I Would Go With You To the Ends of the Earth

 

Author's note: Clay owns himself and his own name. I only wrote the words to the story.

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Day Six - Wednesday, June 21

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That morning in the breakfast line

 

Sarah studied Clay and Kate as they waited to get their breakfast, holding onto each other warmly. She and Sally had stayed up a while after the newlyweds had gone to bed, discussing the trip and praying for the team and the mission... and the strength of the newlyweds. Of course they would have been doing that anyway, even if Sarah and Patricia didn't have their hunches. But...

She couldn't help wondering about Patricia's cryptic words. Face their biggest fears... Sarah pondered the two of them and their many quirks for an answer to what their biggest challenges could be. There were their obvious fears of water, cats, and bridges, which Sarah mentally cataloged for now and continued brainstorming for more possibilities, especially more intellectual or spiritual possibilities. Something that interested the psychologist and counselor in her... With Clay in his unique situation, knowing whom to trust and open up with was an issue for him... but he seemed to be doing fine so far with everyone on the team. Kate, with all of her bad pre-Clay dating experiences, had a difficult time trusting men with more than just light, inconsequential chat... but since she was happily married to Clay, Sarah didn't know how much of an issue that really was. As far as she could tell, Kate had started to learn how to relate better to men - but then again, Kate had to put significant effort into relating with only one man in particular, her husband Clay. The ways Clay and Kate related and interacted with each other were beautiful, simple, deep, profound, and seemingly effortless. Sarah smiled - in truth, they were two best friends whho had fallen in love with each other. She was going to have to watch Kate more closely for evidence regarding that one. Then again, the dynamics of this team would probably skew her data here too.

Sarah continued to rack her brain as the newlyweds exchanged a gentle kiss. Reflecting on some of her last thoughts, she gained a new appreciation of their relationship. For its newness, the marriage relationship seemed like one where the two of them had known each other for years. Sarah had a hard time seeing either one of them without the other. Hold it - you're on to something there. Sarah realized that aside from their faith in God, their love for each other was their single most precious commodity. If she had a relationship of that depth, Sarah wouldn't want to ever lose it. Bingo. Clay and Kate valued relationships above things, above fame, above power and influence. As Sarah saw it, one possibility for their single biggest fear was the loss of a precious and valued relationship. Now all she had to do was figure out how to apply her new insight, and she would know how best to pray for the couple.

By the time Sarah and Clay and Kate had finally worked their way through the line and sat down at the table, the entire mission team was downstairs for breakfast. Pastor Macy caught their attention before the remaining stragglers got into the buffet line. "Yesterday morning I told you that there had been what were hoped to be peaceful protests planned for that afternoon." He took a deep breath. "I heard this morning that they were not so peaceful as we had hoped. A lot of people got roughed up, and a few got killed." Pastor Macy steeled himself as a slight cry came forth from Sarah's mouth. "A couple of our team members made the suggestion to me last night that it would not hurt us to go to the site every day prepared for it to be our last day in Haiti. While we hope that nothing breaks out in Haiti, now or any time, it would be in our best interest to be ready just in case. Haiti's history is the history of a country in perpetual turmoil. And like it or not, we may have walked into the next wave." Pastor Macy glanced around at the team. "Let's be ready."

Clay bit his lip. "My manager is not going to be happy..." he murmured to Kate.

"I know," Kate offered, taking his hand with sympathy. "I-I'm sorry I drug you into this, honey."

"Hey," Clay protested, looking her in the eye. "First, you didn't drag me into anything. I came, willingly of my own choice, to Haiti with you. I believe in the cause, and I'm willing to do my part. And I want to share the experience with you. Second... we don't know how this is going to end just yet. The 2004 events took place over several months. We may be long gone before anything happens here... if it happens at all. Beauvoir seems to be on top of things."

Kate nodded. "He seems to be a good man. I like him better than Aristide any day."

Once the remaining people went through the line and the team was finished with breakfast, Kate and Jerome prepared to give the group their devotion. Clay relaxed in his chair as the two of them stood about the middle of the group so that everyone could see. Suddenly he noticed that Kate had a deck of cards in her hand. What - Clay raised an eyebrow. Cards in a devotion? This I have to see.

Jerome and Kate presented the devotion as a skit between a lieutenant and a lowly private both attending a Sunday morning chapel service. The lieutenant was appalled to see the private bring a deck of cards to chapel, and even more infuriated to see the private thumbing through the cards during the service. The lieutenant (played by Jerome) confronted the private about them, calling them the devil's tool. The private (played by Kate) told the lieutenant that they saw more than just a deck of playing cards... and proceeded to show the entire team what they saw in a deck of cards. One card at a time, from the ace all the way up to the king, Jerome and Kate shared a Christian meaning behind each and every card, including a Bible reference to go with the meaning. For example, the meaning they suggested behind the two was a reference to the dual nature of Christ - at once both true God and true man.

"Wow," Frank said when the devotion and the prayer were both over and done. "I'll never look the same way at a deck of cards again."

No kidding, Clay mused to himself.

Kate grinned lightly. "I picked that gem up from a bible study group I was part of in college. And all you educators know that teachers are always happy to share ideas and resources with each other."
Pastor Macy gave the group some time to go back to their rooms and repack their backpacks if they chose, but most of the team members remained down to wait for departure time. Sally and Sarah exchanged meaningful glances with each other as they realized that Pastor Macy's warning was not being taken that seriously by anyone just yet. Either that or everyone on the team already packed an extra change of clothes in their bag...

The team squeezed their way into the vans, and the group once more traveled to the church and construction site. While the construction crew quickly got to work outside, the teachers started preparing inside for the lesson of the day.

Sally pulled out the box containing supplies for today's craft - boxes of crayons and hundreds of the cardboard crowns Burger King gives out to the kids. As the others started setting up, she turned to Clay and Kate. "Okay, you two are going to play our happy little couple. Kate, I know you don't want to look pregnant before it's time, but would you reconsider for just a day?"

Kate nodded. "Yes. For the sake of the kids and their faith, I am willing to stuff my shirt."

"Atta girl. Clay, back in that closet are the boxes with the clothing we brought down for the locals. I want you two to work on what it's going to take to make Kate look nine months pregnant. And while you're there, see if you can find a doll that will make a good stand-in for the baby."

Clay saluted Sally and took Kate's hand. The two of them started walking back to the closet.

But Sarah was not about to let them get away without a parting shot. "Sal, are you sure you want to send them alone into that closet without supervision?"

Kate skewered Sarah with an impish grin. "Who needs a closet when we have a hotel room?" As Sarah laughed aloud, Kate turned with Clay to enter the closet holding the donated clothing.

Inside the closet, Clay giggled. "Hon, you are evil."

"You love it."

He giggled again as the two of them started to search the boxes. Before long they had gathered a handful of T-shirts as potential stuffing material. Handing the shirts to Kate, Clay got down on his knees where he had a better angle to work with. He took the first couple of shirts from Kate and gingerly placed them about stomach-high under her T-shirt. Not enough. He added the next few to the first. Nope. Taking another shirt from Kate, he prepared to place it with the others.

"Guys, do you mind if I get a picture?" Sarah asked from outside the door.

"No!" Kate exclaimed. "One photo scandal is enough, thank you."

"Aw," Sarah complained. "So this one isn't doctored. They know you're his wife... and you won't be able to hide that pregnancy forever."

"The answer is still no."

Clay chuckled as he placed another shirt with the rest, his mind going back to what happened that May the infamous photograph had come out. He had finally broken loose from the one-year contract to his original managing company, and shortly after a photograph of him with a young woman had come out... a photo that seemed to show him touching places that he felt were neither appropriate or gentlemanly. Of course Clay knew he hadn't done it - but it had taken a while to convince his fans otherwise. His family and friends had believed him, of course. They knew him. The one he had really worried about believing him had been Kate... they had still been in the "getting to know you stage" at that point, and he was afraid of losing the friendship they were developing. But before he had been able to call her, he had received an email from her. It contained only one sentence, but that one sentence said it all. I believe you, and I believe in you. Clay had read that and immediately broken into grateful tears. That was the day Clay had realized that his feelings towards Kate were more than just friendship.

"I still think it's cruddy what they tried to do to you."

Gently Clay smiled up at his wife, noting the spark of anger flashing in her eyes. After all this time, she hadn't forgotten. "Yeah, it is. I'm just glad it's over with and we've moved on."

Kate nodded with a light sigh. It had been a little harder for her to move on than it had been for him, because she totally believed in who he was and hated to see him mistreated in any way. Kate firmly believed that the entertainment scene, the whole world, needed someone like Clay whose message was wholesome and faith-filled. The scandal had ever-briefly cast a shadow of doubt on his good name, and Kate knew that it was someone's attempt to discredit him. She had been very glad when the whole matter got cleared up and everyone knew he was innocent. Like Clay, she was very glad to know that it was all over and done. "How's it looking?" she asked.

Clay studied the growing abdomen. "I think one or two more and we'll have it."

"Sounds like a winner to me."

"Clay!" Sally called out from the other side of the door. "Clay!"

"Just a minute!" he hollered back. "I'm getting my wife pregnant."

Oh my... Kate snickered, clapping her hand over her mouth.

As uncontrollable laughter from the other team members filtered through the door, Clay realized that he had stuffed his foot in his mouth... up to his knee. "I did not just say what I think I just did."

"Yes, you did." Kate bit her knuckle next, her eyes watering as she tried to keep from breaking up completely into hysterics. The T-shirts fell to the floor as she clutched her stomach helplessly.

"I'm never going to live this one down," Clay groaned.

"Too bad we can't add rabbits to the nativity scene," Sarah giggled.

Clay turned brilliant red. "Sarah Daniels, I don't believe you said that..."

"Believe it, honey," Kate gasped. "That's Sarah for you."

"After the story you told me the other night, I can see it," Clay agreed as he stood up and walked over to the door. Opening it up wide, he blinked with surprise as he looked into the serious-looking face of Pastor Macy. "H-How long have you been standing there?" he squeaked out, his voice cracking with embarrassment.

"Long enough," Pastor Macy told him evenly.

"Oh boy." Clay leaned on the door, covering his face with his hand. "I hope that this doesn't end up in any of your sermons..."

Pastor Macy's eyes twinkled with amusement, and he clapped Clay's shoulder. "What makes you think I would do that?"

Clay chuckled weakly. "I've known too many pastors," he drawled.

With that Pastor Macy broke into warm laughter. "If you think you guys have figured out how many items of clothing we need to stuff into Kate's T-shirt, then come on out and join the others."

"All right." Clay walked over to help Kate pick up the shirts that had been dropped on the floor. "I'm sorry about that, honey..."

"Don't be," Kate giggled. "Best laugh I've had all morning."

"Oh, thanks a lot, hon," Clay told her, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Later," Kate told him with a wink.

Clay pulled Kate into an affectionate headlock, kissing her on the top of the head before releasing her to take her hand. The two of them followed Pastor Macy out of the room to where the rest of the group continued to compose themselves after Clay's shining moment. Shaking his head at their dying giggles, Clay sat down on one of the pews with Kate to help her put all the T-shirts into one neat bundle that she could stuff up her shirt quickly when the time came.

"So you think you got her pregnant, eh?"

Turning a mild glare at Sally, Clay made a face. "I know I got her pregnant. I got the official word from Kate's mother yesterday."

Kate poked his knee. "She means for the skit, silly."

"I know what she meant."

Sally walked over to the two of them. "Let's see it."

With the shirts finally folded up into a pillow-like bundle, Kate carefully placed them underneath her shirt where her stomach would be. She looked up at Sally for approval. "Well? Do I look pregnant?"

"You look very pregnant," Sally agreed. "Clay?" she asked, turning to him for an opinion.

Clay said nothing in reply, staring in wonder at the protruding stomach in front of him. Gingerly he reached out a hand, touching it lightly as if it were real flesh and blood. Wow - this is what Kate is going to look like in a few months. He continued to stare at the stomach, trying to memorize its shape and contour as the two of them sat together on the pew.

"Earth to Clay!" Sally chuckled, jolting him from his reverie.

"Hunh?" Clay asked, giving his head a shake. "What did you say?"

"I asked you if it looked real enough, but I think you just gave me my answer."

A light blush crept up Clay's cheeks until it reached his ears. "Go away."

"Go away?" Sally laughed aloud. "Clay, you're part of the family now. You're stuck with me. Didn't you know that?"

"Til death do us part," Clay nodded. "That's what Kate and I said to each other that day."

"You got it."

Clay's eyes fell on Kate's false stomach again. He smiled and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Beautiful..." he sighed, "you are so beautiful. Wow."

Kate blushed as Sally quietly slipped away from the couple. "Wh-what's so beautiful about this?" she asked, indicating the stuffed shirt.

"What's beautiful about it?" Clay asked, sliding next to her and putting an arm around her to draw her close. "Kate... we're husband and wife... and soon we're going to be a family. God has blessed us with new life living and growing inside of you... new life that He has entrusted to our care." Clay smiled as he once more caressed the makeshift stomach. "To me it's a physical reminder of the growth of our love for each other, and the growth of our love towards our child. Every day your stomach grows is one day closer to the growth of our family."

"When you put it that way..." Kate breathed slowly, "then even I can agree it's beautiful."

Staring deep into her eyes full of admiration, Clay felt himself falling into a lovestruck daze. He glanced down at her lips briefly before gazing back up into her eyes. Kate's eyes softened as they closed gradually, signaling to Clay that she was feeling the same way. Slowly Clay leaned in to kiss her...

The sound of shuffling feet broke through their romantic spell, and the couple quickly stood to join the rest of the team up front as the children entered the sanctuary. Knowing that they would lead the children in song before they would put on the skit, Kate laid the bundle of shirts off to the side for now. Prosper talked with the children for a moment before the team began to lead the children in song. With having three chances to teach the songs yesterday, the team had caught on pretty quickly... and with the rich oral tradition of the Haitian people, the students had too. The children and the team sang several songs together with enthusiasm and actions, their voices raised as one in praise to God.

Giving the others a chance to get organized, Tracy stood over beside Prosper for the story skit. When the team was ready, they began. "A long, long time ago, an angel came to a woman named Mary." Sheila walked over to Kate, who was pretending to sweep the floor. As soon as Sheila had caught Kate's attention, Tracy continued. "The angel told Mary that God is going to send His son to earth to take away the sins of all people. Sin is the badness that is inside everyone. God's son was going to come to earth as a baby. The angel told Mary that God had chosen her to be the baby's mother. He told her to name the baby Jesus. Then the angel talked to Joseph, who was going to be Mary's husband, and told him the news also." As Sheila approached Clay for an angelic chat, Kate took a minute to turn away and slip the bundle underneath her shirt before Sheila moved away and Clay came over to join her. "Before the baby was born, Mary and Joseph had to travel by donkey to another town." Holding her stomach in place, Kate gingerly pretended to sit on Chris's back with Clay's assistance. "When they arrived in Bethlehem, there was no place for them to sleep." Clay and Kate and Chris walked from one team member to another who all turned them away. "They found room in a place where the animals sleep called a stable. This is where baby Jesus was born." Having already worked out how to bring out the doll, Clay cradled the doll representing Jesus, handing it to Kate as gently as he would have a real baby. "He didn't have a bed, so they laid him in a manger, which is where the animals eat their food. Mary and Joseph took good care of baby Jesus." Kate smiled up at Clay, who beamed back at her as the two of them continued the charade. "He grew to be a man and was perfect in everything he did because he was not only a man, but also God. The important thing to remember from this story about baby Jesus is that Jesus came as a real person to live on earth, but was also God's son and perfect. Today we will make crowns to help us remember all these things. Kings and Queens wear crowns to show that they are the rules and in charge of everything. God and His son Jesus are much like Kings and Queens. So we will make crowns to remember Jesus."

The team began handing out cardboard crowns and a couple of crayons to each child, and before long the Haitian children were coloring their designs on the backs of the crowns. None of them needed help coloring their crowns, but a few of them did come to the team members to put the crowns together... and quite often the team members would also indulge themselves by placing the crowns on the children's heads.

Clay felt a hand pulling gently on his arm, and he turned to its source. Within moments he recognized the tiny girl who he had seen in Kate's arms their first day in Jérémie. He grinned down at her and started to reach out to help her with the unfinished crown in her hand. Much to his surprise, she took his hand and led him over to Kate's group. Kate looked up and smiled as the two of them joined them. The little girl guided Clay over to stand right beside his wife before letting go of his hand. She held her arms as if there was a baby or a doll in them, and started rocking it before pointing to Kate. Does she know...? Clay wondered, turning his eyes to Kate. Kate felt Clay's warm gaze on her and blushed, looking shyly at the floor. Chuckling at her reaction, he put one arm around her back and took her hand in his. Kate watched as he placed a light kiss on the backs of her fingers, before focusing on the little girl again. Seeing that they had the girl's attention, Kate placed her hand on her abdomen, nodding slowly. The little girl seemed to understand - she giggled at the two adults, covering her mouth with both hands for a moment before making the baby-rocking motions again.

Will hid a grin as one of the children placed a crown on Sarah's head. She gave the boy a hug before taking the crown and placing it back on his head. She's so good at that. No wonder she works with kids.

Before long the team was leading the children in one more song before they passed out the day's treat and dismissed the students.

"I want a picture of you two. In full costume."

Clay turned with a giggle to Sarah, who had her camera poised and ready. "I'm all right with that. Kate honey?"

"Give me a minute," Kate said, "to stuff Junior in, and I'll be ready."

"Junior?" Clay asked, laughing warmly as Kate slipped the pillow beneath her shirt. "Junior?"

"Sure, why not?" Kate grinned wickedly at him as she gently braced the stomach in place. "You want to name a son Clayton Junior?"

Quickly Clay shook his head. "He'll be his own unique person - he needs his own unique name."

Kate nodded. "Got it."

Clay wrapped his arms around Kate from the back, and Sarah snapped a photo of them from the side to capture Kate's makeshift pregnancy stomach. Sally and several of the other team members stole the opportunity as well, sneaking their own pictures of the couple.

"Just imagine," Sally mused, "what your fans are going to think when they see your Haiti photos. They're going to see that you had the experience of a lifetime."

"What I want them to see," Kate emphasized, "is the look of joy on the faces of the children because those kids know Jesus and how much He loves them."

Clay gently placed a kiss on his wife's forehead. "And some of them will, honey. Some of them will."

The next group of students filtered in, and the team went through the process all over again... greeting and prayers, leading songs, bible lesson with skit, craft, more songs, and snack.

Shortly after the second group of students, the team gathered for lunch, and Clay noted that the main course reminded him a lot of Hot Pockets... or runzas, one of Patricia's family recipes. Kate quickly defended her mother's cooking, stating that they were nowhere near as good. Jayme called them patee, saying that the filling inside the bread was usually beef or goat meat, chicken, or smoked herring. Clay tried them and quickly decided that Kate's assessment, while biased, was accurate after all.

As the team enjoyed lunch, Pastor Macy addressed them. "You guys," he said, pointing to the teachers, "have one more class after lunch, but after that we are ready for a round of the bucket brigade."

"Woo-hoo!" cheered Kate, making the rest of the Haiti veterans laugh warmly. "You guys are going to have a blast."

Shaking his head with amusement at his wife's excitement, Clay reached over and squeezed her hand. He chuckled under his breath as she turned to him with a smile and squeezed his in return. Her zest for life was catching at times - which was ironic, because she often said the same about him.

As soon as the third class of schoolchildren finished up, the teachers put on hats, sunglasses, and a second coat of sunscreen and bug repellant before reporting outside for construction duty. Sarah watched with keen interest as Frank assisted one of the locals with mixing the concrete - on the ground. The crew mixed a bag of concrete with water and aggregate of varying sizes... everything from fist-sized rocks on down to gravel and sand. Then using shovels, one or two crew members mixed the concrete on the ground. She watched as they kept adding more water or more aggregate until they got it to the consistency they wanted... about the consistency of soup. Sarah couldn't help wondering how they knew the right consistency when they saw it. She now understood why Kate joked about the buildings being held together by gravity and spit. I don't think these guys would know building code if it bit them on the behind.

Kate quickly pulled on her work gloves and the others followed suit. Pastor Macy gathered the teachers into a line from the concrete mixing station to where they were going to be pouring it for the supports. Lisa had both the digital camera and the video camera from the church out and powered up, ready to catch the action and the fun. Kate smiled. She really was getting used to cameras if she hadn't noticed them until now.

"Okay, team," Pastor Macy began. "Those of you who are new to bucket brigade, keep your eyes open. When somebody gets a bucket of concrete and is ready to pass it on to the next person, make sure to yell 'Bucket!' Don't be afraid to yell it out, team. It's either that or end up wearing concrete."

Clay glanced across the line at his wife Kate, whose Cheshire Cat grin told him she was having fun just anticipating it. He remembered that she hadn't done a lot on the construction crew last time, but she had admitted to carrying water and throwing herself into the adventures of bucket brigade. Clay glanced down the line to where Frank was filling the first bucket with only two shovels worth. Then again, after Pastor Macy's warning, maybe it was a bad idea to say they were throwing themselves into this...

Matt took the first pail from Frank. "Bucket!" he hollered, passing it to Jerome. "Bucket!" Jerome responded as he passed it to Sarah. Clay felt a slow grin cross his face at the rush of adrenaline as he waited for the bucket to reach him. Was he actually looking forward to this? Why not - Kate had called it one of many highlights among her Haiti adventures.

"Bucket!" Sally called out as she handed it to Kate, who in turn passed it to Clay with her own enthusiastic cry. The bucket was surprisingly heavy for only two shovels full of concrete. Clay understood why they didn't fill it more. "Bucket!" Clay answered, sending it on down the line. He watched as it reached its destination, where Chris poured it into the wooden mold for the supports.

Within moments Clay had another bucket-load in his hands, and he quickly realized that there were three of the five-gallon plastic buckets making the circuit. You can work up a sweat in a hurry, Clay noted as he wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist. The fingers of his gloves were already tipped in concrete - now he knew why Kate had purchased a ten-pack of the cotton work gloves instead of the nice leather ones.

Adam made the crew stop action after about twenty minutes or so to make sure that everyone in the crew drank water he had pulled from the Culligan dispenser. Clay offered the bottle first to Kate, making sure that she had taken her fill before drinking some himself. He was already looking forward to the showers after work, and for once didn't mind the fact that Haitian showers were on the cold side.

Once the team had finished their mandatory water break, they started up the bucket line again. "Bucket!" was the cry that cascaded down the line as dominoes fall from one to another. "Bucket!" Sally cackled, giving the last syllable an abnormally high upward lift. Immediately Clay was reminded of the noise that a chicken made and glanced at Sally and then his wife. Kate passed on the bucket, but the look on her face was one of utter surprise. The next bucket quickly made the rounds, and Sally gave a similar warning. This time Kate snickered, but managed to pass her bucket onward with an answering call and without incident. Within minutes another bucket found Sally's hands. "Bucket!" she clucked, and Kate lost it, collapsing into uncontrollable giggles and high-pitched squeaks.

Clay took the bucket from Sally's hands and passed it as the tears ran down his wife's cheeks. Oh no, Clay chuckled, watching as Kate tried vainly to regain some control. We've lost her. He made sure Kate was looking directly at him before he addressed her. "Come on, breathe for me, honey. You're not ready to have the baby yet."

With that, the rest of the team broke into merry laughter as Kate once more bent double. They took a minute to recover before starting the bucket brigade cycle over again, Kate waiting a few more minutes until she could breathe normally again before rejoining the line. Clay looked up into her eyes, and the two of them laughed brightly again for a moment before the next bucket arrived. I can see now why this is one of the highlights of the trip - this is fun.

The group moved concrete until the liquid concrete on the ground had all been transferred to the supports and what remained on the ground was a rock-solid surface. Pastor Macy turned to the team. "I think everyone's ready to call it a day here. I've arranged some time for us to do a little bit of souvenir shopping with some of the local vendors."

Clay grinned wryly at the announcement, knowing that the two of them would likely not come away from the afternoon empty-handed. While Kate and Sarah had each placed their own stamp of individuality in the bedrooms of the apartment they had shared until the wedding, the rest of the place had been decorated with a mixed collection of Christian and international artwork and artifacts. Some of these things had managed to find a place in the home he and Kate now shared as husband and wife. Clay suspected that Kate would not only find souvenirs for his friends and family back in the States, she would find one or two things to remind them of their shared experiences in Haiti. And Kate was a master at bargain shopping...

The group walked from the construction site back towards the church, and Sally's ears picked up something very much like the strumming of a guitar. Only the timbre wasn't like any guitar she had ever heard. Walking just in front of the group, she followed the music to its source. Sitting on a makeshift stool next to the church was the church's resident caretaker with a guitar in his hands - a guitar made of a gasoline can for a body and something akin to a yardstick for the neck.

"Oh my gosh..." Tracy breathed as Lisa snapped a photograph of the man playing praise songs on his homemade instrument.

I know that song... Clay marveled. He started to sing along with the man's strumming, quietly so that he wouldn't be heard above the playing.

But he had been heard. The man stopped playing and beckoned Clay over to kneel beside him. Clay did, and the man took up playing again with a nod to Clay to sing along with him. Within moments Clay was singing the praise song in his language while the man sang in his and accompanied them both. The words may not have been exact matches, but it was obvious to all within earshot that the two of them were praising the same God.

When they finished, the team applauded them both. The man smiled and nodded, turning to Clay with an appreciative handshake. Clay returned the smile and the handshake before standing up to rejoin the team on the way to their next destination.

The first pair of eyes he looked into were Kate's - Kate's eyes shone bright and warm at him, and the expression on her face was one of pure adoration. "You're beautiful," she sighed. Clay blushed lightly, smiling back at her as she reached up to smooth a few flyaway strands of hair back into place. "You have the most beautiful soul of any man I've ever known."

"Thank you," he told her reverently, honored by her words.

A smile slowly turned the corners of her mouth. "Do you mind too terribly much if I love you the rest of my life and forever?"

Clay realized that he had a lump in his throat, one that wouldn't go away no matter what he did. "Please," he breathed, unable to speak much louder than a whisper. Her smile still in place, Kate stood up on her tiptoes to place a sweet kiss on his lips.

"All right you two," Sally said gently, beckoning towards the vans and the others who had given the newlyweds a moment in private. "Come on."

The combined construction and bible school crews scrunched into the vans for the drive to the place where Pastor Macy had arranged to meet up with some of the local vendors... chiefly some that spoke enough English for the team to negotiate sales with them. One by one they exited the vans, wandering among the vendors with their blankets and tables overlaid with their homemade or homegrown wares. Sarah quickly found herself almost surrounded by the vendors attempting to persuade her to buy their goods, and was quite relieved when Will just as quickly broke through the ranks to stand protectively by her side. While under ordinary situations she could have handled a crowd, she wasn't going to turn him away in a culture where she didn't know either the language or the customs. "Thanks, Will. Maybe I should stick with you and the Aikens," she whispered up at him.

Kate looked up as Will returned to their side with Sarah in close tow. She frowned slightly at the steamy way the two of them kept eyeing each other. Last night Kate and Clay had agreed that their behavior suggested a more intimate relationship, and Kate had vowed to find an opportunity to talk with Sarah about it. But not now - at the hotel.

"Honey, what do you think of this?"

Kate turned at Clay's question to see a foot-tall stone statue in his hands. The smooth stone had an almost bluish-gray cast to it, but the lines were elegantly graceful curves that gave the whole sculpture an ovular shape about it. But that's not what had caught Clay's attention. Clay had noticed the subject matter of the statue, two adults and a child. "Something to remind us of our growing family?"

Clay nodded, smiling warmly. "Our first child is here with us."

With a snicker, Kate agreed. "Very true. If you like it, then I do too."

The two of them negotiated with the vendor, bringing him down from his original price down to something that they felt was reasonable for them yet generous for him. With both sides happy about the result of the transaction, Clay cradled the statue in one arm while escorting Kate around with the other. He glanced over brightly colored Haitian paintings, stained or painted wooden trinket boxes, a variety of maracas and shakers, wooden drums with animal hide drumheads, and other various handiwork. Clay also noticed a lot of large seashells for sale - after all, Jérémie was a coastal city.

After about ten minutes, Sarah had the souvenirs she wanted... and Kate was finishing up with her last purchases for Faye, Amy, and Kim, necklaces made from mahogany and cacao beans. Kate turned to her husband, best friend, and the two bodyguards. "Ready!" Noting the tolerant looks on their faces, she frowned. "What?"

"Fame definitely hasn't gone to your head," Sarah noted with an ironic drawl. "You're still a black-belt in bargain shopping."

"Thank you."

Sarah raised her eyebrow as the three men snickered. "That wasn't a compliment."

"Oh well."

Finished with souvenir hunting, the team stuffed back into the vans carrying their new treasures. The drive to the hotel was merry, with some of the team members telling tales about the things they picked up and for whom they had purchased them.

"Ugh," Sally complained as they entered the hotel. "Maybe I should hose myself down before I get into the pool. Between the sweat, the dust, and the concrete, those filters in the pool are going to get clogged in no time at all."           

"I hear you," one of the college guys echoed.

The team broke to their respective rooms to clean up. Clay gave Kate first shower knowing she was going to do little more than rinse off before going swimming with the others. By the time Clay exited his own shower, Kate had put on her swimsuit... but much to his surprise, today she wore a one-piece suit. While this one seemed more of Kate's style than yesterday's swimsuit, he couldn't help somehow being disappointed. "In the mood for something different?"

"Yeah," Kate agreed. "The only reason I had that other one was because of that dare-bet combo I had with Sarah."

"I think you're beautiful no matter what you wear," Clay insisted.

A slight smile played with the corners of her mouth. "I've noticed - thank you. But there's something fun and flattering about wowing you out from time to time."

Clay raised an eyebrow. Oh really? Slowly he walked over to her, his eyes a sharp emerald green. "Do I ever get that kind of reaction from you?" he purred, giving her his most serious bedroom eyes.

Unable to look away, Kate took in a shaky breath. "You're doing it to me right now," she admitted.

"Really," Clay answered evenly.

She slowly nodded. "Uh-hunh. I don't know which is making my head fuzzier, your eyes, or the fact that all you're wearing is a towel."

In spite of the fact that he felt the self-conscious heat in his cheeks, Clay continued to stare into his wife's eyes. It was nice to see the shoe on the other foot for a change. After taking a few minutes to enjoy the tension caused by her obvious attraction to him, he reached up and lightly stroked her cheek. "Why don't I get dressed and walk you down to meet with the others? If we decide we're in the mood later, we'll have time then after it's cooled off a bit."

"All right." Kate stifled a sigh as he quickly put on a fresh change of clothes. She couldn't decide whether to be relieved or disappointed at the passing of the moment. If she didn't know better, she would swear that she felt some of both. Then again, she tended to go through a lot of mood swings these days. Anything could be possible.

Clay and Kate walked down towards the pool area, with Clay going no closer than the patio furniture he and Will had claimed yesterday. Will was already there, watching as Sarah already swam in the pool with the others. "Hey, Aikens."

"Hey, Will." Kate laid her towel on the table, handing her sunscreen to Clay with a polite plea. As before Clay agreed, and gently applied it to his wife's shoulders, neck, and back. Once he finished, he placed the bottle down before giving Kate a light kiss on the temple. Smiling warmly at him and placing a return kiss on his jaw, she turned to join those already swimming.

"Took ya long enough, Katydid," Sarah teased as Kate waded over to join her. "Do I need to ask what you two were doing up there?"

Kate raised an eyebrow. "Not that." Which reminds me... "Sarah, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Inwardly Sarah stiffened. While Kate was perfectly capable of obscure, completely unrelated tangents, the placement of her denial and her request for a heart-to-heart seemed awfully coincidental. And if she knew Kate... "What?"

Blinking slightly at the hint of defensiveness in Sarah's voice, Kate took a deep breath before beginning. "I'm very glad that you and Will have hit it off. The two of you seem to be a good fit, and I'm glad to see you get close to someone. But I uh... I have the sense that you two are closer in a way that Clay and I didn't experience until we were married. That's the way it looks, and that's the way it feels."

"Kate, unless you put it in precise, blunt terms there's no way for me to know what in the world you're talking about."

Kate frowned slightly. Since Sarah had put it that way, there would be little opportunity for her to be delicate about it. Kate took another deep breath. "I mean in terms of physical affection. Of intimacy. Right or wrong, I have the impression that you two are more intimate with each other than we were until our wedding night."

A small scowl made Sarah's eyes darken just a bit. "Of course it looks that way. You and Clay had those 'three rules' that may have worked just fine for the two of you, but don't work for me. I find them restrictive."

Kate's jaw dropped a little. "They're... supposed to be. They're supposed to be the proverbial safety net, the line drawn in the sand. As long as we followed those rules, our relationship remained honorable. You-You don't follow any rules like that?"

"No," Sarah acknowledged, "and that's my choice. It's my life, I'm running it, and I make the rules. In this case, I have no rules."

"Sarah," Kate breathed, "I know that it's your life and only you can live it and make choices for it, but you're my friend and I am concerned about you. Not saying that you guys have... but I feel that it is so much better to wait, and it would be better for you and Will to wait."

Sarah gave her friend a mild glare. Kate was presuming an awful lot, and Sarah's patience was starting to wear thin. "I know I'm repeating myself here, but it's my choice who I get close to and how close I want to get. In case you don't remember, you admitted to breaking those rules yourself before you were married that week."

Kate's cheeks flushed hotly with shame. "I know. That one night we let our emotions and our tempers get the best of us, and once that happened our hormones almost got the best of us." She chewed her lip a moment before going on. "But we did stop before it got too far. We stopped because of what we believe God wanted for us and what we wanted for each other. An honorable, healthy, loving marital relationship. And that's my hope for you too. It's your right to make your own choices, but it's my right to care about you and want what's best for you."

"But it's not your right to decide what's best for me." Sarah's voice rose by the minute as she got more and more angry with Kate for interfering. "So what if Will and I slept together? It was our decision, mine and his, and no one else could make that decision for us."

Slowly Kate let out an agonized breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "So you did..."

"Yes, we did. A couple of times now." Her hazel eyes piercing and furious, Sarah held back nothing at all now. "And unlike you might think, I have no regrets. I've made my choice, I'm all right with that, and in case you noticed I haven't been struck dead yet."

"Sarah, I never said - "

"You might as well have, for the judgmental attitude you've taken on that issue over the years."

Kate winced at the sting in Sarah's words. "I haven't judged anyone, all I've said is that there's a better way to conduct oneself, a more fulfilling way."

"Then what was with the attitude you took with Will at Christmas, hunh? Trying to act with him as though you were an overprotective mother to some vulnerable little girl that supposedly doesn't know any better without someone to take care of her."

"Sarah, I wanted to make sure that he was going to honor you," Kate grumbled defensively. "I wanted him to know that there were people who would care if he or anyone else mistreated you."

"I've been taking care of myself without help since I was old enough to walk, and I don't need help now." Sarah continued, not showing any sign of backing down. "I can take care of myself just fine, thank you, and in case you haven't forgotten I can take care of others just fine too." Noticing Kate's confused expression, Sarah clarified. "You've always been self-sufficient yourself, Kathryn Joy Aiken, but sure as we're having this conversation that Viktor jerk would have had his way with you if I hadn't come back home when I did."

As Kate drew in a sharp breath, Sally interrupted. "Sarah, that was uncalled for."

"Butt out, Sally," Sarah growled. "This is about the two of us being able to stand up for ourselves without help from someone else. If I can fend for myself, so can Kate." She returned her attention back to the very stunned Kate. "So, by your silence I am guessing that you concede victory in this argument. Since you finally acknowledge that the decisions are mine and mine alone, you can quit trying to run my life for me. If you can't resist trying to run my life or judge the choices that I make, then you can stay out of my life entirely. Do you follow me, Mrs. Aiken?" Sarah lifted her chin patronizingly. "That's a nod for yes, and a shake for no. I won't even make you say anything at all since words and common sense seem to have failed you entirely."

Kate finally refocused her eyes on Sarah enough to catch the last few sentences. "Sarah, I - "

"No. I don't want an excuse. I want some space. Are you going to be in the pool or out? Because wherever you are for the rest of the night, I want to be somewhere else."

"Meh," Kate squeaked weakly as Sarah climbed out of the pool.

Sarah stomped over to Will for her towel and the key to the room. "I'll talk to you later," she whispered, sighing quietly as she turned to go upstairs.

"You want some company - " Will began.

"No. I need some time alone." Sarah ascended the stairs without looking back.

Kate watched after Sarah for several silent minutes. "Sally..." she breathed, "what just happened?"

"Hiroshima," Sally muttered.

Quickly slipping Kate's sunscreen in his pocket, Clay stood up with Kate's towel in his hand. "Kathryn," he said firmly but quietly. When she turned to meet his completely serious eye, he beckoned her to get out of the pool and join him.

Thinking that he was going to offer her some sympathy for what just took place, Kate quickly exited the pool and walked over to him. But it took only one glance in his eye to see that was not going to be the case - she was in store for some sort of lecture or other deep discussion. Kate studied Clay's expression for any kind of hint as he shook out the towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. Clay placed a firm arm around her back and guided her up the stairs to their hotel room.

Will stared after them before turning back to a very grim-looking Sally. "You weren't kidding when you called it Hiroshima."

"And the fallout," Sally growled as she hastily climbed out of the pool to advance on Will, "isn't finished yet. You, mister, are gonna be dealing with me now."

"What'd I do?"

Sally pointed off to the side and waited until they were out of everyone's earshot before she turned on Will. "Sarah may have told Kate that what you two did was a private thing between two consenting adults, but you see now that there are consequences to your little indiscretion. Yeah, Will, indiscretion - because you and Sarah have not exactly kept your bedroom eyes to each other on this trip." Sally's brown eyes blazed with ferocity.

"But I haven't said anything," Will protested, "to anybody. Not to Clay, not to Kate. Jerome knows, but not because I told him. It's supposed to be a private thing between Sarah and me."

"In case you haven't noticed, your little private thing isn't so private any more." Sally heaved a sigh. "Will, the last thing I'm going to do is judge you for your choice. It was the wrong choice, but that's not going to change my opinion about you or Sarah. Because who you two are as people hasn't changed. You're still God's children in need of His love and grace."

"Sally," Will whispered, "that God thing may work for Sarah and the Aikens, but it's not my thing."

"You may not believe in gravity either, but that doesn't change the fact that it exists and that it will affect you all your life." Sally pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're probably not a praying man, Will, but there's no time like the present to start. This hasn't just affected you and Sarah, this has affected two very close, long-standing relationships, and possibly has more ramifications to come. Pray about it for the sake of everyone involved. And believe me... there are more involved in this situation than you realize."

Will heaved an exasperated sigh when she stormed away. How did I get myself into this mess?

Sally stopped in mid-storm and shook her head. "Geez, what did I just do, Lord? I seem to be under the effects of some kind of heatstroke or hormones with that little lecture I just gave. I know better than that. Forgive me -- now let's see if Will can as well." With that, Sally turned around and saw something she didn't think she'd see just yet. Will was still sitting in the chair by the pool but had a bible open in his lap. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be lost in thought - or prayer.

For a moment Sally didn't want to disturb Will's "conversation" but she knew she had to apologize before she lost her nerve - not like that happened a lot, but being out of her normal environment made Sally a little more cautious than usual. Too bad she wasn't cautious enough before letting her emotions get the best of her and chewing out Will. Seeing Kate upset and hurt always brought out the "Momma Bear" in her and today was no exception. Carefully putting a hand on his shoulder, she took a deep breath and spoke softly. "Will..."

Will opened one eye and looked up at the older woman. "What, you coming back for Nagasaki?"

Sally shook her head and held in a laugh. "I deserved that and no, I've already dropped that bomb. However, unlike the 'Enola Gay' I came back to apologize. I really was outta line. What you and Sarah decide to do with your relationship is no one's business but your own - and maybe God's. I have no right to speak for the Man Himself, especially since He knows all the facts and I don't."

Will patted her hand and smiled. "No, Sally - not totally out of line. You care for people very much, I can tell. You even care for me even though you don't know me that well. That's why you felt comfortable enough to tell me everything on your mind."

"I really need to learn not to do that with folks I don't have much history with. Tends to get me into more trouble."

"Something tells me 'trouble' and you are on good terms - but for all the right reasons."

Sally was smiling now and very impressed with this young man. "So, you're not mad at me and my big mouth?"

Will stood up, shaking his head as he cradled the bible in the crook of his elbow. "I never was mad, Sally. Just troubled. Some of the things you said made me think. I also took you up on your suggestion and did a little talking with 'The Man.'"

"Look, Will, I know this is all a little new to you and I want to help you start a relationship with the Lord, not interfere with your attempts to seek Him. I will give you a little tip, however. More often than not, most people come to Him in times of desperation, wanting Him to fix whatever they've managed to break. I've learned myself that God is not a band-aid solution that we turn to only when there's nowhere else left to turn... although we need to turn to Him then too." Hoping to keep it short and let Will get back to his conversation, Sally continued. "We need to come to Him every day in every thing - good times, bad times, rejoicing, sorrow, troubled times and even when everything is going right. Just as you are starting to build a relationship with Sarah, you need to approach a relationship with God in the same manner. Share with Him all that you are and all that you do. You may be surprised at the results."

Studying her carefully, Will mulled that one over in his mind. "It seems that I'm getting a lot of food for thought this week."

"'Taste and see that the Lord is good,'" Sally quipped. When Will snorted she laughed. "Sorry, Will - church worker humor. Good or bad, there's a lot more where that came from. I'll try not to give it to you all at once. Kate always gets a kick out of it though."

"That's all right, it was kind of funny." Will sighed, glancing back down at the bible. "I suppose I should get back to this."

"That's a good idea, but try not to start at Genesis and end at Revelation. It's not a novel. Just open up to a page and read the first thing you set your eyes on. It may sound strange and end up reading even stranger, but if you open your heart to the words, you'll hear what you need to. Now I'm going to go up to the room and see if there's anything I can do for Sarah." Sally squeezed his shoulder. "Talk to you later."

Sally walked up the stairs towards her room when a whirlwind suddenly brushed rudely past her. She looked up in time to see Kate's tear-stained face as she turned the corner. Now what?

"Kate..." Clay protested as he emerged from the hotel room. He groaned when all he saw was Sally. "Now where'd she go?"

Aw, Lord... am I doing some sort of penance for some unknown sin I committed in high school? Must have worked those off by now... Sally heaved a sigh and turned to Clay. "I know it's none of my business... but what happened?"

Clay studied Sally for a minute in awkward silence, unsure if he wanted to share anything at all. Did he want to risk the ire of Sally... but did he want to just let it go when Kate was still so obviously upset? Making his choice, he beckoned Sally towards his hotel room. He waited until she had stepped inside and closed the door before beginning to tell her what had just gone on between him and Kate.

 

Kate finished pulling a clean shirt on over her delicates and her shorts. Clay had quietly waited for her to finish what she was doing before saying anything, but she knew as soon as she was done the discussion would begin. And she wasn't looking forward to it.

"Do you have any idea why I pulled you out of the pool like that?"

Pausing to make sure she formed her words carefully, Kate debated her answer as Clay watched her from his seat on the edge of the bed. She knew that Clay was angry about something, and if she didn't watch what she said there was a real chance she would make him angrier yet. Considering it wasn't their fight, she didn't want that. "Well, judging by the fact that we went downstairs in a good mood... since you didn't make any attempt at comforting me after a few of those low blows from Sarah, I am assuming that you're upset at something I said or did in that pool."

"Yeah, Kate. I am." Clay leaned forward with his elbows and forearms resting on his legs. "I agree with you entirely that Sarah was wrong to sleep with Will... but you have been too hard on her over this whole issue. There are ways to let people know that you don't approve of what they say or do without coming across as being judgmental."

"And you think I came across as judgmental."

"Yes, honey, you did. Unfortunately Sarah was right about you trying to suggest to Will how he should treat her." Clay shrugged lightly. "I don't disagree with your sentiments, but there was a time and a place for that discussion, and that wasn't it. And to be honest, you weren't the most tactful at the time."

Kate frowned. "But that got resolved, didn't it?"

"No, it didn't," Clay recalled. "Sarah called you on the carpet for it and you backed down. You never did apologize to Will."

"I apologized," Kate protested.

"To Sarah," Clay clarified, "not to Will."

Kate stared at her husband. "You think I need to apologize to him or something?"

"If that's what needs to be done, then yes." He continued to look up into her eyes. "Do you think you need to apologize to him?"

"Let me think on that," Kate drawled, "and I'll get back to you."

"Think hard," Clay told her firmly, "because I see only one right answer after what just happened down there." As Kate frowned thoughtfully, Clay went on. "Forgive me for asking honey, but how did this get started in the first place? Surely you didn't just say to her, 'Oh by the way, I think it looks like you're sleeping with Will. Are you?'"

Kate shot him a dirty look. "Not even I am that tactless."

"I never said you were tactless, honey. I asked how this started."

"If you must know," Kate grumbled, "she started it. She asked me what we had been doing up here that we took so long." Seeing Clay roll his eyes, she continued. "The subject was a natural from there. I merely told her how we thought it looked - "

"We??" Clay asked.

Kate held up a defensive hand. "I left you out of it... But I told her how it looked, and basically let her know that I was concerned about her. She knows that we both think it's better to wait until marriage, and I reminded her that it really was better."

Clay sighed lightly, shaking his head. "Hon, you're not going to be happy with me for saying this, but if that's how this got started, then you kind of had that coming."

"Excuse me??" Kate exclaimed.

"I'm not saying you deserved to have her say some of the things she said to you, because you didn't," Clay qualified, "but if you really did come across as judgmental and trying to influence or run her life, then you really did deserve to have her tell you that it was none of your business."

For a moment Kate stared at her husband in silence. "I don't believe I heard you say that."

"Well, believe it, honey. We may not agree with Will and Sarah's life choice, but it is their decision to make and not ours."

"I never denied that," Kate insisted. "I just told her what I thought the best decision was."

"And that isn't our place." Once more Clay sighed. "Hon... you're her best friend. Your place is to love and accept and support her exactly as she is, faults and mistakes and all. Only One is allowed to judge her... and He has a way of convicting His children at the right time."

"Which is what I told her," Kate retorted, "when she shoved the whole barn incident in my face."

Clay blinked. "What?"

"Yeah! She called the three rules restrictive, and then she reminded me how we broke the three rules that Monday night." Noting the expression on Clay's face darken, Kate continued her explanation knowing that she finally had her husband's support on something. "Of course I reminded her that we did stop because of what we believed about God and intimacy and because of the kind of relationship we wanted for each other and for ourselves."

"Kate..." Clay breathed. "I don't care if your answer to her accusation was the right answer - you can't go discussing our relationship in public."

"Hunh?" Kate gaped, unable to believe her ears.

"You never know who's going to be standing less than ten feet away eavesdropping on everything. We have to be really careful, and we have to hold up a higher standard for ourselves than that."

"We're a normal, everyday human couple," Kate protested, her voice cracking, "just like everyone else. Are you expecting us to be perfect?"

"No, I don't expect us to be perfect," Clay admitted. "I'm saying that we can't be as open about our private life as if we weren't in the public eye. We don't have that luxury. Kate... we can't talk about our private life out in the open like that. I'm not saying that you can't discuss it with our families or with Kim or Ruben or Sarah. I'm saying you have to be careful about when and where, and who's around."

Kate's eyes started to mist over. "So I was wrong to argue with her," she stated as she started to pace at the foot of the bed, "wrong to argue with her right then and there, wrong to argue with her about what I did, wrong to stand up for the two of us..."

"Kate," Clay said gently, noting that her emotions were starting to get out of control. "I never said any of that. Please don't put words into my mouth."

"And now I'm hearing you wrong. It's wrong... it's all wrong." Bursting into tears, she turned away from him.

"Kate..." Clay began. Seeing that she had headed toward the door, he quickly stood. "Kate!" But she paid him no attention. Kate opened up the door to the room and was gone before he could stop her.

 

Sally groaned. "Oh, my aching head... what a mess."

Clay snorted. "You're telling me."

Taking a deep breath first, Sally started speaking slowly. She knew that what she had to say would not go over really well with the young husband and father-to-be. "Clay... right now you have to take her words with a little salt and a lot of patience, because that's the baby talking."

"What?"

"That's the baby talking," Sally repeated. "Now that she's pregnant, there are a lot more hormones going around in her system... the same hormones that cause PMS and all those wonderful mood swings that husbands love to deal with."

Nodding, Clay acknowledged making these observations himself. "I've noticed that."

Sally continued. "Which means that although you were right, the fact that she was already hurt from Sarah's words made her less willing or ready to accept yours." Placing a hand on his shoulder, she spoke gently. "There will be times when she would have normally been a rational human being that you will have to swallow your pride, keep some of your issues to yourself, and make sure that the phrase 'Yes, Dear' is an active part of your vocabulary."

Clay's face fell noticeably at Sally's advice. "Please tell me you're not serious."

"It's either that or be prepared to sleep out on the couch until the baby's born."

Immediately Clay stood up and walked towards the door with purpose in his stride. "Come on. I need you to help me find her."

"What do you plan to say to her?" Sally asked.

Clay shrugged. "I don't know. I'll figure that out when I find her."

"Clay, you'd better figure that out first," Sally insisted. "Because you know there's no reasoning with Kate when she's been crying."

"That depends on why she's been crying," Clay defended. After a brief moment he bit his lip. "Of course with the reasons she's been crying today..."

"Exactly." Sally sighed, surprisingly sympathetic in the situation. "So what do you think needs to happen when you find her?"

"First things first - she and I have to make up." Clay echoed Sally's sigh. "It won't be until after we've made up and she's calmed down that I'll be able to try to persuade her that she really does need to apologize both to Sarah and to Will. Because she needs to apologize to both of them."

"If things happened at Christmas the way you say they did, yeah. But..." Sally placed her arm around Clay's shoulder. "But you're going to be much more effective if you don't confront her with what she did wrong - you'll do better if you lead her around to discover for herself what she did wrong and what steps she needs to take in order to restore the relationships."

"Will doesn't seem to be effected at all by what Kate said over Christmas," Clay offered, "but I'd still like to see her make that step to apologize anyway. Where Kate really needs to put in the effort is with Sarah. I would hate to see that friendship lost because of this."

Sally nodded. "You and me both. Let's go find your wife."

Clay smiled for the first time since watching Kate in the pool. He appreciated Sally's willingness both to listen and to help. Somehow he couldn't see her as anyone connected to the Mafia at all.

The two of them left Clay and Kate's hotel room to search the place for Kate. They split up, each starting on a different floor with plans to meet back in the middle once Kate was found. Clay scanned several different areas for her, gently calling out her name in hopes that she wouldn't wait out her tears alone. Where is she? He bit his lip as he searched, not finding so much as a trace of her or anyone who had last seen her.

Clay bumped into Jerome at the end of the hall. "Have you seen Kate?" Clay asked, the concern in his voice. "I wanted to talk to her about something, and she seems to have taken some 'quiet time' in a place where I just can't find her."

Jerome shook his head. "No, Clay, I haven't seen her since everyone got back from souvenir hunting. You mean to tell me she went for some quiet time and didn't tell anyone where she was going?" As Clay winced, Jerome sighed. "I thought I finally got it through that girl's head that there needs to be someone aware of where she is at any given time."

With a guilty look on his face, Clay beckoned Jerome closer. "She and Sarah had a fight in the pool, and when I tried to talk with her about it she only got more upset... and she ran off..."

"Pregnant women..." Jerome muttered. "I'm warning you now, Clay - you can't do right by a pregnant woman."

"I'm learning that," Clay admitted.

"Kate and Sarah, hunh? Thought those two were best friends." Jerome snapped his fingers. "No, wait - Sarah and Will, right? They fought about Sarah and Will."

Clay stared. "How long have you known?"

"Since Friday. It's kind of hard to miss on what's happening when your bunkmate tells you he's going out for the rest of the evening." Jerome made a face. "I figured it was their lives and their call, so I kept my mouth shut in order to give them some privacy... but maybe I should have said something, if that's what made those two girls fight."

"No, Jerome," Clay said firmly. "This was not your problem. I think you did the right thing. You don't have to agree with how they conducted themselves, but you showed them Christian love by not judging their decisions."

"Thanks, Clay, I appreciate that." Jerome nodded. "You want me to help you look for your wife?"

"Please."

Clay took a minute to tell Jerome what Kate had been wearing and where he had last looked for her, and the two men split up. It took another ten minutes before Clay happened to look down from the edge of the upper balcony to see Sally leading Kate back into the open. The way Sally guided her with one arm around her shoulders and the other hand holding hers told Clay that his wife was probably still upset. "Jerome..." Clay caught his bodyguard's attention and pointed down at the two women. "Thanks for helping us look."

"Sure," Jerome told him. "No problem. Go on, see if you can't make up with her."

Hurrying down the stairs two at a time, Clay joined Sally and his wife as fast as his feet could carry him. Immediately he noticed the gentle way Sally held and spoke to her reassuringly in spite of the fact that Kate refused to look up from the ground at anyone. There's no way she's with the Mafia - no way at all. Clay slowed his pace for the last few steps until he stood with the two women.

Sally glanced up at him with a smile before turning back to address Kate. "It'll be okay, sweetie. Just talk to him."

"Sal..." Kate breathed, obviously not ready for this.

"He loves you. Give him a chance to prove it." Sally squeezed her cousin fondly and released her with a light shove towards Clay.

Propelled by Sally's push, Kate took several involuntary steps forward and quickly found herself braced in his concerned and caring arms. Kate sniffled loudly, still not able to look up at him.

"Kate..." Clay gave her cheek a feather-light touch and she slowly raised her eyes little by little. When Kate finally returned her eyes to his face, she saw the smallest of loving smiles.

"You got fifteen minutes before dinner, loverboy," Sally told him quietly. "Make the best use of it."

Clay frowned lightly - fifteen minutes was really not enough time to make up with Kate in the way that needed to be done... both with conversation and with prayer. "Will we get in trouble if we aren't there right away?" he asked, unwilling to interrupt their attempt to patch things over once it got started.

A wry smile turned one side of her mouth. "I'll make sure you don't. And I'll make sure that they save you something for when you do get down."

"Don't - Don't worry about it," Kate whispered, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "We should join the others for dinner."

Clay turned a worried eye to her. "We need to fix this, sooner than later."

"We'll have time after dinner," she answered.

I'm not sure I want it to wait that long... Clay bit his lip. "If I agree to let it wait, will you promise not to run off after devotions so that we can have our talk?"

Kate heaved a long, drawn-out sigh. If it was the only way to get him to drop it... "Sure."

Clay released a sigh of his own - he wasn't so confident with her response. Maybe talking with some of the other team members at dinner would help her relax just enough for them to have a better conversation. Very carefully he pulled her the rest of the way into his arms, encouraging her to lay her head on his shoulder as he attempted to give her what little comfort he could afford in the limited time they had before dinner.

Shortly the team gathered for dinner, and the mood was definitely subdued. Sarah sat as far away from Kate as she could manage and still be at the table with the team, and everyone could feel the tension between them. However, Sally made sure to sit in the seat beside Kate, and the Hansons sat directly across from Clay and Kate. And Clay held warmly onto Kate's hand as they conversed, his fingers threaded in between hers as he stroked it with light and reassuring touches.

Clay glanced down into tonight's bowl of soup, noticing that it was a different type entirely. This one was sort of a brownish-orange in color, containing some sort of meat and mixed vegetables and pureed something and who knew what else. "Hon... do you know what this one is?"

"Pumpkin soup," Kate told him, dipping her spoon in her own bowl. "It's all right too. I think the green one we've had is watercress, but don't quote me on that."

He snickered. "I won't." Clay tried the soup, which he did agree wasn't too bad. After the next course of the usual spicy salad (which Kate ignored, as usual) they brought out the main course. Clay glanced down at the entrée, which had all the appearances of lasagna.

"Why is mine different from yours?" Kate wondered aloud, glancing down at her plate.

Clay looked over at her meal. She did indeed have something different. "Maybe this is spicier than the kitchen thinks you should have." He took a bite and immediately felt his eyes start watering. But it was nothing he couldn't handle. "It's spicy."

"Mm," Kate nodded, very grateful for their consideration for her and "little one". She would have to make sure that the kitchen got an extra-generous tip at the end of the mission trip.

"Oh my gosh! There's a lizard of some sort!" Tracy exclaimed.

Clay turned around, looking where Tracy pointed. Hanging from the top of the stone wall of the restaurant was a tiny lizard with a big head and round eyes, looking very much like the gecko from the auto insurance commercials. "Hunh!" he exclaimed, amazed that he was seeing one of these in the wild.

"Isn't it cute?" Kate asked as she squeezed his hand.

"They are," Lisa acknowledged. "I got a nice close-up of one earlier."

Clay glanced at her. "Can I get a copy?"

"We'll post the pictures on the church web site," Pastor Macy told him. "You'll be able to find it and any of the other pictures there."

"Sweet." Clay and Kate watched the lizard for another minute before returning to their meal and conversation with the rest of the team.

Will leaned over to Sarah. "How's your meal?"

"Fine," Sarah agreed. "I like it. What do you think?"

"I like spicy food," Will told her. The spicier the better, as far as he was concerned - he had been known to add Tabasco and hot sauce to Mexican. "This is great stuff."

"I think I heard Sally say earlier that tomorrow night we're having dinner at the pastor's house," Sarah recalled. "She told me that the restaurant food is almost Americanized and that we'll see real Haitian food there... and that will be a lot spicier than what we see here."

"All right," Will rumbled eagerly. He had heard a lot of good things about Creole food and had been looking forward to trying it as the opportunity allowed.

Sarah stole a glance at Will. "I know you weren't thrilled about doing it, but I really am looking forward to watching you play Jesus tomorrow and Friday."

"I could tell," he muttered. "Princess, the only reason I'm doing it is for you. I could tell you would have been disappointed if I had told her no."

"Thank you," Sarah told him, squeezing his knee. "In spite of what you say, you'll do every bit the good job that Clay would have done. You really do have a love for children, and they'll figure that out. Kids know a fake when they see one."

"Sarah, I'm not sure I have the right things to play the guy."

Sarah disagreed. "You have love in your heart. Show them the unconditional love and acceptance I've seen this week, and you will have exactly what you need to play the part. Because that's what Jesus was about... showing His love and the Father's love for everyone."

"Serious?" Will asked. "That's all there is to it?"

"For now," Sarah answered. "All the kids need to see tomorrow is unconditional love, and all they need to see Friday is that same love as sacrificial love. They need to see a Father God who loved so much that He sacrificed His only Son to die so that He could claim us as His own pure and blameless children. And Jesus was a physical, tangible embodiment of the Father's love in the form of His Son. Jesus is love as His Father is love."

Will poked at his Haitian lasagna, unsure quite what to think of that. "So you're saying that the entire sum of Jesus' life is love?"

"Yes," Sarah insisted. "In a word, yes, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to understand and clarify the finer details of that love."

Slowly Will released a long, deep breath. His head hurt from all the profound thinking he had been doing lately, but he somehow had a suspicion that he wasn't done thinking yet. There was all the interaction they had enjoyed with the kids and the other Haitians at the site, and there was the whole Haitian situation (political, social, economical, spiritual and more) itself to think about. And then he had all sorts of details from personal relationships to ponder over - there was the Tuesday conversation by the pool with Clay, there was the argument between Sarah and Kate which seemed at an impasse, there was the confrontation with Sally that had been pleasantly worked out, and there was the argument between Clay and Kate that was yet to be resolved. Will was hoping he would have the chance to see how this one worked itself out - he wanted to see how this wrinkle affected the couple. And of course, some of the issues that had been brought up in those situations... namely his own spiritual life or lack of one, and his relationship with Sarah. He had often told Sarah that if he was going to believe in God, God would have to prove His existence to him. Circumstances were leading Will to wonder if Sarah's God hadn't taken him up on his challenge. What was the quote from that movie - "Be careful what you wish for - you may get it."

From dinner the group went to the upper patio to have devotions led by Jack and Frank. Once again Sarah stood on the far end of the group from Kate, standing next to Sally as the newlyweds were framed (and ultimately dwarfed) by the two bodyguards. Sally snuck a secret glance at Clay and Kate, noting with relief that Kate leaned back in his loving arms as they listened to the devotion. They haven't made up yet, Sally mused, but it's a start. The two men led the group in prayer, and everyone broke for the night.

Clay kept his arms around Kate's waist. "Let's go have that chat, honey."

Kate slowly released a heavy sigh. She wasn't sure she was ready for what would probably be round two of the same, but being apart from her husband made Kate absolutely miserable. "Yeah."

Gently Clay took Kate's hand to lead her to their hotel room. Passing by Sally, he happened to look up in time to see her give him a subtle wink. Thanks, he thought to himself as he winked back. I wish us luck too. Pulling their room key out of his pocket, he opened the door to their room. This time after he closed the door, he bolted them in for the night and laid the key on the nearby dresser. Once more showing her gentleness and consideration, he invited her to sit up on the bed with him. He assisted her up, and the two of them sat on the bed Indian-style facing each other as he took both of her hands in his.

Slowly Kate took in and let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry for acting like such an idiot this afternoon."

"I wouldn't say you acted like an idiot," Clay told her. "I would say you acted like a very normal woman who is expecting a child." When Kate glanced up at him, he continued. "Sally reminded me that because of the baby there are a lot more hormones in your system - hormones that cause all those mood changes you and I love to deal with every month." Noting Kate's eye roll and snort, he shrugged. "I'm not blaming you for that, I'm just reminding you about it so that we're more aware of it and you will be more prepared to strike the right balance of emotion and logic."

"So," Kate began, "you're saying that I behaved badly because I'm pregnant?"

"No," Clay answered gently, "I'm saying that your tact and common sense were influenced by your pregnancy, and you made choices and statements that you might not have made on a better day."

"Oh." Somehow Kate looked relieved, but only partly so. "So in other words, it's not my fault."

She's got to come to this herself, Clay reminded himself, thinking back on Sally's words. "Is that really what you think?"

Kate made a sour face. "I wish, but it doesn't feel like the truth."

"Okay," Clay responded, relieved that Kate was finally starting to sound more like her rational self again. For now. "What would you say the truth is?"

"You said that I was influenced... meaning I can admit that I wasn't myself, but I still have to own up to my behavior?"

Clay shrugged again, a light smile on his face. "That's the truth as I see it."

Another sour expression crossed Kate's face, and Clay knew that she was starting to accept her role in the afternoon drama. But she didn't have to be happy about it. "I suppose that means I'm going to have to apologize to her..."

"Is that what you think is the right choice to make?" Clay prodded, hoping to get a more positive attitude from her than that.

"Yeah," Kate sighed again, resignation in her eyes. "I fought with her as much as she fought with me... so I really do owe her an apology."

Clay gently rubbed his thumbs once over her hands. "What are you apologizing for again? I forget."

Kate skewered him with a look that suggested she didn't buy that for a minute. "I know what you're doing, Clayton Holmes Aiken."

"Humor me," Clay told her. "I prefer this approach to another fight."

Instantly any hint of anger or impatience faded from Kate's eyes, and she nodded. "I do too. All right... humor you I will. Because I love you too much and can't stand to be at odds with you."

Clay's eyes twinkled. He knew exactly what Kate was talking about. "I hate it when we fight, darlin'. There's only a couple of good things that come out of our arguments." But he wasn't going in to that now. "Go on, honey. The sooner we get this talked out, the sooner we can consider ourselves made up."

Kate looked off into the distance, remembering back to her argument with Sarah. "She was right. I did try to tell her how to run her life, and I did show judgment when the choices she made didn't match up with my personal beliefs." She shut her eyes, agonized at finally realizing the truth. "I should have known better, Clay. I should have known better."

"You do," Clay offered, "but we all have moments where we get it wrong. That just happened to be your own moment."

Slowly Kate nodded. "This doesn't justify Sarah's choice," Kate quickly responded, to which Clay shook his head in firm agreement. She sighed again. "It just means that I have to put it aside and show her the same love and friendship I always have. Especially since it's too late to change it anyway."

Clay bit his lip thoughtfully. "Now I know why Will asked me what he did on Tuesday." When Kate gave him a puzzled glance, he explained. "While you two bathing beauties were in the pool Tuesday afternoon, he and I had a little talk. He asked me if I regretted waiting for you, and we got into a very deep discussion over it." He shrugged again. "Okay, I got to talking, and he kept asking questions."

"So what happened?" Kate asked.

"He was floored that we almost lost our control that Monday night," Clay admitted.

"Considering how vocal we've been about waiting until marriage, no surprise there," Kate muttered.

"I told him that we didn't regret waiting, but we would have regretted following through."

"Ironic," Kate stated, "with what Sarah and I argued about. Question, honey..." Kate swallowed thoughtfully before speaking again. "You just admitted to having a conversation with Will in public about our private life, and about the same event in our private life. How is that different from the conversation I had with Sarah about the same event?"

Clay gave her an apologetic look, knowing that she wasn't going to be happy about the answer. "Will and I were speaking quietly all by ourselves off to the side... while you and Sarah had an argument that got louder and louder in the middle of a crowded swimming pool."

Kate winced. Privacy, location, and volume were the differentiating factors between the discussions. "And I do know and appreciate that there are some parts of our private life that we want to keep private... so it looks like I owe you an apology too."

"My first year was a real education too, hon. I'm happy to forgive a first-time offense."

"Only first?" Kate asked, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Clay smiled at her. "And second, and third, and..."

Kate smiled back at him, already relieved at how things were resolving themselves. Now if her apology with Sarah could only go so smoothly tomorrow... "I really am sorry, honey. I really do try to keep our lives private, but I'm sure that I might get careless from time to time. Hopefully you'll be just as forgiving next time, when it comes."

"Apology accepted. I'm sure I'll get careless too." Clay gave her a sheepish look. "I also want to apologize for not being more sensitive to you earlier. I was too quick to point out the mistakes that you had made and I neglected to show you any sympathy for what Sarah said. That had to have hurt."

"Yeah, it did," Kate mumbled. "Even though I've mostly healed, there are times that whole incident still makes me shudder if I get to thinking about it. And for her to bring it up like that when she knows how much it hurts..." Kate winced. "I must have disappointed her worse than I thought this afternoon."

Clay gave that one some thought. "You did say that one of her biggest needs is to be accepted and loved and trusted for who she really is. I think she was afraid that you had lost sight of that, and was afraid that you wouldn't be any better than the others."

"For a brief moment," Kate admitted, "I wasn't."

"Don't beat yourself up too much over what happened, honey," Clay urged, "just learn from it."

Slowly Kate nodded, her brow furrowed in deep thought. "Do you think she'll forgive me?"

"I don't know," Clay confessed. "I hope so."

She sighed again. "I'm just glad you did." As he smiled again, she gently squeezed his hands. "Is it all right if we pray together?"

"Of course," he told her. "I enjoy praying with you." Finding joy in her smile, he bowed his head and the two of them started praying. They gave thanks for the good day on the job site and asked for continued success and opportunity to witness there before addressing the political situation of Haiti itself. Clay prayed for their health, including the health of their child and their families back home. Then the two of them started praying about the afternoon around the pool... Kate's fight with Sarah, and Kate's fight with Clay. They gave thanks that their own fight had been resolved, and prayed for strength and the right words for Kate tomorrow so that she could attempt to mend her relationship with Sarah. Last, they returned to another petition for their own relationship, thanking God for strengthening their faith as individuals and as a couple, asking Him to draw them closer still.

Once they finished, the two of them opened their eyes. Clay looked up at Kate's face and immediately recognized the expression he saw. He couldn't be certain without asking, but after they had made up from a fight and had prayed with each other, the two of them seemed to have an overwhelming need to be intimate with each other. The look in Kate's eyes suggested that she was feeling that way... and he knew how much he wanted her right now. "Kate..." he breathed. "I - "

Cutting the rest of the words off before he said them, Kate quickly leaned in to place an especially passionate first kiss on his mouth. Clay brought her even closer to him as he deepened the kiss, anticipating the night of intensive love they were all but guaranteed to share. Without warning she broke the kiss, and Clay took in a sudden and disappointed breath. But that disappointment froze in his throat as he looked up into her calculatingly steamy eyes. Very slowly and deliberately she traced randomly over his chest with a single finger. "You know, I may have lost our battle of wills this afternoon before swimming," she began, and Clay snickered as he remembered the reactions he got from staring into her eyes, "and I may have lost our fight after that... but tonight will belong to me."

Clay's eyes widened at her last words, and he knew that something was on her devious little mind. "Hon, what - " he began.

Immediately Kate put the same finger on his lips to shush him. "Mm-nm. Not a word. This is your night to lay back and let me 'handle' things." Smirking as a light blush colored his cheeks, she continued to skewer him with that look. "I'm going to try a few more adventurous things with you tonight, starting with something I gleaned from one of the fan fics..." She leaned over and whispered in his ear.

Oh my... Clay thought, his jaw slowly dropping as she whispered in his ear for several minutes. "You read that one??" he croaked.

Kate shrugged lightly. "Hon, we both came into this green and inexperienced. I figure I have to get my ideas from somewhere. And I remembered hearing about some sort of special program on a California radio station about fan fics, so I dug up a transcript of the program to find out where the best ones were. I figure since the writing is about you, I'm not being untrue to my man... unlike if I were to just pick up some random trashy novel."

Well... that's one way to look at it, Clay reflected.

"Besides... why should the fictional Clay have all the fun?" Kate purred. Clay's heart stopped entirely as the look in Kate's eyes intensified. "I think the real Clay should start having some of his own adventures in the bedroom for a change."

Clay blinked several times, dumbfounded. Although the idea definitely intrigued him, it certainly came as a big surprise. "Honey, is there - "

Once more Kate put that finger over his mouth. "Not another word until after I'm done with my first idea. This is a seduction, mister. Sit back and enjoy the ride."

As Kate gently pushed him back onto the bed, Clay couldn't help wondering about what else she had in store for them...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Will and Jerome's room

 

Will opened the door to find Sarah standing there, her eyes still blazing. "Sarah, what's the matter?"

"Come on." Sarah grabbed his hand and led him to a different doorway. She opened the door to a linen closet, and Will debated how she had been able to enter it. Once more taking his hand, she pulled him inside.

It didn't take Will long to figure out why she had brought him here when she pinned him to the wall and started smothering him with sultry kisses. They had agreed on the flight to Haiti that they wouldn't indulge themselves this week, but after Sarah's altercation with Kate, Sarah seemed to have changed her mind. "Hold it, Sarah," Will protested, gently pulling away from her. "This isn't the way it should be."

Sarah stared at him for a moment in shock before the anger returned. "Not you too!"

"Princess, I think you're doing this tonight just to spite Kate," Will told her. "I don't want to be a part of that. If you're gonna do it with me, do it because you want to." Will sighed. "Do it because we love and respect each other."

"I do love you," Sarah insisted.

"And I believe you. But I still don't want to be part of your fight. I already helped cause it," Will mumbled. "I don't want to make things worse than they already are."

"You did not cause that fight," Sarah spat. "Kate did. With her judgmental attitude and her interfering. What's wrong with proving that I'm my own person and can make my own decisions?"

"Nothing, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody else." Will shrugged. "I'm sorry, Princess... but this would. Did you know that Clay and Kate got into a fight after you went up to the room?"

"Serves her right for sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong."

Will scowled. "Now who's bein' judgmental? I'm sorry, Princess, I'm not doing it. I respect them too much." He fidgeted a bit before admitting the next thing on his mind. "I respect us too much." Reaching over, Will opened the door to the closet. "Let me escort you back to your room. I don't want anything bad happening to you between here and there."

At the door to her room, Will kissed her goodnight sweetly on the cheek before heading back to his own hotel room. Sarah watched as he walked back, her heart torn between different thoughts and desires.

"Sarah?" Sally asked gently, her brown eyes hinting that she somehow knew that something serious was up. "You want to talk about it?"

Remembering her conversation with Sally back in Miami, Sarah was cut to the heart. The relationship Will and I have is at a point where something needs to change, she had said to Sally. Well, something had changed - Will was changing, in ways that Sarah didn't yet understand. Suddenly Sarah was scared. She didn't know what to think any more. Turning from the door, she threw herself into the older woman's arms with a sob.

"There, there..." Sally hushed as Sarah wept. "Shhh..." She held Sarah tightly. I think I need to talk to Pastor Tom about combat pay...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clay and Kate's room

 

Wow, Clay thought to himself for the umpteenth time as he laid there with Kate fast asleep in his arms. For the past several hours, Kate had shown herself to be of one single purpose: pleasing him. Most other nights they had done what they could to share in the pleasure, but tonight she had set her own desires aside to make love to him. Every one of her actions had been focused on fulfilling him, and she had not asked for anything in return. In fact, when he had offered, she had told him that wasn't part of the plan tonight - "Another time," she had said. And then she had proceeded to send his mind reeling... sometimes slow and gentle and tender, sometimes with a hunger so intense that he still couldn't see straight even now. Clay vowed to return the favor yet this week.

Clay ran his fingertips lightly up and down Kate's bare back, trying to memorize every sensation from the evening they had shared. Her fingers running through his hair. The softness of her skin. Her warm breath trailing over his neck. The smell of her shampoo. Her chameleon-colored gaze boring deep into his eyes. The feeling of being one with the love of his life to the point of not knowing where one soul ended and another began. This is the way it was meant to be - to share your existence with that one other person who completed you, who somehow made you more than you would have been on your own. This was the magical, miraculous journey he and Kate were on... a journey full of love and laughter, joy and tears, moments and years. Clay could not be any happier, any more blessed, than to spend the rest of his life with this amazing and beautiful woman. Gently he reached up to caress her cheek. "I love you, Kathryn Aiken," he whispered, "for the rest of our lives and forever."

 

Go to the next day, Day 7 (June 22)

Go to yesterday, Day 5 (June 20)

 

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