Chapter 5
Choosing a Soulmate
“Hey there, Piper! Fancy seeing you here,” a male voice called out from the parking lot of the Collins’ Foster Home. Piper turned her head to find Chase closing the door of his new shiny red Porsche. He walked towards her with Cherie by his side, both wearing blue jeans and light jackets. Cherie’s hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which helped to settle it in the wind, while Chase’s wavy hair bustled about his head.
“Good seeing you guys too! I like your red sled. Pretty fancy, Chase.”
“Thanks.”
“Will this be your first shift volunteering?”
“You got it. We’re all signed up.”
They stopped and looked around the campus, catching within their views a handful of cream-colored two story homes, playgrounds, a pond, and many flourishing trees. The campus was idyllic for the foster children, similar to the landscape in a picture that Norman Rockwell would have painted.
Chase commented, “Nice place here. Very picturesque and homey.”
“It’s great for kids,” Piper added. “Very safe. Plus it’s zoned for the nearby “A” rated public schools. Just what the kids need.”
“That’s great,” Cherie said. “It’s good that we’re here, Chase.”
“Looks a lot better than I thought it would,” Chase said. He turned to Cherie, “This won’t be so bad. I can see myself doing what Nick’s doing on the courts. Hope I get an assignment like that!”
“He plays football with them too,” Piper said. “They love football.”
“I do too,” Chase said. “You might not remember, but I played on the team with Nick in high school.”
“I do remember that. Maybe you don’t remember I was a cheerleader with Cherie.”
“How could I forget the hot squad,” Chase said with a sheepish grin. He put his arm around Cherie and kissed her. “You guys hear about Bob?”
“How he proposed to Betty on Valentine’s Day? Yeah, we heard,” Piper answered.
“Nuts, huh?” Cherie added.
“Yeah, I guess. Hope it works out for them,” Piper said.
She looked over at Nick and recalled the way she thought he was going to propose on Valentine’s Day. And the way he didn’t. Valentine’s Day would have been the perfect day for a wedding proposal. Why didn’t he propose? Maybe he wasn’t sure about his love for her. Maybe he didn’t think she was right for him.
Melancholy weighed on her heart as she fought to dispel the memory before any tears welled up in her eyes. They should have been the next ones to get engaged. Why didn’t it happen? Maybe his promise not to drink anymore after their wedding day was too much. She needed to tell him that he wouldn’t need to keep that promise if they married. Flexibility. She would offer him flexibility. She again looked at Nick.
What is he waiting for? St. Patrick’s Day? He did say that St. Paddy’s Day was one of his favorites for what it represented…
Chase laughed. “Yeah, we hope so too. She’s going to be moving in with him next week. That should be interesting. I don’t know if you’ve seen his place, but it’s a disaster. Hope he finds time to clean it before she shows up. You can’t even see the floor under all the sweaty socks and dirty clothes.”
“Gross,” Cherie said as she fixed her ponytail. “I’m so glad you like things clean, Chase.”
“Yeah, our floors are so clean you could eat off of ‘em.” Chase paused. “Well, we better check in and get our assignments. We’ll see you soon, Piper.”
“Sounds good.” Piper watched them as they walked over and entered the main facility. She wondered what they would be assigned on their first day volunteering. Hopefully nothing too laborious. Her first day many years ago had been spent on clean-up duty. Working directly with the kids would be better.
Piper and Nick had playground duty that day. She was on the field watching a group of girls and boys as they played kickball, while Nick played basketball with the older teenage boys on the adjacent basketball courts. The day was typical of February in Florida: sunny and windy with a crispy chill that carried a slight, yet musky sandalwood aroma. The leaves of the many oak trees that surrounded the campus were whistling and stirring in the wind as they fluttered on their limbs and danced in the sunlight. Birds of varying sizes and colors chirped as they sailed over the campus, landing every so often on a tree limb. It was a perfect day to be outside.
She turned her attention to the kids, who were laughing and running about the kickball field, challenging one another for the “ultimate win.” Most were in elementary school, with a small minority in middle school, and they represented all races. Despite those differences, they were getting along well and were achieving the teamwork and sportsmanship goals set in advance.
Feeling satisfied with her contributions to the home, Piper reflected on her precious memories within. The children were what made everything so special. They were warm, loving, and kind. Many had endured traumas early in their lives that would have sent some adults into deep depressions, yet the kids were resilient. They had a way of turning lemons into lemonade. So many of them had started their tenure in the home full of anger, bitterness, and resentment, yet almost all finished strong. The time spent in the home embraced by its many caregivers, volunteers, and children had a way of healing and nurturing them.
Over the years, Piper had watched some of the more bitter children coming into the home become its most caring, forgiving and loving. Witnessing those dramatic changes helped to grow her faith and after a while, she began to feel the presence of God in the home. She saw Jesus behind the actions of the caregivers and the volunteers and the most loving children. That’s what kept her coming back year after year.
As she glanced over the playground, she caught Nick’s attention and waved to him. He lifted his arm to wave back, yet stopped short as he was in the middle of an intense scramble on the courts with the older boys. He outsized most of them as many were in the middle of growth spurts and had the lanky bodies familiar to teens. Some had stopped growing and were more bulky, though no one’s size inhibited their natural agility on the courts. They gave Nick a run for his money. Piper laughed to herself as she watched him dart about the court, trying to steal the ball from his worthy opponents who were hooting and hollering as they bounced and threw the ball back and forth to one another. Again she reflected on a future marriage with Nick and pictured him to be a very good husband and dad. One day.
Piper turned her attention to Benson, who was sitting on the sidelines in the grass, avoiding the kickball game. Benson was ten years old and was relatively new to the home. She approached him and asked, “How come you’re not in the game?”
“Too boring.”
“Don’t you want to play with your friends?”
“Friends? My friends aren’t here. I haven’t seen them since I was in the first grade.”
Piper sat down next to him in the grass and put her arm around him. “I get it. But I just want to let you know that we’re all your friends too, Benson. We care about you. That’s why we’re here.”
“Thanks,” Benson said as he wiped a tear from his eye with his sleeve.
A white ibis landed on a bench about ten feet away and chirped.
“See that bird, Benson? That’s an ibis.”
“Yes.”
“Do you see any other white ibises?”
Benson looked around. “Nope. Why?”
“The ibis is like you. Though it may not know where its biological family is, it knows that the sun will come up each morning. And just as sure as the sun coming up, it knows that its Lord is smiling upon it each day.” She paused before adding, “Jesus loves you, Benson, and He directed your path here so that you could learn about Him and feel His love through the warm embraces of others. He loves you more than anyone you’ll ever meet and wants the best for you.”
Benson paused and then looked Piper in the eyes. His eyes welled up in tears as he responded, “Thanks.
I love Jesus too. My mom loves Jesus. Just hope she makes it back from the war.”
“I do too.”
Cherie and Chase exited the main building and crossed Benson’s path carrying garbage bags and wearing gloves. Clean-up duty. Geez. Piper chuckled a little while watching them as they headed into the parking lot, picking up any trash they found along the way. After a while, they approached her on the field.
“Trash duty,” Chase said. “Great use of a college degree.”
“Oh Chase. This won’t last long. When Piper and Nick leave in an hour, we’ll get to replace them. And next week, you’ll be helping them prevent cyber-attacks.”
“Yeah, I know. Guess it’s not so bad.” Chase grabbed his phone from his pocket and said, “Cherie, you got this? I got to take this call.”
“I guess.”
Chase dropped his garbage bag and headed back towards the parking lot, holding his mobile phone to his ear.
Cherie looked at Piper and said, “Gambling. Found out on the honeymoon that it’s sort of a problem for him. Can’t stop. You should have seen him at the Blackjack table at Atlantis. Blew so much money. I don’t even want to tell you how much. It’s embarrassing.”
“That’s scary. Maybe he needs help.”
“I don’t know about getting professional help. Just know we won’t be going back to any casinos anytime soon. He’s probably on the phone with his gambling friend, Oren.”
“You still happy you married him?”
“Yeah,” Cherie chirped in a soft voice as she looked down on the ground, avoiding direct eye contact with Piper. Maybe she was having regrets. Maybe they had jumped into marriage too quickly. Maybe she was learning things about him that she didn’t like. “You know, Cherie. If you’re having doubts, it’s not too late to get out. It’s not like you have kids or anything.”
“I’m pregnant, Piper.”
“Oh. Uh. Congratulations.” Piper managed an uncomfortable smile.
“Thanks. We just found out. Must’ve happened on the wedding night. We haven’t told anyone yet.”
Piper looked out into the parking lot and watched Chase as he paced back and forth in an animated way discussing something on his phone. She recalled his same signature strut on the ski slopes many times.
So that’s what it was. Gambling. Though out-of-control gambling was a bad habit, Piper was happy to make the assumption that another woman wasn’t in the picture.