As You Wish (32 page)

Weekends inevitably were gobbled up by church and youth group activities, which Christy was beginning to love. The youth group was growing each week. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving they had twenty-four students in the morning session and sixteen of them showed up at evening service. Two of the girls told Christy they had decided to be baptized after they had seen Christy's baptism.

Todd was planning an outreach trip to Mexico the week between Christmas and New Year's since his plans for the Thanksgiving outreach had been cancelled after his accident. It looked as if they might have as many as thirty Rancho
students and teens from the church going down to an orphanage in Tecate.

A week and a half before Christmas break Christy volunteered to prepare all the food on the trip, including the shopping this time. She and Todd were sitting at their usual table in the cafeteria with their usual group of friends, when she told Todd she would take care of all the food.

“I'll help you,” Todd said.

Christy shook her head. “Oh no you won't!”

In response, Todd kissed her soundly and whispered, “I love you,” in front of everyone. He had never been so outwardly demonstrative around their friends before. Christy knew then that if any of them had doubts about Todd and her being an established couple, they wouldn't question it now.

No one questioned anything. They all seemed comfortable being around Todd and Christy even in their new, greatly improved, truly-in-love season of life. Even Matt seemed comfortable and completely himself.

Matt announced to the gang at dinner that same night that he had decided to ask a girl from his earth science class to go out with him on the Friday before Christmas break. He turned to Christy and Katie for their advice.

“You have a week and a half,” Katie stated. “That means you should at least ask her by this Friday because it's nice to have a week's notice on a first date.” Then she muttered, “Not that I would know.”

Christy elbowed her. Katie elbowed Christy right back.

“I'm just saying I would think a week's notice would be nice,” Katie said defensively. “That's all.”

“Where are you planning to go to dinner?” Sierra asked.

“I keep hearing about this new café that opened up in
Murrieta Hot Springs. It's called The Dove's Nest. There's a bookstore connected to it called The Ark. On the weekends they have live music.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” Randy asked. “Our band is looking for more gigs.”

“I've heard about that place,” Christy said. “Donna at the bookstore said that the manager of the café might want to buy some of your Indian Summer tea, Katie.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” Katie mimicked Randy.

“I didn't know if you needed to have approval from the Food and Drug Administration or something.”

“Bring the tea with you to Mexico,” Todd said. “The people at the orphanage in Tecate would love it. And you don't need any government approvals there.”

Katie gave Todd a pained expression. “Yeah, like I'm going to set up a little tea cart under an umbrella and pass out Dixie cups of herbal tea to all the people in the village.”

“Do you think The Dove's Nest is too casual a place for me to ask Jenna to go on a first date?” Matt asked Christy, trying to get back on the topic.

“No, I think it sounds perfect.”

“Would you mind if I went with you?” Randy asked Matt.

Matt gave him a strange look.

“I mean, I could come up with a date, if I had to. I just want to check out the place.”

“What do you mean you could come up with a date if you had to?” Sierra punched her buddy on the arm.

Randy answered her with a crooked grin. “Does that mean you want to go with me?”

“No, you clueless bubble brain. Why don't you ask Vicki?”

Christy knew that Vicki, Sierra's roommate, never seemed to be at a loss for attention from guys on campus.

“Is she still speaking to me?” Randy asked.

“There's one way to find out,” Sierra said. “Ask her out.”

Randy tilted his head and gave Sierra a timid look. “Will you ask her for me?”

“Wimp!” Sierra spouted.

“What is with all you guys?” Katie asked. “Why are you so afraid of us women?”

“I'm not afraid,” Todd said.

“You don't count anymore,” Katie said with a coy glance at him.

Todd playfully clutched his chest as if her words were arrows that hit their mark.

“I'm serious, you guys,” Katie said. “Why is it no men on this campus . . . no, make that no men in this world, know how to initiate a relationship with a woman?”

“What is she talking about?” Sierra asked, looking directly at Christy.

“I'll tell you what I'm talking about. I'm talking about romance and risk and men who aren't afraid to be men. I'm talking about a man who will walk boldly up to a woman and say, ‘Hey, your hair is like a flock of goats. Will you go out with me?' ”

Christy burst out laughing, and the others joined in. She didn't know if any of them understood Katie was referring to a quote from the Song of Solomon.

“Flowers are optional,” Katie stated over the subsiding laughter.

“You know what?” Matthew said. “You're right. I'm going to go find Jenna right now, and I'm going to ask her out.”

“You sure you don't want us all to go with you?” Sierra teased.

Matt's eyes lit up, and he turned to focus on Sierra. “That's a great idea. Instead of Randy and me trying to put together some kind of awkward double date, why don't you guys all come? I could tell Jenna a bunch of us are going, so it won't feel like a date.”

“You're hopeless,” Katie said. “Here I try to offer you useful advice, and you turn us all into a bunch of decoys to hide behind.”

“You're no decoy, Katie,” Matt said with an admiring expression. He leaned across the table, and even though everyone could hear what he said, he spoke the words to Katie only. “You are a one-of-a-kind woman, and I'm certain some guy out there will match your wit and your charm. I'm sure you've figured out, though, that it won't be a farm boy.”

“Aw, shucks,” Katie said. “I thought farm boys were the only ones who knew that flock-of-goats line.”

“Not this farm boy.”

“No, not you.” Katie said the words so tenderly, Christy was certain Matt and Katie had firmly established their friendship.

That night, once the two of them were back in their room, Christy asked Katie, “What was all that between you and Matt and the farm-boy stuff?”

Katie was tapping away on her laptop, throwing together a three-page summary that had been due that day in one of her classes, but she had forgotten about. Katie seemed to forever be turning in papers a day late, but for some reason she charmed her teachers into not lowering her grades.

“We had a talk yesterday. No, the day before,” Katie said
between taps of the keys. “It was Monday. Monday afternoon we talked about you and Todd.”

“You didn't tell me that.”

“You were asleep when I came in the past two nights.”

“What did you say about me?”

Katie looked around the corner of her desk to where Christy was snuggled under her covers. “Wouldn't you like to know?”

“Yes, I would!”

“It was nothing big. Just how happy you and Todd are and how totally in love you are and how that's what we all wish for someday.”

“Awww,” Christy said. “How sweet.”

“Yeah, I know. Matt and I also decided that, since chances are good we two would end up in your wedding party, we better stick close so we can help each other out when it comes time to pull those prewedding pranks on Todd.”

“Prewedding pranks?” Christy said. “You might be waiting awhile. We don't even have reason for you to come up with
pre-engagement
pranks.”

“It's only a matter of time,” Katie said. “You know that. I know that. All of us know that. You'll see. Todd is clever and creative. He'll make the moment memorable.”

Christy slipped back under the covers and listened to the speedy
click-clicking
of the laptop keys. Her heart was at rest. Whenever Todd did get around to asking her to marry him, she knew she would be ready with the answer.

Katie kept typing but asked, “Are you and Todd going to The Dove's Nest with everybody?”

“I think so. Are you?”

“No, I don't think I'll go.”

“Why?”

“Oh, come on, do the math, Chris. You and Todd, Matt and Jenna, Randy and Vicki, Sierra will bring Paul. I obviously would be Mambo number nine.”

“But we're all friends,” Christy said. “I want you to come. No one would make you feel left out. You could bring some of your tea, like Donna suggested. It's going to be fun. Come on. We'll invite Doug and Tracy. You haven't seen them in a long time.”

“Oh, Doug and Tracy. Make me Mambo number eleven, then. Christy, any way you work it, I'm the leftover. I'd rather stay here.”

“No, you wouldn't,” Christy said. “You would be miserable here, knowing that all of us were out having a good time.”

“You know what?” Katie walked to the door. “We weren't going to sing this song anymore, were we? The old chorus about poor Katie. I'm going to open this door, and that old song is going to leave. Ready?” She opened the door, made a few grand whooshing motions with her hands, and then soundly closed the door. “End of discussion. Now, if you don't mind, I have a paper to type.”

19
Christy didn't bring up the subject of going to The Dove's Nest with Katie again. After thinking about Katie's response to the situation, Christy decided to let it go.

Matt stopped by the bookstore late Friday morning to tell Christy that Jenna had agreed to join the outing and to say that the two of them would drive in his truck unless Todd and Christy still had room in their car.

“I think Todd offered Sierra a ride if Paul doesn't come.”

“What about Katie?”

Christy tried to make her voice sound causal. “She's not going.”

“Why not?”

“You would have to ask her.” Christy didn't know if that was too telling an answer or if Matt would read between the lines and drop it.

Fortunately, Christy had a customer and had to cut the conversation short.

“We'll see you there, then,” he said.

Christy nodded and waved. When work ended, she went to her dorm room to grab a sweater. The Dove's Nest was
only ten miles from Rancho Corona, but going there as a group had become a big event for everyone.

Christy considered leaving Katie a note, urging her to grab a couple of girls from their floor, jump in Baby Hummer, and drive on down to The Dove's Nest. But Christy didn't.

Todd was waiting for her in the lobby. To her surprise, he handed her a single white carnation.

“Just because,” he said.

Christy was touched but also curious about where he had bought the flower. She knew no place on campus sold flowers.

“Did you go into town this afternoon?” she asked.

“I went to church for a couple of hours.”

They drove down the hill with the windows open and the heater on full blast. It had become a habit because they liked the feel of the fresh air, but it was cold outside, now that the desert climate had settled in to its winter season. The days could still be warm and bright if the sun was shining, but as soon as the sun went down, the thermometer dipped dramatically.

“Were flower vendors on the street corner like at Thanksgiving?” Christy twirled the carnation and drew in the spicy sweet fragrance.

“No.” Todd looked at her with a grin. “It's killing you trying to figure out where I got that, isn't it?”

Christy hid her grin. “I'm just curious.” She imagined his making a special stop at a florist and ordering a single carnation. Only the flower didn't come wrapped in florist tissue.

“I saw it at church in the Dumpster,” Todd said.

“Oh.” Christy laid the flower across her lap. Suddenly it
didn't seem so sweet or sentimental.

“They had tossed out the flowers from a luncheon or something, and I saw that lone white carnation, and it made me think of you.”

Christy knew it was the thought that counted. She knew with Todd it was always the thought that counted, and it most likely would always be that way.

“Thank you,” Christy said. “I love it.” Then, leaning over and giving his cheek a kiss, she said, “And I love you.”

“I love you more,” Todd teased.

“No, I love you more.”

“I loved you first,” Todd said.

Christy laughed. “Okay, you win. You loved me first. But I still love you more.”

“Don't think so.” Todd glanced at her as he drove. “I don't think it's possible for you ever to love me as deeply and as completely as I love you. I don't think anyone could ever love another person on this earth as much as I love you.”