The Space Between You and I

Chapter 3

Walking into his house , Henry tossed his coat on the couch and the corner of his eye caught sight of the blinking light on the device on the kitchen counter. The phone line was attached to a phone number he only used for contact information in regard to his search for his biological mother. His heart hammered in his chest as he hurried over to check it. He pressed the green button.

“Hello, this is Tom Holland. I saw your article in The Olympian, the Olympia, Washington newspaper. Anyway, I think I might know who your mother is. Give me a call back at this number.”

Beep!

Peering over at the clock on the kitchen wall, he saw it was already after eleven. His pulse was racing through the roof, and the possibility of a fresh lead after months of waiting would certainly keep him up all night if he didn’t call the number back. The worst he can do is not answer or get mad.

He can’t kill me.

Picking up the telephone, he called the number back.

“Hello?” Annoyance laced the man’s voice. Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“Hi. This is Henry Hart. You left me a message about possibly knowing who my mother is?”

“Oh, yes!” The tone of voice had shifted to a joy-filled one. “First, I wanted to know if there was still a monetary reward?”

Henry’s heart dipped into the pit of his stomach. Was this guy just after quick money or did he have real information about his mother? He wondered.

“Um, yeah, but that’s only if I find her . . .”

“Well, she’s right here in Olympia, working at JK’s diner!”

Henry felt suspicious and wandered over to the couch to continue the conversation there. He sat down slowly. “Can you tell me why you think it’s her, sir?”

“Your ad said that you were found in a manger twenty years ago in Spove, and I remembered hearing about Khloe’s first child she had to give up when she was living in Spove. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together, ya know? By the way, she’s excited to meet you.”

A confusing mixed bag of emotions began to overwhelm Henry all at once. Raking a hand through his hair, he shook his head as he tried to process the fact that the search for his biological mother could possibly be done and he could finally meet her.

Swallowing, Henry nodded. “I want to see her.”

“Of course. Come anytime. I’ll even give you a place to stay while you’re here.” He laughed. “And then, after you meet Khloe, I’ll get paid?”

Again, the man was mentioning the money. It made Henry feel very uneasy and un-trusting. “I’m sorry, but why are you so obsessed about the money? It makes me . . .”

“What? Not trust me?” The man laughed. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me, kid. I would’ve done it even if it wasn’t for the money, but the fact that there is money associated with this . . . let’s just say I’m happy about it, and it’s a Godsent in my life right now. I’m broke! And I could use the money to pay my bills. It’s a tough world out there right now, kid.”

“Okay.” Recalling his remaining days at work, Thursday and Friday, he wondered if Paul, his manager, would let him take Friday off. “I need to chat with my boss in the morning, but I’m sure I’ll be heading over there to Olympia in the next couple of days or so. I have money for a hotel. No worries on that.”

“Let me know. What’s your name? I didn’t catch it.”

Furrowing his eyebrows, He became uneasy once more. “Uh, my mom should know it. She had me and named me.”

“Right, but you know how things are. We weren’t chatting about your name, kid. We talked about reuniting the two of you during the brief moments she stopped by my table at the diner to chat.”

Still not a hundred percent sure this guy was telling the truth, Henry decided to lie.

“My name is Oscar.”

Tom gave Henry his address and the address of JK’s diner in Olympia and then hung up. Though he had felt uneasy about the reality before him and the unsavory fellow who reached out to him, Henry wondered if it was just nerves or a real gut feeling he could rely on. Turning in for the night, he said his prayers, read a chapter of the Old Testament, and then shut off his lights.

* *

Stopping in at his sister, Rachel’s flower shop the next morning to tell her about the lead, he stomped the snow off his boots on the rug just inside the front door.

“Big bro! What brings you into my shop on this beautiful Thursday morning?”

Smiling, he looked up and fixed his gaze on his sister. “Just here to see my little sis. It’s been a while.”

“About a month. What are you up to these days?” Rachel set the scissors and flowers in her hands down, wiped her hands on her apron, and exited from behind the counter. Glancing at the cooler with roses, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “ Are you here to finally get some flowers for Noelle?”

Laughing, he shook his head. “Not exactly.”

Sidestepping her, he continued toward the counter of the flower shop. “I’m here about something else.”

His sister didn’t seem to hear his words but kept on track about Noelle. “Come on! She would love some flowers. I bet she would give you a kiss.”

Furrowing his eyebrows, he shook his head as Rachel came around the counter.

“Noelle is my friend.”

Shrugging one shoulder, Rachel smiled. “Okay, but I wouldn’t be too sure of that being true forever. Girls won’t stick around with a guy who is unwilling to commit.”

A sharpness cut into his heart at the mention of losing her. He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? You think she’ll stop being my friend just because I don’t want to date her?”

“Yep. Eventually, she’ll wise up and move on. At least the smart ones do. “Wait. Is Noelle smart?” The question was an obvious joke.

“Of course, she’s smart! She’s a beautiful, talented, God-fearing, and all-around awesome girl. I’ve never met anyone like her!”

Rachel squinted and shook her head in a few quick successions. “Then why are you acting like a dummy? Ask her out on a date and lock her down before it’s too late.”

He shook his head firmly, then recalled to himself why he had stopped into the flower shop in the first place. He raised a hand. “I didn’t come down here to get lectured about my dating life. I have some great news.”

Leaning on the counter with both elbows, Rachel rested her chin on the palm of her hands and peered up at her older brother. “Yeah? What is it?”

“I think I found my birth mom.”

Rachel’s facial expression fell and she removed her arms from the counter. She sighed and turned around. Her fingers found her pair of scissors and some flowers and she began to trim the ends. Craning her neck, she spoke softly over her shoulder toward Henry. “That’s great, Henry. I’m sure you’re happy about that . . .”

“I am, but you don’t seem glad about it . . .” His words trailed off, unpleased to bear witness to Rachel’s displeasure.

She set the flower and scissors down, then turned toward him. Her eyes were now glossy, fixed on him. She paused, her lips opening slightly then closing. She finally spoke. “I think it hurt Mom really bad the last time you ran around looking for her. I know it’s your biological mom and all that, . But is it worth it if you hurt the mother who raised you in the process?”

The distance he had sensed all his life between himself and Rachel grew a little wider and larger in that very moment. He took a step back and shook his head. “What? I’m trying to find the woman who gave birth to me! She gave me life! That means something to me.”

“Yeah. So? This woman might’ve given you life, but our mom gave you a life. Sex lasts a moment, brother, but being a parent lasts your entire life. That’s what our mom has done for you and that woman hasn’t!”

Henry’s lips pursed and he felt his heart hardening to marble. “I thought you’d be happy for me, but obviously, you’re not. I’ll go now.”

He turned to leave, but Rachel hurried around the counter again and caught his arm, stopping him.

“I love you, Henry, and you are my brother. I don’t care about blood. I never have. I won’t sit here and pretend to understand, but don’t forget the family you were raised with, even if we aren’t blood. Okay?”

Glancing down at the floor, Henry remained quiet.

“For what it’s worth . . . I’m sorry. I just worry about Mom. You know?”

His heart softened a measure as he recalled their mother’s cancer scare the last time he had searched for his birth mom. She had breast cancer, but luckily, it was caught quickly enough that it

didn’t turn into a big issue. It had terrified them both nevertheless. The fact that she was in remission now did little to ease the lasting worry it had instilled in both Rachel and Henry. They both feared it could show up at any time and they’d be back to worrying about her mortality all over again.

Henry hugged Rachel.

“I’m sorry for overreacting, Rachel.”

“I’m sorry for not showing more care about this. I’m truly happy for you. I hope you know that, and I know it’s important to you.”

“Thanks.” Releasing from their embrace, Henry looked her in the eyes. He wanted to give her something to alleviate the stress and worry she was obviously feeling right then and there. “I won’t tell Mom and Dad about it. And you don’t either. Deal?”

Rachel smiled. “Deal.”

* *

Arriving at work that morning, Henry draped his coat over his office chair and powered on his computer. Seeing Paul walk into his office, he quickly made his way over and followed him in through the doorway.

Paul turned as he set his laptop bag down on his desk. He raised an eyebrow.

“Morning, Henry.”

“Hey, Boss. I was wondering if I could have tomorrow off.”

Paul furrowed his eyebrows and sat down behind his desk. “Everything okay?”

Henry took the seat in front of the desk and scooted the chair closer. He leaned in.

“Everything is fine. I just found a new lead on my birth mom and I want to go check it out. It’s in Olympia.”

“Olympia?”

Henry nodded. Glancing back toward the doorway, Henry thought about the hot fix that was going out tomorrow. His gaze came back around to Paul. “I can stay through tomorrow if you really need me to do that.”

“We should be okay without you here for the hot fix. It shouldn’t take more than an hour or two tomorrow night.” Standing up from his desk, he walked over to the office door and shut it. Then, Paul returned to his seat and looked squarely at Henry. “Do you want to talk about what happened last night at church?”

Henry had hoped to skip the church talk at work, but a part of him knew deep down that there was no skipping it. Paul, after all, was an elder in the church, and the two of them often spoke about faith in the workplace. He had even been helpful to Henry in providing him with the job as a Quality Assurance software tester.

Adjusting in his seat, Henry sat back in his chair and shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think we need to really . . .”

“Henry, it’s me, man. You stormed out of that sanctuary in quite a huff last night. Is there some reason you don’t like homeless people?”

Henry gripped the chair’s arms and his jaw clenched. “It’s not the homeless.”

Paul leaned in his office chair and raised an eyebrow. “Terry?”

Just hearing his name made his insides flinch. Sitting upright in his chair, Paul nodded, his gaze falling to his desk for a moment. He peered up at Henry a moment later. “Terry is young. But so are you. Some people can rub us wrong, and we might even be right about them, but we don’t have the right to cast judgments. Your comment about his BMW, for instance? He didn’t buy it. His grandfather passed away and he inherited it. It’s a reliable vehicle so he kept it.”

Henry tight grip of disdain for Terry loosened, at least over the BMW. “Wow . . . I didn’t know.”

“Yeah.”

Henry’s mind drew back to the topic at hand. “So . . . I can take tomorrow off?”

“Two days. Tomorrow, Friday, and then Monday, if you need to.”

Rising to his feet, Henry hoped to prevent any further church conversation from happening. He reached a hand out.

“Thanks, Boss.”

Paul blinked a couple of times, making it apparent that he didn’t want to stop talking about what happened last night at church, but Henry cared so little for it that he couldn’t possibly waste another minute on the subject. Not right now.

They shook hands and Henry left Paul’s office and went to the break room to get a cup of coffee. Pouring a cup of hot liquid into his mug, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Setting the pot back on the burner, he slipped his phone from his pocket to see who was calling.

It was Noelle.

His heart jumped and he tapped to answer it.

“Hey!”

“Hi.” Her voice was quiet and a light sob could be heard in the silence following.

“What’s wrong?”

She was quiet and not responsive. Henry’s heart cleaved toward wanting to be near her. It was apparent to him that she was upset about something.

“Come on, Talk to me. What’s going on?”

Sniffling, she sighed deeply and didn’t respond.

“Okay . . .” Taking a sip of his coffee, he shook his head as he smiled and tried to be playful. “You did call for something, right?”

“Can we meet up? I need a friend right now . . . I need you right now.”

A deep warmth washed over his chest. “Yes. I need to talk to you too. Can you wait until lunch?”

“Yeah. Usual spot?”

Henry’s heart and lips smiled. “Yes.”

* *

Walking with his thermos of hot pepper soup in hand, Henry walked the icy walkway through Riverfront Park and over to their spot down on the steps overlooking the Spove River. Sitting down on the quilt she had brought, he sat beside Noelle, then he handed her the thermos. She took a long, deep drink. As she did, he saw her eyes were red and swollen from crying. His heart ached knowing it appeared that she had been crying for some length of time unknown to him.

Rubbing her back gently, he moved closer to her. Lowering his eyes, he turned toward her. His voice was gentle, laced with concern and threaded with love. “What’s going on?”

Bringing the thermos into her lap, she sniffled and wiped her nose.

“It’s Max.”

Max was her younger brother who lived north of Spove in the town of Colville. He had been in and out of the drug scene for years now and a constant worry not only for Noelle but her entire family. Her mom and sister, Mandy, were constantly in prayer and worry over Max and his choices in life. If he didn’t call every few days, her mother would call hospitals and morgues.

“I’m sorry.”

A long moment passed, only silence filling the air between them. Then, she turned to Henry, a smile creeping onto her soft pink lips as it broke through the sadness. “You always make me feel better. Even when you’re not saying anything at all.”

Henry smiled warmly. “You do the same thing for me.”

She handed the thermos to him. Twisting the cap off the thermos, Henry took a drink of his soup.

Noelle raised an eyebrow. “What’s new with you? You mentioned you needed to chat.”

Setting the soup down to his side, he raised his eyebrows. “I have a lead. I’m leaving town tomorrow to go track it down. It’s over in Olympia.”

Shoving his shoulder playfully, Noelle laughed lightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know . . . What was I supposed to do? Interrupt your sadness over your brother and say, ‘Hey, look at me. I’m super excited!’ That wouldn’t seem right.”

She laughed and it brought relief to his soul.

Turning more toward him, she raised her eyebrows. “Is anyone going with you to Olympia?”

Henry looked over at her. “No . . . But if someone wanted to go, I wouldn’t mind it.”

Crinkling her nose, Noelle smiled. “I’d love to get out of town for a few days.”

“Then come with me. I’ll pay for a separate room at the hotel and we’ll make a mini-vacation out of it. We’ll go see the capital and everything!”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

Rising to their feet, Henry took Noelle’s quilt and draped it over his shoulder as they walked back through the park toward their cars. The walkways were clear, but everything else at the park was iced over and covered in snow.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Noelle asked, her gaze moving from the iced over lamp post to Henry.

“It is. It reminds me of Jesus’s blood cleaning us.”

“Mmmm . . . To rest in His goodness. I need to work on praying more and giving my worries in this life over to God. If I prayed as much as I worried, I’d have holes in every pair of jeans and a heart that relied on God.”

“It’s true.” His own guilt over not praying as much as he should weighed heavily on his heart as he let out a sigh. “Giving it all to God can be difficult. Like with my mom and trying to find her. It’s like am I relying on my own efforts and only seeking what I want? Or is this a desire God has put in my heart? There’s no verse about this topic.”

“You’re right. There isn’t a verse pertaining to that specific topic.” Noelle stopped walking and turned to Henry “But it does talk about not letting anything come before God in your life. I’m not saying this is your top priority, but you have to be aware that it could be fighting for that top position in your heart. And if it is, that’s wrong and that’s according to the Bible. Remember, the devil uses whatever he can get his hands on to distract us.”

Nodding, Henry’s gaze peered over at a snow-covered tree nearby. Then he looked back at Noelle. “I, too, will up my praying. I’ll also make sure I’m trying to be more aware of my priorities. Thanks for being my friend through it all. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She glanced down for a moment, nodding lightly. Then she peered into his eyes. “You’re welcome.”