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Shortly after noon on Wednesday, Galen was out rescuing someone with the tow truck, Maggie was working at the church, the boys were all still in school, and Harmony was sunning herself on the hood of a car that was parked beside Galen’s garage.
Elder Phil pulled into the drive. Harmony looked up at him, and then lay back down. “G’s not here,” she called as he got out of his car.
“I can see that. Don’t think he’d appreciate you showing so much skin in his yard.”
Harmony looked up sharply, seeming to recognize something in his tone. “There’s no one around to see this skin. We’re in the middle of nowhere. What do you want?”
“A little chilly for sunbathing, don’t you think?” he asked, walking toward her.
Harmony put her head back down and covered her eyes with an arm. “Just trying to get some sun before it dies for the winter. Like I said, what do you want?”
“I just wanted to talk to you about this unfortunate event.”
“Which one?” She appeared to be disinterested, but her arms had broken out in gooseflesh.
Phil leaned against the car, his body close to Harmony’s, but his gaze staring off into the distance. “I don’t think you should have been asked to leave the shelter,” he said softly.
She looked at the back of his head. “Um, I wasn’t exactly asked, and weren’t you the one who told me to pack?”
“Well, it’s possible we were wrong. It’s not your fault, all this business about your boy. In fact, I’d like to help, if you’d like that.”
“If I’d like it? What are you going to do to help?”
He turned to her then, still leaning against the car, his weight now mostly on his elbow, and his face less than a foot from hers. “Well, the thing is Harmony, you’re a beautiful woman, and well, I could be persuaded, if you’d like, to talk to the elders about getting you back into the shelter.”
Harmony leaned in closer to him. “Really?”
“Sure could. The only thing is, well, you’d have to tell your boy to stop praying for people in public, stop trying to heal them. Then this can all go away.” He leaned even closer to her, his face now inches from hers, and he lightly dragged one fingertip down her arm. “What do you think about that?”
“I think you should come inside,” Harmony said, and swung her long, bare legs off the car’s hood.
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Harmony was back at the church an hour later. Maggie saw her walk by the office window, a bag slung over each arm. “Hey, Harm!” Maggie called out.
Harmony backpedaled to look at Maggie through the open doorway. “Yeah?”
“Whatcha doin’?”
“What’s it look like?”
Maggie frowned. “It looks like you’re moving back in.”
“Well, that’s ’cause I am. Mind your own business, Maggie,” Harmony said tonelessly, and then continued down the hall.
When Galen returned to an empty house, he found a note: “Gone back to church. It’s all good. Thanks for everything.”
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On Saturday, when Pastor pulled his new truck into the church parking lot, the guests scattered like rabbits to their holes.
Dwight practically strutted through the front door. “Welcome home,” Maggie said, sounding almost welcoming as she did so.
Dwight did not respond, only sneered as he brushed by her.
Chris had a job for her, though. “Hi, Maggie,” he said brightly as he came through the door. “How has your week been?”
“Good,” Maggie said, sounding cautious.
“That’s great. We had a fantastic time too. Really got a lot of good publicity for the church, and I’ve booked several other speaking engagements with churches up and down the east coast.” He handed Maggie a piece of paper with a list of dates and church names. “Could you please find a hotel for Dwight and me in each of these cities on these dates? Then let me see the list, and once I approve it, I’ll give you the church credit card and you can make the reservations for me. Thanks a lot.” He walked by her, as she stood speechless, still holding the list out in front of her. He’d only taken a few steps when he stopped, turned around, and added, “Oh, and could you also fix up one of the empty family rooms for Dwight?”
Maggie turned around slowly to face him. “For Dwight? Why?”
“Things just aren’t working out for him in the larger sleeping area.” He turned again and left Maggie standing in the hallway.
Pete came out of the office. “What was that all about?”
Maggie didn’t look at Pete. Her face stayed slack, her eyes focused on Chris walking away. “Um, not really sure?” It wasn’t until Chris was out of her sight, around the bend in the hallway, that she finally looked at Pete. “Uh, could you put some clean sheets in one of the empty family rooms? Just one set.”
This was a strange request, and Pete looked appropriately confused. “Just one bed? OK, you want me to make it up?”
“No. Definitely not. He can make his own bed.” And with that, Maggie carried her list of speaking engagements into the office, leaving Pete standing in the hallway, alone with his confusion.
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Maggie was only a third of the way through the hotel list when Chris returned to the office. She looked up at him, and there was pent-up fury in her eyes. “You know, this isn’t really my job.”
He put on a diplomatic smile and looked around the office. “Oh sorry, are you busy?”
Maggie wasn’t busy, at the moment, and she didn’t answer him, just continued with her fiery glare.
He continued, “I can do that myself, but I’m just very busy, got appointments all day, and I would appreciate it so much if you could help with the operational details.”
Maggie squinted. “Are you trying to trick me into thinking that you’re doing me some sort of favor by letting me be such a big part of your big, fancy operation around here? Just what do you do all day? You’re always off to some meeting. Who do you meet with? ’Cause it’s certainly not homeless people.”
Chris looked around the office, as if to confirm they were alone, and then pulled Tiny’s chair closer to Maggie’s desk. He sat and leaned forward on his knees. “Look, Maggie. I’m doing my best here. I really am. This is all new to me. I’m just trying to do the best I can, but I can’t be everywhere at once. I am meeting with other pastors in the area, trying to garner their support, both prayer support and financial. I am meeting with local leaders, trying to garner their favor, trying to undo some of the negative reputation that this church has. This position is about more than preaching on Sundays. It’s about making this institution into all it can be. I am the public face of Open Door now.” His phone vibrated inside his jacket. He took it out and looked at it. “If you’ll excuse me,” he said without looking at Maggie, “I’ve got to take this.” He got up, went into his office, and closed the door.
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The next morning, Pastor Chris welcomed everyone to the service. “Good morning! Welcome to the homeless here with us, to our loyal members here with us, and to all those joining us from home. We are glad you could be with us today.”
There were several audible groans from the homeless there with him.
“What loyal members?” Cari mumbled to Maggie. “Mike and Lisa have stopped coming. I think it’s just the three of us now.” She began singing “Just the Two of Us,” only changing the lyric to just the “three” of us.
Maggie giggled, and Galen gave them both a stern look.
“Don’t forget Gertrude,” Maggie whispered.
“Just the four of us,” Cari sang.
“Shh!” Galen said.
Chris was still talking: “Dwight Schultz, our Iraq War veteran, and myself, have just returned from the New England Pastors’ Convention in Springfield, Massachusetts, where we shared about our ministry to the homeless with thousands of pastors and church leaders from all denominations and all over the country. What a blessed time it was! As Dwight shared his testimony of how he came to know Jesus as Savior through this ministry, I don’t dare say there was a dry eye in the house! And as a result, I have been invited to speak in churches all over New England. And I’m ready for the challenge! If those of you joining us from home know of a church or ministry that would like to improve its outreach to the homeless, please, give me a call! God is moving, friends! God has not forgotten our homeless brothers and sisters! He is equipping us to reach them, and reach them we must! The Great Commission does not exclude those who are sleeping in alleys and on park benches! They need Christ too! Let us pray.”
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The following week, there was more mail than ever. But Maggie didn’t open any of it. She just made a big pile of it on the floor outside of Chris’s locked door.
