TITLE: SHATTERED, Chapter One By Lynn McMonigal 01/10/10 |
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Lynn
“Janessa Marie Warner.”
With a smile she thought would never fade, Janessa walked confidently up the steps. She glided across the stage, pausing long enough to shake hands with Dr. Todd Marks, President of Indiana Wesleyan University. She accepted his congratulations and held tight to the maroon folder he handed her. This was it. Her degree. The little piece of paper she had worked hard for, had lived the past four years for. No, she had lived for God these last four years. That folder and the piece of paper it proudly display just represented His will for her life.
No amount of hard work and sacrifice on her part would have meant anything if God was not in it all.
She reached the edge of the stage, having shaken hands with a few other members of university faculty. She looked up and said, “Thank You, Father,” before descended the steps and rejoining her classmates.
Garrett Shepherd was on his feet, cheering louder than anyone else as he watched Janie walk across the stage. He was so proud of her. In a lot of ways, her graduation meant more to him than his own. He knew how hard this had been for her, how much pressure she had felt to get this day. And today she was being rewarded for her hard work.
His parents had made a lot of sacrifices for Garrett and his sister Graceyn to get through Indiana Wesleyan. There were times when he wondered if they were sorry about that, if they thought they had wasted their money. Especially when they saw his grades some semesters. There had even been moments in the first two years when Garrett thought Mom and Dad could have found better uses for their money, investments that would have given a better return. Staring at Janessa Warner as she slid across the stage, smiling from ear to ear, Garrett was grateful he had stayed in school, grateful for the sacrifices his parents had made.
When Janie had cleared the stage, he reached beneath his own maroon gown. He had to check his pocket again, to be sure that little box was still there. A smile spread across his face and he touched the soft velvet. Janessa had said her happiest day would be when she finished college.
Garrett hoped that he would be able to make it just a little more memorable for her.
“Janie!”
Janessa turned toward the sound and smiled. The graduation ceremony had just ended, and over the sea of graduates, searching for their families, she saw Garrett’s familiar face smiling at here, his hand in the air waving for her attention. Her heart soared as it often did when she saw him. Garrett was definitely one of the greatest blessings in her life. As she worked her way through the crowd of maroon caps and gowns, Janessa again thanked God for bringing them together. Janessa worked her way through the crowd of maroon caps and gowns until she was at Garrett’s side. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her in the air, causing Janessa to giggle.
“We did it,” Garrett said. He kissed the tip of her nose and sat Janessa carefully back on the ground. “Can you believe that we just finished college?”
Janessa held her cap in one place, stumbling slightly to get her footing. She was not used to the high heels her mother had insisted she wear that day. “For now,” she said. “But you still have a way to go until you get that law degree.”
“Aw, can’t you just let me celebrate this for a while before I have to think about going back?”
She laughed. “Fine, I’ll let you have a little break. But I am so proud of you. I am so sick of school. I can’t imagine having 4 years left.”
“But I know I am doing what God wants,” Garrett said. “As much as I would like to stop now, I know that He has something better in store for me later.”
Janessa smiled, not wanting to admit to what she was feeling. She hoped that the something better God had in store included her. The worst part of graduating was the knowledge she wouldn’t see Garrett every day anymore. But this was supposed to be a happy day, and she didn’t want to dwell on that right now. “Have you found your parents?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I left Gracie with them while I came to find you. Found yours yet?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I am sure they are around here somewhere. It’s amazing anyone can be found in this crowd.”
“Hey, Mom and Dad want to take us out to celebrate graduation tonight.”
“Oh.” Janessa tried to hide her disappointment. They had planned to spend their last evening in Marion together before Garrett drove home to Michigan and Janessa flew back to Texas. “You and Graceyn will have a good time, I’m sure.”
“You, too,” Garrett said. “Mom and Dad thought it would be fun if you and your parents came along.”
“Really?” Janessa couldn’t decide if she was more excited to have dinner with Garrett or more nervous about meeting his parents. “Nattie is here, too. You sure they won’t mind having my sister tag along?”
“As long as you are there,” Garrett said, “I don’t think they will mind. “They are talking about Italian. Sound OK to you?”
“Olive Garden? Sounds about perfect.”
“Great.” He squeezed her hand. “I didn’t want to miss our last evening together, but I didn’t know how to say no to Mom, either. Besides, I’d love to meet Kerry and Tim.”
“And Natalie?”
Garrett laughed. “Yeah, I’d like to meet your sister, too.”
Janessa heard someone call her name. She turned around to see her mother waving wildly at her. “There are my parents,” she said.
“I should get back to my family anyway. Meet you in about an hour?”
She nodded. Garrett kissed her cheek gently and then turned, quickly disappearing into the crowd. Janessa wasn’t alone for long, though. Soon her mother, father, and little sister were at her side, hugging her and giving their congratulations.
“You are so lucky,” Natalie, Janessa’s 12-year-old sister, told her. “You don’t have to go back to school ever again.”
Janessa laughed at her. “Not until I find a job, anyway. It’s kind of hard to be a teacher and not go to school.”
“As long as you are a nice teacher,” Natalie said. “Mine are all idiots.”
“Natalie Jean,” her mother scolded. “That’s not a nice thing to say.”
“But it is true,” Natalie mumbled. Janessa saw her father place a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. She knew that would be the last complaint she would hear from her sister for the evening. Natalie could be a pretty outspoken girl, but even she wouldn’t try to push things with Tim Warner.
“So,” her father asked. “How should we celebrate?”
“How about dinner at Olive Garden?” Janessa said.
“Olive Garden?” Natalie made a disgusted face. “Italian food stuffed full of tomatoes. Eww. Can’t we get something more interesting than that?”
Tim tightened the grip he had on Natalie’s shoulder, causing her to wince a little. He said, “This is your night, Janie. If you want to go to Olive Garden, that’s where we will go.”
“As long as you are sure that is what you want,” Kerry said. “But I thought you’d choose something different, something that is uniquely Marion that you can’t get back in Lewisville.”
“Well, there is a reason for choosing Olive Garden,” Janessa said. She linked arms with her mother and sister and began walking toward the parking lot, with her father following close behind. “My roommate and her parents invited us to meet them there tonight. I thought it might be fun.”
“Roommate, huh?” Kerry said with a little laugh. “This wouldn’t be the same roommate with the Nick Lachey look-a-like for a brother, would it?”
Janessa felt herself smiling. “Maybe.”
“As long as this brother is going to be there, too,” Tim said, doing his best to sound gruff.
"It would be nice to finally meet him,” Kerry said. “We’ve heard so much about him. But I’d like to find out if he is really good enough for you.”
“No one is good enough for my little girl,” Tim said. “For either of my little girls.”
They had reached the car by then. “Oh, Daddy,” Janessa said. She gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry,” she whispered in his ear. “You will always be my favorite guy.”
Tim returned her hug. “Have I mentioned how proud I am of you?”
Natalie groaned. “Can we just go, please?” she whined. “Let’s just get this over with.”
“Is spending an evening with your family really that much torture?” Janessa asked. She took off her graduation gown and slid into the backseat of her parents’ rented car beside her sister.
“No,” Natalie admitted. She reached up to help remove the bobby pins that held Janessa’s cap in place. “But if I have to watch you make out with some guy all night, I might hurl.”
“Can I interest you in dessert tonight?” the waitress asked as she cleared away some of the dinner plates.
Janessa leaned back in her seat. “Oh, I’m not sure I could eat another bite,” she said.
“What about the raspberry cheesecake?” Garrett suggested. “We could split a slice.”
“Only if we are going to share,” Janessa said with a grin.
The waitress nodded. “One raspberry cheesecake, with two forks,” she said. She glanced around the table. “Anything for anyone else?”
The others gave their orders, and the waitress walked away. Janessa felt a kick under the table. She glanced across at her mother, who nodded toward the restrooms. It was a signal that Janessa had expected all evening. Her mother was not a patient woman, and Janessa was actually surprised she had waited so long to take her aside to talk about Garrett. She turned to Garrett.
“Could you excuse me for just a moment?” she asked him. He nodded. Before standing, Janessa kissed his cheek. With a smile, Kerry stood and joined her.
“You two are so cute,” she said, linking her arm around Janessa’s as they walked away from the table.
“Who?” Janessa asked.
“You and Garrett. It’s like you are afraid to be away from each other at all.”
Janessa opened the door of the bathroom and held it for Kerry. “Not afraid, exactly,” she told her mother. “I am just not looking forward to being so far away from him. I don’t know how we are supposed to keep this relationship going when I am in Lewisville and he is in Jackson.”
Standing in front of the mirror to fix her hair, Kerry paused. Janessa thought she saw a look of terror and panic cross Kerry’s face. It was gone so quickly, though, that she was sure she must have imagined it. “Jackson?” Kerry said, continuing with her hair. “Where is that?”
“It’s in Michigan,” Janessa told her. “A little south of Lansing and a little west of Detroit. It’s where Garrett grew up.”
“Is that where he is going to law school?”
“No,” Janessa said. “That’s in Lansing. He is thinking about living with his parents and driving back and forth.”
“So that is why you applied for all those jobs in Michigan.”
Janessa grinned and shrugged. “Yeah. I am not sure I like the idea of a long distance relationship.”
“If he is the one God means for you to be with,” Kerry said slowly, “He will work it out.”
“I know,” Janessa said. “But I figure it can’t hurt to help Him a bit, right?”
Kerry placed her hands on Janessa’s shoulders and turned her daughter so they were face to face. “One thing I have learned through the years, Janie, is that there is nothing we can do to alter God’s plans for our lives. No amount of ‘help’ from us will change what He wants. If you and Garrett are meant to be together, you will be.”
They rejoined the others in the dining room a few moments later. The table grew strangely quiet when they reached it. Garrett stood up and pulled out Janessa’s chair for her. “What’s going on?” she said slowly.
“Just taking good care of my girl,” Garrett said.
“Don’t question it,” Kerry said brightly. “If he wants to be polite, let him. It doesn’t last forever.” She looked over at Tim, who shrugged.
“You are the one who always wants to be independent.”
With a laugh, Janessa reached for her dessert fork. When she picked it up, something fell off it. Janessa watched as a small, gold ring bobbled on the table. Carefully she picked it up. “What is this?” she asked.
Garrett reached for her hand. Carefully, he knelt on the floor in front of her. He took a deep breath and then said, “Janessa, I have always believed that God created one special girl for me. I knew there was no point in looking for her because when the time was right, He would make sure that I met her. I never expected my perfect someone to be my sister’s roommate. Moving all of Gracie’s stuff into a new room was not how I planned to spend that Monday afternoon, and I grumbled all along. But then I looked at the angel holding the door open for me. I could hardly breathe. The moment you smiled at me, I knew without a doubt that you were the woman God meant for me to spend my life with.” He smiled at her, gently stroking the back of her hand with his fingers. “I have loved you from that first moment, and I know I will love you for the rest of my life. It would be an honor to spend the rest of my life as your husband. Janessa Marie Warner, will you marry me?”
Janessa couldn’t speak. She could barely breathe. Tears welled in her eyes. She blinked rapidly to keep them from falling. “Oh Garrett,” she said at last. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”
After Garrett slipped the ring onto her finger, Janessa threw her arms around his neck. The restaurant erupted in cheers as the couple’s lips met. Not that Janessa noticed. When they parted, she could only stare into Garrett’s blue eyes. As far as she was concerned, there was no one else in the restaurant. It was just Janessa and Garrett.
And she knew she would spend the rest of her life thanking God for the gift of love He had given them.
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