Divine Interruption
Sighing, I glanced at the butterfly spreading her cerulean wings over the face of my watch. Were the hands even moving? Beads of sweat formed like package shipping bubble plastic over my forehead and I discarded them with the back of my hand only to feel them reappear. My class of three-year-olds had the same bubbles over their coppery faces. Only it wasn’t icky, sticky sweat. It was splashes of water from the inflatable pool they lollygagged around in. Ronnie, the smallest of the bunch, pinched his nose between thumb and forefinger before submerging himself beneath liquid heaven. The twins, April and Alisha, giggled, sailing a red plastic boat back and forth peacefully between them until-
“No, that my toy!” April shouted, snatching it from her sister’s hand.
“I have it first!”
“So what?” Stretching her neck, she bumped her nose into her sister’s. “It mine and you can’t have it!”
With the satisfaction of a little dictator, the victorious twin sailed the boat over the water as the other sat a little rag doll, head lowered and big crocodile tears mingling with the cloudy water of the pool. The other children laughed, pointing fingers while jeering “nah, nah, nah-nah-nah…”
I stood beside the pool and squatted down, arms crossed over my chest and brows drawn together in an I-mean-business expression. But when I opened my mouth to chastise, I realized that the penetrating rays of the sun were no longer beating against my back. My skin exhaled in the semi-coolness.
A baritone voice over my shoulder scolded: “Sweetheart, you know you shouldn’t have taken that boat from her.” Eight pairs of eyes grew wide. Upturned mouths went flat. “How ’bout you give that back?”
I watched as April turned the boat over in her hand, looking from it to her sister, to the stranger behind me. Finally, she stretched her arm across the pool. “Here. I don’t want it no way.”
Head lowered, Alisha took the boat and pushed it within the confines of her hands.
I tried to stand, but full of pins and needles, my legs gave way so that I rocked backward, my bottom slapping the hot black top instead.
“Here, let me help you.” Large hands, the color of coffee with no cream, reached under my arms to lift me up. Were my pits sweaty? I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, moving swiftly out of reach while dusting off the back of my shorts.
The valiant stranger stared at me with eyes the same color as his skin and a smile rivaling the sun in its brightness. I blinked, kicking at a pebble with the toe of my red flip-flop.
“Sorry I got all up in your business like that.”
“Um, it’s okay. April can be a handful.” My sudden pebble fascination continued. He watched for a moment before joining in,kicking a stray pebble with the toe of his royal blue tennis shoe. It came to mind to ask his identity, but I folded my lip inside my mouth instead.
“So how long we gonna do this?”
“Do what?”
“Play toe soccer.”
My face flushed again. “Huh?”
He smiled. “The pebble?” Noticing my blank look he said: ”I’m just messing with you.”
“Oh. Okay.” Wow, that sounded intelligent!
“So, I just started working here,” he offered. “I was supposed to drive the van, but Mrs. Rosewell changed her mind and asked me to help Mr. Thompson out with the boys’ class instead.” He stared expectant. I turned my eyes to the ground. “Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Miss-?”
Finally prying my eyes from the fascinating cracks in the pavement, I answered: “Weaver.”
“Okay, Miss Weaver.” He smiled and started off backward, still staring at me with those amazing eyes before heading in the direction of the basketball courts. I felt like an idiot. I hadn’t even asked him his name.
(from Secret of a Butterfly, pp. 13-15)
Okay, that’s the end of the sneak peek for today. But while you wait on the next preview, think back to the time when you first fell in love. Were you expecting it or was it an” interruption”? How did you respond? With confidence and poise or were you, like Tori, timid and goofy? Of course, maybe you haven’t had that falling in love experience- yet. How would you imagine it to be? Until next time…
