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Chapter 4
That
evening, James walked for a while with Clark. He asked him cautiously, “Can you
keep a secret?” Nodding, Clark
said, “Yes, that’s easy.” Looking at him, James said, “I believe that’s true
for you, but it’s not easy for everyone. Take my sister, for instance—she’s a
world-renowned blabber-mouth. I love her, but she can’t keep her mouth shut
for anything—so since I tell her every thing, I have
to be sure to live a straight life. Find a person like that, and you’re sure
to keep clean.” Clark agreed.
“That’s what my mom does for me—she’s got me on the right path all the time—I
would hate to hurt her.” Clark was silent then, thinking of the loneliness he
had seen in his mother’s eyes during their talk about finding her a husband.
“Have you ever been in love?” he asked James.
“Yeah,” James said softly. “I think I am right now. But I’m taking it slow.
She’s a great girl, and she’s gorgeous, but you know that your emotions and
feelings can lead you wrong. You have to be careful about this stuff.”
Nodding, Clark said, “That’s what my mom thinks,
too. She’s afraid to get hurt again, but I want her to find someone good and
decent. She deserves that.”
Nodding thoughtfully, James said, “Yes, I think that’s a very mature
position, but maybe it won’t be so easy for you when it happens. A man will
take a lot of attention from you. You won’t be the center of her world
anymore. In fact, he will be.” Quiet for a while, Clark considered that thought. “Still, I
want her to be happy, and with all that she has sacrificed, I could give up
some attention for her happiness.”
That evening, Clark lay in bed thinking. James had
never told him his secret. Only after a few hours of thought did he realize
that he had never questioned James about the girl he was in love with. Maybe
that was the secret. That would be some story. And he wondered—above
all—what she looked like. In such a diverse family, anything was possible.
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As James prepared to turn in for the night, he thought about his mystery girl
and realized that he had misled the boy. Taking it slow—bah! James was crazy
about her. He may have kept from kissing her, and even from holding her hand,
but he hadn’t managed to keep his heart out of it. There was real pain in his
eyes at the thought of losing her to anyone else. He made a decision, lying
there in his bed that night. He was going to introduce her to his family.
They were only friends, and he had never known any other girl in this way,
but he just knew—this one was a keeper.
Tuesday afternoon, James walked Alicia home from the college where they were
both taking a class once a week. She had graduated four years early from
medical school, and he had finished his teaching degree a while back.
However, he planned to open his own private school and would need the
Educational Leadership master’s degree if he wanted to get the funding he
would need to make it a great school. He intended to keep it small and
attract only the most interesting students, but he also knew that if he was
going to make it a unique school, he would need financial backing in order to
fund it well. Still, none of this was on his mind today. All he could seem to
think about was this young woman beside him.
Smiling, he reached out and tugged Alicia’s hair. “I wonder,” he said
playfully, “if you’re ready for a real challenge.” She looked at him,
instantly up for whatever he might suggest. She was a firecracker, this girl,
and she intended to stay ahead of James every step of the way.
“I can take anything you can throw at me.” Laughing with real mirth, he said,
“Well, I really think this one will be a challenge. You see, I’ve told you
that I have an unusual family, but I want to bring you over to meet them—all
at once. And I’ve got to tell you, I’m not kidding when I say that we’re
highly unusual.” She pulled her pretty pink lips into a pout and said, “I’m
not scared of anything. And what’s more—I bet I can handle it with such
aplomb that no one will even know that you didn’t tell me about them ahead of
time.”
James
half believed her, but he also knew from years of experience that a person’s
first exposure to his family group could be jarring. “Well, let me give you a
hint, at least—that way you won’t be too surprised.” But she absolutely
refused, saying, “Nope, if this is going to be a fair challenge, I’ll take it
just the way we talked about — as a complete surprise. And I intend you
to be the one who’s shocked that day.” James simply smiled, sure that this
time, even the amazing Alicia wouldn’t be able to keep up with what this
surprise would throw at her.
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