Claire felt her sister’s hand on her shoulder. “I always thought that you would be first.”
She looked at Laurel. Her sister wasn’t teasing. “Really? What would I do?”
“I don’t know. Art. Fashion design. Something using all those creative talents. You always did better in school than I did, Claire. It didn’t bother Mom and Dad as much when I dropped out after one year of college. But when you and Ben insisted you were getting married right away, and he was the only one going back to school, I thought Daddy would explode.”
Claire shrugged. “He survived. And so did I. And it really was for the best, anyway. What would I do with a degree?”
“Something. You’ve still got the same wonderful talent and creativity. It shows up in almost everything you touch, whether it’s painting the bathroom or putting together an outfit for Dad’s wedding. And it’s certainly wasted on your family.”
Claire bristled and started to argue. Then she closed her mouth. No sense getting into an argument with Laurel when they only had moments before driving to the airport. Especially when her sister was more than half-right. She was aggravating as only a big sister could be, but on track.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one. And I am about ready to do something different. What about you?”
Claire turned to her sister, surprised to see her eyes glittering with unshed tears. She hadn’t realized that Laurel was that serious about things. “Hey, we’ll both be okay,” she said, gathering her for a hug.
“I know,” Laurel said shakily, returning the hug. She pulled away, wiping one escaping tear off her cheek. “It’s just that everything is so hard sometimes. And I know what I want to do, but not whether I can do it.”
She looked back at the apartment. “Just don’t rent that out right away, will you?”
“I hadn’t planned to. Do you really think you could move back here?” The thought of having both her sisters close enough to visit with on a regular basis was a new and heady thing.
Laurel nodded. “I’m praying for change. And you know how dangerous that is.” Her use of one of their mother’s favorite phrases from their childhood made Claire smile. Ever the optimist, Susan Collins had told her daughters to pray for change, and then count on God to make it happen.
“But expect to be surprised.” Claire could hear her mother’s rich voice. “Because the Lord’s idea of change and ours isn’t always the same.” It hadn’t been in her mom’s case, that was for certain. Still, through six years of struggle with cancer and remission, and ultimately more cancer, Sue had found healing. It had always been there for her spirit, if not for her body in the end.
“Pray for some of that change for me while you’re at it.” Where had those words come from? Claire had surprised herself. Wasn’t she perfectly content with her life just the way it was?
No, she wasn’t. Her life was wonderful and fulfilling, but it was time for a change. Even in the warm June sunshine, the thought made her shiver.
Laurel saw her shudder, and put an arm around her again. It felt so good to have her comforting, annoying older sister this close. Maybe it would be a good idea to have her around all the time.
“We’ll pray for each other,” said Laurel. “For the most wonderful and dangerous changes we can think of. Now where is that husband of yours? It’s an hour drive at least to the airport.”
“Forty-five minutes,” Claire countered. “You forget how he drives. Still, I better go in and call.”
Claire went into the kitchen and punched in the familiar number. “Jericho Hardware,” said a friendly voice. It wasn’t Ben, which gave her hope.
“Hi, Pete. Great. Tell me you answering the phone means that Ben is on his way back here to get to the airport.”
“Uh, not exactly, Mrs. Jericho.”
Claire could feel her spirits fall. Not again. The young clerk sounded like he had bad news, or at least news he was reluctant to break himself.
“Do you want to talk to him?”
“Yes, please,” she said through tight lips. Pete put her on hold for a while. About the time she was ready to hang up, Ben finally came on the line.
“Hi. I’m not there, obviously. Something came up.”
It was all Claire could do to keep herself from scowling or saying something rude. If this weren’t a normal occurrence, she’d be pleasant. But it happened far too often lately. “Oh? Ben, you knew when you left this morning that you were supposed to be coming back to take Laurel and Jeremy.”
He sighed. “I know. But the person I’d set up an important appointment with, for tomorrow, just breezed in the door ten minutes ago. Apparently we got our days mixed up.”
“Can’t you just—” Claire started.
“No. I can’t do anything right now but stay here and be cordial.” Ben wasn’t leaving any room for argument or compromise.
That surprised her. Usually when this happened he tried to find some way to placate her. Not this time.
He went on, still sounding just as firm. “This is too important to do anything else. I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Tell Laurel and Jer goodbye for me, okay?”
“Sure.” Claire hung up the phone and looked around the room for her keys to the truck. Great. It probably didn’t even have gas in it—not enough to get to St. Louis, anyway. At least it wasn’t rush hour.
“Looks like we’re on our own,” she told her sister.
Laurel made a face. “Lovely. Just promise me I won’t be explaining anything to the highway patrol. Although, I expect we could get Carrie to fix any ticket you got.”
“Not this month. I’ve already made my quota.” It was worth the teasing just to see the look on her sister’s face. Claire wondered what Laurel would say if she knew that her teasing had an edge of truth. She promised herself to watch the speed all the way to the airport. At least the boys were staying home, so there wouldn’t be anybody along to rat her out.
She called them to the truck to load the suitcases. If she was surrounded by big hulking males, might as well put those strong bodies to good use. No need to do everything herself, even if Ben was leaving her in the lurch. Again, a voice in her mind told her.
“Definitely pray for some change around here,” she told Laurel. “It’s about time.”
Chapter Three
Claire was almost glad Ben didn’t come home in time for supper that night. The dinner table was no place to argue. And she knew that given the chance tonight, she’d argue. It was easier to put together sub sandwiches and get the guys fed early, then get them to their respective activities.
Kyle was getting ready for Scout camp. He was old enough now that he went to Boy Scout camp without a parent, and he was excited about it. Claire was thankful that he’d reached the age of going with the Boy Scouts instead of the Cubs, because there was no way Ben’s schedule could have accommodated a week of camping. When had they all gotten so busy?
Trent was just going over to a friend’s house with his street hockey equipment for a quick game. It stayed light so long at this time of year, they could play for hours. Once both boys were dropped off, Claire could escape to the relative peace of her women’s fellowship at church. When Ben came home he’d find her note telling him where everybody was, and a sandwich in the refrigerator, so everything was taken care of.
After a weekend of activity, and seeing so