Chapter
2
When her
step-father called her name, Jessica tensed up inside. She loved her step-father, but she was also
afraid of him. She was especially afraid
when he came home late. That usually
meant that he had stopped by a bar for a drink after work. Howard was a good man, but when he drank, he
turned mean. It wasn’t that Howard himself
was mean; the liquor made him mean. When
Howard called Jessica’s name, she jumped to her feet and started home. Her discussion with Gloria about church would
just have to wait until their ride to school on the school bus in the morning. Howard glared at Jessica as she walked past
him and through the back door. He pulled
the door shut a little too hard. Jessica
quickened her steps to stay out of reach.
“What were
you doing out there in the dark?” he growled.
“I was
just talking to my friend Gloria,” she said.
Gloria said that she went to Sunday school last week. Daddy, can we go to Sunday school too?”
Jessica’s
step-father was upset. “We don’t need
those uppity church people snooping into our business,” he said. “Anyways, I have to work at the shop this
Sunday. Tommy is out with the flu and
they need me to fill in for him.”
Jessica
timidly asked, “Well could James and me go to Sunday school with Gloria? Please, please?” she begged.
“Don’t be
silly,” Howard said. “I have to work and
so do you. You have lots of work here at
home to do.”
“But I
could do all of my homework on Saturday and clean my room and get all of the
clothes washed and, and…” Her voice trailed off. “Please, please, please, Daddy,” she pleaded.
“We’ll
talk about it later,” Howard said as he put her off. Jessica knew she had better let the
discussion go. At least she had put the
idea into her step-father’s head. Now
she had something to work on. Jessica
started to think of a plan. The wheels
were turning in her head. If she did all
of her work then Howard would have no reason to forbid her to go to
church. “Church,” she thought
dreamily. “How wonderful to go to a
place where everyone cares about you!
Wouldn’t it be great to hear about God and Jesus?” Jessica tried to remember the stories that
she had heard so many years ago when she had visited her grandmother’s church. But the stories were all jumbled up in her
head. It had been too many years ago
that she had heard those wonderful Bible stories. She loved the stories that the Sunday school
teacher told! She could still remember
what the Sunday school teacher looked like.
She had beautiful black hair with a pink ribbon on the side. Her dress was pink and white and her shoes
were shinny white. Jessica even
remembered how clean and crisp the teacher’s dress had smelled.
“It’s time
to go to bed, kids,” Jessica’s mother called from the kitchen.
Jessica
brushed her teeth and washed her face and then put on her pajamas. She looked in the mirror and wiggled her lips
back and forth until she giggled. She
scrunched up her nose and squinted her eyes, but she couldn’t see how funny she
looked because she couldn’t see through her squinted up eyes. She laughed to herself anyway. She went into her bedroom and pulled back the
covers on her bed, turned off the light and climbed into bed. Jessica lay on her back with her hands behind
her head and looked up at the dark ceiling.
She gave a big yawn. As she lay
there in the dark, she kept thinking about going to church. Suddenly she had an idea. Jessica slipped out of bed and onto her knees
beside her bed. She folded her hands,
bowed her head, and prayed for the first time in a long time.
She prayed
silently, “Dear God, please help me to be able to go to church with Gloria next
Sunday. Please make my Daddy let me
go. Help me to get all of my work done
and help me to have a good attitude all week.
Amen.” As she climbed back into
bed she felt much better. She began to
think about what she would wear to church the next Sunday. Should she wear her green dress or the purple
one with the ribbon around the waist? As
Jessica thought pleasant thoughts she drifted off to sleep.
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