The Prince Charming List (27 page)

A
gust of wind grabbed my scarf and wound it around my neck several times, like it was playing tetherball. The keys to the salon bunched in my mitten and I fumbled for the right one before I reached the door. The snow that had fallen in the night sifted into the tops of my shoes, promising a white Christmas. Above my head on the streetlight, Denise’s snowman cheerfully waved his plastic arm at me.

A brown package, dusted with snow, blocked the door. I scooped it up with one hand, unlocking the door with the other. No one had warned me about a Christmas parade, but if there were red and green rolls of crepe paper in the box, I’d know what they were for. And I’d put Kaylie in charge.

I nudged the lights on and set the package down, noticing one side of it was crushed. And it was plastered with strange-looking stamps.
Yes!
I shook off my mittens and let them plop on the floor. It was better than crepe paper. It was from Dex. I twirled around, creating my own miniature blizzard in the salon as the snow blew off my coat.

How he’d managed to time it to arrive three days before Christmas—which also happened to be my birthday—was beyond my comprehension. It hadn’t taken us long to discover that mail delivery between Prichett and a certain missionary station was—and I’m putting this nicely—unreliable. We’d given up on snail mail and relied strictly on e-mails, but I hadn’t heard from him in over a week and I was trying not to worry.

I ripped open the box, fished around in the packing peanuts and pulled out something soft. My octopus. The one he’d taken from me at the Fourth of July Frolic. I collapsed in the chair, giggling. Its tentacles were wrapped around a piece of paper. I plucked it out and smoothed it open on my lap. And almost slid to the floor.

It was The List.
My
list. My list that had gone MIA over the summer. He’d taken it! All this time when we’d been writing back and forth, he’d never said a word. My humiliation was complete. But why was he sending it back now? For blackmail purposes?

My eyes flew over the paper, noticing there were large black checkmarks everywhere. And an occasional comment.

Adventurous
(Pilot!)

Outgoing
(is this negotiable? Can I substitute likes cats instead?)

Creative
(just fixed an engine with a butter knife and a coat hanger. I’m counting it)

Smiles a lot
(working on this one—should have it mastered sometime next year)

Romantic
(no clue what this means)

The words got blurry. As the meaning behind the comments began to sink in, I decided to forgive him for stealing The List. The truth was, I’d forgotten all about it. It had never even occurred to me to compare Dex to it. I was still amazed by the things I was finding out about him through our long-distance friendship. We were nothing alike, but we had everything in common that mattered.

At the very bottom of the paper, there was another message.

P.S. My list is shorter. Loves God. Loves Me. Green eyes with gold flecks that look like fireflies.

I smiled, pulled a pen out of my purse and put a checkmark by
Romantic
.

The door opened, letting a rush of cold air in.

“Ready to go?” Alex stomped the snow off his boots and went straight for the suitcases lined up by the counter. Bernice wrapped her arms around me. The envelope crinkled and she looked down. “Is this something you want me to mail?”

“No.” I laughed. “It would take weeks to get there. I’ll just deliver it…in person.”

Bernice gave me a knowing smile. “He’s going to be surprised when you show up for a visit, isn’t he?”

“I’m counting on it.”

1. Do you remember a time in your life that you felt like you were waiting for God to reveal His plan? When was it? What were you feeling? What was the outcome?
   
2. Heather’s lack of confidence that she was in God’s will was the sign of a deeper heart issue. What was it? Can you relate at all? Discuss.
   
3. What do you think are the greatest challenges Christian women face these days when it comes to dating and relationships?
   
4. If you created a “Top Five” in the list of characteristics you’d like your (future) husband to have, what would they be? Be honest!
   
5. What drew Heather to Jared in the beginning? Discuss the differences you saw in her relationship with Jared and the relationship she had with Dex.
   
6. Read
   1 Peter 4:10
   . What were the gifts Heather had that she didn’t recognize as gifts? Why didn’t she value them? Do you ever downplay the gifts and abilities you
   do
   have and wish God had gifted you in another area? Discuss.
   
7. What are some of the things we, as women, do to make ourselves feel more confident? More beautiful?
   
8. Do you believe that “God’s timing may not match ours but it’s always perfect”? How has that statement been true in your life?
   
9. Do you agree or disagree with Marissa’s statement that “what we do isn’t as important as what we allow God to do
   through
   us.” Share your thoughts.
   
10. Grandma Lowell had a favorite saying: “Make it an opportunity for grace.” Share a circumstance from your own life when you’ve done that.
    
11. What was your favorite scene in the book? Why?
    
12. What was Heather’s turning point over the course of the summer? If she had made a different decision about Jared, where might it have taken her? Do you think she made the right decision to stay in Prichett? Why or why not?
    
13. Do you have a “being place”? Where is it?
    
14. Proverbs 27:6
    says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted…” What do you think this means? Has there ever been a time when a friend told you something that you didn’t want to hear? What was the outcome?
    
15. If you had a chance to “write an ending” for any of the following people, what would it look like?
    Heather and Dex
    Bree and Riley
    Kaylie
    Jared