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not what we’ve—what I’ve done. It’s what I wanted to do—that’s the manipulation.”
    “And what did you want to do?”
    Cynthia blushed. “Cut it out. You know as well as I do.”
    “Marry off your father so you could have a life,” Judith stated simply.
    It sounded absolutely awful.
    “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be in charge of your own life,” Judith continued.
    “Yes. Yes, there is. That’s just the whole point. God is in charge of my life. I’m not to be taking things into my own hands and trying to work them out to suit my whims.”
    “This is hardly a whim, Cynthie.”
    “Well, it is. Really. It’s easy to think that I know what’s best for me. But only God really knows that. I need to … to just trust Him to work things out.”
    Judith nodded in agreement. “But the dinner is still on?”
    Cynthia nodded back. “The dinner—yes. But no funny stuff. No trying to get the two of them off by themselves or—”
    “We’re not dealing with teenagers here,” retorted Judith impatiently. “Nobody’s going to try to shove these two mature adults at each other.”
    “Of course not. I’m sorry. It’s just this  … this whole thing has me sort of on edge. I don’t want to jump in and interfere where I have no business. We need God’s will in this.”
    “Listened closely last Sunday, did we?” said Judith, breaking off a section of her orange muffin.
    Cynthia could not help but smile. She shrugged. “Okay. So I listened. I think the lesson might have been meant just for me.”
    “Oh, I needed it a bit too. Cal reminded me of that on the way home.”
    They looked at each other and shared a grin.
    “We’ll do the dinner thing—” began Judith.
    “And we won’t manipulate,” added Cynthia.
    “And we’ll just see what happens with it.”
    Cynthia nodded. “Deal!”
    They turned to their morning pastries and ordered cups of fresh coffee. But it wasn’t long until Cynthia noticed an impish smile playing about her friend’s mouth.
    “What’s with you?”
    Judith tossed her head. “Nothing.”
    “There is too. I can see it brewing.”
    “I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be fun if it happened anyway? Without us. Well … maybe not totally without us. Maybe we’ll need to—you know—give just a wee nudge in the right direction.”
    “Jude!”
    “What? You know perfectly well that sometimes God expects us to do our part.”
    Judith’s eyes were twinkling again. Cynthia knew she was teasing. At least she hoped so.

Chapter Three
    Introductions All Around
    Cynthia was so uptight that her hands felt clammy. The little glances she kept casting toward her father all the way to the Wrights’ house didn’t help, even though he seemed perfectly calm. He looked serene, relaxed. How can he feel so totally at ease with what lies ahead? she wondered rather illogically. Because, of course, he didn’t know. It was only Judith who shared her secret. Maybe Cal. Cal had advised caution. He must know a little about what was being schemed.
    In the backseat Todd and Justin were fairly bouncing with excitement. Then Cynthia realized how long it had been since the boys had enjoyed such an outing. That was one more thing she missed because Roger was gone. They were no longer invited out to visit with other families. Not like they used to be when exchanging Sunday dinner invitations was a common occurrence.
    Cynthia was wise enough to realize that her father’s marriage, should he ever decide to take the plunge sometime in the future, would not change that circumstance. She and her boys still would not be seen as a whole family. Acknowledging the reality made her feel almost panicky. Would she give up her father, only to be even worse off than before? Maybe she should try once more to get out of today’s dinner date.
    But her father was already easing his Chevy into the Wrights’ driveway. A sleek black Olds already occupied the left. The other guests obviously were already being