Crystal Lies - Melody Carlson [89]
“Thanks,” she told me. Then we both used her breath spray and went back inside.
“I know it seems impossible to believe,” I told her as we walked down a hall toward the sounds of voices in the fellowship hall,“but somehow I believe you’re going to get through this, Sherry. And that you’ll be stronger for it.”
She stopped walking and turned and looked at me. “And do you believe that for yourself, too, Glennis?”
I frowned. “I’d like to. But most of the time I don’t think I’m as strong as you are.”
She grabbed my arm and stared into my eyes. “Yes, you are! If I can survive losing Matthew, you can survive this thing with Jacob too.” I nodded. “Right. Maybe you’re right.”
The crowd in the fellowship hall had definitely thinned, and I was relieved to see that Jacob was still there. I realized I had taken quite a risk by being gone that long. But fortunately he’d been roped in by Walter to put away chairs. I helped out in the kitchen, but it wasn’t long before I noticed Jacob trying to catch my eye, and I knew it was time for us to go.
“You were a good sport,” I told him as we headed for the parking lot. “Thanks.”
“Well, Walter’s pretty funny. In an old-guy kind of way. Did you know he used to be a surfer dude?”
“No, I barely know them. Marsha is a friend of Sherry’s.”
Then Jacob told me about some of Walter’s adventures in surfing, and for a few moments I almost believed that I’d gone back in time. Like when Jacob was still in high school and still doing the normal things. But when we got to the apartment building, instead of going up with me, Jacob announced that he wanted to take a walk.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “It’s freezing cold out here, and you don’t even have on a coat.”
“I’ve got a sweatshirt in my pack,” he assured me.
“Will you be home in time for dinner?” I asked.
“Sure,” he promised with a somewhat convincing smile.
Even so, I had a feeling he wouldn’t. I had a suspicion that I wouldn’t see my son again for a while. If at all. I trudged up the stairs to my apartment as if lead weights were tied around my ankles. I felt almost certain that all my hopes for Jacob had been in vain today. I wondered if I should call Hope’s Wings and tell them to give tomorrow’s ten o’clock appointment to someone else. Someone who might actually show up.
Just the same, I stayed home all afternoon and evening, hoping against hope that I was completely wrong about Jacob. I even prayed to be wrong, and I begged God to tap Jacob on the shoulder, wherever he was, whatever he was doing, and to tell him that it was time to come home now.
But when I went to bed that night—quite late—I knew Jacob wasn’t coming home. I knew I had, once again, been deceived. When would I ever learn? Never trust an addict.
Early the next morning I awoke to someone knocking loudly on my door. I grabbed my robe, and, imagining a state trooper standing with his hat in his hands ready to give me the bad news, I hurried to see who was there. To my complete surprise, it was my own prodigal.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“It got pretty late last night,” he said as he came in and dropped his backpack on the floor. “I decided to spend the night at a friends so I wouldn’t wake you up.”
I didn’t mention that his absence had caused me to stay awake most of the night anyway. I was just thankful he’d come back. “Do you think you can make it to Hope’s Wings?” I said.
“I guess.”
“That’s great, Jacob.” My life returned to me as I went into the kitchen and started to make coffee. “How about I make us both a nice breakfast.”
Jacob sat down on a stool at the counter, but I could tell by his fidgeting and the way his eyes kept darting around the room, almost as if he expected someone to jump out from behind a corner, that it was going to be touch and go with him. It was possible that he could still bolt before it was time to leave for the appointment. As a result I felt I needed to tread carefully, to keep the conversation upbeat and positive, and to focus his attention on everything but the obvious.