resist singing with Monica.
âHe might take you off the assignment.â
âNot a chance. Gabrielâs shorthanded as it is. If he was going to pull me off this prayer request it would be for something a whole lot more troublesome than singing.â The prayer ambassador was far more concerned by the consequences of her folly. Monica had fallen into the arms of that hard-nosed, disgruntled private investigator. If anything unsavory had happened, Goodness would have held herself personally responsible.
Chapter 3
âT immy,â Jody Potter called from the compact kitchen. âDinnerâs ready.â
âIn a minute.â The nine-year-old kept his gaze level with the television as he worked the controls of the video game. âIâm just about to save the world.â
âTimmy, please, we go through this every night.â Jodyâs nerves were on edge and had been ever since sheâd found the letter. The folded sheet of paper had slipped from Timmyâs school binder when sheâd set it on the kitchen counter the night before.
A letter to God, but this wasnât any ordinary letter. Timmy had asked for a father. Jodyâs first instinct had been to sit him down and explain that he already had a father. Only Timmy had no recollection of Jeff, whoâd died when Timmy was barely ten months old.
Timmy had no way of knowing how proud Jeff had been of his son. How heâd insisted on holding him each night when he returned from the office and feeding him his last bottle. Timmy didnât remember that it was his father whoâd sung him to sleep and then stood by his crib, gently patting his back. Her son couldnât possibly remember that Jeff had burst into tears of joy the night Timmy had been born.
What Timmy wanted now was a father who was alive. Someone who could throw a ball and catch better than she could, according to his letter. Someone who understood and enjoyed football. Someone who would be a friend.
What Timmy accepted far better than she did herself, Jody realized, was that Jeff was forever lost to them. Her son was looking for a replacement.
âI won,â Timmy cried, leaping to his feet, holding his hands high above his head while he danced around the living room.
âIâm relieved to know the world is safe at last,â Jody muttered, carrying the meat loaf over to the round oak table. âCan we eat now?â
âI guess.â From habit, Timmy hurried into the bathroom and washed his hands, drying them against his thighs as he joined his mother moments later.
They sat down at the table together and Jody passed the vegetables.
Timmy stared down at the bowl and frowned. âI hate green beans.â
âTake three.â Jody didnât know why she chose three, but it seemed a reasonable number and she was hoping to have a heart-to-heart talk with her son. A confrontation over green beans would be detrimental to her plan.
Timmy judiciously sorted through the vegetables until heâd located three stubby green beans. Then he carefully placed them on the edge of his plate where they were in danger of slipping unnoticed onto the tablecloth. He paused and glanced up at Jody, who pretended not to notice.
She waited until heâd drowned his slice of meat loaf in catsup and loaded his plate with fruit salad and mashed potatoes before she broached the subject of his letter.
âWe were supposed to write someone for Christmas,â Timmy explained after she mentioned having found it. âIâm too old for this Santa Claus stuff so I went straight to the source. It was silly anyway, the post office wonât mail a letter to God. The teacher made a fuss about it and now you are too. Whatâs the big deal?â
âNothing,â Jody was quick to assure him. âItâs just that I hadnât realized you wanted a father so badly.â
âEvery kid does,â he said. âDonât
Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna