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Forecast: Sunny with a Chance of Hope

By Dyanne Gordon Green

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Chapter One

"Hi, sweetheart,” Maggie said as walked into the kitchen. “You sure look lost in thought.”

“Hey, darlin’,” he answered and cleared his throat. “Not lost,” he said and smiled at his wife.
“Are you done with your reading already?” Maggie usually spent a least an hour reading on Sunday afternoons.

“Yes, and I’m looking forward to coffee. Want some?” She picked up the bag of specialty coffee beans. “You know, I’ve been thinking, we could go back to the chalet for our anniversary next spring,” she suggested as she ground the beans and then added them to the waiting filter. “I know it’s still early to be thinking about it, but the chalet may fill up fast, you never know.” She poured in fresh water and turned on the pot.

“I like the idea,” Frank told her. “Just think, a whole year together as husband and wife. Man, it seems like only yesterday when I slipped that ring on your finger.” He stood, walked over to her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Just you, me, and a cabin in the woods. What’s not to like?”

“Silly man! Six months is like yesterday!” We almost didn’t make it to our wedding day, she thought. Thank God, we did.

“Hey, we may even be able to get the same cabin. Wouldn’t that be great? I’ll call them right now and see.” Maggie said and began to move back a little, but Frank held on tight.
“Call them later,” he whispered. “I’ve got another idea in mind right now.” His lips met hers in a long, slow kiss.

She kissed him back–once, twice, three times–and whispered, “I love you.”

They jumped apart like naughty teenagers when the doorbell rang. Maggie blushed while Frank chuckled on his way to the door with Maggie following close behind.

“Ben, come in!” They were a little surprised to see the pastor from His Way, their church, standing on their porch.

Frank unlatched the storm door and moved aside so Ben could enter.

“Hi Frank, I hope I’m not disturbing you. Hey, Maggie,” he said and gave her a quick hug.

“You’re always welcome here, Ben. Let me take your jacket and would you like some coffee? I just made a fresh pot so it won’t take but a minute to pour it.” Maggie told him as she smoothed her blouse that didn’t really need smoothing.

“Coffee sounds perfect, and I sure could use a cup. Are you sure you two aren’t busy? I usually try to call first, but I happened to be driving by when it hit me. You see, I have a favor to ask and, well, I’m hoping you’ll agree to help me out.”

“Sit down,” Frank told him. “What’s going on?”

Ben took a seat on the sofa. “You know the youth conference is this coming weekend, right?”
“Sure do. I helped with the construction of some of the displays they plan to use,” Frank replied.

“I’m not surprised to hear that. You and Maggie are two of the most faithful volunteers at the church, and we really appreciate it.”

“Did I hear my name mentioned,” Maggie asked placing a tray of steaming mugs on the side table. “All fabulous things, I hope,” she remarked cheerfully as she handed each of them a mug, and then perched on the arm of Frank’s recliner.

“Oh, good coffee,” Ben said after taking a sip. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I guess I’ll get right to the point.” But he didn’t and instead, took another sip. Frank and Maggie looked at each other and then back at their pastor.

“What is it, Ben?” Maggie spoke up. “You know we’ll be glad to help if we can.”

Ben put down his coffee cup, stood up and began pacing in a tight circle, “Okay, here it is, Charlie Reynolds can’t help after all because his job is sending him to a conference in Wisconsin. It was extremely short notice, and Charlie was very apologetic, but we were counting on him, too—well to be fair, he wasn’t expecting this because someone else at the company was already scheduled to attend but his boss decided at the last minute Charlie needed to be there, too. Ben sped up his pacing and began waving his hands. “Then, as I was driving by, I thought about you two. I mean you have this great house and all, lots of room.” He suddenly stopped pacing to look straight at Frank and Maggie, “So, do you think you might be able to help?”

Frank looked at Maggie with raised eyebrows. She shrugged slightly. Frank cleared his throat and suppressed a grin. “Well, Ben, we can’t say until you tell us exactly what it is you want us to do.”

The pastor slowly shook his head, then smiled and laughed nervously, “I guess it would be nice if I explained it better.” Ben then sat, took another gulp of his coffee, and leaned toward them, putting his elbows on his knees, “What we need is a place for six young teens to stay for the weekend. All girls this time between the ages of thirteen and fourteen. They’ll need breakfast each morning and a ride to and from the church.” “Oh, and, and maybe a snack or two in the evenings. They’re all good kids,” he said. “At least they have been in past years.”

“Six teenage girls,” Maggie said. “For a whole weekend?”

“I know it sounds overwhelming, but really, they’ll be no trouble at all. We tend to wear them out at the conference so by the time they get back, they’re usually ready for bed.”

“I see.” She looked at Frank. “Is it okay if we talk about it and get back to you tomorrow, Pastor? Or do you need an answer right now?”

“Of course, you can discuss it. I would expect you to,” he said. “I know I’m not giving you a lot of time to prepare, but it is sort of an emergency situation. Charlie’s boss made it pretty clear that he doesn’t have a choice about going to Wisconsin.” He gulped down the rest of his coffee and stood. “I’ve got to go, so give me a call and let me know. No pressure, okay? Thanks for the coffee, Maggie. It was marvelous.”

“Anytime, Pastor,” Maggie told him.

After he left, they took the empty mugs into the kitchen. “So, what do you think about it?” Frank asked as he opened the dishwasher.

“Well, it’s a little scary thinking about the responsibility. Plus, there’d be a lot of planning involved, meals and such. Then again, it could be a lot of fun, too. What’s your gut reaction?”
“It will be some work,” he agreed. “Even though it’s only breakfast, it would fall on you since I can’t cook a thing they’d want to eat. Heck, I don’t even like my own cooking!” They both laughed.

“Still, there’s a part of me that’s excited about the opportunity,” he continued. “I don’t really know if I could explain it.”

“You don’t have to explain, dear man. I know what you’re thinking. This beautiful home would be filled with kids for a few days. That’s almost a dream come true for both of us.” She gave him a quick hug.

“Let’s call him right now.”


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