Page 45 of There I Find Peace

Nana often had a way of getting to the heart of the matter. She was upset about her mom and George. Even though she didn’t really like George, he was still a dad in her house. She didn’t feel quite so alone. Like her mom and she had someone else that they could depend on. It was scary for it to just be her and her mom.

“Maybe,” she finally said, softly.

“I know it’s hard. I wished a lot of times that my husband hadn’t left, because my kids didn’t have a dad. Your dad didn’t have a dad. He knows what you’re going through.”

Nora wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She didn’t want to hear about her dad knowing what she was going through, even though she knew Nana was right.

“He could talk to you about that. You know he could. He didn’t, and all of your aunts and uncles, from Uncle Luke down to Aunt Clara. They all know what it’s like to not have a dad.”

“They had siblings at least.”

“That’s true. But there are times I think they wish they didn’t have siblings, because when you have siblings, you have to share. There are good things and bad things with every situation. If you have a dad, there will be things that he’s not going to let you do. Wasn’t that true with George? Did he take up your mom’s time and you didn’t get to spend as much time with her because George was there?”

Nora nodded begrudgingly.

“I’ve been praying for years, not just for your mom, but for your dad too. Not really that they would get together, but that whatever happens with them, you will be safe and secure. I have a feeling that maybe the Lord is working things out. Not for your parents to get together, but for something else to happen for you.” Nana smiled, like she knew something that Nora didn’t, but Nora knew better than to ask. Nana wouldn’t tell her. Not until she was sure it was going to happen.

“Do you think?” she asked instead.

“I do,” she said, putting her arm around Nora and tucking her closer until Nora leaned her head against her chest, and they sat like that, while the sun lit up the sky.

Nana was always so sure that God was good. Even when Nora wasn’t so sure. It made Nana happy to talk about it. But Nora kind of wondered that if God was so good, why did Nana’s husband leave? Why didn’t Nana have someone to love her? Why was her mom alone? Why didn’t her dad have someone to love and take care of him?

Once she’d asked about it, and Nana had said something about sin in the world, and men making a choice to sin, and so then they had to live with the consequences.

Nora knew all about consequences, and she supposed being angry at her dad was pointless. After all, Nana wouldn’t get back with her husband. She couldn’t hardly expect her dad to do something Nana wouldn’t do.

Even though she was disappointed, she understood. She wouldn’t want to be forced to be with someone she didn’t really like.

Although, she hoped that whenever she had children, she did the very best she could for them. That was important. She knew that much.

Chapter 15

Jubilee met with Evaat the diner, and they decided that Eva would be responsible for contacting people to perform, booking and scheduling them, while Jubilee would be responsible for everything else—the stage, the lighting, the speakers, the sound system, someone to run the sound system, parking, and vendors.

It seemed like a fair deal to Jubilee. She was excited about things that she planned to have and was grateful that she didn’t have to worry about trying to contact and coordinate the schedules of performers.