Chapter 19
“Amy!” Terry said as she answered the phone, already checking to see that it was her sister who called.
“I missed your call earlier. I wanted to see how your first day went.”
“I hoped that was what you’re calling for.”
“It was.”
“I just wanted you to know that it was a great day. And I want to thank you again for all your support. It’s so nice to be back in town where I have family. I missed it so much.”
“I don’t think you can grow up with six siblings and not feel the hole that’s left when you leave them.”
“I agree. It definitely leaves a void.”
“I don’t care if I never find that out. So, tell me about your day,” she said, sounding like she had all the time in the world, which Terry appreciated. Sometimes when she talked to people on the phone, they acted like they didn’t have time to talk, but Amy was never like that. Maybe that was one of the reasons why she enjoyed talking to her so much. She always had time for whatever Terry needed. Terry tried not to take advantage of that, but she appreciated it.
After she had chatted about her day for a bit, there was a lull in the conversation, and she said something that had been bothering her since church the day before.
“So... I saw you and Judd together on the wagon taking the kids.”
“Wasn’t that an awesome idea?” Amy said, sounding excited. “The kids are eager to come to church. It’s a novel thing to get brought in a horse-drawn wagon. Super neat, and they love it.”
“You do a great job of keeping them entertained. And Judd follows your lead. You guys work so well together.”
“He’s like a brother to me,” Amy said offhandedly. “But what I was saying was, Judd had the idea, and I thought it was awesome. I couldn’t wait to give him a hand with it.”
“Right. I agree it was a good idea.” She paused for a moment and then took a breath. “About you and Judd?”
“What?” Amy said, and she could almost imagine her walking somewhere and drawing herself up short, giving all of her attention to her phone. “What about Judd and me? Not that there is any Judd and me.”
“I was just checking. You guys seem like you...enjoy each other’s company.”
“We do. But it almost sounds like you’re insinuating that there’s something more, and there’s not. Judd is nice, but he’s not...husband material for me. Now, his personality seems like it would match yours perfectly. Not that you’re the same, but that your differences would be beneficial to both of you.”
“What?” Terry said, surprised that her sister would even go there. It was one thing for her to feel a little bit of attraction, it was another thing for her sister to make suggestions like that.
“I just could see the two of you together. I saw you sitting there together at dinner yesterday, and I don’t know, there just seems to be something that travels between you two. I’m not sure how to explain it. But don’t worry about me. Judd is absolutely not on my radar. At all.”
“All right. I guess I was just wondering.” Her mind was spinning. Amy had seen something between them? Really? So it wasn’t just her imagination? Or wasn’t just her feeling something intangible, but there was something that other people could see?
She could hardly believe it, but Amy hadn’t been joking, although she hadn’t pushed Terry in that direction either. She just made a statement that had rocked Terry’s world.
“You know, you can take my place on the wagon. In fact, I think that would be fun for you and Judd to do together.”
“First of all, I could never do as good a job as what you do. The kids love you, and secondly, you have Jones to give you a hand. Judd would be driving.”
“True. And Jones is really good with kids. He’ll make a great dad someday. I keep telling him that, and he keeps brushing me off saying something about wanting to get his practice established or something. Doesn’t he know I want to be an aunt soon?”
“I don’t know if he knows that or not,” Terry said, thinking to herself that Amy and Jones were blind to each other and they shouldn’t be.
“What are you bringing to Thanksgiving?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I’m hoping to bring my filling balls, if I can get them done. It’s been really busy around here. The guys are finishing an addition, and I’m hoping to be able to take in boarders. It would be nice to have it done over the holidays, because I’m sure that’s a busy time, but hopefully it’ll be done soon.”
Her voice wasn’t quite as exuberant as it had been, and Terry wondered again if maybe the lost funding weighed heavily on her mind. She decided she would just ask.
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” Amy said with what Terry suspected was forced cheerfulness.
“How are things financially? That must be such a stress trying to figure out how you’re going to feed the animals every week.”
“Yeah. It’s a little bit harder lately, since we lost some major funding, but God will provide. He always does.”
“That’s true, He does,” Terry said, but sometimes it was a real test of faith to be patient and wait on the Lord. It wasn’t easy, but Amy seemed to be taking it well.
“All right, I hope you have another amazing day tomorrow. If anything good happens, let me know, okay?” Amy said.
“And you let me know if you hear anything about the Secret Saint. I’ve been trying to keep up with all the gossip, and I’m pretty sure with my practice open, it’s going to be a lot easier.”
“All right, it’s a deal,” Amy said.
They hung up, and Terry picked up her phone and made a social media post.