Waking Up In Charleston

“Just be one of the sponsors of the youth group, sort of a mentor. You wouldn’t need formal training for that.” And, he thought, it would mean they’d be working together on a regular basis. He recognized that God would probably find some way to slap him silly for the ulterior motives behind his pitch.

“I don’t know,” she said doubtfully. “I really don’t have that much time.”

“You’ve been looking for a way to give back to the church for helping you get a house,” he said, forcing aside the instant twinge of guilt that assailed him for playing that particular card.

“I’ll think about it,” she promised.

“Seriously,” he pressed.

She regarded him with amusement. “Yes, Caleb, I promise I will think about it seriously. I will not crack up laughing at the mere idea of turning myself into anyone’s mentor.”

Before he could respond to that, Susie patted his cheek to get attention.

“Mr. Caleb, what kind of ice cream are you gonna have?”

“Strawberry fudge,” he said at once, knowing it was her favorite.

She grinned. “Me, too!”

He feigned shock. “Really?”

“I’m gonna have one scoop of chocolate and one of cherry vanilla,” Larry said enthusiastically.

“I want two scoops of chocolate,” Jimmy said.

Caleb turned to Amanda. “What about you? Is this a plain old vanilla night or are you going to live dangerously?”

He saw the precise instant when she rose to the dare in his voice. Her eyes began to shine with a rare sparkle.

“I am having,” she began, pausing for drama, “a banana split.” She looked each one of them in the eye, saving Caleb for last. “And I am not sharing.”

He laughed. “Not even one little bite?”

“Not even if you beg,” she declared.

Caught up in the moment, he locked his gaze with hers. “Bet I can make you change your mind.”

Bright patches of color rose in her cheeks, but she didn’t blink or look away. “Bet you can’t,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Caleb once again admired her willingness not to turn away from something that so clearly scared her. He could have let the whole thing die right there, satisfied with the response he’d managed to stir in her, but he, too, was feeling just a little bit reckless and daring tonight.

With her steady gaze still even with his, he leaned slowly down and brushed a daring first kiss across her lips. When he pulled away, she looked shaken, but undaunted.

“You think that will change my mind?” she scoffed. “We’re talking a banana split here.”

He grinned. “That might not change your mind,” he agreed. “But how about if I tell you that if you don’t share, there’s a whole lot more where that kiss came from.”

She faltered for just a second, then chuckled. “You know, for a minister, you certainly know how to play dirty.”

“It would be wise, Amanda, if you’d remember that when it gets right down to it, I’m a minister, not a saint. Trust me, there’s a difference.”

“Yes, I’m beginning to get that.”

Oddly enough, it didn’t seem to scare her half as much as he’d expected it to.

And that gave him unexpected hope for the future.

3

Mary Louise had worked a double shift at the Stop and Shop and her feet were killing her. She was determined, though, to show Danny that she was willing to make good on her word to earn all the money they would need to get by once they were married.

“Is Danny coming home again this weekend?” Willie Ron asked as she closed out for the evening and he prepared to take over.

Willie Ron Dupree was only twenty-six, but he had been working the graveyard shift for ten years to help support his disabled mother. He never talked about whatever hopes and dreams he’d had before his mother’s illness had made her unable to work. If he’d had to give up college or anything, Mary Louise had never heard him complain about it.

Willie Ron was one of the nicest guys she’d ever known, always willing to come in early if she needed to take off, always ready to listen when she had a problem. And he always asked about Danny. She wondered what he’d have to say if he knew about her pregnancy, if it would make him think less of her, or of Danny, for that matter.

“Hey,” Willie Ron said, concern in his voice. “You okay? I asked about Danny and for once you didn’t launch into a full-scale recitation of all the guy’s good points.”

Mary Louise shrugged. “Guess my mind wandered,” she said. “He should be here any minute. He was driving over from Clemson after his last class today. He promised he’d be here in time to pick me up after my shift.”

“Girl, you got that boy wrapped around your finger,” Willie Ron teased, his smile showing off a row of glistening white teeth. “No woman’s ever going to tie me up in knots like that.”

“Just wait till the right one comes along,” she goaded him. “You’ll treat her like a queen, the same way you do your mama.”

“My mama’s raised eight of us, and done a good job of it,” Willie Ron said, his expression turning serious. “She deserves being spoiled. Haven’t met anyone yet who’s her equal. Even when she was laid low by a bad heart, my mama kept her spirits up. She raised all of us to count our blessings and not be crying over things we can’t fix.”

“You’ll find someone just like her someday,” Mary Louise told him. “I know for a fact that Li’l Bit Gaines comes in here just to see you.”

If it was possible for a black man to blush, Willie Ron’s cheeks would have been flaming. “Li’l Bit just likes her nightly candy fix. She comes in here for a Snickers bar. Got nothin’ to do with me.”

“Yeah, right,” Mary Louise responded. “I know better. How many people rush out to indulge a chocolate craving after eleven o’clock at night?”

Willie Ron frowned. “Maybe instead of messin’ in my love life, you ought to be checking your lipstick before that boyfriend of yours gets here,” he said. “Though I don’t know why you’d bother since he’s likely to kiss it right off. I haven’t seen you two make it to the car yet before that man’s sneakin’ himself some sugar.”

Ignoring the taunt, Mary Louise hurried to the back of the convenience store to put on another coat of Sugar-plum lip gloss. But even as she locked the door to the restroom she kept spotless, she wondered just how much kissing she and Danny were likely to do. He’d gone into a hands-off mode the minute he’d heard about the baby. Kinda like shutting the barn door after the horse has gone, in her opinion. Seemed like they ought to be taking advantage of this time, since any fooling around they did couldn’t lead to another pregnancy. They were already in as much trouble as it was possible to get.

When she emerged from the back, Danny was standing at the counter talking to Willie Ron. She took a moment to admire the way Danny looked in his carefully pressed chinos and dark green polo shirt. It was her favorite because it made his eyes look even greener than usual. He looked like the fancy college boy he was, and she was amazed that she’d been lucky enough to be the girl he’d fallen for.

“Hey, handsome,” she called out. “Did you come straight from the fraternity house?”

“You know I’m no frat boy,” he chided, then gave her an appreciative once-over. “But you could put most of those sorority girls to shame, Mary Louise.”

It was a sweet thing to say, especially since he knew she sometimes felt inadequate because college had been beyond her family’s reach. Until she’d gotten pregnant, she’d been hoping to put enough money aside to take some classes here in town so Danny wouldn’t be ashamed of her lack of education.

“You two have big plans for tonight?” Willie Ron asked, regarding them like an indulgent big brother.

“Actually we have some talking to do,” Danny said, his gaze locked with Mary Louise’s. “I thought we could take a drive or something.”