Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
A month had passed since Ryan had committed to Emily not to keep any more secrets from her and cut hours at the grill. He was out of his sling, and a new normal was settling in all around the Fitzgerald family. Emily had been enjoying the summer with her three children, but primarily, the boys. Elizabeth was often in her room and in her own world as a teenager. Playtime in the pool was almost a daily occurrence. Cedarwood Creek was becoming a home with each passing day, and she was finding herself a little more okay in every way.
On the morning of the Fourth of July, Emily was preparing to spend the day down at the Cedarwood Creek Grill. Ryan had come up with the idea to cook and give out free burgers and hot dogs to the citizens of the town. Emily loved the idea so much that she volunteered to help him. As she layered on sunscreen for Jack and Conner, Ryan walked into the kitchen.
“Do you know where I placed my keys? I need to go set up.”
“Coffee table in the living room, under the magazines.”
Stopping mid-stride, he smiled as he shook his head and looked at her. “How do you do that?”
“What?” She stood upright and looked over at him.
“Know where almost everything is at all times.”
Laughing, she shook her head. “Yet somehow, I can never find my ChapStick. Crazy, huh?”
He laughed and came over to her. Pulling her in with a hand against the small of her back, he kissed her. “I love you. Thanks for coming to the grill and hanging out with me today.”
Emily knew Ryan’s desire to feed the community of Cedarwood Creek at no charge came from a principle his father had instilled in him as a young man. Though Frank had flaws which were discovered in his passing, when he was alive, he exuded Godliness and a kindness like no other person she had ever met. For Frank, loving others was like breathing.
“It’ll be fun.” Emily continued, “Maybe by helping, I can meet some new friends? I love our kiddos, but friends would be nice.”
“For sure.”
Scooping Jack into his arms, Ryan placed him on his back and gave him a quick piggy-back ride through the house. Naturally, Conner needed one as well.
As he started wrestling with the boys in the living room, Emily interrupted. “Don’t you have to go?”
Reluctantly, he nodded. “Yeah. I have to go, guys, but we’ll continue this later.”
“I love you, Daddy!” Jack lunged at him and wrapped his arms around him.
“I love you too, bud.” He kissed him and set him down on the couch. “Listen to your momma and be good. I’ll see you two in a bit.”
As Ryan left, Emily headed to go wake up Elizabeth. Knocking lightly on the door, she entered to find her already out of bed and curling her hair.
“Good. You’re up.”
“Yeah.”
As she walked into the room, she noticed her daughter had extra makeup on. “Why are you getting so dolled up, baby girl?”
Making eye contact with her mom in the vanity’s mirror she was using, she smiled. “Josh Branson is going to come hang out.”
Josh was the boy she was interested in who attended youth group at church. They had started talking after summer break started.
“I thought he was out of town with his family?”
Slipping a red ribbon into her hair, she said, “They came back early. How do my curls look in the back?”
Coming closer to inspect, she pointed out a section to her daughter. “Just this and you’re done. It looks really cute. Hey, we’re going to leave in about fifteen, so be ready.”
“I will.”
At the grill a short time later, Emily and Elizabeth helped Ryan set up tables out in front of the restaurant while Jack and Conner rode their bikes up and down the sidewalk. After everything was set, Elizabeth’s friend Jasmine showed up. Emily wasn’t the biggest fan of Jasmine, but she knew it was hard to make friends for her daughter, so she tried to be understanding but at the same time protective and on guard.
“Mom?” Elizabeth came over to her. “Jasmine and I are going to head over to the rope swing to meet up with the others from youth group.”
“Okay.” Knowing she was meeting up with other youth group kids helped, but a part of her still held worry. “Any adults?”
“Mike, the youth pastor, will be there . . .” Elizabeth seemed put out by the question.
“Have fun, girls.”
As they went and jumped in Jasmine’s car, Ryan walked up beside Emily. Watching the car drive away, Ryan shook his head. “It feels like only yesterday we brought her home from the hospital.”
“I know . . .” Wiping a stray tear, she turned toward Ryan. “I think she’s going to be okay in life.”
“I hope so. Will you start bringing the other stuff out, and I’ll pull the barbecue out from the shed in the alley?”
“Yes.”
Ryan was relieved by the fact that most of the town had turned out for the free hot dogs and burgers. There was one person he hadn’t seen any sign of and wanted to see there more than anyone—his brother, Jason. He longed in his heart to repair things with him, but the few times he had reached out in the last month, he was met with no response. No answer, no callbacks, and no texts. The last time he had tried to contact him was just yesterday. He had finally resolved to let go and let God handle it, but it still nagged at his mind.
Starting the cleanup process at about three o’clock that afternoon, Ryan was surprised to see Jason’s wife Natasha and their daughter Chloe walking down the sidewalk toward the grill.
“Hey, Natasha.”
She smiled, lowering her gaze to Chloe. “Chloe missed her uncle Ryan.”
Coming around the table, Ryan bent down on his knees and smiled at her. “Hi, Chloe. How you doing?”
“Good. How you doing, Uncle Ryan?”
Smiling, with tears welling lightly in his eyes, he said, “Good.”
He stood up and his gaze met Natasha’s. “I hope all of you are doing good.”
“We are. Jason is at home. He didn’t want to come out for the festivities today.” She looked hesitant to continue. “I know you’re a praying man, so pray for him if you get a chance. He’s been skipping his men’s Bible studies and keeping to himself a lot lately. I’m worried about him.”
“I will.”
Jack and Conner ditched their bikes in the patch of grass alongside the parking lot and came over to chat with Chloe.
After Natasha and Chloe had left, Conner turned to his father. “Hey, Dad. Want me to whoop your butt in cornhole?”
Ryan laughed. “What?”
Motioning with a nod down the street, he continued. “Mr. Vern has cornhole set up by his store, and it’s free to play. Want to play?”
Jack added, “Or are you a scaredy cat to lose?”
“You both are on! Give me a second here to clean up.”
After the cleanup from the barbecue, Ryan walked while the boys rode their bikes over to Mr. Vern’s Antique shop over on D Street.
“Ryan Fitzgerald, by golly. I don’t see you outside of that grill or church much.”
“I try to stay busy these days, Vern. How are you and the Mrs.?”
“Good, good.”
Conner interjected. “We’re here to whoop our dad’s butt in cornhole!”
Both boys giggled hysterically.
“Go for it. Ryan, afterward, can I have a word with you?”
“You bet.”
After Ryan showed his boys it’d be a while before they could ever beat their dad in cornhole, he went and found Vern inside the shop. The boys stayed outside and kept practicing.
“What’s up, Vern?”
Rubbing his forehead, he looked away as if he were debating on saying what he wanted to say.
“Out with it, man.”
“Well . . .” He took a step closer to Ryan and lowered his voice. “There’s rumors floating around town.”
Ryan froze as his heart dove into the pit of his stomach.
“Word is Bill has been going around to various members of the community and trying to garner support for getting you and your family to leave town.”
“What?” He shook his head. “Kick us out of town? Is that even possible?”
Vern shrugged and held his hands out. “I don’t know. But would you want to stay if the town voted for you to leave?”
“Has he talked to you?”
He shook his head. “No. But I wanted to give you a heads-up about what I heard. I liked your father Frank a lot, Ryan, and I like you. Don’t let all the ugly this small town has discourage you. There’s still some good in it. They’ve just lost their way. I promise.”
Coming closer, Ryan gave him a hug and patted his back. “I know. I grew up here, and it was a different town altogether. Thank you for letting me know, Vern. You’re a good man.”
Waiting for the fireworks show to start that evening, Emily sat on the blanket with Ryan by her side and the boys in front of them. Jack and Conner both had glowsticks in hand, keeping their little hands busy as they waited for the big show to begin at ten o’clock.
As Ryan’s hand found his wife’s hand and their fingers interwove, she rested her head against his shoulder. Snuggling in closer to him, she felt close to him in both body and soul. A perfect end to a perfect day together, even if she hadn’t made any new friends like she had hoped.
“It went good today, huh?” She lifted her head and turned to look at him.
“Yeah . . .”
Sensing his pain over not seeing Jason, she gave his hand a squeeze. “I think he’ll come around, Ryan. You just need to be patient.”
“I know.” He dipped his head as he sighed. “It’s not just that. I think Bill is trying to get the town to push us out.”
Just then, Elizabeth came running up to them on the blanket. With tears running down her cheeks, she asked, “Mom? Can I talk to you?”
Jumping up from the blanket, she walked with Elizabeth a few paces. She touched her daughter’s arm and stopped her from going any further. “What’s going on? What’s wrong, honey?”
She shook her head as she wiped her cheeks. “Jasmine isn’t my friend anymore, and everyone hates me again !”
“What?” Confusion swirled in her mind. “What happened?”
The fireworks show began right then, and a huge explosion of color exploded directly above their heads. Elizabeth shook her head as she came closer and leaned in close to Emily. “Can we just go home? I don’t want to be here.”
Walking back to Ryan, Emily quickly explained the situation and said she’d see him at home. Walking with Elizabeth back toward the grill, she asked again, “What happened?”
“Everything was fine. We were at the rope swing and jumping off it into the water with everyone from youth group. It was a blast, Mom. Seriously, so much fun, and then Erica showed up.”
Arriving at the car, they got in and Emily looked over at her. “What happened when Erica got there?”
“She told everyone about Josh and me talking.”
Emily nodded, encouraging her to continue. Instead of any additional information, Elizabeth just started crying harder.
Touching her arm, she shook her head. “Honey, why does that matter?”
“Because, Mom, the whole youth group hates me now. Tonya used to date Josh, so when everyone heard we were talking, they were mad at me.”
Driving home, Emily parked in the driveway and shut off the car. She turned to her daughter. “Okay . . . and Jasmine? Why would this affect your relationship with her? She already knew about Josh.”
“I don’t know!” She started crying into her hands. “She is mad at me now too. Like, she just sided with everyone else . . .”
“I’m sorry. That must be difficult.”
“Yeah, it is. And now I have no friends again!” Getting out of the car, she ran into the house and slammed the front door.
Emily went in and tried to go into her room, but Elizabeth asked her to leave her alone.
Going into the living room, Emily bowed her head and began to pray for her daughter. “Please, Lord. Help Elizabeth. She needs You right now. This teenage girl drama is something I don’t miss from being in school, but I know how difficult it can be for a girl to go through.”
After waiting for Ryan to get home with the boys that night, Emily promptly spoke to him. She explained the situation and how Elizabeth had been sitting in her room with music blaring for the last hour and a half.
Smoothing a hand through his hair, Ryan looked toward the bedroom door. “Let’s go talk to her together.”
Grabbing his hand, Emily stopped him. “She needs space, Ryan.”
“Well, I can’t give that to her.” He must’ve seen the fear that she felt in her heart of the idea of him getting mad. He shook his head. “I’m not mad, Emily. I want to talk to her, let her know that we love her and we are here for her. Can’t you tell that from my tone and expression?”
“I guess so.”
He took Emily by the hands and bowed his head in prayer. “God. We come to You right now asking—begging—for You to intervene on behalf of our daughter. She’s struggling and in pain. What she needs right now isn’t more friends. What she needs right now is to see You, for You to show up in a mighty and powerful way. Help Emily and me navigate our sweet child through this, and please, Lord, show us how to be here for her. Amen.”
Hand in hand, Ryan and Emily went out of their bedroom and down the hallway to Elizabeth’s room. Music blared from inside the bedroom, and he knocked.
There was no answer.
Ryan looked at Emily. “Let’s just go in.”
Opening the door, she suddenly froze in place.
Their daughter wasn’t there.
The window was open and the curtain was fluttering in the cool night breeze.
She was gone.
Collapsing to the floor, Emily’s heart sank into a pain she had not known before that moment. Ryan immediately rushed to her, wrapping her in his arms and saying they’d find her.