The Ravine (28 page)

“Joanna, my husband Mitch and I often talk about all the other options Danny had right up until the final moment when he stood at his kitchen door, looking out into the garage . . . but, I’m sorry, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“Actually, I do. And I want to tell you much more than I have, but not right now. It’s important that your husband be part of the conversation. I know he has been suffering in his own way. So, let’s meet again
when we can all be together. I suspect I’ve already given you more than enough to think about!”

“I would like to have Mitch there, but I’m so anxious to learn more. I’d like meet again soon, but he’s away on a business trip and won’t be back until the weekend so—”

“In Portland, yes, I know,” Joanna replied.

Carolyn’s jaw dropped, and before she could say anything, Joanna continued.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get together the day after tomorrow. I would like the two of you to come downtown to Cleveland and visit our church, so we’ll have a chance to speak at length.”

“But Mitch won’t be back yet,” Carolyn insisted.

Joanna began to gather her belongings. “Don’t worry, my dear. Things have a way of changing as the universe directs. It’s a spiritual contract, and it’s out of our control. You don’t mind if I leave by the front door, do you?”

“Of course not, but . . . you mean you drove here by car?”

“Well, how did you think I got here? I didn’t fly!”

They walked to the door and hugged again on the front porch.

“Carolyn, it’s been so nice to meet you.” She scribbled on a piece of paper. “Here is my number. Call me after you speak with your husband. And feel better! God has heard your prayers.”

“Help is on the way!” she added with a smile as she turned and walked down the steps.

“I can’t tell you how much better I feel already, Joanna. Thank you so much!”

Carolyn stood at the door while Joanna climbed into her fairly battered blue minivan. “I’ll see you soon,” she shouted as she watched Joanna wave, pull away from the curb, and finally turn the corner.

She shut the door and leaned against it. Then she remembered something she’d heard a television minister say that morning. It hadn’t
made sense at the time, but it had stuck in her mind all day: “You can’t find God, because He isn’t lost.” It was a silly little play on words, but then the preacher had made the connection with patience and doing things in God’s time.

The man had said something else that struck her: “Faith is easy when things are going your way, but you need to work for it when you are in the midst of your own storm.”

He had gone on to talk about the famous section in Mark where Jesus is asleep in the boat with his disciples. A storm comes along and the disciples panic, but Jesus simply calms the waters.
How true it is that our faith faces the greatest test when we’re in the middle of difficult times
, Carolyn thought. In less than an hour, Joanna had restored so much of her faith.

She was on her way to call Mitch when the phone rang. Now she was starting to have visions of her own, because she knew with absolute certainty that it was her husband calling, and of course she was right.

“Hi, Mitch,” she said, as she picked up the receiver. “I have something really important to tell you.”

“Hi, honey. That’s exactly what I was going to say to you!”

“Okay, you can go first, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me you’re coming home tomorrow, right?” Carolyn couldn’t wait to hear his reaction.

“How did you know? Are you a mind reader now or something?”

And then they both laughed. Laughter was something they hadn’t shared very often in recent months. Mitch thought Carolyn sounded like her old self—maybe even better than her old self.

“No, I’m not a mind reader, but someone just left who is just about the most amazing person I’ve ever met. Her name is Joanna and—”

“Wait a minute, Carolyn. Stop there. Does she have really white hair? Almost glowing?”

“Well, in fact she does. But how would
you
know that?”

Then Mitch tried to describe the experience that had taken place after his meeting with Logan Vonda. He knew his words were inadequate, but he took a leap of faith and tried. Carolyn could tell that Mitch had been through something powerful and listened intently. He sounded like a different person, but she sensed she was hearing the real Mitch for the first time in her life. She closed her eyes and could clearly see him sitting on the terrace outside his hotel room, gesturing and talking with his hands in the way he always did when he was excited. She sat cross-legged in his chair, and listened as he rambled on until he had said everything he needed to say, concluding with, “I know that probably sounds completely insane to you, but I just have this feeling that I’m different now.”

“Mitch, I was just thinking that you sound like a different person. That’s sort of how I feel after meeting with Joanna.”

“So tell me about this Joanna.”

“Oh, where can I begin, Mitch? I was sitting in your chair—where I’m sitting now, by the way—and I looked up because someone was knocking on the glass doors, and there she was!”

“You mean she just appeared there? You didn’t meet her someplace? You let her in? Why?”

“To tell you the truth, it seemed like the most natural thing to invite her into the house, and as soon as she stepped in, we gave each other a big hug!”

Then Carolyn told Mitch as much as she could about the beautiful woman who had simply stepped into her life unannounced and had somehow relieved so much of her grief with the things she said and the way she said them. Carolyn told Mitch a few of the things Joanna couldn’t possibly have known unless she had some ability that went far beyond the rest of them.

“And, you know, even when she was telling me that she had been sent by God to help us, it seemed so normal and natural. I have to admit that I feel better than I have since Danny killed Rachel and Evan.”

And there it was. She had said it out loud and it hadn’t hurt her. She felt a little stronger for it.

Mitch also took note of the fact that Carolyn hadn’t used a euphemism, and that she seemed filled with joy rather than misery. He was thrilled to have his wife back, and if this woman could do that, he would be eternally grateful. He wanted to accept that this Joanna person was the real deal, but, despite his experience earlier in the day, he wasn’t convinced.

“Well, I’d really like to meet Joanna. If she is who she says she is, she’ll be able to explain a lot about what Danny did and why he did it.”

“That’s what we’re going to do tomorrow.”

“Okay, then I’ll get on the red-eye tomorrow night and meet you at Hopkins in the morning.”

“Okay, honey. Oh, and I forgot to mention what Joanna said I needed to tell you.”

“Yeah, what’s that?” Mitch steeled himself for some prosaic, feel-good slogan like “stop and smell the roses,” or “God will be there just in the moment you need Him.” The old Mitch was trying hard to make a comeback, but was dealt a serious blow.

“She said to tell you the butterfly thinks you have beautiful eyes.”

C
HAPTER
16

An Open Heart

Let us forgive each other
,

only then will we live in peace
.

—
Tolstoy

C
AROLYN DROVE TO
Hopkins to pick up Mitch, and then they headed straight to downtown Cleveland for their meeting with Joanna. They were thrilled to see each other. Somehow it felt a bit like they were on a first date because each had undergone such a dramatic emotional shift. Because she had already met Joanna, Carolyn had some idea of what to expect, but despite the fact Mitch remained in the sway of his transformative moment in Portland, his protective nature caused him to worry that perhaps Joanna was just a well-intentioned kook, or worse.

However, there was no denying the fact that they were both ignited by the sheer thrill of leaping into the unknown together, and were now consumed with a childlike sense of adventure.

Of course, their adult sides attempted to assert authority and perform a reality check. Any rational person observing the situation would say that this all seemed more than a bit bizarre, and of course he would be correct. However, this was not a dream from which they would awaken at the end with some remnant of having visited another world. This was real life, and within just a few hours they would discover that
this ordinary Wednesday morning would be the most defining few hours of their lives.

As Carolyn exited the airport, she found it impossible to contain her excitement.

“Mitch, I really feel like what we’re doing was meant to be,” she said. “I mean, how could it be that you went through what you did out in Portland at exactly the same time I was meeting with Joanna?”

“I know, honey, but I have to admit that this is pretty weird, and I don’t think we should get our hopes up too much. I don’t really know what to expect from this woman, but I’ll admit I couldn’t get her out of my mind all the way here. But then I couldn’t remember. . . . What exactly did she say she could do for us?”

“Well, she said that she sometimes knows what’s in people’s minds when they are at turning points. And that she can communicate with people who have passed on. She said she was actually in contact with Danny on that night, and seemed very sad about not being able to stop him.”

“Come on, honey! Do you really think all that could be true?”

“I do. I can’t really explain why I believe that, but I think when you meet her you’ll be convinced as well.” They had now exited the interstate and were headed into downtown Cleveland.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. The break was what they needed. This was a lot to absorb.

“Anyway, Mitch, what have we got to lose by just meeting with her?”

“You’re right,” Mitch replied, and thought about all that had happened yesterday morning and laughed at how quickly he had forgotten. Caterpillar to butterfly. “You’ve got the wheel, honey, and I’m just going along for the ride!”

“Well, we’ve either both gone nuts or we’re driving off into another dimension!” Mitch made the requisite
Twilight Zone
music as they headed down Fifty-fifth Street and slowed to a crawl so they could check the street numbers.

They were not far from their destination. Joanna had mentioned they would be driving through some pretty rough neighborhoods, and indeed they were. Around them they saw abandoned buildings, empty lots, a bodega, a liquor store, and boarded-up storefront windows with signs from another era. It was the middle of summer, so there were a good number of people out on the streets, particularly teenagers sitting on steps to escape the heat and see what opportunities might come their way that day.

“Whatever else we might think about Joanna, Mitch, the fact that she chooses to live and work in the inner city and help young men is certainly admirable.”

“I can’t argue with that,” he answered.

“That must be it,” Carolyn said, pointing to a stone church on the corner that fit the description Joanna had given her. “Beautiful gray stone with a red door” was how Joanna had described it. The building had been lovingly restored. At one time, it must have been the center of the community. On this day, the positive energy that emanated from it was palpable.

“Man, she’s a beauty.” The architect in Mitch admired the stonework while the little boy gyrated with anticipation. Was it really possible that Joanna could explain what had happened that night?

The church that Joanna and Richard had resurrected turned out to be a fairly large building with a bell tower, numerous stained glass windows, and two magnificent oak doors that were painted a deep red. Mitch noticed “1897” engraved into the cornerstone to the left of the steps. He had a passion for visiting churches and suspected this one would not disappoint.

The original name of the church had been sandblasted off the area above the doors and replaced by the name of the present congregation. Large, elegantly chiseled letters proclaimed the building to be “The Church of Forgiveness,” with smaller type announcing “All Sinners
Welcome”. This wasn’t just a temporary saying meant to entice passersby, but rather a permanent mission statement.

They were greeted at the door by a tall black man with a gray ponytail and piercing blue eyes, who was supervising the installation and refurbishment of a collection of used pews. He stuck out his huge paw and said, “Hi, I’m Richard. You two must be Carolyn and Mitch. We’ve been expecting you.”

Richard introduced his two workers, who were his and Joanna’s teenage boys. They both had the same remarkable olive coloring and sharp good looks of their mother, though one was blond and the other sported an Afro.

Richard volunteered to take Carolyn and Mitch through the church to the garden, where Joanna had said they would be able to meet in private.

As they walked down the center aisle, Mitch was awestruck by the glorious crucifix that was suspended high above the altar and dominated the interior of the church. It was surprising not simply because the figure of Jesus was so frighteningly realistic, but because the fine detail and color had been rendered so exquisitely that it could have stood proudly in the Vatican—yet here it was in a little church in Cleveland. It was a riveting work of art that could only have been divinely inspired.

Mitch and Carolyn paused in front of the altar and respectfully made the sign of the cross as they continued to peer up at it.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Richard said.

“Fantastic,” Mitch replied. “How long has it been here?”

“It was part of the original church, so that would make it something like one hundred and twenty years old. It’s survived two world wars, the Depression, Vietnam, the riots in the’60s, and Lord knows what else over the years.

“The church was abandoned for a decade before we took it over. I guess it provided shelter for the people who needed it, but it was pretty
ripped up by the time we came along. Joanna and I knew we had found our church the minute we walked in, looked up, and saw Jesus beckoning to us. We knew we had come home. Sometimes ya just know, ya know?”