Free Storm by Rick Bundschuh Page A

rearview mirror with an exasperated sigh.
    “Hey, Sarah, maybe you should let me take over from here,” Kai suggested.
    “Or me,” Dano piped up. “I know all about nuts.”
    “Uh-huh,” Sarah smiled, trying to keep her eyes on the road.
    “Yeah, they’re real experts,” Bethany added, trying to keep a straight face as they bantered back and forth.
    They flashed past dozens of tiny eateries and stands that sold anything you could imagine, from fresh spices to wild-looking guitars to jewelry, clothes, and beautiful pottery. People were everywhere. Color was everywhere. Bethany spotted an enormous fruit market and felt her mouth water.
    “If we get the chance, I’m so there,” Bethany said.
    “Look at those cool skirts!” Holly said.
    “Where?” Monica asked, practically trying to crawl over Malia and Jenna for a peek. The girls groaned in unison and then laughed.
    “Monica, you’re too much,” Jenna chuckled.
    “What? So I like clothes. What girl doesn’t?”
    “This isn’t exactly going to be fashion week in New York,” Bethany teased as the vans turned down an old dusty road, slowing to a stop in front of a slightly crumbling but tidy-looking two-story building.
    “Not exactly Kansas either, Dorothy,” Kai said under his breath as they all took in the iron bars on every window. A wild-looking dog peered at them from the side of the dusty, dinged up SUV parked next to the building.
    “Wow,” Bethany said, feeling her nervousness return as she looked at the poverty around them. She felt her spirits rise again at the sight of a friendly looking couple exiting the house to greet them.
    “Okay, gang, let’s go meet our hosts,” Sarah said with a smile as she pulled her keys from the ignition.
    “Come on, Toto,” Bethany called over her shoulder to Kai as she, Holly, and the other girls scrambled for the door. Dano’s laughter followed them out of the van.
    Eddie and Maggie Passmore were about as nice as you could get, Bethany thought as Maggie pulled away from hugging her and Eddie grabbed her hand in a warm, energetic handshake. She’d been the last in line for the welcome, but they didn’t seem to have lost their enthusiasm.
    “So, are you ready for the tour?” Eddie asked with a broad smile.
    “Oh, she’s ready,” Kai said dryly as Eddie led them into a large room filled with a mismatch of used sofas and chairs parked on a worn but clean carpet.
    “Our strategy room,” Eddie provided. “It’s not exactly the Hilton, but it works.”
    “What made you pick Mexico?” Bethany asked as he led them out of the main room to the lower part of the dorm that held the office and a kitchen large enough for visiting groups to prepare meals.
    “I first visited here when I was a teenager,” he replied, glancing around at the group. “Probably about Kai and Dano’s age—you two are about sixteen, right?” The boys nodded. “It really gotin my blood. I mean, no matter where I went after that, through college to being a youth pastor … I just couldn’t get these people out of my mind. The next time I visited with Maggie, God opened the doors for us in such a big way that there was no doubt
where
he wanted us.” Eddie smiled and shook his head, giving Maggie a look that said it still amazed him.
    “Let’s show them where they’ll be sleeping,” Maggie said with a smile of her own as she led the tired but curious group upstairs.
    The upper part of the dorm was divided into two large sleeping areas; one for guys and one for girls, with shower facilities for both. Duffel bags began to drop around them like flies as Bethany and the girls rushed to claim the bunks they wanted. They laughed, hearing the commotion from the boys’ side. They could hear Mike say, “Come on, guys, age has priority!”
    “How much you want to bet Dano gets whatever bunk he wants?” Bethany grinned.
    “If I was as big as a giant, I know I’d get the bunk I wanted,” Holly said as she flopped onto her bed.