Broken Things (Faded Photograph Series) (39 page)

“Hello?”

“Angel!”

She perked up at the sound of the man’s voice on the other end. She didn’t recognize it. “Who is this?”

“It’s Nate…you know, the RN at Arbor Springs.”

Allie relaxed, although she couldn’t imagine what he called for. She wasn’t on the clock. “Hi, Nate, what’s up?”

“Sorry. I got your number out of the computer…from when you had your lab work done.”

“Okay, so what can I do for you?” She stifled a yawn.

“I figured I should call somebody, but I didn’t know who. There’s no family member listed in the chart.”

“What are you talking about?”

A pause. “Mrs. M passed away a few minutes ago.”

* * *

White puffy clouds inched their way across an azure sky. Allie watched them through the tall windows of Parkway Community Church. She sat in one of the floral armchairs in the lobby, Jack sat on a nearby loveseat, and Logan paced, his Bible tucked beneath one arm.

“You’re going to wear out the carpet,” Jack told him.

Logan stopped in mid-stride. “I’m just sure how to handle this. Do I tell Patrice and Kelly
before
the service that our mother died, or so I wait until afterwards?”

“They might not even show up.” Allie pulled her gaze from the window.

“Why don’t you just play it by ear?” Jack suggested.

Allie glanced at him and decided he looked dashing in his charcoal-gray suit.

“
If
they show up and there’s time before service,” he continued, “tell them. If there isn’t, wait until later.”

“There’s wisdom with age.” A spark of amusement lit Logan’s eyes. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his navy blue slacks. But he couldn’t hide his obvious weariness. Even so, Logan put up an enthusiastic front.

Jack chuckled at his son’s quip.

Several teenage girls approached Logan, asking him about Marilee. He gave them a brief update and encouraged them to keep praying. They promised they would, and then they giggled and babbled on about everything Logan missed after supper at Friday night’s bonfire event.

Allie couldn’t suppress a laugh as the girls chattered like little magpies. Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“See what we missed by not having daughters?”

“No comment,” Jack replied.

Allie laughed again, but out of the corner of her eye, she spotted four people walking through the parking lot and heading for the front entrance. Two were males, one a brunette and one with light brown hair, and two females who looked very much like Cynthia’s daughters.

Standing, Allie interrupted Logan and pointed to where the couples had just stepped inside the church. He excused himself from the teens and walked over to the guests.

Allie and Jack followed.

“Welcome to Parkway. I’m Logan Callahan, he said, extending his right hand.

Both young ladies accepted the greeting and Logan continued with the introductions. Patrice and Kelly remembered Allie, and they made Jack’s acquaintance with polite smiles, commenting on how much Logan looked like his dad. Patrice and Kelly, in turn, introduced their boyfriends, Matt and Chris.

“So, you’re a pastor at this church and…you’re supposed to be our brother?” Kelly studied his face. She had dressed in a knee-length black leather skirt and a silky red blouse, over which she wore a black leather jacket. Her dark brown hair was parted in the middle and hung in waves to her shoulders. “Ma never mentioned you.” She looked at Jack. “Ma never mentioned you either.”

Allie watched as Jack sort of shrugged off the remark. This wasn’t exactly the best place to discuss his less-than-blissful marriage.

Logan was the one to reply. “Yes, I’m both a pastor here and your half-brother.”

“Hard to believe,” Kelly, the younger of the two girls said.

“Yeah, but for the life of us,” Patrice added, her reddish-brown hair pulled back into a clip, “we can’t figure out why you’d lie. I mean it’s not like we’re the Judds or something.”

Kelly laughed.

“Well, it’s a long story,” Logan answered with a patient smile, “one I’d like to tell you at lunch, assuming you’ll accept my invitation.”

The girls looked at their boyfriends who both shrugged.

“Yeah, sure.” Patrice adjusted the collar of the white sweater she wore over a tea-length light-blue skirt. “We can do lunch after church.”

“Great. In the meantime…” Logan flipped open his Bible and pulled out the same photographs Allie had seen earlier in the week. “I’ve got some pictures you can look at. It’s our mother…on her wedding day and with me as a baby.”

After examining them, Patrice and Kelly looked at each other and then at Logan.

“So we really do have a brother,” Kelly murmured, appearing surprised that it was true. “And Ma never told us, that witch!”

“I have a good mind to tell her what I think about her deceptive little ways,” Patrice retorted. “I wonder what else she hasn’t told us.”

Allie bit her lip and glanced at Jack who’d been quietly looking on.

“And I suppose you just found out about us too, huh?” Patrice glowered.

Logan gave her a solemn nod. “Listen, there’s something I’ve got to tell you both…”

“Ma’s always been like this,” Kelly went on. “She lied all the time. We could never trust her.”

Jack stepped behind Allie and approached Matt and Chris who held their own private discussion. “Why don’t you guys come with me and we’ll find a soda or a cup of coffee.”

At first the young men didn’t budge. But then Jack encouraged them with a friendly wave of his arm, and they trailed him across the lobby.

Allie stayed with Logan and his half-sisters.

“Ma told us there was insurance money if we took care of her,” Kelly said. “We quit school and everything. Forfeited our scholarships…”

“But there wasn’t any insurance money,” Patrice added, “because she’d let the policy lapse just to be vindictive.”

Kelly nodded. “All our lives she acted like we asked to be born or something.”

“Ladies, you need to listen to what Logan has to say,” Allie chimed in. “It’s important.”

He cleared his throat and began again. “The Bible makes it clear that we’re to honor our parents, and God doesn’t give us exceptions.”

Patrice and Kelly appeared unimpressed, but they ceased their grumbling long enough to hear Logan out.

“Your mother―our mother―died early this morning,” he said in a somber tone of voice. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of such bad news.”

The young women’s expressions remained impassive.

“We knew it was coming,” Patrice said at last. “It’s not like some big surprise.”

“Yeah, she actually lasted longer than we expected.”

“Well, there’s good news in all of this too,” Logan said. “Our mother made a decision for Christ shortly before she died.”

“Decision for Christ?” Kelly frowned. “What do you mean?”

Logan smiled. “I was hoping you’d ask.”

Allie stepped back while Logan told them about Jesus. She prayed God would reach through their hardened exteriors and touch their hearts. Seeing Jack as he returned with Matt and Chris, she smiled. He smiled back, and Allie noted each man carried a small Styrofoam cup.

“Ah, success,” she said. “You found the coffee.”

“The office down the hall had a pot. I’m sorry, I should have asked, Allie. Did you want some? I’ll go back…”

She shook her head. “No, thanks, I’m fine.”

A new topic of conversation ensued and Allie kept a watchful eye on Cynthia’s daughters. Neither, however, seemed remorseful. Quite the opposite, they laughed every so often at something that was said. Before long, Steve, Nora, Veronica, Rick, and Rachel joined them and more introductions were made.

Melodious strains from the piano and organ filled the lobby, signaling the beginning of the service. Jack collected cups and headed for the trash bin while Logan ushered his guests into the sanctuary. Allie walked behind Nora and Steve, finding a seat next to Patrice. Moments later, Jack claimed the aisle seat right beside her.

The service began in an ordinary fashion. After worship, announcements and prayer time where the congregation heard about Marilee’s accident, the lights in the sanctuary dimmed. Pastor Warren strode to the pulpit with a welcoming smile and a determined sparkle in his eyes. But he didn’t even get ten minutes into his message when Patrice began sniffling. Lifting her purse into her lap, Allie found a Kleenex and handed it over.

“Thanks,” Patrice whispered. Her voice sounded constrained from emotion.

Allie slipped a comforting arm around the young lady’s shoulders. While she empathized with Patrice’s sense of loss, she also felt a measure of relief and gladness to know at least one of Cynthia Matlock’s daughters felt remorse enough over her death to shed a few tears.

Forty-five minutes later, the service ended. Patrice, and a majority of the Callahan family regrouped in the lobby. Nora exited the sanctuary with her matronly arm around Kelly’s shoulders. Upon closer scrutiny, Allie noticed the young lady’s bleary eyes.

Thank You, Lord, for breaking these girls’ hearts over their mother.

“Hey, everyone, I know the plan was to eat out this afternoon,” Nora said, Kelly still at her side. “But I’d like to extend a lunch invitation to my place. We’ll be more comfortable there than at an impersonal restaurant.” She gazed at Allie, then at Jack. “What do you think?

“Is Steve cooking?” Jack smirked.

“Cooking? No, no, no. I’m
grilling
.” Steve lifted an indignant chin. “Chicken, hamburgers, Italian sausage, hotdogs…whatever Nora hands me, I’ll slap it on the grill.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “In that case, we’d better put the fire department on alert.”

Steve laughed and gave him a brotherly sock in the arm.

“You’re all invited,” Nora’s gaze included Matt and Chris. She looked at Allie again. “It’s a beautiful day…what do you think?”

“Sounds perfect.” Allie wished Marilee could join them. She sent up extra prayers for the young lady.

“Patrice? Kelly?” Nora turned to them. “Will you and your boyfriends be our guests this afternoon?”

“We won’t be an imposition, will we?” Patrice dabbed her eyes.

“Not a bit.”

“Will Logan be there too?” Kelly asked.

“I’m thinking he will.” Nora’s grin waned. “He’ll probably do an eat-and-run kind of a thing so he can spend time with his fiancée.” She glanced around the lobby. Allie thought the color of Nora’s silk dress matched her teal eyes. “Where is Logan anyway?”

“Some well-intentioned church member probably waylaid him…as usual,” Ronnie piped in. “But don’t worry. I’ll go find him. I’ll tell him he has to give me a ride home and that way he won’t get sidetracked again.” She rolled her eyes. “Marilee’s her work cut out for her, that’s for sure!”

“Who’s Marilee?” Patrice wanted to know as they made their way to the front doors.

“She’s Logan’s fiancée.” Nora stepped in line beside Allie.

“The one the pastor mentioned at the beginning of service?” Kelly’s brow furrowed. “The girl in the car accident?”

“Yes, she’s the one,” Allie said.

Reaching the entryway, Nora let Steve hold the door open. “A remarkable young woman. We’ll tell you all about her this afternoon.”

“I’m driving home with Uncle Jack!” Rachel grabbed hold of his hand and skipped at his side.

“You’re too young to drive,” he teased.

She stopped and stared up at him, her blue-green eyes bright with a childish reprimand. “You know what I mean…”

“Hey,” Rick interjected, “can I ride with you, too?

“Sure.” Jack shrugged. “The more the merrier.”

“They’re all yours, Jack” Steve put an arm around his wife as they walked through the parking lot. “Maybe Nora and I’ll take a romantic Sunday afternoon drive and let you man the grill and worry about the fire department.”

Jack ignored his younger brother’s ribbing, but Allie couldn’t suppress a laugh.

Steve told Patrice and Kelly to follow him in their car. They agreed.

Reaching her rented
Cavalier
, she paused and pulled the keys from her purse.

Jack stopped beside her. “You know we’re probably going to have to help these girls with funeral arrangements.”

Allie met his steady brown-eyed gaze and nodded. “I figured as much. I’ve also been asking the Lord if I should offer to pay the expenses. I’m sure Patrice and Kelly can’t afford the funeral home, casket, plot, and all the rest of the costs that go along with burying a loved one.”

“Doesn’t seem like Roxi was very…
loved
.” Jack momentarily dropped his gaze. “Then, again, she was a hard woman
to
love.”

“But we loved her enough to care for her soul. She’s with Jesus right now because of it. We have nothing to regret.”

“Guess you’re right, Mrs.
Littenberg
.” Jack gave her a wry grin. “And about the funeral expenses…how about if we split them?”

Allie smiled. “You’ve got a deal there,
Sarg
.”

His grin became a smile as he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “See you at Steve and Nora’s.” Turning on his heel, he walked the rest of the way to his SUV where his niece and nephew argued over who got to ride shotgun. Jack, ever the diplomat, told them they both had to sit in the back.

Amused, Allie climbed behind the steering wheel of her car. A portion of Pastor Warren’s message flashed through her mind. “Through His Son, Jesus Christ,” he had said, “God has done―and is doing―something about the needs in our world. He intervenes and saves broken lives by using us to proclaim the gospel. We’re broken things apart from Christ, but God can use broken things.”

How true
. God had used her broken past to touch others’ lives. Jack, Logan, Cynthia―and maybe others. As she turned the key in the ignition, she felt elated that the King of kings and Lord of lords of the universe would deem her worthy of His service. She pulled out of the parking lot behind Jack’s SUV and grinned. How glad she was that she’d obeyed His promptings.

And to think it all started with a faded photograph...