5. Hope
“Other than dying,I think puberty is probably about as rough as it gets.” ~Rick Springfield
“How’re you feeling, Ames?”
“Oh, my goodness, you wouldn’t believe…”
I hold my phone a few inches from my ear as my dear friend proceeds to tell me the number of times she’s visited the porcelain throne since the last time we talked. She seems to be feeling better because her storytelling skills are getting more elaborate and descriptive—a little too descriptive for my taste. She’s a nurse, so I’m glad she has a stomach of steel to handle all the unique things she sees on the job. I, on the other hand, live by the motto of “no, thank you, that’s TMI.” It’s a must when you deal with pre-teens on a regular basis. The less I know about anyone’s bathroom habits, the better. But because I love Amelia and I know she’d do the same for me, I try my best to listen without judgment or losing my breakfast.
I wrinkle my nose in disgust and stare out the window at the passing cars on the freeway. Shane and I have been on Highway 101 North for a while on our way to Solvang. Now that I’m wearing one outfit instead of a dozen, I feel a lot lighter and free. Physically, that is. I’m still reeling emotionally from the fact that I gave away my luggage, along with Amelia’s gift, to a stranger. If it weren’t for Shane’s calmness, I’d be a lot worse off. Possibly camped out in baggage claim and weeping over an angsty book, just so I can stew in my misery longer. Instead, my tears are at bay and I’m moving forward with my vacation. Who knew Shane would be such a surprising source of comfort during this most extra-unordinary day? Or maybe it’s the cookies he brought for me… or both.
Yes, definitely both.
Shane gives a soft chuckle from the driver’s seat. “Is my sister giving you a play-by-play of her bathroom escapades?”
I nod and whisper, “Yup.”
“I thought so,” he replies with a knowing smile. “That’s why you’re turning green. Just tell her it’s TMI.”
I put a finger to my lips to shush him. “Sh!”
“Are you done yet, sis?” he speaks up loudly enough for Amelia to stop talking in my ear. “Hope didn’t ask for a full patient care report. Give her a break, will ya?”
“How rude, Shane!” Amelia exclaims. “Put me on speakerphone, Hope.”
“Sure thing.” I do as I’m told, more than happy to have a reprieve from Amelia’s tale. “You’re on speaker.”
“Hello, dear brother of mine. Here I am in utter misery and my own flesh and blood shows no sympathy. I should ask Hope to punch you in the arm for me.”
Shane balks. “Hope’s too nice to do something like that.”
“It’s true, I really can’t.” I eye the impressive bulge of Shane’s bicep and shake my head. “Not because I’m too nice. He has muscles now, Ames. Muscles that look like they’d do damage to my knuckles if I tried to punch them.”
As if to prove my point, Shane flexes said muscles, making them pulse in time to the pop song playing through the car speakers.
“Let me guess, is he flexing right now?” Amelia asks. “Shane Bartholomew Morgan, please, please, please do not subject my best friend to such nonsensical behavior.”
I burst out laughing. “How did you know he’s flexing?”
“He does it all the time, if not to annoy me, then to impress a girl. Which obviously would not work on you, even if you weren’t on a sabbatical, so he shouldn’t even try.”
I quirk a brow at his level of multi-tasking. Shane’s not only flexing, he’s now snapping his fingers, too—all while he drives. “He has really good rhythm and fast reflexes. It’s not completely unimpressive.”
“Hear that, sis?” Shane calls out. “Hope’s semi-impressed.”
Amelia groans. “I’m so sorry, Hope. He still acts like a teenage boy sometimes. I guess that’s because his brain only reached full maturity two years ago.”
“Have you forgotten the huge favor I’m doing for you on my day off?” Shane says. “I’d say that’s pretty mature behavior on my part.”
I shake my head at their exchange that takes me back to our adolescent years. “You guys are totally regressing. I feel like I’m in high school again listening to you two go back and forth like this.”
“Ugh, you’re right,” Amelia remarks. “I’m a grown adult; I’m bigger than this. But for the record, he started it.”
“Did not,” Shane murmurs out of the side of his mouth. Then he raises his volume and says, “I think the biggest person here actually is Hope for putting up with both of us.”
I start to laugh at his joke, but then I notice the look on his face as he glances my way. It’s a cross between gratitude and appreciation and is somewhat sentimental. I’ve never seen this side of Shane before, and it throws me off kilter. I’m still having a hard time reconciling the man-sized Shane beside me with the pint-sized Shane of years past.
“You guys aren’t that bad,” I joke. “No, really, you guys are great. You’re my family. I’d be lost without you guys, both of you. Shane really stepped up today, Ames. I had quite the luggage debacle earlier, but he helped me through it like a pro. He was so calm and comforting and in control of the whole situation.”
“Really? That’s a miracle I want to hear about, but at another time. I used up all my energy just now. I can hardly keep my eyes open.” A long yawn comes over the line. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Sure thing. Go get some rest.”
“Remember to stay hydrated, sis,” Shane adds.
“Yes, little bro, thanks.”
The phone goes dark as the call ends. After I tuck it into my purse, I notice our car slowing down. Shane’s exited the freeway, and we’re headed onto the local streets. I spot a gas station in the distance, along with some fast-food places and SmartMart, a popular chain store that sells everything from food to clothing. “Where are we going?”
“To the store. I figure you probably need to buy some things since you don’t have your luggage with you.”
“Oh, what a great idea! You are so sweet, Shane! I’ve been so caught up with everything that happened, I didn’t even think about that. I also need to find another gift for Ames to replace the one that was in my luggage.”
“That shouldn’t be hard. Just get her a gift card. She loves to shop.”
“I had something really special planned for her though.” I sigh, remembering all the time and effort I’d spent on buying thirty different candles in her favorite scents. It had taken me visiting half a dozen malls, plus some online shopping, to accomplish the feat. There’s no way I can buy the same gift before her birthday, so I’m back at square one. “I’ll figure it out. I have at least a day or two to get it done.”
“I can help you brainstorm if you like.”
“Thanks.” My insides warm at his thoughtfulness. It’s the same feeling I get when my students do something so out of character that I can’t help but be touched. Not that I think kindness is foreign to Shane. He was never mean as a kid, but I’m still impressed by his caring heart, not to mention his faith in God. The way he’d tried to encourage me earlier was pretty unexpected but amazing. “I don’t care what Ames said, I think you’re mature. You’ve grown up a lot since the last time I saw you.”
He cracks a smile. “Thank God for that. It’d be scary if I still acted like a teenage boy—no offense to all the teenage boys in the world. Adolescence is a weird time for guys.”
“For girls, too. It’s a strange time for everyone.”
“Even you? You never went through an awkward phase.”
“What are you talking about? I was about as awkward as you could get. Don’t you remember when I had braces from seventh to ninth grade and talked with a lisp? Then when I finally got them off and I thought kids would stop making fun of me, my hair betrayed me. It morphed into this unruly bush that made me look like I got electrocuted every morning. I had to sit in the back of all my classes, so I didn’t block people’s view.”
I shudder involuntarily as I recall the mean names my classmates had called me. The only way I got through those years was with the help of Amelia—she always stood up for me with her smart comebacks—and daily readings of Psalm 139. Knowing that God made me exactly the way He wanted me and that He hadn’t made a mistake got me through those tough teenage years.
I release a grateful sigh to have all of that in the past. “If I ever get amnesia like the characters in the books I read, I’d gladly have that phase of my life wiped clean from my memory.”
“Whoa, I had no idea it was that bad for you. You always seemed so put together.” Shane pulls the car into the parking lot of a shopping plaza and parks in the closest open spot. He keeps the engine on with the AC blowing, then undoes his seatbelt and turns toward me. With his left arm resting on the steering wheel, his expression is pensive. “I honestly wouldn’t have guessed that you’d had such a hard time in high school. I looked up to you, you know. Figuratively and literally since I hadn’t gone through my growth spurt yet. That unfortunately didn’t hit until after you’d graduated.”
Grinning, I take off my seat belt and face him as well. “I do miss being taller than you. You probably thought I had it all together because you were just getting started as a freshman. I remember being in awe of the seniors when I was that age.”
“Maybe that had something to do with it. But the truth was, I always looked up to you.”
“Always?”
“Ever since you and my sister met in middle school and became best friends. You were like the nicest and funniest girl I’d ever met. I enjoyed it when you hung out at our place. Didn’t you notice I always stuck around when you were over?”
“I thought you just liked to torment me.”
“Believe it or not, I was trying to get your attention.”
“Which you most certainly did with all your pranking. I still have nightmares of you jumping out from the closet in the middle of the night holding a flashlight under your chin. ‘Carrots, give me carrots,’” I say, doing my best to imitate Shane’s high-pitched pre-pubescent voice. “Do you know I can’t look at carrots now without hearing your voice?”
To Shane’s credit, his face pales a little. “Are you serious?”
“I most certainly am serious,” I reply with my sternest face possible, the one I reserve for students who tell me their dog ate their homework. “You, Shane Morgan, are also the reason why I own a collection of night lights.”
“Huh?”
“I have to use half a dozen night lights in my bedroom just so I can get to sleep at night. Can you imagine how high my electricity bill is?”
His eyes grow wide in horror right before his composure cracks. The sound of his deep laughter fills the car. “I cannot believe you almost got me! And here I was feeling guilty that I might’ve traumatized you.”
“Traumatized? No way. Annoyed and frustrated me? Maybe a little. It’s all good though. I get it, you were a kid. My students do similar things, especially the boys. It’s all part of that crazy phase called puberty.”
“Exactly.” He gives me an easy smile. “I’m glad you understand. Guys are known to do some pretty illogical stuff when they like a girl.”
My mouth falls open. Did Shane just say he liked me?