them had a Starbucks drink, and their Bibles weren’t opened yet. Perfect timing, Bailey told herself.
Betty noticed her first. “Bailey, … come in. Take a chair.” She motioned to the seat beside her, one she had obviously left open on purpose so that Bailey would have a place to sit. “We were just catching up.”
The other women raised their cups and the tallest of the four grinned at Betty. “Here, here. We need our catch-up time.”
“Alright … this is Bailey Flanigan. She’s a new Broadway dancer, starring in Hairspray.” Betty smiled at her and patted her knee. “Bailey is brilliantly talented and she has a strong love for God. He has amazing plans for her, right?”
Bailey felt nothing of the sort, not after the way she was struggling in her stage role, and especially not after looking at Cody’s Facebook page. She tried to shake her discouragement. “Yes.” She remembered to smile. “That’s my prayer, anyway.”
“It’s a promise!” The tall woman held her index finger upward, as if to heaven. “God’s already decided that His plans for you are good, right?” She looked at her friends.
“Right.” A woman across the room nodded sweetly. She wore bright red shoes and a smile that lit the room. “You can pray that God will help you understand those plans. But you don’t have to worry. He definitely has good plans for you.”
Already a sense of peace pressed in around Bailey. She was going to love this Bible study … these women and the knowledge they possessed. Bailey had missed meeting for a regular Bible study — something she had always done on campus at Indiana University. This time would be good for her. “Thanks.” She looked at both the women who had added to the conversation. “I needed to hear that.”
“Alright.” Betty was clearly the leader, the one who kept them on track. “Let’s have everyone introduce themselves. Tell a little about your life and why you’re part of this group.”
She looked at her tall friend, the one on her other side. “Barbara, you go first.”
“Very well.” Barbara sat straight and spoke in a way that was eloquent and clear. “I’m Barbara Owens, the baby of the group … though we won’t say exactly what that means,” she laughed, and the others joined in. She took a sip of her drink and waited for the room to settle again. “I’m married to the love of my life.” A soft look filled her eyes. “We have three kids and seven grandchildren.” She paused, but only because she wasn’t in a rush. Everything about Barbara emanated confidence. She was very pretty, and something told Bailey she had been successful in her life.
Barbara still had the floor. “Let’s see … I love to decorate and sew … and I make a new cross-stitch wall hanging for my house every year.”
“And you’re the CEO of your own company.” Betty gave her a friendly elbow in the ribs. “Don’t be modest.”
“Oh, that,” again Betty laughed. “Yes, I grew up on a ranch in Texas, and today I’m the CEO of my own New York company.” She paused. “I met Betty at a Pilates class downtown and by the end of the afternoon we were swapping Bible verses and promising we’d get together that weekend with our husbands.” She smiled and put her hand briefly on Betty’s shoulder. “We’ve been like sisters ever since. I wouldn’t miss our summer Bible study.”
Betty’s expression showed how much Barbara meant to her. She moved to the next woman in the circle, the one with the red shoes. The woman didn’t need to be asked twice. “Hi, Bailey … my name is Sara Quillian, and I live in the apartment building here. I met Betty and Bob at one of the building’s rooftop barbecues. Betty was talking about Jesus in no time, and we began making a point of finding time to be together. We’ve been friends for a decade.”
“At least.” Betty crossed her legs at the ankles and shot a kind smile across the room. “You and I are in charge of telling the people in this building about Jesus, right?”
“Exactly.” Sara took a quick breath and explained how she had been a child in World War II when she first realized how important it was to live for God. “We don’t have time to hold a grudge against someone. They could be gone before sundown.”
Bailey let the words hit deep inside her heart. Was there a message here from God? She