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Esther
The sanctuary was a mess. Esther had slept most of the day away on Monday, but now it was Tuesday. They had a bean supper tonight, and she needed to get the church put together again. She’d called in reinforcements, but they weren’t there yet.
But as she set about picking up the dozens of coffee cups and doughnut wrappers, she heard a scraping sound in the basement. She froze. What was that? She hadn’t seen any cars outside. She tiptoed to the top of the stairs, though tiptoeing was a little silly since she’d been stomping around up there for ten minutes already. “Hello?” she called softly.
Adam Lattin appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey, there!” He took the stairs two at a time.
“Careful of that railing; it’s wobbly.”
“Nah, I fixed it.” He came to a halt beside her and eyed the trash bag in her hands. “Come to pick up a bit?”
“We’ve got a supper here tonight. I came to pick up a lot.” Feeling guilty of boasting, she quickly added, “Others will be here soon.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s coming?”
She rattled off the usual suspects, “Rachel, Vicky, Barbara, Dawn, Cathy, and Vera. Vera’s not really well enough to do much physical work, but we appreciate her spiritual support.”
He nodded, looking thoughtful. “And Walter?”
“Walter?” Her cheeks got hot. “What about him?”
“Is he your beau?”
She laughed out loud. “Beau? Are you trying to use old people tongue?”
He laughed too. “Seemed silly to call him a boyfriend when he’s in his sixties.”
Sixties? Was Adam sure? How did he know that? Was Walter really only in his sixties? She forced herself to breathe and tried to keep her cheeks from getting any pinker. She’d been robbing the cradle for weeks, and she hadn’t even known it!
Adam waited for an answer.
“Yes, sort of. I suppose. He might be my beau.”
Adam grinned broadly. “Excellent. I would love to do a wedding.”
This was more than her cheeks could bear. She turned away quickly.
“He’ll be here shortly. I already called him to help me move the pews.”
Esther glanced back.
“I try to be a mighty man of God, but I can’t slide pews around by myself.”
She scurried away to find something else to do, far away from the new pastor’s prying questions and suggestions. Wait. Was he their new pastor? She didn’t know. No one had discussed it since the yogurt had hit the fan after church, but surely, after how he had sprung into action, did any of them care that he wasn’t the world’s most gifted preacher?
Slowly, her friends trickled in, and one by one, she asked them: Don’t you think we should hire him?
Rachel: Absolutely.
Dawn: I think so. He’s such a cutie pie.
Cathy: If we don’t, I don’t think God is going to be happy with us.
Barbara: Yes, but we should invite guest preachers often.
Vera: Quickly. I want him to do my funeral.
Vicky: Maybe.
Esther called this unanimous but didn’t try to make it official until they had the church put back together. Then, just as Rachel was about to make her escape, Esther cleared her throat. “Could we speak briefly in the upper room?” She caught Walter staring at her and avoided his gaze.
Hence, she was surprised when he joined them in the upper room, but, she realized, she hadn’t specified who exactly she was inviting. And it wasn’t as if their church was only going to allow for female elders. “I’ve spoken with each of you ...” Oops. She hadn’t asked Walter. “I’ve asked most of you,” she corrected, “and I think it’s obvious that Adam Lattin is the man for the job. I wanted to officially agree that we invite the congregation to vote on it this Sunday after church.”
“Does that mean he’s going to preach again on Sunday?” Barbara said, sounding worried.
“We should certainly invite him to,” Cathy said.
“And,” Walter said, his eyes still on Esther, “if I may, let’s tell him the plan. Let’s be completely transparent. Let’s tell him that we want him, and that all we need is the formal vote.”
Esther nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“Of course you’d think that,” Vicky said.
They all ignored her.
Esther clapped her hands together and stood. “Great. Then I’ll see some or all of you back here for the supper.”
Everyone stood except for Vicky, who put her petite feet up on the white wicker coffee table. “I’m going to stay right here. Tonya stole my car again.”
They all knew that Tonya had done no such thing; not only had Vicky told her that she could use the car whenever she wanted, but Vicky loved having Tonya and Emma live with her, using her home and her car. While no one would call Vicky happy, exactly, she had been far less unhappy since Tonya and Emma had moved in.
The women filtered out of the room, and Esther started to follow, but Walter touched her arm. “Might I have a moment?”
She looked at Vicky, who didn’t even pretend not to be listening.
“In the stairwell, sure.” They stepped out onto the narrow platform, and Esther closed the door behind them. She opened her mouth to suggest they go down the stairs to have their chat, but Walter cut her off.
“Are we all right?”
She tried to fake a confused look. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I called you three times yesterday and you never picked up. I was starting to feel like a stalker. Then I come here to help Adam and I find you’ve invited everyone else to help but me?”
“I didn’t invite everyone,” she tried.
He gave her a knowing look.
She tried to play stupid. It was the only move she could think of.
“I’m sorry if my kiss was presumptuous. I was just so caught up in the joy of the moment.”
She didn’t know what to say, so said nothing. She imagined Vicky’s ear pressed against the other side of the door.
“If you’d prefer it,” he said, sounding sad, “I can avoid kissing you in the future.”
Oh no. That’s not what she wanted. Or was it? She didn’t know. She didn’t know what to say, but when she looked up into his sad eyes, she had the urge to kiss him. Of course, she did not, but what was going on with her? She was acting like a silly schoolgirl. She had to say something. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He scowled. “What’s not a good idea, kissing you or avoiding kissing you?”
Now she was confused. “I don’t think you should avoid kissing me.” She gasped at her own forthrightness. “But I am a little overwhelmed. I know that we are moving at a snail’s pace, but it still feels fast to me. In so many ways, I still feel like a married woman, and I haven’t been courted in a very, very—”
He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. It occurred to her to pull away, but she didn’t. Instead, she let him kiss her, and his lips were warm and comforting.
When he pulled away, she wished he hadn’t.
“There,” he said. “Now that one, I’ll admit, I planned. Want to come to my place and watch some television until it’s time to get the beans ready?”
She tried to catch her breath. “Let’s go to my place. It’s much closer, and Zoe is there to chaperon us.”
She hadn’t been kidding, but Walter laughed all the way down the stairs.
She slowly followed him, her head in the clouds. This was so silly. She was acting like a love-struck teenager. But wait. That wasn’t quite true, was it? She stopped descending and thought about it. She wasn’t feeling like a love-struck teenager. Because she wasn’t one. She hadn’t felt this way since she was a teenager, but she wasn’t a teenager now. Now she was a woman, a woman who knew the real meaning of love, of relationship, of marriage, of commitment, of friendship. And it was through that glorious, multifaceted lens that she was feeling what she was feeling now. And this feeling, this new thing that God was giving her, well, it was far sweeter than anything she’d felt as a teenager.
Walter stuck his head into the stairwell. “You coming?”
She smiled and started descending again. “Yes, yes. Be patient with me.”
He held out his hand. “I promise.”
She slid her hand into his, and a warm tingle spread up her arm. Her head started to float again, and she let it soar.
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