On the Edge of Wishing

On The Edge

of Wishing

DANETTE KEY

On The Edge of Wishing

Copyright © 2013 by Danette Key.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4759-6441-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-6446-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-6442-4 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 04/27/2015

Cover design by LeeAnn Jensen.

crea8ylady@gmail.com

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

EPILOGUE

On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost alone in dark and dreary places.

Often enough that distress can be our own making, but even the

Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.

—Jeffrey R. Holland

Chapter 1

"Excellence does not come easy or quickly—

An excellent education does not, a successful mission does not, a strong, loving marriage does not, rewarding personal relationships do not. It is simply a truism that nothing very valuable can come without significant sacrifice, effort, and patience on our part."

-Jeffery R Holland, Created for Greater Things

Peter looked at the message his secretary sent him. He frowned. He couldn’t believe the school was calling him again! Why don’t they contact my wife? She is so much better at these things than I am. He really didn’t want to address the problem that he knew the school was calling about at this time. He was just too busy for this crap from his daughter!

His daughter, Maddy, was such a pain! She was constantly getting into trouble at school. For being only 14, she could sure cause a lot of grief! They had tried counseling once, but no way was he going to take the blame for his child’s behavior just because he was the adult! He still remembered the conversation with the counselor.

Mr. Tenney, children are at a level of maturity that is much less than an adult’s level. As adults, we must control our emotions in order to help our children develop theirs.

So I’m immature is what she is saying. Peter looked around the office at the framed certificates and diplomas of the counselor. I wonder if she has children, Peter thought.

Peter pushed this thought out of his head, because he knew it didn’t really matter. What would make him listen to her was if any of her children were BAD children. Then he could respect what she was saying.

I’m not sure I can agree with that. Children must be held responsible for what they do. Peter looked at her square in the face.

Of course children must have consequences for their decisions. I’m saying parents are there to make sure children make those decisions in a safe environment.

Peter huffed. I can’t keep her out of school so she can make better decisions! Believe me, I’d love to!

Not all children who attend school make poor decisions, Mr. Tenney. We just have to make sure we talk to our children about the decisions they make…

Peter cut her off. But if she’s already made them, what good is it to talk about them?

Becca put her hand on Peter’s arm. She didn’t say anything, but he knew after 20 years of being married to this wonderful, patient woman, that Becca was only asking him to settle down. This time he ignored her loving touch, knowing that there might be consequences later.

Peter stood and headed for the door. At the door he threw up his arms and yelled, It’s too late, we can’t fix this!

Remembering now, he felt foolish. What a terrible parent he must look like, giving up on his own child. But he felt he had already tried everything to get her to adhere to the rules of a normal childhood. Teen-hood, he corrected himself. He never went back to counseling after that. He was too embarrassed, and it bothered his pride. It sounded like the counselor wanted him to do all the changing. That just wasn’t what he expected, nor was he willing for that sacrifice.

Teens! He remembered a friend saying that when a kid turns 13, their spirit leaves their body and doesn’t come back until they are at least 18! He was beginning to understand that statement now. Madeline has no spirit except a mean, disobedient one, he thought.

Peter set aside his thoughts and the plethora of paperwork on his desk, and dialed the school.

Chapter 2

A person has to be careful about things he might regret years from now.

-Linus, Peanuts Guide to life

Madeline Tenney tapped her toes to the music she had in her head as she waited for the principle, or vice principle, to yell at her. She looked around the small office that had only three chairs for waiting. They don’t usually have very many bad kids lined up here, she thought.

Her teacher had already taken her iPod away. She knew they couldn’t do much else to her. Maddy was a perfect abbreviation for her name, because she constantly felt mad. It was her parents’ fault, she thought, smiling. They had determined her destiny by giving her that name. She stopped tapping her toe and laughed out loud. The receptionist gave her a dirty look. Maddy looked away with disgust. Whatever. She really didn’t want to be mad all the time, but she just couldn’t help it!

Maddy was hoping the teacher would give her iPod back today after he did the customary yelling or calling her parents. It was ridiculous how much of a big deal they made out of someone just listening to music. And it wasn’t even that hip hop junk! She started to tap her toes again. I just can’t live without my music! She sighed. Looking back at it now, she had been so sure the teacher couldn’t see the earphones in her ears hidden in her long brown hair. If she hadn’t accidently pulled the jack out of her iPod and had the volume loud enough for all to hear, her teacher would have never known. When she scrambled to turn it down quickly, her brown hair fell back and exposed the dang ear phones! Caught again, and this time her sad brown eyes weren’t enough to convince her teacher it would never happen again. Geesh, I never get a break, she thought as she rolled her eyes.

Chapter 3

"We seek too high for things close by

And lose what prayer would find us

For life has here no charms so dear

As home, sweet home, and loved ones ‘round us."

—Anonymous

Becca sat by the window and just stared. She was not sure why it was so therapeutic staring out the window. Maybe because the seasons came and went without anyone manipulating them. The large green trees didn’t move, the grass was always on the ground, and her beautiful tulips came up every spring, no matter what.

But now she has changed.

She’s just tired.

Not necessarily because she is overworked or can’t sleep; just tired of trying all the time. She sighed. Maddy still hadn’t come home from school, and it was already 4pm. Soon Peter would walk in the door. They had taken Maddy’s phone away from her just last week because they caught her texting with some boy who was 19! They weren’t even sure how she had met the boy. On Facebook perhaps? Maddy was only 14! This was a very scary thing! Maddy had been furious with them and now came home when she felt like it. Her excuse was that she had needed to stay after school or had dropped by a friend’s house or had needed to practice or study something or other. Becca was just so tired of it all. She would have to start picking Maddy up from school to enforce the new rules of coming home right after school, and that was inconvenient.

Being a parent is inconvenient, she said out loud.

Becca watched as the neighbors drove by the house on their way from work, school, or other activities they were involved in. She knew most of her neighbors. Becca was a friend to everyone and helped her neighbors out when she could. She had been blessed to be able to stay at home.

She loved to grow vegetables and can them. It was such a joy to her to see jars of vegetables or fruit lining her cabinets or counters. But she had a hard time eating them. It was almost as if they were precious quilts that were made only to look at, but not to use. However, she did love to give them away. Her neighbors were not unaccustomed to her gifts. She gave of herself continually. She remembered the other day when a neighbor had told her about the neighbor down the street who was having bypass surgery. She put together a wholesome meal and took it to the family so they would not have to worry about what to eat, but would have a home-cooked meal ready and waiting when they returned from the hospital. This was the way Becca was. Canning was easy. But she couldn’t seem to get her own family to come out right.

For some reason she could not fathom, she had Maddy: a selfish, arrogant, mean child. Not like Becca at all. She teased her siblings unmercifully! She broke all the rules and she never had anything good to say about anything. She was never happy with what she had and always wanted what everyone else had. When Becca asked her to help around the house she complained and did the job badly. Her grades were something else, too: Cs and Ds. She was smart but just seemed to quit trying for some reason. But the worse thing about her was how she treated her 2-year-old sister.

Yes, Pamper was an oops baby. Pamper was a surprise addition to their little family. Peter and Becca had thought they were done after they had Esau, who just turned 9. Pamper, short for Pamela Persephone Tenney, was unexpected. The name Persephone came from the daughter of Zeus in Greek mythology. Becca had studied Mythology in college where she had gotten her degree in Literature. She had always loved the name Persephone and so gave that name to her last baby. Maddy was actually the