A Wedding In the Family (17 page)

Adam dialed Angela’s number with deliberation. He’d put this off long enough.

“Hello.” She answered the phone on the first ring.

“Hi, I’m finished up here for the night, and it’s still early. Are Rob and Micah still there?”

“No, they left a little while ago.”

“Want to take the kids out for a pizza?” he asked. Afterwards, he would talk to her—openly, honestly—as he knew he should have done from the beginning.

“Yes,” she replied. “Are you coming over now?”

“In about twenty minutes. And Angela, after dinner—we need to talk about something. Just the two of us.”

“All right,” she agreed. “We will.” She’d be relieved to find out what had been bothering him for the past few days.

Within an hour, they had found seats in their favorite pizza parlor. They were ordering their dinner when they were greeted at the table by some people unfamiliar to Angela: Allen and Bonita Dalton, Adam’s brother and sister-in-law. And Tiffany was with them. Adam, Angela sensed, was not overly pleased with this encounter, but polite introductions were made. Bonita was Tiffany’s mother, and they looked enough alike to confirm it.

“You’re the woman Tiffany mentioned when we were looking at wedding gowns. Isn’t she, sweetheart?” Bonita asked her daughter, and Tiffany agreed.

“Yes, I remarked on how much I like your taste in clothing. You always look so elegant and well put together, no matter what the occasion is.”

Angela’s mouth nearly dropped open in surprise, but she caught herself and carefully guarded her response for fear of hurting the girl’s feelings. Hadn’t this been the gorgeous young woman who had looked so incredibly…female in that skirt and sweater on the night of the Open House? She certainly wasn’t someone Angela expected to be seeking her advice on fashion. “Thank you. That’s quite a compliment”

“Perhaps Angela would be willing to go shopping with you to find the kind of dress you’re looking for. After all, she’ll be part of the family soon, and you haven’t liked anything I’ve suggested so far,” Bonita suggested. Angela agreed to do so if that was really what Tiffany wanted. The tentative date was set for the first Saturday afternoon that they both had free. Then Tiffany left the restaurant to meet her fiancé for a late date, leaving Allen and Bonita to join Adam, Angela and the kids for a meal. The pizza tasted hot and spicy and the kids drank far too much soda pop to please Angela. The conversation went well, with talk of Adam and Angela’s future, as well as Tiffany’s wedding plans. When the discussion among the adults lagged, the kids picked it up again by asking questions about Bonita’s work as a veterinarian’s assistant. In fact, she had a homeless mother cat and kittens sitting in pet carriers in her car at that moment. She was taking them home for a few days, in hopes of finding a new owner. Angela let the kids go outside with Bonita to see the animals—on the understanding that under no circumstance were they taking one home. Not if a new puppy was a possibility in the near future. So Angela and Allen were left sitting at the table while Adam walked up to the register to pay for their dinner.

Adam didn’t like leaving her alone with his brother, but he decided against making an issue of it He’d only be away for a minute or two to take care of the check. How much damage could be done in a few minutes? But the cashier was slower than Adam
would have liked. By the time he made his way back to their table, Angela was nowhere to be seen, and Allen had a rather guilty look about him that Adam had seen before.

“Where’s Angela?” he asked, returning his wallet to his back pocket as he spoke.

“She went outside to the van. She seemed kind of upset about something, Adam. You’d better go.”

“What upset her?” he asked, his heart sinking. He thought he knew the answer.

“I don’t know. We were just joking around about college days and—”

Adam swallowed hard, trying not to let his anger show. But his curt voice conveyed his feelings well enough. “You had to bring that up, I suppose. About the weekends and all? Allen, I would think you could handle a five-minute conversation with her without talking about it.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“I want to marry this woman,” Adam stated, his eyes lit with anger. “Do you really think she wanted to hear about that from you? Or do you just enjoy telling it?”

“Adam—”

“Clean up your own life, Allen, and stop being jealous that I’ve already taken care of mine.” With those harsh words he walked out of the restaurant. He saw her, standing by the van in the chilly night air.

“Angela…Angie!” he called to her. But at the sound of her name, she turned her back to him and leaned against the vehicle. As he came up behind her,
he realized her shoulders were shaking from crying. His heart broke for her—from the pain he’d inflicted.

“Angie, we need to talk.”

“It’s a little late for that,” she replied in a choking voice. She took a deep breath. She needed to calm down, to walk around to the other side of the van and get in. The kids were across the street in the lot looking at Bonita’s kittens, and she had to get them into the van and leave without having this argument with Adam right here in front of them. All she wanted now was to go home and have a good cry—and then start trying to forget Adam Dalton. Liar that he was.

Then he was near her, touching her shoulder.

“Leave me alone,” she stated, moving away from him. She turned and looked him right in the eyes, wanting to hurt him as badly as he had hurt her. “You’ve lied to me all along, haven’t you? And I thought we had something special…”

“We do, Angie. I did not lie to you,” he insisted. He reached for her arm to stop her from running. away. “I just hadn’t told you yet”

“Tell me, Adam, when do you think you might have gotten around to letting me know? On the honeymoon?”

He gripped her arm, halting her in her tracks. “I would have told you soon—when the time was right.”

“Just when is a ‘right time’ to tell someone you’re an alcoholic? Maybe you should consider mentioning it right up front Especially to a woman whose first husband nearly wrecked her life with the same problem!”
She attempted to shrug off his grip on her but was no match for him as he held her almost effortlessly.

“I should have told you in the park as soon as I found out about Dan. You’d never mentioned he was an alcoholic. Why didn’t you say so earlier? Angela, I’d already said that. I wanted you
forever
—that was before you told me about the drinking. What was I supposed to do? Tell you, then and there? Risk losing you—”

“Yes! Why didn’t you?” she demanded.

“Because I knew how you’d react Just like this—angry, frightened, hopeless. And I knew you’d run away.”

“Can you blame me? I’ve spent the last dozen years of my life dealing with alcoholism and its horrendous effects on my family, my kids! Do you think I’d willingly sign on for more of the same?” Tears burned a path down her cheeks, and she looked away, wiping them with her fingers. If she could just get her children into the van and drive away from here, away from him…so she could be angry and sad and miserable. Alone.

“I don’t blame you for being upset, but this is a problem we can live with. It’s nothing like what you’ve been through with Dan.”

“You don’t know what I’ve been through with him. And you don’t know how it will be with you. Do all drinkers have the mistaken idea that their problem is ‘under control’? What is it with you guys, anyway? Would it threaten your manly pride to admit
that you’re
not
in control? That you need help? From God, from counselors, from someone!”

“When I needed help, I found it. We’ll be okay with this, Angie. I know we will. I still go to the weekly meetings—”

“And what? Weekly meetings are going to save our marriage? I don’t think so, Adam. I’m sure you’re trying and things are going well now, but I can’t take a risk like that I can’t have both you and sanity in my life—and I choose sanity.”

Adam stood silently staring at her, understanding her fears but wanting her to overcome them enough to give them this chance. “We’ll be okay with this, Angie. I love you too much to risk hurting you or the kids,” he responded. “I need you to trust me.”

“Trust you?! How can I do that when you don’t tell me the truth?” she cried, anguish searing her heart. “Adam, how could you let me think this could work? That I could have a second chance? That I could have
you?
” She turned from him in complete despair as he released her arm. Deep sobs racked her body, and Adam placed a hand gently on her back, wanting to comfort her, and yet knowing that he was the source of the pain. When Angela had taken several deep breaths and regained a fragile control over her emotions, she faced him again—to lash out at him, to tell him goodbye forever. But the bleak sorrow she saw in his expression startled her and momentarily silenced her.

Adam sighed heavily, and with a voice weighed with regret he spoke first. “I would have told you,
Angela. It’s not a secret I wanted to keep. But I needed time with you to prove that I could be trusted with other things—smaller things—before I had to ask you to trust me with this.”

She shook her head, unable to speak without emotion. She
couldn’t
trust him. Not with this. And cold despair settled over her at the thought of a future—dark and lonely—without him.

“You’ve been a Christian a long time, you know,” Adam offered in a still voice. He shoved his cold hands deep into his pockets. “Since when has alcoholism become something that can’t be forgiven?”

“I could forgive you for just about anything,” she replied softly. Then she reached up, touching his cheek with tenderness. “But I won’t live with this.”

Adam’s expression remained grim as he watched her walk away. And Angela didn’t look back while opening the van door for her approaching children.

“Hey, Adam, aren’t you coming with us?” Nathan called out before he was ushered into the vehicle by his impatient mother.

“He’s going to ride home with Allen and Bonita,” Angela explained in a voice that sounded far more under control than she felt. “I need to talk to you guys alone for a few minutes.” She glanced up once through watery eyes to see Adam watching them from where he stood on the sidewalk in the shadows of nightfall. She missed him deeply—even now, when she knew the real loneliness hadn’t yet begun. Swallowing a sob that rose in her throat, she tried to think clearly; she had to say something appropriate to the
children. She didn’t want them hating her for putting an end to their hopes. And she didn’t want them to hate Adam…for anything. She knew
she
never would.

The call came in the middle of the night. It was one of those calls no one likes to get. Grace let Angela know that Rob had taken Micah to the hospital. Micah was in premature labor that couldn’t be stopped, so the babies were coming. Six weeks early. Grace said what Angela already knew—that the only thing to be done at this point was to pray. So while Grace and Ed headed toward the hospital, Angela prayed.

As morning came and Angela and the children went through their daily routine, Angela’s thoughts were never far from Micah. The day seemed to drag by, but finally they returned home from school. Angela called her parents’ home, but the answering machine came on. No one was home yet. She called Eric and Hope, but there was no answer there, either. So she turned the oven on and reached for a box of frozen fish sticks and a bag of French fries so she could get supper started. Then came the phone call from Rob that she’d been waiting for.

“Liz?”

“Rob?” Angela dropped the food she was holding on the counter. “Is Micah all right? What happened?”

“She’s okay, thank the Lord. Exhausted, but all right. She’s sleeping now. The babies…oh, Liz, you
ought to see them. They’re amazing. Beautiful. Small, but not like we thought. Five pounds, two ounces and five pounds, four ounces. Nicholas is bigger—”

“Rob, that’s lovely! Naming your son after Nicky.”

“Nicholas—” Rob cleared his throat as his voice broke with emotion “—Nicholas Edward and Natalie Elizabeth.”

Angela’s eyes flooded with tears. “Same middle name as most of the Granston females, huh?”

“Well, you know how it is once a precedent has been set”

“Thank God they’re all safe and sound,” Angela said softly.

“He’s so good to us, Liz. Sometimes I don’t have the words.”

“I know.
He
knows.” She paused. “Give Micah a kiss for me. The kids and I will drive down after school tomorrow to see your new family. Do they have evening visiting hours?”

“Yes, and you’ve got to come. They’re absolutely gorgeous. Perfect. You’ve got to see them. And Micah—” He hesitated. “I felt so badly for her last night, Liz. No parents to call…and she was scared. When Mom and Dad showed up, it meant the world to her.”

“I’m sure it did. I’m so sorry I couldn’t have been there, too.”

“That’s okay. You shouldn’t bring your kids out in the middle of the night to sit in a hospital waiting room for hours. But come when you can, and bring
Adam. My guess is you’ll be the next member of the family in labor and delivery.”

Angela’s tears increased from a trickle to a steady flow, but she didn’t try to explain why Adam wouldn’t be with her. She just told her brother she’d see him soon, and hung up. The next baby in the family belonging to Angela and Adam? It had been a beautiful idea that had vanished along with the marriage plans. Yesterday another child had seemed possible. Today another wedding in the family seemed out of the question.

A
ngela flipped open the Sunday School booklet in her hand. Once again, she had been too busy this week to study the lesson, and she noticed they were nearing the end of the book signaling the completion of the fall quarter. Thanksgiving was less than two weeks away, and her engagement to Adam ended over two weeks ago. Time flies, apparently whether you’re having fun or not, Angela concluded.

She quickly looked over the lesson for today. Lately, reviewing the weekly Sunday School material wasn’t anywhere near the top of her list of “things to do.” Neither were her usual morning devotions or prayer time—not that she was sleeping later or purposefully avoiding those responsibilities. They were just easy to let slip by. She had no one to be accountable to. No one except the Lord, of course, and she hadn’t felt particularly close to Him lately, either.

The one bright spot in the string of days that
seemed to all run together had been a pleasant surprise: shopping with Tiffany yesterday. She’d been uncertain about going through with the plan in the aftermath of her breakup with Adam, but Tiffany had called her to ask if she would help her pick out an outfit for the upcoming awards ceremony at the center. The wedding dress could wait, but Tiffany needed something appropriate for the awards night. She wasn’t sure exactly what Adam needed her to help with that night, but she knew she’d at least be handing out certificates, and she wanted to look appropriate in front of the many parents and friends of the center.

“If you’re sure you want my help, I’ll be glad to go,” Angela had agreed with a little hesitancy. She couldn’t imagine how the shopping trip would go, but she was willing to give it a try. Much to her surprise, it proved to be fun. And interesting.

“I still haven’t found the right wedding gown,” the young woman had lamented as they looked through racks of clothes at Angela’s favorite dress shop in the mall near her home. She loved the clothes, and even more than that she loved the short drive to a facility filled with so many great stores all under one roof—one now very heavily decorated for Christmas.

“Don’t worry, you’ll find something you like soon,” Angela assured her. “Have you considered a less traditional dress? Maybe one of those Victorian clothing catalogs?”

“That’s a great idea. I love that style of clothing,” Tiffany exclaimed, pushing some dark strands of hair
from her forehead. Picking up a bright pink jacket, she held it up for Angela to consider.

“I think a softer color would be better, more formal. What do you think of this shade of red?” Angela held up a suit for Tiffany’s inspection and received a smile in response.

“Let me try it on,” Tiffany said, taking the hanger from Angela and heading toward the dressing room. “Would this white blouse be good with it?” she asked, pulling an elegant-looking sheer white blouse from the display outside the dressing room door.

“Umm.” Angela stalled for a moment as she glanced through the clothing. “Possibly. But let’s try a couple of these, too. This one with the small red print might look nice.” She handed a few choices to Tiffany, who took them gratefully before disappearing down a narrow hallway to change.

Within minutes, the young woman had put on the outfit and was modeling it for Angela in front of a three-way mirror. “I like it,” Tiffany said as she turned around to view her back in the reflection. “What do you think? Is it too loose?”

“No,” Angela replied quickly. “I think it’s just right. Very professional-looking for a professional young woman. That’s what you are, you know.”

“I really enjoy working at the center. I’d like to be thought of as someone capable of running a facility like that by myself someday soon.” The downcast expression on Tiffany’s face took Angela by surprise. “Unless I change my image, I’ll never reach my goals. I need to be able to support myself for the day
I’m on my own. Just like you. You know, there’s a good chance this marriage to Cameron won’t last.”

Angela stood looking at Tiffany, considering her words and her youth. “If you’re uncertain about this marriage, why don’t you and Cameron wait for a while? You don’t need to rush into anything. You’re so young.”

“That’s what everyone says, but I don’t
feel
young. You know? I mean, I feel like it’s time to be married, to settle down…to change.” She took another look at the suit, just as Angela took another look at Tiffany, who was not the college kid she sometimes appeared to be. “I guess I should take this off. I like it, though. Do you?”

Angela smiled. “Definitely. It looks great on you.”

Tiffany was only gone for a few minutes and then reappeared in the jeans and sweatshirt she’d worn into the store. “I’ll take these,” she told the salesclerk and pulled a credit card from her back pocket.

After the purchase was made, they left the store and walked down the mallway, finding an appropriate pair of shoes and even a pair of earrings to go with Tiffany’s outfit before they finished shopping.

“Do you go to church, Tiffany?” Angela asked as they walked toward the exit.

“No,” she answered. “Not that Adam hasn’t invited us plenty of times. We’ve just not taken him up on it.”

“Your mother and Allen don’t go?”

“Neither one of them went to church when they were growing up, and of course I didn’t, either. I think
that plays a large part in how much interest you have in religion as an adult. At least, I always did think that until I met Adam. I guess he kind of proves that theory wrong, doesn’t he? Growing up in the same house with Allen, yet turning out so differently.”

Angela’s smile was bittersweet as she thought of Adam. He was a changed man. God had taken care of that. Didn’t she trust God to continue to take care of that?

“There really must be something to this idea of help from a higher power, you know?” Tiffany added. “There has to be. How else could Adam be so changed and Allen remain so much the same? Allen’s tried to give up drinking a million times, and it never lasts. Not for long, that is.”

“You can have a personal relationship with the Lord, just like Adam and I have. He doesn’t have to be thought of as some distant source of higher power. He’s real. He can be with you, helping you daily. I wouldn’t want to see what my life would be without Him, and I’m certain Adam would say the same.”

“He’d have to.” Tiffany agreed wholeheartedly. “To keep from drinking now, when he’s lost you? Something must be holding him together.”

They pushed open the exit doors and stepped out into a cold November chill. It was a long walk to the van, and all the way there, Angela thought of Adam. What if he didn’t take a drink now, at this time in his life? Was it proof enough for her? Was it enough evidence to convince her that alcohol would never again have an impact on her life? Or her children’s?
And where was her answer from God? She was beginning to feel like the woman in Luke 18 who kept going to a judge with the same pleas until finally he granted her wish so she would quit bothering him with the request. Eventually, one way or another, the Lord had to let Angela know which road to follow. He
had
to. It wasn’t a decision she could make on her own.

“Adam is a good man, Angela,” Tiffany said once they were inside the vehicle with the engine running. “I hope you know that about him.”

“I do,” she answered quickly, truthfully. “There’s nothing easy about walking away from him. But with kids—”

“I know. I grew up with Allen’s drinking, and it wasn’t easy. I didn’t invite friends over much, didn’t count on him for help with anything—homework, boy trouble, anything. It was difficult. But with Adam…” She paused. “I just can’t see him slipping back into that old life, you know? He’s different from Allen—inside and out. Sometimes I’m kind of envious of him really. I know he’s working too hard right now—too many hours, too many projects—to keep his mind off you, I suppose. But still, he has a calmness about him—confidence, assurance…peace, I guess you could say. I’d like to feel that way, too.”

“You could, Tiffany. Come to church with me sometime. Or come over to my home, and I’ll show you some things the Bible has to say about the peace of God. It can be as real for you as it is for Adam or for me.”

“I suppose,” she replied with a smile. “Maybe I will. Thanks for the offer. And thanks for helping me with my shopping. I really like the outfit.” When Angela said goodbye to Tiffany later that day, it was with a genuine fondness.

She was thinking of some of the young woman’s comments when she realized that the Scripture lesson of the morning was being read by the pastor’s wife, who happened to be sitting next to Angela in the Sunday School class. She tried to block out the many other thoughts that occupied her mind to listen—really listen—to God’s word. That was something she hadn’t done much of these past few weeks and, even now, her concentration was diverted to thoughts of Adam.

He had deceived her. True, it was something he had
not
told her rather than anything he’d actually done. But it was deceit all the same. He knew what she’d been through with Dan, and yet he let her think life would be different with him. Sure, it would be different in the beginning, but he
was
an alcoholic. Recovering, yes, but he’d always be an alcoholic. Salvation hadn’t changed that. The temptation to drink would always be there, regardless of what God had done in his heart. He couldn’t be the man for her. The Lord wouldn’t expect her to take such a risk, to trust
that
much. And if he did expect that much of her, He would have to make it clear to her. Plain and simple.

The pastor’s wife read on and soon she was telling of Peter’s visions of the great sheet with four corners being let down to the earth with all manner of beasts
in it. She read how the voice of God told Peter to kill and eat, and how Peter refused to eat anything that was ceremonially unclean. He was still living by the Mosaic system despite living in the age of grace. “Do not call anything impure that God had made clean.” Acts 10:15b made it clear that Peter could eat anything because God had said so. That was reason enough. God had said so. Angela knew the story frontward and backward, and impatiently wondered what new light the teacher could shed on this subject of the acceptance of Gentiles by God. Certainly these verses could be symbolic of many things, especially people. When people are saved, they are changed, their lives are changed. Don’t doubt God on it. Trust Him. Accept them. Angela sat up a little straighter and reached for the cup of coffee she’d left beside her chair. Just then the teacher rephrased a thought: “What God finds acceptable, don’t you call unacceptable.” As she spoke, she looked directly at Angela. Angela nearly dropped her foam cup.

God had accepted Adam. It was just that simple. How could she think of him as unacceptable? “Are we to set our standards higher than the Lord’s?” the teacher asked. The discussion turned toward the fact that Gentiles, too, had been given the privilege of turning to Christ and receiving forgiveness for their sins and eternal life, but Angela heard little else as the morning progressed. Her mind kept wandering back to Adam. She tried to understand his reasons for not telling her the truth in the very beginning. Maybe it simply had been as he said. He needed her to trust
him with smaller things before he could ask her to trust him over the alcoholism. There had been no real reason to think Adam had known about Dan’s drinking problems back when Adam began seeing her. She hadn’t told him. Maybe no one else had, either.

“Angela? Are you all right?” She looked up at the mention of her name. The classroom was nearly empty, and her Sunday School teacher was rather noisily returning some reference books to the shelf while studying Angela’s frowning face. “The dismissal bell rang several minutes ago.”

“Oh,” Angela said, and quickly gathered up her Bible, lesson book and purse. “…I guess I let my mind wander. Sorry.” She tossed her empty coffee cup into the trash can and smiled. “See you downstairs in the sanctuary.”

“All right. See you then,” the teacher responded.

Angela made her exit quickly and paused at the water fountain in the hallway. “What God finds acceptable, don’t you call unacceptable.” The emphatic statement certainly seemed meant for her. But how could she know—absolutely, positively know—she could accept Adam into her life? Forever.
And it isn’t just
my
future in question here, Lord There are three kids involved, too. Remember?
she thought silently as the cool water flowed across her dry lips. She would need some confirmation. Loving Adam as deeply as she did, she would not go to him until she felt certain that it was the Lord’s will. “That’s the only way we’ll be able to make it work. The only way,” she whispered to herself.

And if the Lord was going to give her the answer she needed, she hoped he would give it soon. Tomorrow night was the annual awards ceremony at the recreation center. Angela and the children would be there; most likely, so would the director. Now if she could just figure out a way to leave her heart at home…

When Angela and her children entered the recreation center, a brisk gust of wind blew in behind them. It was a cold November, and the continuous threat of snow in the forecast had caused Heather to suggest that Thanksgiving might seem more like Christmas this year. But whether it snowed or not, this promised to be a cold holiday for Angela. Maybe all the rest of them would be, too.

A young usher wearing a bright red blazer handed Angela a program and smiled. Angela smiled back and wondered if Tiffany would be wearing the suit they had selected. It had looked lovely on her—perfect for this annual awards ceremony. Though even Tiffany hadn’t been sure how large a part she’d play in tonight’s festivities. This event had always fallen mostly to the director.

“I don’t see Adam,” Heather commented, craning her neck to peer around her brothers. “He’s got to be here somewhere.”

Angela knew Heather was right. This was his domain. He had to be here…somewhere.
And Lord, don’t let it be near me,
Angela prayed silently.

They walked toward the auditorium, worked their
way through the crowd of spectators, and found a place to sit.