CHAPTER TEN
There was a pause and then her mom sighed. “Yes, sweetie. I’m sorry.”
Amy’s stomach knotted. “What’s happened? Are you and Dad okay?”
“Everyone is fine, sweetheart. It’s just…there’s been a fire.”
“A fire? Did something happen to the house?”
“Not the house. The church.” Her mom paused. “And the school.”
“The school?” Amy felt dread pooling in her stomach. “What happened? Were they able to save it?”
“No. They had been working in the school, painting, varnishing and stuff. They think an electrical short caused the fire and with so much flammable stuff in the building, it went up in flames quickly. Because it was late at night, no one realized what was happening right away. The sprinklers and alarm system seemed to have been shut off or malfunctioned because they didn’t kick on.
The church was burn a bit, but the school was completely gutted. ”
“Was anyone hurt?” The thought of the damage done to the buildings was bad enough, but if someone had been hurt as well, that would be terrible.
“Because it happened so early in the morning, no one was in either of the buildings.”
“What are they going to do? About the school?”
“Your dad met with the board this afternoon because they realized parents needed to be able to make alternate plans for the school year.”
“Alternate plans? So they’re not going to try to relocate the school?”
“They spent time putting out feelers to parents while they also looked for possible alternatives. A lot of parents weren’t willing to have their kids go to a school across the city since it would mean long bus rides, especially for the younger ones.
The church is too damaged to be able to use it for classes.
They are recommending that parents look into other Christian schools in the area or consider the public schools. ”
Amy stared out the blurred window. “What about us teachers?”
Her mom sighed. “They aren’t able to offer any of you anything at this point.
Your dad said they were hoping that they will be able to rebuild by next school year, but right now they just don’t have many options with the school year so close.
All the equipment, the books and everything would have to be replaced.
It just isn’t possible to get everything into place before school is scheduled to start. ”
“So I have no job,” Amy stated without emotion. What was she supposed to do now?
“I’m sorry, sweetie. Your dad and I just feel horrible. Of course, you always have a place with us, so don’t worry about that. And I’m sure you’ll be able to find something.”
“Schools already have their teachers in place for the new year. No one is hiring now. I could maybe get a job subbing.” Amy slumped in her seat.
All she’d ever wanted to do was teach, and she had been well on her way in that career.
Until this news. She’d planned to teach at this school for several more years, but now she was out of a job with no prospect of another.
“I know it’s upsetting, but it could have been so much worse. At least you have us to help you out.”
Amy knew that what her mom said was true, but part of her wondered how much worse.
Right now she felt like her life had been devastated.
After her broken heart at sixteen, Amy had carefully plotted out her life in hopes of avoiding anything quite so painful again.
She’d planned to teach for a few years, get married and then have a couple of kids.
It hadn’t been a complicated plan. In fact, she’d tried to keep it simple.
But here she was...her life suddenly spinning out of her control and off the track of her careful planning.
First the whole thing with Will. She’d seen another heartache coming from that direction. Had already begun to brace for it. But this latest twist with her career had blindsided her. Of all the things she’d expected to go wrong in her life, that hadn’t been one of them.
“Are you going to be okay, sweetie?” her mom asked. “I wanted to be the one to tell you once we had an idea of what the church planned to do about the school.”
“I’ll be fine. God must have a plan in all this, right?”
“That’s right. Trust God even when things don’t look rosy.” Then her mom sighed. “Though I will admit to questioning God a bit about this on your behalf. But at least you don’t have to worry about paying rent to a landlord or having a car payment. I know you’ve been careful with your money.”
“I’ve certainly tried, but that was in order to travel some, not pay my bills while I was unemployed.”
“Sometimes what we plan is different from what God wants for us. Trust Him that all this will work out for good.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Amy knew she couldn’t let her mom know how upset she really was about everything.
Right then she just wanted to end the call and get home to her room at the manor.
She glanced at the window and saw that the rain continued to streak down the glass, and lightning flashed.
It appeared she wouldn’t be going anywhere for a little while.
As her mom went on to discuss other things, Amy tried to focus on what she was saying, but it was a challenge.
Her mind was wildly racing trying to figure out solutions to the problems that had cropped up.
It was a relief when her mom finally ended the call.
Usually Amy loved talking with her, but right then she needed to be alone with her thoughts to process everything.
Amy dumped the remnants of her meal in the garbage and dashed through the rain to Jessa’s car. She knew she couldn’t drive out to the manor yet, but needed the privacy the car would give her. Once inside, she grabbed a tissue and wiped the rain from her face.
Rain streaked the windshield like it had the windows of the restaurant, but soon Amy realized the blurring of her vision was less from the rain and more from the tears that had sprung into her eyes.
She blinked and felt hot moisture slide down her cheeks.
Though she wasn’t normally given to tears, Amy let these come.
She felt so alone. Yes, she had her parents, and they would help her, but she felt keenly the responsibility for her own life and the decisions that lay ahead.
There was no one there to share the burden with her.
No husband. Not even a boyfriend. Just her.
Sitting with head bent, hands clasped in her lap, Amy sank into a miry pit of tears, self-pity and helplessness.
~*~*~
Will helped clear up the dishes and then played a few games with the kids while waiting for the storm to die down. And for Amy to return.
“I think we’re going to venture out,” Dean said a short time later. “It looks like it’s letting up.”
Will leaned against the counter to look out the window over the sink. “Any reports of damage from your guys?”
“Not yet. It seems the rain was the worst of it. We always have more issues when the wind is high.”
“Hopefully everything dries up tomorrow before the wedding. I know they want to do pictures on the lawn afterwards,” Laurel said. “I’m grateful we didn’t lose any trees this time around.”
Will watched as Dean and Violet gathered up their family and left.
He hoped that meant that Amy would soon be on her way home.
He really didn’t want to leave until he was sure she was safe.
No one else seemed too concerned about her though.
Not long after Dean and Violet had left, Matt and Laurel loaded up and headed out as well.
“Mind if we hang around for a bit?” Will asked Lance. “I’d like to see how things went for Amy. She was shopping for the you-know-what.”
Lance nodded. “That’s fine. I’m going to go see how Jessa is doing.”
“Can Isabella come to my room and play until you leave?” Julia asked.
“Yep. That would be fine,” Will told his niece.
After the two girls had followed Lance up the stairs, Will settled in a chair at the table where he had a good view of the driveway.
He spent some time on his phone checking email and other messages while he waited.
It was almost twenty minutes later that he saw the sweep of headlights.
He stood up and returned his phone to the holder on his belt as he walked to the front door.
He opened it in time to see Amy dash toward the manor, her head bent.
There was still a light drizzle which no doubt accounted for the speed with which she crossed the distance between the car and the steps.
As she got to the top step, she lifted her head.
Will saw surprise cross her face before she dipped her head down again.
She stepped past him into the foyer. “Thanks.”
“No bags? I figured you’d come home laden with stuff,” Will said as he took in her damp blonde curls and wet clothes.
“They’re all still in the car. I figured I’d wait to unload them until after the rain stopped. Some of that stuff won’t do well if it gets wet.” She ran a hand over her hair then plucked at the front of her wet shirt, still not looking at him. “I’d better go get dried off.”
Will placed his hands on his hips as he watched her walk toward the stairs.
Something was off. Wrong. Her usual bubbly, light step seemed weighted down as she climbed to the second floor of the manor.
Had the shopping been that bad? In the brief glimpse he’d had of her face, he’d seen something else there besides surprise.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but the thought crossed his mind that it looked like she’d been crying.
Not that it was easy to tell given that her face was already wet from the rain.
He wondered if she’d come back down. Part of him wanted to wait around to find out, but he told himself that his plan had been to make sure she made it home safe and sound.
She was back at the manor now, so there was no need for him to stick around.
If she didn’t want to talk tonight, they could discuss how the shopping trip went another time.