~ Fabric Of Faith ~

by

Nancy S. Brandt

That evening, Mary Grace went to Elmer’s about nine o’clock. She thought about all the times when she used to come to Elmer’s to drink and party. She’d thought having fun was what life was all about. That was before she found Jesus and learned what life was really all about. Now, she came to Elmer’s to keep Chrissy company, and to try to make her see the futility of the wild life style.

So far, Chrissy hadn’t seen the down side to the life she had chosen, even with Nicky still in the picture. However, Mary Grace wasn’t ready to give up on her. She just continued praying and being there when Chrissy needed her.

The bar was pretty empty, for which Mary Grace was grateful. That way she could have more time to talk to Chrissy. However, when Mary Grace arrived, Chrissy was busy hooking up new kegs for the beer taps, so Mary Grace sipped her orange juice and looked around the bar.

That’s when she saw a woman, dressed in a low cut tight black mini-dress and very high high-heels, leaning over the pool table, laughing at something one of a group of men said.

At first, Mary Grace didn’t recognize the woman. Then she thought she saw pain deep inside the woman’s eyes.

That made Mary Grace take a closer look. She studied the heavily made-up face and realized that under all that paint and powder was Ashley Meyers.

At the picnic at Chance’s, Ashley hadn’t been wearing make-up, and Mary Grace had thought, then, what a beautiful girl she was. Now, though, Ashley had made herself up to look much older than her sixteen years. She also appeared to be wearing a wig, because her brown, shoulder length hair had been replaced by shaggy platinum blonde.

At first, Mary Grace thought she was mistaken, but as she watched, Ashley moved closer to the bar, and Mary Grace got a good look at the girl. It was Ashley; there was no doubt about it. Mary Grace was stunned.