Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“…why does this surprise you?”

Acts 3:12

Agatha Tabitha Freegrace had been running in the prairie towards the mountains for quite a long time. Her heart churned with so many emotions, she felt ready to explode. Why had he left? She tried to imagine what the “terrible thing” was that had driven Clay away. She really couldn’t imagine him doing anything that would require him to leave, and after they had shared the most wonderful times together. Agatha took a moment away from her tears to replay a montage of scenes from her and Clay’s relationship in her head. She remembered the way he’d come to her rescue at McQuickerson’s general, she remembered sharing supper with Clay and her father laughing, and enjoying each other’s company, she remembered seeing Clay hard at work at the farm and helping young Nina Dangerpride along, and most of all she remembered the way he had whirled her around the dance floor at the church social, and kissed her later that night, her first kiss.

After this short montage, Agatha felt completely stuck. What could she do? She noticed that she had run all the way to the neat little clump of trees that had often been her and Clark’s hideout as kids, the place where he had carved their names into the tree. She had come many times over the years, revisiting this spot, especially after Clark left, but it had been a while since she had been here, especially since Clay arrived. She thought of Clark, and almost felt bad for having thought of him so little during Clay’s time at the Freegrace home. She slowly entered the woody enclosure, finding the small clearing where she and Clark had sat together so many years ago. She looked at the tree with their names carved into its trunk: “Clarky + Aggie.” Agatha began to wonder if things would ever settle down in her life, if the endless cycle of pain would ever stop, if she would ever find the cheesy resolution to her story like all the other main characters of Christian romance novels.

Just then, a shaft of light came through the canopy of trees overhead. The sun had moved, casting a new light on the tree that Agatha had been staring at for some time, acquiring one of her characteristic tension headaches. She was just about to let out a sigh when she had an epiphany. As the light shown on the letters carefully etched into the tree, a connection was forming in Agatha’s mind. The handwriting looked familiar, where had she seen it? Several tens of minutes passed as Agatha worked out this mysterious epiphany in her head. And then, suddenly, she figured it out! It was like a bolt of lightning from the sky, like a heavenly messenger announcing good news! Agatha screamed and then fainted, overwhelmed by the weight of her epiphany. She came back to consciousness long enough to say these words:

“Clay is Clark!” Yes, she had put it together; the handwriting on the tree was the same of that on the goodbye letter. How could she have missed it? Clay resembled Clark in so many ways, and of course his interest in caring for Nina Dangerpride, his SISTER, and his familiarity with the area and the people in it. Agatha fainted again, partially because she was overwhelmed, and partially for dramatic affect.

As she surfaced back to consciousness again, she knew what she had to do. She knew that Clark had lied to her, but she had already forgiven him from the bottom of her heart. There was only one thing left to do, go after him! She had to tell him she knew, she had to tell him she loved him. Agatha ran out of the small patch of woods, taking one last glance at the two names etched in the tree. She ran across the prairie, back to the family farm, talked to her father, and was riding her horse east to Clark, within the hour.

Meanwhile, in Prodigal, Wyoming, Clark had made his own resolve. He loved Agatha too much; he hadn’t really given her the chance to react to the truth. Maybe she would forgive him. Fear was no reason to be held back, and the thought of never seeing Aggie made his eyes misty and sent a solitary tear running down his cheek. He got on his horse, heading back to the one he loved, and this time, he was coming as himself, warts and all.