Page 101 of Left Behind

A gust of wind suddenly rattled the windows beneath the porch. Ava’s eyes widened nervously.

“Is it a tornado?” Ava asked.

Shirley pulled her close. “No, honey, it’s just wind and rain. You’re safe.”

Ava pulled Phillip up beneath her chin. “I’m safe,” she echoed.

But Wiley knew Ava didn’t feel safe. She was just making sure all the people around her thought she was because she didn’t want to cause trouble.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Ava…”

Her gaze shifted to his face.

“Are you scared?”

She nodded.

“When you are, it’s okay to say that.”

Ava looked up at Shirley. “Grammy, I’m not all fine.”

Shirley pulled her up in her lap and wrapped her arms around her. “Then we’ll just cuddle up until you are. Okay?”

Ava nodded, slowly settling against the soft pillow of Shirley’s breasts. Grammy smelled good, and her voice wasn’t angry or loud. The grown-ups started talking, and she stilled, trying to find that quiet space where she always disappeared, but fell asleep instead.

“Bless her sweet heart,” Shirley said when she noticed Ava had gone to sleep. “Wiley, that wind’s really come up. You better rescue your rain gear from the porch before it blows away.”

“Oh, good call,” he said, and headed for the door to retrieve it. All the excess rain had already dripped onto the porch, so he left the raincoats on the floor, just inside the front door.

As it neared noontime, Shirley laid Ava down on the sofa and covered her with an afghan, while they went to finish lunch.

Shirley had been stewing a chicken, so while Amalie deboned it, she mixed up some dumpling dough and began dropping it into the boiling chicken broth by the spoonful, then turned down the heat and covered the pot, while Linette was setting the table.

Wiley was standing at the back door, looking out across the rain-drenched land and thinking how peaceful it was here, when Ava came meandering into the kitchen.

Still waking up, she leaned against Wiley’s leg.

“Hey, baby girl. You woke up just in time to eat. Are you hungry? Grammy made chicken and dumplings.”

“Do I like them?” she asked.

He picked her up. “Well, you like biscuits and you like chicken and you like soup. Chicken and dumplings is all of that in one dish.”

“Yum,” she said.

He grinned. “Exactly, and brownies for dessert.”

She turned and looked at the table and all the chairs.

“Where do I sit?” she asked.

“By me. And you’re going to need a booster in your seat, aren’t you?”

Shirley heard them and turned around. “Wiley, some of Mom’s old phone books are in the bottom of the hall closet. Grab some of those and put a clean towel over them for her to sit on. They’re probably dusty.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Wiley said, and put Ava down. “Come on, sugar. Let’s go find you a booster seat.”

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