“I hear you. What’s up?”
“I wanted you to hear this first hand. You ready? Say hello to Shani and Dave.”
“Hi, Shani - Green, what’re you cooking?”
“It’s not me this time, Jill, it’s this little swimmer your husband set me up with.”
“I did no such thing!” Madison interjected. “I told you I didn’t even know she was working that day!”
“Boys,” Jill said though the phone, “Settle down. Now what is the big deal?”
“They’ve chosen a date,” Madison said.
“Hey, great! Summer wedding? June’s all the rage.”
“There’s an idea,” Madison laughed.
“Hi, Jill. It’s Shani.”
“Hey Shani, what are these guys carrying on about?”
“We’ve decided to get married sooner, rather than later.”
“Okay...”
“We’re going to get married on Christmas Day.” There was silence in the room and no response from the other end of the phone line, so Shani continued, “I want it to remind us of God’s gift. And as we celebrate, we can renew our gift, the gift of our heart, to each other.” The trio was staring at the silent phone on Madison’s desk for an eternal five seconds while the news traveled through the phone lines and sunk into Jill’s ears.
“Honey?” Madison said, “are you there?”
“Oh Shani, that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. I’m gonna cry a river. Enright, you might take a lesson here!” She said.
“What? Me? I’m Mr. Romance. Anyway, I wanted you to hear it from them, so when we get pulled away from opening presents on Christmas and your turkey burns and all that, you’ll know who to blame - not me!”
“I think it’s great. I approve! Shani, let me know if I can help. That’s only a few weeks away.”
“That’s what everyone’s telling me.”
“Oh, it’ll be okay, we’ll all pitch in. Hey, let’s talk, really, maybe later today, or just stop by.”
“I can come by.”
“Great, I’ll call Dawn and see if she can contribute some ideas.”
“Thanks, Jill, you’re awesome! See you soon.”
“Okay. Bye, guys!”
“Bye, hon,” Madison said and clicked the end button.
“Never a dull moment with you, Green, that’s for sure.” Madison shook his head and they began to review initial plans for the ceremony.
Chapter 68
Judy Turnbull thought she might make a pretty good detective after the work she did on Madison and Jill Enright. If Madison had thought she would just go away and forget about him after he left her lying half-clothed on the bed of room 509, he had another thing coming. She wasn’t a home wrecker, didn’t want to come between a man and his wife in any way. She just wanted to finish what they started - then he would be free to return to his quiet life of saving souls or whatever it was that he did on Sundays, if he so desired, not that he would, she expected, after a few nights with her.
Through a little digging, she found out that he would be in Dallas again in February to speak at a conference at his alma mater. It looked like a big event with links to all the major hotels. She found out with a simple phone call to the university hosting the event that the speakers were all staying at the Hyatt, and a call to the Hyatt had confirmed that the Enrights were booked in a room with two queens, which probably meant they were coming as a family. She booked a room at the Hyatt, as well, and figured that a conference on the family was exactly what a thirty-three year old single woman needed. Then she scheduled a few days off work.
The reporter was one step ahead of Judy Turnbull and had been watching all the hotels listed on the RLU website for a reservation for Judy Turnbull. He would have never figured out how to do it on his own, but, since Paula Stone had introduced him to resident technical guru, Terry Fields, he didn’t have to. Terry and Steve hit it right off. Steve had access to inside product information on the latest and greatest gadgets coming out of Silicon Valley, the kind of scoop that Terry would have given a limb for. So when Steve needed help tracking a certain person for one of his stories, Terry simply hacked into the reservation service and started downloading daily reports designed to flag the specific name - or any reasonable facsimile. When the program received a hit for J. Turnbull, registering for three nights at the Hyatt, Terry called his new friend at the Chronicle. Bingo, Bango, Steve booked a flight and a room in Dallas. “Rendezvous at the Family Conference,” he said to himself, “How low can you go?”
Chapter 69
Jill used up the last of her strength helping Shani and her mother with wedding arrangements. She hadn’t consciously noticed Madison and herself drawing away from one another, but this month of work with her girlfriends had been a welcome distraction. Madison, for his part, had been working from home more, but seemed very secretive about what he was doing. He was staying up later and getting up earlier, and Jill could clearly see signs of stress and fatigue in his eyes and face. He was irritable and distant, and, for the first time in their marriage, she began to notice a distinct difference between the Madison Enright she lived with and the one on the stage at Community Chapel.
Chapter 70
Dawn carried the weight of the wedding coordination, helping with colors, design, catering and flowers. She was now certain that it had been Pastor Enright’s SUV parked at her complex in the weeks before his surprise visit at tea, because she had seen the car regularly since then, parked across the street from the apartments or around the corner from her work. She had even served him coffee once and felt the strangest sensation, as if he were trying, awkwardly, to pick her up. It was so out of character that she laughed it off, but the yucky feeling lingered and she thought she needed to tell Jill, or Dave, or maybe Greg sometime. She began to get depressed, because this was exactly the kind of thing that always happened to her when things were going well.
Chapter 71
Jill was nearly bedridden by Christmas, the seventh month of her pregnancy was the worst so far. She was anemic, and her doctor said that bed rest was the only thing that would help the little one make it all the way to term. Jill stayed in bed all day on the 24th, and the family opened presents Christmas Day in the master bedroom so mommy could remain in bed, hoping for strength to attend the wedding in the evening. Billy didn’t care about where the presents were opened as long as there were lots of them with his name on the tag. He even opened one that was addressed to his dad when he saw “Billy” on the tag, even though his name was next to the word “from.”
“What in the world?” he said, sounding like his mother as he pulled a long silk tie from the crumpled paper.
“Billy, that was for your father. It’s from you, not for you,” Jill said.
“Oh. Here Dad,” he handed the tie in the general direction of his father and continued to root around for packages bearing his name.
Madison accepted it with a smile. “Thanks, Leroy, very thoughtful of you. Thank you, honey. Nice tie.”
“What time do we have to be at the church?” Jill asked, ignoring the tie.
“Us? Not till about 4:00 p.m. We’ll just do a quick run through. Terry’s going to open up for them at 2:30 p.m. so they can get it all set up, wedding at 4:30 p.m.”
“Can Billy and I ride over with you?”
“Oh yeah, sure. I don’t think I’ll have to go over early,” Madison said. In the back of his mind a plan was already under way, however, that would have him leaving home alone at 2:25 p.m.
After presents were opened and the Enright men policed the master bedroom floor, the presents were relocated to a stack in the corner, and Madison excused himself to make his traditional Christmas waffles for the family. As he was stirring the batter, he heard the shower come on upstairs and picked up his cell phone to make a quick call to Terry Fields.
“Hey, Pastor, Merry Christmas!” Terry said from the black leather recliner in his bachelor-pad, one-bedroom apartment.
; “My man. Merry Christmas to you. What’d Santa bring you this year?”
“Friend of Paula’s scored me this off the hook mobile GPS unit so I’m playing around with it. Hold on... What’s your address again?” Madison played along. “Mmm. Do you always leave Billy’s bike in the yard over night? That’s not safe in your neighborhood, is it?” Terry said.
Madison walked to the window and looked out onto the yard, “How did you do that?”
“GPS - Global Positioning Satellite. Ha! It’s the same technology they use to find terrorists and stuff.”
“Are you even supposed to have something like that?”
“This guy can get all the cool stuff. Reporter for the Chron.”
“Paula’s friend? Are you talking about Steve Franz?”
“That’s the guy. We’ve been hanging out. Cool head. He’s been coming to church once in a while... Hey, anyway, what can I do for you? I know you didn’t call to talk about my Christmas presents.”
“Oh yeah, well, I just wanted to let you off the hook with opening this afternoon. I’ll be over there anyway, just go ahead and show up about 3:00 p.m. to turn on the sound and get some music going.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, give you an extra couple of minutes to track down what side of the driveway your dad parked the car last night.”
“Already checked. He thought I was hiding behind a tree or something. I told him I was looking at him via satellite, and they said I needed a girlfriend. Ha.”
“Might be something to that, buddy.”
“Ah, this is more fun, and it doesn’t complain when I leave the seat up.”
“See you about 3:00 p.m. then?”
“Yeah. Thanks Pastor. Tell the towhead and Mrs. Enright Merry Christmas for me.”
Waffles in bed was a luxury Jill didn’t expect and didn’t really want, but Madison insisted, sending Billy up ahead to make sure Mom got back into bed instead of coming down stairs.
“Oh, yeah, something’s come up with Terry Fields, and I’ve got to open up this afternoon. I can get somebody to pick you up if you don’t feel up to driving?”
Jill showed her disappointed, “Mad, can’t somebody else do it? We want to ride over with you. I hate taking separate cars every where we go.”
“Sorry, honey. I’ll find a ride for you.”
Chapter 72
Madison helped get Billy dressed and left for the church at 2:20 p.m. He would have been a few minutes earlier, but he took time to put Billy’s bike away and scan the clear December sky, waving to Terry Fields, wherever he was hiding. When he pulled into the front parking lot at the church, he discovered it was empty except for a white chevy cavalier parked near the entrance to the sanctuary.
“Jackpot,” he whispered. He pulled his car into a spot two spaces to the right of Dawn’s Chevy and waved across to the lone occupant. Dawn wasn’t expecting to see Pastor Enright, but it was his church so it wasn’t a total surprise.
“Hi, Dawn, Merry Christmas.” Madison said as he met Dawn on the way to the front door.
“Merry Christmas, Pastor,” she said, noting that the Pastor seemed unusually happy.
“Have you ever been to a wedding on Christmas Day?” Madison said.
“This is my first. How about you?”
“First time for me, too. Leave it to Dave and Shani though.” He unlocked the door and they entered the dimly lit foyer. He propped open the inner doors to the sanctuary. “Ever been in here when it’s dark?” he said.
“No. It’s really quiet.”
“Dark, too. I prop the doors open so I can feel my way to the light switches. Come here and look at this.” He motioned her to where he was, at the entrance to the sanctuary. She joined him and looked into the blackness of the large room, the only light in the room was coming through the door they were standing at.
“Come on, I’ll show you where the light switches are in case you ever have to do this on your own. You’d better take my hand, or you’ll trip over a pew.”
She hesitated, but went along. The room was dark and the pastor’s large warm hand swallowed hers as they walked quietly across the back of the sanctuary.
“The switches are right up here.” He raised her hand to the wall and guided it up about level with her shoulders. In the darkness, he could feel her strength of presence. He flared his nostrils and quietly inhaled, hoping his sense of smell was heightened in the dark. He spoke carefully, “Now, look back at the doors, see how far we are? That’s how I gauge if I’m close or not.” He found the switches by braille, his hand guiding hers, and said, “We turn on all of them, left to right.”
He let go of her hand and flipped up all the switches. The room illuminated before them. Dawn took a couple steps back and turned to look at the room. Madison closed his eyes briefly, savoring the moment, then opened them with a smile.
“Well, I don’t know when I would need to do that, but thanks for showing me. I’ve got a few things to bring in and set up,” she said.
“I’ll help.” He followed her back to the Cavalier walking five yards behind her and enjoying every step. They set up the flower arrangements and white runner that Dawn had purchased, transforming the massive room into an intimate chapel.
“You know, Dawn, Jill was really right about you. You are great at this.”
“Thanks.” She wished Jill was there right now, or that someone else would come in. She felt about as exposed as Bathsheba. Terry and Greg should have been here by now, and Shani and Dave had to be here soon for the run-through. She felt like she should go sit in her car or something.
“I’ve been thinking about adding a position at the church, part-time, to begin with, but it might work into something. Maybe you’d be interested. It would be a coordinator, weddings, events, and special meetings, that kind of thing. Do you think that might be something you would like?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m doing pretty well over at Starbucks. They have benefits and everything.”
“I’m sure, if I talk to the church council, we could match whatever they’re doing for you. According to Jill, you are the kind of person we need around here. From what I’ve seen, I couldn’t agree more.” He was pleased at his double entendre. “You should talk to Jill about it, see what she thinks,” Madison said, wanting to include his wife in the idea to avoid sounding like he was coming on to her, which he was. “In fact, let’s all meet, maybe after the holidays, and talk about it - you, me and Jill. What do you say?”
Bringing Jill into the mix made Dawn think there could be more to this, that maybe Pastor and Jill really had discussed having her work with them. And she really couldn’t think of anything she would rather do than be around the church and these people every day, most of these people anyway.
“Yeah. I mean, it sounds like something I would really like - if Jill thinks it’s a good idea, that is,” she said. “Pastor, can I ask you a question?” She got her nerve up and figured that now was as good a time as any to figure out what he was doing around her apartment every week.
“Shoot.”
“Well, I’ve been...” Just then spotlights hit them both and Lionel Richey started crooning over the PA system. They both looked back with a shock seeing Terry Fields at the sound board, getting his system ready for the ceremony.
“Hey, team! Didn’t shock you did I? Lionel Richey can do that to you, though. Ha!”
The rest of the wedding party began trickling in - Dave first, then Shani and her parents with Franny Andrews in tow. Then Greg and Terry Page with Jill and Billy Enright.
“Dawn, did you still want to talk?” Madison said.
“No. That’s okay. Some other time. Not a big deal,” she said.
After a quick run-through, with Greg Page playing the groom so Dave and Shani would remain apart till the big moment, pre-ceremony pictures were taken with the men and separately, in the ready room, with the women. Guests began to arrive to the sounds of beautiful classical guitar played by one of the youn
g men from the church’s praise band, who would have done it for free but enjoyed the idea of getting a hundred bucks for plucking out a few numbers before the ceremony. “Merry Christmas to me,” he thought. The three men, Madison, Dave and Greg, were in the ready room off the stage, waiting for their cue.
“Now, Dave, I usually tell guys that there are two doors in this room. One leads to the exit and the parking lot and freedom, and the other leads to the altar and a woman and the end of life as you know it. Which door will you choose? It might be the last completely independent decision you ever get to make,” Madison said, tongue in cheek.
“Do you really tell guys that?” Dave said.
“He said the same thing to me six years ago. Only we were in a different sanctuary then. Didn’t have the slick, two-door ready room,” Greg said.
“I guess I’m in a rut. But there is some truth in the question.”
“Well, if it matters, I choose door number two.”
“Not nervous at all?” Madison asked.
“I’m a wreck. But it doesn’t mean I want to turn back.”
The guitarist finished an extended instrumental and, after a few moments of silence, began an arrangement of Ode to Joy.
“That’s our cue,” Madison said. “Let’s do this.” He opened the door, and the three men filed out and took their place at the front of the altar. Madison counted about fifty guests, all but about a dozen sitting on the bride’s side. When the men were in position, Terry Page entered the chapel wearing a beautiful burgundy dress, carrying a bouquet of white roses. After she was in position, Terry Fields dimmed the lights slightly, which was Shani’s mothers signal to stand up. She missed it and needed to be visually nudged by Madison with a nod and a smile. Shani’s mother and the congregation stood and turned as Shani began her walk to the altar. She was escorted, on one side, by her father, and on the other, by angelic Franny Andrews, who was carrying her mother’s burgundy rose bouquet. Mother and Daughter were in this together. They reached the altar, and the congregation sat down as Madison asked the parents’ question;
“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”
To which Mr. Andrews responded, “Her mother and I,” and took his place alongside his wife. Dave stepped forward to Shani’s right side, and the threesome - Dave, Shani and Franny - took a step forward while Greg took his place beside Dave, and Terry Page stood beside Franny and Shani.