And the Greatest of These Is Love: A Contemporary Christian Romance Novel (17 page)

Gabi looked at him, not believing nor understanding. “How?”

“I already started this weekend.” He plunged forward. “I contacted some corporations in the city — people I know from the paper — and I asked them to come out and see the place today.”

Her eyes widened. “The center?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged with one shoulder. “I want them to help us.”

Us
. The word stuck in her head, but what was he saying? She swallowed all the questions she wanted to ask.

“They’ve agreed to come out for a visit today. Then maybe they’ll agree to donate funds to help the center stay open.”

Hope surged so forcefully, it took her breath away. “Through Christmas?”

“That’s target one,” he said, in total business mode now. He looked ready to take on the world.

“Target one?”

“Yeah. The way I see it we’ve got three targets — the first is to stay open through Christmas, the second is to not have to worry about shutting the place down every other month, and the third is to do some real improvements.”

That was just crazy talk to Gabi, and she laughed softly. “Real improvements? Like what?”

“Well, like heating, and supplies, and new equipment. Maybe a study room for the older kids, and a real play room for the little ones.”

She shook her head as if that was no more than a pipe dream. “But all that stuff takes money, Andrew. Money we don’t have.”

“No. We don’t. But they do. Don’t you see?” he asked, getting more excited with each word. “These people need what we can give them — a trained, well-educated, enthusiastic work force.”

Incredulousness hit her. “Work force?”

“The kids. If we can help these kids get a better education, stay off the streets, and get into college, then that benefits the business community. They get back something for what they put into the project.”

“And you think this will work?”

“I know it will,” Andrew said with solid confidence. “Think about it, Gabi. During the summers, we can send our kids into their businesses to be interns, and during the school year, they can come out here and help us train. Everybody wins.”

“Sounds nice,” she said with nowhere near as much confidence. “And who’s going to arrange this meeting of the minds?”

He pulled up, stood straight, and looked right at her. “I am.”

Suddenly all words failed her. She hadn’t dreamt she would even see him today, but this was too much.

“Have you told Jerry?” she asked slowly.

“That’s my next stop.”

Jerry downed another antacid tablet and dug deeper into the paperwork piling up around him. This nightmare of work would soon be over, and although he felt badly about the center’s imminent demise, he couldn’t say he wasn’t ready to see the end of the paperwork.

The knock on the door hardly registered. He didn’t even look up.

“Hey, Jerry, got a minute?” Andrew knocked again on the open door.

“Andrew.” Jerry’s face lit up in surprise and delight. “I didn’t expect to see you here today.”

“I couldn’t stay away.” Coming in, Andrew took a seat across from Jerry.

Jerry smiled. “The place can have that effect on people. The first two articles were terrific. Bill certainly knew what he was doing when he put you on this story.”

Andrew doubted that. “Listen, Jerr. I have a proposal.”

“A proposal?” Jerry asked clearly not expecting such a thing. “What kind of proposal?”

“Well, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I think I’ve come up with a way to solve all your problems.”

“That would be a nice change.”

“Well, okay, not all your problems, but most of the ones that have to do with the center.”

Leaning back in his chair, Jerry held his pen with both sets of fingers. “I’m listening.”

And then, Andrew proceeded to outline in detail his ideas for saving and subsequently rebuilding the center.

“So, what you’re saying is you’ve asked these businessmen…”

“And women.”

“Business people to come out here and look the place over in hopes that they’ll donate money to keep this place open?”

“Basically.” It was difficult for Andrew to not get concerned that he had over-stepped his bounds. Worse yet was sitting there letting Jerry weigh the biggest leap of faith of his life.

“Andrew,” Jerry finally said, and he sounded both resigned and tired. “Believe me, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but we’ve been down this road before, and the business community isn’t interested in getting involved with kids from Collins. I hate to say that, but it’s true. Why don’t you just go back to the paper where you belong? This isn’t your fight.”

Andrew thought about that a moment. No was not the answer he was expecting, and resignation threatened to take him over as well. But then, suddenly he saw Gabi’s face and Antonio’s, and he knew in his heart maybe more than ever before that it was his fight.

“With all due respect, Jerry, I think you’re wrong,” Andrew said with quiet determination. “These kids need help from all of us. Now, I know you’ve been here a lot longer than I have, but maybe that makes me perfect for this job. Maybe they’ll listen to me.”

A sigh and Jerry shook his head. “And what if they don’t?”

“Then what have we lost?” Andrew asked simply. “Please, Jerry, just let me try. I can’t just walk away from this place and watch it die without knowing I did everything I could to save it.”

Jerry blinked and then exhaled slowly. “Okay. I’m not going to say no, but be careful. Putting too much into this place is dangerous. I know, I’ve done it.”

Andrew could see it in the older man’s eyes. The problems were taking their toll on him, and Andrew added another target to his growing list.

At lunch, Andrew sat munching quietly at the table with Antonio planted firmly on one side of him and Shaniquille on the other as the chattering around him rose in pitch. But he didn’t hear it. Not really. He was mentally preparing for his date with destiny in only two short hours.

He had taken this tour himself only ten days before, and now he would be leading it. He traced and retraced the possible routes in his mind. Which one would deliver the most punch? Which one would ensure he got a yes — or at least a maybe, or at least not an outright no?

Gabi watched him from across the table in short glances. He had been quiet all morning, and even now he looked a million miles away. He was out battling the dragons that stood ready to devour the center. She knew it. She could see it in his eyes. It was a lonely battle. She knew that all too well. Even so, she was determined to lend whatever assistance she could. They were in this together — win or lose. Though in all likelihood it would be lose.

The visitors were scheduled to arrive at 2:30, and by 1:15 Gabi was a basket case.

“Do you have a plan?” she whispered to him over the napping children.

“Of course I have a plan,” he said softly, but the nerves in his voice were evident.

“Will you tell me what it is?”

Andrew looked at her with uncertain eyes and tried to smile. “Well, I thought I’d show them around, and then sit them down in one of the classrooms and explain my plan to them.”

“That’s one way to do it.” Gabi wondered if she should tell him her idea.

“You got a better plan?”

“Maybe. I think we ought to try the Andrew Clark approach,” Gabi said, serious and teasing at the same time.

“And what’s that?” he asked, arching a wary eyebrow at her.

She shrugged. “Throw them in and make them help.”

Andrew looked horrified.

“No, come on, listen,” Gabi said quickly before he nixed her idea. “You could assign each of them to a child for an hour or so. Let them get a feel for what we do around here. It worked on you, didn’t it?”

In a way she was right. At first he had stayed to see her, but once he’d gotten involved with the kids, he was hooked, too.

“So, what do you say?” she asked.

He grinned and nodded. “I say you’re a genius.”

“I think I’d better take off so I can welcome our guests,” Andrew whispered to Gabi an hour later, sliding on his suit coat.

“Oh, okay.” It was at that moment that she saw the little boy hovering at Andrew’s right knee. Antonio. She hadn’t thought about this problem, and it could be real trouble.

“Antonio,” Gabi said in her best fearless voice that was one pitch away from cracking, “why don’t you come with me, and we’ll color with some of the others?”

Looking at her with that same look she had seen the first day, Antonio took hold of Andrew’s leg, crinkling all the material his tiny fingers came in contact with. Gabi held her hand out to him, fully aware of the danger in that simple gesture.

“I’ll tell you what, Antonio.” Just like that, Andrew bent down to the little boy’s height. “If you will help Miss T for me while I’m gone, I’ll take you with me when I go play basketball with the big boys today. How would that be?”

Gabi looked down at him in disbelief. What was he doing? Bringing Antonio to play basketball with the older kids could mean big trouble, but only she seemed to know that at the moment, and she wasn’t going to say it out loud to either of them.

“Will you help Miss T while I’m gone? Can you do that for me?” Andrew looked directly into the child’s eyes. Slowly the little head moved — up, then down. Once. “Good. I knew I could count on you. Now I’ll be back in a little while with some other people who are coming to see you. Okay? You be good.”

Andrew stood up, holding Antonio’s tiny hand in his own. He looked at Gabi and smiled. She looked as scared as Antonio did.

“Miss T, I have someone who wants to be your special helper today,” Andrew said as if he was introducing them for the first time. “This is Antonio.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Antonio,” Gabi said, clearly willing her voice not to shake as she looked down at the child.

Andrew looked down at the child. “Antonio?”

Slowly, Antonio’s gaze came up to Gabi’s, and instantly she knew she wasn’t looking at the same little monster who had come into her classroom the week before. This little boy was frightened and fragile. She smiled kindly and extended her hand. “Come on, you can help me collect the colors.”

Ever so slowly the little hand reached out and took hers. She smiled at the boy and then at Andrew.

“We’ll be fine,” she said, and for the first time she meant it.

“Mr. Harwood.” Andrew extended his hand to the graying man. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Well, Andrew, I was a little surprised by your call, but I’m always willing to find ways that QuikMart can serve the community,” the older gentleman said, smiling.

“This is Jerry Richardson.” Andrew turned to Jerry. “He runs the center.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Richardson,” Mr. Harwood said.

Jerry shook the man’s hand. “Likewise.”

The introductions had proceeded thus for some twenty minutes, and by now there were about a dozen civic-minded businesses represented in the lobby.

“I think if you all don’t mind.” Andrew strode to the center of the room. “We’d like to go ahead and get started.”

A hush crossed the room.

“I want to thank you all for coming out on such short notice. I know the request was a little out of the ordinary, but this need was too urgent and too great to go through traditional channels. You see around you a building that has weathered many storms, but right now it’s facing the worst storm it’s ever seen. The Pat McCullough Center has been opened for almost 30 years, but unless drastic measures are taken quickly, it will be closing its doors soon.

“However, today you all have a unique opportunity to change that. You have the opportunity to give the kids that call this center home a chance. In a few minutes, you will be meeting some of those kids, and I ask only that you open your hearts and your minds. If after meeting these kids, you feel like I do, then we’ll talk about how you can help.”

He heard the footsteps before he saw any of the children, and the sound instantly brought a smile to his face as his heart fluttered. “Here they come now.” Andrew looked over toward the entryway. “We’ll be joining the four-year-olds for music time now. So, if you will all find a seat, we can get started.”

The business people looked at each other in astonishment. There were only a couple of ragged couches in the room — surely he didn’t mean…

Andrew left the others and strode over to the group of children, fighting not to notice how wary they all looked. “Hi, Antonio.” And with that, he retook his shadow from its keeper.

“How’s it going?” Gabi whispered, surveying the room, her nerves sounding in her voice.

“Great,” Andrew whispered, more than a little nervous himself. His gaze offered all the support he could. “Act natural.”

Natural. Yeah, right.
Fighting the fear, Gabi shepherded the children around the piano.
That’s easy for him to say.