Faith Finds Forgiveness is the second book in the Twin Destiny series. Find the full book here.
From Chapter One:
That evening, not finding anything interesting on TV, Faith took the journal out of the paper bag and opened it to the first blank lined page. At the hotel, she was used to writing reports, but these tasks had specific goals. A journal was open-ended. She picked up one of the new pens, test-writing it on the shopping bag. Then she twirled the pen in her fingers, not knowing where to start her journal.
Hm, might as well use the clues from the ad for the journal.
She rested the point of the pen on the first page, then wrote, “Good times.”
Underneath, she wrote,
“Good times for me are two very different periods. The first is my childhood, happy times with Mom and Dad, pleasant friendships with friends at school. The second time is now, when my sons found me and I got together with their families.”
She hesitated before writing on the next page,
“Bad times.”
Below that, she penned,
“My dark times started when I got pregnant, and that ruined all the good times in Canton. Mom and Dad were disappointed in me, and I was disappointed with myself. When they insisted on adoption for the twins, and then the terrible decision to split them, that actually split me from my folks and from Canton. So as soon as I graduated, I left home for a job in Chicago with Hunter Hotels. And I feel bad that I never really made up with my folks. Well, Mom and I forgave each other when she was dying, but Dad went to his grave without forgiving me. And I didn’t forgive him.”
Next she wrote on a new page,
“Problem times.”
She thought for a few minutes, then put down pen and paper, and went to the kitchen. She looked through a cabinet until she found an Earl Gray teabag, and put water on to boil. Waiting for the kettle to whistle, she thought about her problems—maybe they were uncertainties.
Returning with her teacup to the recliner, she began writing under “Problem times,” starting with,
“Problem times for me now are uncertainties. I’m really happy to be with the twins, but am afraid this happiness can’t last. Well, maybe one uncertainty is fear—I’m afraid of losing the wins and their children. The real problem is, I don’t know why I’m afraid.”
She finished her tea, put the pen inside the journal to mark her place, and got ready for bed, still thinking about problem times.
In later chapters, Faith struggles to deal with forgiving her parents, and also forgiving herself. An Episcopal priest helps her resolve her uncertainties about guilt and forgiveness, and helps Faith realize she has never considered forgiving Doug Parnelli, the father of the twins, who she has not seen for three decades. Faith feels that if she could locate and meet Doug, she would be better able to forgive him. Scott, the newspaper reporter who made the discovery that Jeremy and Jonathan are twins, reluctantly agrees to drive her from Chicago to Peoria so that she can at least see Doug, and make the decision if she really wants to meet and talk to him. The excerpt from chapter Thirty-three finds Scott and Faith in Peoria after a night in a hotel (in separate rooms) getting ready for breakfast and the meeting with Doug.
From Chapter Thirty-three of Faith Finds Forgiveness:
Faith was not in a good mood when she went to the hotel café for breakfast with Scott.
“Sleep well?” Scott asked.
“No. Didn’t get much sleep at all.”
“Are you up to the trip to Parnelli Construction?”
Faith slumped in her chair, scanning the menu. “No. Not sure that I ever would be. Sleep or not.”
“Second thoughts? If you want, I can drive back to Chicago, you can sleep.”
Faith erupted with a nervous laugh. “You’re right, I’m having second thoughts. And third thoughts. And fourth thoughts.”
“And they are?”
“Go ahead with it. Go right up to Doug and spit in his face. Go back to Chicago and forget all about it. Or, return to Chicago and all the nightmares. I don’t know what to do.”
Scott reached across the table, and took both of her hands. “It’s alright, Faith. We don’t have any appointment to keep, so we can take our time. Let’s have a good breakfast.”
Pancakes, eggs, fruit, and several cups of coffee made a big difference.
Faith looked at Scott. “If we go to Doug’s business, like you said, what exactly is the plan? Humor me. I know you told me before, but it was a tough night and everything’s running together. Tell me again.”
“First I phone to make sure he’s there and seeing customers. From what I gathered in a call from Chicago, he has a couple of foremen who handle the actual construction, and he takes care of the office, talking to customers about building projects and materials. If he’s there, we go by, park in front. You’ll be in the back seat behind the tinted windows. I’ll bring him outside to check some of the building materials. That will give you a chance to look at him without him seeing you.”
“Sneaky and cowardly, but I guess it’ll have to do.”
“Promise me you won’t do anything rash.”
“Rash? What’s rash?”
“Well, like walk right up to him and spit in his face.”
“No, that’s what I feel like, but you know I could never do that.”
“I hope not.”
At 9:15 Scott called Parnelli Construction and asked if Mr. Parnelli was in. The receptionist said he was expected in shortly, probably by 9:30. They checked out and headed for Parnelli Construction. Scott said if for any reason they wanted to stay in Peoria another night, that was fine. There were plenty of rooms, and they could always check back in. But in case something went wrong, he wanted to be able to jump in the car and point it in the direction of the Windy City.
Parnellli Construction was located in an industrial area of town not far from the river. Once red brick buildings, grayed by dust, surrounded an open lot with a high chain link fence, beyond which was a frame building and a motley collection of trucks, cement mixers, and other construction equipment. In front of the frame building with its large-lettered Parnelli Construction sign was a patchwork quilt of brick and stone samples fashioned into a low wall. Scott parked on the street, not pulling into the dirt lot, by the wall of display masonry. This is where he would maneuver Doug, if he could.
Faith was in the back behind the protective tinted windows. She stretched out across the seat so that she couldn’t be seen.
“You okay?”
“No, but go ahead. Do your thing. I’ll do mine. If we don’t do it now, I don’t think I can handle it.”
“It’s up to you.”
“Go!”
He got out and walked across the bare dirt lot, kicking up small dust clouds with each step.
Strange, she thought, we were supposed to be covering our tracks, and there were his footprints clearly etched in the ground.
Faith was impatient, glancing at her watch. Only five minutes had passed. Ten minutes. Fifteen. Twenty. A half hour, and she began to panic.
Another five minutes and Scott opened the door, followed by Doug. No mistake, it was the same face, same arrow-head lock of curly hair on the forehead. Maybe a little thinning and gray at the temples. A hint of a pot belly. A slight stoop or limp.
Was this what she came to see? She felt nothing. Nothing at all.
As Scott and Doug compared and discussed and probably priced brick or stone fronts for a hypothetical building, a shapely young girl hurried by. Must be late for school, Faith thought.
Doug kept talking to Scott, not missing a beat, but his head and eyes swiveled to track the girl’s movements. Still talking, Doug grinned and winked at Scott.
A woman, apparently Doug’s receptionist, came out of the office and down the stairs, handing Doug a note. Doug turned to take the paper from her. When she climbed the stairs, her tight skirt framed a slightly different outline of her derriere with each movement. Doug’s head was oriented in her direction, ratcheting upward with every step she took.
Peering out the edge of the car window, Faith cringed as she saw Doug leer at these two women. She sobbed as she pulled away from the window. Feeling faint, she lay down across the seat.
Scott and Doug concluded their talk, shaking hands as they parted. Doug went to the office. Scott returned to the car.
Scott opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat, turning and asking, “Well, what did you….?”
Faith’s body was curled up in a fetal position across the back seat with her face toward the back of the car.
“Well…, he asked?
She didn’t turn to face him.
“Faith…what now?”
“If you can drive to Chicago, go ahead and just drive. I’m tired and sleepy, so I you don’t mind, I’ll just stay here and try to nap.”
Scott started the car and drove out of town.
Read Faith Finds Forgiveness here to find out how Faith handles her own uncertainties and the unresolved relationship with Doug.
H. Byron Earhart 