Summer's Promise

Summer quickly stood and put her hand on Spring’s shoulder. “Bert isn’t here, dear, but David came.”

“I remember now—Bert died in the accident.” Spring swallowed with difficulty, and although the Weaver family didn’t habitually display overt affection, Summer bent to kiss her cheek.

“Take Bert and me home to be buried.”

“Dad wanted me to bring Bert’s body to Tennessee,” David said quietly to Summer, “but I guess the decision should be up to Spring.”

“David,” Spring whispered in a faltering voice. He leaned over the bed. “Timmy and Nicole.”

“Yes,” David said, “what about them?”

“Timmy and Nicole,” Spring said again, agitation marking her voice.

“Your kids are in Ohio,” David said.

“No. North Carolina,” Spring insisted weakly, and she didn’t speak again.

The nursing staff had been in and out of the room all night, but David and Summer were alone when Spring breathed her last. A piece of equipment emitted a shrill whistle, shattering the quiet of the room, and Summer screamed. The pressure of the long hours since she’d learned of Spring’s accident had been too much, and she started trembling. When two nurses ran into the room, David drew Summer into the hallway and encircled her in the protective cover of his arms. He massaged her back lightly until she stopped trembling, then led her to a small waiting room near the elevator, sat down with her, his arm still around her shoulders.

For a moment she rested against his firm body, then she moved away from him. Her features were composed and she wasn’t crying, but David knew he had to take her away from this area before they removed Spring’s body.

“We’ve got to make a lot of decisions in the next few hours,” he said. “I’m not hungry, but it might be a good idea to eat breakfast before we tackle the difficult stuff.”

“I’ll have to call my family first, and I dread it,” Summer said wearily.

“Would you rather I talked to them?”

She shook her head. “I’ll telephone my sister and let her tell my parents. They’ve always been so proud of their three daughters, and I can’t stand to tell them there are only two of us now.”

Summer placed the call from a phone booth near the cafeteria. She was relieved when her brother-in-law, Nathan Holland, answered the phone rather than Autumn. Summer didn’t know Nathan very well, but he’d made Autumn happy, and Summer was sure he would break the news gently.

After she gave him the bad news, Summer commented on the emotional effect this would have on her parents.

“Landon and Clara will be okay,” Nathan assured her, “but I’m worried about the kids. How can we explain to Nicole and Timmy that their parents aren’t coming back? Who’s going to take care of them?”

Summer’s senses reeled when she realized they might be her children now. God in Heaven, if there is such a Being, what am I going to do with two children whom I’ve only seen a few times?

While David talked to his parents, Summer sat with closed eyes, her head in her hands. How could she be so selfish to worry about the effect Spring’s death would have on her? Waiting for David to finish, she sincerely mourned the death of her sister, remembering how Spring had looked after Summer on her first day in school—a role Spring had continued all the way through high school. If Summer needed any help, she could count on her older sister. Perhaps she’d partly repaid Spring if she’d made her dying moments easier by promising to look after her children. Summer had no idea how she could keep her promise, but she hoped she would have the courage to try.

When he walked away from the telephone, David took a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his eyes and blew his nose. From a face marked with sorrow, he gave her a twisted smile.

Summer placed her hand on David’s forearm. “It’s rough, isn’t it? Thanks so much for being here, David. I couldn’t have handled Spring’s death alone, but it’s been easier since you came. I’m just glad our parents didn’t have to experience this.”

David clasped her hand in both of his. “You’re right. I’ve been wondering why God would let this happen to two people who had dedicated their lives to His service. I still don’t know the answer to that one, but I am pleased I could be here for Spring’s last few hours. That’s what Bert would have wanted. But I wish she’d lived long enough to tell me what she was trying to get across about Nicole and Timmy.”

They entered the cafeteria where Summer picked up a bowl of fruit, a cinnamon roll and a glass of milk. David took scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, biscuits and coffee. When they were seated, Summer eyed his tray incredulously.

“How can you eat so much food and remain slender as a fence post?” she asked.

“Because I stay active. My job requires a lot of moving around and I work out in gyms regularly.” He looked admiringly at her blue eyes and reddish-brown hair. She was slender and petite, about five-and-a-half feet tall. “You’re not overweight.”

“It’s in our genes, I guess. None of the Weavers gain much weight. What job do you mean? Aren’t you still in the Air Force?”

“After ten years in the service, I’d had enough. I resigned last year. I’m a detective in Atlanta now.”

As David steered her through the next two days of signing documents relating to the deaths of their siblings and contacting a local mortician to arrange for shipping the bodies to Ohio by air, Summer wondered how she could ever have managed without him. She noticed things about David that she’d forgotten—his friendly personality, and his slim, vibrant body as he walked confidently through life as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

She was mentally exhausted by the time they boarded a plane for Pittsburgh, where they changed planes for a flight to the Columbus International Airport. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it would have been if she had endured the past few days alone.

She’d appreciated David’s company, but she had been on edge fearing he would mention their previous meeting or ask why she hadn’t answered his letters. It had been rude of her not to reply, but she’d been busy finishing her college education, and David was a complication she didn’t want to deal with. After her education had been delayed for several years while she cared for her mother, she had focused on her career. Should she apologize? As she looked out the window, catching an occasional glimpse of a small town or a farmstead surrounded by fields of corn, she recalled the first time she’d met David Brown.

Two years before when her sister, Autumn, had been married to Nathan Holland, Spring and Bert came for the wedding, and David had stopped by the Weaver farm to see his brother, whom he hadn’t seen for three years. When one of Nathan’s attendants had fallen sick, David was asked to take the usher’s place.

David made friends easily, and he’d enthusiastically joined in the wedding festivities. Summer and David had been thrown together during the rehearsal and plans for the reception, and they’d conspired to decorate Nathan’s truck with tin cans, old shoes and ribbons. Summer’s family couldn’t believe she’d assisted David in such a stunt, for by nature she was quiet and reserved.

David had stayed with the Weavers for one day after the newlyweds left for a short honeymoon in Niagara Falls and Bert and Spring started for North Carolina with their family. David invited Summer to spend the day with him at one of Ohio’s well-known amusement parks. She refused at first. She had enjoyed the prewedding days with David, but his vibrant, outgoing personality, so different from hers, often made her uncomfortable.

But David was persuasive, so she’d gone with him, and to her surprise, they’d shared a wonderful, exhilarating day. For the first time in her life, Summer felt happy-go-lucky. They took several turns on the roller coaster, rode the merry-go-round and other attractions in the children’s area. They strolled along the walk-ways, stopping to watch three blockbuster shows at open-air theaters. They ate hot dogs, french fries, ice cream and popcorn.

David’s jollity had brought unfamiliar laughter to Summer’s lips. She laughed at David when he won a cap in the shooting gallery, and laughed with him after the cap fell off when they were suspended upside down on a roller coaster. Summer hadn’t laughed that much before or since. It had been a thought-provoking day because she seemed like a different person when she was with David, and Summer liked herself the way she was.

Traveling homeward, David had lowered the convertible’s top, and after she tied a scarf around her short auburn hair, Summer luxuriated in the breezy ride. They watched the full moon rise above the horizon, and it was dark by the time they reached the farm. They’d stood for a few minutes on the back veranda, leaning against the rail, shoulders touching, looking toward the white gazebo where both Spring and Autumn had been married.

“I’ve enjoyed today,” David had said. “That will give me something to think about while I’m on duty in Germany the next few months.”

Summer gasped when he’d leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips, and the sudden surge of excitement she experienced was so unexpected that it startled her. She pretended not to be affected, and said, “Thanks for a nice time.”

Summer had been kissed often on high school dates, but not one of those kisses had even ruffled her composure. David’s kiss stimulated emotions new to her and had ignited a little spark in her heart that had kept her awake most of the night wondering where association with David might lead. When her sisters had fallen in love, they were willing to sacrifice their wishes to be with the men they loved. Summer knew what she wanted, and she didn’t intend to let David Brown or any other man interfere with her plans.

David had sent her two letters from Germany, but she hadn’t answered, and he hadn’t contacted her again. She wanted to put David totally out of her mind, but when she least expected it, she would think about the day she’d spent with David, ending with his gentle kiss.

When the passengers were asked to prepare for landing in Columbus, and David still hadn’t mentioned their previous meeting, Summer breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps their first encounter hadn’t impressed David as it had her. During his exciting life in the Air Force, he’d probably forgotten all about her until he saw her a few days ago. That conclusion should have pleased Summer, but somehow it didn’t.

Chapter Two

A week later, Summer peered out the window of another plane hovering over New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Like a robot, she fastened her seat belt for landing, closed her eyes and winced as she always did when the plane’s wheels hit the runway, took her bag from the overhead compartment and deplaned. She wasn’t in the mood to wait for a shuttle, so she took a taxi to her Manhattan apartment.

Summer was displeased with her behavior the past week. She wished now that she’d mentioned Spring’s request about taking care of the children.

Prior to the funeral, Summer had kept busy greeting family and neighbors who called at the Weaver home, and she had no time to consider how Spring’s death would change her life. But as she’d watched the children’s woebegone expressions and the fear in their eyes, Summer’s heart had been touched by their sorrow, and she’d made little exploratory gestures to see if she possessed any maternal traits. She’d taken them to the florist to choose flowers to put in their parents’ caskets, and on the way home, they’d stopped by Autumn’s farm so Timmy and Nicole could see the new baby boy, Lannie, born the day after Spring had died. Summer envied Autumn’s easy ways with the children, wishing she didn’t feel so inadequate when she was with them.

The night before the funeral, after the children had gone to bed, the Weavers and Bert’s family had met in the living room of the Weavers’ Victorian home to discuss the children’s welfare.

“We’ll take them,” Autumn had volunteered immediately, and Bert’s parents had also said they’d be glad to take Timmy and Nicole.

Forestalling any immediate arrangement, David said, “Shouldn’t we put off a decision until we learn if Spring and Bert made provisions for the guardianship of their children? If they made wills, I suppose they’ll be at their home in North Carolina. I’ll try to find out, if you want me to.”

“Yes, that should be checked out,” Landon Weaver had agreed. “And in the meantime, we’ll keep Timmy and Nicole with us. There’s no need to disrupt their lives more than necessary until we know what David learns.”