“Probably
more.” The older woman said. “And I could have taught much longer, but I had to
retire after my hip surgery.” She finally let go of Nathan’s hand and smiled
admiringly at the couple. “But I’ll never forget this girl. She was our class
treasurer her freshman year in high school. Took great care of the offerings.”
Nathan
smiled. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“She
was always a wiz with numbers,” Mrs. Dennison continued. “Never quite figured
out how she kept up with it all, but she devised some sort of system for
keeping track of funds, even before they came in.”
Nathan
chuckled. “That’s my girl.”
“I’m
still working with numbers,” Kellie explained. “I’m a stockbroker at a firm in
the Houston area.”
“I
believe your mother told me that. We’re so proud of you, Honey.” Mrs. Dennison
beamed with joy. “Now me, I can barely balance my checkbook.” She chucked, but
eventually a serious look returned to her face. “But speaking of your mother,
is she here?”
“I
believe she’ll be here any moment now,” Kellie explained. “She stopped off to
see Dad on her way.”
“I
saw him myself this morning.” Mrs. Dennison smiled. “I try to go by on Sunday
mornings before church to pray with him. And, of course, Wednesday is my day to
work crossword puzzles with him. He’s always loved those crossword puzzles.”
Wow.
“I remember,” Kellie said. “Thanks for spending so much time with him. I know
it has to bless my mother to have all of her friends close by.”
“Well, that’s what friends do,
Honey.” Mrs. Dennison chuckled. “I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the
mirror each day if I didn’t follow the leading of the Lord in times like
these.”
A
man with white hair and a protruding belly interrupted their conversation.
“How’s your father, Kellie?”
She
looked up into the eyes of Hal O’Keefe, her father’s best friend.
“A
little better, I think.” Kellie couldn’t help but grin at the older man’s
familiar crooked smile. “We went to see him yesterday. Stayed quite a few
hours. He’s able to eat now, with help, of course. We’re headed back over there
today after service.”
“Well,
I’ll see you up there this afternoon then,” he explained. “I always take
communion to the shut-ins on Sundays.”
“That’s wonderful.”
These
people are amazing.
“Hal
and his wife have done more than their share. Everyone has.” Kellie’s mother
interrupted their conversation with her thoughts on the matter and Kellie smile
in her direction.
“Hi
Mom. How’s Dad doing this morning?”
“Oh,
about the same.” Her mother shrugged. “But he wanted to make sure I passed
along a message to his friends at the church. He’s so grateful to you all.” She
spoke to the whole room now, and they all responding with comforting smiles and
warm hugs. “You’ve all brought so much food, I could never eat it all. You’ve
gone above and beyond the call.”
“Well,
we love you and Kenton,” Hal said. “When you love folks, you can never do too
much for them.”
Kellie
marveled at their easy exchange, so intimate and yet so foreign to her. The
conversation swung in several different directions at once as people came in
droves to embrace her mother and inquire after her father’s health. Kellie
listened in stunned silence as her mother took the time to connect with each
person personally.
From
inside the sanctuary, the opening song began to play. Kellie turned to Nathan,
who looked a little uncomfortable. “We’d better go get a seat.”
He
nodded and they made their way inside.
The
pianist began to play the first song, a triumphant melody that Kellie
recognized right away. The worship leader stood and encouraged the congregation
to join him. All across the room people stood, many reaching to hug a neighbor
or family member as the first words were sung.
As the song continued, Kellie
looked around the room. Many of the people had aged, no doubt, but many
remained seemingly unchanged. She caught the eye of Julia, her best friend from
high school and gave a little wave. The pretty redhead held a sleeping child in
her arms—a little girl with cherub cheeks and hair every bit as red as
her mother’s. Julia’s husband Frankie sat just to her right. For some reason,
Kellie’s heart lurched as she watched the three of them together. She couldn’t
explain the feeling and tried to cast it off, choosing instead to concentrate
on choir members, who sang jubilantly.
A
feeling of comfort enveloped her and she settled into the familiar routine. The
service flew by. Kellie couldn’t remember when she’d enjoyed church so much or
when a message had impacted her more. She glanced at her watch as the final
song was sung. Noon.
Just enough time to grab a bite to eat
with her mom and then visit with her father for a couple of hours.
She
and Nathan would have to be back on the road by four in order to make it back
home in time to prepare for work tomorrow.
“Are
you okay?” Nathan got her attention as the pew emptied out.
“Yeah.”
She nodded. “Just thinking.”
“
About.
. .?”
“Oh,
about all we have to do today.”
“That’s
what I was thinking about too.” They stood and made their way through the crowd
down the center aisle of the church. “I’d like to take care of something before
we leave.”
“Oh?”
She couldn’t help but wonder what he meant.
At that very moment, Julia
approached with the baby in her arms. “Kellie, it’s so great to see you again.”
“You
too.” She embraced her old friend. “And who’s this little angel?”
Julia
beamed with pride. “This is Madison. She’s a year and a half now.”
“Well,
she’s a beauty.” Kellie couldn’t help but run her fingers through the child’s
soft curls. “And my mother tells me you’ve got more news.”
“Yes.”
Julia flashed an embarrassed smile and brushed her hand across her belly. “I
just found out eight weeks ago. The babies will be a little more than two years
apart.” She shook her head and giggled. “But I’m not complaining. I love being
a mom. I think I was born for this.”
Kellie
felt the usual tug on her heart. “Well, if the next one is half as beautiful as
Madison, she’ll be a beauty.”
“Thank
you. We’re hoping for a boy this time around.”
Nathan
squeezed Kellie’s hand and she took the hint. “I hate to leave so soon, but
we’re headed up to the rehab to see my Dad.”
“Give
him my love, will you?” Julia said. “I’ll be back up there on Tuesday. Your mom
told me how much he loves reading the paper, so I try to spend a little time
reading to him. And he just loves seeing Madison. I’m pretty sure he remembers
her; his face lights up every time I bring her in the room.”
“Wow.
That’s great.”
Julia shrugged. “It’s the least I
can do. Your parents have always been so wonderful to me.” She paused as she
gazed intently at Kellie. “Will I see you there?”
“No.
I,
uh.
. .” Kellie’s heart twisted once again. “I’ll
be back in Houston. I’ve got to work.”
“Oh,
I’m sorry to hear that. But it was great to see you.” Julia gave her a warm hug
and turned to visit with others nearby.
Nathan and Kellie forced their way
through the crowd in the foyer and then managed to somehow make it out into the
parking lot together.
“I
never would have believed they could fit that many people into such a small
space.” Nathan gave the building an admiring glance. “I’m impressed.”
“This
place has been bursting at the seams for as long as I can remember.” Kellie
pulled her keys from her purse and handed them to Nathan. “But even with the
renovations, they’re still pretty full. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to
go to two services soon.”
“Sounds
logical.”
The continued
to chat as they crossed the parking lot.
As they approached the car, Kellie extended her
hand with the keys. “Would you like to drive?
My mom wants us to meet her at The
Country Buffet out on the highway.”
“I
don’t mind.” He took the keys. “But I was hoping to change your plans a
little.”
“What
do you mean?” Surely he didn’t want to leave for Houston right away.
“I
mean,” he spoke as he unlocked the car, “that I’ve given a lot of thought to
what we were talking about yesterday.”
“
You.
. . you have?” She bit her lip and waited for his next
words.
Nathan
opened her door and nodded. “I have.” He paused, and his brow wrinkled a bit
with his next words. “I don’t have a permanent solution, but I’m willing to
consider the idea of driving back and forth, at least for awhile.”
Kellie
caught her breath. “You are?” She could hardly contain her excitement, but
didn’t want to alarm him by responding with too much zeal. “Oh, Nathan. I know
we can make it work. I know we can.”
“Just
one thing,” he said firmly. “I don’t want to rent out the condo. I’m sure we
won’t really need to stay here that long. But I’ve been thinking about that
house you told me about. I thought maybe we could swing by after lunch and take
a look. Maybe, just
maybe.
. .”
Maybe.
Kellie’s heart
sang. Maybe she really
could
have her cake and eat it too.
***
After lunch, Nathan pulled the car
into the driveway of the rickety white house with the “For Rent” sign out
front. It didn’t look like much, but looks could be deceiving. He hoped.
With
Kellie’s fingers laced through his, they crossed the overgrown front yard and
knocked on the front door. Nathan tried to push aside the heaviness in his
heart as they waited for someone to answer. He had wrestled with the Lord all
night over this decision, but the Lord had eventually won out. Kellie was
right. She needed to be here with her mother. And he needed to do whatever it
took to make that possible.
In spite of the daily drive.
In spite of the concerns over cost.
“Well,
hey there.” A large man, nearly as scruffy-looking as the yard, answered the
door with a suspicious grin. “What’ve we got here?” He rubbed at his whiskery
jowl and took them in with a lingering gaze.
The
whole thing made Nathan more than a little uncomfortable. “We’ve come to take a
look at the house.” He tried to sound self-assured as he spoke.
“Have
you now?” The man’s face lit up like an evergreen on Christmas morning and
suddenly there wasn’t a frightening thing about him. “Well then, come on in.
The name’s Chuck Henderson, by the way.” He extended a broad hand and Nathan
shook it warmly.
They entered the house and Nathan
knew right away why Chuck had opted to charge so little rent. The place was a
disaster. The paneled walls appeared to be coming loose in places. The sofa, an
old plaid number from the 70’s was threadbare. A large dog of the Heinz 57
variety lay stretched out across a broken recliner in a sound sleep.
“That there’s Killer.” Chuck
gestured toward the mutt. “He’s my watchdog.”
The monstrous creature rolled over
and yawned, then dozed back off.
“Uh huh.” Nathan would have said
more, if every word he’d ever known hadn’t escaped him.
“He takes good care of this
place.”
“Right.” It looked like someone
needed to take care of this place.
“What
do you think?” Chuck spoke with his hands as he showed off the room. “It’s
really something,
ain’t
it?”
Nathan
nodded politely “At the very least.”
Kellie
looked around, clearly stunned. “
It’s.
. . it’s not
exactly what I was expecting.”
“Lots
of folks say that.” Chuck smiled. “It’s big,
ain’t
it?
In comparison to a cracker box?
Nathan tried
to be open-minded, but logic prevented it.
“It don’t look like much from the
outside, but these here rooms are
bigger’n
people
expect,” Chuck explained. “And look at that carpet.”
I’m
looking.
Nathan
stared in shocked silence at the dingy gold rug.
“You
don’t find shag carpet like that these days. Folks is laying down those noisy
ceramic tiles or fake hardwoods.” He took off his shoe and raked his toes
through the carpet. “Nothing
fake
about this. And
there
ain’t
nothing like the feel of real shag
between your toes.” He flashed a contented smile and slipped his shoe back on.
Nathan
couldn’t seem to think of a response. Instead, he and Kellie followed the
fellow into the next room—the kitchen. The countertops, crafted of
butcher block, were clearly worn down by the years. The appliances probably all
dated back to the late 60’s or early 70’s. The cabinet doors hung from broken
hinges and the sink was filled with dirty dishes. In short, it was very nearly
the worst kitchen he’d ever laid eyes on.
Or smelled, for
that matter.