Chapter 13. In Which They Finally Meet Again And The Stage Is Set

It was July when Bethany travelled to IN, along with her parents and Miss T, for the Youth Fellowship Meetings. These meetings were divided into districts and Bethany knew quite well that OH and AR were not in the same district. Still, she hoped Chris might show up. And he did! His trusty FBI agent, Mr J, told him Bethany would be there and so he went. They didn't spend a lot of time together but did manage one long talk in the hall while their friends walked by and pretended not to notice them. In the course of conversation Chris shared his plans for going to Faith Mission Home. In surprise, Bethany shared her going to Faith Mission story! And, at last, the green light spun and blinked. No way was he going to FMH if she was going too! The time had come to ask, and soon. There was one person he needed to talk to, Miss T. You see, Chris wasn't quite as dense as Bethany had thought. He didn't want Bethany to have to tell Miss T, so he took her aside and informed her of his plans. And so, the stage was set.

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Chapter 12. In Which We Sing A Familiar Tune And A Matter Is Settled

It so happened that Chris' trip to AR coincided with VBS. Thursday night Miss T took Bethany aside to fill her ears! She had been shopping at Walmart that day when who should appear but Chris and Mr K!! AND they had told Miss T they might come to VBS that night! All evening Bethany waited...but in vain. As her house was only a stone's throw from Mr J, she observed their porch party as she finished packing for her departure in the morning. It would have been so easy to MAKE seeing each other happen, but Chris was quite content to leave it to the Lord. And so, the morning found Bethany on a plane to Belize and Chris attending the morning session of VBS. Once again, so near and yet so far away! Bethany enjoyed her time in Belize and returned home wondering what the future held for her. Imagine her surprise to find a letter waiting to confirm a dream! It contained an application for Faith Mission Home, a place for mentally handicapped children. With her parent's blessing she made plans to go there for a year.

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Chapter 11. In Which Chris Has A Birthday And Bethany Receives A Surpr ise

Spring sped on toward summer and one day a green light appeared in Chris' mailbox! It happened this way. Miss T remembered that Chris' birthday fell on June 1 and proposed to Bethany that they send him a card. She agreed hesitantly, knowing her parents might frown on the idea. Miss T drafted a poem and Bethany produced a photo. They signed their names and Miss T sent the greeting on it's merry way! Weeks later, the phone rang at Bethany's house ... not unusual. Her sister answered it ... also, not unusual. Seconds later she handed it to Bethany, "I think it's Chris Eicher!" GULP. This WAS unusual!! Sure enough, seeing an excuse to contact Bethany, he had picked up the phone and called her. They proceeded to have a "friendly" chat and all the while Bethany's mind was spinning "what am I gonna say when I get off of here?!" Much to Bethany's relief, no great fuss was made. She did glean one noteworthy news item. Chris and Mr K were planning a trip in June which included a stop in AR at Mr J's house! Hmm.....

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Chapter 10. In Which They Nearly Meet And We Learn Of The FBI

And so, the 2 individuals in our story returned to "normal" life. Although neither could forget the friendship that had budded in the most unusual way. To tell the truth, they missed each other! And when Bethany went to OH to visit her sister, she really did miss him. By a whisker. You see, Bethany was spending several weeks w/ her married sister. An acquaintance from CBS called her up w/ an invitation to a volleyball game one night. An evening of so many strangers was too much for Bethany's shy nature and she stayed home. Weeks later her sister's letter revealed that Chris Eicher was at that volleyball game!! If only...but she had missed it! Meanwhile, Chris spent his summer working and searching for green lights concerning Bethany. He had what he called his FBI-friends who knew of his interest in Bethany and gave advice and information. These included bishops, ministers, CBS teachers, CBS roommates of both he and Bethany, and of course Mr J, Chief Of Information Himself. One day a green light appeared!

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Chapter 9. In Which Miss T is Offered A Ride And They Say Good Bye

Now Miss T had a brother in IN whom she wished to visit. She had a way to return to AR in a few weeks, but how to get there in the first place? Enter the kindhearted (but dense!) Chris Eicher. Seeing as he lived in OH, it would be a simple matter to drop Miss T off on his way home. When Bethany heard of his offer, she was fit to be tied. Of all the things Chris had done concerning Miss T, this was by far the dumbest yet! But, again, what could she say? Why should she care? So, Saturday night found Chris at Mr J's house, a room mate of Chris' from Bethany's church. After church Sunday Miss T had dinner at Bethany's house and waited for her ride to arrive. He came presently and Bethany, after saying her goodbyes to Miss T, found herself on the porch with... HIM. It felt awkward, suddenly, to say goodbye. They shook hands and stood there, as if there should be something more than merely goodbye. But what? And so it was merely goodbye. Then Chris drove away w/ Miss T as Bethany forlornly watched them go.

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Chapter 8. In Which Miss T Hitches A Ride And Bethany Protects Her

The last big event of CBS was a trip to Hillcrest to give a program. The Clarion staff planned to return immediately afterward to work on the yearbook. Now it happened that Miss T learned of the plan and obtained permission to go w/ them as she had alot of homework. Bethany was indignant! Homework indeed. But what could she say? The ride included only her and 2 boys. Neither could she argue when Chris opted to sit in the back seat w/ Miss T. But she was furious. What an idiot! Had he never heard of leading girls on? The ride back was less than merry. They drove along in silence only to realize they'd majorly missed their road! After procuring a map and stopping for gas the atmosphere suddenly changed. You see, Chris was in the driver's seat now and Bethany smugly kept her spot notwithstanding Miss T's imploring looks! Now that Miss T was protected there was laughter and chatter and singing. And to ensure her further protection Bethany made certain she went straight to her room to do homework upon arrival!

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Her little hand

Someday this little hand might cook or clean or sew or tend a garden or busily can fresh vegetables for a hungry family. Someday it might touch a firstborn child or hold a husband's hand or smooth a sick child's brow or wipe pain filled eyes. Someday this hand might feed the hungry in africa or fold in prayer for the lost. And someday this little hand will fold in death. But today? Today this little hand needs mine. It reaches for mine to go on a walk, it pats my back when i pick her up, and when she's tired or hurt this little hand searches for mine and her fingers caress my familiar skin. This nap time ritual is made sweeter by the fact that once it was my little hand that needed my mother's. My little hand that searched and felt for the familiar skin. Someday this little hand won't need mine anymore but today? I treasure today.