On Thursday morning I went to the bank and
cashed my November salary check for $2500. I didn’t feel safe carrying that
much money or having it in the house. As before, I hid it in drawers and in the
pockets of clothing. Then I went to the garage where Johnny Fox is the owner
and the only full-time employee.
“Hi, Johnny.”
“Hi, Preacher. What can I do for you?”
“Johnny, all the time that my wife was sick I
neglected everything else so I could take care of her and keep up with my work
at the church. One of the things that I neglected was my car. Would you go all
over it, change the oil, change the filters, check the air pressure, and tell
me what else the car needs to be safe and dependable for a while?”
“Sure, Preacher. You pick it up at the end of
the day.”
I went back to the church and threw myself
into working on the sermon. The way things have been going, I might not have
two more days for writing the sermon. I worked steadily and had my sermon
completed at the end of the day.
Johnny called and said that my car was ready.
The bill was $105. Considering all that he did I suspect that he only charged
me for the parts. I know that the car ran a lot better than before.
I went home, read my mail, fixed supper, and
then settled down on the sofa to join Bilbo Baggins and his friends on their
merry adventures. I became so much a part of their fantasy world that I was
able to escape my own. That was what I wanted. Bless you, Mr. Tolkien, bless
you Bilbo Baggins and bless you Gandalf.
Friday, I went back to the hospital to check
on Mr. Temple and Tommy Hammaker.
Tests determined that Mr. Temple had a mild
heart attack. The doctor put him on several medicines, told him to reduce the
amount of fats and starches in his diet, reduce the amount of coffee, and stop
the use of tobacco in every form. He made an appointment for him with the
cardiologist who comes to the local hospital from Little Rock once a month. Mr.
Temple was going to be discharged that day.
Tommy Hammaker was very happy. The venom has
stopped its effects on his flesh. The doctor had cut away the necrotic tissue.
Tommy would have a long period of healing, but he would not have part of his
leg amputated. His mother was there with him.
“Mrs. Hammaker, forgive me for asking, where
do you work? You must have lost a lot of days off work.”
“I don’t have a regular job, Preacher. I just
do odd jobs for people like washing and ironing, mending, cleaning house,
babysitting, or sitting with someone who is in the hospital.”
“I need someone to come in one day a week to
do housecleaning and run the washer and dryer for me. Would you be interested?
I will pay $100 for the day.”
“Yes, sir, I’d be happy to work for you.”
“Okay, you come next Wednesday at 9 a.m. I’ll
be out of the house by then. I will leave your money in an envelope on the
table just inside the door along with a list of the jobs that need to be done.
When you leave that afternoon, lock the door behind you. If the phone rings, do
not answer it. The answering machine will come on and the caller can leave me a
message.”
**********
Nathaniel took off early on Friday and signed
out on pass until Monday morning. He was stationed at Ft. Bliss, Texas. His duty
was to be advisor to half dozen Texas Army National Guard units. Normally on
the weekend he was with one or the other of them while they were drilling. The
units drilling this weekend were going to the firing range at Ft. Bliss for
their annual weapons qualification. The rifle range personnel would be in
charge and he was not needed.
He drove to Carlsbad Caverns. When he
arrived, the motels were all filled and the guided tours for Saturday were all
booked. He did manage to get in on a tour on Sunday. Since the motels were
filled, he decided to drive back into Texas and look for a motel room there.
Just into Texas, he saw Texas route 652. That ought to lead to some small town
with a half empty motel. After driving thirty miles he hadn’t met a single
vehicle. That wasn’t too promising. The sun was going down.
Up ahead was a car sitting by the side of the
road. He stopped and walked back to it. There was a woman and two children in
the car. They looked hot and their faces were flushed.
“Mister, could you please help us? My car
stopped. I can’t get a signal on my cell phone. We have been here several
hours. We live in Pecos. We had gone to Carlsbad Caverns and were on our way
home.”
Nathaniel went back to his pickup truck and
brought back the cooler.
“I think you had all better get something
cool to drink first.”
Nathaniel poured some cold water on a rag.
“Each of you wipe off with this cold rag and
get your body temperature down to normal. My name is Gunny Sergeant Nathaniel
Sterner. What are your names?”
“My name is Joy Muldoon. This is Sean and
this is Eibhlin. My husband and their father was Army Captain Patrick Muldoon.
He was killed in Afghanistan.”
Nathaniel had met Captain Muldoon several
times on one of his tours in Afghanistan, but he thought it was not wise to say
so.
“Okay, my suggestion is this. Put all your
belongings in the back of my truck, lock up your car, and the three of you
climb into the cab of my truck. We will start off for Pecos. If we see a tow
truck along the way, we will send it back for the car. If we don’t, I’ll drive
you to your house, find a motel for myself, and tomorrow I’ll find a tow truck and
ride back to your car with him and make sure he takes it to a garage. Then I’ll
come back to your house and tell you what garage it is at.”
In about a half hour they came to a small
Texas town, Orla. There was a diner and Nathaniel stopped.
“Let’s get some supper. It’s my treat.” Sean
and Eibhlin brightened.
“That is very generous, but we can wait until
we get home.” The children looked downcast.
“Nonsense. You are riding in my truck so you
are my houseguests. Let’s get something to eat They had better have apple pie
with ice cream on it to finish off the meal and hold our food in place.”
The children giggled. Then they squealed and
clapped their hands.
“You have found the way into my children’s
list of friends, Sergeant.”
Over supper Nathaniel and Joy opened up to
each other like old friends. He told her about his mother dying recently. She
teared up and then began to talk about how hard it had been for her and for her
children to lose Patrick. They talked until the children were restless, and had
to go to the restroom. They also saw by the dark outside that they must be on
their way.
They arrived at the Muldoon residence in
Pecos at nearly midnight. Nathaniel unloaded their belongings and carried them
inside.
“Bring your own things in the house also. You
are not going out looking for a motel after all you have done for us. That
living room sofa makes into bed. I’ll have it ready in just a few minutes.”
“Are you sure? It won’t look too good to the
neighbors.”
“You and I know that we aren’t doing anything
wrong.”
He brought his things into the house. Joy
turned the television on for him, brought him a Coke, and handed him the
remote.
“I’ll get the children ready for bed, then
take a shower, and come out and let you know when the bathroom is free. While
you are washing the desert dust away, I’ll make up the sofa bed for you.”
Nathaniel’s head was swimming. He had never
met a woman like Joy. She was just like her name. She wasn’t giggly, or
hilarious, just full of joy. She didn’t excite him; she made him feel at peace.
He didn’t think they had been flirting with each other, but discovering that
they were friends. He knew that he wanted to see her more often. He had never
even considered marrying anyone. He had only known Joy for hours and the
thought of marriage was already in his mind.
After he had showered he came out with the
bath towel wrapped around him. Joy giggled and her eyes sparkled.
“Well, I don’t own a pair of pajamas. I just
sleep in my shorts and T-shirt.”
She smiled, “You look just fine.”
He arose early, but Joy was already in the
kitchen. He could smell coffee brewing and bacon frying. He hurriedly dressed
and shaved. By then there was a plate with pancakes and bacon and a cup of
coffee waiting for him. He polished them off while Joy sat at the table
watching him, smiling, and sipping coffee.
“Aren’t you going to eat any breakfast?”
“I’ll wait and eat with the kids.”
“Take the other keys off the ring with the
car key. Get me the registration card. Then look in the Yellow Pages and circle
the towing companies that are located near here.”
“I can give you the car key. The registration
card is in the glove compartment. I’ll start looking in the Yellow Pages now.”
“While you are at it, look for a garage where
you want the car towed.”
Saluting him she said, “Right away,
Sergeant.”
He called several towing companies before he
found one willing to go that far. Nathaniel told the guy that he would be right
over. They drove to where Joy’s car was stranded alongside the road. After the
tow truck driver hooked onto the car, he towed it to the garage Joy had chosen.
Nathaniel paid the driver with his own credit card. Then he drove back to Joy’s
house.
“What would you be doing today if you had
your car?”
“We usually go to the grocery store. After we
get home, I fix a pizza and we watch movies.”
“Get ready and I’ll take you to the grocery
store.”
They all climbed into the cab of the truck
and went to the grocery store. There was an arcade near the store. With Joy’s
permission Nathaniel took Sean and Eibhlin to the arcade and fed their games
quarters while Joy did the shopping. Sean sat in front of a muscle car
simulator and tried to drive fast without hitting the curbs, lamp posts,
pedestrians, and other cars. Eibhlin stood before a bowling game. It was a game
where with a swipe of her hand a bowling ball was rolled toward the pins. She
did quite well and won a free game twice. Nathaniel watched out the window and
when he saw Joy come out with a basketful of groceries he said,
“Okay, kids, time to go.”
He was amazed that they both stopped
immediately and took his hand to leave. When they reached Joy, he took the
basket, rolled it across the parking lot and loaded the bags of groceries into
the back of his truck. At Joy’s house he carried all the groceries into the
house. Then he said,
“Well, I guess that I’ll be going.”
“Do you have to report back to the base this
evening?”
“No, not until tomorrow night.”
“Then you are not going anywhere. You wash up
for supper. I already have a pizza in the oven. There is also a salad for you
and me. You’ll watch movies with us. After the kids go to bed, we can talk some
more. You’ll stay here again tonight. Tomorrow we’ll all go to church together.
I’ll fix a nice Sunday dinner. You can leave for the base with a full belly.”
**********
Sunday, I preached on “Sola Fide” (Only by Faith). No one mentioned that I was leaving at
the end of the month. I went home and had a lonely meal. I was tired and took a
long nap. Late in the evening I received an amazing phone call from Nathaniel.
“Dad, you’ll never believe it. I met the most
wonderful woman this weekend. Her name is Joy. That name describes her so
perfectly. She seems to have joy in her heart all the time and that is the way
she makes me feel. She has two children, a boy and a girl. I was driving along
and they were in a stalled car. I picked them up and drove them to their home.
The next day I went with the tow truck to get her car. When I got back I took
them to the grocery store. We all had pizza and watched movies that night. Today
I went to church with them. Dad, she has been a Presbyterian all her life. Her
husband was killed in Afghanistan several years ago. I actually met him several
times, but I didn’t tell her.
“Dad, I’ve never even thought about love
before, but this woman has really bowled me over. Dad, I am so happy, and I
don’t feel in a turmoil about it. I have real peace when I think about her.
Pray for us, Dad. Well, I’ve got to go. I love you.”
I smiled and wished that Laura were here.
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