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Romans 8:28 all over again.
Maggie couldn’t get mad at Levi for not being aware that he loved her too, that everything he’d done for her had been an expression of his love for her. Somehow, he wanted to preserve their friendship. That made Maggie respect him so much. He could be trusted with her house keys because he wouldn’t cross the line.
Above all, Malachi trusted Levi, and that said a lot about Levi’s character.
It had taken other people, like his cousin Cyrus, to make Levi wake up and realized that if he loved Maggie, he had todo something about it before someone else whisked her away or before she moved out of state and out of sight—as she had almost done.
Maggie thanked God for rescuing their love story in time for Christmas.
If Mom and Dad were here, they would have reminded her of 1 Peter 4:8, a verse that Dad had preached on before.
And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
Dad had often talked about its related verse, Proverbs 10:12, the one that he had required Malachi and Maggie to recite when they had immature sibling fights.
Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all sins.
Maggie’s and Malachi’s phones both sounded at the same time. It was a familiar tone.
“Looks like Mom and Dad are initiating a group chat,” Malachi said. “All right. I’ll hang up now. See you in the family chatroom.”
Maggie nodded. She wondered if Malachi had told Mom and Dad about her and Levi. Then again, their parents had been traveling all over the place on their way home for good. Besides, knowing Malachi, he probably left that to her. It’s her relationship. She could tell their parents herself.
The four-way video call meant that Mom and Dad were using their own separate phones to log into the chatroom. Maggie’s tablet screen split into four quarters, with each of the family members appearing in one quadrant.
“Merry Christmas!” everyone said in unison.
“Wow, we make a good a cappella quartet.” Mom seemed to be sitting at an airport terminal.
“Where are you, Mom?” Maggie asked.
“We’re at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.”
Dad nodded. “Can’t wait to see you at our new log cabin home next week.”
Maggie wanted to say something, but Malachi had something else to say first.
“Is your flight on time?” Malachi asked. “I’ve written down on my calendar that I need to pick you up at the Orlando airport on Wednesday night.”
“Wednesday?” Maggie thought it was Tuesday.
“Yeah, we decided to stop in Colorado to see some friends, and then we’ll fly to Florida to stay for good,” Mom said. “I miss you all so much, but if we don’t go ahead and see those friends, we might not see them again for a very long time.”
Maggie wondered how two extrovert parents had produced two introvert kids. Even though Malachi was a pastor, he was really an introvert at heart.
As for Maggie, she preferred to work behind the scenes, backstage, and away from the limelight.
However, Mom and Dad were always out there in the spotlight. Pastor Fizz had already said that he wanted Dad to find a third career at Lakeside Chapel. It seemed that Dad wouldn’t be totally retiring once he moved to Lakeside. Even if he wasn’t on the church payroll, Dad would probably volunteer. He wasn’t one who would sit still.
“Sorry we’re not there with you on Christmas Day, dearies,” Mom said. “However, we’re live on video in real time, so all is not lost. It’s 4:30 p.m. in Paris, so I’m thinking it’s 10:30 a.m. over there?”
“It’s actually 9:30 a.m.,” Malachi said. “We turned our clock back an hour in November, remember?”
“Did you have a good Christmas in Paris?” Maggie asked.
Dad and Mom nodded simultaneously.
