Donuts and Detours

by Baganz, Susan M. ;

  “I’m aware. That’s one of the reasons I knew you were safe.”

  “Not all men are safe because they attend church.”

  “True, but it was only one of the reasons. I’ve heard of your reputation.”

  “Really? I have a ‘reputation’ people talk about?”

  “I don’t listen to gossip and I don’t spread it. You’re one of the good guys.”

  “I won’t debate the issue.” Titus grinned. This young lady knew him in a favorable light. That pleased him. He drove to his apartment building. “I’ll be right back.”

  “OK.”

  He put the stuff in the fridge that needed to keep cool. The rest he left to unpack later. Or maybe his roommates would do it. He jogged back out to the car.

  “OK, on to the store.” The drive was quiet. He rushed around to get her door before she exited but failed. “You do realize that some men want to be gallant, right?”

  She ducked her head. “Sorry. I’ve had too many instances where I’ve sat waiting, left behind because many men don’t get the door.”

  “Lamentable, but with me, you don’t need to worry. I won’t forget you.”

  Her cheeks turned pink. Her hair fell out of its loose braid to form a curtain to obscure her features. Intriguing.

  He recommended a battery and she agreed. They reached the check-out and she pulled out her wallet to pay. Titus hefted the unit to haul to the truck and assisted her back in. Once again, she refused his hand to help her up. He grinned. She might be small but she wasn’t helpless.

  Once back at the dead vehicle, she popped the hood and grabbed some tools out of the trunk. She managed to get the battery out without his assistance. Her short nails had dirt under them.

  He motioned to her hands as he sat the new battery in place, secured it, and hooked it up. “How does a baker get dirty fingernails and calloused hands?”

  She glanced at her hands. “I do more in life than bake, and when I work in the kitchen I wear gloves so stained fingers aren’t an issue.”

  “Huh.”

  She went to the car and started the engine, which purred to life. “It works.” She came around as he lowered the hood. “Thank you, Titus. It’s not often I’ve experienced a white knight coming to my rescue.”

  He chuckled and offered his hand.

  She shook and released his hand as if burned.

  “I’m glad I was able to help. I hope I run into you again soon, Bethany Joelle.”

  She raised an eyebrow, got in her car, and with a little wave drove away.

  Ty frowned. The sprite was cute but there was something familiar about her. She knew who he was. He had a nagging suspicion he’d met her before but he was sure he would have remembered. He’d figure it out. He wanted to meet her again, and get to know her better.

  It was the first time in a long time that he’d been struck with such interest. The sizzle of her touches and her lack of flirting made the puzzle of Bethany Joelle one he wanted to solve.

  2

  Hope is the poor man’s bread.

  Anonymous

  Bethany called the shelter first thing Monday morning to check on the dog. It was still alive and under the care of a good vet. She’d be able to visit soon. Returning from her break, she struggled to focus.

  Jack called her over. “Bethany Joelle, you’ve already been here long enough, but could you stay for another hour? Pat had trouble with her babysitter and will get here as soon as she can.”

  “But that’s customer service work. I’m no good at that. Give me dough and I’m happy, but people? Not so much.” Bethany’s breath shuttered.

  “I understand. I’d stay but I need to accompany my wife to a doctor appointment. Please? Double time or you can take it off later in the week.”

  She sighed. “Fine.” She prayed that somehow the next hour would pass without her having to actually deal with the public.

  ~*~

  Titus spotted B.J. walk in later than normal and head straight for the donated vehicle. “Hey, B.J.,” he called out.

  The young boy stopped and turned. “Yeah?”

  “Would you mind trying to get the trunk clean before checking the codes?” He hated to ask it of him. It was a grunt job, but he needed to help someone with a transmission issue that was more complicated than anticipated.

  “Sure. Can’t stay long tonight. I’ll see what I can do.” The boy turned and went to grab a bucket and scrub brush.

  Titus didn’t miss the shudder of revulsion when he gave the job. He gave the boy high marks for not quibbling or giving him attitude. If only all his crew were that amenable. Guilt weighed on him, though. He’d assigned B.J. that job instead of giving it to one of the other guys. Was it to keep peace in the shop?

  It was a character-building job—right? Ty shook his head. He was a coward as a leader and took the easy road instead of giving B.J. the chance to expand his abilities. He went back to Will. “Think you and Sam can figure this out? I think I’ll go give B.J. a hand.”

  “Sure. I’d rather be working on this puzzle than cleaning that stench.” Will went back to work.

  Titus frowned and strode over to B.J. who had already used the shop vac and was now scrubbing the remaining blood and other fluids out of the car.

  Ty donned a pair of gloves.

  B.J. shrugged. “What’cha doing here?”

  “Came to help.” Titus grabbed a brush and started at the other end of the trunk.

  “I can do the job.”

  “I realize that. I feel guilty giving you the dirty work. A leader should be willing to do the crap tasks too.”

  “I promise to bring you donuts tomorrow if you let me finish this alone.” B.J. kept his face averted as he scrubbed.

  Ty stopped and stared. “Excuse me? You’re bribing me to not help you?”

  “I prefer to work alone.” The face turned toward him was set in a frown. The kid wasn’t joking.

  Titus set the brush down and pulled off the gloves. “Fine. I’ll let it slide this time, but this is a team ministry. The goal is to work together. At some point, you need to work with others if you want to learn. I’m sure you don’t want to be doing oil changes forever.”

  There was a flash in the kid’s eyes. “I’m cool doing oil changes, fixing flats, or whatever you want. I might not be as skilled. I’ve got no tech school under my belt. But I’ll work hard.”

  “Tech school? You don’t look old enough to have graduated high school.”

  “Graduate Equivalency Degree. I’m old enough.”

  Ty folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak this many words in a row.”

  B.J. grunted and resumed scrubbing.

  Titus knew when he was beaten but couldn’t help a grin at the little bit of fire he witnessed in the pipsqueak’s eyes. However, there was something disturbing about the boy’s refusal to accept any help, especially on such a distasteful task. He went to assist with the transmission issue. A single mom needed this mini-van as soon as possible. They weren’t in the business of playing around.

  ~*~

  Bethany fought to keep from gagging as she scrubbed the trunk. Fool! She should have accepted Ty’s help. It was just…she liked being near him too much and she feared he’d figure it out. It wasn’t worth the risk even though she’d be going home and scrubbing forever to get the scent of this wretched trunk out of her skin. Baking soda would help absorb the odor and tomorrow she’d be cleaning that up.

  The worst part was remembering the suffering of that dog. She could relate to the pup in more ways than anyone else would ever understand. And no amount of scrubbing would ever get rid of that stench in her mind.

  She got the car trunk coated in baking soda and left a note asking that they leave it open so it could dry out. She’d finish the job tomorrow. She wrote the memo with her left hand instead of right so it would appear more immature. Deception was a wearisome game.

  After a long shower at home, Bethany lay
in bed trying to get to sleep. Why did she even try? Wouldn’t it be better to just get a second job where she could be Bethany Joelle? Why did she keep going back to The Garage ministry when the risk of discovery was high? She wasn’t one for playing games. She only wanted to work on the cars.

  Alone.

  Because…well, never mind the ‘because.’ Some things were better left buried.

  ~*~

  The next morning, Bethany arrived at the bakery and put in her shift. She pulled together a package of goodies and took them to the garage. She left them in the small break room and quickly went to work cleaning the trunk, staying as far away from Ty as possible. She ran the report on the car’s engine and searched the codes on the computer. She left a sloppy note and took off when no one was looking. Tomorrow afternoon she wouldn’t come in. She’d visit the dog at the shelter instead.

  ~*~

  After work the next day, Bethany went home to change. Brushing out her hair made her think of the dog’s matted fur. She hoped the pup would remember who she was. At the shelter the young woman took her to a small room and brought in the dog. Sad brown eyes stared up at Bethany as he stood in the doorway, whimpering.

  She dropped to her knees and spoke softly. “Hey, remember me? I’m the one who got you out of that car.” The dog crept forward and allowed her to scratch behind his ears.

  A volunteer came in and sat down.

  They’d given him a puppy cut, shaving him so his pink skin and stitches were visible through the incredibly soft, short hair. No more matted white hair. A plastic cone around his neck prevented him from worrying the wounds so they could heal.

  “Do you want to adopt him?”

  “I need to check with my landlady first. I would love to, but I’m not sure.”

  “He’ll need to be here a little longer, so you have time to decide. Here’s an application for you to take with you a list of what you might want to get, and the estimated costs of taking care of the dog. We want him to go to a forever home and never have to come back here.”

  “I understand. Thank you.” Bethany gave the dog one last hug, grabbed the papers, and headed for home.

  She found her landlady, a sweet, little eighty-five-year-old woman, out back in the garden. “Mrs. McElroy?”

  The woman glanced up and her face broke into a grin. “Bethany Joelle, a rare treat to see my tenant. Would you like to sit and drink some lemonade?”

  “Sure, that’d be sweet.”

  “And I thought I asked you to call me Adele.”

  “OK, Adele. Lemonade sounds wonderful. I need to ask you something.” Bethany Joelle followed Adele into her kitchen.

  “Well, let’s get our drinks first and you can ‘spill the beans’ as it were.” She filled the glasses and they headed back outside to the covered porch. “So, what’s on your mind, dear?”

  Bethany Joelle blinked at the term of endearment used. “I, um. Well, the other day I rescued an abused dog. A Maltese mix, a breed that doesn’t shed. He’s at the shelter now. He’s a sweet fellow, about ten pounds of love. And I’m wondering if I might adopt him. I’m gone a lot, though, so I wouldn’t want to bring him here unless he would also have a friend in you.”

  The older woman gazed into the distance. “We used to always have dogs. But when my husband died, and our dog was hit by a car, I didn’t have the heart to get another one. I saved all the toys, bowls, bed, collar, and leash. Maybe it’s time for me to have one again. So this would be your dog, but you’d share him with me?”

  “If that would be OK?” Bethany Joelle sipped her lemonade. Oh, did that feel good going down, all icy, sugary tart goodness.

  “I would love it. Abused you say?”

  “Yes.” Bethany described the conditions in which she found the dog.

  “Well, sounds as if God put you in the right place. Pray about it first, dear. A dog is a commitment, but they are wonderful.”

  “I’ve been praying…but sometimes I think God must not like me so much. He doesn’t answer.”

  The condensation on the glass moved it slightly across the glass top of the bistro table.

  “He listens, and He speaks. We’re not always paying attention.”

  “I’ll try harder. I need to get some dinner and go to bed. Early morning again.”

  “I don’t know how you do that, but I am grateful when you bring me those loaves of fresh baked bread.”

  Bethany smiled. “I’m glad to help out. Thanks, Adele.” She picked up her glass, drained it, and returned the tumbler to the kitchen before heading up to her one-bedroom apartment. She collapsed into bed, forgetting about dinner, and listened to the birds sing their evening songs. A puppy of her very own. God, can I really have it this time?

  ~*~

  The car didn’t stink anymore. Titus found B.J.’s codes and notes. The kid was smart, even if his penmanship was sloppy. Not that Ty could boast. He pondered the codes and what parts would need to be ordered, and how much this would cost. Sometimes the vehicles weren’t worth fixing and better off junked for the scrap metal and parts. He’d check this over. He missed seeing the pipsqueak.

  Thoughts of the kid taunted him. Something nagged him. He flipped through his paperwork to find the information B.J. submitted to the previous manager of The Garage. They never ran background checks on anyone who worked here, and the kid didn’t seem to be the kind who would steal, but still. The young man was hiding something.

  Like Ty didn’t have his own secrets.

  Still, he had a responsibility to the ministry and leadership of the church. He‘d check the young man out further. He sat at his makeshift office space and pulled out the church directory. No B.J. anywhere. How did he not even know the kid’s last name? Ty dug out the application and realized the kid never even put one down and the only number was his work one at the bakery. Titus debated calling. The boy hadn’t done anything to warrant the suspicion so he set it aside for now.

  ~*~

  Bethany had the day off. A rare Sunday. And she couldn’t sleep past four o’clock in the morning. She tossed, turned, and finally rose to take a shower. She let her hair air dry as she sat on the back porch and sipped a cup of coffee. The mosquitoes weren’t up this early, or they hadn’t found her yet. Alone. Always alone. People surrounded her at work and the garage as she silently did her jobs, but there was little interaction and never anything personal. And home. If Adele was around she was puttering in her garden or knitting, and Bethany didn’t want to bother her.

  Having a dog would be nice. At least the animal would love her.

  She headed out for the first service at Orchard Hill. She rarely got to attend church and didn’t always understand the importance of being there. She entered alone, and people were friendly, but no one knew her name. Probably because she wasn’t regular enough. Bethany headed for a seat further back. She settled in, read the bulletin, and listened to the music playing.

  A perky redhead plopped into the seat next to her.

  “Hi, I’m Skye. I hope you don’t mind, but us redheads need to stick together, right?”

  “Um, I guess.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Bethany Joelle.”

  “That’s your first name?”

  “Yeah, apparently, my parents couldn’t agree so they stuck me with both.”

  Skye laughed. “Our Women’s Ministry Director is Mary Beth. Her parents saddled her with a double first name too. No hyphen. Yours?”

  “No hyphen.”

  “Any nicknames?”

  “It often gets shortened to Bethany.”

  “Cute.”

  Bethany grinned. “Definitely shorter when signing things.”

  Skye smiled and turned to the front as the leader called them to worship. They stood, and Skye pointed discretely to the man center stage. “That’s my husband, Dan. He’s a pastor and leads the worship ministry here.”

  Bethany nodded and smiled.

  When the singing was done, she sat and listened to
the message. No one could hide from God. He would always seek her. His all-knowing attribute meant that He understood her heart and still loved her. She stood with the congregation for the closing song and fought the tears that threatened.

  The worship leader sang something about soaring above the storms.

  She was barely crawling through life. Soar with God? He not only knew her and loved her but also wanted her to soar? She didn’t understand what that meant, only that it was something she desperately longed for.

  The lights came up and Pastor Dan Wink dismissed the congregation.

  Bethany followed Skye out the door to the café.

  “Bethany Joelle, I would love to get better acquainted. Is there any time we could meet, say for coffee?”

  “I’m not sure. I normally work from three until almost noon some days. Sometimes I catch a nap and do some volunteer work. Then it’s back to bed until the alarm hits again.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I’m an assistant baker at the grocery store.”

  Skye frowned. “So, this morning was a rare chance to come and worship with us.”

  Bethany nodded. “Yes. Well—”

  “—Right now, then. I’ll collect my kids and you can come over for some coffee and we can visit.”

  “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

  “No. Trust me. I’d love the company. Dan won’t be home until at least 12:30.”

  “How do I refuse that?”

  “You don’t. Wait here and I’ll go fetch my kids and return for you.”

  Bethany shrugged. “OK.”

  The petite redhead rushed off down the hallway and left Bethany standing there alone. The empty space didn’t stay that way for long.

  “Hi. I’m Titus. We met when your battery died.”

  She gulped as she reached out to shake his hand. “I remember. Thank you again for helping me out.”

  “It was the least I could do after almost running you over in my haste to get my shopping done.”

  “I suppose.” She hated small talk. Where was Skye?

  “So, you have a Sunday off?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you know a B.J.?”

  “You asked me that the other day. Why?”