Life As A Christian Teen Girl: Grace's Story {Part 2} Doing Things The Right Way

Chapter 2 - Evacuations and Anticipation

Boom! The café shudders.

Everyone in the café looks up at the roof. Creeeeak, the roof groans.

"Bridget, please go check and see what that was," Carly directs without taking her gaze off of the ceiling.
Bridget scurries to the front door and sticks her head out into the pounding rain. She pulls back in, her hair wet and her eyes wide.

"A tree fell on the café!" she exclaims.
A collective gasp echoes through the café.
"We need to get everyone out before the roof collapses," Rose commands and looks at Carly for confirmation.
Carly finally looks away from the ceiling and nods.

"To all the customers, I'm sorry if you have not finished your order. Once the café is open again, whenever that may be, hopefully soon, you can come back and reorder for no charge. Please evacuate the building now," Carly instructs as she wearily places her hands under her belly.

The room is silent for a moment before a flurry of action begins. Customers wrestle on coats and jackets and gather up their trash. Orders are thrown out as umbrellas are opened as they leave the Pineville Café. Bridget doesn't feel comfortable staying in the building any longer, so she clocks out and waves farewell before leaving.

"Did you drive here or did your mom drop you off?" Matthew asks me.
"My mom dropped me off," I answer.
"May I give you a ride home?"
"Yes, please."
"I'm going to help Carly first," he tells me.
Like the gentleman he is, Matthew hurries to Carly's side and offers her his arm. Carly gathers her things before grabbing ahold of his arm. Matthew slowly supports her as she waddles to the front door. Carly hands Matthew her umbrella and he opens it and covers both of them and they exit.
I follow behind, while Rose brings up the rear and locks the café. The four of us gather by Carly's Honda Civic as the rain beats down on our shoulders.

"I don't think you should drive home in this weather!" Matthew shouts to Carly in order to be heard over the rain.
"I'll drive her!" Rose offers, shouting in order to be heard. "Her house isn't too long of a walk from mine. I can come get my car after the storm!"
Carly is assisted to the passenger seat and Rose drives Carly home in Carly's car.
Matthew and I plop into his car and pull out into the thunderous storm.

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Since my work shift ended early due to the storm, I had some unexpected free time today, so Matthew drove to my house and stayed so we could hang out.

"Grace, honey? Why are you home so early?" my mom asks as she emerges from the bright, warm kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Oh, hello, Matthew."

As we peel off our dripping coats and kick off our soggy shoes, we catch her up on what just happened.

"Well, I sure hope the tree doesn't crash through the roof. That would be horrible!" my mom comments as we follow her in the kitchen. Matthew and I sit on the bar stools in front of the island. "Let's pray asking God to prevent the tree from falling through the roof," my mom suggests. Matthew and I both nod in agreement and we all join hands.

"Dear Heavenly Father," my mother begins, "please prevent that tree from falling through the Pineville Café roof. Carly, as You know, already is very stressed with the baby and all, so Lord please spare her of any more stress."

My mom squeezes my hand, signaling my turn to pray.

"Lord, I just ask that You allow the tree to be taken down in time." I think of Carly, Carly's family, Rose, Bridget, even our regular customers. Many people will be effected by this. "Lord, all the other employees but me depend on their paychecks from the café. If it's Your will, please keep the tree from smashing through the café so my lovely coworkers are not without work for awhile." I finish and then squeeze Matthew's hand.

"Lord, I just ask, as Jesus taught us, that Your will be done. Oh, Lord, help us to remember our lives and our circumstances are in Your caring and loving hands. Amen." Matthew finishes the prayer. We let go of each other's hands, open our eyes, and raise our heads. My mom turns to look at a casserole cooling on the counter.

"I just finished making a casserole for Mrs. Penske. I'm going to take it next door once the rain stops," my mom chats. Mrs. Penske is a kind widow that lives next door. As the Bible instructs to, we keep a close eye on Mrs. Penske and make sure she is well cared for, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

"I have a surprise for you," Matthew tells me as we sit down in the family room.
"What?" I ask, very curious.
"Well, hmm, I think I'm not going to tell you."
"What? You can't just tell me you have a surprise for me and then not tell me!" I protest.
"Sorry, changed my mind, no going back," Matthew taunts me, his face glowing in delight.
I lightly thwack his left shoulder.
"Hmm! Fine, be that way!" I say in faux frustration. Secretly, I'm enjoying every second of this. I turn around on the couch, putting my back to him.

A large, warm hand lands on my left shoulder and another arm comes around my right and extends a phone in front of me. The phone has a picture of a restaurant, called "The Caverns."
"For your birthday," Matthew explains, "I booked us a reservation at The Caverns."
The Caverns is a fancy restaurant way up in the mountains. You have to schedule your reservation a month in advance if you want a table. The Caverns doesn't just serve gourmet food that you rave about for hours afterwards, it also has glass walls, providing a glorious, unobstructed view of the mountains.
"The Caverns! Oh, Matthew, it's so expensive. Really, you shouldn't have. I'm ecstatic to spend time with you anywhere." I crane my head over my shoulder to talk to him.
Matthew continues on, ignoring my protests. "After dinner, I'm taking you to a village an hour north of here. I hear it has a charming, hopping night life. Not in a trashy way, but in a clean, classy way. The rest I'm keeping a surprise until your birthday." He slides the screen to the next picture. A strip of old buildings that were built decades ago, painted bright colors and lit up in the windows. People stream from the doors, sporting wide smiles.

I turn around and wrap Matthew into a bear hug.
"You're so thoughtful," I say as I embrace the blessing of a Godly and thoughtful boyfriend God gave me.