Unlikely Praise Read online

  “I haven’t heard that one,” Max said.

  Bill stepped up on the platform. “I have one.”

  Candi shot him a disapproving look. “Not you, Bill, please.”

  He was not deterred. “What’s the difference between a drummer and a mutual fund?”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “One of them matures?”

  Candi waved them in. “C’mon, guys, let’s get started.”

  “One more,” Kevin begged. “What did the bass player get on his IQ test?”

  Shade set his guitar in the stand and headed to the circle. “I believe it’s drool.”

  The guys congratulated him on his answer and, as usual, the women did not see the humor.

  Kelly scowled. “That’s gross and not one bit funny. And am I the only one who notices you tell the same jokes every week? Can you get some new material, please?”

  Candi dashed back to her music stand to set down her pen. When someone touched her arm, she knew it was Shade.

  “Hey, I need to ask you something.”

  They hadn’t talked since the night before. She glanced at the band and stepped away. Not that she had any idea what was actually happening between her and Shade, but if the band caught one inkling of a personal relationship there’d be no end to the chatter and speculation. They would be merciless. “Sure, but can we talk after? I’m about to lose them again.”

  “Yeah, OK.” Disappointment crossed his face. She hated that, but it was necessary.

  “We have a lot to talk about,” she announced to the group. “Some of you asked about the click tracks we were going to experiment with, well, that got put on the back burner with the advent of the children’s choir, the youth service, and other things. We’ll try again, soon.”

  Kelly hitched up her chin. “Good. Wasn’t looking forward to that, anyway.”

  Shade gave her a nod of approval.

  “As for the youth service practice,” Candi continued, “I know we don’t like this, but we’re gonna have to practice on Friday nights. We have no other choice right now and the people involved need to get started.”

  Rocky cleared his throat. “Am I supposed to do that, or not?”

  “Love to have you on bass, Rock,” Max said, “but it’s two more nights out of the week so it’s up to you.”

  Rocky pulled out his Blackberry. “What are the dates again?”

  “The service starts in late July on Thursday nights, but we’ll start practicing here in a few weeks.”

  “I’ll check my busy social calendar.”

  “Next on our agenda is the Sounds of Texas Music Festival at the college on May sixteenth.”

  Everyone groaned.

  “I know it was bad last year, but they’ve taken all that into consideration and worked out the kinks.”

  Carol Ann planted her hands on her hips. “Be grateful you weren’t here for that one, Shade. We had to tote our own equipment over there and had a horrible time slot.”

  “No one advertised,” Bill added, “so attendance was light.”

  Kelly shuddered as though having a flashback. “I got heat exhaustion and had to lie down in the open first-aid tent. I was so embarrassed.”

  “OK, guys,” Candi interrupted, “this year will be better. The tents are bigger and have some sort of circulating air on the stage. Everyone gets their own tub of water bottles. They’re using the college’s sound system with the addition of some rented equipment, so all we have to do is walk up and plug in. We can bring our own sound guy to work the board.”

  Max pointed across the circle. “You in, Wild Bill?”

  “I’m in.”

  “About the drums, Max, there will be a set there, but if you want to bring your own kit, we’ll help you out. I’ll try to get more details.”

  “Sweet.”

  “I think we should do it,” Candi continued. “We’ll have a team there to hand out information about the new youth service and minister to the crowd. The church is making banners and t-shirts. It’s a great opportunity to advertise Cornerstone and evangelize.”

  Kevin raised his eyebrows and tapped his finger across his lips as if in deep thought. “And this year we have Shade.”

  There was a chorus of oohs and aahs.

  Carol Ann snapped her fingers. “That’s right. He’ll draw a crowd.”

  Kelly waved her hand as if to get everyone’s attention. “Ooooo...we can get a mosh pit started.”

  “Yes,” Candi said with an edge. “That’s exactly what we need—for the Cornerstone Fellowship contemporary worship team to be on the front page of the newspaper with headlines about moshing and crowd surfing injuries.”

  “It’ll get them in the door,” Rocky agreed with a shrug.

  “Not to bring you down here,” Shade interjected, “but I’m not that big a deal.”

  The band blew off his statement and continued their discussion.

  “And,” he added, “this is not about me.”

  “We appreciate that, Shade,” Candi said above the chatter, “but I think they’re right about you heightening the interest in our band.”

  “Wait a minute.” Max held his arms out to hush the crowd as though he needed to say something of dire importance. “Is Brett bringing his worship team this year? ‘Cause they’ve got us outnumbered. It’s like a massive theatrical production when those guys take the stage.”

  “I got it covered,” Candi assured them. “Let’s just say I have some clout from working at the college. I’m going to make sure we go on last in the Christian music block.”

  “Sweeeeet. Nothin’ like closing the show.”

  “Or having Brett’s band open for us.” Kelly grinned from ear to ear.

  “I know you guys are enjoying this, but let’s make sure we keep the right attitude,” Candi warned. “Stay aware of the opportunity.”

  “Got it.”

  Candi captured Rocky’s hand from one side and Bill’s on the other. “Any requests or questions before we pray?”

  “I have a question,” Shade said.

  “Yes?”

  “Will you go out with me Friday night?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “No way,” Rocky spoke up. “You can’t take her out Friday. That’s our Angelina Jolie film festival at your place, remember? Tomb Raider, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Mr. and Mrs. Smith...”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Kevin jumped in. “My turn to bring pizza. You comin’ Wild Bill? It’s guys night.”

  “Naw, I can’t keep up with you youngsters, but you can borrow my copy of Wanted.”

  Candi’s cheeks flamed like hot lava and her heart thumped out of her chest as the conversation sailed on without her.

  Carol Ann fanned herself and Kelly dipped her head to snicker into her hoodie.

  “OK, Saturday,” Shade said. “Will you go out with me Saturday?”

  She was angry enough to pinch off his head. “Is there a reason this question is not happening in private?”

  He shrugged. “I tried earlier. You were busy.”

  “And I’m still a little busy here,” she snapped. “I said we’d talk after.”

  “Is that a yes or a no?”

  “It’s a yes,” Rocky answered for her. “Can we pray already? I’m tired of holding Kevin’s hand. It’s all wet and gooey. Not soft and warm like yours, Candi.”

  There was no way she could pray. “Carol Ann, would you lead us, please?”

  After the final amen, Candi headed for her keyboard.

  “Pick you up at seven,” Shade called after her.

  “Oh, she’s not going anywhere with you in that truck,” Kelly advised.

  “Fair enough,” he answered. “She can pick me up.”

  “Or you can borrow my Cavalier,” Max offered. “I don’t have a date.”

  Candi clutched the sides of her keyboard to steady herself. There was no end to this mortification. “Glad you’re having fun, guys, but that’s enough. Let’s warm up with How Great is Our God.”

  She cl
osed her eyes and steadied her breathing. Lord, help me...

  She placed her left hand on the keys and pressed a G. The catchy and addictive James Bond theme music blared through the main speakers.

  She didn’t know who to glare at first.

  “I’m killer on that guitar lick,” Shade offered.

  She chose him.

  He backed up. “I’m just sayin’.”

  She switched off her keyboard. Oh yeah, heads were gonna roll.

  9

  From: Pastor Charles Littleton

  [mailto:[email protected]]

  Sent: Thursday, April 30 7:16 AM

  To: Candi Canaberry

  Subject: Re: Sounds of Texas Music Festival

  Candi:

  Great to hear the band’s excited about the festival. I’ll get some people working on publicity, evangelism, etc.

  Also, please know you are always in my prayers as you deal with the situation regarding your father. God will take care of you. Keep me posted.

  Charles

  Shade put away the peanut butter, bread, and milk and made one more pass through his living room while he waited for Rachel to arrive. Few things scared or excited him more than her first official visit to his home.

  Yesterday his mother brought him a white, oak rocking chair. After a heated discussion, she’d returned with the cushions to tie onto the back and the seat. She thought they should be pink gingham. He thought they should not. Their compromise resulted in black fabric with large white polka dots and the baby’s name embroidered in bright pink across each piece. He’d said no to ruffles but lost that battle. Some days it was annoying to have a mother who sewed and owned state-of-the-art equipment.

  He glanced at the clock on the digital cable box. He and Jess had agreed she would bring Rachel at four o’clock and leave her for four hours. She thought that was best as it would be long enough for them to start to get used to each other, but not so long that Shade would be drowning in bottles and diapers for his first solo visit. He had news for her. It could be four minutes, four days, or four months and he still wouldn’t know much. All he could do was learn one thing at a time through trial and error. As the expert at the DiaperDays website wrote, “...there’s no way to tell someone how to change a diaper; new parents just have to do it...”

  Besides, his mother would be calling every five minutes to make sure he hadn’t dropped Rachel on her head, so if there was a question, he could ask her then. Or he could refer to the “Top Five Reasons Babies Cry and What to Do About It” list she’d given him last week. She’d written it all out on the back of the bulletin while sitting in church.

  His dad couldn’t believe that one.

  There was a light tap on the door.

  Jess stood on his deck with Rachel perched on her hip. “Sorry I’m late. I looked at your address wrong and went to 1030 instead of 1300. I knew something wasn’t right when I didn’t see your truck, but I figured it out.”

  “No problem,” he said and held the door. “C’mon in.”

  She stepped inside and let an overstuffed diaper bag drop to the floor.

  “Thanks for bringing her over,” he said. “I’m working on the truck, and I ordered a car seat online.”

  “It’ll all come together,” she said in a way Shade knew was meant to calm herself, as much as to encourage him.

  Bobby sat along the road out front in his bright white Ford F-150 King Ranch pick-up. He and Shade exchanged obligatory nods.

  Shade closed the door. Nice truck. He’d give him that.

  “Does he want to come in?”

  “No, it’s OK.” She planted tiny kisses all over the baby’s face before she pressed her into his arms. “Oh, wow,” she said when she spotted the rocker. “This is great.” She smoothed her hand across the pillows. “I can see your mom’s been busy.”

  “She’s been busy, all right. Can’t seem to avoid how busy she’s been since she found out Rachel was coming over.”

  She laughed. “That reminds me. She made Rachel a quilt. It’s in the truck if you want to spread it on the floor for when you put her down.”

  “Don’t need it.”

  “No offense, Shade, but you shouldn’t put her directly on the floor. I don’t think anyone’s house is clean enough for that.”

  “No, I mean I don’t need it because I bought one of these.” He pulled the neatly folded portable crib-playpen combination from beside the couch. “One of my clients has one and I asked her about it.”

  “Good call,” Jess agreed. “Have you had it all set up yet?”

  Only about sixteen times.

  “Yeah, I had a practice run. Can you believe these things? They have electronics.”

  She returned to the diaper bag and knelt beside it. “Makes you wonder what our parents did. I’m pretty sure my family’s hand-me-down crib had bars far enough apart to strangle me.”

  “I was lucky,” he countered. “My cousins chewed all the lead-based paint off my toys before I got them.”

  “OK, let me explain what’s in here.”

  He eyed the bulging bag. “Your explanation could take longer than our visit. Better tell Bobby to turn off the truck.”

  She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Oh, hush. There’s a reason for everything in this bag.”

  “Is that reason a seven-day cruise?”

  “Do you want my help?” She tugged at the zipper. “Or would you rather I left and let you figure it all out on your own?”

  “Sorry. Continue.”

  He held Rachel against his chest with one arm wrapped around her and her legs dangling. He pressed his cheek against her soft head and inhaled. It was true. Babies did smell good. At least right now, anyway.

  White-blond tufts of angel hair tickled his face as she moved about in his arms, and thin little fingers flexed and clutched the air as she waved her hands.

  Jess explained her way through two bottles, several extra clothes, a stack of diapers, wipes, blankets, a two page instruction and emergency contact list, and a series of squeaky and rattling toys.

  He tried to listen, really he did, but there was only so much he could absorb about the last time she ate, napped, or had a diaper change. Did it matter anyway? It was pretty obvious if she got hungry he should feed her and if she needed a new diaper he would put one on her.

  Then Rachel whimpered.

  “Oh, here.” Jess gave him a plastic ring of giant, primary-colored keys and shifted the bundle in his arms. “Put her over here on your hip,” she instructed. “I think it makes her feel more secure.”

  Shade placed the toy in her tiny palm. She grasped it and pulled it to her mouth.

  “That’s the way.” Jess stepped back, straightened her blue shirt, and smoothed her faded jeans. Then she didn’t make another move.

  A slide show of emotion crossed her face in a continuous loop. Worry, fear, longing, calm. Worry, fear, longing, calm.

  “We’ll be fine, Jess.”

  “I know,” she choked. “It’s just a weird, emotional day.”

  “They don’t come much weirder,” he agreed, “but everything’s OK. I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”

  Her eyes shimmered. “I know that.”

  He pulled open the door. “Go ahead. Get some dinner, see a movie, or camp out on my front yard for four hours, but go. I got this.”

  She stood straight and let out a deep breath. “Call me if you need anything.”

  “Go. Bobby’s gonna come lookin’ for you in a minute and no one wants that.”

  “Be sweet. Bobby’s been great about this.”

  Yeah, whatever. He closed the door as soon as she stepped outside. He didn’t need to hear what a great guy Bobby was.

  He dragged the diaper bag toward the rocker. “Your mommy and grandma don’t think I can do this,” he whispered into her shell-pink ear. “But I got news for them. I have access to the Internet and I know how to use it.”

  H
e pulled out a small blanket and laid it across his lap as he sat down. He felt for her toes through the footies of her strawberry-embroidered, white cotton sleeper, and inspected each fingernail and eyelash.

  Absolute perfection.

  Despite the excessively ruffled cushions, they settled into a comfortable rocking pattern. Rachel had not yet made one cry of protest or shed a tear, but it took only seven minutes to make one unmistakable discovery.

  Someone needed a fresh diaper.

  ****

  On Saturday evening, Candi approached the church and flipped on her turn signal. Shade arrived at the same time from the other direction in Max’s Cavalier. With no one behind her, she paused and motioned for him to turn. He declined and waved her on. She hesitated until traffic appeared in her rear view mirror.

  “Oh, fine,” she grumped to herself. “Just trying to be nice.”

  He pulled in right behind her. Together they traveled across the empty lot and found side-by-side spots near the blossoming butterfly bush at the front entrance. They simultaneously killed their engines, got out, and closed their doors. It was like synchronized swimming only in cars and without the sequined headgear.

  They gazed at each other across her roof.

  “Thanks for coming,” he said.

  She leaned in the window and pulled out a lightweight lavender sweater. “I shouldn’t be here,” she said as she tugged it over her darker purple French tee and felt for the small pearl buttons. “Rocky accepted the date. He should have come.”

  “I said I was sorry for all that.”

  She grabbed her purse and locked her car. “You’re right. Besides, this way everyone knows we’re out together. They can’t gossip and speculate if all the information’s out on the table.”

  He opened the passenger side door for her. “That’s the spirit.”

  “You didn’t have to borrow Max’s car. Your truck isn’t that bad.”

  “Had to.”

  “Oh. Sorry. Did the mighty Del Rio Destroyer pass on to the great junkyard in the sky?”

  “No. A friend of Max’s dad has had it for a couple days. He specializes in older trucks so he can patch it up until I can get something newer. I get it back in the morning.”