Page 71 of Wish You Faith

“Please, Lord, please protect Your best for Rosie and me,” Evan blurted. “I want Your perfect will for us also, not just in our professional work but also in our personal lives. I pray that I will not try to get my own way, but be open to Your plans for our lives together.”

That was all he could think of. At this point, he was all prayed up, as they said, and he was confident that God had a plan for him and Rosie together.

They both said “amen” and then Rosie had to go back to work, and so did Evan.

He packed up his laptop and stuffed it into his backpack, along with his lunch bag. He locked his door on the way out. He took the elevator downstairs to the basement parking lot where his old pickup truck still remained in the same spot he’d left it this morning.

He waved to a security guard at the booth on the way out to the streets.

It would only take less than fifteen minutes to get to his parents’ house, but traffic and rain slowed him down.

Maybe it was a good thing. He prayed and talked with God as he drove, figuring out what to say and how to say it.

He’d already made a lot of sacrifices. He couldn’t imagine Mom asking for more. She was a reasonable person even though she might sound harsh sometimes. The fact that Mom was the trustee of Evan’s trust fund made it so much harder to carry out his plans, and impossible had he not compromised with Mom.

It was a miracle from God that Mom agreed to his conditions.

So his ERC Trust bought Grandpa’s oceanfront condo at SSLR for Rosie and her mom to live in for the rest of her life. The trust fund also contributed to the purchase of the apartment complex across the street for the other retirees who might not have three years of life to wait for existing SSLR housing to free up.

In a business sense, he was merely moving his assets from one category to another.

In a personal sense, he had to buy the condo or risk Mom changing her mind later on if Sonya continued to live for years. The rent amount would be Mom’s decision to make. She could raise it to an exorbitant amount that Evan might not be able to pay.

He had agreed to return to the family business to sweeten the deal because Mom held out and drove a hard bargain. She would only sell the condo to him if he returned to work at their headquarters in Seattle.

Now he wanted to make another deal with his parents—primarily with Mom again. Dad would go along with whatever Mom said. If Evan could convince Mom to let him work remotely from Savannah, then he could be with Rosie again.

What price would Mom exact out of him to make it happen? Would she ask him to give up the rest of the trust fund? He hadn’t earned a penny of that anyway. He could give it up. Really, he could.

He could think of no reason Cavanaugh Shipping would prevent him from working remotely. After all, Dad himself had joined Zoom meetings while he was onboard cruise ships with Mom. Along the same lines, Evan could do Zoom meetings from Savannah, right? He didn’t need to be in Seattle since Connor was already here.

If they let him work from Savannah, the first thing he’d do after he thanked God for it would be to run down to the jewelry store and buy a diamond engagement ring for Rosie.

If, if, if.

Then again, his God worked miracles.

It’s up to You, Lord.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Working at the Christmastown Tree Farm meant that Rosie had to think of Christmas all year round. However, at the Hamilton house, Christmas celebrations didn’t officially begin until Rosie and Mom put up their fake Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Even when Dad had been alive, the tree trimming duty went to the women in the family. Dad’s job had been to smoke a turkey at Thanksgiving and brisket at Christmas. After Dad passed, Mom didn’t want to continue the tradition because a charcoal smoker was too much work for either one of them. Instead, they had brined a small turkey and roasted it in the oven for Thanksgiving, and purchased a store-bought ham for Christmas.

Mom had cried every time they hung old ornaments on the Christmas tree, so during Mom’s cancer treatment, Rosie had taken the opportunity to change their family tradition. When Christmastown’s pop-up Christmas tree was all the rage, Rosie bought a four-footer using her staff discount card.

The pop-up tree had made it easier when they moved from their old house to SSLR over the weekend. All Rosie had to do was push a button, and the tree returned to its box. After the movers had moved their furniture into the new condo, Rosie pushed another button, and the tree popped up in place. Then she plugged it into the wall socket and voila! Blinking lights appeared.

Christmas morning began like any other morning. Rosie and Mom were already up by seven o’clock, drinking coffee, and preparing to read the Bible together while they were still in their flannel pajamas. While Rosie’s flannel pajamas were buffalo plaid, Mom’s were covered with flowers. Both had long sleeves and long pants that went all the way down to their ankles. Rosie wore white socks, but Mom had on a pair of Christmas slippers.

They sat in two armchairs by the sliding glass door so that Mom could look out at the Atlantic Ocean. It was too cold outside as the temperature had dropped to the upper forties overnight.

In the morning sun, Mom looked good now that her hair had grown back. She hadn’t regained her pre-cancer weight, but she didn’t look gaunt.

In fact, Mom looked happy and at peace.

Silently, Rosie thanked God for this oceanfront condo that had been a surprise to them. It had come only four days after Mom received the Honor Scholarship. Without this condo, Mom would still be on the waiting list for housing at SSLR.

---