Frost Heaves

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

Before Jade could head downstairs to check on her daughter, Aisha hurried toward her. “Listen, I’m sorry about that trooper. I didn’t know he’d want to talk to you right away. I just kind of mentioned it in passing …”

Jade rolled her eyes, figuring it must be their differences that kept her and Aisha close. Jade had given up any desire for romance or even casual dating, but Aisha would flirt with anybody under the age of fifty. Men in uniform were one of her special weak points. Jade was certain that Ben’s trooper’s badge was all Aisha had to see to start fawning all over him, and what better way to snag his attention than to blab about some threatening note Jade received in the mail?

“Don’t worry about it,” Jade mumbled. She couldn’t afford to stand here all night and convince Aisha that everything was fine. She’d lost enough time already. Men and women were filing to their seats, smiling at Jade as they passed the family of carved bears welcoming congregants to the service.

On with the show.

She straightened her shirt, smoothed out her pants, and walked into the sanctuary with her head held high, resolving to forget about Aisha and that silly trooper. Jade would bet her paycheck from the daycare that Ben would ask Aisha out before Christmas rolled around. She could have him. Jade had a testimony to focus on.

She made her way to the front row and bowed her head, partly because she wanted to pray and partly so people wouldn’t come up and try to strike up any conversations. She clasped her hands in her lap. Were they still shaking? What was it about tonight’s testimony that had her so worked up? This was Glennallen. There was hardly anyone she hadn’t met in this town, and most of them were already familiar with her story. If anything, tonight was her chance to tell her testimony in her own words so her neighbors wouldn’t have to rely on second- and third-hand information.

Nothing like a small town in rural Alaska to get the gossip fires roaring like mad.

Jade shut her eyes. She had to focus her attention on what she was going to say. Had to make sure that her spirit was in the right place.

Help me, God, she prayed when a shrill, whiny voice interrupted.

“Mama!”

Jade snapped her eyes open. “What did I tell you about bugging me when I’m up here?” she hissed, hoping that since she was in the front row, the people behind couldn’t detect the annoyance in her expression. If they knew how exasperated she got with her daughter, they might all think twice about inviting her to share tonight.

“I’m so bored down there,” Dez groaned and plopped into a chair with a melodramatic sigh.

Jade pinched her arm. “You get yourself back downstairs, or I’m taking away those new light-up shoes, got it?”

Dez turned to her mom once more with wide, pleading eyes. “But I’m old enough to be up here, and I promise to be real quiet.”

“Well, you and I both know it’s impossible for you to be real quiet. Now get downstairs.” The last thing Jade needed was for Dez to hear her testimony tonight and start asking a thousand questions about their past. Jade forced a stern expression as her daughter tilted her head to the side and stuck out her lower lip.

“None of that now.” Jade cracked a smile and gave her daughter a playful swat on the arm. “Go get yourself downstairs or I’ll tan your behind.”

“No you won’t.” Dez was smiling now. “You’re always saying that, but I don’t even know what it means.”

“If you don’t know what it means, then you should be a lot more worried than you are.”

Dez rolled her eyes again, but it was clear to see she was trying hard not to grin.

“Go downstairs, baby,” Jade repeated.

“But Mrs. Spencer’s gonna make me practice my angel lines.”

“Then practice your angel lines, baby. I swear, I’ve never seen a child more stubborn than you.” She let out her breath, softening her voice. As a new Mom, Jade had resolved to never resort to bribery, but that was before she had any idea what it was like to negotiate with a precocious preschooler. “Tell you what. If you’re real good, I’ll take you out for ice cream after the service.”

“But it’s too cold,” Dez complained. “You can’t eat ice cream in the middle of winter.”

Jade found herself wondering for a moment if Dez really was her flesh-and-blood child. “Of course you can. Who’s been raising you, my little Eskimo baby?” She tickled her daughter’s ribs. Dez squealed and ran down the aisle. Jade just hoped she wouldn’t trip anyone on her way out of the sanctuary.

With Pastor Reggie out of state, Jade wasn’t sure who was going to start the service. These Tuesday night meetings had started out as just a prayer service, but then they added a worship band. Next, Pastor Reggie started to ask people to share their testimonies until finally it was like having a second church meeting in the middle of the week. Jade didn’t mind. With the sun setting by 3:30 at the latest during this phase of the Alaskan winter, it wasn’t as if there were a whole lot else that she and Dez could be doing. Still, with its being so close to Christmas, she would have thought more people would be out of town traveling, but the sanctuary was as full as it was on a typical Sunday.

Great. On top of the crowd, the couple who usually led worship was out with the flu, and Reggie and his family were out of town, so Jade’s talk was going to be the focal point of the evening. It was hard to think that all these people had come just to hear her. Up until recently, Jade hadn’t thought of her testimony as anything special, especially when you compared it to the stories of Christians who were saved out of lives of alcoholism or addiction or truly destructive behaviors. She didn’t feel ready to talk in front of a group this large, and she certainly didn’t feel like she’d had enough time to pray and prepare herself spiritually, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it at this point.

One of the elders welcomed everyone to the meeting, offered a quick word of prayer, and then Jade was standing before a church full of people waiting to hear her story.