A Match Made in Dry Creek (17 page)

“Which leaves us to chaperone—” Charley lifted his eyebrow and glanced in the direction of the living room. He didn't need to say anything more. “Not that they need a chaperone.”

“Doris June will always be my baby.”

“It's taken them a long time to get together.”

“Love requires patience,” Mrs. Hargrove said.

Charley blushed at that, although he consoled himself with the thought that his face was weathered enough that no one would notice. He had already figured out
that love required patience. He had decided to take a clue from his son's disastrous first courtship with Doris June and to be patient. The Hargrove women had to make their own decisions about when they were ready for romance and he wasn't going to push Edith on the subject.

“I thought they'd at least have come out for a second helping of your pineapple upside-down cake,” Charley finally said.

“Would you like more?”

“Don't mind if I do,” Charley said. He wouldn't lose any weight by being patient, that was for sure. Lasagna might be Curt's favorite, but the pineapple upside-down cake was for him.

Mrs. Hargrove dished up another serving of dessert for Charley and watched him eat it. Then she put the bowl in the sink and looked at the clock. It had all only taken fifteen minutes.

“Well, I can't stand it,” Mrs. Hargrove finally announced as she stood up and walked into the dining room. From there she could see through the doorway into the living room. She frowned at what she saw. The ceiling light was shining brightly and no one had even bothered to close the door between the dining room and the living room.

Mrs. Hargrove had vowed to not interfere in her daughter's love life again, but sometimes a mother's hand was needed. She didn't even have to look into the
living room. All she needed to do was slip her hand around the doorjamb so she could flip off the overhead light and shut the door.

Doris June and Curt were sitting on the sofa in the living room. They had sneaked out of the house for a quick evening walk down to their sign and they had just sat back down again when the living room was plunged into darkness.

“Is something wrong with a fuse?” Doris June asked, until she saw that the small table lamp in the corner was still on.

Curt shook his head. “I saw a hand reach in and switch the light off. And close the door, too.”

Doris June nodded as she settled back into the curve of Curt's arm. “My mother.”

“I guess she approves.”

“Well, we did miss out on a lot of dates,” Doris June said. “She's just moving us along.”

“Hey, I'm not rushing any of those dates,” Curt said as he bent down to kiss Doris June fully on the lips. “What year are we working on by now anyway?”

“We're up to 1992,” Doris June said.

“Ah,” Curt said as he bent to kiss her again. “That's a good year.”

“They're all good years,” Doris June said as she leaned in for another kiss.

1. The Hargrove and Nelson parents faced a challenge when they heard their two seventeen-year-old children were attempting to elope. What do you think you would do in that situation?
   
2. After the parents stopped the elopement, the Hargroves decided to send Doris June away to live with an aunt. Mrs. Hargrove also refused to give Doris June's new address to Curt, but she later regretted this. Do you think Mrs. Hargrove overreacted? Why or why not?
   
3. Have you ever regretted the way you handled a decision, either as a parent or in some other area of your life? What did you do in your situation? What do you think Mrs. Hargrove could have done?
   
4. Mrs. Hargrove and Charlie decided decades after the elopement to try to bring their two children together again. Have you ever tried to correct a decision you made? What did you do?
   
5. Looking at the story from Curt's point of view, he would say his greatest weakness in life was impatience. Have you ever been impatient for God to act in your life? When and where?
   
6. Put yourself in Doris June's shoes. She obeyed her parents, knowing this is what God would have her do, and things did not turn out as she expected. Have you had something similar happen in your life? How did you feel?
   
7. Do you think Doris June was right to accept her parents' decision that she move away and not see Curt? Why or why not?
   
8. Is there ever a time when a child under eighteen should disobey a parent?
   
9. What does it mean for an adult child to honor his/her parents?
   
10. Is there anything else you have learned from
    A Match Made in Dry Creek?