Chapter Twenty-six

The weekend went by with no further discussion about the future. Sam spent his Saturday working at Grace House and he went to church with Nicole, Regina and Joshua on Sunday.

Monday morning, he was up first. He left his home and headed toward his old office, happy to do anything that would keep his mind off Nicole. Lately, he spent most of the nights wrestling with himself and his past. Finally, he turned his worries over to God. Something he should have done in the first place.

Sam headed to the coffee shop where Gus greeted him from behind the counter. “What’s this? You have a job here?”

Gus poured a cup of coffee and placed it in front of Sam. “Day three and things are going great. Maude is one excellent boss. I have to thank you because you introduced us. When I heard she was looking for help I jumped quick and she took me on.”

“I had nothing to do with it, but it seems like a perfect match.”

“She’s a fine woman.”

“I hope things work out for you here.”

“They will. Thanks anyway, even though you don’t want the credit. You’re a good man. Like your parents were.”

The remark hit him hard. His parents had spent their whole lives saving for a dream that never materialized. What was Gus talking about?

“My mama never had a lot of money, but your father would give our whole family dental care for free. That was doing a lot since I had six brothers and sisters with bad teeth. Your father was a real gem. Like you.”

Sam shook his head, embarrassed by the praise. He took a sip of his coffee and tried to wrap his head around the revelation. His parents had helped others…here. Perhaps he had been a little hard on them, thinking their life amounted to nothing more than a bunch of possible vacation pictures on a refrigerator.

“You want anything else besides the coffee?”

“How about a toasted English muffin with cream cheese, to go? Got a full day at the office today. Don’t have much time for a big breakfast.”

“You got it.” Gus went to get the muffin as Juan walked into the shop. He took the stool next to Sam’s.

“Morning, Sam. Are you stopping by Grace House?”

“Yeah, but later. I promised to help Alistair today.”

“I understand. You help where you’re needed. This town will miss you when you’re gone. You know, since Pendleton is out of the picture, some folks have started organizing a city redevelopment committee. If you change your mind and stay they could sure use your help.”

Sam shook his head. “No Juan, I’ll leave that one up to you. By the end of summer I’ll be out of here.”

“You must know where the Lord needs you the most.”

Did he? Sam sure hoped so. He closed his eyes briefly. Heavenly Father, show me where I should serve you.

They chatted briefly about Juan’s family and a few minutes later Gus returned with a white paper bag.

“One toasted English muffin, cream cheese on the side.” Gus tossed in a packet of jelly too, before folding over the top of the bag and handing it to Sam. “Why, hello, Juan. What will it be today?”

“Two scrambled eggs, sausage and crispy hash browns with some of Maude’s fabulous coffee.”

Gus pulled out another mug from behind the counter and poured the hot brew. “Perfect. How’s the work coming at Grace House?”

“We’re ahead of schedule, thanks to Sam’s extra help. I should have the place finished by Wednesday.”

“Great. I have Wednesday off. I promised Nicole I would move the school back when the time came.” After a few more words about the move, Gus took off to fill Juan’s order.

Sam’s gut wrenched. Suddenly he wasn’t even hungry for the muffin in the bag. Nicole would be back in her home soon. His place was sold. That made things pretty final. The closing would be soon. Maybe he could ask the buyers if they could give him a little more time, until the end of summer. Then Joshua could attend the picnic. Hopefully, it would be one good memory that would stick with him and help erase all the bad ones.

“See you later, Juan.” With the plan forming in his mind, Sam threw some money on the counter and exited the coffee shop. He’d call the realtor that afternoon and see if he could renegotiate his moving date.

At five-thirty, when the last patient left, Sam stretched his arms above his head and heaved a sigh.

Alistair came out of his office and chuckled. “Not used to the long days?”

“Quite the contrary; I’ve put in plenty of long days working for ISCOP. Just forgot how grueling it could be here.”

Alistair took off his lab coat and hung it on a hook. “Guess the work is the same wherever you go.”

Same work wherever you go. Sam had never thought of it that way, though the pay checks in Golden Ridge would be bigger, the work really was kind of the same—helping those in need. But few oral surgeons were willing to go to remote or third world places. That’s why so many suffered needlessly with facial and dental conditions that could be easily fixed if they lived in the States. Going away to help them was the right thing to do.

“You may be right, but I am not staying,” Sam said.

Alistair shrugged helplessly. “It was worth a try. It’s hard finding a partner as good as you. Guess that’s why I’ve put it off for so long. I always figured you’d come to your senses and change your mind and stay.”

“You’d better start looking.” He closed another door.

Sam left the office and headed for his car. His phone started buzzing in his pocket.

“Hello.”

“Sam. Paul Martin here. Do you have time to talk?”

The no that sprang into his head faded fast. He knew he’d miss the reverend. He leaned against his car. “What’s on your mind?”

“I just got a call from ISCOP. They have a problem. They have a very tough case in Guatemala that can’t wait. They brought in a man whose face got all smashed up in a cart accident. A plastic surgeon will be heading there on Thursday. They need an oral surgeon, too. The operation is scheduled for Friday,” he paused, letting the minutes stretch. “They asked for you.”

Well, that settled it. Any additional time to stay in Golden Ridge vanished. His heart had dropped to the pit of his stomach, this had to be what God wanted him to do. “Okay. Tell them, if it can be arranged, I’ll leave Thursday, too.”

Sam ended the call and dropped the phone back in his pocket. He took a deep breath of the warm Golden Ridge air and realized he’d miss that, too. Didn’t matter. He couldn’t let the Guatemalan man down. He would go.

Now he had only two things left to do. Ask Joshua if he wanted to go with him or stay here with Miss ’Cole for the time being. And tell Nicole he was leaving, maybe for good.

Neither task was on his list of the top ten things he wanted to do, but nonetheless they had to be done.