As You Wish (29 page)

“Todd,” Christy said, “I think I should get baptized.”

He didn't look surprised by her sudden declaration. But then, she had been doing a lot of declaring lately.

“I was baptized when I was a baby. Or dedicated or something,” she said. “I don't remember what they called it at my church in Wisconsin. I have a certificate that says the date and everything. But I want to be baptized now, as an adult, as a way of saying I choose to identify with Christ. To publicly show that I'm His follower.”

“Must have been a pretty convincing sermon this morning.”

“Not really. Well, maybe. I don't know. I've thought about this before. And that whole picture of being washed and made ready like a bride, well . . .” Christy wondered if she should press forward with her thought. “I see the deeper symbolism of baptism. It's like I said, I want to publicly take a stand and show I have set my heart on following Christ.”

Todd nodded. She didn't feel the need for him to say anything. And she didn't need to say anything. She and Todd were moving on to the next level of their relationship, and she had reached a point in her relationship with the Lord in which she was ready to move on to a new level with Him.

“Where would you like to be baptized?” Todd said when he was about halfway through his sandwich.

“I don't know. You were baptized in the ocean, weren't you?”

“How did you remember that?”

“You told me the night Shawn died when we were at the jetty. You said you were baptized on my birthday, July 27.”

“That's right.”

“I think I'd like to be baptized at Riverview Heights since that's our church now. I'm not really connected to my parents' church in Escondido anymore. This is such a strange era in our lives, isn't it? What do we call home?”

Christy thought about her comment as she drove back to Rancho Corona that night. It was already dark, and she wished she had started back earlier, but she hadn't wanted to leave Todd. She thought about how Bob and Marti's house felt almost as much like home as her parents' house in Escondido—except that she felt as if she were sleeping in a covered wagon every night when she crawled into the raised bed in the southwestern guest room. She missed the pink ruffles more than she would have imagined.

Her dorm room felt temporary the way Basel had felt temporary. What Christy looked forward to was making her own home. A home somewhere with Todd.

She thought about how the weekend had gone. Their breakfast couldn't have been more perfect. Even the way she ended up blurting her “I love you” turned out to be wonderful and thrilling because it had tumbled out.

That Todd hadn't turned around and proposed didn't bother her as much as it had when they were picking up after their breakfast. She could think of all kinds of reasons Todd hadn't taken the next step. The poor guy hadn't recovered from his accident, and the medication made him groggy so he still slept a lot. He probably
needed a chance to clear his head and think things through.

Besides all that,
Christy thought, as she turned onto the road that led to Rancho Corona,
what would Todd and I use for money to start this new home of ours?

She smiled at the vision that came to her. She and Todd were cashing all their wedding gift checks and heading for the Bargain Barn. But at least they were driving there in the blue Volvo instead of falling-apart Gus.

Maybe everything will come together little by little.

17
The moment Christy stepped into the dorm room, Katie told her how terrific everything had gone in the youth group that morning. Seventeen students had shown up, and Randy's band was so popular they were playing again at the church Tuesday night.

“Look,” Katie said, handing Christy a large get-well card. Pictured on the front was a crowd of funny-looking lions, tigers, and panthers. Inside the card read,
We all miss you fiercely!

“Every one of the kids signed it,” Katie said. “We can mail it to Todd tomorrow. You would be amazed how some of them are getting serious about God. One of the girls stood up this morning and talked about how Todd had said on the camp-out that none of us knows when we're going to die, and then the very next day he was in the accident. One of the guys brought three of his friends to church this week, and they all said they would bring some more friends Tuesday night.”

“That's amazing.” Christy put the card back in the envelope and unpacked her weekend bag.

“I told you God was doing God-things.” Katie turned down her stereo and made herself comfortable on Christy's bed since Katie's wasn't made.

“You'll have to call Todd tomorrow to tell him all this,” Christy said. “He'll be so excited. I know he's been praying for the group every day. That is, when he isn't sleeping.”

“He's still pretty out of it, huh?” Katie fluffed up Christy's pillow and leaned on her elbow.

“He's doing a lot better.” Christy stuffed her dirty clothes into the bag in the back of her closet and flashed a big grin. “Yes, he's doing a lot better.”

“What is that smirk on your face, girl?” Katie said. “Am I to read into your comment that Todd is doing a lot better because you finally made your grand confession?”

Christy stood up straight and, with her hands on her hips, said, “Yes, I did. Our breakfast turned out perfect, and my very incredible and wonderful boyfriend should have no doubt in his mind as to how I feel about him.”

“Ah, at last you can say, ‘I'm my beloved's, and he is mine,' ” Katie said with poetic flair.

“Where have I heard that before? It's from the Song of Solomon, isn't it?”

“I guess.”

“Have you read that book lately?” Christy went over to Katie's bed, briskly pulled up the sheets and comforter, and then tidied up Katie's pillows, one of which was stuffed in the Little Mermaid pillowcase and the other in the Minnie Mouse pillowcase.

“Nope,” Katie said.

“I read Song of Solomon when I was in Basel, and it's the strangest, most exotic, lyrical book. It only has eight chapters.”

“Did you read the part that says, ‘Your hair is like a flock of goats'?” Katie asked. “How romantic is that? Or that other line, ‘Your neck is like the tower of David.' Oh, now, that sounds real attractive! If some guy tried those lines on me, I'm sure I'd fall instantly in love with him.”

Christy laughed so hard she had to sit down. “Now I know why poor Matthew Kingsley was checked off your list. He didn't use the right lines on you.”

“Poor Matthew Kingsley,” Katie said with a sigh. “He never learned the goat hair pickup line back in Brightwater.” Christy laughed again. “Be nice. Matthew is still my dearest friend, you know.”

“Oh, I know. Don't get me wrong. I think he's a wonderful guy. He sure jumped in and ran the show Sunday. Matt's a great guy. He's just not great for me. I need someone with pizzazz!”

“Are you saying Rancho Corona is low on guys with pizzazz?”

“Yes, I would say that. But don't read anything into this, Christy. I'm content. I honestly am. My days of searching for the perfect guy are over.”

“And why is that?”

“I've decided to become one of those Proverbs 31 women.”

“Is that a new club on campus?”

“No, but that's not a bad idea. It could replace the ‘P.O. Box Club' Sierra and I started in England.”

“And what did that stand for?” Christy asked.

“Don't you remember? The
P
is for ‘pals' and the
O
is for ‘only.' Sierra and I were the only two members. Our motto was to be Pals Only with guys. But after hearing Sierra's latest report on how she and Paul are getting along, I'm afraid
our club has dwindled to one member. Me. So I think I'll start a new club. P–31, for the Proverbs 31 woman.”

“I see,” Christy said, hiding a smile. “Do I want to ask what the requirements are for entry to this P–31 club?”

“Very simple. We go by the first part of verse ten in that chapter. It says, ‘An excellent wife, who can find?' ”

Christy raised her eyebrows questioningly as she waited for an explanation.

“Don't you see? It doesn't say, An excellent hubby who can find?' It says a good wife. I would say that indicates the guy is the one who should be doing the seeking.”

Christy laughed and threw her pillow across the room. Katie ducked, and the pillow hit the wall.

“You think I'm kidding? Believe me, I've thought through every angle of this. From here on out, I'm completely available to God. I'll just keep going about my business, right here, in the very center of God's will for my life now. And if there's a ‘beloved' out there for me, then he can start seeking me for a change. I'll be here, an excellent future wife, just waiting for him to find me.”

Christy was about to speak when Katie silenced her.

“Don't you dare say anything about how you feel bad that you and Todd are so sure and so close while nobody special is on the horizon for me.”

Christy lowered her eyes.

“That's what you were going to say, isn't it?”

“How did you know?” Christy asked.

“Let's just say that you and I are on about verse eighty-four of that familiar song. You know, eighty-fourth verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse.”

Christy walked over to sit on the bed next to Katie. “We do sound pretty good together when we sing.”

“Not this song.” Katie handed the Little Mermaid pillow to Christy for a backrest. “Not anymore. We need to give that old tune a rest. You are about to sing a brand-new song, Chris. Now your duet will be with Todd. Let me sing a new solo now, okay? None of the old verses apply to either of us anymore.”

Christy wondered if she had ever admired her dearest friend more than she did at that moment.

“You let God do His God-things in your life, and I'll invite God to do His God-things in my life, and we won't compare ourselves with each other. Okay?” Katie seemed eager for Christy to agree.

With a bow of her head Christy said, “As you wish.”

Christy noticed a genuine change in Katie as the week progressed. For one thing, she borrowed Christy's nail file and worked on her fingernails Tuesday night. Christy had never seen her tomboy friend file her nails. Bite them, yes. Pick at the cuticles, yes. But never file them and then rub her hands with cocoa butter lotion.

Katie filed away cheerfully while Christy looked up information on the Internet for her report on Milton, the blind poet. Katie mentioned that she was on the brink of perfecting her latest herbal tea recipe.

By Thursday, Katie was certain she had the mixture just right. To celebrate her breakthrough, she had gone to Bargain Barn to buy a china teapot and enough mismatched cups to host a tea party in their room.

Four of Katie's girl friends came on Thursday evening at seven-thirty. Katie said she would have invited more, but she had found only six china cups at Bargain Barn. Christy had cleaned their room and arranged it so all six “testers” had places to sit. Katie brewed her special tea in a hot pot
plugged into the wall. While waiting for the tea to steep, Katie passed around a plate of Oreo cookies.

Sierra was telling the other guests about how her older sister, Tawni, was getting married at Thanksgiving and how Tawni's fiancé had taken a job in Oklahoma.

Christy was interested to hear all the details, but she slipped off into the corner where Katie was straining the herbs from the tea as she poured each cup. “Katie,” Christy whispered, “I want to ask you this one more time. Please don't get upset. But are you sure no one is going to break out in a rash after drinking your tea this time?”

“I'm 99.9 percent positive,” Katie said. “This is a completely different combination from what I used last spring. There aren't any nettles in this one.”

“You used nettles last time?”

“I didn't realize they were stinging nettles, all right?”

“Why do you grow nettles?”

“Because nettles are good for people who have a snoring problem. I just got the dried nettles mixed up with the dried hibiscus. And I only used a pinch. But not this time. This concoction is my Indian summer blend. It's apples, ginger, cinnamon, and other spices. All safe ingredients, I assure you.”

Christy would have felt more assured if Katie hadn't used the term “concoction” to describe the tea. Returning to her seat, Christy smiled graciously when Katie offered her a steaming cup of the fragrant brew.

“Katie, this is delicious!” Sierra was the first guest to sip her tea. Her positive report prompted the others to venture bravely where no woman had gone before.

“It is good.” Christy nonchalantly checked the skin on
the inside of her arm to see if any spots were appearing. None so far.