Finally & Forever (3 page)

How could she describe what she was observing right now? Then she knew.

Eli was home.

Before either of them moved forward to put a foot on the narrow entry porch, the door handle clicked, and the front door began to open.

Katie drew in her breath. This was it. This was the moment she had anticipated and dreaded. She was about to meet Eli’s parents.

T
he stone cottage’s door opened, and lights snapped on inside and out. Eli’s dad emerged, and the moment he saw his son, he shouted, “Elisha!” His arms were around him in an instant. They embraced each other with manly pats on the back, firm handshakes, and then another strong embrace.

Eli’s mom appeared in the doorway and rushed to him with no words, only a gush of tears. She kissed his face, held him, and laughed softly as Eli’s dad circled both of them with a big hug.

In the light flooding the entryway, Katie could see the expressions of pure delight on his parents’ faces. She had never seen anyone greet a grown child with such spontaneous joy. What made the homecoming even more winsome was that both of them were in their pajamas and looked as if they quickly had flung on their robes in the race to the front door when they heard the luggage wheels clacking on the walkway.

Katie had been hanging back in the shadows, not wanting to interrupt this moment. She still wasn’t sure how Eli’s parents would react when they saw her. She didn’t have to wait long to find out. Eli’s mom looked up, and the instant she saw Katie, she broke into a huge smile.

“Katie.” She spoke the name as if it were a statement. A discovery. She put her hand on her heart and drew in a short gasp. “You came.” Her exclamation was barely above a whisper.

The moment Katie heard her name spoken with such an expression of acceptance and love, she felt her fears dissipate. She knew she was welcome in this place.

Eli’s dad drew back and expressed much more surprise than his wife had at the sight of their unexpected guest. “Katie?”

“Yeah, this is Katie,” Eli said casually. “She followed me home. May I keep her?”

Eli’s unexpected joke sent Katie into a round of nervous laughter as she received hugs from Eli’s mom and dad followed by a splash of her own tears.

“Come in, please.” Eli’s mom reached for Katie’s carry-on and slipped her arm through Katie’s, leading her across the doorstep into their small bungalow. Mrs. Lorenzo’s short, silver-gray hair was sticking straight up in the back, as if she had fallen asleep with the back of her head smushed against a sofa cushion. Everything about her shape, haircut, and gait suggested quiet efficiency, as if she were a woman who didn’t need a lot of fuss to get her up and going in the morning. Katie could relate to that sort of low-maintenance lifestyle.

In the flurry of all the hugs, the wound on Katie’s lower shoulder had been bumped and was sore. She knew that if she took off her sweatshirt in the warm house, she would have an issue with the drooping right side of her busted bra and the bloodstained back of her T-shirt. Not to mention the odors her nervous body had mustered during all her travels. The scent would be obvious if she lifted her arms without the barrier the sweatshirt provided. Not a good way to make a first impression.

Eli and his dad brought in the rest of the luggage as his mom cleared a stack of papers and books from the worn couch that was more of a loveseat than a regular-sized sofa. “Have a seat, Katie. I’ll bring some tea. Do you like tea?”

“I love tea.”

“Good, that’s very good.” She disappeared around the corner into what Katie could see was a narrow kitchen. Katie could hear her making swift preparations.

“Do you need some help, Mrs. Lorenzo?” Katie called out.

“No, you just sit. This will only take a minute. And please, call me Cheryl.”

Katie glanced around at the disheveled room. The space was small and cluttered with an abundance of stacked boxes and files.

“We’re moving our offices,” Eli’s dad said.

Katie looked up and realized he had caught her scanning the orderly chaos.

“We take possession of our new space next week. You’re here just in time to help us make the move.” He smiled warmly.

“I would be glad to help.”

What surprised Katie the most about Eli’s dad was how white his short hair was. The photos Katie had seen on the clean water website must have been taken when he was younger and still had brown hair like Eli’s. He had a trim moustache and goatee. Even in his pajamas and robe with the big side pockets and tie hanging all the way down on one side, he looked distinguished.

Eli left the luggage inside the door by a tall bookcase, and, making room on the couch, he settled in next to Katie, putting his arm across the back of the cushion. It felt just right. He seemed to be making it clear to his parents that the two of them were “together,” while at the same time giving Katie room to breathe in her warm sweatshirt.

Eli’s dad took a straight-backed chair from beside the table covered with lamps, books, and folders and positioned the seat across from the sofa. That left the best spot in the room, a fairly new-looking leather recliner, open for Eli’s mom when she returned carrying a tray with stacked teacups, teaspoons, and a plate of shortbread cookies. She placed the tray on top of the nicked up steamer trunk that served as a coffee table.

“Go ahead and have a biscuit. I’ll be right back with the chai.”

Eli reached for the plate of cookies and politely offered them to Katie first. She took a nibble. His mom returned, and Katie watched as a surreal tea party unfolded in front of her. If Alice felt befuddled at the Mad Hatter’s party, Katie felt equally off guard sitting in a stone
cottage in Africa holding up a rose-rimmed china teacup and saucer. Eli’s mother stood in front of her in a fuzzy, pale pink robe with one collar of her pajama top sticking out at the neck as she poured tea for Katie from a floral china teapot.

Katie thanked her and took a sip. It wasn’t chai, or at least it wasn’t what Katie called chai. This tasted like a sweet tea latte. Warm and soothing.

Eli’s mom poured the other three cups of tea and settled into the recliner. “So, tell us.” She looked relaxed and at the same time full of anticipation as she focused her attention on Eli and Katie.

Katie looked at Eli. Clearly his parents wanted to hear the story of how it happened that she was now sitting in their home beside their son. Since they appeared to be so unconcerned about their appearance, Katie felt as if she could be equally relaxed. Even though she didn’t want to compare this moment to the first time she and Rick sat down to talk with his parents, the comparison was impossible for her to ignore. The differences between the two encounters were worlds apart. Literally.

Eli calmly sipped his tea. He dipped his chin to Katie in a nod, as if handing off the story to her.

“Well, as you know, I just graduated from Rancho with Eli, and I wasn’t sure what to do next. I kept praying and thinking, and I don’t know if I can explain how it all fell into place, but I decided to come. Here. To help. To work with you guys, wherever you need help.”

“When?” Eli’s mom asked.

“I can start tomorrow morning.”

“No, I meant when did you decide to come?”

“Last night. Or, well, whatever day that was. Two nights ago, I guess. It was the night before Eli’s flight. I was at the home of some friends —”

“Todd and Christy,” Eli filled in. His mom and dad nodded, and Katie remembered that Todd and Eli had worked together on an outreach project a number of years ago in Spain.

“Yes, Todd and Christy. She’s been my best friend since high school. They helped me think through the decision to come,” Katie explained. “It was only a few hours before Eli’s flight took off, and I knew this was an opportunity I needed to respond to, and so I did.” Her mind felt mushed, and she knew her words weren’t coming out as confidently and clearly as she wanted them to.

“She showed up at the airport, and it was a complete surprise,” Eli said. “I was checking the board for my departure gate, and when I looked over, there she was. I knew the only reason Katie would be there was if she was coming to Africa with me.”

“What did you do?” Eli’s mom leaned forward.

Eli looked at Katie and then back at his parents. He said plainly, “I told her if she was sure, then I was going to kiss her.”

Katie blushed. She could never talk this openly with her parents.

“And?” his mom prompted.

“She said she was sure. So I kissed her.”

Eli’s mom leaned back and smiled a closed-lip smile, as if she had just watched the end of her favorite movie and was about as content as she could be with the conclusion.

Katie could think of only a few people whom she felt this sort of acceptance from. Eli’s parents weren’t as she had expected them to be. She anticipated that they would be nice, innovative, and courageous since they had spent their married life in Africa. But she didn’t expect to feel so instantly connected and welcomed into their family.

“It’s true that I came because of Eli. But more than that, I came to serve. I want to help in any way I can. So put me to work.”

Eli’s mom balanced her teacup on her lap, nestling it in the folds of her robe. “There will be plenty for you to do and plenty of time to do it. We appreciate your willing spirit, Katie. And we will put you to work. But not right away. First you need to let your body and your spirit be reset to the African rhythm of life. It’s different than in California. You need to settle in. Find your heartbeat. Then we’ll put you to work.”

“We’re glad you’re here, Katie,” Eli’s dad added. “Very glad.”

“Thank you. I’m glad I’m here too.” She stole a glance at Eli. He winked at her. Katie couldn’t remember if she had ever seen him wink before. If she had, she had a feeling she would remember. It was adorable. She tried to wink back but had a feeling the gesture turned out looking more like a nervous tic, because she blinked twice, and both times she felt her lips involuntarily go up.

“I think it’s too late to set up Katie in a room in Building A,” Mr. Lorenzo said. “What do you think about giving her Eli’s room?”

“Please don’t go to any trouble. I can sleep on the couch,” Katie said. Then she realized the couch was where she and Eli were seated at the moment, and it wasn’t long enough to stretch out on. It didn’t matter. She was so tired, she felt as if she could fall asleep sitting up.

“No, you take the bed, Katie. I’ll sleep on a mat.” Eli placed his emptied teacup on the top of the steamer trunk.

Within a quick twenty minutes, everything was arranged, and all of them were off to bed with wishes for good sleep for everyone and promises to catch up in the morning.

Katie was given a bath towel, a washcloth, and an invitation to take a shower if she wanted. She decided to wait until morning and crawled into bed still wearing what she had worn for the past two days, sweatshirt and all, although she did remove her broken bra.

The twin bed had a fitted sheet on the mattress but no top sheet and only a single blanket. The temperature in the room was cool because of the walls that looked as if they were some sort of rock or cement block. The room was packed with computer screens, file cabinets, and stacked boxes. All she had was a narrow trail to reach the bed, but that was all she needed. Everything else could wait until morning. Katie closed her eyes and smiled to herself as she repeated a line from a movie that had become a favorite of hers long ago, “I dreamed of Africa.”

And she was pretty sure she would.

The birds woke her long before she was ready to wake up. The cry coming from outside the closed window was like no other birdcall she had ever heard before. It began with what sounded like
tee-oo
,
tee-oo
,
tee-oo
. The cry was repeated exactly three times and followed by a pause. Then, just when it seemed that peace and quiet had returned, the sharp cry sounded again, the same as before, exactly three times.

Katie tried to roll over, but when she did, a searing pain shot through her wounded shoulder. She realized she should have taken a shower last night or at least washed the wound.

Grabbing some clean clothes from her duffel bag that was balanced on top of a stack of boxes, she took her towel and washcloth and slipped into the bathroom. The shower handles worked differently than anything she had experienced before, and it took her a while to figure out the system. Once she did, she was surprised and happy to feel warm water coming out of the showerhead. What a luxury to wash her hair and let the tiny pellets of warm water minister to her back and clean her small wound. She tried to look at it in the mirror but only got a partial view. It didn’t seem like much now that the dried blood was rinsed off. She dressed and tried to adjust her strap so that it didn’t hit right on the place where the metal clasp had punctured her.

Exiting the bathroom with her hair wrapped up in a bath towel, Katie nearly ran into Eli’s mom, who stood beside the door and seemed to be waiting patiently for her turn in the bathroom.

“Hope I wasn’t in there too long.”

“No, not at all. You’re just fine.” Her voice was low, and Katie guessed the guys might still be sleeping, which seemed impossible the way the sunlight was flooding through the windows and the birds were in full chorus mode outside.

“Are you ready for some coffee or chai? I haven’t started any yet, but you’re welcome to poke around in the kitchen and help yourself to anything you see that you would like.”

“Thanks.” Katie started to walk away and then asked, “What do you like in the morning? Should I make something for all of us?”

“That would be lovely, Katie. Jim is a coffee drinker in the morning. Eli used to be; I don’t know if he still is. I prefer chai.”

“Okay.” Katie put away her clothes and padded on bare feet into the kitchen. It was the least cluttered room in the bungalow and had the least amount of appliances and kitchen kitsch of any apartment she had been in for a long time.

If I had moved into the apartment in the same complex as Christy and Todd, like I had planned, this is what my kitchen would look like. Bare bones basic
.

She filled the teakettle on the two-burner stove and realized she needed a match to start the flame. The kitchen filled with the scent of propane, which she remembered smelling on some of the camping trips she had taken in the past with Christy, Todd, and the youth group they worked with. Katie made a mental note to email Christy to tell her she had arrived safely and all was well. She made another mental note that she really should call her parents or at least send them a letter telling them where she was. Not that she thought it would matter. But somebody should know what she had done, where she was. Somebody besides Todd and Christy.