The Covenant - Chapter Two

Closing her eyes while soft music fills the room, Annie relaxes as her thoughts flow to another time and place.  As memories fill her thoughts, she can feel the excitement of hearing that she will be going to Peru for the summer.  It’s a country that she has never visited before let alone try to conform herself to a new culture and immerse herself in ministry among a foreign community.  Her Spanish language classes in high school should come in handy, if only she could remember all the words that she will need at the right time.

So many talented young adults fill the orientation room.  They seem gifted at everything from public speaking, to singing, dancing, knowing how to play a variety of instruments, terribly outgoing and sure of themselves.  Annie remembers feeling out of place, but hoping that God will be able to use her anyway.  She has always wanted to help people and this seems like a wonderful opportunity to really make a difference in other’s lives.

Looking up she can see a handsome man entering the room.  For an instant their eyes meet, Annie can feel their warmth but quickly turns away feeling that she may have been staring for a little too long.  She slyly looks up again for another look and finds his smile to be warm and engaging. He peers at her again while talking to the confident guy next him blabbering away about how much he is admired for his public speaking skills with the intention of making others in the room feel like novices.  

As she looks over the pamphlet of information with basic phrases, how to exchange money, what to do about dry cleaning for her uniforms, a list of rules, and other contact information and friendly voice echoes just behind her.

“Hi! My name is Frederick Wentworth, but my friends call me Rick.  What’s your name?” asks Rick taking a hand to comb through a loose strand of hair attempting to put it back in place.

Annie can feel herself fidget in her nervousness speaking to the attractive guy making a way to sit next to her.  “My name is Anne Elliot, but my friends call me Annie.  It’s nice to meet you.”  Shyly smiling up at him and quickly looking down again to see if everything is in place with no traces of a leftover lunch.

“I don’t think I’ve met you before.  What corps are you from?  Is it close to here? “ curiously asks Rich leaning closer to her trying to listen to whatever she has to share.

“I attend Kenilworth.  It’s a rather large traditional corps with a band and songsters  in the North” explains Annie trying to think of something to add to continue the conversation “My family has been attending there for generations.  I think we’re the oldest family in the corps.  If fact, my family help start the Army in the states.”

“Wow … that’s interesting.  I don’t think that I’ve met anyone that can trace their family back that far.  I’m a first generation Salvationist.  My parents don’t attend.  I came to know the Army through the Boys and Girls club as a kid.  I liked playing air hockey and pool in the afternoons during the summer during middle school” Rick shrugs his shoulders at the old memory, “The corps wasn’t too far away so I could ride my bike every day rather than be home alone . My mom had to work so it was either hang out with my older brother who had no interest in babysitting or go down to the community center and hangout with my friends.”

As Rick shares about some of his life, Annie smiles back at him enjoying the conversation.  “Do you mind if I sit with you for orientation?  There doesn’t seem like many available seats”.

“Sure” Annie can hear herself respond and decides to add “There’s plenty of room if you can’t find a seat anywhere else.” Annie turns the other way for a moment blocked from his view and cringes for not coming up with a better response.

Rick looks at her and nervously chuckles while hoping that she really does want him to sit next to her and it is not just a matter of convenience. “After orientation is over this afternoon, would you like to take a tour of THQ and the trade department? I haven’t been here before, have you?”

“My dad comes about once a quarter to get a new fitting on his uniforms.  He likes to have them tailored so they fit well.  He also has them add a soft red lining for more comfort.  His favorite material are the linen uniforms even though they are a bit more expensive” explains Annie talking about the first thing the comes to mind feeling that he probably could care less what types of uniforms her father wears.

“I just got my first uniform a few months ago when I was enrolled. I thought that I might pick up a couple extra pair of work pants and shirts for the summer.  I don’t know where Trade is located so if you don’t mind, would you show me where it is?” asks Rick hoping to be able to spend more time with her to get to know her better in a more comfortable setting.

“I’m free this afternoon and I need to pick up a sweater and a new timbrel for the trip. On the flight coming here, my timbrel busted on the plane from being shoved into my rather large over-packed suitcase.  Unfortunately,  when I opened my suitcase, all my shampoo and other lotions had also exploded from the air pressure” feeling a little embarrassed but finding the humor in it noticing that Rick finds it funny too Annie continues “At least my clothes smell good now, more like coconut than ocean breeze.”

“Maybe I’ll take your advice and try that.  At least I’d smell good all summer too. ” Rick teases “We’ll be the best smelling people on our teams especially when the automatic laundry facilities are not available.” Rick slyly smiles and adds “I was just thinking about wearing a car freshener on a chain instead.”

As she imagines his homemade necklace, Annie strains to make a face that the last statement sounded halfway normal but fails and gives away her surprise.

“I’m just kidding” Ricks teases “But it would be a rather good idea don’t you think, especially when there is no A/C available in a lot of the places where we will go. I’m not use to the heat.”

“Did you have to get many immunizations?  I took everything that they recommended, but I ended up being a little sick and sore too from them” asks Annie wanting to continue the conversation but not sure where to head next.

“Yeah, I did.  My backside really hurt for a day or two” rubbing the spot where the shot was located for effect, Rick shares holding out his arms in front of them and twisting them at the memory “I also brought a Mesquito net with me, I’m not sure that I’ll need it, but I can’t stand to be bit. I don’t know which is worse a mesquito or an ant bite.”

“I’d rather have neither” states Annie knowing that she practically packed an entire medicine cabinet in her suitcase debating if she needed clothes or some particular safety and recovery items more. “I brought a few things with me just in case anything happens that I don’t mind sharing with you.”

“I’m glad that you’re my friend.  At least I know that you’ll take care of me should I get myself into danger or harm’s way” grinning a large cheesy smile at her, Rick states “You’ll be my angel for me.”

Hearing the words “my angel”, makes Annie feel her cheeks turning red and rushes a hand to her jaw to cover up any discoloration in her face.  She smiles unable to make a further comment.

“I’ll meet you at three in front of your dorm and then we can walk around the campus together.  Is that all right with you?” asks Rick with hopeful eyes and a warm smile.

Taking a deep breath hoping to lower her voice rather than the shrill that sometimes occurs when she gets excited, Annie calmly answers “I’ll see you then!”

Suddenly Annie is jarred into the present from her daydream of the past to hear Jennings voice next to her “Uhhh … Alice …. I don’t know about that color?  What do you think Annie?  You’re a young woman, you know what we should be wearing and what would be better off left on the shelf.”

Blinking her eyes a couple of times to focus as she raises her head from the massaging chair, “I think that I like the blue frost a little better than the lime green, but that’s just my opinion.”

Alice Hammer sighs, “I know.  I like both colors.  What if I got most of my fingers painted in the blue and then the two ring fingers in the lime green?  What do you think?  Then I could just add a few decals too”

Jennings violently shakes her head, “At least make the shade match if you want to use two different colors.  What decals are you thinking about this time?  I think the zebras were a bit much last month.”

“Well, maybe Annie can help me decide.  I love animal decals, but maybe a flower might be better.  What about a Cantuta?” asks Alice Hammer holding up her hands to the sky imaging the image on each decorative nail.

“Ummmm…” responds Annie lost in her thoughts again “The Cantuta is the national flower of Peru”.  As she overhears the discussion about what floral accent to use, Annie thoughts float back to 15 years ago.

“What do you think of this flower?” asks Rick having just picked a bushel of them from a long stem hanging from a bush.  “I like the red ones the best, but he pink and yellow ones are nice too.”

He shortens the stem and places a few over her ear like they might do in Hawaii.  “There I think that’s better.  It brings out your eyes.”

Moving closer to him, Annie blushes and can’t help wondering how someone so terrific could have entered her life.  They walk side by side for awhile content with the company of each other.  Four weeks have gone so quickly with only four more to go.

“What are your plans when you get back?” asks Annie wishing that his school will be close to her own.

“I can’t afford to go to college this year.  I have my associates, but I may have to wait another year.  I’m thinking about going to the training school instead” pausing for a second to see her response, Rick continues on perceiving no negative feedback in body language “Twenty is young, but I can always finish my degree afterwards.  All the officers are required to take continuing education, but I can put that time towards credited classes and I’ll have a BA by the time I’m commissioned.”

“I’ve thought about going to the training college, but my dad wants me to finish college first.  My mother left it in her will money that she inherited just so I could attend college.  Education was very important to her, and I want to honor her memory to but fulfilling her wishes” sincerely explains Annie “It may be a few years before I’m able to go.  My family though thinks that I would be better just staying at the corps and being a committed soldier.”

“What would you like to do if you could do anything?” asks Rick curious to find out if her desire for the future matches his own.

“I would like to go on to training, but it really isn’t up to me.   I don’t really have money of my own to support myself for two years so I would need my family backing to make it.  They’ve already told me training is not a possibility for at least another five years unless I get married and can do whatever I want, but I doubt they would let that happen any time soon” sighs Annie knowing that Rick doesn’t have the ‘right’ old Army name that her family could use to admire and promote their own egocentric agendas.

“Annie, every flower is beautiful. They look a lot alike when they are put together as a bunch.  But each one has their own stem.  They have their own leaves from which the flower has to grow and bloom” gently touching her forehead next to the vibrant Cantuta and leaning into her, “You need to capture the beauty within you and find out what it is you want for yourself.  It’s really the only way to be happy and find contentment in life.” 

Awakening from her slumber, she hears Alice Hammer exclaim “Aren’t they wonderful!” walking chair to chair and demonstrating jazz hands to the other polite but uninterested customers in the salon. “I got bells with ten different notes painted on each one of them! Look, it’s a full octave on the fingers and my thumbs each have a sharp and a flat.  I can pretend I’m making music even when it is better to be silent such as during the message during the worship service when Major gets a little long winded, or when I’m at the library waiting on Jennings to finally decide that she has chosen enough books for the week to read.  If I get a little bored, I can just play along my favorite song with my hands!”

Somewhat appalled as typical of her expected social status, Beth Elliot looks at Alice Hammer like she is crazy and the whole idea is absurd.  However by contrast, Annie smiles at her dear friend wondering how she comes up with so many creative ideas.  She hopes that one day she will be more like her as she begins to get older.

“Bells are such lovely things.  Have you ever heard a full set of bells ringing from a chapel steeple?  I think it must be one of the most beautiful sounds in the world,” reminisces Alice Hammer “I could sit in a large quite cathedral all day surrounded by stain glass just to hear the blended soulful melodies of the bells”.

Beth wrinkles her nose at the idea, “I always find the bells way too loud for comfort.  I don’t know why anyone would bother to use them anymore.  No one can hear them above the traffic and it is such an outdated thing to do”.

Taking a sigh and closing her eyes once again whispering “Bells are such a beautiful sound especially for a wedding.”

“What do you think of marriage Annie?  Is it something you see yourself doing some day?” sweetly asks Rick holding her hand and softly kissing her cheek “It’s something I’d want to do if I knew that we both loved each other and never wanted to be apart.”

Looking up at Rick, Annie replies “I definitely could see myself very content as a wife if I were with someone who loved me and could be faithful to me for life.”

“I like the idea of always being with you Annie” quietly states Rick stroking her cheek and holding on to a strand of her hair that has fallen from the pony tail and onto her shoulder.  “How would you feel about being around me all the time?”

“I don’t think that I would ever be bored.  You make me laugh too much!” honestly admits Annie but more seriously continues “I think it’s the best thing that I could ever choose to do”.

“Maybe this is something that we should think more about” dreamily announces Rick but then with more of a hint of sobering reality, “We both go home next week, but we’ll see each other again at Territorial Youth Conference a couple of weeks later.  Maybe I can meet your sister then, and your dad too if he is coming.”

“I think that would be wonderful!  My mentor has been assigned as a chaperone too.  She was my mother’s best friend all through her childhood and adult life before she passed away.  Her name is Lydia Russell.  I’d really like you to know her.  I think that you’ll like her a lot!” offers Annie very excited about the possibility of Rick meeting her family in just a few short weeks.

“Come on Annie, you’ll have to finish your dreaming later.  We’re going to be late.  I’m picking up Ariel and we’re going shopping this afternoon for Liz’s bridal shower.  You need to pull yourself together, because I’m in a hurry” snaps Beth already headed out the door. 

“Bye everyone!  I’ll see you at the shower tomorrow!” sweetly waves Annie sharing a few hugs with Jennings and Alice Hammer on her way out and then turns again to Ms. Kim “Thanks again!” offering her a rather large tip for her well-done work.