FROM OLIVIA'S GIFT:

“Should we see what’s on TV?”  Hayley glanced at the bedside clock.  “It’s nearly 8:00.  The New Clique will be coming on.”

Olivia, who was lying on the bed doing a crossword puzzle, frowned slightly.  She wasn’t allowed to watch The New Clique, a teenaged show about a high school’s popular group.  The characters kissed a lot, skipped school, and were disrespectful to adults.  She had begged her parents to let her watch it a few months ago, since so many people at her school watched it and talked about it at school.  Not knowing much about the show, her parents agreed to preview the show first, without her there.  After a few minutes of watching immodestly dressed teens making fun of their teachers and using bad language on The New Clique, her mom and dad had turned off the TV, looked at each other, and said, “Not gonna happen.” 

Olivia had to admit that she wasn’t surprised when they told her no and discussed with her their reasons why not.  Deep down, she wasn’t interested in watching teenagers kiss and be sassy, but watching The New Clique was the “in” thing to do.  Every Friday morning, some of the kids would gather together and discuss the show from the night before:  who went out with who, who was the cutest character, etc.  She, Jenna, and Chad usually felt left out during that time.  It was something she just had to deal with, she figured, since her parents had been absolutely firm on their decision.

“Um, how about the cooking channel?  There’s that show where they take you on tours of potato-chip factories and stuff like that.  That’s always fun to watch.”

“Instead of The New Clique?  No way,” said Hayley, towel-drying her long hair.  Then, in a lower voice, she said, “Olivia, if we close the door and keep the volume low, your parents won’t even hear us watching it.”

Olivia was tempted.  She’d always been curious about the show.  She’d heard so much about the characters that she wondered what they looked like. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to watch the show just once.  Just one episode, just so she could say she’d seen it.  How much harm could that do, just once?

Hayley took Olivia’s silence as the go-ahead she was seeking. She walked over to the adjoining door, closing it quietly.  Olivia reached over to the nightstand where the TV listing card was and picked it up, checking the channels. She grabbed the remote, glancing around the room.  Just then she caught sight of her pajamas sticking out of her suitcase on the floor, the pajamas with red roses all over them, reminding her of St. Therese.  Oh St. Therese, she said inside her head, you always know when I need your help.  You always seem to know when it’s time to step in to keep me from doing something stupid, something I’ll regret.

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FROM OLIVIA AND THE LITTLE WAY:

She had looked everywhere.

It was then that her bare foot brushed against something under the covers at the foot of her bed.  Olivia threw the covers off and reached for it.  It was dark, so it was hard to tell what it was, but as soon as her fingers touched the object, she knew.  It was her St. Thérèse chaplet!

Could this be St. Thérèse's way of telling Olivia things were going to be okay?  It had to be. She just knew it.  St. Thérèse was telling her she could start fresh tomorrow.  Tomorrow was a new day to please God, a new day to love.

Olivia smiled wide and held it up in the darkness.

"I found it, Mama!  I found it!"

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Olivia managed to follow St. Thérèse's Little Way without anyone fully realizing what she was doing well into the end of October, when the leaves turned from green to gorgeous shades of crimson, orange, and yellow.  Having lived all of her life in Texas, Olivia was astonished to see the trees come alive in such vibrant colors right in front of her very eyes.  They were so much prettier in person than in pictures she had seen. 

Their beauty seemed to inspire her to do even more kind acts.  She raked the leaves when they fell without being asked.  She kept an eye on Lucy even when Mom was trying to cook dinner or take a phone call when she would rather have been reading alone up in her room.

Olivia dusted the living room when Mom wasn't looking.  She picked up Lucy's toys and put them away in the toy box.  Olivia realized that she loved doing these things in secret, nobody seeing her.  She realized that God would approve of her doing these things without making a big show of it.  She remembered that in school last year on Ash Wednesday, her teacher had read a Scripture passage mentioning that very thing:

Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; 

otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father…And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.

Matthew 6: 1, 4

Still, Olivia had to admit that she enjoyed seeing the puzzled looks on her parents' faces when they noticed that these little things had been done without prodding.  If they asked, she would own up to what she had done.  After all, it wouldn't be right to lie. 

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It didn’t take long for the trio to have their bags bulging with freshly picked apples.

“I’m going to try one,” said Olivia, who began to shine an apple on her shirt.  She took a bite and her mouth instantly became alive with the juicy, tangy taste of an apple fresh from the tree.  She had never tasted an apple so delicious.

“YUM,” she cried.  “Y’all, I never knew apples could taste like this!”

“They’re always better fresh from the tree,” Sabrina said knowingly as she took a bite of her own apple.  “Mmmm…So much better than apples from the grocery store.  They’re all mealy.”

Olivia soon realized what she had been missing in Texas.  Apple juice dripping from her chin, she smiled and tossed the core to the ground.  “Y’all, I think we need more bags!”