Elizabeth's San Antonio Sleuthing by Renae Brumbaugh

Author:Renae Brumbaugh [Brumbaugh, Renae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-60742-425-3
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2011-09-10T04:00:00+00:00

The Bible Camp Band

Mr. Anderson approached the group. “Everything okay, Elizabeth?” he asked.

“Oh. Hi, Dad. Yes. This little girl was in our Bible camp this morning, and I guess Biscuit recognized her. He seems to like her!” Elizabeth smiled at the little girl, who was peering through her curls.

“Dan Anderson.” Elizabeth’s dad held his hand out to the woman.

“Teresa Lopez,” the woman replied, returning his handshake. “And this is Annie.” She gestured to her daughter, who was now squatting, rubbing Biscuit behind the ears. James knelt, too, and spoke softly to the dog and the girl.

Annie turned her head to the side, and for just a moment, her thick curls fell away from her face to reveal a large red birthmark. It covered the entire left side of her face. James didn’t seem to notice, but smiled and looked directly into the girl’s eyes. “Biscuit really likes you. He likes me, too. He’ll be at Bible Camp tomorrow. Are you coming?”

In that moment, Elizabeth wanted to pick her little brother up and hug him.

He is such a great kid! she thought. Lord, I take back every bad thought I’ve ever had about my little brother. He is the best little guy in the world!

Annie’s mother noticed, too, and looked at Mr. Anderson. “What a nice boy you have,” she whispered. “Annie’s birthmark is called a strawberry hemangioma, and many of the children make fun of her. At home, she’s outgoing and playful. Unfortunately, she has learned to be afraid of people she doesn’t know.”

Mr. Anderson nodded. “She’s a beautiful little girl, even with the birthmark. Is it possible to have it removed?”

The woman looked close to tears. “Yes, it is possible, but not probable. It’s an expensive operation, and I don’t have medical insurance. I’m afraid Annie will have to live with her birthmark. At least until she’s older.”

Mr. Anderson smiled compassionately. Looking at the girls and James, he said, “We’d better head back to the café. Your mother will wonder where we are.”

Elizabeth knelt and whispered to Annie, “I hope you’ll come back tomorrow. I was lonely after you left today.”

Annie looked into Elizabeth’s eyes for just a moment. A smile crossed her face, but was gone in an instant.

“I’ll bring her,” said Mrs. Lopez, “but I can’t promise she’ll stay.”

Elizabeth, her brother and father, and Kate went back to their table, where they found Mrs. Anderson munching tortilla chips.

“There you are!” she said. “I knew this was your table, because I saw Kate’s backpack, so I sat down and started eating. I knew you’d be back. But then, I started wondering what would happen if someone else had a backpack like Kate’s, and I was sitting here eating some stranger’s chips.”

“I see it didn’t stop you.” Her husband laughed.

“Well, I thought about leaving the chips alone until I knew for sure, but I was too hungry. Where did y’all go?” she asked.

They took turns telling about Biscuit and the little girl, and Mrs. Anderson listened intently. Finally, she said, “I have a cousin who had something like that.

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