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Esther
As they drove out toward Richie’s Head, Esther paid more attention than usual to the houses. Most of them had been there for years, and she’d gotten so used to them that she paid them no mind. They were simply part of the scenery. But now she wondered. Were they rich? Were they wealthy? How much money did they have? And an even more interesting question: how did they get that much money? Certainly not from Carver Harbor. All these people must be from away. She looked at the man driving the car. All but Walter, maybe?
“This seems to be the first house in our area.” He sounded as though he were pulling into the dentist’s parking lot.
Esther patted his hand. “It won’t be so bad.” Her go-get-’em attitude was as fake as plastic. She didn’t want to be here either, but she felt guilty expressing that.
“You guys want me to do it?” Zoe started to get out of the car.
Unwilling to let the youngster show her up, Esther hustled to catch up, and Walter and Derek followed shortly thereafter.
Zoe got to the door first and knocked.
Someone answered quickly, before Walter could get there. The woman looked familiar, but that didn’t mean much. Esther could have seen her in the grocery store. She smiled brightly. “Good morning! My name is Esther, and we’re from New—”
“Walter!” the woman cried. “How are you?”
Esther’s mouth snapped shut. Her first thought: Walter couldn’t have mentioned that he knew these people? And right on the heels of that: of course he knew these people. They were his neighbors.
“Hi, Maddy. I’m well enough. How about you?”
“I’m good, I’m good. What brings you guys out in the cold like this?” She looked past them. “Car trouble?”
“No, ma’am. I’m a part of New Beginnings Church now, and we’re going around town checking on folks, seeing if anyone needs any help with anything.”
She furrowed her brow. “Help?”
Walter looked a little sheepish. “Yes. Help. With literally anything. I’m not promising we can answer every request, but we’re just trying to make it known that we care. You know, reaching out.”
She nodded, chewing her lip. “Well, as a matter of fact, Stan is inside resting.” She stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind her. “He’s not feeling so good. You know he’s on the list for a liver donation.”
Walter nodded stoically. “Yes, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, we sure would appreciate your prayer. If you guys would ask the others in your church to pray too, the more the merrier.”
“Of course.” Walter nodded.
“We could come in and pray for him right now,” Derek said. “Lay hands on him and all that.”
Her eyes flitted to Derek and then froze there. “No, thank you. Like I said, he’s resting.”
Walter nodded quickly, and the movement of his head seemed to pull her eyes away from Derek’s face. “We will absolutely do that. Keep me posted, please? We’ll all keep praying until we hear from you.”
She let out a long breath, seeming relieved. “I’d sure appreciate that.”
“It’s the least we can do. Go back inside and get warmed up. Let us know if you need anything else.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Walter.” She glanced at Esther. “And everybody else.” Then she turned and scuttled back inside.
Esther turned to see that Zoe was almost back to the car.
“Did you know he needed a liver?” Esther asked under her breath.
“No,” Walter said. “One thing I’ve learned in my many trips around the sun. When people are in crisis, they always assume everyone else knows they’re in crisis, but everybody else is too caught up in surviving their ordinary day-to-day to notice.”
Esther didn’t know what to say to that.
“I’ve suffered a few crises on my own.” He sounded so sad.
She looked at him quickly, shocked at how profoundly the sadness in his tone affected her. Her chest ached, and she found it hard to breathe all of a sudden. This was a new Walter: a vulnerable, injured Walter. She was overwhelmed with the desire to comfort him, to care for him, to make sure no one ever injured him again. Trying to get her breath under control, she climbed into the car. “I’m sorry that you’ve ever suffered anything.”
He gave her a small smile. “Thanks, honey. I love you.”
She hadn’t yet told Walter that she loved him, and she wasn’t sure she wanted the first time to be in a car with Zoe and Derek, but she was sure of something else in that moment. She did love him, and she wanted to make darn sure he knew. “I love you too, Walter.”
“Awww,” Zoe said from the back. “You guys are adorable.”
Walter chuckled and put the car in drive as Derek started singing “Jingle Bells.”
