“Tomorrow is the big day, Manny!” Tito announced, popping into his tent that Sunday, ready for church. Manny was just pulling a brush through his thick brown hair, staring at himself in the mirror. He glanced at his friend.
“Do not remind me. I am not looking forward to it.”
Tito raised his eyebrows. “I thought you enjoyed working underground. You said it keeps you away from people.”
“People other than you, you mean,” Manny teased. “I can never seem to get rid of you, even underground.”
Tito nodded. “And you never will, my friend. Never will.”
They both laughed.
“Are you ready for service?”
“I am. Let’s go.”
The church services for Tent City were held in a makeshift outdoor church with wooden chairs carved by the men (and women) in the encampment. Even the altar, which was just a square podium with a slanted top, was handmade by someone in the little community.
Manny and Tito arrived just before the service was to begin. They sat quietly in the back row. Manny was glad he could see the pastor in front of everyone. When the man moved, Manny leaned to the left or right to be able to see him.
The message that day seemed almost too appropriate to Manny’s situation.
“Our message today is about something that affects all of us here in this community,” the pastor said, moving away from the podium to pace in front of the congregants. “We are, most of us, foreigners. Some have been born and raised in this country, and they are still getting used to having others here. We must endeavor to stand tall as free people. At times, we rely on the people who provide for us. They may be good. They may not be so good. The Bible teaches us to turn the other cheek. To be kind and gracious in the face of unkindness and ungraciousness.”
The pastor went back to his podium and picked up his Bible, holding it in the air. “We will look at some scriptures to help us better understand what Jesus says about treating others with respect, no matter where they are from.”
Manny looked down when Tito put a Bible in his hands. He glanced at his friend with a smile.
“I thought that you would forget,” Tito whispered.
“Gracias, amigo,” Manny replied softly.
“Turn in your Bibles to Leviticus. Leviticus.” He repeated the word. “Here we see in chapter 23 verse 22 …” He spoke slowly, glancing around at those who were searching for the scripture. When the pages stopped turning, for the most part, he continued, “Here in verse 22, it tells those farmers and others who have been fortunate to treat those less fortunate with favor. This verse instructs these with much to leave the gleanings of their fields for the poor and the foreigner. Later in chapter 25, verse 35, God tells us to treat a stranger as you would one of your brothers.”
Manny listened to the rest of the sermon, interested in every word. When the final prayer had been said, and people were starting to leave, he felt the need to approach the pastor and thank him for the good words.
“I appreciated the message today, Padre,” Manny said. “Gracias.”
“De nada,” the pastor replied, shaking Manny’s hand. “And I am glad you found the sermon interesting. I do try to keep as many people awake as I can.”
Manny laughed. “This is my good friend, Tito.”
The pastor nodded, shaking Tito’s hand. “I have seen you here before. Both of you. I’m glad you came up to introduce your friend. And what is your name?”
Manny was a little embarrassed he hadn’t given his name first. “Manny. Ortega.”
“Pastor John Littleton. It is good to meet you both.” He shook their hands. “If there is ever anything I can do for you, just let me know.”
Tito tapped Manny on the chest, not taking his eyes from the pastor. “He’s gonna be needin’ a pastor soon. Do some wedding vows.”
The pastor’s face lit up with happiness. “You are getting married, Manny?”
Manny narrowed his eyes at his friend, shaking his head. “No. Not yet. I … I haven’t asked her. There are … difficulties we must overcome first.”
“I’m sure you’ll get past anything you need to,” Pastor John said. “If it is ordained by God, it will come to pass. Pray for what you want, and if it is in God’s plan for you, you will get it.”
“I do pray,” Manny confirmed, “but I do not like to ask God for anything. He will provide what I need to live.”
“Yes, He will,” the pastor agreed. He set one hand on Manny’s shoulder and looked him dead in the eye, “but if you don’t try or take any steps forward on your own, you won’t know whether you are fulfilling His destiny for you or not. You must keep moving forward. If you have a lovely young lady in mind that you want to marry, pursue that, work around the obstacles. God will soon let you know if it is what He wants for you.”
“Does He change people’s minds about other people?”
Pastor John looked surprised by the question. “Change people’s minds? What do you mean? If your lady does not want to get married and God has not pre-ordained the union, you can’t expect Him to make her say yes.”
Manny took no offense to the pastor’s words. Pastor John spoke with eloquence and compassion. He nodded in response. “That is not what I mean. Her father … the father of the woman I want to court … he doesn’t like us. Our kind.”
He flipped one outstretched thumb between himself and Tito.
“Because you are Mexican?”
“Because we are not American.”
“Continue to pray, and God will give you the answers you seek. Sometimes they aren’t always the answers we want. But you can rest assured that if it is what God wants, it will come to pass.”
Manny wasn’t sure whether he felt better or worse after talking to the pastor. He was willing to rely on God to provide for him. But if he continued to make his own decisions, what if they were the wrong ones? What if a relationship with Imogen wasn’t the right thing to do? Would God take her away from him?
The very thought made Manny ache in his heart. He pushed the negative thoughts away and concentrated on praying for a resolution to the matter. A change of heart for Jacob Brown seemed like the only thing that could happen. He would need to come to his senses. To be shown that having brown skin and speaking with an accent didn’t make Manny or Tito or any of the residents of Tent City any less valuable than all the residents of the town.
As they walked away from the outdoor church, Manny said to Tito, “She will come to visit this last day after she gets out of church. I am anxious to see her.”
“Let’s walk through the field,” Tito suggested, his eyes off in the distance. “You can pick her a bunch of flowers. I’m sure that will make her smile.”
Manny thought it was a great idea. The two men turned to walk through the field, and both men gathered poppies until they had four different colors bundled in their hands.
Half an hour later, Manny had spread the poppies all over his tent, keeping back a small bouquet to give her directly. He wished it wasn’t the last day. He was going back underground tomorrow. Everything would go back to the way it used to be.
He’d gotten used to seeing her every single day for hours on end. He was going to miss her more than he’d expressed to her. He hoped the flowers would give her some indication of how much she now meant to him.
Manny loved the way Imogen’s face lit up when she stepped into his tent and saw all the beautiful flowers. She gasped and covered her pretty mouth with her hands.
“Did you do this for me?”
Manny nodded. “It’s the last day that you will spend with me like this. I will go back into the mine tomorrow. Then I will only see you every now and then. I … I will miss you. We must plan to do something together.”
Imogen’s eyes were misty when she turned to him, making his heart melt for her. “Yes, we will do that. Josie will help us. And Tito, I’m sure. This isn’t the end. Not at all.”