In the Community Room at Mary’s Memory Care, Marvel was sitting at one of the five circular tables scattered around the space used as the activity room and lunchroom. At the table meeting with her was Pastor Paul and Lou Barber. Together, they are reviewing the final steps of their project.
“You know what is interesting about this project is that we are officially doing this on a three-point front,” Marvel spoke excitedly. “Who knew this could bring everyone in town together?”
“I think someone did,” Pastor Paul commented.
“Well, let’s see what is left to be done over here,” Lou tried to bring the other two back to the topic at hand.
“Okay, Louise, we will get back to it,” Marvel scolded and then smiled at her friend. “I understand the school busses will be here at 6:00 in the evening to take people to the Catholic church. I have only seven residents who are well enough to go with us, so the remainder of the seats are available for the others. We are setting up this room as a meeting place before we go to all who want a treat. The treats, of course, will be coming from Barber’s Bakery.”
“Great! It sounds like we are on track over here,” Paul replied with a grin. “I can’t believe this is happening. It is really happening.”
“God is good, Pastor!” Marvel reminded him.
Paul smiled and simply nodded his head. He looked at Marvel and then at Lou, who was simply grinning at him. He jumped with a start as he remembered something. He suddenly rose and waved for Lou to come with him. Without saying a word, he headed toward the door and the two women rose from their chairs. Lou started to walk toward but turned to look at Marvel while walking backward and shrugged her shoulders. Before Marvel could say anything, Lou mouthed silently to her, ‘I don’t know’.
“Goodbye Pastor!” Marvel called to Paul. He simply waved back as he continued toward the door.
When she walked through the door, Lou hurried to catch up with Paul and asked him, “What’s going on?”
Paul kept walking a few more strides allowing Lou to catch up with him. He was looking down at the ground and when she was stopped beside him, he said, “I haven’t told them. I forgot to tell them.”
“What do you mean, Paul?” Lou quietly asked him.
“I haven’t told them yet,” he looked up at her intentionally looking into her eyes. She looked back into his eyes trying to see what she needed to see. All she could see in his eyes was fear. Fear of what, she did not know.
“Hey,” Lou started to respond. “What are you afraid of?”
“I don’t know.”
“Listen to me. You are lucky. You have a lot of friends who believe in you and your idea. Who knows what will happen? No one.”
“God knows,” Paul interrupted her. “I don’t want to fail Him.”
“You are not failing Him,” Lou responded more sternly. “And besides, it is not too late to tell them. Let’s go into the woods together.”
They walked silently out of the parking lot and onto the shoulder of the road. The pastor was a half-step ahead of Lou as they trudged forward. The air around them was crisp and cold enough to cause their breath to become slight wisps of smoke. Filtered sunlight peeking through light gray clouds cast their shadows on the right side of the path they were following. Lou stepped forward to join him, side by side.
“Have you ever heard this?’ she began to say. “Do not lead me because I may not follow. Do not follow me because I may not lead. Walk beside me…”
“And be my friend,” Paul interrupted her as he kept walking forward.
“Yes, and be my friend,” she finished her sentence.
They walked in silence again as they continued walking around a bend in the road that arched to their right.
“Yes, I have heard that before,” Paul spoke causing tiny puffs of smoke to rise into the sky and disappear.
“So don’t shut me out,” Lou answered him. “What’s wrong, Paul?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? I don’t believe you. Please Paul, I want to help you.” Lou pleaded with him.
As she waited for him to respond, she looked up from the road to see what was ahead of them, and she saw a figure with a yellow jacket.
“Is that Kristy?” she asked Paul.
He looked up from his feet and saw the figure in the jacket remove the hood that was covering her head. The blond curls of her hair were set free and moved slightly in the breeze. She waved at them.
“Yes, that is Kristy,” he answered Lou’s question. He waved back and quickened his pace.
Lou waved, too. She matched her pace to Paul’s to continue to walk beside him.
“I wonder what she is doing here?” Paul asked aloud.
“I was wondering how she got here. Didn’t we see her singing when we left town?” Lou asked him.
“I don’t know. She is mysterious,” he responded to Louise, “I sometimes wonder who she is?”
“Me, too,” Lou agreed with Paul. “This interruption does not stop our previous conversation.”
“Previous conversation?” Paul questioned her as he looked down at his feet.
“Of you telling me what is bothering you,” she reminded him.
The gap between them and Kristy was getting smaller as they continued in silence. When they finally joined the woman in the yellow jacket and stopped in front of her, Kristy jumped and embraced Paul in a tight hug. She finally released him, she stood for a moment just grinning at him, and then she hugged Lou. Paul seemed to be a little brighter after being embraced and Lou looked from him to Kristy. She seemed to ne waiting for something to happen.
“So,” Paul spoke first. “what are you doing here?”
“I was waiting for you,” Kristy responded and then turned to gaze at Lou. “and you, too.”
“Waiting for us to do what?” Lou asked, testing her.
“To do what needs to be done. Paul knows what to do. I am glad he is finally sharing it with someone, and I am glad that it is you he is sharing it with,” Kristy answered her cryptically. “Shall we go?”
Kristy snaked her arm through Paul’s and reached her other hand toward Lou. The baker paused for a moment and then reached out to grab the hand offered her. Kristy pulled her forward to stand beside her and looked from one to other, and they stepped into the woods. They walked side by side for a short distance until a path appeared ahead of them forcing them to a single file with Paul in the lead, Kristy, and Lou. They hiked in the slow winding trail through bare trees and tall brown stalks of grass.
It was difficult for Lou to see where they were going but she was trying as she weaved side to side, leaning around the two people leading her. The trees appeared to be thinning and she could now see a clearing ahead of them. A trail of smoke was slowly rising above the trees and Lou became aware of the scent of bacon frying. She looked around Kristy to see what was ahead of them and through the trees she could see a circle of tents surrounding a small fire. A man stood there, looking down at it. When the three of them entered the clearing, Paul stopped on the edge of the circle and Kristy continued to walk to the left, and Lou stepped up next to Paul. The flap from a tattered tent opened and a small boy emerged form it. He stood, looked around and when his eyes found them, he cried, “Pastor Paul!”
The man at the fire looked up from his reverie then and followed the boy running toward them. When he saw them, he turned to watch the embrace of Paul and the young man. He grinned and bent down to fuss with the bacon frying in the pan sitting on the edge of the fire. Lou wondered what was going on as other flaps opened, and more people walked into the circle. Some were saying greetings to Paul and others simply smiled.
“Where’s your partner?” the man said as he stood up.
“She’s over here,” a woman said, standing arm in arm with Kristy. The woman in the yellow jacket waved at the man.
Paul stepped toward the fire and the man. Lou remained where she had stopped, watching, and wondering how everyone knew each other. She watched the two men shake hands and exchange pleasantries. The group of people, including Kristy, gathered around them and they were chattering among themselves when Paul turned toward her, beckoning her to come forward.
She approached and a small gap spread before her and she joined them.
“This is my friend Lou Barber and she is the owner, and baker, of Barber’s Bakery and it has been her pastries you have been enjoying the past couple of weeks. Lou, this is Marcus and, well, the gang.”
Marcus held out his hand toward her and Lou extended hers, and they shook hands in silence.
“So,” he began. “You are the person who made those wonderful doughnuts, huh?”
“I guess so,” Lou smiled at him. “I am glad you liked them.”
“Did you bring any with you?” another voice asked, and the crowd laughed.
“No, sorry. I will next time. I promise,” she laughed back.
“Actually,” Kristy interrupted, and all eyes turned toward her. They watched her reach deep inside her coat pockets and pulled two bags from them. The words ‘Barber’s Bakery’ are printed on the two white bags. The children screamed and ran toward her. She laughed, turned, and ran toward the nearby trees being chased by the giggling youngsters. The adults remaining in the circle watched the scene unfold and smiled to themselves.
“So,” Marcus said turning to Paul. “Why are you here, Pastor?”
Paul looked at him and then down to his feet. Lou stepped closer to him and raised her arm to give him a slight hug. She looked around the circle and her eyes met Kristy’s who was watching from the far side of the assembly.
Paul sighed, looked up at Marcus and around the circle at everyone there, and said, “I forgot to invite you to an event…”
***
It was quiet in the store and Samantha was enjoying the stillness sitting on the stool behind the counter. A Styrofoam cup, half filled with cream tainted coffee, rested on top of counter. She was reading a book, the “Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes”, a compilation of short stories of the master sleuth. The bell jingled and she looked up to see Father Dooley enter the store.
“Good morning, Father,” Sam addressed the cleric. “How are you doing today?”
“Oh, I am doing well,” he said as he passed her toward the coffee corner. After he prepared his beverage, he returned to the counter, set his cup beside hers, and looked into the doughnut box.
“One Long John left. Sold!” he stated reaching in and extracting it. “So how’s it going?”
“Well,” Sam leaned forward, set her book down and raised her cup from the counter. I think we are ready out here. The display shelves are set up behind you and the racks are in place, too.”
James turned to look in the direction she had noted and saw a half empty store. It looked like the snack products were crowded together toward the counter and the back of the store completely clear of, well, anything. The overhead lights above that area seemed brighter because nothing was there for them to shine on.
“When will it be filled up?” the priest said as turned back to face Samantha.
“I guess you need to ask Michael,” she answered him. “He and Abe are out by the dock.”
“ May I go back there?” he asked.
“Why do you even ask?” she scoffed at him. “Of course you can. Go!”
James Dooley smiled at her, picked up his Styrofoam coffee cup, and walked toward the coffee corner. He turned at its corner and pushed open the door that was between the coffee and refrigerator units. He entered into a different situation than the quiet one he left behind him. The dock was busy. It had been reconfigured from its original layout. From where he stood, on his right, the rear of the refrigeration units were the only structures that remained in their original positions. On the other side of them were pallets and shelves filled with the items meant for the Mini Mart. However, on his left, everything had changed. Three huge tables were constructed and were placed side by side with enough space between for people to stand next to them. Stationed in front of each table are two shopping carts. Just beyond the table farthest from him closest to the dock are two huge cardboard boxes and there is a shopping cart next to each of them. At the dock, a delivery truck of dairy products was backed up on his right. To his left, a car was backed in next to the dairy truck and its trunk was open. Abe was working with the delivery truck driver to empty it and on the left a few teenagers were busy unloading the trunk of the car of large plastic bags. Standing above the dock, was Anna and she was giving instructions to the group at the car. Mike surprised him as he emerged from the closet behind him.
“Hello, Father.”
“Mike!” the startled priest responded. “You surprised me.”
“Sorry,” Mike patted his friend on his back. “What do you think?”
“Amazing! It really is amazing. Paul is going to be so happy,” James commented on the activity before him. “Is that Anna Dell?”
“Yep,” Mike simply replied.
“How is she doing?” James asked him in a hushed tone.
“Well, she has kind of took over running this aspect of the staging area. She hasn’t really talked to me much. I know she is living with her father but is going to go back to her aunt after New Year’s to finish school. I think she is going to apply or transfer to Columbia to start next year. Lou might know more. Anna has been talking to her a lot more than she has to me.”
“And have you heard from Richard?” the priest asked him.
“Actually, all I can say about him is that he seems a lot happier. He has an idea to use the side lot to start a Farmer’s Market in the spring. He has been talking to other local farmers to see if they would agree to participate in it,” Mike looked at James. “Who would have believed this would be happening?”
“I know of someone,” James said as he placed an arm around Mike’s shoulders. “And she sings on the corner of your lot.”
Mike shook his head in agreement.
“Father, would you like a close-up view of what we are doing?”
“Sure would,” James responded as the two of them began to walk across the room.
To be continued…
My First Stories 