Abound in Love (10 page)

“Hi,
Stephanie,” he said, and then waved at her family across the restaurant.  They
waved in return.  “David,” he called, pointing a finger at Stephanie’s husband,
“I want a rematch next week.”

“They
play basketball together at church,” Stephanie explained.  “Well, I’ll let you
two get back to your dinner,” she said, but embraced Laura again, holding on
tightly for a long moment.  When she released her, Laura saw that tears
threatened to flow again.

Laura
squeezed her hand, and they nodded at one another, as if sharing a silent communication. 

“You
were always my angel.  I don’t know what I would have done without you,”
Stephanie whispered.  “I really don’t.”

Laura
watched as she hurried off to join her family.  She smiled wistfully and
uttered a silent prayer of gratitude to God, on behalf of her old friend.

When
she sat back down on the booth, she said simply, “We were good friends a long
time ago.”

Dalton
eased back against the padded booth and caught her gaze.  “You were her only
friend.”  He shook his head sadly.  “Thank God you were there for her.”

Laura
shook her head uncertainly.  What was Dalton talking about?  Nobody, but her,
had known the hell Stephanie had gone through as a young girl new to the high
school.

  
“Stephanie is a rape counselor now,” he told her.  “She speaks at different
police and sheriff’s departments, as well as at high schools, about her own
personal experience, and also, gives attendees insight as to how to best treat
the victims of violent crime.”

Laura’s
eyes widened in surprise.  “She does?”

“Yes.” 
He watched her intently again, and she shifted under his scrutiny.  He ran a
hand through his hair.  “I’ll never forget when she arrived at the high
school—what?  Seven months pregnant and looking terrified.  I understand she’d
been forced to leave her old school because she’d been the object of
speculation and ridicule.”

He
sighed and she saw the pain in his eyes when he spoke again.  “And, she comes
to our school, and it began all over again for her—the name calling, the
rumors…”

Laura
nodded.  She remembered.  She was suddenly transported back in time.  She saw
Stephanie in her mind’s eyes—a beautiful, petite girl, all belly—standing in
the cafeteria and holding a tray, glancing around as if trying to decide where
to sit.  She’d finally selected a seat, only to have the kids there tell her
the seat was taken.

Laura,
two years younger, but only a year behind in school, had stood up from her
chair and crossed the cafeteria.  She had invited her to join her at her
table.  Stephanie had smiled gratefully, and they had sat together, along with
Laura’s other friends, for the duration of Laura’s sophomore year. 

“Stephanie
told us what you did for her,” Dalton said, interrupting her thoughts.

Laura
met his gaze.

“She
told us how you interceded on her behalf anytime anyone said anything cruel to
her.  She told us how you prayed with her when she was feeling at her lowest. 
She also told us her story.”

Tears
sprung to Laura’s eyes as she remembered Stephanie confiding in her the truth
behind her pregnancy.  She had been raped by the friend of her older brother. 
Her parents had been out one evening, and she’d been home alone with her
brother.  He’d invited several friends over to play video games.  One of the
boys had excused himself from the group and entered Stephanie’s bedroom.  She
was only fifteen at the time.   

When
her pregnancy had become evident, Stephanie’s schoolmates had taunted her,
calling her horrible names, and suggesting she’d been promiscuous, when she’d
been anything but.  She was a good girl who had been victimized and the ordeal
had nearly been the end of her.

Thanks
to Stephanie, and others like her, Laura had realized as a young person that
people were not always who they seemed to be.  She’d learned that peoples’
perceptions were often wrong, that misconceptions could destroy, and she had
refused to judge anyone until she’d gotten to know them.  As such, she had an
assortment of friends at school that, well, her sister Candace would have
looked down upon—and did.  Many of them had borne the brunt of her cruelty, and
that of her friends.  Laura had stood by them, nonetheless. 

She
remembered a young man to whom Candace had been particularly cruel.  He’d also
arrived at her school from another school, and like Stephanie, had worn the
scars from a horrific trauma—the difference being—his scars were visible. 

His
stepfather had beaten him so badly, he’d spent weeks in a hospital.  After his
release, his mother had been unwilling to leave her husband, choosing him over
her child.  He’d been placed in foster care, and forced to attend a new high
school.

He’d
worn his hair long, dyed jet black, and he’d dressed similarly in all-black. 
The kids had much to say about the new boy, speculating that he’d done jail time. 
Like Stephanie, when he had tried to join other students at a lunch table, he’d
been turned away.

Laura
had witnessed the incident and had promptly risen and run after him.  She had
tapped him on the arm and invited him to sit with her and her friends.  She
would never forget the relief that had flooded his features.

The
boy, Dane, had been a sophomore like her, and like her, had also skipped a year
of school.  He had become one of her dearest friends, and the two had actually
carpooled together to the local community college when they both had tested
high enough to leave high school behind. 

She
suddenly wondered what had become of him.  They’d kept in touch for awhile, but
as often happened, they’d lost contact.

 “Do
you have any idea what happened to Dane Montgomery?” she asked.

Dalton
nodded.  “I do.  I understand he’s a high school teacher in Vancouver.”

Laura’s
jaw dropped.  “Really?”  She smiled brightly.  “I’ll have to look him up.  It’s
been so long.  I know he’s married with a couple kids, but I didn’t know he’d
settled so close to Battle Ground.

She
continued.  “That’s such good news.  And I’m so glad Stephanie is doing well. 
She deserves every bit of happiness God has blessed her with.”

“So do
you,” Dalton said, watching her with admiration.

She
colored under his gaze.  “Well, it’s nice of you to say so.”

Suddenly,
Dalton’s radio crackled, and he hurriedly pulled it off its belt clip.  He
listened intently as a dispatcher began talking in police ten-codes.

He
finally returned it to his belt with a sigh.  “I guess dinner is over,” he said
regretfully.  “I’m going to have to get you home.  I wish…”

She
gave a dismissive wave.  “Don’t worry about it.  I understand completely. 
You’re on the job.”

“Yeah,
well, I wish I wasn’t,” he murmured.

Laura watched
him speculatively out of the corner of her eye.  What exactly did that mean? 
Did it mean he wanted to spend more time with her?

She
dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come to mind.  It was ridiculous to
read more into the situation than was warranted. 

***

“I’ll
drop you by the house and be on my way,” Dalton said, as he drove out of Battle
Ground proper and into the countryside.

“I
appreciate it.”

He gave
his head a swift shake.  “I still cannot believe Candace left you high and dry
like that.”

“I’m
sure she had a good reason,” Laura said, though, in truth, she doubted it.  She
suspected Candace was simply being … Candace. 

Dalton
sighed.  “We’re really worried about that sister of yours.  She just isn’t
herself.”

Laura
shifted in her seat.  “Is there something you’re not telling me?  Something
Thomas isn’t telling me?”

He
turned toward her briefly and she read the concern in his eyes.  “We know
Candace is working during the day now, but we have no idea how she spends her
evenings, other than…”

His
words trailed off and he raked a hand through his hair.  It appeared he was
about to say more, but he only shook his head.

“Dalton,
please.  Tell me.”

He
appeared to be grappling with his conscience.  “I haven’t even told Thomas, but
a month or so ago, I responded to a call at the local watering hole—west of
town.  Anyway, when I arrived, I saw your sister.  She was at a table with
friends, and clearly…”

“What?”
she asked, bracing for his answer.

“Well,
it was obvious she’d been drinking.  I hauled her out of there and took her
home but…”

Laura
pressed her eyelids closed and uttered a silent prayer for her sister.  The
idea that Candace was hanging out in bars, drinking away her troubles…  The
truth was, it wouldn’t surprise her a bit.  Candace had never been one to face
her difficulties head on.  And she was too stubborn and prideful to ask for
help. 

But
leaving her children, to drink herself into oblivion…  Her sister ought to be
ashamed of herself.  Sadly, she’d had a miscarriage, but she still had two
children at home who desperately needed her.  And from what Laura could tell
during her short time at home, she wasn’t being much of a mother to them.

“I’ll
talk to her,” Laura said aloud.  “Though it’s not as if she’s going to listen
to me.”

“She
might,” Dalton said.  “She admires you a lot.”

Laura
scoffed.  “Admires … me?”  She gave a brittle laugh.  “I’m afraid you’re sadly
mistaken.  She never saw me as anything but her annoying little sister.”

“That’s
not true.  She was so envious of you, she could hardly stand it.”  As he turned
the patrol car down the curving lane to their house, he continued, “She’s
realized she treated you horribly when you were kids.  That night, when I
picked her up at the bar, all she could manage to somewhat coherently talk
about was how much she missed you and how much she wished she could go back in
time.”

Laura
remembered the e-mail she’d sent to her.  Candace had said those things to her,
as well.

“I
wonder what precipitated this epiphany?” Laura wondered aloud.  She couldn’t
help the skeptical note in her voice.  She took a deep breath and uttered a
silent prayer for patience, and for God to show her what was happening with
Candace in His time.

As
Dalton pulled the patrol car to a stop, he turned to her and appeared to
register her injured eye again.  “Your eye is still swollen.  I’m really
sorry…” he said with a wince.

“Dalton,
it’s fine.  You were saying…  About Candace…”

“Oh,
yeah.  I think the sentiment from her is genuine.”

“But
why?  Why now?”

He
shrugged.  “The miscarriage, I suppose.  It forced her to face some harsh
realities.  It forced her to grow up.  Up until then, things had always gone
her way.”  He laughed.  “Candace always had a way of
getting
her way.”

“That’s
the truth,” Laura mused.  “Well, I appreciate the ride home.  Be careful out
there.”

He
flashed a grin.  “I will.  But first, I’m going to walk you to your door.”

“No,
no.  That’s not necessary.”

“Maybe
not, but I’m going to do it anyway.” 

Dalton
climbed out of the car and rounded the hood, in order to open her door. 
Always
the gentleman
, she thought, and felt her heart give a familiar jump. 

As he
walked her to the door, she was once again transported back in time.  She
remembered him as a teenager—the male counterpart to Candace at their high
school.  Well, absent the haughty disposition.

Laura
had often wondered why he’d spent so much time with Candace, but in reality,
he’d been Thomas’ friend first and foremost, and it wasn’t as if he could have
avoided Candace.  It was a given that if he spent a lot of time at his best
friend’s house, he was going to see his sisters.  But too, Candace and Thomas
had many friends in common, so it was inevitable the two had seen one another
often.

Unfortunately
for Laura, however, being a few years younger than all of them, meant they had
regarded her as a little kid.  And it hadn’t helped that she’d been a quirky
little girl who had rejected the status quo.  She had always taken in strays,
whether kittens and dogs that showed up at the farmhouse, as well as those kids
at school who had been rejected by the ‘in’ crowd.  She had refused to behave
like her sister, who without fail, had ‘judged every book by its cover.’

“Hey,
are you all right?” Dalton asked with concern.  They had reached the door, and
Laura remained locked in thought.

She
shook her head, to ward off the thoughts.  “Yes, I’m fine.”  She smiled
brightly.  “Well, thanks for … everything.”

“You
can call me anytime your sister leaves you out in the cold,” he told her,
staring intently into her eyes.

“Good
to know,” Laura laughed.

She
turned to enter the house, when she felt Dalton’s warm hand on her arm.  
“Laura…”