24

Kathryn sat staring at her computer screen when footsteps approached.

“Kathryn?”

Kathryn swiveled in her chair. “Hi, Sarah. What’s up?”

“Since things aren’t busy around here, would you like to get some lunch with me today?” Sarah asked.

Kathryn hesitated, but only for a second. “Sure, I’d love to.”

At lunch, the two women fell into easy conversation, but Kathryn needed to clear the air.

“Sarah, I want to apologize to you. You’ve been nothing but kind to me this past year, and I’ve not been very friendly.”

“You weren’t unkind, you kept to yourself,” Sarah said. “Everyone deals with grief differently. I’m sorry you’ve been so busy we haven’t been able to go out to lunch.”

Heat rose in Kathryn’s cheeks. “Not for lack of you asking.”

“True,” Sarah said, “but you said yes today. I admit, I’m surprised at how well you seem to be handling the news of the layoffs.”

“I’m surprised myself, but now my life is in God’s hands. I became a Christian a couple of days ago.”

“Praise God. I’ve been praying for you ever since your husband died. That’s such great news,” Sarah said.

“And that’s exactly why I was avoiding you. I thought you were a little preachy. I didn’t want people praying for me. I’ve always wanted to be in control of my life, not some invisible God who didn’t care enough to stop bad things from happening. I guess I was a little mixed up.” Kathryn busied herself dipping her french fry into ketchup.

Sarah patted her hand. “Consider yourself forgiven. What happens now? What do you plan to do next?”

Kathryn looked up. “I’m going to try for one of the chemist positions in Boston. What about you?”

“There are some biologist openings there too, but I’m not putting in for one. My family is here, my church is here, my husband likes his job, and I don’t have any desire to move.” Sarah paused to take a bite of her sandwich. “This comes at a good time for me. It’s a little earlier than I planned, but I was going to resign in the spring anyway.”

Kathryn blinked, surprised. “Why?”

Sarah beamed. “Because I’ll be busy with my new baby!”

“Congratulations! I didn’t even realize. I’m sorry.”

“I’m only 5 months along. Depending on what I’m wearing, you can’t really tell. Anyway, with the 3 months of severance, it will take me close to my due date anyway. My husband and I have been tightening the belt preparing to live on one salary for a couple of years.”

“I’m glad it’s worked out for you.” Kathryn said. “I’m not crazy about the idea of Boston, but what choice is there?”

“This is your chance to try something new. Is there anything else you ever wanted to do?”

Kathryn faltered. “Well…”

“Come on, what is it?”

“I’ve always thought about teaching. Not as a full professor in a research institution, but maybe at an undergrad college where I could work with a few students in the lab, and teach classes. That’s what I would like to do.”

“You’ve worked with the summer interns the last few years,” Sarah said, twisting her hair between her fingers. “I bet you’d be great at it. Why not do it?”

“It’s not all that easy. First of all, you have to apply a year ahead of time for most places. Second of all, I was on a research fellowship in grad school, and don’t have any teaching experience. I’m sure I’d need to teach some classes, maybe as an adjunct faculty member, for a while before I could even be considered.”

“Why not get started?” Sarah asked.

“I don’t think I could afford it. Three months of severance won’t cover expenses while I’m only teaching a course or two. Besides, an assistant professor only makes about half of what I’m making right now.”

“I bet you could spend a lot less. Think about it. Better yet, pray about it. You’re good at this job, and I’m sure you’d do fine in Boston too, but you need to go where God wants you.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Kathryn said, but she already knew she’d be going to Boston. She wasn’t about to take a huge pay cut. Money meant security. That was something she’d never known growing up. Once her father left, her mother was forced to do whatever menial jobs she could find while taking night classes. Kathryn vowed that would never happen to her. She planned to make lots of money and not worry about what would happen if a man left her. It was a good thing too, since now she didn’t have Robert’s salary to help pay the mortgage anymore. She frowned.

“What’s up?” Sarah asked, breaking her train of thought.

Kathryn put down the fry she’d been absentmindedly chewing on, forgetting where she was for a moment. “I was thinking I’ll miss our house. We’ve got a beautiful colonial in Edgebrook.”

Kathryn was proud to move into that home. Robert insisted it was too much, but she’d fallen in love with it. It was everything she never had growing up, and Robert understood how important it was to her. Unfortunately, the housing market took a downturn, and they now owed more on it than it was worth. Selling it would not be easy.

“You may surprise yourself. With an eternal perspective, stuff doesn’t matter much anymore.” Sarah told her.

Kathryn wasn’t so sure.

That evening, Kathryn attended cooking class, the first of a 10-week session. She didn’t know how many of the sessions she’d be able to make, but she was determined to learn what she could while she was in town.

She and seven other clueless cooks tied aprons around their waists and stood around a large kitchen island. In front of each station was a collection of strange knives.

Kathryn introduced herself to her neighbors.

The woman to her right was incredibly enthusiastic. “We’re learning knife skills tonight. I can’t wait to chiffonade and julienne.”

Kathryn rolled her eyes.

The man to her left, Phil, muttered under his breath “I thought chiffonade was a kind of cake, and julienne is a girl I used to date in high school.”

Kathryn burst out laughing. The instructor frowned at them, and Kathryn hid her face in her hands. The rest of the night continued the same way. Kathryn enjoyed learning the basics of food safety, and learned a thing or two about using knives, while Phil’s comments kept her giggling.

What a good day. Lunch with a friend, and a cooking class where she learned something new. Even with losing Robert and missing Adam, peace blanketed her. “Thank You, God, for the people in my life. Thank You for loving me, even though I don’t deserve it.”