Authors: CJ Simpson
Sarah refilled her glass before
continuing. “And that’s okay too. But Tyler’s growing up. Eventually, he’s
going to notice something is off. There’s going to be a point where you’re
asked to hang out with other moms and do things other moms do because they have
kids the same age as your son. You know how kids mimic their parents. If you
don’t go out, he may not, either.”
“I see your point, but he’s only five,
so I think I’ve got time.” Kat smiled.
“Yes, you do have time. Just make time
for you, too. And it doesn’t have to be a date. It can be something like joining
a book club or taking a class.”
“What are you, psychic? I thought about
getting involved in Tyler’s school since he’ll be starting Kindergarten in the
fall.”
“That’s it. There you go. And it may be
easier said than done, but it’s really not that hard; you just need to give
yourself a chance. Take that leap of faith. It worked for you before; it’ll
work for you again.”
Kat laughed. “I think you’re right. It
really does get easier with time.”
Sarah stood up. “Thanks for having me,
Kat. I really enjoyed our conversation, but I do need to get going.”
“Thanks for coming.” Kat walked her
friend to the door and hugged her. “I hope we can do this again sometime soon.”
“Oh, that reminds me! I knew there was
something I wanted to ask you. Tom and I are having our annual July 4
th
party at our house. We’d love it if you and Tyler could come. My girls are
twins and they would absolutely adore Tyler!”
“Twins? Oh my goodness!” Kat laughed. “I
don’t think Tyler and I have plans but let me get back to you on that.”
After Sarah left, Kat thought about her
conversation with Sarah. She felt inspired and decided that Sarah was right.
She needed to get out more and meet new people. Daniel was one of them. She
couldn’t keep living like a hermit for the rest of her life. It wasn’t fair to
her or Tyler. She decided that attending Sarah’s party just might be the best
way to make new friends.
Kat went into her bedroom where she found
her purse. She unzipped it and searched for the business card Pastor Cullen had
given to her. It was time to make an appointment with Dr. Sullivan.
When Kat left the doctor’s office, she
drove straight to the church. She had leftover bible school crafts that she
wanted to store in the fellowship hall closet. Throughout the year, the church
held various children’s activities so the extra crafts would come in handy.
Upon entering the building, Kat smelled
a foul odor. Wrinkling her nose, she walked down the hallway where she heard
voices. As she turned the corner, she saw Daniel. Standing next to him was
Pastor Cullen, who wore a look of despair on his tanned face.
“Is everything okay?” Kat said to Pastor
Cullen, glancing at Daniel with concern. Before Pastor Cullen could say
anything, his cell phone rang. He excused himself and left Daniel and Kat alone
in the hallway.
“Hey, Kat.” Daniel forced a smile.
“What happened?”
“See for yourself.” Daniel said,
motioning to the closet.
Kat stepped closer to Daniel and opened
the closet door. She observed the light had been left on as she leaned her head
forward. It was a rather large closet, about the size of a parking spot. When
she saw the sight before her, her eyes became wide and her jaw fell. Her
nostrils reacted negatively to the awful smell.
“Oh my goodness!” Kat jerked her head
back and slapped a hand across her mouth.
“Nice, huh?” Daniel sighed.
An overhead sewage water pipe had burst,
its contents spewed all over the items stored on the shelving units.
“We were able to salvage some of this
stuff.” Daniel said, referring to the sealed containers that sat on a nearby
table.
“Obviously, this is why Pastor Cullen is
disturbed.”
Daniel nodded somberly. “Those items
over there are irreplaceable.” He pointed to a set of scrapbooks that lay on
the top shelf against the back wall. Raw sewage continued to drip from the
books onto the floor.
Kat gasped as she looked at the
saturated contents with dismay. She knew the scrapbooks contained treasured
pictures of several generations of parishioners. No wonder Pastor Cullen was so
upset.
The stench was unbearable. Kat backed
away from the closet and looked at Daniel. She was about to ask him what she
could do to help when Pastor Cullen returned.
“That was the plumber.” Pastor Cullen
explained. “He’s on a job right now, but when he’s finished, he’ll come here.”
“What can I do to help?” Kat offered,
trying not to breathe in the foul odor.
Daniel looked at Pastor Cullen. “I don’t
think this type of clean-up is fit for a lady, wouldn’t you agree?”
“But I—“
“Kat, I have to say I’m in agreement
with Daniel here.” Pastor Cullen held up a hand.
Kat knew better than argue with her
pastor. Instead she countered, “How about I wash out those containers? I can
put the contents in the meeting room for now.”
Before Pastor Cullen could say anything,
she added, “Tyler’s at a friend’s house and I don’t have anything else going on
today. Please let me help.”
Pastor Cullen caught the look in Kat’s
eye and understood the meaning behind her statement. It was her way of thanking
him for listening to her that day in his office when she spilled her past to
him.
“Well now, how can you turn down an
offer like that?” Daniel chimed in, winking at Kat.
“All right, all right!” Pastor Cullen
conceded, throwing both hands in the air. “But please be careful. Wear gloves,
okay? I think there’s some in the kitchen.”
“Aye aye, sir!” Kat mocked.
Shaking his head, he smiled gratefully
at Daniel and Kat. “Thank you both. What would I do without you?”
“Hopefully, you’ll never find out.” Kat
and Daniel said simultaneously. After they laughed, Pastor Cullen said he would
return shortly as he wanted to go home and change into something more
appropriate for cleaning. Kat called Rhonda to brief her on the situation and
that she would remain at the church for a while. Rhonda informed Kat that Tyler
and Eli were watching movies and that everything was fine.
For the next three hours, Kat washed and
dried containers and repacked them with items that were not affected by the
water leak. Pastor Cullen and Daniel had completely emptied the closet, tossing
damaged objects in the trash and transporting salvageable items outside for
pressure washing.
By this time, the plumber had arrived.
He whistled when he saw the damage in the closet and nearly gagged at the foul
odor.
Kat noticed the pastor was frowning as
he studied the stacks of containers Kat set on the table. “Whatcha thinking?”
she asked him.
Pastor Cullen turned to Kat and smiled.
“Thank you for doing this, Kat. I truly appreciate you.”
“You’re very welcome.”
When Daniel joined them, he was
sweating. As he set his hands on his hips, Pastor Cullen thanked him for his
efforts in the clean up.
“It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to
do it.” Daniel quipped.
The trio laughed and chatted for a few
minutes before the plumber needed Pastor Cullen’s attention.
“Thank God this didn’t happen during
vacation bible school, eh?” Daniel commented.
“Oh gosh, can you imagine?” Kat shook
her head in wonder. “It’ll take at least a week to air that closet out.”
“Probably longer than that.” Daniel
surmised. “The walls are wet. First thing we’ve got to do is wash them down,
then repaint them. I don’t think we’ll need to replace the drywall.”
When Pastor Cullen returned, Daniel
asked him where he wanted to store the items Kat had cleaned.
“Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure
out.” Pastor Cullen scratched his head. “These things need to be locked up and
I can’t give up one of the Sunday school classrooms.”
Kat had an idea. “How about if I take
them home and store them in my shed?”
Pastor Cullen and Daniel stared at Kat
as if she lost her mind.
“Why not?” she persisted. “I’ve got the
room.”
“Are you sure, Kat?” Pastor Cullen
asked. “That would be a big help.”
“Positive.” Kat replied. “Under one
condition.”
“Anything.”
“That you help me load this stuff in my
car.”
After Kat’s car was packed and the trunk
closed, she turned to Daniel and smiled. “Thanks for the help.”
“It was my pleasure.” Daniel replied.
“Thank you for all you did in there. I know Pastor Cullen is grateful to you.”
Kat dismissed this with a wave of her
hand. “I was happy to help. Like I said, I didn’t have anything going on this
afternoon, and it was nice to do something for someone else.”
“It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?” Daniel
said, raising his face toward the sky. It was late afternoon and the clouds
were rolling in.
“It looks like we’re going to get that
storm after all.” Kat commented.
Daniel’s eyes met Kat and he smiled
warmly at her. “If I’m not overstepping here, I’d like to help you put all that
stuff in your shed.”
Kat was about to object but remembered
what Sarah had told her. She truly liked Daniel and felt very comfortable
around him. It was time for her to stop shutting people out of her life. It was
time for her to start trusting people again. Besides, she promised Pastor
Cullen she would help secure the items in her car and she didn’t want to let
him down.
“I would love the help.” Kat grinned.
“Some of these are very heavy.”
“I know, which is why I’ll be glad to
hold the door for you.”
“Hey!” Kat attempted to swat Daniel but
he ducked out of the way, pretending to cower.
After their laughter subsided, Daniel
fished the keys to his truck out of his jeans pocket. “I’ll follow you home,
okay?” You don’t want me stinking up your car.”
Kat quipped, “You could sit on the roof
while I drive. You’ll air out in no time!”
When Kat and Daniel reached her house,
Kat told him that she was going to get Tyler from across the street but that
she would be right back.
“I’ll start unloading.”
Kat returned a few minutes later with
Tyler. When Tyler saw Daniel, he squealed and ran up to him.
“Hi, Mr. Daniel!”
“Hey, tiny man!” Daniel squatted and
held up a hand and Tyler high-fived it, the same way they did at vacation bible
school.
“How come you came over?” Tyler
inquired, a big grin spread across his face.
“I came over to help your mother and to
see you.” He lightly poked Tyler’s nose.
Laughing, Tyler looked at the stack of
containers Daniel had set on the driveway. “What are those?”
“Those are some things from the Church
that we’re going to keep for a while, honey.” Kat explained. “Pastor Cullen
needed a place to put all of this stuff and I told him I would put them in our
shed.”
“Oh.” Tyler frowned, as if trying to
understand. “That’s a good idea, Mommy.”
Kat tousled her son’s hair. “Did you
have a good time today?”
“Yes! We watched The Three Musketeers
and Curious George!”
“Oh boy!” Kat exclaimed. “Were you on
your best behavior for Miss Rhonda?”
“Yes, I was.”
Kat explained to Daniel that Rhonda
lived across the street and that she often watched Tyler when she needed her
to. She told him how the boys were inseparable and that sometimes she felt like
she was a mother of two.
Daniel laughed. “I can only imagine.”
“Okay, kiddo.” Kat said. “Mr. Daniel and
I need to put this stuff in the shed before the rain comes, so I need you to
stand out of the way, okay?”
“But I want to help!”
“Tell you what, tiny man.” Daniel
countered. “How about if you hold the door for us while we carry this stuff
in?”
“Okay!” Tyler clapped his hands.
Kat looked at Daniel and mouthed, “Thank
you.” He winked at her.
Thirty minutes later, Kat’s shed was
stocked and locked. She left Tyler and Daniel outside while she inside to get
lemonade. When she returned, she saw Tyler and Daniel sitting on a bench on her
private pier.
She stood there for a few minutes
watching them. They were too far away for her to hear their conversation, but
from their body language, it was obvious that they were enjoying each other’s
company.
She looked up at the heavens and jumped
when a big clap of thunder roared at her. Before she realized what was
happening, the sky opened up and the rain came down in torrents. As she
struggled to see through the downpour, she saw that Daniel had Tyler on his
shoulders. At first she thought Tyler was crying, but she quickly realized he
was shrieking with delight.