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Esther
Six women filed into the lawyer’s conference room. It wasn’t a small room, but it wasn’t designed for the number of people now in it. Four of them sat down, and Vicky and Cathy hovered behind them.
Attorney Walter Rainwater looked at them curiously. “Are you sure you want all six of you on the deed?”
“Seven,” Esther said. “Barbara Silvie wasn’t able to make it.”
“Gallstones,” Vicky explained unnecessarily.
“All right. We’ll need someone to get her signature.”
The seller came into the room and gave Esther a broad smile. “Glad to see you ladies. Wasn’t sure I was ever going to sell that building.”
“Why’d you ever have it in the first place?” Vicky asked.
The man shrugged. “My ex-wife wanted to turn it into an antique store, but she never got around to it.”
Esther shuddered. That would have been a shame. She was glad God had foiled that plan.
He settled back into his chair. “She never got around to lots of things.”
Esther turned her attention to the lawyer. This was the first time she’d seen him. Before today, she’d only spoken to him on the phone. He was quite handsome. She almost laughed at herself for having the thought. She wasn’t looking for romance—she wasn’t Dawn.
He caught her eye and smiled, and her cheeks grew warm. She prayed silently that her cheeks weren’t pink.
“So you ladies are starting a church?” Walter sounded bemused.
“Yes,” Dawn said. “And you’re welcome to join us on Sunday morning at ten-thirty.”
Esther gave her a look. To Esther’s knowledge, they hadn’t decided on a start time yet.
“I might just do that,” he said, and he almost sounded sincere.
“Ohh,” Dawn said. Was that a coo? Had she just cooed at the man? “Are you a churchgoing man?”
He shrugged. “Not really.” He busied himself with paperwork. “I’ll need photo IDs for each of you.” He looked at Esther. “Does someone have the check?”
Esther nodded toward Cathy. They’d all given their shares to her.
“I do,” she chirped.
“All right.” He took the check from her outstretched hand. “Then all I need is your signatures.” He looked around the room in wonder. “All of them.”
Esther’s hand trembled as she picked up a pen. This was really happening. She’d put every penny she had into this, but more significantly, she’d put all her hope into this. She really needed this to work. She had known she’d needed a church, but now that she had a mission, she thought maybe she needed that too.
A church and a mission. She signed slowly, relishing the moment. It was a brand-new day.
