The Desire by Gary Smalley Page A

minutes filling her in on the news about Tom and Jean suddenly being able to buy Audrey’s house. “I’m so happy for them. This is so wonderful!” Michele was almost yelling. “I wish I could’ve been there to see their faces. You told them right there in front of the house? What a clever idea.”
    â€œIt was your dad’s. I was just gonna tell them over dinner.”
    Her father still continued to surprise her. “When is all this supposed to happen?”
    â€œYour father said it should only take about a month or two.”
    â€œIs that all?”
    â€œCutting out the real estate agent and mortgage company gets rid of most of the red tape.”
    â€œSo how are you doing with this news? With Doug back at school, you guys really will be empty-nesters. Are you still looking forward to it?” Michele stepped into the kitchen and turned on the oven light. Good, the casserole still had a few minutes.
    â€œWell . . . we won’t be, not exactly.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œThat’s another part of the reason why I called. I’ve got some other news.”
    The joy in her mother’s voice had dropped off considerably. “Is it bad news?”
    â€œNo. In some ways, we think it’s very good news.” But she definitely didn’t sound upbeat.
    â€œBy ‘we,’ do you mean Tom and Jean?”
    â€œNo, your father and me.”
    â€œSo, what is this good news?”
    Her mother hesitated. Michele found herself tensing up.
    â€œTo be honest, I meant to call you earlier today, but I’ve been struggling a little. When this idea first came to me, it seemed totally from the Lord. It’s kind of a big thing. Your dad responded so well to it, and even Doug did when we talked to him.”
    Oh great, Michele thought. They had even talked to Doug before they talked to her—the son who was hardly ever home and mostly disconnected from the family. “What is it, Mom? Would you stop setting it up and just tell me?” A long pause. Michele had gone too far. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to say it like that.”
    â€œI’m messing this all up, making it way bigger than it is,” Marilyn said. “I should have just said what it is from the start. It’s just . . . we’re not going to be empty-nesters because someone’s moving into Doug’s garage apartment. Pretty soon, actually. Even before Tom and Jean move out.”
    This didn’t sound so bad. “Who is it?”
    â€œIt’s this young girl I met. Well, here I go again.” A short pause. “The next part is the part I thought you might have trouble with. I want you to know, your dad and I gave this girl the okay without even thinking. I probably should have talked to you first, to make sure you’d be okay with it.”
    Michele was tensing up again. She reminded herself that her mom was just nervous and that she tended to beat around the bush when she got nervous. This was probably nothing. “That I’d be okay with what ?”
    â€œWith her moving into the garage apartment, where Doug’s been living the last two years.”
    â€œWhy would I not be okay with that? Doug’s hardly ever home anymore.”
    â€œI know,” her mom said, “but there’s more. I met this girl down at the Women’s Resource Center. She’s seven monthspregnant. She just recently became one of my clients, and we found out she was about to lose her apartment. This way, she’ll have a safe place to live until the baby is born, and I’ll be able to look in on her.”
    â€œOh.” Michele wasn’t sure if this new information mattered that much. With all this buildup, she was thinking it should bother her more than it did. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing for her that the two of you met.”
    â€œSo you’re okay with it