Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Surprised (09/06/07)
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TITLE: Surprised by Grace (iii) | Previous Challenge Entry
By Nancy Jo Wilson
09/12/07 -
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Quietly, she peered into the apartment's bedroom. Jennifer, her Bug, was a lump under bright pink covers. A single lock of blonde hair poked out and Beth wondered again how the child could breathe under there. Walking on her toes, she slipped past the garden of paper flowers and tissue butterflies affixed to the wall. She took an orange knit dress from the closet.
Bug had asked on Friday to go to the church on the corner. They walked past it everyday on the way to the sitter's and Bug was always drawn to the playground, especially the swings. "We can't just go in," her mother explained. "We would have to go during church time." This explanation had satisfied the three-year-old for weeks, until Friday.
"Well, can we go during church time?" she asked innocently.
Beth stopped and looked at the building. Unbidden memories clogged her mind: the set of her congregation's faces when she had to stand and repent of her sin, the clucks and shaking heads as her belly grew, the closed doors when her parents told her to leave. She didn't want to go, but couldn't explain why to Bug. So in a moment of insanity, she had said, "Not today, not tomorrow, but the next day."
Now Beth stood in front of the mirror, holding the dress in front of her. The knit had small knotted pills and the color was faded to an almost, but not quite apricot. It screamed thrift shop. "I can't go in this," she thought. "But what other options do I have?" Her mind quickly inventoried her wardrobe; jeans, t-shirts and her work uniform. "A woman can't show up at a church in pants," she quoted her mother. Then snorted with laughter, "Woman, ha! Most people think I'm sixteen."
Beth's hand was sweating as she clutched Bug's on the way to the church. The toddler had woken up chanting, "Church time, church time, church time." And now was pulling at her mother's grip like a bloodhound on a leash. Beth hoped to delay the walk as long as possible.
As they took the steps, old memories fluttered into Beth's mind. Her church had had steps like these. Mother and daughter blended with the crowd entering the building and then detoured in search of the kid's rooms. A line of parents at a doorway, told her she was in the right place. The workers were so busy that they barely noticed her. "I certainly can't sign her in as Bug," she thought as she wrote Jennifer Hanson on the form.
When she went to pick her daughter, a woman in her sixties with a beehive hairdo was manning the door. "I'm Mrs. Brewster. Are you Jennifer's sister?"
"No, I'm her mother." Beth braced herself, waiting for the 'look.' The one that always came when people glanced from her to Bug and did the math. The one she got somewhere daily.
Mrs. Brewster did look, but not harshly. Her eyes softened at the edges and a smile embraced her lips. "Well, bless your heart child," she said. "You are raising just about one of the sweetest girls I've ever met. Jennifer is real lucky to have you as a mother."
Beth was so startled that she didn't know how to respond. After a moment, she managed a quiet thank-you. Mrs. Brewster looked her in the eye. "Hadn't you been told that before?"
Beth shook her head and looked down, trying to dam her tears. Mrs. Brewster surprised her with a hug. "I've been married to Mr. Brewster for 42 years and I still get my back up at 'im sometimes. I'm glad the blood covers up all that stuff, aren't you? I hope you come back. I'd like to see that sweet baby again."
"Thank you," Beth said, louder this time, attracting Jennifer's attention.
The girl ran pell mell into her arms. "I got to play with glitter and swing on the swings, Mommy. It was so fun! Can we come back?"
"Yes, Bug," she said as they walked out. "I think we can."
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