Page 24 of Echoes of Eternity

His eyebrows furrowed as he turned toward her. “And if it is?”

Coming further into the bathroom, she came right up beside him and caught his gaze. “Like I told you before, Ryan. You need to let it go. Your dad was a good man. It’s just a waste of time, and honestly, a little dishonoring, to suspect otherwise.”

Elizabeth called for her. Going into her daughter’s room, she found her daughter crying into her hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have a zit!” Her daughter unshielded her face to reveal a little red pimple on her forehead. It took everything in Emily not to laugh at her daughter’s distress over a zit. To be young again, to have a zit be so important to your emotional state. Emily smiled at recalling her own youth, and then shook her head.

“You’re going to be okay, baby girl.”

During her lunch break at the school, Emily took her cellphone and went for a walk outside on the sidewalk around the campus.

She called her mother, Zeena.

“I wondered if I had a daughter anymore . . .”

The judgmental tone was nothing new. Breathing deeply, Emily sat down on the bench under a willow tree. “How’s Dad doing?”

“He’s fine. Playing golf like crazy. Nothing new here in SoCal. We miss seeing you and the family. Are you planning to come down next month after school gets out?”

“Honestly hadn’t thought about it. We just barely moved here.”

“Oh, please. Lizzy told me about how you’re all miserable up there other than Ryan. You should’ve never left your life here in California. I told you that you wouldn’t be happy in Washington.”

Touching her forehead, Emily regretted calling her mother. “We’re fine here. It’s just taking some . . . adjusting is all.”

“Is Ryan forcing you to stay?” Her mother’s voice became serious. “If you need a way out, I have already spoken to your father, and he agreed to fly you and the kids back home. Or pay for gas. Whatever it is you need. We can help you get your life back. Just come home, Em.”

Watching as a hedge trimmer cut the bushes on the side of the school across the walkway, Emily shook her head. “What is wrong with you? I love my husband and this is my life! I can’t just abandon it! And I’m a little offended that you would even suggest such a thing.”

“I just want you to be happy, Emily. Isn’t that what every good parent wants, for their child to be happy?”

Emily scoffed. “No. Good parents sometimes realize there’s more to life than making your child happy.”

“Whatever, Emily. The offer still stands if you change your mind.”

As the call ended, Emily continued her walk around the campus. She couldn’t believe her mother would offer such a thing, but then again, she knew how upset she and Dad were about their leaving California.

Hot tears spilled onto her cheeks as she felt the sting of loneliness brush against her soul in that moment. She didn’t feel like she had anyone in the world to talk to lately. Then, like a reminder sent from Heaven, a bird flew across her vision, prompting her to think of God. Lifting her heart in prayer, she prayed. God, please show me the way You desire me to go. Fill me with Your encouragement, contentment, and joy as my family and I get used to this new and strange place of Cedarwood Creek. Amen.

Crushing his empty energy drink can, Ryan tossed it into the back seat behind him. He was only a few miles out from Spokane. He was running on about three hours of sleep, two energy drinks, and a whole lot of determination.

His phone buzzed with a notification of a text message from his brother.

Jason: Call me.

Pulling off at the next exit, just before Spokane, he got out of his car and used the restroom. On his way back to his car, he called his brother.

“I stopped by the grill and you weren’t there. Where are you?”

“Just outside of Spokane.”

“What? Why? I thought you were done with it.”

“I had to find out, man.” Peering at his car parked outside the gas station, he could hear the cars on the freeway zooming by. He was eager to get on the road. “I have to go. I’ll let you know what I figure out.”

Driving into Spokane, he used his phone for navigation to the address for Linda. Each street he turned onto brought his pulse up a tick higher. Arriving at a dumpy neighborhood, his heart dipped into his stomach. The situation he was getting himself into seemed worse by the moment.