Chase, Victoria, Becky

Mama called me yesterday about 9 a.m. to tell me she and Chase were at the DPS for him to get his learner’s permit. That in itself is frightening enough, but when I called her back about an hour later she told me he was still in line to get his paperwork turned in and he was considering going ahead and taking the driving test to get his license. At that point I was really uncertain what to pray.

Chase called me about an hour later to tell me he was done but that he had not been able to get his license. He thought everything was going well on the driving test when the instructor asked him how fast he was going, to which he sheepishly answered, “Forty three miles an hour.” The tester then informed him that they were driving in a thirty mile an hour zone. Speeding, it seems, is an automatic failure. At least she did not give him a ticket.

His excuse had some merit although it would not impress a police officer. After years of driving with Mama he thought ten miles an hour over the speed limit was the customary rate of travel. His lack of experience cost him the additional three miles per hour that blew the test. He drove home that evening from the mall with Mama as passenger. When they got home she had to take two Nutri-Calm and Chase crashed on the couch for a couple hours; good thing it was only four miles.

Victoria had lunch yesterday with a very nice young man who has recently joined our church. Lest you get the wrong impression, Mama was there also. When they dropped Chase off at his work, Chick-fil-A in the mall, they had coupons for some free items and you know Mama, never eat at home when you can eat out. When they got their food and sat in the food court Andrew Fie saw them and invited himself over to join them. He had been dropped off at the mall by the company doing a repair on his car – unusual service. I told Mama I was going to tease Victoria about her lunch date but I was asleep long before she got home. With Victoria, that is pretty close to a date. Mama said she left them alone for a few minutes and I am trying hard to imagine the conversation.

Andrew - Do you come here often?

Victoria – My brother works here.

Andrew – Is Chase the youngest of your siblings?

Victoria – Yeah

I told Mama a long time back that I would know Victoria was interested in a young man when she actually talked to and about him. She did not inherit either her Mama’s or her Grandma’s need for the spoken language. Although I know there is a latent potential for such expressiveness, she has not yielded to it in years; when she does it will be a tell tale sign. I still wonder about the moment or the event that changed her from a happy, effusive child into a sullen, withdrawn young lady.

God knows and I await the day when we get her back.

If all went according to plan, Becky should be home. She left me a voice mail saying she was boarding a bus headed for Little Rock with an expected arrival time of about 6 pm. If I remember right, it has been a little over two months since she left. I know she will be happy to be home. Charles indicated he is ready for her to come home also. (Actually he told me he is quite anxious to get her back.) Now we need to pray for her to find work.