<< Go Back

The Choice: Will's Last Testament

By Brenda C. Poulos

Order Now!

Prologue


The weather forecast had been accurate. Already a storm was rolling in from the west. The sky was dark. Wind slapped wet leaves from the eucalyptus trees against the large windows overlooking the visitor’s parking lot.
Will tossed his Fifteen Number Slide Puzzle onto the chair beside him, a scowl on his face. He had seen dozen of kids conquer it at school, but he’d never gotten past number twelve. What was he doing wrong? His mind was clearly not on the game—and not on his fourteenth birthday, either—it was on room 204, where his father lay fighting for his life.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the waiting room wall. Why was the doctor taking so long? Running late, Will had missed the opportunity to visit with his father before school. Then, the ancient team van had broken down on the way back from the afternoon’s track meet. It was now eight o’clock. Visiting hours would be over in thirty minutes. There would be hardly enough time to relay the happenings of the entire meet, as his father would expect.
Jim Hayes had been the picture of health last season, but by mid-summer dizzy-spells and a series of seizures had led to hospital tests and a diagnosis of a heart problem that just couldn’t be fixed with surgery. Though now he was in the hospital hospice unit, Will refused to believe the end was inevitable.
There was still time for God to intervene...
Will bowed his head and sent up another prayer, pleading for his father’s life. He begged God for more good times as a family and for restoration of the retirement years his father so looked forward to. Time for his father to spend traveling and ticking dreams, one-by-one, off his bucket list.
“God, please heal my dad. If you never answer another prayer the rest of my life, I will be okay with only this one. He’s everything to me. I need him. So does Mom. I can’t stand to see him suffer anymore. Please help the doctors figure this out. Please let Dad live.”
Hearing footsteps on the tile floor, Will raised his head. When he saw his mother’s pale face, he knew his father was gone.
No healing. No answered prayer. No thanks to God.















Chapter One

Will stopped dead in his tracks. It was love at first sight. His pulse raced as he watched a goddess close her eyes and tilt her face toward the early morning sun. He envied its warmth as it caressed her light brown hair. The hem of her flowered skirt fluttered in the morning breeze, dancing above her open-toed sandals.
A twig broke under Will’s feet causing her to jump and turn in his direction. She looked up at him, a frightened rabbit in the midst of the university’s cactus garden. He managed to hold her gaze for a brief moment before she gathered her books and half-ran toward the library steps.
Oh, no! I scared her. Will pushed back his ball cap and jogged in her direction, his chin-length blond hair falling into his eyes. Being on the track team gave him the advantage and he caught up with her after only three long strides. “Please.” He touched her arm with his left hand, his right laden with textbooks. “I’m Will.” His mouth went dry and he swallowed hard. “Can I talk with you a minute?”
The girl’s eyes traveled up his lanky frame.
He sighed when, at long last, they met his for the second time. “Sorry I startled you. I’m not a predator or anything like that. I was just walking by and well, I just—”
Her soft laughter coaxed a smile onto his face. “I’m Brigit. It’s nice to meet you, Will.”
“What? Really? You are—I mean—really glad to meet me?” Will blew out a
long breath and shook his head. “Wow!” He needed to control himself or he’d come off
looking like an idiot.
“Here. Care to sit?” Brigit led him to the steps. Sitting down herself, she patted a place on the hard concrete surface in the shade of a large Ocotillo. She shivered. “These steps are cold. Arizona’s had an unusually long winter this year. It’s normally warmer than this by the middle of March, isn’t it?”
Will stumbled to her side and sat down at an arm’s length. “I think so.” He couldn’t believe that this gorgeous girl would give him the time of day, but here he was perched beside her on the last day of classes before spring break.
“I recognize you. Advanced Biology? Mr. Jantzen?” Her lips framed perfect white teeth.
“Are you kidding? There’s no way we went to the same high school. I would have definitely noticed you!” Will shook his head in disbelief, wondering where in the world she’d been hiding.
“It’s the truth. Only you were officially in Jantzen’s class. I was just his third period aide.”
Will’s face broke into a huge grin. “Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.”
Brigit glanced at her watch and gasped. “Oops. Gotta go. I work here in the library three hours a day and I’m already five minutes late.” She started down the steps, and then turned around to give Will a quick wave.
“Wait.” Will leapt down the two steps between them and caught her hand. “Can I have your number? I mean, would it be okay if I called you sometime—like maybe in three hours and five minutes?”
Brigit looked down at their hands, her small one caught in his slightly larger one.
She took a deep breath, the warmth of her blush rising from her neck and onto her cheeks.
Will’s heart skipped a beat as he released her fingers. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
Her laughter was contagious. “Do you have homework?”
Doesn’t everyone? “Yeah, but—”
“Why don’t you do your homework in the library and then walk me back to my dorm after I’m done?” She raised her eyebrows and smiled, waiting for his answer.
She was certainly making this easy for him. Did his awkward demeanor suggest that he was already putty in her hands? “Sure. I can do that.” He wouldn’t tell her that he had a class in twenty minutes. Missing it would knock his grade down from a B to a C, since he’d already had two absences, but he’d gladly let that happen in the name of love.
***
Brigit stole a look in Will’s direction every few minutes just to see if he was still at the study table. He could be a figment of her imagination, after all. She was sure he hadn’t known about the secret crush she’d had on him in high school. In fact, she was certain he’d never even looked her way. Her thick glasses, braces, and bad case of acne had made her almost invisible to most of the guys at Tempe High.
Will looked up from his book, smiled, and wiggled his fingers in an almost imperceptible hello, then turned his attention back to his work. Her stomach flip-flopped. He was flirting with her!
He looked in her direction a few minutes later, scribbled something on his notepad and ripped it out. Then he walked up to the desk, placed the note on top of her book cart and sauntered back to his study table.
Her heart thumped so loud that she looked in Mrs. Percell’s direction to see if she
had heard it, too. Convinced that her supervisor’s gaze remained glued to her task as she catalogued a new book shipment, Brigit unfolded Will’s note. His penmanship could use a little work, but that was a minor imperfection she’d overlook.
A few minutes later, she caught him staring in her direction. Her face turned hot as she nodded. Of course she would go for a burger at The Chuckbox. She wouldn’t tell him that she’d had a burger every day for the past week. She’d eat frog’s legs if it meant she’d have a chance to spend time with the ever-popular high school track star, Will Hayes.
***
Three and one half hours later, Will led Brigit into The Chuckbox. The smell of burgers and ribs on the grill permeated the small space. It had rustic charm, with checkered tablecloths on picnic-style tables. A roll of paper towels on each one of them acted as self-serve napkins. They sat down at a booth near the back, away from the noise of the Juke Box. Derf—Fred spelled backward—placed menus in front of them, then moved on to the next table to take their order.
As Brigit studied her menu, Will studied her. Her skin was flawless—almost translucent—and had no trace of makeup. She was a natural beauty. What luck. He wouldn’t be kept waiting for hours in the living room while her little brother annoyed the life out of him, like always happened when he’d picked up his previous girlfriend.
All of a sudden, Will gulped, his eyes widening. “Oh, no. Is this Wednesday?” How could he have forgotten this? After all, Lanie had been talking about it for the past month.
“All day.” Brigit frowned. “Why? Something wrong?”
“Um. Well, not really. I just have to make a phone call. It’s no big deal.” Will smiled a crooked smile, then winced. He’d need to think up some good excuse.
Brigit folded her menu and sighed. “You have a date, don’t you?”
“Not really. Well kind of, sort of—” Will attempted to buy some time as he tried to think what to do. Would he have to break the spell that surrounded them so soon? He’d much rather be here with Brigit than at Lanie Kingston’s birthday luau.
Brigit slid out of her seat and stood facing Will. “I think you have a date. But, it’s all right.” She tucked a stray wisp of curly brown hair behind her ear. “I understand. We met and then…well, I should be studying right now, anyway. I’ve got a term paper I need to get started on.” She headed toward the door.
Will hung his head. It wasn’t like he and Lanie were going together. They’d known each other since grade school and were in each other’s company a lot because their mothers were best friends. They often ended up doing things together, if neither of them had a date. For the most part, he considered Lanie a good friend. There was nothing romantic there but Brigit wouldn’t know that unless he told her…
He threw a dollar bill on the table and hurried after Brigit. He looked in both directions when he got outside. She was nowhere in sight. How could that girl have gotten that far in just the time it took me to—? He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.
“You rushed right by. Didn’t you see me?” Brigit’s eyes sparkled as she laughed. She held out her hand as if she wanted to shake his.
“What’s this?” Will was surprised by her sudden formality. This couldn’t mean
what he thought it did. He didn’t want to let go of her hand, but she claimed it back with a small squeeze.
“This is good-bye and thank you for a lovely day. I hope to see you around again, sometime.” Brigit hesitated, then reached up and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. She flashed him one last smile before she turned away. “Oops, I forgot.” She handed Will a folded paper towel and off she went.
Will’s mouth hung open and the palm of his hand rested on his cheek as Brigit walked down the street, turned the corner, and vanished into the early afternoon sunshine. He hadn’t even had a chance to explain about Lanie.
He unfolded the paper towel. Written in bright pink lipstick was Brigit’s phone number. “Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.”
***
Will felt around in the dark for the wall switch and flicked on the kitchen light. He turned the deadbolt to the locked position, placed the lei in the refrigerator, and filled a glass with water before walking up the stairs toward his room. After he closed the door, he clicked on the small desk lamp and placed the glass on a Denver Bronco’s coaster. He fell facedown on his unmade bed.
What a day this had been. First, meeting Brigit; then the horrible fight with Lanie at her birthday party, no less. It really hadn’t been his fault. She had picked the fight with him, fuming because he was late. He wasn’t, though, because he had made it there right on the button. It was just that he had kind of promised to get there early to help with the helium balloons. So, he could see her point—sort of.
Would this be the end of his friendship with Lanie? Would Mom take Lanie’s side? If Will was lucky, their mothers would remain friends, and he and Lanie would make up. He’d suggest they not see quite so much of each other in the future. After all, he wanted to devote most of his free time to getting to know Brigit. He looked again at her phone number and shoved the paper towel back into his pocket.
Will had made a colossal mistake when he and Lanie kissed a few weeks ago. It was experimentation more than anything else for Will, but Lanie wanted more. She had assumed a few kisses meant they were going to be a couple, but when that didn’t happen she’d been angry. She still was.
He reached over and set the clock radio for six o’clock. That should give him plenty of time to get to the bench outside the library and wait for Brigit to show up for work tomorrow morning. He’d apologize and grovel a little if that’s what it took to get her to give him another chance. Would it be too tacky of him to take her the lei from Lanie’s party? It still looked pretty good.
A soft knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. “Mom?”
His mother opened the door. She pushed her reading glasses onto her forehead and then rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I just finished the last chapter of my book so I thought I’d stick my head in and see how the party went.” She smoothed back her shoulder-length gray hair and raised her eyebrows as she waited for his answer.
Will rolled over and then sat up on the side of the bed, stretching and giving a loud yawn. “Oh, it was okay.”
His mother sat down in the molded plastic desk chair. “Did Lanie like her necklace?”
“Well, I…didn’t give it to her.” Will’s shoulders drooped. “We had a fight about
my getting there late—which I really didn’t—and she basically kicked me out of the
party before they even dug up the pig.”
Mom gave Will a hug, then pulled back to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry that happened, but—”
“I know. I know. She’s your friend’s daughter, so somehow we’ve got to work it out for the good of everyone.” Will looked away and rolled his eyes.
“Exactly. Besides it’s—”
“The Christian thing to do.” Why did she insist he use the C-word? Couldn’t it be the moral thing to do? How about the right thing to do?
“Uh huh. Just because you say you aren’t a believer, doesn’t mean you can’t follow Christian principles.” She pursed her lips and stared at him a moment before continuing. “There’s leftover pot roast in the fridge.”
Will shook his head. “No. I’m not hungry. I stopped by The Chuckbox on the way home.” He wished he’d stayed there in the first place, considering how he already felt about Brigit.
His mother stifled a yawn of her own as she headed for the door. “Well, at least you don’t have to get up early tomorrow.”
Will furrowed his forehead and threw his mother a quizzical look.
“Spring break, you know.”
Will’s hand went to his pocket. Brigit must not be working tomorrow. That’s why she gave me her number! He glanced at the clock. Ten-thirty. Would she still be awake?

Order Now!

<< Go Back