<< Go Back

Something I Haven't Told You

By Pearl Ada Pridham

Order Now!

Something I Haven’t Told You


Part I
The Predicament
Prologue
Alison’s heart beat a melody of gratefulness as she glanced up from the granite counter, watching her daughters across the great room. Her preteen, Jenny, and preschooler, Livy, sat on the chesterfield, the wedding album spread open across their laps as Jenny told her favorite love story again to her little sister.
Chopping vegetables and dumping them into the slow cooker, Alison hoped the highway wasn’t too slippery as her parents drove up the island. So far, she’d only seen a few drifting snowflakes, but a few flakes down here near the sea meant there’d be more snow on the upper reaches of the highway. She picked up her cell phone and checked the weather report. Sure enough, a snowfall warning. In this remote part of Canada, roads were not cleared immediately, and highways could be treacherous. It would do no good to try to phone them, as there was no cell service along that stretch.
Alison said a quick prayer for her parents’ safety, then continued cooking. Her older daughter was still so sweet and innocent, but she couldn’t help but wonder how much longer that would last, with her teen years approaching. Her thoughts drifted back over her life to her own early teens, reminiscing over that fateful day that changed her life. She remembered it as though it were yesterday.
***
January 2006
Alison followed her mother, climbing the front steps of the old Victorian house. Bells jangled above as her mother pushed open the solid wooden door. A chilly gust ushered them in. Alison closed the door quickly behind her with a shiver. She peered around her mother in the semi-darkness. Across the room, a lady rose from a desk, weak sunlight streaming from the old wood-framed window forming a halo on her wavy red hair.
“Hello.” Her voice was warm and welcoming.
Alison’s mom answered first. “Hello. I’m Jean, and this is my daughter Alison. We have an appointment.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Susan.” She found them on the schedule on her laptop and checked them in. “Alison, you can come right into the counseling room, and I’m going to give you some intake forms to fill out. Would you like your mother to come in with you now, or would you like to talk with me alone a bit first?”
A wave of relief washed over Alison. She looked into Susan’s face, lifting her chin and raising her brows. “Actually, I do think I’d like to talk with you alone first.” This counselor would give her a chance to speak one on one as a responsible adult. She would have a chance to consider things herself, and not be railroaded into a decision that was more her mother’s than her own.
Susan led her into a cozy side room with a small couch and a couple of armchairs and motioned for her to take a seat. “I’m going to let you get started on these forms, and when you’re done, I’ll come back and talk with you. I’ll check in a few minutes to see how you’re doing with them. Note the confidentiality agreement to sign on the first page. After that some of the questions are quite personal, but you don’t have to answer anything you don’t feel comfortable with sharing.” Susan closed the door behind her.
Alison took a deep breath. The tension gradually drained from her body as she looked around the room. The gentle music of a pan flute floating from a speaker box in the corner contributed to the soothing atmosphere. Lacy cream-colored curtains graced the window, filtering the bright sun which was emerging from behind the dark clouds and peeking through the branches of a fir tree just outside.
A small bookcase held a variety of books and magazines covering a range of counseling topics, from relationship issues to stages of life to spiritual issues to pregnancy and motherhood. Looks like she helps all kinds of people. Alison turned her attention back to the form on the clipboard. It didn’t take long to check off the boxes that applied to her.
***
Meanwhile Jean waited in the reception area.
“Please feel free to help yourself to something to drink.” Susan indicated a side table with carafes of hot coffee and ice water.
“Thank you. A cup of coffee would hit the spot.” Jean poured a cup and set it on the small table that stood between two chairs against the wall. Seating herself in one of them, she looked around the room. Susan had resumed typing on her laptop. Dust particles rose from an antique red arabesque silk carpet and danced in a beam of sunlight that moved across the dark-stained oak floor, bringing out the musky scent of the heritage building like a subtle aromatherapy. A couple of yellowed oil paintings hung on the walls with pictures of sheep grazing on green hillsides. A few magazines lay on the coffee table, and Jean picked up one of them.
“Feel free to switch on that lamp,” Susan said. “I find the natural sunlight relaxing, here at my desk, but I know it’s pretty dark for reading over there on that side of the room. I’m just finishing up my notes on this morning’s clients, then I’ll go in to see your daughter. Thank you for bringing her. She’s fortunate to have your support. Many of my clients don’t have any family support, and I really feel for them. It can be unbearably tough.”
“Yes, I imagine so. I’m glad my friend recommended you. I already sense your compassion for your clients.”
“Well, God loves each one and it’s a privilege to be in a position to help. I pray for them as I type up the notes. It’s rewarding to see his work in their lives.”
***
Susan returned to the counseling room, gently pulling the door shut behind her. After skimming quickly over the intake forms, she went over them slowly with Alison. “I see that you are here because you are pregnant,” she began in a gentle, matter-of-fact voice.





July 2005

Chapter 1
Alison’s mother gasped as her father veered the car into the camp parking lot, causing it to fishtail and narrowly miss a young man standing beside a sandwich-board sign that said, ‘Stop here’. The young man held up a hand. “Whoa there.”
Her dad jerked into reverse, swearing under his breath and rolling down his window. A horn blasted from a car behind them.
The young man frowned. “I’ll have to ask you to slow down and drive carefully. Campers are taking bags out of their cars, and people are walking around.”
So embarrassing. Alison hung her head, ashamed of her father.
“Are you the camper?” His voice took on a gentler tone.
She looked up to see him peering past her dad, and their eyes met. Heat flooded to her face, and she opened her mouth, but no sound came out, so she nodded. His eyes were kind.
Looking back to her father, he motioned to the right. “You can park over there. The girls’ cabins are up the hill. Someone will greet you and guide you to the cabin.” He waved at Alison. “Nice to meet you. See you around camp.”
She noticed the name badge on his florescent vest. Liam, Volunteer.
***
This was the second time Alison had been to Camp Cool Water. Four years ago, when she was ten, she came with several of her Kid’s Church classmates to Junior Camp. Now she was here for the first time to the Teen Camp. None of her church friends had been able to come this time. It’s kind of nice, though, to get away from them and meet new people. I can choose new friends from other places. Be myself. It was freeing. Excitement and anticipation ran through her.
On day two, after lunch, one of the camp cooks, a lady from her church, ran into her in the cafeteria. “Are you enjoying camp? You look a bit peaky,” she remarked in her British accent. “Maybe a big cup of good hot tea would help.”
“Yeah, actually, that does sound good.” Alison rubbed her forehead, then her tummy. She felt chilled. Her back was achy too. I wonder if my period is coming. I don’t remember when my last one was—oh, yeah, it came on the May long weekend when I was at the Victoria Day parade with my friends. That’s about six weeks ago. Ugh. Stupid period. I hate it.
The other kids dashed past, feet clattering on the wooden plank floor and excitement in the air as they hurried to get to the afternoon lake activities. She accepted the mug and lingered on the deck, slowly drinking the strong beverage. Sure enough, the hot tea warmed her all over and relaxed her, dissipating tension and aches. By the time she got back to the cabin to change into her swimsuit, she found a bloody spot on her panties.
***
Twinges of excitement stirred inside Alison as she ambled from her cabin down the grassy hill through the trees to the lake. The warm breeze carried scents of cedar and pine. Around her, leaves rustled gently, and birds twittered. From the bottom of the slope came sounds of splashing and shrieks of joy. Bright flashes of light gleamed up through the trees, reflected from the lake.
Alison walked slowly. Now that her period had arrived, she felt a bit better, but not eager to join the happy chaos in the lake. She sat down on a bench overlooking the sandy beach and the pier to relax for a few minutes in the warmth of the sun before going in the water.
“Yahoo!” a boy called out, flying off the pier and splashing into the water.
“Whoa!” another cried as he flung off a tire swing.
Some kids paddled around in rowboats. A few lay on brightly colored beach towels on the pier, poking fun and laughing at each other.
An invigorating breeze from the lake caressed her, gently lifting her long silky tresses around her head in a comforting feeling. She stretched her long arms and legs, glistening with the lotion she’d applied, and thought about getting a new swimsuit soon, as this one from last summer was now embarrassingly tight.
“May I join you?” The polite male voice jolted her.
Looking up, she saw a tall, buff young man in swimming shorts, with sparkling eyes and shiny hair, a day’s growth of whiskers on his face.
Whew! He’s the guy from the parking lot. I hope he doesn’t remember my dad’s crazy driving.
Chagrin competed with a surge of excitement mingled with trepidation that ran up her spine. This was the first time such a good-looking older guy had addressed her as though she was a young lady and not a child.
“Of course.” Alison scooted over a little, just as a girl from her cabin called out to her.
“Alison! Come on in!”
Alison ignored her friend, pretending not to hear.
“I haven’t officially met you yet. I’m Liam.” Liam held out a hand.
“Hi. I’m Alison.’’ When she put out her hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze rather than a formal shake.
“Isn’t your friend calling you?” He motioned toward the girl.
“Yeah.” Alison’s cheeks warmed and she shook her head, but she continued to ignore her friend. “I don’t want to go in yet. I just wish she’d leave me alone.”
“Me neither. I like to let the sun get me good and warm first, then I plunge in to cool off.”
They sat together quietly for a few minutes, watching the others.
“Does your dad always drive like that?” His smile was lopsided, his voice teasing.
“Only half the time.” Alison groaned. “He was in a hurry to drop me off, then get back to his construction work. It was nice of him to drive me down here, but he has to put in lots of work hours during the summer while the weather is conducive for building. He builds houses.”
“Oh, that explains his hurry…”
Not the recklessness though. Alison grimaced. I can tell Liam’s thinking that, but he’s too kind to say it. He’s so nice.
“Well, I hope you’ll enjoy the camp as much as I do.” Liam told her he had started coming to Camp Cool Water four years ago when he was thirteen. He loved it so much he came every year. He looked wistful. “Sadly, this’ll be my last summer to be able to come. I’m seventeen now, and that’s the upper limit for campers. This year I’m doing a bit of volunteer work, as you saw me directing traffic in the parking lot. Just helping out in whatever ways I’m needed. I love this place, and I want to make the most of my last summer here.”
“So, will you be here for the whole summer then?”
“I wish. No, it’s not like I’m a paid staff member or anything. Just a camper pitching in. But I may come back for one more week of camp at the end of summer if I can. My last chance to be a kid before going away to university.”
Wow. Alison enjoyed talking with him and admired his helpful and friendly spirit.
***
She didn’t see Liam again that day, but the next morning at Chapel, she noticed him sitting with a group of young men. They must be the guys in his cabin.
Alison had a lot of fun all week. As she got to know the girls in her cabin, they laughed a lot together, talked about their hometowns and families, and had a devotional time every evening with Angie, their counselor, where they talked about spiritual matters and prayed. Although Alison and her family attended church quite often, she learned more this week than ever before about God.
“It’s so beautiful and peaceful here at this camp,” she remarked one evening as they read a psalm of worship. “It’s easy to see God’s love for us in creating such an amazing world for people to live in.”
“Yes.” Angie nodded. “And to think that many people don’t realize that, and don’t even stop to thank him. He loves us so much that he even sent his son Jesus to live among us, knowing that people would hate him and kill him. But he, being God, could not be conquered by death. John 14 tells us that he has gone to prepare a place for us where we can go and live with him in eternity.”
On the last evening of camp, when Angie asked if anyone would like to make a commitment to Jesus, Alison was one of several girls in the cabin who joined her in prayer, asking Jesus to be their own personal Lord and Savior. A new joy and peace filled her spirit. She had never felt so good.
Other things in the camp were great, too. She especially loved the horseback riding on the forest trails. Archery was a challenging skill to develop, and the craft sessions appealed to her creative streak. And the lake felt so refreshingly cool on the hot sweaty afternoons.
She secretly enjoyed the attentions of the boys, who hooted at her as she jumped in for a swim, but she remained aloof from them. Although around her age, they seemed so immature to her with their boyish grins, fuzzy upper lips and constant teasing and bantering.
The girls in her cabin weren’t much better either, constantly giggling and making fun of everyone else. One day they all stuffed rolled up socks into their bathing suit tops and pranced around in front of the google-eyed boys!
Embarrassed by their nonsense, Alison kept to herself most of the time, preferring to go for a long swim or paddle in a canoe out into the lake, or hike a trail or lie on her beach towel a short distance away from the pandemonium and read a book. I wouldn’t even be able to fit a sock in my bathing suit top, she thought. I can barely fit myself into it. And who needs all that silliness anyway?
Liam seemed to be kept busy with the older guys most of the week, but they said hi to each other in passing, and chatted a bit now and then.
On the final morning, the kids piled their bags in heaps in front of their cabins, then went back in to wipe down the mattresses and sweep the floors. Alison found her Bible tucked in beside her mattress where she had stashed it the night before after evening devotions. She dashed out to put it in her bag just as Liam walked by.
“Hey, Alison.” He stepped closer. “Have a good rest of the summer. It was nice getting to know you a bit.”
She stopped in her tracks, warmth surging to her cheeks. “Thank you. I love it here. I hope I can come again next year. I’ll miss seeing you around, though.” Her heart fluttered as she blinked up at his face, her feet hesitantly moving toward him.
Briefly, a shadow of sadness crossed his face. “I’ll miss seeing you around, too.”
His sad note tugged at her heart. Impulsively she reached out to him. Liam’s warm hug and the kiss he planted on the top of her head gave her a tingle that started in her core and emanated from her glowing face.
***
On the way home, in the car with her parents, Alison chatted excitedly, telling them all about camp. Her mother responded periodically with “Oh, that’s nice,” and “I’m glad you liked it so much,” but she could tell her father wasn’t even listening—he kept zooming out to race past slower drivers and muttering nasty comments about them. It came as a bit of a letdown to realize that they didn’t seem to be all that interested.
Still early July, the summer stretched ahead, hot and boring after the excitement of camp. Alison’s mother hadn’t been able to get time off work during the summer, and it was her father’s busiest time of the year. Alison’s older sister Bethany was sixteen now and had a summer job at a fast-food restaurant. Alison babysat occasionally for neighbors and took the bus with her girlfriends to the beach a few times but felt basically uninspired.
What is the matter with me? Camp was fun, but it’s over for this year. My girlfriends are boring. And why do I keep thinking of Liam? Well, hey, he’s a good—no, fantastic-looking guy—why wouldn’t I keep thinking of him? And he’s so nice. But, sigh, I’ll never see him again.

Order Now!

<< Go Back