heart sank all the way to her big toe. This had been the perfect opportunity for her aunt and uncle to become Christians. But the prospect of either of them making such a decision seemed doubtful. It depressed her. She glanced at her menu but didn"t feel hungry for anything now.
"They have a Lighter Fare column here." Marti directed Katie to the back of the menu. "I can recommend any of their salads. Be sure to order your dressing on the side, and don"t order the house dressing. I understand it"s made with sour cream. Terribly fattening."
Katie skipped the Lighter Fare column and stuck with the hamburger column. When the waitress came to take their order, Katie went first. "I"ll have the double cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake."
Marti started to laugh. "You have such a fresh sense of humor, Katie dear."
Katie remained straight-faced.
"She"ll have the Hawaiian fruit salad," Marti told the waitress. "And I"ll have the same. Dressing on the side for both of us."
"I"m having the cheeseburger," Katie said to the waitress, ignoring Marti"s shocked stare. "And could you please add some bacon to that?"
"Katie"s come back to the real world." Doug leaned across the table and confided in Bob loudly enough for Marti to hear. "It happened yesterday. I admit, I led her to this destruction with a Fantasia ice cream cone."
"You should be ashamed of yourself," Marti said. She was taking this loss of her health food comrade seriously. "Do you realize, Doug, that it will take her a week to detox from what you let her eat yesterday, and now this-beef and pork and sugar all in one meal!"
Before Marti could rage anymore, the waitress asked, "Would the rest of you like to order, or should I come back?"
"No, we"re ready," Bob said. He ordered a patty melt with extra onions. Doug ordered a french dip with a side of onion rings. Todd ordered a turkey sandwich with potato salad, and then it was Christy"s turn. She still didn"t know what she wanted.
"What is your soup today?" she asked, stalling for time.
"Cream of mushroom and vegetable beef barley."
Both of those gave her the shivers. Now she really didn"t know what she wanted, and everyone was waiting for her. Christy hated making decisions. This kind of situation had never been her strength. The worst part was, the only thing that sounded good to her was the Hawaiian salad. But how would it appear if she ordered that after Katie refused it?
"I guess I"ll just have the, um..." Christy hesitated. Oh well. What does it matter? "I"ll have the Hawaiian fruit salad."
"Dressing on the side?" the waitress asked.
"Sure. That"s fine." Christy closed the menu and handed it to the waitress, fully aware of her aunt"s puzzled look.
Christy"s choice must have thrown Marti for such a loop that she didn"t continue her lecture when the waitress left. Doug jumped right in and began to tell Bob about the highlights of their Disneyland excursion. Katie joined him, and soon a spirited conversation was in full swing around the table.
Todd reached over and grasped Christy"s hand under the table. He squeezed it, and she squeezed his back. Instantly, the warm feelings she had experienced at Disneyland returned. An invisible bond seemed to encircle Todd and Christy in their own private bubble. Nothing, Christy was confident, could ever burst it.
"Good-bye, now" Bob patted the side of Christy"s car as she and Katie waved at him, ready to drive home after their full weekend.
"Call us when you get home," Marti added. "And drive safely. Do you both have your seat belts on?"
"Yes," Christy called out from her open window. "We"re all set. We"ll be fine." She slipped the car into gear and eased away from the curb.
"You really don"t want to leave yet, do you?" Katie questioned as Christy glanced at her waving aunt and uncle"s reflection in the rearview mirror.
"The weekend went too fast," Christy answered with a sigh. "I wish I could have spent some more time with Todd."
"He"s coming down to your house next weekend. You can live till then."
Christy couldn"t tell if Katie was teasing or being sarcastic. Katie seemed to have made considerable progress in recovering from the loss of Michael after her emotional release at Disneyland. Still. Christy couldn"t help but wonder if a few more tears weren"t left inside Katie. Christy decided to redirect the conversation.
"There are some CDs in a box under the seat. Do you want to find us some traveling music?"
Katie reached for the box. "What do you want to listen to?" Then, before she lifted the lid, Katie said, "Oh, wait! I have a new CD in my backpack. Doug gave it to me."
"Doug gave it to you?"
"Yeah, this morning in the parking lot after church. He said it had some songs he really liked, and he thought I might like them too. Wasn"t that nice of him?" Katie unlatched her seat belt and knelt on the front seat, reaching into the luggage in the back.
"Careful." Christy checked her rearview mirror, which was filled with the reflection of Katie"s backside. "Try to hurry, okay?"
It was dusk. Christy turned on her lights and gingerly merged into the traffic on Pacific Coast Highway.
"Where is that thing?" Katie leaned farther into the backseat.
Christy wanted to say to Katie, as if she were a child, "Sit back down right this instant! Don"t you realize how dangerous that is?" But instead she nibbled on her lower lip and checked her side mirror. To her horror she saw blue flashing lights.
"Katie... is that a policeman behind us?"
Katie popped her head up, checked the car behind them, and with a friendly wave said, "Yep, looks like he"s trying to get your attention. Hey, Mr. Policeman!"
Just then the siren went on, and Christy felt her heart stop. "What do I do? What do I do?" she sputtered.
Katie twisted around and plopped back in her seat. "Relax! You didn"t do anything wrong. Pull over to the right. Where"s your registration? In here?" She opened the glove compartment and began to shuffle through the papers as Christy nervously pulled the car over to the side of die road and rolled down her window before turning off the engine.
"Now what do I do?"
"Wait and be cool. He"ll come to you."
"Should I get out my license? Where"s my purse?"
"Relax! It"s right here," Katie said, handing Christy her purse. "And here"s Mr. Policeman."
Christy turned to face a stern-looking man who leaned on the window rim and peered in the car, taking a good look at Katie.
"Good evening, officer," Katie said with a smile.
The policeman looked at Christy and said. "May I see your license and registration, please?"
"It"s right here," Christy handed him her whole wallet.
"All I need is your license. Would you mind taking it out?"
"Oh, sure. Sorry." Christy fumbled with her wallet while Katie thumbed through a small stack of papers she had pulled from the glove compartment.
"Here"s the registration." Katie held out the paper to the officer before Christy had managed to pull her license out of her wallet.
The officer waited.
"I almost have it," Christy said with a nervous laugh. Her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely get a grip on the slick piece of paper. "There." She handed it to the officer. He looked the papers over and then pulled a pad of paper out of his back pocket.
Just then a garbled message came over his car radio. He said something about staying put and walked back to his car. Christy closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
"Why are you so stressed?" Katie said. "You probably have a taillight out or something. It"s nothing. Relax."
When Christy opened her eyes, she was aware of all the cars zooming past them. She felt certain all those people were laughing at her, snickering at her embarra.s.sment. This was awful.
"Okay, Miss Miller," the officer said, striding up to her car. "You lucked out. I have to respond to this call right away." He handed her papers back and quickly looked into the car, making eye contact with Katie. "I suggest you put your seat belt on and keep it on. The next officer might not be in such a hurry." He rushed back to the patrol car, turned on the lights and siren, and pulled out into the traffic.
Still quivering, Christy crammed the papers and wallet into her purse and turned the car on.
"What was that supposed to mean?" Katie said.
"You didn"t have your seat belt on," Christy said sharply. "I almost got a ticket because you didn"t have a seat belt on."
"It was only for a minute. I was going to put it back on after I found the CD."
Christy took her time pulling back into the traffic flow.
"Are you sure that"s what the problem was?" Katie asked defensively.
"Yes."
"Well, then why didn"t you tell me there was a policeman behind us? I wouldn"t have been so obvious about retrieving the stuff in the backseat."
"It doesn"t matter if a policeman is there or not. You"re supposed to keep your seat belt on," Christy snapped back.
"Okay, okay, it"s on." She clicked it hard for added emphasis. "Man, you would think you actually got a ticket the way you"re acting!"
"But I could have."
"But you didn"t!"
"But I almost did!"
"But," Katie spoke each word firmly, "you didn"t."
Several minutes pa.s.sed before Christy broke the stubborn silence. "I"m sorry, Katie. I was nervous. It really freaked me out."
"No, it"s my fault. You"re right. Just because we didn"t suffer a consequence this time doesn"t mean I did the right thing by taking off my seat belt. Like the guy said, we lucked out. Or should we say it was a G.o.d-thing?"
Christy shot a smile at Katie. It was nice to hear Katie use her old favorite phrase and call something a G.o.d-thing. It was good to have Katie back.
"Pull in there." Katie said, pointing to a convenience store on the right side of the road.
Christy made the turn and parked in front of the brightly lit store. "Good idea. I should call my parents and tell them where we are."
"I need something to drink. How about you?" Katie asked.
"Sure. I could go for some juice."
"I"ll get it for you." Katie pushed open the store"s door and greeted the clerk with a friendly h.e.l.lo as if she knew him.
Christy dialed her home. She decided to save the part about being stopped by a policeman until she got home and only told her mom they were just past Laguna Beach. Mom gave all the usual instructions about being careful, and Christy said, "Don"t worry, Mom. We will."
"Ready?" Katie exited the store with a bottle of orange juice in one hand and a bag in the other.
Christy nodded and unlocked Katie"s door. They crawled in, and as Christy started up the car, Katie said, "I picked up a few supplies for the rest of the journey home. Are you ready for a Twinkie?"
"A Twinkie? Do you know how long it"s been since I"ve seen you with a Twinkie in your hand?"
"Yes." Katie tore off the clear wrapper and sank her teeth into the yellow sponge cake. "Too long." There was a dot of white frosting on her top lip.
Christy laughed. "It"s nice having you back, Katie. I"ll take one of those Twinkies if you have enough."
"Enough?" Katie said, opening the grocery bag and holding it up so Christy could see inside. At least eight packages of a variety of non-Michael-approved junk food lurked inside.
Katie handed Christy an opened Twinkie. She then pulled out a bag of chips for herself. "Let"s hope my next boyfriend, if there ever is one, is a connoisseur of the finer things in life. Like Doritos. Cool Ranch flavored." With that she chomped down on the chip in her mouth.