“No.” He loved Reagan with everything in him. Loved the way they’d overcome every kind of struggle to get where they were today. The theater was filling up. Ashley and Landon and Cole took the seats in front of them. Cole had a friend with him, a pretty blond girl who looked head over heels for him.
Luke raised his brow at the pair and then at Reagan. “Something new?”
“I’ll have to ask Ashley.” Reagan put her finger to her lips. “Later.”
John and Elaine took the seats on the other side of Cole while Kari, Ryan, Brooke, Peter and Hayley filled out the row. After a few minutes, the theater went dark and the music began to play. Luke hadn’t seenSeussicalbefore, but he loved the Dr. Seuss stories. He had read them to his kids when they were little.
The Cat in the Hat entered the stage and the show began. Even so Luke struggled to keep his attention on the musical. He still had no idea how he was going to win the case against Wendell Quinn. No idea how he was supposed to find a precedent that might help them.
God, I need a miracle. Show me which way to turn. Please.He sighed and reached for Reagan’s hand. His nieces and nephews did a wonderful job throughout the evening, but it wasn’t until the second act that one of the verses hit Luke differently than the others.
The line was simply this:Their whole world was saved by the smallest of all.
Luke let the words play over again in his mind.Lord, is there a message there for me? Could Wendell’s whole world be saved by the smallest of all?
Maybe the students would come through with something that might affect the jury. Luke wasn’t sure but it felt significant. Like God wanted him to pay particular attention to this part.
Not until the show was over and they were home in Indianapolis did the line finally make sense.
Luke walked into Tommy’s room to say goodnight, but the boy’s bed was empty. Tommy was fourteen that fall, and it was after midnight. But with church in the morning, normally their oldest son would be in bed by now.
A quick check of the other bedrooms didn’t turn up Tommy, either. Luke jogged down the stairs and found Reagan in the kitchen. “Where’s Tommy?”
“In your office.” She pointed to the glass doors on the small room just off the kitchen. “He’s been in there since we got home.”
Strange. Luke headed into the office, closed the door behind him and watched his oldest child. The boy was sitting at Luke’s desk, Wendell’s three presentation folders spread out before him.
Tommy looked up. “Hi, Dad.” A serious look filled his face. “I can’t stop thinking about your case. The one with the principal.”
“Right.” Luke moved slowly to the other chair, the one in the corner of the room. “I feel the same way.” He waited a moment. “So what are you reading?”
“I mean”—Tommy looked at the documents and then back at Luke—“it’s all super interesting. Having Bible study at the school has changed everything. Test scores, crime rates, all of it.”
Tommy sounded like a seasoned lawyer. Luke stifled a smile to keep things serious. The paperwork was private between him and his client. But Tommy’s interest was harmless. Besides, Luke loved that his son was intrigued by the case. “No question Principal Quinn’s plan worked.”
“Exactly.” Tommy pointed to the first folder. The one that contained Wendell’s research from two summers ago. “Wasn’t he just doing his job, Dad? I mean... did you read this?”
Suddenly Luke felt embarrassed. He needed precedent, not statistics and historical quotes, not Bible verses and anecdotes. How many times had Wendell asked him the same thing? “No... I’m going to, but... not yet.”
Tommy seemed unfazed. He opened the cover and read from one of the first few pages. “Listen to this. Here’s the job description Principal Quinn agreed to carry out when he was hired.” Tommy hesitated. “Establish a schoolwide vision of commitment to high standards and ensure the success of all students.” Tommy looked at Luke. “Principal Quinn had tried everything else, right? Isn’t that what he told you?”
Luke smiled. Tommy must’ve been paying attention when Luke and Reagan had talked about the case the other night at dinner. “Yes.” Luke could see where Tommy was headed with this. “He’d tried everything else.”
“So then—if he wanted to do his job—he had to think of something else, right?”
“Right.” Luke’s heart raced. Tommy was only a freshman in high school. His dream of being a lawyer felt pretty solid right about now.
“So he tried a voluntary Bible study, and it worked.” Tommy picked up the second folder, the one with the research from the college student. “Which can only mean one thing.”
Luke waited. Tommy deserved his shot at making the case here.
“Principal Quinn was just doing his job. He was establishing a schoolwide vision of commitment to high standards, and he was offering at least one way to ensure the success of his students.”
Slowly Luke began to nod. “I really wanted precedent for this case. Something that would prove to the jury why this case might be an easy win for Mr. Quinn.”
“But, Dad...” Tommy smiled and handed Luke the first folder. “Sometimes you have tosetprecedent. Right? I mean... someone has to blaze the trail for everyone else. Plus, you have God on your side.”
Luke took Wendell’s presentation folder, amazed at the astuteness of his oldest son. “Well... you have a point.”
