Peter opened his mouth to reply, then snapped his jaws together, his teeth making a clicking sound.
“Why don’t you go check on Lady out back?”
“Lady?”
“My dog. She has puppies. See if there’s enough water for them while I get ready.” Gabriel watched the child stalk to the back door and yank it open, anger in every line of the boy’s body. The next few hours could be very long.
“Peter, this is David Carson. He’s going to help us.” Gabriel opened the door to the church’s shed and went inside.
“You’re the new kid at school,” David said with a wide grin.
“Yeah. What of it?”
David’s smile vanished. “Nothing. Just making conversation.”
Gabriel heard the wonderful start to the exchange between the two boys and wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to have David here helping. He had thought introducing Peter to some nice kids his age would make the situation easier.
Gabriel handed David a plastic lawn bag. “First, we need to pick up any trash, then pull weeds in the gardens.”
Peter crossed his arms and refused to take the bag Gabriel held for him. “I don’t pick up trash.”
“There’s a first time for everything.” Gabriel stood his ground.
Peter narrowed his eyes and stuck out his lower lip. Then when Gabriel thought Peter would run away, he yanked the bag from Gabriel’s hand and stomped off toward the nearest garden.
“What’s his problem?” David asked, jerking his right thumb toward Peter.
Gabriel watched Peter yank up a plant that wasn’t a weed. “He needs a friend. I thought you might help me out there.”
David’s eyes grew round. “Are you sure? At school he isn’t very friendly. Keeps to himself.”
Gabriel clasped David on the shoulder. “You’ve grown up here. Everyone is familiar to you. What do you think it would be like if that wasn’t the case?”
“I guess, scary.”
“My point exactly.” Gabriel squeezed David’s shoulder briefly, then added, “Let’s go see if we can save some of the plants.”
Two hours later Gabriel stepped back to inspect their work, pleased. He had managed to save most of the plants, and the gardens looked great. He took pride in maintaining these beds as though it was his statement about the glory of God to the world. The flowers showcased the beauty He was capable of.
“Let’s take a break and go inside to get some sodas.” Gabriel took the plastic bags from the two boys.
David headed for the door. Peter stared at the church, hesitating.
“I’ll stay and do some more work,” Peter said as Gabriel started to follow David.
“Even God declared a day of rest. You worked hard. You deserve a break.”
Peter blinked as though Gabriel’s words surprised him.
“He welcomes everyone into His house.” Gabriel walked toward the church, hoping that the child would join David and him. But he knew he couldn’t force Peter. He had to want to come inside the Lord’s house.
Gabriel selected a soft drink after David, then propped himself against the wall and sipped his soda. His disappointment grew as the minutes ticked by and Peter didn’t appear.
Gabriel had half finished his soft drink when Peter shuffled into the alcove outside the large meeting room. “What do you want to drink?”
Peter scanned the choices in the machine. His eyes lit up for a few seconds. “Strawberry cream soda.”
“Hey, that’s my favorite. No one else at school likes it.” David tipped up his can and emptied it.
“They just don’t know a great drink when they see it.” Peter took the can from Gabriel, then moved back, keeping his distance.
“This is probably the only vending machine in town with strawberry cream sodas. Dad keeps it stocked for me.”
“Dad?”
“He’s the minister here.”
“Oh. Isn’t that kinda hard on you?” Peter asked as though it were a disease to have a father be a minister.
David laughed. “Nah. Dad’s pretty cool about things.”
Peter tipped the can to his mouth and nearly drained it in one long swallow. “Mmm. I haven’t had one of these in a while. Mom couldn’t find it at the grocery store last week.”
“Now you know where to come if you ever run out at home. The church is always open.” Gabriel tossed his empty can into the trash. “Ready to get back to work?”
“Sure. We’ve got baseball practice later today, and our coach is a real stickler for being on time.” David slid a glance toward Gabriel, then crushed his can and aimed for the trash bin several feet away. The can landed in the container. “Yes! I haven’t lost my touch since basketball season.”
Peter frowned. “You play a lot of sports?”
“Yeah. You should come out for the baseball team.”
“I don’t play baseball.” Peter dropped his can into the trash and shuffled out of the alcove ahead of Gabriel and David.
When Gabriel stepped outside, he said, “That offer to come out for the team still stands. We take newcomers all the time.” He knew he was taking a risk by extending the invitation again. He didn’t particularly want to spend another late night cleaning up the field house.
“Yeah, we need someone who’s fast,” David said, hurrying to catch up with Peter.
“I don’t run, either.” Peter came to a halt in front of the shed, his frown firmly in place.
“I’ve seen you in gym class. You’re fast. Even our teacher said something about that the other day.”
Peter slanted a look toward David. A thoughtful expression replaced Peter’s frown. “Nah. She just wanted to make me feel welcome.” He dug the toe of his shoe into the dirt.
“Not Mrs. Hinds. She loves to point out a kid’s bad points. She’s the regular terror of our school.”
Peter laughed. “Yeah, I kinda figured that the first day.”
Gabriel walked into the shed while the boys discussed the gym teacher who had been at the school thirty years, prodding children who preferred to sit in front of a television into exercising. Hearing Peter’s laughter firmed his resolve to help the boy. He again said a silent prayer for assistance.
Several hours later, at the local diner, Gabriel and the boys ate hamburgers and fries. After their lunch Gabriel took David home, then Peter. As Gabriel pulled into the driveway, he saw Rebecca sitting on the porch swing and couldn’t resist the urge to say a few words to her.
As he approached, he noticed Rebecca’s brow knitted in worry, her hands clutching a letter. He wanted to ask her if he could help, but remembered her reaction when he had. She felt she had to struggle alone.
“Something wrong?”
Rebecca lifted her head, squeezing her eyes closed for a few seconds. Seeing the sheen of tears, he fought the urge to hold her close.
She swallowed several times, then looked toward him. “An overdue bill from the hospital.”
Gabriel eased beside her on the porch swing. He remained quiet, allowing her to set the pace and tone of the conversation.
“You know, I tried to explain to them that I’ll pay when I can. You can’t get blood out of a turnip.