Girls Only! (29 page)

The phone rang much later in the evening, after she’d had her bath and was dressed for bed. “Hello?” she answered.

“Hi, Manda.” It was her mother. “How’s everything going?”

“I’m doing okay. How’re
you?
”

Mom sighed. “Missing you. I’m antsy to come home.”

“I miss you, too, Mom.”

There was a long silence. But she heard her mother’s unsteady breathing on the line.

“Are you all right?”

“Oh, I was just thinking back to the day you were born,” her mother replied. “It was the best day of my life.”

Manda couldn’t help but smile. “For me, too.”

They went on to chat about schoolwork and their defunct computer. But it was obvious to Manda that her mom was avoiding the subject of her upcoming leg surgery. She simply didn’t want to talk about it.

The topic of Tarin came up again. “I’m gonna find out what makes that kid tick,” Manda declared. “One way or the other, I’m going to be a friend to him.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Mom said. “Just don’t let it get in the way of your skiing goals.”

“You don’t have to worry. I’m totally focused on Dressel Hills next month. Coach Hanson thinks I have a good chance at placing—high.”

“
I’m
convinced,” Mom said with a chuckle. “Well, I’d better let you go. Get a good night’s sleep, kiddo.”

“I will,” she promised. “See you tomorrow.”

“It’s a deal.” Mom’s voice sounded strong and courageous, but it had an empty ring to it.

Manda hung up the phone after they said good-bye. But she was worried. Besides her mother’s physical condition, what was bothering her? Was she suffering the effects of being isolated in the hospital?

“That’s it!” she said out loud, startling herself. “Mom’s been cooped up too long.”

She wondered what she could do about it and felt as helpless as a skier off course, barreling down a treacherous slope. Out of control.

Poor Mom
, she thought.
What can I do?

Then an idea struck hard. Since her mom couldn’t go to the mountain and experience the great outdoors, Manda would have to do something about that. She’d just have to bring the mountain to her mom!

That’s what she’d do.

Easy!

Reach for the Stars

Chapter Five

She had everything planned.

Everything!

Right down to the video camera she was going to borrow. But church attendance came first. Even so, Manda found herself excited about her idea, thinking how pleased her mom would be when she presented the mountain—Cascade Peak—tomorrow afternoon.

Mom would be needing something to boost her spirits after surgery. She’d feel totally lethargic and bummed out. It was the perfect timing.

At the church, after Sunday school class, Manda shared the plan with her friend Heather. “The guy who times my runs is going to videotape me skiing tomorrow. Isn’t that cool?”

Heather’s blue eyes brightened. “Hey, and while you’re
at it, get him to tape you doing your thing with those tiny preschool skiers. Your mom’ll definitely love it.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she replied, wondering how some of the children might respond to being filmed at ski school. But she didn’t voice her concern.

“Think it over,” Heather said.

“I will, and thanks for the suggestion.” She was actually delighted with the idea. Heather and the other
Girls Only
Club members often came up with fantastic ideas for using their athletic talents to encourage others.

“So . . . wanna come over for dinner after church?” Heather asked as they headed toward the church lobby. “You could use our computer to check up on the history facts for class.”

“Okay with your mom?” asked Manda, grateful for the offer.

“I wouldn’t be inviting you if it wasn’t, silly.” Heather motioned for Manda to sit with her and Kevin, her older brother and ice-dancing partner. Heather’s parents and younger brother and sister were already seated in a long pew near the front of the church.

“Thanks,” Manda said, feeling much better now. Hanging out with God’s people always made her feel good. At times like this, she wondered if her wayward father had ever settled things in his heart with the Lord.

The hymns the congregation sang were old songs, yet Manda gladly joined in. Even though she could jam
up a storm on her harmonica, she couldn’t carry a tune all that well. She kept wondering when Heather might glance at her cross-eyed. Or tell her to pipe down. But Heather was kind and shared the hymnal without covering her ears.

The minister’s sermon text was easy to understand today. “ ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ ”

Manda listened carefully. This was the sort of verse she could put into practice with her ski students. Especially Tarin the Terrible!

There was someone else she probably ought to apply this verse to, along with her brilliant ski pupil. Even though her dad wasn’t anywhere around, she had to forgive him. It was the right thing to do. Just not the easy thing.

She’d never thought of forgiveness quite this way. So she sat motionless on the cushioned seat next to Heather and the rest of the Bock family.

Your young fella has some problems
. . . .

Auntie Ethel, the retired schoolteacher who shared the hospital room with Manda’s mom, had commented on little Tarin. Probably with some professional insight, too.

Manda decided it might be a good idea to pay attention to the woman. Maybe by showing kindness to Tarin, she could help him fit in with the group.

Maybe.

The dinner table at the Bocks’ house was set with red heart-shaped place mats. Manda suspected they were homemade, probably created during a homeschool art session, as all four Bock kids were taught by their mother.

“We made them for Valentine’s Day,” Joanne Bock, Heather’s six-year-old sister, told her as they were seated.

“Pretty,” she said, smiling across the table at the toothless grin.

Again, her mind wandered to Tarin Greenberg. Maybe it was Joanne’s missing front tooth that triggered the thought. Or was it the youngster’s wiggly excitement at having a Sunday dinner guest?

Dessert was being served when Joanne spoke up again. This time she was giggling. “There’s a new boy in my Sunday school class.”

“Joanne, please,” her father said. “It isn’t polite to talk and giggle at the same time.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she said, continuing on. Her eyes blinked several times while she pressed her small hand against her mouth. Probably trying to hold in the giggle.

When Mrs. Bock returned with additional servings of cherry pie, Joanne took her hand away from her mouth. “I think I’m ready to talk now and not laugh,” she said softly.

“Go ahead, then,” said her mother.

“We have this boy . . .” She paused, her mouth turning up hard on both sides. “He’s got a strange nickname.”

Before she could finish, Heather jumped in. “You’re not talking about Tarin Greenberg, are you?” She looked at her little sister. “Because if you are, I’ve heard his nickname, and I don’t think it’s very nice.”

Joanne’s eyes fluttered. “But he calls
himself
that!”

Manda could hardly believe this conversation. “Are you talking about Tarin the Terrible?”

Joanne nodded her head up and down. “He’s the smartest boy on earth,” she said.

“Well, I wouldn’t know about that,” Mr. Bock said, chuckling.

Heather spoke in her sister’s defense. “He
is
smart, Daddy. So smart he keeps scaring off his baby-sitters.”

Manda’s ears perked up. “Why would a bright kid like that frighten anybody?”

“I guess, from what I’ve heard, Tarin’s quite sophisticated,” Heather explained.

“You mean his vocabulary is very advanced for his age?” asked Manda.

Heather cocked her head. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Because he’s in one of my classes at the ski academy,” Manda said, folding her hands in her lap. “Is he new to Alpine Lake?”

“I don’t think so,” Heather replied.

Joanne was grinning now. “Tarin’s just new to our church,” she said. “He and his dad changed churches recently.”

Manda observed Joanne’s childish mannerisms. Light-years difference between the girl across the table and Tarin Greenberg. Joanne was a normal first-grader. Tarin, even though he was a year younger, was out in the nebula somewhere intellectually. Just how far, Manda didn’t know.

“It’s very sad. Tarin’s got no mother,” Joanne said.

The little girl’s comment was revealing, especially because of Ethel Norton’s remark. So there
was
a problem at the Greenberg home. Aunt Ethel was right, after all.

Eager to see her own mother at the hospital, Manda spent only an hour with Heather after the meal. She stayed till the dishes were stacked in the dishwasher and the leftovers were cleared away. Then, because Heather pleaded with her, she played through her entire repertoire on the harmonica.

“You should come over more often,” Heather teased, putting away the dishrag. “Nobody I know plays the harmonica like you. It sounds cheerful and soothing at the same time.”

“I try to avoid playing in public,” she said, laughing. “But thanks.”

“You ought to share your musical talent with the world,
the way you perform for the public on skis, you know,” Heather said.

She ignored the comment and changed the subject. “Thanks for inviting me. I had a great time.”

“It was my mother’s idea.” Heather went to the walk-in pantry and brought out a basket of homemade treats. “Take this along when you visit your mom.”

Peering into the basket, Manda saw several kinds of cookies, candies, and even a miniature nut bread. “This is incredible.” She gave Heather a hug. “Mom’ll love it, believe me.”

“All of us helped with it. Even Kevin and Dad.”

Swallowing hard, Manda said, “You have no idea what this means to my mom and me.”

Heather reached out and hugged her again. “We’re glad to do it. Blessing others is what life’s all about, right?”

Just then Mrs. Bock came into the kitchen. She smiled when she spied Manda with the basket. “Enjoy the goodies. We used stone-ground whole wheat flour, sweetened with honey.”

“So they’re safe?” said Manda, laughing.

“Oh, we have to watch our junk food intake here, too, you know,” Heather volunteered.

Kevin peeked his head around the corner. “Don’t let the goodies distract you from your skiing,” he said. “We’ll be cheering for you in Dressel Hills next month.”

Manda was surprised. “You know about that . . . the competition, I mean?”

“Your coach knows our ice-dancing coach, Mr. McDonald,” Kevin said. “Everyone’s excited about the Downhill Classic.”

Manda smiled. “Thanks,” she said, hoping the warmth in her cheeks wasn’t showing. Kevin Bock was
so
cute!

She thanked Mrs. Bock for inviting her to dinner. “And for the basket,” she said.

On the drive home, Mr. Bock said he and his family would be praying for her mother “during her surgery tomorrow.”

She nodded her head in gratitude, because she knew if she tried to speak she might cry. Hard-driving Alpine skiers didn’t give in to their fears.

At least,
she
didn’t!

Reach for the Stars

Chapter Six

Her mom was the one with glistening eyes when Manda showed up that afternoon. Manda carried the care basket from the Bock family like it was something precious.

“What thoughtful people,” Mom said, pulling out each section of goodies, individually wrapped in various colors.

“I wish you could’ve been at the Bocks’ today.” She explained young Joanne’s playful banter with her father. “They’re really very close as a family. They work together and play together, too.”

Her mother cast a look of concern. “I hope you’re not thinking about . . .”

“Not really,” she was quick to say. And it was true, she really hadn’t been thinking about her own loss of a father. It had more to do with the way the Bock family
interacted. She believed they truly loved and respected one another.

She and her mom easily fell into a long talk about the Bocks, including Heather’s adorably cute brother. But Manda was careful not to reveal too much about her attraction to Kevin. She preferred to like a boy in her own way. Secretly, and from a distance.

Later, she talked about the announcement Joanne had made at the table. “I couldn’t believe my ears, but she started chattering about Tarin the Terrible. The new boy in her Sunday school class.”

Mom gasped. “She actually called him
that?
”

“I guess everyone does, but
I
don’t. Not to his face, anyway.” She shrugged. “I think a name like that might feed his attitude, you know.” She wasn’t sure why she felt that way. “I know! I’ll make up a new nickname for him,” she said. “Something more positive.”

“Something that would bring out the best in him?” Mom said.

“Exactly!”

Before Manda left the hospital, she pulled back the curtain between the beds. Auntie Ethel was awake and trying to sit up in bed. Quickly, Manda rang for the nurse.

As they waited, she told the woman about young Tarin. “Remember, you said he might have some problems at home? Well, I heard today that he doesn’t have a mother.”

Ethel’s brow wrinkled into a deep frown. “Everybody has a mother, honey. What you’re saying is his mother doesn’t live with him, or she’s passed on. One of the two.”

“That’s true.” Once again, Manda was intrigued by the elderly woman’s quick thinking.

“He’s going to need your emotional assistance when you see him next,” Ethel pointed out.

Manda agreed. “I’ll give it my best shot.”

Mom was all smiles. “That’s my girl.”

Turning, Manda went to stand at the foot of her mother’s bed. “If you’re excited about that, just wait’ll tomorrow. But you have to be wide awake from surgery before you’ll have any idea what I’m talking about.”

Mom leaned forward a bit, wincing when she did. She glanced toward the ceiling where the traction pulleys did their thing, then back to zero in on Manda. “Promise me . . . no big surprises, please,” she said. “I’m not kidding.”