“Maybe our experiences are different.”
“Yeah, too bad for you,” Becky smirked.
Maddy held her tongue.
“Come on, guys are guys.”
“John’s different, I think. I hope.”
Becky got up from the table. “You just go ahead and believe that.”
“I do,” Maddy said with conviction that surprised her. “I’m going to give Burt a quick walk,” she said. “How about if we leave in half an hour?”
The restaurant was crowded by the time they arrived, and the girls had to wait a few minutes for a table. Wally’s Watershed definitely had the feel of Maine, with lobster cages stacked in the corners and buoys on ropes draped throughout the bar room. Even the curtains were made from fishing nets.
The hostess showed them to a table fairly close to the band. Maddy ordered a glass of merlot, and Becky ordered some strange beverage, the name of which Maddy didn’t recognize.
“Thanks for all of your help today,” Maddy said. “Those paintings will look great in the living room, or parlor, I should say, and I like your ideas for the room color.”
“No problem. I had fun,” Becky said with a wave of her hand. “I like those etched lamps we found. I think I want one for my apartment.”
Maddy nodded. “We can go back tomorrow.”
“So, do you know anyone here?” Becky asked, scanning the room for a handsome face. “Do you think your John will be here?”
“My John,” Maddy smiled at the thought, “probably won’t. He’s got kids, so I’m guessing he doesn’t do the bar scene very often.”
“Oh, that’s right. They’re so adorable. What a handful that would be,” Becky shuddered.
“I wonder what kind of music these guys play?” The band started to set up, and the drummer was busy arranging an enormous drum set that took up half of the stage.
After the waitress took their order, they turned their chairs to watch the band. Maddy looked around the room at her new neighbors, so to speak. She didn’t recognize anyone.
“Hey, Maddy.”
She jumped at Tom’s greeting. He had come up from behind and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Oh, hi…” Maddy answered slowly. “Tom, this is my sister, Becky. Becky, this is Tom, one of John’s crew.”
Tom drank from his beer and nodded at Becky. “You two look alike,” he observed, which surprised Maddy. She didn’t hear that very often.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Becky said, eyeing Tom with interest.
Maddy, uncomfortable with what was brewing, interjected, “So, Tom, do you know anything about the band?”
He looked back at her, took in what she was wearing, and then answered, “Yeah, they’re pretty good. They play mostly rock, some blues, not too much.” He looked back at Becky. “Where are you from?”
“Boston area,” she answered in her sultry voice.
“How long are you in town?”
Becky sighed, “Just until tomorrow. Tonight’s my last night.” She looked at him meaningfully.
Tom nodded. “I gotta get back to my friends. Maybe I’ll see you later?”
“Hope so,” Becky replied. Tom sauntered away, and her eyes followed him. “He’s cute.”
“I wouldn’t go there,” Maddy warned her.
“Why? What’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know him that well, but he asked me out a couple of weeks ago. He got really pushy; John ended up getting involved.”
“What did John do?” Becky asked, wide-eyed.
“I’m not sure that he did anything so much as strongly imply that Tom should leave the homeowner alone,” Maddy guessed.
“But he doesn’t take his own advice.”
“It’s different with John…”
“Here we go again.”
The waitress dropped off their dinners, and the band began to play. They gave up talking while they ate, which was just as well. As they were finishing their meal, Tom returned with a friend who was taller, stockier and, Maddy thought, even more menacing-looking. This is going to be a treat.
The girls shifted, and the guys squeezed in at the table. Tom maneuvered in next to Becky, and left his friend, whom he introduced as Brad, to sit on the other side of Maddy. Tom and Becky immediately struck up a conversation, but Brad just sat brooding and drinking his beer. Maddy wanted very much to go home.
A few minutes later, she made an attempt at small talk, which was largely unsuccessful. People started to dance, so they moved their chairs to make more room on the crowded floor.
“You wanna dance?” Brad asked.
Maddy hesitated, turning to Becky, who was getting up to dance with Tom. The song, slow and suggestive, was not one that she wanted to share with this stranger.
“Not right now, thanks.”
He pushed his chair back and abruptly left. Maddy felt relieved, but a little conspicuous, alone at her table. She got up to find the restroom, and then walked outside for some air. A few minutes later, she came back in and searched the room for Becky. She was still dancing with Tom.
“Dance with me.” A very striking man, tall and blond, had approached her.
Maddy smiled and shook her head. “I don’t think so, thanks.” It was getting easier.
“You don’t think so or you don’t know so?” He put his beer on the ledge and took her hand. Apparently he wasn’t accustomed to rejection.
She pulled free. “I don’t know so.”
“That doesn’t sound very decisive,” he challenged, taking a step toward her. He looked beyond her and then changed his mind, picked up his beer, and walked away. Maddy heaved a sigh of relief.
“You okay, Maddy?”
Maddy whirled around. “Travis!” She could have hugged him.
“Hope you don’t mind my glowering at your little friend,” he said, pulling her out of the way of a man stumbling past.
“I could kiss you for it,” she exclaimed.
“Well, okay,” he grinned.
“Seriously, that’s the second time someone asked me to dance. It’s creepy,” she shuddered.
“It’s not so creepy, really,” he pointed out. “This is a bar, and there’s a band and a dance floor, and you’re a very pretty lady standing alone.”
“Thanks,” she smiled at him. “I guess it’s been a while since I’ve been to a place like this.”
“You’re not here by yourself?”
“Oh, no. My sister Becky is with me.” She pointed across the dance floor. “She and Tom are bonding.”
Travis gave a low whistle. “She’s a knock-out. Too bad Tom found you first,” he grinned.
“To be honest, I would much rather have her dancing with you. Tom makes me a little nervous.”
“Oh, Tom’s okay. I wouldn’t worry about him.”
Maddy paused. “Do you want me to introduce you?”
“I’ll stop by a little later,” he promised. “I don’t want to interrupt them.”
“Okay. Thanks again, Travis.”
“No problem.”
Despite the late night, Maddy was up early Sunday morning. Sometime in the middle of the night, she’d heard her sister come in, but hadn’t spoken with her. She’d been worried since Becky had agreed to take a ride home with Tom. Maddy was anxious to find out what happened, and somehow got Becky out of bed in time to get ready for church. By nine-thirty, they were sitting on the porch with their coffee.
“So,” Maddy began, “how did it go last night?”
“It was okay,” Becky replied. “It wasn’t as bad as you’re thinking.”
“I’m not thinking anything,” Maddy lied.
“Well, I should have listened to you about Tom,” Becky conceded. “I’m usually pretty cool, and I know you don’t like this, I’m pretty loose about things, but that guy even made me nervous.” She shook her head and Maddy held her breath.
“Anyway, he got a little pushy, just as we were leaving. He
wanted to go over to his place, and I just wanted to come back here. Surprised, right?” Becky half-smiled at her sister, who still wasn’t breathing. “So, I decided this is bull, well, whatever, I wasn’t going anywhere with him, and then Travis came over.”
Maddy’s momentary relief gave way to new concern. “What happened then?”
“Those two kind of got into it.”
Becky was fairly nonchalant, which really irritated Maddy.
“Got into it? What happened?”
“I just grabbed Travis’ arm, and told Tom to, well, whatever, and then, for some reason, he finally backed off.”
“And Travis brought you home?”
“Yeah, that was really great of him. He’s cute.”
Maddy sat back and shook her head. Becky was hopeless. “I’m glad no one got hurt.” She looked hard at her sister. “No one got hurt, right?”
“No one got hurt, Maddy.”
Half the people in the church looked on with interest as Otis entered with his unusual entourage. Becky, tall, blonde and striking in black slacks and blouse, followed Maddy, who held her own in a casual cream-colored suit. Otis in his predictable church clothes – black pants, white shirt, and blue tie – brought up the rear.
As they passed the Fordham’s row, Parker whisper-yelled, “Miss Maddy! Sit with us!”
Maddy turned and smiled at Parker, then Blake, and then John, locking eyes with him. She’d anticipated that moment all morning, and inwardly bemoaned the fact that half a church pew separated them. Leaning down, she said, “We’ll see you after church, okay Parker?” She patted his shoulder and continued to a pew several rows up.
Maddy showed Becky where to follow along in the service folder, finding it interesting that she had been in Becky’s place, more or less, just a few weeks earlier. She looked up as Pastor Rob walked in front to welcome everyone. She hoped Becky would like him.
“Today we’re going to talk about how to be a perfect Christian,” he said, introducing the theme for the sermon, as was his habit. “Of course, those of you who are already are free to head down to the fellowship hall and get a cup of coffee. The rest of us will join you in about an hour.”
Maddy and Becky exchanged glances.
“No takers? I didn’t think so. You’ll notice I didn’t leave, either.” There were a few chuckles throughout the church. “Obviously, there’s no such thing as a perfect Christian. What brings us together today is the fact that we’re all sinners, and we know where to go for forgiveness.
“What we’ll learn from Romans, Chapter Twelve, are some good tools for living out our Christian walk. My prayer for you today is that you really hear God’s life-changing Word and let it transform you.”
He went on to make a few other announcements, and Maddy considered what he’d said. Did he come across so strongly the last time she attended, or was she just more ready to hear it? Was Becky transformable? Am I?
John certainly seemed to be. He took his faith seriously; she knew that. She wasn’t sure why that was obvious to her. He didn’t talk about it a lot, but she could tell it was a driving force in his life. She looked down at the service folder, and found herself curious about what the pastor had to say.
Halfway into the service, the pastor called the children forward for their message. About a dozen kids came from all corners of the church, and Maddy smiled as Parker skipped up the center aisle, with Blake following at a more respectable pace. The pastor waited until they were all seated on the floor around him and then greeted them.
“Who likes Dr. Seuss?” he began.
Maddy and Becky exchanged glances again. They never talked about Dr. Seuss in church when they were young.
A chorus of approval met his question, and he asked them to name some of their favorite stories. After listening to their animated responses, he continued.
“I like how he rhymes,” he said. “I have many of his stories memorized, simply because of his wonderful ability to make them rhyme. I like things that rhyme so much, that I took today’s Bible lesson and made it rhyme, so it would be easier to remember. Would you like to hear it?”
Of course, the kids were thrilled with the idea of the Bible rhyming, and so were most of the adults in the room.
“Okay, I’ll need your help,” said the pastor. “I’m going to read part of my rhyme, and I want you to finish it. Now some of these words are pretty big, so I want you to listen closely and see if you can figure it out. For example, if I say, ‘Let love not be false, but sincere, as it should. Hate what is evil and cling to the blank. How would you fill that in?’
After a moment, Blake called out, “GOOD!”
“Exactly! Good job, Blake,” the pastor commended him, repeating the whole verse with the missing word filled in.
Maddy turned to look at John. He was focused on the front of the church with a bit of a grin on his face. He nodded at someone across the aisle, and Maddy reminded herself that he was very much established with this group of people; folks who probably knew him better than she did. She turned casually back to the front of the church. She was pretty sure she was the only one that he kissed on the Fourth of July, and she let that little bit of knowledge warm her right through as she focused again on the children’s message. Someone was saying “Other!” and the pastor congratulated her.
“Good for you. ‘Be kind and affectionate; lift up your brother. In honor, give preference always to the other.’ Here’s the next one,” he said. “‘Be faithful and diligent, not for reward. Be fervent in spirit, keep serving the …”
“LORD!” a little girl shrieked, and the adults in the congregation laughed.
“That’s it!” Pastor Rob smiled at her energetic response. “We’ll do one more, and then I’ll have to stop, or I’ll give the whole sermon away.”
The kids were definitely engaged, as were most of the people in the room. Maddy noticed that even Becky leaned forward a little, waiting for the next verse.
“Rejoice in the hope that we happily share, be patient in trouble, and steadfast in…”
“CHAIR!” Parker hollered, and the congregation laughed again. Maddy was dying to see John’s response to this, but decided to behave and keep her attention on the front of the church.
“That’s a good guess, Parker,” the pastor responded. “The word I’m thinking of rhymes with ‘share’ and ‘chair.’ What other word sounds the same?” He folded his hands in front of him.
“PRAY!” Parker answered enthusiastically.
“That’s almost it,” said the pastor. “Who can help Parker finish that word?”
“Prayer,” Blake came to the rescue. The pastor closed his message with the same, and the kids returned to their seats, Parker waving openly to Maddy as they passed by her pew.
After the service, Pastor Rob made a point to introduce himself to Otis and his friends. When he shook Maddy’s hand, he said, “I’ve seen you here before. I’m sorry we haven’t had a chance to meet.”
“I’m Madeline Jacobs,” she answered. “I’ve enjoyed coming to worship.” Today she meant it.
“Well, we hope you’ll keep coming back,” he said, at which point Parker dashed up between them.
“This is my friend, Miss Maddy. She calls me Parkerpants.”
“Oh, she does, does she?”
“Yeah, and this is her sister, Betty.”
The pastor held out his hand to Becky, who corrected the mistake. “I’m Becky, actually.”
“Welcome, Becky. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Thank you,” she said, disengaging quickly.
John came up behind the group and claimed his son. “Good morning, Pastor,” he said, shaking his hand.
“Good morning, John,” Rob replied with a big smile on his face. “Are you coming down for coffee?”
“No coffee hour for us today. We’re heading over to The Market for brunch.”
“Sounds fun. Save me some of tha
t apple strudel. We may stop over there later.”
“So, what do you recommend?”
The tempting array of food was the last thing on her mind as Maddy stood next to John at the buffet.
“You have to try those strawberry crepes.”
“I may not wear them as well as you do,” she said hesitantly.
He leaned down and whispered, “They’ll look great on you – try them.”
Maddy complied, wondering why crepe talk made her heart pound. She helped herself to some eggs and fruit, hoping that John wouldn’t hassle her about the sausage patties.
He excused himself to help Parker untangle the bacon, and Maddy went back to the table where Becky sat with her bowl of fruit and yogurt. Maddy took advantage of their moment alone to ask her what she thought about church.
“It was nice, I guess,” Becky said ambivalently. “I don’t need to tell you that it’s been a while.”
“It had been for me, too, until I moved here.”
Becky looked up. “I thought you always went to church.”
“I guess I got distracted when I moved to Seattle. It’s been a few years.”
“Oh,” Becky considered this. “What do you think of it?”
“At first I was uncomfortable, but I’ve started to feel more connected. I like the pastor; he seems very down to earth.”
“I hope you like him a lot, because he’s coming over here.”
Maddy looked up, surprised to see Pastor Rob and his wife, she assumed, walking over to their table.
“Hello again, ladies. I’d like you to meet my wife, Rachel.”
Maddy and her sister greeted the pastor’s wife, a pleasant, pretty woman, with short dark hair and a ready smile. She was also very pregnant. Maddy admired her ability to wear the extra weight so well and wondered why she hadn’t noticed her in church before.
John walked up from behind and greeted them. “Hi Pastor, Rachel. Would you join us? We’ve got plenty of room.”
They accepted the invitation and went to get their food, returning a few minutes later. After they were seated, Otis made an observation about the sermon.
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