Read Online Finally & Forever by Robin Jones Gunn - Free Book Online Page A

television in their home. He hadn’t grown up glued to it the way Katie had in her younger years.
    “My parents called the TV the one-eyed babysitter. Whenever I acted up or got too energetic,” Katie had told Eli, “they said I should visit the one-eyed babysitter.”
    They concluded that Eli and his parents were habitually reaching for a book the way Katie grew up reaching for the TV’s remote control.
    Eli closed his book as Katie and Cheryl entered the house. “What did the doctor have to say?”
    “He’s going to try to find an antibiotic for me.”
    “So it is infected?”
    “Yes, unfortunately.”
    “Are you feeling okay?”
    “Yes, pretty much. I’m still so tired, though. I was thinking I might sleep a little bit before lunch.”
    “Do you want me to bring you some lunch from the dining hall? That way you don’t have to leave your room if you’re getting good sleep.”
    “No, that’s okay. I can set my alarm and make it to the dining hall for lunch.” Katie turned to Cheryl. “You raised a really caring son. You know that, don’t you?”
    Cheryl smiled. “Is that right?”
    “Yes, it is. As a matter of fact, last winter at school — it was February, actually. Valentine’s Day.” Katie grinned at Eli, feeling confident that he would remember the moment as clearly as she did. “I had a cold. A bad sore-throat kind of cold that you feel coming on, and then you just know it’s going to take you down for several days, so all you can do is give in to it. Your son came to my dorm room and brought me a bunch of cold remedies from the drugstore.”
    Eli kept his gaze locked on Katie. He seemed pleased that she remembered but even more pleased that she was giving his mom a stellar report about his character.
    “He brought me some stuff to spray in my throat that tasted like cherries and a box of something for my sinuses, and then he told me that the box said not to operate machinery.” Katie laughed at the memory. “I mean, really, it wasn’t as if I was in any condition at that moment to crank up a backhoe and plow a few furrows on upper campus.”
    Cheryl laughed.
    “Hey, I was just making sure you knew all the warnings.” Eli’s grin was pretty irresistible.
    Katie remembered something else about that Valentine’s night. She remembered how Eli had prayed for her that she would get better quickly. He had taken her hand in his just moments before Rick burst into Katie’s dorm room with a bouquet of flowers that were supposed to help make her feel better. Eli’s expression of concern had helped her feel better and more cared for than Rick’s grand arrival with the dozen roses.
    The memory of Eli’s steady, caring expression for her helped Katie to feel even more confident that she had done the right thing coming to Kenya and making herself so vulnerable.
    “You can be assured that no one here will ask you to run a backhoe,” Cheryl said. “Someone might put you to work in the tea fields picking tea buds or using a hand-operated hoe, but that’s about it.”
    “Tea fields? You have tea fields?”
    “Yes. Didn’t you see them on the way in?”
    “It was dark,” Eli reminded his mom.
    “That’s right. It was late at night when you arrived. And with all the rain, it hasn’t been very appealing to explore the area. Yes, we have the most beautiful tea field just over the hill. Acres and acres. I’ll take you there once you’re feeling up to a short hike. It’s my favorite place to walk. So peaceful and beautiful. The light on the fields in the early morning is spectacular.”
    “I wish I felt better. I would love to go right now.”
    “It wouldn’t be very enjoyable since the trails are muddy. But the rains are subsiding. We’ll have plenty of good weather soon. You and I can go another day. Meanwhile, I need to pick up our clothes at the laundry. Eli, are you scheduled to work at the Coffee Bar today?”
    “I’m there from one o’clock until nine. Dad said a group is