The Cinderella Plan

Unwrapping her utensils, Anne smoothed her napkin in her lap. “No. The only night I can’t make it is Wednesday night. I volunteer to hold babies at the hospital that evening.”

“Hold babies?”

“Actually, I usually do it twice a week, but I think I can get someone to do my Friday shift since that’s when we’ll be putting up all the decorations for the carnival on Saturday.” She leaned forward, loving the topic of conversation. “I sit in a rocking chair and hold, talk to and even feed the babies, who need someone to do it for them. There are some babies—many of them preemies—who are in the hospital for weeks and need to be held and loved, either because their parents can’t always be there to do it or because they don’t have parents who want to. I think it’s the best job in the world.” Especially since I don’t know if I will ever have my own children to hold, she silently added.

“I didn’t realize there was such a job. You’re right. It would be great. You would probably enjoy working in our nursery on Sunday.”

Anne stared down at her plate. She knew so little about God and Jesus, only what Grandma Rose had told her as a little girl. When her gaze returned to his, she said, “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a church for a service other than a funeral or a wedding.”

Chapter Three

Caleb relaxed back in his seat, the noise of the jukebox and the patrons in the diner fading into the background as he riveted his attention to Anne. “Then you should come to our service one Sunday.”

“I don’t know.” She fidgeted with her napkin, balling it up. “My parents are atheists.”

“And you?” Caleb gritted his teeth, almost afraid to hear her reply.

“Confused. I don’t know what I am. When I was a little girl, I used to visit my grandma and go to church with her. Then I would come home and my parents would have nothing to do with going to church even when I would ask them about it.”

The tension washed from him as he sat forward, placing his elbows on the table. “On Sunday afternoons I have a group at the center. We discuss our faith, the Bible, the challenges of being a Christian in today’s world. Come join us. Some talk, some just listen.”

“I don’t know. I—I’ll think about it.”

“We start at three and go till we finish.”

“No set time to end?”

“Sometimes we’re in a talkative mood, other times not. There’s no pressure put on the group. It’s a time to explore our faith.”

Miranda brought their dinners and first placed Anne’s plate in front of her, then Caleb’s. The scent of roast beef, slathered in a thick, brown gravy, wafted to him, reminding him he was hungry. He watched Anne pick at her cheeseburger and fries and wondered what she was thinking.

Lord, help me to reach her. She needs me. She needs You in her life.

Caleb listened to Gina give the opening prayer before they began their Sunday afternoon faith session. When the girl finished, his gaze slid toward the door into the TV room at the center. Was Anne going to come? he wondered, fighting the disappointment that she wasn’t sitting with them.

He could remember Teresa in college and their long talks about God. He’d thought he could show her the importance of the Lord, but in the end he hadn’t been able to and he’d had to acknowledge he couldn’t marry someone who didn’t believe as he did. He would have been asking for trouble before their marriage even began. Cutting his losses had hurt him deeply because he had loved Teresa, but when he married, it would be for a lifetime.

“A friend at school asked me the other day that if Jesus was really the son of God, then why did He die like He did? Why didn’t He just save himself?”

Jeremy’s question pulled Caleb out of the past and firmly in the present. “What do you all think?” He scanned the fourteen faces of the teenagers in the group.

Tiffany waved her hand in the air, bouncing up and down on her chair. “I know why. I know! He died for our sins.”

“He died because He was finished with His message to us. Christ had done what He was sent to do,” Gina added.

As Billy gave his opinion, Caleb saw Anne at the doorway. She listened to the different children’s opinions but didn’t come any farther into the room. A lightness entered his heart at the thought she had come to hear about God. There was hope.

Leaning forward, Caleb rested his elbows on his thighs, clasping his hands loosely together. “What you say is all true. But more importantly, Jesus was resurrected to show us the way, to show us not to fear death, that He would be waiting for us when our time came. No other has come back from the dead like He did.” As Caleb talked, he noticed Anne step into the room. “He wanted His disciples to go out into the world and spread His word. And Christ wanted no doubt in their minds who He was. How would you have responded if He had shown Himself to you three days after He had died?”

Anne eased into a chair next to Nikki near the door. The young girl bent toward Anne and said something to her. Anne smiled, then glanced at him. Caleb’s heartbeat increased. The sound of voices melted away while his attention clung to Anne across the room, experiencing a connection to her that he hadn’t before.

She was here. She had taken her first step toward the Lord. His heart sang with the news and all the possibilities. Hope flared into a full-blown promise.

An hour later when the discussion died down, Gina announced, “I brought brownies for anyone who is hungry.”

The teenagers made their way to the table along the west wall where the brownies and some soda were set up. Anne hung back, moving toward the door.

“You aren’t going to leave without saying hi, are you?” Caleb asked, eager to see what her impression of the session was.

“Hi.” She sidled a step closer to the door. “You didn’t tell me I would be one of two adults at this meeting.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important. You know everyone here.” He spread his arms wide. “What did you think?” He positioned himself between Anne and the door, not wanting her to leave just yet.

“Interesting. I particularly liked Billy’s comment about seeing Jesus after He died.”

“I think ‘wow’ just about sums it all up. Leave it to a child to put it into one word.”

“Kids do have a way of getting to the point.”

“So?” He propped his shoulder against the door frame, folding his arms over his chest, hoping he appeared casual, nonchalant.

“This past hour has given me a lot to think about.” Anne looked back at the group. “Where’s Dylan?”

“He’s never come to one of these meetings.”

“So you haven’t had time to talk with him anymore?”

He shook his head. “But we’re going to meet tomorrow after school.”

“Before we work on the decorations?”

“Yep.”

“Anne, it’s nice to see you here,” Gina said, interrupting them. “Want a brownie?” She held up a nearly empty plate, thrusting it between Anne and Caleb.

“I’d better not. If I ate one, I would want two.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having two brownies. How about you, Caleb?”

“Thanks.” Caleb took one from the plate, his palms sweaty.

“Catch y’all later. Got to get rid of the rest of these. I can’t take them home! Mom would so not be happy.” She went back to the other kids for a soda.

“Only a child who is reed thin would say that about two brownies,” Anne said with a laugh, looking up at Caleb.

“I’m glad you came.”

She pinned him with an intense look. “Why?”