Blue Sky Christmas II

December 4, 2022 AD. Dyson Household, California, USA, Earth

The sound of Bekah’s tears coming through the phone immediately put Cam on alert. “Bekah, are you ok? What’s wrong?” he practically shouted into the phone. Annette, Dinah, and Ella crowded along worriedly.

“I just ne-needed somebody to-to talk to,” Bekah wailed from the other side. She tried to say more, but it was incomprehensible through the tears.

“It’s all right. Take your time.” Cam waited on edge as Bekah took some time to compose herself enough to talk. “You good now?”

“Yes. Thank you, Cam.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I just had a fight with my parents.”

“About your religious beliefs?”

“Yes. I-I always knew they disapproved, but today was different. We’ve never actually fought before. I shouldn’t! They’re my parents, so I know I should respect them. But when they stood there, going on and on about how I was a disgrace to my forefathers and I should be ashamed of myself, I…well, this going to sound silly, I know.”

“Go ahead and say it,” Cam assured her.

“I had a thought of all of us, sitting together playing D&M. What would we do if a member of the Sunviewers met someone who treated one of us like that? We’d fight back. I mean, I wouldn’t personally, but I’d support Cyton and the rest in standing up to whoever acted like that.” Cam noticed that the other three girls were filing out of the room. Ella mouthed privacy before shutting the door. On the phone, after another patch of tears, Bekah continued. “So I told them that I could make my own choices and they should stop treating me like a child. I’ve never disrespected them like that, ever.”

“Then what happened?”

“They got very quiet. I think they were as surprised as I was that I raised my voice at them. And then my father, h-he slapped me and said that I was still a child. He’s never done anything like that before! I know I must have made him really mad. Oh, Cam, what should I do? I’ve prayed and prayed but I don’t know what God wants me to do.” She repeated “what should I do?”

As the story had unfolded, Cam had felt a seething anger begin to burn in his belly. But he had also felt something else: a desire to protect Bekah. As she asked her final question, he already knew what he wanted to do. “Here’s what you should do,” he said fiercely. “Stay right there. Everything’s going to be ok, do you hear me?” He hung up the phone and dashed out of the room.

“Is everything all right?” Dinah anxiously asked, but he didn’t even answer. He dashed down to his car and started the engine. He was going to rescue Bekah tonight, right away. Luckily, a while ago, she had told him where she lived, saying that she’d be happy to have him over any time. Cam sent his past self a thank-you for writing down the address in his phone. He input the address into his phone’s GPS and was off before the route even loaded. He had rushed out so quickly that he didn’t even have shoes on.

Bekah lived about an hour drive away from Sunview and Dinah’s house. Cam drove at least 15 miles per hour over the speed limit the entire way. Luckily, at that time of night, there weren’t many cars on the road, but several times he narrowly avoided accidents. He didn’t slow down until he screeched to a halt at his phone’s command in front of a modest suburban house on a quiet street. The GPS had barely told him “you’ve arrived” when he barreled out of the car. He stumbled a little—he had been so tense on the drive that his legs cramped up. Still, he made it to the front door where he rang the doorbell three times.

After a short time, the door was opened by a middle-aged man in a nice suit. He scowled at Cam. “What do you want at this time of night?”

“Is Bekah here?” Cam asked a bit more fiercely than he intended.

“Is Rebekah he—who are you?” Behind the man’s back, Cam saw a short middle-aged woman who looked similar to Bekah.

“I’m here to pick up Bekah,” Cam said, attempting to sound brave. The man, presumably Bekah’s father, stared at him. Without another word, he closed the door. Cam banged on it. “Please, can I talk to her?”

The door opened a crack. “Young man, I don’t know what relationship you have with my daughter, but I won’t allow a stranger to harass her like this.”

“I’m a friend from school! My name is Cam. Please, just tell her I’m here.”

The man looked unimpressed, but through the crack Cam could see the woman walk over to him and lay a hand on his arm. “Dear, this is the boy Rebekah has told us about. And he drove all the way out here to see her.” The man nodded slowly and reluctantly.

“Can I talk to her?” Cam repeated.

“Hmph. Do as you please.” The man opened the door for Cam to step in. He pointed his thumb behind him. “Up the stairs. First door on your right.”

“Thank you, sir.” Cam hurried to follow the instructions. From behind the indicated door, Cam could hear the faint sound of Bekah’s sobbing. He knocked on the door.

From inside, Bekah said “Abba, my mind is made up.” She tried to sound determined, apparently thinking that Cam was her father, but he could hear how frightened she was.

“Bekah, it’s me. Cam.” He turned the doorknob. “I’m coming in.”

Bekah didn’t have the lights on. The light streaming in from the hallway revealed a disheveled Bekah lying in her bed. Even in the near darkness, he could see that her eyes were red and splotchy. There was also a red mark on her left cheek. “Cam? What are you…”

Cam strode forward and seized her hand. “Come with me, Bekah,” he said intensely. “Stay with the rest of us for Christmas.”

“But I…”

“No excuses. Come on. You can work things out with your parents later, but for now you need to be with friends.”

She looked at him with hope in her eyes as she said “thank you.”

Cam smiled. “That’s what an adventuring party is all about, right? Together, we can overcome what we couldn’t do alone.” He gently pulled her out of the bed and down the stairs. She didn’t resist.

When he reached the bottom, Bekah’s father confronted the two with folded arms. “Daughter. What do you think you’re doing?”

She shied away at the stern words, but took comfort in Cam’s hand, still in hers. With great effort, she raised her eyes. “Abba. I will spend the rest of the winter break with my friends.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I will! I won’t let you stop us.”

Cam interjected, squeezing Bekah’s hand. “Sir, there are four of us staying at a friends house. It’s very close to school. I promise she’ll be safe.”

Bekah’s father looked like he might explode. His fists clenched. Bekah laid a hand on her father’s arm. “Please, Abba,” she said. “This is what I want and what God wants for me.”

“Oh, is it now,” he steamed. Father and daughter locked eyes for an entire minute, neither blinking or looking away. Cam practically held his breath. He was entranced by Bekah’s determination; he had intended to come to rescue her, but now it seemed like she was rescuing herself.

The father exhaled and broke eye contact. “Fine. Go.” He walked over to a chair and sat down heavily. As Cam led Bekah out to the car, he looked over his shoulder one last time. He saw Bekah’s father with head buried in his hand. His wife stood near trying to comfort him.

When they reached the street, Cam became aware that he was still clutching Bekah’s hand. He released it hurriedly. “Uh, sorry about that. I wasn’t trying to do anything while you were vulnerable or anything like that.”

“It’s all right. I don’t mind.” Bekah said. She gently picked up his hand once again. “Having someone else’s hand in yours. It’s comforting, isn’t it?” She blushed. “Thank you for coming to save me, Cam.”

Embarrassed, Cam said “oh, no, it was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” she said, still holding his hand. “You drove all the way out here, didn’t you?” She stood very close. She was so short that he could practically feel her breath on his chest. She looked up at his face as he looked down at her. When she spoke, it was practically a whisper. “Cam, I…” she paused.

“Yes?”

“I…really like…” It was a moment frozen in time, their eyes locked, bathed by the light of the streetlamp. Bekah seemed to change her mind. She broke contact and hurried around to the passenger’s side door without finishing her sentence.

“Bekah, what is it? Was it important?” Cam asked. She opened the car door.

“Yes, it is. But now is not the time.”

He got in. “If you say so. When will be the time?” He started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

“Whenever God’s time is.”

He spared a glance at her. She was looking out the window, but he could faintly see her face reflected in the glass. She was smiling faintly, although the red eyes were still visible. He smiled too, relieved. “All right. Take your time. You can tell me whatever it is whenever you want.”

They drove in silence for some time. Cam didn’t feel like turning on music, and he definitely was not in the mood to start a conversation in the unwinding tension between the two of them. They had been on the road for 30 minutes when Bekah said “you know, if I’m to stay at Dinah’s for several days…”

“Yes?”

“I don’t have a change of clothes.”

How did I not think of that? he desperately asked himself. “Uh, right! I bet you can borrow clothes from Dinah. And if you need anything else, I don’t mind buying it for you! Haha, it’s the least I can do after kidnapping you like that.”