Responsibility: Christian Character Series - Book 1 Read online

  Eight

  Other than being a bit noisy at night running around in his cage, Keeping Henry was no problem at all those first few days. In fact, Phillip enjoyed it…a lot. He fed and watered Henry just the way Caleb had told him to. He took him out to play in his ball on Tuesday before they went to the dentist and he and the girls each took turns holding and petting him every morning and every evening. Phillip even sat Henry’s cage in the room where they had school so he wouldn’t be lonely. But on Wednesday when Phillip woke up, he discovered Henry had emptied most of his water bottle into his cage. The cedar shavings covering the bottom of the cage were soaked!

  “Mom, can you help me, please,” Phillip called.

  “What’s the matter?” Phillips’ mom asked, coming to his room.

  “Look what Henry did. I need to clean his cage and I am not sure I can do it myself.”

  “Sure, no problem, son,” Mom said. “Put Henry in his ball to play and I will help you.”

  It did not take long for Phillip and his mom to get the cage clean and dry and to put new shavings inside so that Henry would be warm and dry.

  “Good job, Phillip,” his mom said. “I am really proud of you. You are taking good care of Henry”

  “It’s not hard and he’s pretty fun—except at night,” Phillip said, thinking about how hard it had been to get to sleep last night listening to Henry scampering around in the cage.

  “Well, maybe he can sleep in the family room the rest of the time he’s here,” Mom offered. “No one would hear him in there.”

  “Thanks, I like that idea,” Phillip smiled.

  The rest of the day was spent doing school work, baking cookies, talking to their grandma on the computer and wishing it would stop raining. Phillip wanted to fly his planes. It had been four whole days and he did not like it one bit.

  Later that evening Phillip and his dad were looking at the ideas Phillip had for his science fair project. Mr. Carson was helping Phillip figure out a way to demonstrate how the wind affects an airplane’s speed.

  “Son, there won’t be room for you to demonstrate it inside, but I will be happy to help you make a video of your planes in different types of weather. You can use a laptop to show the video and have a display of your planes and a poster to write the information on.” Phillip’s dad offered; hoping his son would not think he was trying to take over the project.

  “That’s a great idea, Dad,” Phillip hugged is dad. “Justin and Titus said there was no way I could use my planes. I was beginning to think they were right. Thanks, Dad! This is going to work after all!”

  When Mom announced it was time for all three kids to get ready for bed, Phillip brought Henry into the family room and told him to make all the noise he wanted. Then all three went to their rooms for bedtime devotions with their parents and a good night’s sleep.

  The next day everyone was excited to see the sun shining—especially Phillip.

  “I’m going to fly my planes all day long,” he announced at breakfast. “I’m going to start my experiment.”

  “That’s fine, Phillip,” his mom said, “but you aren’t going to fly all day. There is this thing called school…remember?” Mom smiled and patted Phillip on the head as she handed him a glass of juice.

  “I know, but do I have to do music with the girls today? Please don’t make me watch that movie with all the music in it. Please?” Phillip was practically begging his mom. She was teaching the children about musicals; plays or movies that used singing and dancing to help tell the story. Allison and Eleanor enjoyed it; trying to dance along with the people in the movie. Phillip, however, would rather do just about anything than watch it.

  “Okay, I’ll make you a deal,” his mom said, “I won’t make you do this unit with us. Instead, I will give you three songs to listen to tonight after dinner and you have to be able to tell me what each song is about—the story each song is telling. Okay?”

  “Thanks, Mom. You’ve got yourself a deal!” Phillip didn’t really care what he had to do as long as he got to take his planes outside…and as long as he didn’t have to watch the musical.

  After school and lunch, Phillip headed outside. He spent the next couple of hours flying his planes. He had to bring the red and yellow plane in for an ‘emergency landing’ when the battery in the remote-control died. He was happy the plane didn’t crash. It was his favorite. Besides, he needed it for his science project.

  “Phillip, can we put Henry in his ball,” Allison came outside to ask her brother. “This is Thursday, so Henry needs to play today.”

  “I’ll be in later to put him in there. You’d better not. He might get away from you.” Phillip forgot this was the day Henry needed to play in his ball, but he did not want to stop playing to do it. “We’ll do it after supper, okay?” He said to his little sister.

  Supper came and went, but Phillip didn’t take Henry out of his cage. He couldn’t—he had to listen to the music his mom had talked about earlier. By the time he was done listening and writing, all Phillip wanted to do was eat a snack and get ready for bed.

  “But Phillip, Henry needs his exercise. Remember…Caleb said every other day.” Eleanor was worried something would happen to Henry if he didn’t get his exercise.

  “He’ll be fine. We’ll do it first thing tomorrow. I promise,” Phillip told his sister.

 

  Nine

  The next morning Mrs. Carson told the children they would be doing extra school work that day. She said they were going to be doing extra work for the next several days so they could take a few days off when their grandparents came to visit.

  “When are they coming?” the girls practically squealed. “Gram and Papa are so much fun!”

  “They will be here late Sunday evening. They are going to drive down after church on Sunday and stay until the day after Thanksgiving.”

  Eleanor started counting on her fingers, “That’s five whole days!”

  “Yes, it is,” Mom said, “that’s why we are going to work really hard today and tomorrow so we won’t have quite so much to do Monday and Tuesday. I was planning on taking a few days off after Tuesday so we can enjoy our time with your grandparents, so…let’s get to work,” Mom said smiling and leading the way to the room they used for school.

  Mrs. Carson also told the children they would be spending most of Saturday with their friends, Ethan, Adam and Lilli. “Dad and I are going to Bella Vista to do some shopping Saturday and to get a new mattress for the bed in the guest room so Gram and Papa have a more comfortable bed to sleep on.”

  “I like playing with Lilli,” Allison said, “but I really like going to the mall. I like going to the store that has all the fun t-shirts and getting a pretzel. Can I go with you and Dad?”

  “Oh, those pretzels are so yummy,” Eleanor agreed. “And the store with all the soap and lotion…it always smells so good. And don’t forget about the pet store. You and Dad always let us pet some of the puppies.”

  “Okay, I get it,” Mom laughed, “you like the mall at Bella Vista, but this time it’s just going to be your dad and I.” We have to take the truck to haul the mattress home and it’s been a while since your dad and I went on a date, so we’re going to make Saturday a date.”

  “A date!” Eleanor started giggling. “You guys are already married. You don’t go on dates. That’s what Amelia and Tanner and it’s been a while since your dad and I went on a date, so we’re going to make Saturday a date.”

  “Yah, they’re teenagers. You guys are married.” Allison was looking somewhat confused.

  Mrs. Carson smiled and said, “Just because we’re married doesn’t mean we can’t go on dates. I know to you we’re just Mom and Dad, but believe it or not,” she laughed, “we are still people, too.”

  “That’s great, Mom,” Phillip said, “but can we please start school. I want to work on my science fair project today and if we have to do extra work, I want to g
et started.”

  The girls rolled their eyes at their brother and gave a big sigh at the same time their mother said, “Phillip, you’re right. Let’s get started.”

  For the next three hours the Carson children worked on history and math, started working on writing poems and took a spelling test. They planned to work on an art project and do a science lesson as soon as lunch was over.

  While Mrs. Carson was fixing lunch, Phillip went to his room to get his planes ready for flying. The girls, who wanted to get an early start on their art project, went to get some art supplies off the shelf in the family room.

  “Oh, Henry! You poor little thing, you’re soaked!” Allison was practically in tears as she ran into the kitchen to tell her mother Henry had emptied his water bottle again and that he was soaking wet.

  Mrs. Carson called Phillip into the room to check on the hamster. She told him to get a towel out of the closet and carefully dry him off. “Once he’s dry, put him in his ball to run around while we eat and then you can clean his cage before you start your art project.”

  “Oh, Mom,” Phillip complained, do I have clean that cage after lunch? I want to get done so I can work on my science…”

  “Yes, Phillip, you do. Henry needs a clean, dry cage. And you haven’t fed him a carrot in a couple of days, so you need to make sure he gets one today. Did you feed him his other food?”

  “Um, no, not yet, but I will later.”

  “Phillip, that’s mean,” Eleanor said sadly. “Poor Henry, he’s wet and hungry. How would you like it if Mom and Dad didn’t…”

  “Thank you, Eleanor,” her mom said. “I’m sure Phillip understands how important it is to tend to Henry…don’t you, Phillip,” his mom said in her no-nonsense voice.

  “Yes, mam,” Phillip slumped off to get a towel for his water-soaked little guest. When he picked Henry up, he was surprised…and a little scared. Henry was cold and shivering. How long had he been wet? Phillip didn’t really know because he hadn’t checked on Henry since right after dinner last night.

  “I’m sorry, little guy,” Phillip whispered as he dried Henry off. He rubbed softly and hoped Henry would be okay.

  After drying him off, Phillip placed the little hamster in his ball and expected him to take off across the room like he’d been doing, but instead, Henry just sat there. In fact, he only moved the ball a few inches the entire time Phillip was eating lunch with his mom and sisters.

  “I think Henry is sick,” Eleanor said—almost in tears. “He isn’t playing and he just looks sad.”

  “Phillip, go get the cage cleaned and get Henry fed. And when you fill his water bottle, just fill it about half full.”

  Phillip barely heard her. He was too busy watching Henry’s ball and hoping Henry was okay. “Okay…sure, I can do that. Will you help me?”

  “No, Phillip, not this time. I have to help your sisters with their school work. It isn’t fair to keep them waiting because you didn’t care for Henry the way you should. You will have to manage on your own.”

  “But…you helped me last time.”

  “Yes, I did. But I did it as a favor to you—not because it was my responsibility to. Taking care of Henry is your responsibility—a responsibility you’ve ignored for the past couple of days. Now got take care of Henry and then come do your school work.”

  “Can I do my school work after dark? I really need to fly…”

  “Phillip, you do not need to fly your planes. You want to fly your planes. And no, you may not. You will do Henry’s cage and then you will do your school work. Once those things are done you will need to spend some time watching Henry to make sure he is okay. And don’t forget to feed him once he is back in his cage.”

  Mrs. Carson was upset with her son. He’d had Henry for less than a week and was already losing interest. This was not a good thing—especially since his best friend’s pet was at risk.

  The rest of the afternoon was spent doing school work and worrying about Henry. Phillip got his cage cleaned and put him in with some food and a fresh carrot, but that was not enough to perk Henry up. He ate a few bites of the food, and took a couple of nibbles of his carrot when Phillip held it close to his mouth, but mostly Henry just stood in the cage and shivered.

  Allison suggested wrapping Henry up in a little blanket, so with her mom helping her, she put a dry washcloth in the microwave for just a few seconds to get it warm and then they carefully wrapped Henry inside and held him. When they put him in his cage (still wrapped in the cloth) Henry laid down; barely moving at all.

  Ten

  By the time Mr. Carson came home from work, Phillip’s stomach hurt because he was so scared and upset. He was on the couch looking at the pages of a book, but not really seeing the words. He couldn’t concentrate. What was he going to do? What would Caleb say when he came back and found Henry was sick? Or what if Henry died? Caleb would hate him!

  “Hi, son,” Phillip’s dad said. “I hear Henry isn’t doing so well. Would you like to talk about it?”

  “No.” Phillip’s reply could barely be heard.

  “Well, I think we need to,” his dad continued. “Phillip, you wanted to keep Henry. You promised you would do everything Caleb said you would need to. You said you were ready for the responsibility. So what happened?”

  “I did, Dad. I did take care of Henry. I fed him and played with him. I changed his cage and everything. Okay, so I skipped a day of putting him in his ball, but even Caleb said that’s not too big a deal.” Phillip did not want to admit to his dad that he had not cared for Henry as he should.

  “So why didn’t you put him in the ball yesterday? And your mom said you did not feed him this morning. Why didn’t you?” Phillip’s dad asked—already knowing the answers to both questions.

  “Well, yesterday I had to work on my science fair project, so I was flying the planes and practicing putting weight on them for the video and then I had to do my music homework after dinner so I just forgot. And I admit I forgot to feed him this morning because we were talking about Gram and Papa coming and school and you guys going to Bella Vista and all that, but I would have fed him later.”

  “Yes, but now you know that later may be too late. Phillip, little creatures like Henry depend on their owners to take care of them. You didn’t. You let him down. And you’ve let Caleb down,” Dad’s voice was soft, but stern.

  “I know,” Phillip said, almost in tears. “Dad, is Henry going to die?”

  “I don’t know, son,” his dad said. “I hope not. But even if he doesn’t, you are going to have to tell Caleb what happened…and why.”

  Later that night before going to bed, Mr. Carson called everyone into the family room.

  “Okay, Carson family, I think we need to have a little meeting. I know this hasn’t been a very good day. You are worried about little Henry. Even I am worried Henry. I don’t want Caleb to come home and discover his pet is sick…or even dead. But there is something else we need to talk about---responsibility, mistakes and forgiveness….”

  Mr. Carson spent the next several minutes talking about what it means to be responsible—to be in control of a situation or to complete a job we’ve been given to do. He then told his children the story in the Bible known as the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. He told how a business man left to go on a trip and that before he left he gave some of his servants some money to take care of while he was gone. Two of the men took the money, invested it and made lots more money. The other man was afraid of losing it, so he hid it until the owner came home so he could give it back.

  “Hey, that’s like Caleb went on vacation and left Henry with us,” Allison said. “So is Phillip like the guy who hid the money since he let Henry get sick?”

  “I didn’t let Henry get sick,” Phillip said gruffly.

  “Now, kids,” their dad said, stopping an argument before it got worse, “Phillip, you didn’t mean for Henry to get sick. We know that. But you di
d not do your very best to take care of him, either. You did not take your responsibility seriously enough.”

  “I didn’t do it on purpose,” Phillip felt like he was being picked on. “I tried, but I just got so busy and…”

  “Phillip, you got busy doing things you thought were more important. Son, I know you love your planes and I am proud of you for being so good at it. But there are times when your planes keep you from living up to your responsibilities. We all make mistakes and we all mess up. But when we do, we need to admit it, ask forgiveness, and do better.”

  “That’s what we learned about in Sunday School,” Phillip said. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God—that’s our memory verse,” Phillip continued. “We learned how Paul, who was Saul, first, killed Christians. Then God stopped him by making him blind. He went to a guy’s house and learned more about what Jesus did then was baptized and became a preacher. He told people that if God could change his life, he could change theirs, too.”

  “That’s right,” Mr. Carson said. “So…do you know what you have to do?”

  “Yes, I have to tell Caleb why Henry got sick and ask him to forgive me. I don’t know if he will, though. He wants Henry to be his science fair project.”

  “Let’s pray about it and then hope Henry gets well,” Mrs. Carson said.

  After they had prayed together, the kids went off to bed and hoped that Henry would be better in the morning.

  Eleven

  Phillip did not sleep well that night. When he got up the next morning, he realized it was Friday. Caleb and his family were coming home on Saturday evening and planned to come over after dinner on Sunday to pick Henry up. This meant Henry had one day to get better. “Oh, please, God,” Phillip whispered, “please don’t let Henry die.”

  Before Phillip could even get out of bed, Eleanor knocked on his door and opened it. “Phillip, I think Henry may be a little better…but no much. I saw him walk and take a drink and he has eaten a little more of his carrot…”