On the Victory Trail Read online

  “On the driver’s seat with Mr. Chambers,” he answered. His chipmunk smile and blond eyelashes seemed to light up the wagon. “I didn’t want it smashed in the hay fight that I predict will happen with this bunch. So, how’s it going?”

  “Good. It’s going good,” she answered.

  For the next hour, the wagon drawn by two work-horses from a neighboring farm meandered on dirt roads around and through the Keystone Stables property. On the hill behind the barn, the passengers enjoyed the beauty of autumn in Shade Valley that stretched for miles around them. The wagon passed the picnic grove, the pond, and crept through the red and orange canopy toward Piney Hollow.

  Bouncing with every rut and bump in the road, the group laughed, sang songs, shared stories from school, and talked about football and soccer. Despite the excitement of it all, Skye found herself preoccupied with thoughts of Chad as she stared awkwardly at her boots, not knowing what to say to him.

  Deep in thought, Skye hardly noticed the hay fight that had erupted until a wad of it hit her right in the face. She gasped and sputtered like a motorbike out of gas, spitting out hay dust. Then all in one motion she scooped up a handful of hay and pitched it toward the first target in her line of fire — Chad. Her reward was a handful of itchy hay dust down her sweaty back.

  The wagon bounced along the trail with squeals of laughter and a dustbowl of flying hay. When it rounded the corner through the woods and pulled into Piney Hollow, Mrs. Chambers and Mrs. Salem were placing heaps of food on a large table in front of the chuck wagon. With the smell of hot dogs, baked potatoes, and roasted corn in the crisp fall air, the hay fight ended as fast as it had started.

  The kids jumped off the wagon, dusted each other off, and gathered in a circle as Mr. Salem led them in prayer. Shoving each other in line, they filled their plates with the best that Piney Hollow’s chuck wagon could offer and sat on sawed-off stumps around the campfire.

  Skye, Melissa, Sooze, and Morgan sat in a cluster eyeing Chad and Bobby, who were engaged in a corneating contest. By the time supper came to an end, Pastor Newman pulled up in an RV. After a quick cup of coffee, he presented a short message to the group at the chapel. A question-and-answer period about the book of Jonah followed. Then the group was dismissed for some time to socialize.

  Chad and Skye made their way back to the campfire. Chad poked at a cluster of coals in the fading flames.

  “Pastor Newman sure knows his stuff. I always wondered why Jonah was so mad at God for sending him to Nineveh,” he said. “I guess those Ninevites weren’t exactly your friendly next-door neighbors. They would’ve chopped your head off pretty quick.”

  Skye grabbed a stick and stuck a marshmallow on the end. “Yeah, it does make more sense now. I always thought that story was a fairy tale. But a big fish really did swallow Jonah. Can you imagine being in a fish’s stomach? Gross!”

  They were both laughing when Sooze approached and sat down next to Skye.

  “Hi, Sooze,” Skye said with more enthusiasm than she actually felt. This is so not the time to be crashing the party, Sooze! she thought ungratefully.

  Chad looked over past Skye. “Hey, Sooze, how are you doing?”

  “So-so,” Sooze forced out.

  Skye smiled weakly.

  Sooze smiled back. “Skye, I need to talk to you.”

  Skye ignored her and turned to Chad. “Bobby told me you just got hired at Jacob’s Hardware Store.”

  Chad smiled. “Yeah, I’m saving for a car.”

  “Skye,” Sooze said softly.

  Skye turned toward Sooze and gave her a can-this-possibly-wait look. “What?!”

  “I really need to talk to you — now.”

  Without wanting to, Skye noticed Sooze’s posture —slumped over, the brim of her Stetson pulled down, tears dropping on her shirt.

  “Excuse me, Chad.” Skye was already turning toward Sooze.

  “No problem,” Chad threw his stick in the fire and stood. “I’ll go see what the guys are doing.”

  “Okay, everybody!” Mr. Chambers announced right behind Skye. “Time for the scavenger hunt! Meet me over by the hitching post under the pines.”

  “Scavenger hunt?” Chad responded. “It’s almost dark!”

  Mr. Chambers’ mustache twitched playfully. “I know, my good man. That’s what makes it so much fun. Trying to find an acorn with the sun sinking fast is very tricky. But at least the bears don’t usually come out until after dark.”

  “Bears?” Chad’s smile melted into mock fear.

  “Ah, he’s just kidding,” someone called out. But the tone didn’t sound reassuring.

  “I sure hope so!” Chad’s glance swept the scene. “Whatever, I’m ready. Let’s go — and in the opposite direction of the bears!”

  “Are you two coming?” Mr. Chambers asked.

  “In a sec,” Skye said. “We have to do something first.”

  “Fine,” Mr. Chambers said with an understanding smile. He joined Chad and walked to where the others were gathering.

  Skye knelt beside Sooze. “What is it?” Skye whispered.

  “I need to talk to you,” Sooze’s voice quivered. “Alone.”

  “How about over there?” Skye pointed toward the chapel. “There’s nobody around.”

  The girls walked to the bench in front of the cross. Sooze sat in obvious pain, gasping for breath. Then she started to weep out loud.

  Skye sat down next to Sooze and slipped an arm around her. “Did somebody say something?”

  “It’s nothing like that,” Sooze said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. She glanced toward the cross. “All that stuff about God you’ve told me since I moved in here — it finally sank in tonight when I listened to Pastor Newman. I mean it really sank in. I want to invite Jesus Christ into my life, and I’m not just saying that ’cause I’m scared. I see now that I’ve been fighting against myself.”

  “Sooze, God loves kids like us. That’s what’s so neat about him. Jesus died so we could be at peace here on Earth and live with him forever someday in heaven.”

  Sooze studied the cross. “Well, what do I have to do? I’ve never belonged to a church. Do I have to join? I’ve never even prayed. How do I pray?”

  “Just do what I did. It’s not that hard, Sooze. Ask God right now to forgive you and wash away your sins. Jesus already took your punishment, so there’s nothing for you to do but thank him for it and accept it. Just talk to him honestly. That’s all he wants.”

  Unaware of the yells and laughter from the woods, the two friends talked and prayed. A sliver of pink from the setting sun shone through the trees, illuminating the cross as the two bowed their heads. For the first time in her life, Sooze prayed out loud. Opening her heart wide before God, she asked him to forgive her and to come into her life.

  “Amen.” Sooze said with a relieved tone in her voice.

  “Sooze,” Skye said, looking into her friend’s eyes, “God just made you brand new on the inside. You’ll never be the same again. You’ll see.”

  The friends threw their arms around each other and cried tears of joy.

  chapter thirteen

  We’re going to a football game,” Mrs. Chambers shouted above the noise and laughter of the TV in the Bodmer living room. “Sooze asked if we could stop by for a few minutes to see you.”

  Skye and Sooze plopped down on the floor and let Mrs. Chambers have the green chair. With November’s chill and the threat of snow, all three were bundled up in heavy coats, on their way to Madison’s last game.

  Mrs. Bodmer had already nestled into her favorite spot on the sofa hours earlier. Her frizzy hair was now red. Purple fingernails held a cigarette that she puffed every few seconds.

  Sooze’s mother lifted the remote control and forced herself to click off the TV off. “I was wondering what brought you this way. I hope this isn’t anything more than a social call.” Her eyes shifted to Sooze. “And aren’t you a pretty sight? What have you been eating to get so big so fast? You’ll soo
n be as big as me, and that’s saying something!”

  “It’s not from food, Mom,” Sooze said. “It’s from my meds.”

  “What meds?” she asked flippantly.

  “Steroids,” Skye said. “They help her fight the pain from the tumor.”

  Mrs. Chambers shifted her weight. “Sooze’s medicines do strange things to her body, Mrs. Bodmer. But we didn’t come to talk about that. Sooze wants to tell you something.”

  “What trouble are you in now?” Mrs. Bodmer snarled.

  “I’m not in any trouble at all,” Sooze replied calmly.

  “This time Sooze has good news to tell you, if you can believe it!” Skye could not keep the delight from her voice.

  Mrs. Chambers added, “She’s been making some very good choices lately, and I think she should tell you about them herself. Go on, Sooze.”

  Mrs. Bodmer crossed her arms. “Well, what is it?” She stared glumly at her daughter.

  Sooze leaned forward slowly and rested her elbows on her knees. “I’ve been learning all kinds of stuff at the Chambers’ house, Mom, to help me get my head together. They’ve been telling me about God, and a few weeks ago, I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life.”

  “And what does that mean?” Mrs. Bodmer barked, running her free hand through her frizz. “Don’t tell me you got religion now! That’s all I need to hear!”

  “It’s not religion, Mrs. Bodmer,” Mrs. Chambers said. “It’s a personal relationship with God — the creator of the universe. When someone accepts what Christ did for us on the cross as Sooze did, God makes that person new, inside and out. Sooze is a different person now.”

  “Yeah,” Skye added. “I accepted Christ too, and I’ve only been in trouble once since then. God gives — ”

  “Hey!” Mrs. Bodmer snapped. “I told you the last time that I didn’t want to hear any of this God junk. My kid still have that tumor in her head? Huh? Look how much good God’s doing her! Now if that’s all you came to talk about, there’s the door!”

  “But, Mom,” Sooze pleaded, “you don’t understand. This is different. If you’d just listen — ”

  “That’s it! No more. You got no business coming into my house and cramming this religion stuff down my throat.” Mrs. Bodmer blew a short blast of smoke out her nose and scowled at Sooze. “And I’m surprised at you for falling for this baloney, Susan. What’s the matter with you?”

  “Mom,” Sooze’s voice cracked, “God is real — and he loves you!”

  “Easy, Sooze,” Mrs. Chambers warned.

  “Yeah, and pigs can fly!” Mrs. Bodmer’s face turned beat red. “If that’s all you came to tell me, I’m not interested. Let me repeat it, so it’s nice and clear. I’m not interested — period!”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Mrs. Chambers stood and zipped her coat. “All right, girls, I think it’s time to go. But, Mrs. Bodmer, would you consider doing one thing for Sooze?”

  “What?” Mrs. Bodmer said gruffly.

  “Thanksgiving is in a few weeks. Would you come to our place for dinner? We’ll have turkey and all the trimmings. If you like football, Tom will have games on all afternoon.”

  “Yeah,” Skye agreed. “We’d love to have you. Wouldn’t we, Sooze?”

  “Please, Mom. I could show you my bedroom and the barn and the horse I ride.”

  “We’ll even come to pick you up,” Mrs. Chambers added.

  “I’m busy!” Mrs. Bodmer fired back.

  “We were never busy before on Thanksgiving,” Sooze said. “We always ate frozen dinners and watched TV.

  What’s different this year?”

  “I told you I’m busy. Thanks, but no thanks.” Mrs. Bodmer turned on the TV.

  “Then how about Christmas?” Mrs. Chambers said loudly.

  “I’m busy!” Mrs. Bodmer said even louder without thinking twice. “I’m just busy!”

  Skye and Sooze followed Mrs. Chambers into the back of the Booster Club stand at the football stadium. In a red apron, Mr. Chambers stood at the stoves and labored over French fries in troughs of hot grease. Morgan sat in a corner peeling potatoes. Two adults at the front counter were selling fries like they were made of gold.

  “Hey, it’s about time you got here to help.” Mr. Chambers smiled when he saw his wife. “I’m just about fried out. I’d give a month’s salary for a hot dog right about now.”

  “You poor man,” his wife kidded, “how you suffer for such a just cause as new band uniforms. Give me your apron, and you can go round up a hot dog. How about making that two?”

  “Make it three!” Morgan laughed.

  Mr. Chambers took off his apron and handed it to his wife before turning toward Sooze and Skye. “Girls, do you want a hot dog too? I might as well make it a half dozen.”

  The girls traded mischievous glances. “Nah,” Skye said. “We’re wondering if we could go get something to eat on our own. We’d like to hike around the field for a while. Maybe we’ll see some kids from Youth for Truth. That’s really what football games are for. Right?”

  Mr. and Mrs. Chambers laughed, and Mr. Chambers walked toward the door.

  “Well, in my day,” he said, “let’s see, that was about a hundred years ago, we went to football games to watch the players make fools of themselves chasing that pigskin all around the field. I guess times have changed, haven’t they, dear?”

  Mrs. Chambers took off her coat, slipped the apron over her head, and tied it behind her back. She smiled affectionately at her husband. “You just don’t know us girls, Tom. We go to games for things other than sitting and watching what happens to some dumb football on a field. Right, girls?”

  “Right!” Skye answered.

  “Right!” Sooze agreed.

  Morgan pointed at the stove. “I’d rather peel potatoes next to these warm fryers any day than go out there and turn into an ice cube. Sitting in those cold bleachers just doesn’t appeal to a lightweight like me. Don’t forget my hot dog, Mr. C. — and that’s with everything.”

  Tom Chambers grabbed his coat off a hook on the wall. “Three hot dogs with the works, coming right up!”

  Skye gave Sooze a sheepish grin. “We’ll just walk around and see if anybody from youth group is here.”

  “Oh, they’re here,” Morgan said. “They were hanging around just a few minutes ago. All except Chad. He’s working tonight.”

  Too bad, Skye thought, but she hid her dis­appointment.

  “Well, we’ll look for the other kids if Sooze feels all right,” Skye said it as if she didn’t have a clue who Chad was.

  “Yeah, no problem as long as we turtle walk,” Sooze said, embarrassment peeking through each word. “I know I can make it around the field at least once.”

  Mr. Chambers dashed toward the hot dog stand, and the two girls headed off in the opposite direction. Skye took short steps to match Sooze’s snail pace. They weaved around scrambling children and adults who carried cartons overflowing with food. After only half a lap, Sooze huffed like she had just run the last touchdown. They stopped near one of the goal posts “to watch the game,” or so Skye said.

  “Hey, Sooze! Can you believe it? Madison is winning, fourteen to zip! I thought they were supposed to lose tonight.” A sharp gust of frigid air swept through the stadium, forcing Skye’s hands into her jean pockets.

  Skye glanced at Sooze, who was pulling her baseball cap down tighter over her wig and shoving her hands into her own deep pockets.

  Large fluffy snowflakes began to tumble from the pitch-black sky. Dancing to Madison’s band, they swirled and bounced in front of the brilliant lights, dropping a curtain of white that easily distracted Skye’s attention from what was happening on the field.

  “Hey, it’s snowing!” Skye could hardly contain her excitement.

  “This is too awesome!” Sooze said, joy overshadowing her pain. “I love when it snows. Hey, ever go snowboarding?”

  “No, but I’ve gone sledding a zillion times.” In the same breath, Skye’s next qu
estion cut to the heart of her deepest thoughts. “Sooze, ever think you could live with your mom again?”

  “I don’t know,” Sooze’s thoughts were far away. “I used to hate her, but I don’t anymore. I don’t like her yet, but I don’t hate her either. She needs God worse than I did.”

  A large roar echoed through the stadium, and the Madison Musketeer Band blasted their victory song.

  “Hey, we just scored!” Skye said. The girls started walking again. “You’ve got to admit we were, like, total losers. But the Chambers never trashed us. Neither did God. I think we ought to be praying for your mom more than ever.”

  “I’m praying as hard as I can,” Sooze added. Then suddenly pointing to the back of the bleachers, she yelled out, “There’s Jason!”

  Skye held back. “Come on. Let’s go find the other kids.”

  “One moment,” Sooze said, forcing her body to move at a pace she had not been able to muster for some time.

  “Unreal,” Skye grumbled, trailing after Sooze, who hurried into Jason’s shadow.

  Jason’s orange and green hair stuck out like it had frozen that way. Each ear had a lineup of three earrings. Despite the cold, his scrawny body was clad in only a short-sleeved black T-shirt and baggy cargo pants that bunched on the ground.

  “Sooze, babe. Good to see you. What can I get for you tonight?” Jason’s smile flashed with eagerness as his hands slipped into his pockets. “I’ve got any little thing your heart desires.” Skye grabbed Sooze’s coat sleeve. “Sooze, let’s go.”

  “Wait!” Sooze said sharply. “I want to see what he’s got.”

  “Sooze!” Skye said double sharply.

  “I said wait a minute!”

  “Yeah, what’s the hurry, gorgeous?” Jason sneered. “We’re just ready to start the party!”

  “Not me! Not this time!” Skye said, turning. “I’ll wait for you over there by the fence.”

  The snow had been falling in buckets; now it was falling by the truckloads. Skye had just barely turned toward the bleachers and now strained to see past the onslaught of flakes. “Sooze, don’t do this!” Skye said, scarcely aware that she had just started a conversation with herself. “You’ll be sorry.”