Time flies, and if you arent careful, youll be wishing youd spent a bit more time on yourself than on others, Naomi added.
Scott bristled. I dont think serving the Lord is a waste of my time.
She gave him an indulgent look. Dont put words in my mouth. Serving the Lord is wonderful, but a man of God like you needs a helpmate in life. God doesnt want all of us to be alone.
Uh-oh. Scott blinked. He knew the youth of the church had played matchmaker with the Youth Minister, Caleb, and Anne, the former church secretary, now Calebs wife. It sounded as if Naomi wanted to pick up where theyd left off. Better put a stop to this pronto. He held up a hand. Im content with my life. Besides, I have so much on my plate with Caleb on vacation I think I should wait until the time is right.
That excuse will only last so long you know, she commented with a gleam in her eyes.
Scott stood and backed away as if putting space between them might stop Naomi from whatever was going on in that head of hers. I better get back to the kids.
He didnt want to give Naomi any chance to try to fix him up with someone in the congregation. That could jeopardize the acceptance he enjoyed in Chestnut Grove. Besides, he hadnt lied when hed said he had too much on his plate right now. But he also hadnt wanted to admit he didnt know if the time to find a wife would ever be right. He would hate to disappoint another person that he loved.
Naomi watched Scott shoot out of the cafeteria as though the Hound of the Baskervilles was on his heels. The man certainly was gun-shy of relationships.
As far as shed seen, Scott kept everyone at an emotional arms length, even while hed bend over backward to be of help. She understood how hard his decision to follow Gods call into ministry was on his relationship with his family and knew there was a rift or something that needed healing. But she sensed loneliness and a deep hurt in Scott, as well.
Lord, how would You have me help this young man?
Naomi waited a beat. An idea formed in her mind. Ah, yes. Thank You, Lord.
She knew what to do.
After washing her cup out and putting it on the drain pad, she went to her office where she fired up her computer. With a few clicks and some creative thinking, she added Scott anonymously to the growing number of members in The Kingdom Room.
Sometimes people need a little help recognizing that the right time is right now, she stated aloud and sat back. Now all she had to do was wait and watch the fun happen.
Go to sleep and good night, my sweet prince, Trista cooed softly to Aidan as she gently laid him in his crib. The teddy bear motif on the bumpers and mobile included little cubs frolicking in the grass and always made her smile. Shed found the crib and bedding at a secondhand store in Richmond. They were perfect for her little boy.
She tucked the blanket more securely around Aidan. Heartbreaking joy squeezed her chest, bringing tears to her eyes. She touched the downy softness of his dark hair. If anything were ever to happen to him, she didnt think she could take it.
Oh, God, if Youre real, please watch over this little life, she whispered with a small hiccuping sob.
Aidan stirred. She quickly backed away to keep from disturbing him further. He needed his sleep. She did, too, but sleep had become hard to find ever since Aidans birth. She was terrified hed need her in the middle of the night. Shed read all the baby books she could find and still feared that something bad would happen.
Being a parent was the most nerve-racking thing shed ever experienced and she could only imagine that her anxiety would grow along with Aidan.
The sound of the phone ringing in the living room made her wince. Quickly, she left Aidans room, keeping the door cracked open, and rushed to answer the phone.
Hello?
Silence greeted her.
Trista frowned. Hello? Is someone there?
Straining to listen, she swore she heard the sound of muffled sobs as if the person on the other end of the line were trying to keep their tears quiet. Then the line went dead.
An eerie chill crept up Tristas spine as she replaced the receiver. She didnt know who had her number other than Kelly, Ross and her office. Fearing something had happened to her brother or his wife, she quickly snatched up the receiver and dialed their home number.
Hi, her brothers booming voice intoned.
Is everything okay? Trista asked, skipping the pleasantries of greeting. She noted the blinking light of the answering machine. Shed forgotten to check it again when shed come home from work.
Yes. Why?
She could hear the wariness in his voice. She couldnt blame him with all the problems that had plagued the adoption agency of late. First the discovery of so many adoption records having been falsified over the years. Then Kelly received that threatening note at the Fourth of July celebration, and less than three weeks later the offices had been broken into and set on fire.
And just last month, Rosss SUVs front windshield had been shattered and another note left behind, demanding they stop investigating the phony records. Is Kelly there? Is she okay?
She is. Trista, whats going on?
Nothing. She rolled her tense shoulders and shifted the receiver to the other side of her head. Her sweatshirt bunched up as she moved. She tugged at it. I just received the strangest call. When I answered, there was no response, but Im sure I heard crying.
Hmm. Do you think Mom could have called you?
Trista scoffed. No. She cant even remember my name. How would she know where to call me?
I have no idea. But Alzheimers is a strange disease.
A disease that was hereditary. A knot formed in her stomach. Yes, wellbe that as it may, I dont think it was Mom.
It was probably a wrong number. I wouldnt worry too much about it. Whoever it was will call back if it was important, Ross commented. Kelly says youre coming over Saturday to cook dinner.
Yep. Kelly requested lasagna. Will you make one of your killer salads?
Of course. Hey, I was thinking of driving out to visit Mom on Sunday after church. Will you come?
Trista closed her eyes as guilt and resentment warred in her heart. Ross was so good at visiting their mother in the nursing home outside of Richmond. For Trista, the visits were torture. Michelle Van Zandt barely recognized her only daughter.
The last time Trista had gone to the home, Michelle had become so upset because shed thought Trista was there to steal her husband away.
Henry Van Zandt had died from liver failure years ago. That their mother still worried her husband was cheating on her only served to instill in Trista a loathing to ever go down the matrimonial road again.
After her disaster of a marriage to Kevin and watching her mothers decline, Trista vowed to concentrate on her son to make sure he didnt grow up making the same mistakes his family made. Shed even bought a book on how to prevent Alzheimers, for herself and Aidan.
Trista?
Uh, I dont know. Well see. That was as much commitment as she could give at the moment.
Ross sighed. We can talk about it more on Saturday.
Perfect. Now she was going to have to endure his lecture on how she should forgive their parents for the past and how their mother needed them now. She was well practiced in tuning out her brothers lectures. Ill see you Saturday.
Ross sighed. We can talk about it more on Saturday.
Perfect. Now she was going to have to endure his lecture on how she should forgive their parents for the past and how their mother needed them now. She was well practiced in tuning out her brothers lectures. Ill see you Saturday.
She hung up and pushed the play button on the answering machine.
Hi, babe. I need to talk with you. Call me, okay?
Her ex-husbands voice filled the room and she clenched her teeth. With a sharp jab of her finger she deleted the message.
What did he want now? Hed given up total custody of their son in the divorce, in exchange for the condo and all their possessions. She didnt have anything else for him to take.
Restless and edgy, she cleaned the updated kitchen, straightened up Aidans plethora of toys strewn around the apartment and channel surfed on the twenty-inch TV that Ross had bought for her as a welcoming gift. When that didnt relax her, she pulled out her laptop and set it on the pine coffee table. She could at least work.
Once the computer was ready she stared at the screen. She didnt want to work. Instead, she surfed the Internet looking for fun things to do with Aidan around town.
A local farm had a pumpkin patch and hayride day coming up. That would be good.
Hmm. Story time at the new bookstore downtown. Aidan loved listening to stories.
She drummed her fingers on the table. Ugh! She needed a manicure.
Maybe Kelly was right. Shed been working too hard and not taking care of herself. She wished she had a friend in town but that was another thing her marriage to Kevin had ruined.
Hed so monopolized every moment, getting upset when she wanted to spend time with her friends, that shed eventually let the friendships fade. She didnt even know how to get hold of any of her old college gang.
She needed to link up with others who were in the same boat.
Single and lonely.
She frowned. She wasnt lonely. She had Aidan. She just needed someone to talk to.
What was the name of that online group Kelly mentioned?
The Kingdom Room.
Heart pounding with anticipation, she went to the Web site. She hesitated a moment before bolstering her courage and registering. After filling in the blanks and choosing a screen name, she was in.
For an hour she lurked, reading the posts from the last few days. Men and women both conversed about various aspects of being single. A few mentioned their children. Nothing overly personal or uncomfortable here.
Okay, this was doable.
She wasnt looking for a romantic encounter, just friends to understand.
With a deep breath, she jumped into the current thread of conversation, hoping to find someone out there to connect with.
Yet, a little voice inside her head taunted heronly more hurt would be her reward.
Chapter Two
By Tuesday morning Scotts e-mail in-box was bursting.
He stared at the amount of posts. What was going on?
After booting up the computer when he first walked into his office, hed gone in search of some tea. Setting his mug of Earl Grey on the marble coaster on his mahogany desk, he slipped into his fabric-covered chair.
Normally, he took a moment to let the soothing hues of blues and brown in the office soothe his mind before turning his thoughts to work. But the staggering number of e-mails held his attention.
He clicked into the in-box and began to scroll through the e-mails. They were all addressed to Called2serve. A dawning realization clenched his gut as he read the posts. Someone, Naomi he was sure, had registered him to The Kingdom Room and added him to their e-mail loop.
He didnt have time for this.
His father had called just as he was leaving the apartment he rented in a private residence east of Main Street. The phone call had been strange. His father had asked if Scott would say a few words at his parents fiftieth wedding anniversary. Scott could hear the emotion in his fathers voice and it left Scott feeling off-kilter.
Joseph Crosby had always been as solid as a hundred-year-old oak tree and just as unbendable.
His father was a family practitioner in Richmond. Hed had a long career and a great reputation. Everyone knew Doc Crosby. Candice Crosby was a star in her own right as a skilled surgeon. Scott and his sibs never lacked for medical care.
Scotts sister, Elise, followed their father into medicine and was now a pediatrician. Her husband was a contractor and had built their home as well as Scotts two brothers homes.
John and Kyle Crosby had veered from medicine and both became lawyers. An honorable profession according to their father.
And then there was Scott. The quiet one. The underachiever. The assistant pastor.
Another e-mail popped up.
Scott shook his head to clear his thoughts. He really didnt have time for an Internet singles group. He needed to focus on organizing the upcoming Thanksgiving Day dinner for the homeless.
But curiosity got the better of him; he couldnt help quickly scanning the e-mails before deleting them. Some were interesting threads of conversation regarding the holidays and the difficulty of being single when so many people seemed to expect couples at gatherings.
One post in particular grabbed his attention.
Hi, Im new here and am hoping to connect with others who might understand. Ive been divorced for a short time, but the marriage was over long before the official decree, I just didnt know it. So Im starting over in a new city and between work and my baby, I dont have time to make friends. Id been married since my second year of college. Its strange to be alone, especially as the holidays approach. I do have some family, but they have their own lives. I dont want to be a burden. Any suggestions? Is the emptiness I feel just the lack of a spouse? Is it normal? Will it pass?
Momof1
Scott sat back. These answers couldnt be found online or anywhere else on this earth. Naomi may have added him to The Kingdom Room for her own reasons, but God obviously had reasons, as well.
Scott didnt believe in coincidences. The Momof1 needed a guide to lead her to the truth. To the fulfillment she craved.
Only doing it via the Internet seemed socold and distant. So unlike God.
But in an age of electronic devicesGod met people where they were. And Scott would serve any way God wanted him to.
Scott closed his eyes. Lord, give me the words You would have me say.
A moment later, he began to type.
It was late in the night on Wednesday when Trista remembered to check her e-mail. The past couple of days had been hectic. The senior Benson had been pleased with the work shed done on a small claims case that had settled well and had informed her he wanted her on a new case that was a complicated land issue between the county and their client.
So shed spent every spare moment she could studying the land laws of Virginia and specifically their county.
Now that Aidan had gone to bed, she propped her feet up on the coffee table, squirmed into a comfortable position on the secondhand sofa and fired up her laptop.
Whoa! These Kingdom Room people had a lot of free time. She couldnt believe the amount of e-mail in her in-box.
She started with the first response from her post and slowly made her way through the quagmire of words. Some made her laugh, others she didnt know what to make of.