| |
Tonya
Emma had gone for a walk, and Tonya strongly sensed that Fiona wanted her out of her house as well. “I’m going to step out for a little bit. You need anything from the outside world?”
There was a long hesitation before Fiona answered her, and Tonya wondered if she’d even heard her. “No thank you. You have a good time.” Had that been sarcasm? Tonya wasn’t sure. She stepped outside, not sure where she was going—but then she saw the church steeple and decided to go pray. She wasn’t sure the church would be unlocked, but she had a feeling.
She could hear the ladies bickering before she’d even crossed the lawn. Did they live there? She stepped inside and was greeted by paint fumes. Esther, Vicky, Cathy, and Dawn were all there.
She coughed. “You want me to open some windows?”
“Well, hello there!” An enthusiastic voice called from above.
Tonya looked up to see that Rachel was on a ladder. Was that safe? No one was spotting her. Tonya hurried to the ladder. “Do you need some help?”
“That is not a good question to ask around here,” Esther called from across the room. “I suspect we will be needing help around the clock for at least the next six months.” She started across the room carrying a paint pan and a brush.
Tonya took them from her. “Oh, shoot, I kind of like this shirt. Not sure I should paint in it.”
“That’s the second time I’ve wished we hadn’t thrown out those old choir robes.”
“When was the first time?” Rachel called down.
“When I needed something to put out your fire!”
Tonya laughed.
“What brings you here?” Esther said. “Everything all right?”
“Yes. I came to pray.”
Esther swept an arm toward the altar. “Well, don’t let us stop you!”
“That’s okay. I can pray and hold a ladder at the same time.” She took a long breath. “Do you know Fiona Patterson by any chance?”
Esther shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, she’s my friend. She lives on the next street over, and she’s had a rough go of it. But despite her own issues, she has taken my daughter and me in, and—”
Esther’s eyebrows flew up. “Does that mean you won’t be accepting Vicky’s invitation?”
She looked so disappointed that Tonya rushed to say, “No, it doesn’t mean that. Fiona’s house is very small, and we don’t really fit. And I’ve applied for the secretary position at the school, so living with Vicky might be perfect. I’m sort of waiting to hear about that job before I make any final decisions.”
Esther’s face relaxed in relief. “Oh good. So how can we help this friend of yours?”
“She’s something of a recluse. Part of me can support that, but part of me knows she needs others in her life. She’s made it clear she’s not interested in Jesus, but I sure would like her to meet him, as well as you ladies.”
The rest of the ladies pretended they weren’t eavesdropping, but they had all stopped painting and were holding perfectly still.
“Would you guys pray for her for me? That she develops the desire for God, but that she also lets other people into her life? I feel like her coming to visit here would take care of both things, but I’ve learned lately to let God make the plans.”
Esther laughed. “Let’s pray right now.” She stepped back and held her arms out to her sides. “Come on, ladies. Let’s get this done for Tonya. And for Fiona.”
The others assembled around her in a small circle. Tonya hung back at first, but then Esther beckoned her into the circle. Rachel took Tonya’s right hand, and Cathy took her left.
“Father in heaven,” Esther began. “We ask for your interference in Fiona’s life. I don’t know her, and yet I know that you love her. Please make that love impossible to ignore and impossible to resist. Please shower her with a desire to find out more about you and your love. Please bring her to us so that we can show her your love. Please give her a seeker’s heart and tell us how to best minister to her. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
Everyone echoed, “Amen.”
Tonya looked up with tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”
Esther nodded. “That’s what we were put here to do. Keep us posted and let us know if we can do anything.”
“This morning my daughter invited her to your tea tomorrow, but she declined. With a bit of snark.”
Esther closed her eyes again. “Father in heaven! PS! Please bring her to ladies’ tea. That’s a great idea! In Jesus’ name we pray again. Amen.”
“Amen,” the women echoed for the second time.
They started to scatter back to their paintbrushes, but then Esther cleared her throat. “Father in heaven,” she said loudly.
The women all stopped moving and closed their eyes.
“PS again! Could you also please land Tonya the job at the school? In Jesus’ name we pray! Amen.”
“Amen!”
Tonya smiled at Esther. “Thank you. I can’t believe how much I want that job.”
“That probably means God’s put the desire in your heart.” Esther turned to go back to work.
Tonya looked at the ladder and then looked at Rachel. “Hey, you want me to take a shift up top?”
“Don’t I ever!”
Tonya expertly ascended the ladder. She had built more Vacation Bible School sets then she could count. She dipped Rachel’s brush into the paint and got to work, taking care not to drip anything on her shirt. “This is a lovely color you ladies picked out.”
“It was on sale. How goes the divorce?”
The question startled Tonya. She still had trouble with the word divorce. It wasn’t a word she associated with herself or her circumstances. She still didn’t want to get divorced and had been praying mightily against it. “I’m not sure. We have a magistrate date, so I guess that’s the next step. But I don’t plan to fight him for anything. We don’t really have anything to fight over. I’m just going to ask him to leave Emma alone.”
“Is he her father?”
“Yes, and of course he can still be in her life,” Tonya hurried to say, “but I don’t want her out of my life. I don’t want her spending weeks and weeks with him when I can’t be with her.”
Rachel was quiet.
“I know it sounds selfish, but trust me, it’s not. I want what’s best for Emma, and right now, that’s being with her mother.”
“I support you fully,” Rachel said, sounding sincere. “And I’ll be praying about your meeting.”
