Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“For God so loved…”

John 3:16

Isaac Freegrace held open the door of the church for Agatha, Clay, and young Nina Dangerpride as they filed out from the white building. He had finally convinced his daughter and Clay to come to church with him. The two of them had recently taken Nina Dangerpride under their wing, and so they’d decided to take her along as well. Isaac knew they had come to make him happy, but perhaps enough Sundays being surrounded by the worship of the congregation and the words of Reverend Holt would set something on fire in their cold hearts.

Nina had become Clark (Clay) and Agatha’s project. Just as Clark has suspected, when he told Agatha of his visit to their “neighbors” house, she had known just what to do. “We’ll hire Nina too!” She said with delight in her voice, “But you know, not to do hard labor. It will really be just a disguise for us to get her away from that home, and I can teach her all the cooking and sewing that her Mama doesn’t have time to teach her. On top of that, we can give her a small income to take home. Papa and I always regret not being able to reach out more to my Cl…her older brother before he took the drastic action to leave home, but Nina is our second chance. I’ll go over there tomorrow with you and we’ll get this all set up! How fun! How delightful!” Little did Agatha know that her second chance was already standing in front of her, that the boy who had gotten away was the man who had pulled her and her father out of their own time of hardship. So technically Nina was like a third chance or a second and a half chance.

The next day Clark (Clay…Whatever!) and Agatha had gone to the Dangerpride home and presented the idea to Nina and her Ma. Both showed some hesitance and mistrust, but couldn’t turn down the extra money. Even Bart, who had been consulted by necessity, couldn’t see the harm in Nina “Finally earning her place at this house, instead of humming around to herself all day.” Clark (Clay) promised to help her finish up some of her own house chores each day, which would need be neglected while she was at the Freegrace house. It seemed almost too good to be true to young Nina who had only known sorrow and hardship in her life, but a voice that seemed to be speaking in all caps, reassured her heart, although she didn’t know who it was or where it came from:

I AM DOING THIS FOR YOU. GO AND FIND REST MY CHILD.

And so here they all were, a month later, filing out of the church building, a kind of patchwork quilt family of sorts. Agatha had felt uncomfortable in the church building at first, she felt all the eyes of the town’s people, the ones she had scorned and asked to leave her and her family alone. She wondered what they thought of her sitting in church, whether their hearts were smug with “I told you so’s” or whether they didn’t want her there at all. But by the end of the service, Agatha found herself feeling at home in the church that her grandfather, A.T. Freegrace had set up for the settlers in Sunshine Salvation Valley. Reverend Holt spoke about God’s Abounding Love for each person, that had no beginning or end. She found she still couldn’t accept this love in her own heart, but the idea sounded nice, a beautiful story that warmed her heart although she dismissed it as an artful fiction.

Clark had been moved by the service; the church was like an oasis offering some kind of living water that he had been without for these seven years, and hadn’t known he needed. He still needed to think about it all, to talk with Isaac, but something was stirring in his heart, and it wasn’t just his obvious attraction for Agatha or his sorrow for his sister Nina. A church social had been announced for the following Sunday and Clark was waiting for the perfect moment to ask Agatha. Their friendship had been growing everyday, restored to the ease of their childhood. Of course, Agatha didn’t know who he really was, but nonetheless, Clark was beginning to realize that he might want to stick around even longer than he’d planned, maybe forever…

Agatha looked over at Clark, smiling warmly at him, she then looked down ashamed at the way she so often let her guard down and her feelings show. Mrs. Shelter had always taught her to guard her heart, that was what she had promised to do when Pa presented her with her purity ring (This novel brought to your by the True Love Waits Campaign). But with Clay, it seemed that her heart didn’t stand a fighting chance. Clark’s perfect moment came sooner than he’d expected. Isaac’s voice broke into the fresh Sunday air, “Nina, why don’t you come and guide me over to Mr. McQuickerson, I’ve been meaning to ask him about some new calico fabric for you and Agatha’s dresses for the social.”

“New dresses, for the social! Oh, Mr. Freegrace, I hadn’t intended on going and a new dress is absolutely unnecessary for me.” Nina flushed, overwhelmed at the generosity the Freegrace family continually showed her. There was something different about them. It was as if they were preaching a message of love to her and only using words when necessary.

“Nonsense! The girls representing the Freegrace farm will be dressed in beautiful new dresses, because they deserve it, and it would humor this old man to spoil them once in a while!” Isaac laughed “No come along Nina, I can’t find my way over to Mr. McQuickerson on my own! No one wants to see a blind man wondering aimlessly around the churchyard like a chicken with his head cut off!” Nina silently lead Isaac across the churchyard overwhelmed once again by the kindness of Isaac and his daughter and of course Clay, who had become like an older brother to her, it was if… no, Clark was long gone, it couldn’t be, what a silly childish thought.

Clark found himself alone with Agatha. “Aggie, I was wondering… well, I don’t suppose, well…” Clark was endearingly nervous.

“Yes Clay,” Agatha asked sweetly looking up at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Well, I’m just going to spit it out! Will you let me escort you to the social?” Clark spit it out, all in one breath.

“Well, I would just simply love to Clay,” Agatha was filled to the brim with joy. She’d thought he’d NEVER ask (even though they had just learned about the Social moments earlier).

“Well, I suppose I’ll pick you up next Sunday evenin’ at your, well, our doorstep.”

“I’ll be there!” Agatha wanted to take Clay’s hand in hers. She wished the moment could last forever.