Page 48 of Organized Chaos

Tim threw a football at Phillip, who caught it and flung it back. Another look and Tim jerked his chin toward his shoulder. “Food’s all set up. Margo and Yvonne helped Kathy and Nicole.”

Sarah looked around at the mention of her friends and found the four women talking and laughing together at a row of nearby tables. She started toward them and waved a hello. “I’ll be right back.”

Her friends met her with open arms and squeals of excitement.

Kathy tossed her blonde hair. “Quite the party.”

“Yeah.” Sarah snagged a cluster of grapes from the table and popped one into her mouth.

A squirrel darted out from an overhead branch, launched into the air, and landed in the center of the table. It chittered angrily, tail fluffed and claws gripping the tablecloth.

Sarah choked on her grape and pounded a fist against her chest while trying to shoo the animal away.

It raced up the table, saw Phillip waiting, and bolted the other way. With one last angry scolding, it jumped to the ground and bounced out of sight.

Sarah rubbed her raw throat. “The wildlife around here is ridiculous.”

Margo snickered. She covered her mouth with one hand, then the other when her laughter continued to build.

“We call it the Sarah effect,” Nicole said to the group. She wore a resigned face with hints of laughter crinkling the corners of her eyes. “You can always count on things going wild when Sarah is around.”

Sarah planted her hands on her hips. “It’s not that bad.”

Yvonne’s nose crinkled. She hugged Sarah. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone should have something special about them. This is yours.”

She huffed and tried to dismiss the accusation—soft though it was—but knew they were right. This was her superpower. She made every day an adventure.

“Just so you know that when you all get married, I’m not responsible for anything that goes wrong.” She wiggled a finger at all of them. “Understood?”

Phillip cleared his throat from behind her. He urged her toward the canoe waiting at the edge of the lake. “Care to take a ride with me?”

She stepped into the canoe and waited for him to join her. The paddle felt comfortable in her hand, and they set out, each paddling on different sides to keep their straight course.

“I think our lives could be a lot like this.” Phillip pulled his paddle into the canoe and draped it over his knees.

Sarah couldn’t quite see his face from her seat behind him. She leaned forward, sending the canoe rocking. “Like this? Unexpected and full of potential turbulence?”

“Yes.” He chuckled. “But also amazing and beautiful.” He turned to look at her over his shoulder. “See, if I’d planned better, I would’ve realized that not being able to look at you right now isn’t how I wanted this to go.”

“Sometimes plans are okay.” She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “It would be nice to look at you while we talk.” Even though they’d done a lot of talking already, she found thatshe enjoyed these conversations with Phillip. He wasn’t afraid to talk about the hard things.

Being with him was easier than she thought possible.

She grabbed either side of the canoe and rocked it side to side. “I can fix that problem.”

“Don’t you dare.” Phillip laughed and slowly inched around until they were face to face. He took her hands in his and held them loosely. “I made mistakes. I thought that I couldn’t change. That I didn’t want to change. God showed me that He’s had a plan for me this whole time. Even if I couldn’t see it, the path was set a long time ago.”

Sarah fell into his gaze, the depth and sincerity ringing through her clear as church bells on Sunday morning. “I’m always going to be a klutz, Phillip. I’m going to want to take off from work and go on a weekend trip for no reason whatsoever other than I can.” She needed him to hear her, to see her. “I’m willing to change. To a point.” She held up a warning finger. “But I need to know that you’re not going to be frustrated with me because I won’t be like you.”

“I like that we’re different.” Phillip picked up one of her braids and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. “You make me better, Sarah. My life was washed out. Dull and devoid of color. You brought color and intrigue back to me. Something I thought I’d lost forever.”

“I suppose I don’t mind having certain parts of my life organized and planned out.” Actually, she didn’t mind it at all. Today had been a pleasant surprise, and she understood Phillip’s way of combining the best of them both. This worked. They could work. “Why are my parents here?” She shot a look at the shore where all their friends mingled.

Phillip followed her line of sight. “I thought they should all meet each other. Your parents are wonderful, by the way. Took everything in stride.”

“No wonder.” She laughed. “They’ve gotten used to it over the years.” Not that they really understood it, but they accepted her and let her live her life. They trusted her and knew that she loved and trusted God to be with her.

Phillip’s heavy gaze pulled her attention back to him. His thumbs traced back and forth over her knuckles, the strand of hair forgotten in the last few minutes. His throat dipped in a hard swallow. “Sarah, I’m in love with you.”

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