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Galen did go talk to Mrs. Little the next day.
She offered him a seat, and Galen managed to squeeze his large frame into a small one-unit desk designed for a third grader.
“How can I help you today?” Mrs. Little asked sweetly.
“Well, it seems, and I know this isn’t your fault, that Daniel, and by association, Isaiah, are being picked on. I know that boys will be boys, but I just wanted to see if we couldn’t nip this in the bud before any real damage is done.”
“I see,” Mrs. Little said. “I wasn’t aware that this was happening, but Daniel does behave much differently than the other children. I personally welcome the difference. He’s very compliant and respectful, and he works hard at learning. But he’s also very serious, always. And he quotes the Bible a lot.”
Galen tried to squash a smile, but failed.
“But I will definitely keep a closer eye on him, especially at recess, and make sure that he is safe, and of course, that Isaiah is safe too. Your son is a really good friend to Daniel. He’s a nice young man.”
“Good. Thank you for saying so. I hope he is compliant and respectful as well?”
“Oh, absolutely.” Mrs. Little smiled. “He’s always respectful. And he’s compliant except for during art class. I’m afraid he finds art to be a waste of his time.”
Galen tried to squash another smile, more successfully this time. “OK, I wasn’t aware. I’ll talk to him about that. Thank you so much for your time, Mrs. Little.”
“Oh, anytime. I wish all parents were as attentive and involved as you and your wife are.”
Galen nodded and smiled, and then began the process of prying himself free of the desk.
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When the boys got off the bus that day, Levi was waiting for them in the parking lot.
Daniel stopped in his tracks, and just looked at him.
Isaiah and Elijah ran past Levi, ignoring him completely, but then they noticed that their friend wasn’t with them. Isaiah turned around. “Come on, Daniel!”
Daniel didn’t answer. He didn’t move either. He looked at the strange man in front of him.
“You’re Daniel, right? Harmony’s boy?” Levi asked.
Daniel nodded.
Levi took a step forward.
Daniel took a step back.
“You go on ahead,” Isaiah said to Elijah. “We’ll be right in.” Elijah turned and ran toward the building.
“I’m your father, Daniel.”
Daniel didn’t even blink. “God is my only father.”
Levi laughed. “I guess that’s what you get when you grow up in a church. Look, kid, I am your father, and I could teach you a thing or two that you won’t learn here. I don’t know how you’ve been doing what you’ve been doing, but you’re wasting it here. If you come with me, right now, you won’t be homeless anymore. I can buy you whatever you want. You could be rich, kid, rich and famous.”
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God,” Daniel said.
Levi swore. He took two steps toward his son. Daniel stood his ground this time. “Look, that’s enough of that crazy talk. I’m not talking about a camel. This is the real world, kid. How ’bout you come with me?” He took another two steps and tried to grab Daniel. Daniel darted out of the way.
A voice from behind spoke sharply and suddenly, “Daniel! Isaiah! You come here right this instant!”
Levi turned around to see Maggie coming down the church steps. Tiny was right behind her. Elijah stood on the steps, watching, looking scared. Daniel and Isaiah began to walk toward Maggie.
“You get out of here, right now, Levi, or I will call the police!” Maggie hollered.
Daniel turned around for a last look at the man who shared his DNA. “I will pray for you, sir, but don’t come around here anymore. I will not throw my pearls before swine.”
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That night, at Bible study, Galen looked out at a congregation peppered with new faces. “I know a lot of you are new here, but I wanted to tell you a little bit about what’s been going on here. I know a lot of you don’t know young Daniel, but he is an eight-year-old who lives here, and he’s something of a hero of mine.
“Daniel has a special relationship with Jesus. I mean, a lot of us do, but Daniel, well, he really knows how to put his confidence in God. Sometimes I envy him. And because of this confidence, God has worked through Daniel to do some pretty awesome things. Maybe you have heard about some of them. People have come to know Jesus because of Daniel. People have been physically healed because of Daniel.
“But recently, Daniel’s biological father has come back into Daniel’s life. It seems his sole motivation is to capitalize, to take advantage, to make money off Daniel. This is not the way God works, folks. I ask you for your help tonight and for the days to come. If any of you see anyone acting suspicious, please tell someone else right away. And let’s all work together to keep an eye on all of the children here at church.
“Now, let’s open our Bibles to Hebrews 13:5 ...”
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At the end of the service, Galen gave an altar call, and two new people came forward. He prayed with each of them, and when he had finished, one of them asked to see Daniel. Galen beckoned Daniel forward. Daniel came. The man knelt again at the altar, and Daniel knelt beside him, one hand on the man’s back, and the two prayed together for some unnamed pain.
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The next morning, Maggie arrived at the office to find Tiny with fresh coffee and Pete sitting in her chair. “You’re up early,” she said to Pete. Then she took the coffee and thanked Tiny.
Pete hopped up and made a big show of offering her the seat. “I warmed it up for you. Yes, I am up early. Partly because it smells so bad in my room and partly because I couldn’t wait to tell you the latest gossip.”
Maggie looked at the pastor’s door.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Pete said. “He’s not here yet. Tiny, shut the door.”
Tiny shut the door, as Maggie took her coat off and sat. “Pete, it’s wrong to gossip. I don’t want to hear it.”
“OK then, it’s not gossip. It’s just news. Dwight got hammered last night—”
“That’s not news,” Maggie said, turning on her computer.
“Let me finish!” Pete said. “He got hammered and he got to talking about how much money he and Pastor Chris raised in Connecticut.”
“Oh yeah?” Maggie said, still not sounding very interested.
“Yeah, like thousands. I asked him how much exactly he’d seen, but then he realized he’d said too much and he shut up.”
Maggie looked up into Pete’s expectant gaze. “What’s your point?”
“My point is, I thought Pastor was going to tell them how to start a shelter in their church? Did you know he was going to get money?”
“No, Pete. I don’t know anything that goes on around here except who is sleeping here and what their allergies are. And sometimes I don’t even know that. And I think I like being in the dark.”
“Oh, stop it, Maggie! Don’t you see? This could be our way out!”
“Our way out of what, Pete? Just what are you trying to accomplish?”
“Maggie! Winter is coming! This place is going to fill up just like it always does. You really want Chris running the show?” Pete added a few expletives to drive home his point.
“Don’t say bad words,” Tiny ordered.
“Yes, Tiny. Sorry,” Pete said without looking at Tiny. “Maggie, if they raised money, where is it? The showers on the second floor haven’t worked in months. We’ve eaten lima beans for six days in a row. No one’s replaced your computer. Why aren’t we seeing any improvements? Why aren’t we seeing any anything? Isn’t he getting paid for those television shows and those internet shows too?”
“Pete, you’re probably right, but I really don’t see what you or I can do about it. We have a treasurer. He’s balancing the books. I’ve just got to trust God to balance the rest—”
She wasn’t done talking, but Pete was done listening. “Fine. You’re just too scared to do anything about it. Well, I’ll tell you what. I am not scared of these people.”
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Later that morning, Maggie was in the salon coloring the hair of a woman she’d met at the bank. Tiny had just left to go to the bathroom, so Maggie looked incredibly nervous when Dwight appeared in the open doorway.
“You wanna tell me who’s been going through my stuff?”
Maggie’s hands started to shake, and she squeezed the coloring brush even tighter. She looked down at the woman’s head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Dwight took a few steps into the salon. “I think you do. You know everything that goes on around here. Someone went through my room while I was gone. And I think you know who.” He took two more steps closer. Maggie looked at her phone, which was now farther away from her than Dwight was. “And you’re going to tell me who.” Dwight took another step and was inches from Maggie. She stepped away from him and toward her phone just as Tiny reappeared in the doorway, still zipping up his pants.
“Get away from her!” he shouted and started toward Dwight.
Dwight stepped back from the open-mouthed bank teller and Maggie and put his hands up in the air. “OK, OK, I’m not doing anything. Just asking a question.”
Tiny kept on coming until he was standing between Maggie and Dwight.
“How about you, big fella? Do you know who was in my room?”
“I don’t know anything,” Tiny said.
Dwight glared at Maggie for several long seconds and then turned and left.
“Everything OK?” the teller asked.
“Absolutely,” Maggie said, letting go of a breath she’d been holding since Dwight had appeared. “Sorry about that.”
“No worries. That guy was just scary.”
“You’re telling me,” Maggie said. “Thanks, Tiny.”
“You bet,” Tiny said and returned to his couch and comic book.
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Pastor Chris did eventually stroll into the office that afternoon, carrying a Starbucks cup, and Maggie did look at him suspiciously.
“Something wrong?” he asked her.
“You’re going away this weekend too, right?”
“Yes. I’ll be speaking at a church in Pittsburg,” he said, flipping through his keys.
“And will you be taking Dwight?”
He stopped flipping and looked up at her. “Yes, why?”
Maggie feigned innocence. “I was just curious. You know, why you always take him. There’s lots of guys around here who would love to go. And we’ve got some people who have moved on from here who could share their success stories, about how this church helped them.”
Chris frowned. “Do you want to go with me?”
“Oh no!” Maggie hurried. “I was just wondering why you always take Dwight?”
“I take Dwight because he is a hero. He has a very moving testimony and he does a good job of sharing it.” He unlocked his door and went inside.
Maggie stepped in the way of him closing the door. “But how does his testimony help you accomplish your goals?”
Chris leveled his gaze at her, seeming to really pay attention to her for the first time since they’d met. “What are you getting at, Ms. Turney? Did Dwight say something to you?”
Maggie looked emboldened. She took another step forward. “No, he didn’t. It’s more about what others are saying about Dwight.”
“Oh yeah? Why don’t you shut the door?”
“No, thank you,” Maggie said. “People are saying that he was never actually in the service. Have you checked out any of his credentials?”
“You know what? That’s a great idea! I’m going to do that right now. Thank you very much.” He looked at his computer as if to dismiss her. She paused for several seconds as if she had something more to say. Then she turned and left his office, leaving the door open.
