“I don’t want to meet anyone, Euny. I’ve done my schmoozing for the day. I just want time with you and Timmy. Is there anyplace in town where Paul is not known?”
Eunice set her purse on the side table. “The truck stop on Highway 99.” The clientele just passed right on through to other places. Paul had never seen a point in sitting at the counter with someone who wouldn’t end up in one of Centerville Christian’s pews.
“Sounds perfect.”
Eunice looked back at her. “You want to go there?”
“Sounds like a delightful place to me. Besides, truck stops are supposed to have the best food in town.”
Eunice thought she saw a sheen of tears in her mother-in-law’s brown eyes, but before she could ask if everything was all right, Lois clapped her hands. “Let’s go. Let’s go. You and Timmy change into something you won’t mind getting dirty while I leave a note for Grandpa and Daddy. And then we’ll walk down to the bed-and-breakfast so Granny can get out of her Sunday suit and toe-pinching high heels and into some nice comfy sweats.” Timmy laughed. “What? You didn’t know grannies wore sweats? Well, you’ve got a lot to learn, my boy.” She leaned down so that she was at eye level with him. “Better wear your running shoes, Timmy, because I’m going to race you to the slide.” She straightened and looked at Eunice. “Assuming there is a slide.”
“There is!” Timmy ran for his bedroom.
“And swings, I hope!” Lois called after him.
“Enough for all three of us.” Eunice laughed. “We’ll be ready in a minute or two.”
Timmy had never been inside the Bedfords’ bed-and-breakfast, but he wasn’t the least bit impressed by the Victorian parlor, oriental silk rug on the polished hardwood floor, needlepoint cushions, or Royal Doulton figurines on the massive carved mantel.
“She’ll be down in a few minutes, sweetheart,” Eunice said. “Just sit and don’t touch anything.” He plunked himself into a brocade-covered wing chair and swung his legs back and forth. As soon as Lois appeared, he bounded out of the chair and raced to the front door.
“Hold up at the gate, buster,” Lois called after him. “This is going to be a fair race.” She rolled her eyes at Eunice. “How far is the park from here?”
“One block down, turn right at the corner, and another half block.”
“Thank the good Lord. I think I can make it that far.” She went down the steps and stooped beside Timmy. “Ready? Set? Go!” Timmy took off down the sidewalk, but Lois wasn’t far behind him. Laughing, Eunice closed the gate behind her and followed at a more leisurely pace.
It was a beautiful afternoon—brisk, clear, quiet. She didn’t want to waste a minute of it worrying over what kind of advice Paul was receiving from his father. Unfortunately, whatever David Hudson did say would be gospel to Paul. She was equally certain that Paul wouldn’t share a fraction of it with her.
“You’ve never liked him,” Paul had told her once.
“It has nothing to do with like or dislike, Paul. Just because he’s your father doesn’t mean he knows everything.”
“He knows more than I do about building a church. I’d be stupid not to listen to him!” Eunice knew whatever suggestions were made by David Hudson would be presented to Paul’s handpicked elders, Gerald Boham and Marvin Lockford, both of whom were ready and willing to come alongside any plans Paul had for building the church.
And here she was doing exactly what she had set her mind not to do: worrying.
She came around the corner and saw Timmy going down the slide first, Lois following right after him. She adored her mother-in-law. She was as warm as David was cold. Her father-in-law had lost interest in Timmy after five minutes. “Give the book to your grandmother. She’ll read it to you. Daddy and I have important things to talk about.” Politics they had no control over. Baseball scores. The state of the economy and how it affected church giving. Delighting in her grandson, Lois had settled Timmy on her lap and read to him until it was his bedtime, then asked if she could pray with him and tuck him in. After half an hour, Eunice went to see if everything was all right, and heard Timmy chattering away like a little magpie while his grandma listened to every word he said with complete attention. How could she not adore a mother-in-law like that?
A pity David Hudson came with the package.
Hands in the air, Lois gave a delighted shriek as she whooshed down the slide. She straightened and stepped out of the sandbox. Timmy clambered up the slide and flew down again while his granny headed for the swings. Euny grinned as her mother-in-law took the one next to her. They both kicked back and lifted their feet. “This is the life,” Lois said, no sign of the tension Eunice had seen in her face earlier in the day.
“Granny, watch me!” Timmy shouted from the top of the slide.
“I’m watching you! Let’s see how fast you go this time!” Timmy dropped onto the slide and shoved off, shooting down the curve of shiny metal and flying off the end. He barely made it to his feet. Lois applauded and praised his efforts. Beaming, Timmy raced up the ladder again while she chuckled. “Imagine what I could do with a tenth of that energy.” Lois let her legs dangle. Euny let her swing drift back and forth while she studied her mother-in-law. She knew something was on her mind, but she was not going to press her.
They stayed at the park for an hour before walking the mile to the truck stop on Highway 99. Timmy didn’t complain about the distance. He was soaking up the attention Lois poured on him, relishing her laughter, chattering about everything he saw and anything that popped into his head. Euny loved the sound of Lois’s laughter, open and trilling. Lois leaned down once and cupped Timmy’s face. “I love you, Timothy Michael Hudson. You warm my tired old soul.”
“How old are you, Granny?”
“Well, it depends. I felt a hundred years old this morning, but right now, I feel younger than your mother.” Straightening, she ran her hand over his hair.
Perplexed, Timmy looked up at Euny, but he didn’t ask for an explanation. “Can I have a hamburger?”
Lois laughed. “You bet.”
“Yippee!” He ran ahead.
“No farther than the end of the block, Timmy,” Eunice called. They were within sight of the truck stop, and the parking lot was full of semis, pickups, and several recreational vehicles.
“Must be a good place to eat,” Lois said.
Timmy waited for them at the stop sign. Lois took one hand while Euny took his other before they crossed the last intersection. They headed across the parking lot. Four Harley-Davidson motorcycles were parked near the front double doors. Eunice glanced at Lois, but her mother-in-law opened the front door without blinking. Four men in black leather jackets sat at the counter. One had a tattoo of a dragon around his neck, its horrifying mouth open as though sinking its fangs into his jugular. Eunice looked down at Timmy. She put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t stare, sweet-heart.”
He couldn’t seem to help himself.
“The sign says to seat yourself.” Lois looked around. “How about the booth there by the windows overlooking the parking lot, Timmy? You can watch the trucks come and go.”
“Okay.” His eyes were still fixed upon the man at the counter, who sensed his attention and glanced over. Timmy shrugged Eunice’s hand from his shoulder and went over to the counter. “What’s that thing on your neck?”
The man raised his brows in surprise. “Nosy little fella, aren’t you?”
Heart pounding, Eunice took the four steps to retrieve her son. “It’s a tattoo, honey.” She looked into the man’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, sir.”
“Sir! You hear that, Riley?”
She put her hand on Timmy’s shoulder and held on this time. “Come on, sweetheart.”
All four men were looking at her now, and she could feel the heat surging into her cheeks.
“But he’s got a dragon on his neck, Mommy! Look! And it’s got its teeth in him!”
“Timmy.”
“Granny, come and see!” He looke
d up at the man again, resisting Euny as she tried to pull him away. “Does it hurt?”
The men were laughing now, all except the one with the dragon tattoo. He looked pained, perplexed, tired, and annoyed.
“Our apologies, gentlemen.” Lois took Timmy’s hand and pointed him toward the booth. “It comes of living a sheltered life.”
“Where you been hiding him?”
“He’s growing up in the church.” Lois nodded her head toward Eunice. “This is his mother, the pastor’s wife.”
“Pastor’s wife!” One laughed and gave a wolf whistle. The man next to him uttered the Lord’s name in vain. A third grinned, turning around and leaning his elbows back on the counter as he gave Eunice the once-over. “If I knew pastors had wives that looked like this one, I’d’ve gone back to church years ago.”
“That will do, gentlemen.” Lois’s boldness stunned Euny.
By now, everyone in the small restaurant was watching the exchange. Two of the men turned their stools slowly as Lois and Eunice passed them, Lois holding Timmy by the hand. Eunice kept her eyes downcast, but she could feel the men’s perusal. The last one leaned forward as she came abreast of him. “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”
“Shut up, Jackson!” The tattooed man glared at him.
“I’m just having a little fun.”
“Open your mouth again, and I’ll make sure you don’t open it for a month. You got that?”
Face burning, Eunice slid into the booth, her mother-in-law and son on the opposite side. Lois handed Timmy a menu so that he would have something else to look at besides the man at the counter. Thankfully, the four black-leather-clad men turned around again, devoting their attention to the plates of food the waitress set before them.
Lois smiled at her across the table. “That took me back to the days when a group of my friends would go down into the barrios of Los Angeles. We’d talk about Jesus to people on the streets.”
“You and David?” Eunice couldn’t imagine either of them standing on a street corner, talking with prostitutes, drug addicts, or derelicts.
“Oh no. No, no. During my high school years, before I met David.” She opened her menu, then dipped it to peer at Euny over the top. “Dinner is on me, by the way. Order whatever you’d like.”
Eunice wasn’t sure she could eat anything. She was still rattled by the attention of the men at the counter. Hell’s Angels! What had she been thinking, agreeing to bring Timmy to a place like this?
Lois lowered her menu again. “Euny, they’ve forgotten all about us. And even if they haven’t, I’m sure the gentleman with the tattoo will make certain the rest of them behave themselves.”
Eunice concentrated on the menu. It wasn’t extensive, but the aromas emanating from the back kitchen were tantalizing. Timmy was stacking sugar cubes into a tower.
Lois set the menu aside. “I’m going to have a steak. You still want a ham-burger, Timmy?”
“Yep.” The sugar cubes tumbled and he started over.
Lois brushed some hair back from Timmy’s forehead. “Does Daddy come home every night for supper with you and Mommy?”
Timmy lifted one shoulder and said nothing as he played with the sugar cubes.
Paul was hardly ever home for dinner, but Eunice wasn’t sure she should tell Lois that. “He comes as often as he can.”
“Well, I know what that means.” Lois shook her head as she looked out the window at the semis and pickups and motorcycles. “I’ve prayed and prayed . . . ” Her eyes welled with tears and she shook her head again.
“Most of the time it can’t be helped. Someone is always calling and—” Eunice shrugged—“well, you of all people must know what I mean. A pastor’s life isn’t his own.”
“I’m sorry, Euny. I am so very, very sorry.”
Before Euny could ask what she meant, she heard the creak of leather. Glancing up, her pulse shot up in alarm as she looked into the dark eyes of the tattooed man standing over her. He winced, his mouth tipping up in a wry half smile as he held up his hands in a calming gesture. “Sorry to startle you, ma’am. Just wanted to apologize for the way my friends behaved.” He jerked his head toward the three men filing out the door. He stepped back.
Eunice’s lips parted. Before she could think of a word to say, Lois started talking, and in the space of less than two minutes, she spelled out the entire gospel of Jesus Christ to the man standing at their booth. Everyone has sinned and needs God’s grace and mercy to be saved. And the Lord God in power and mercy has made a way through His Son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as the blood sacrifice to atone for all the sins of mankind from the beginning of time to the end. When Jesus arose, He showed He had power over sin and death. All those who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Eunice had never heard the gospel spoken so quickly or so clearly to anyone in her entire life. No leading questions or lengthy preparation lessons gradually leading into the meaning of the Cross and Resurrection. Just the simple, unvarnished truth, spoken with a boldness that took her breath away. And the man’s as well, if she could judge by the look on his face.
His mouth curved in a bleak smile. “You cut to the chase, don’t you, lady?” He moved back.
“Considering the fact that you’re backing toward the door, I thought there was no time to lose.”
He planted his feet, his face darkening. “I doubt you could even imagine some of the things I’ve done in my lifetime.”
“A pastor’s wife hears more than most priests in a confessional, young man, and you need to know the truth. Nothing, I repeat, nothing you have ever done is too much to be washed away by the blood of Christ. He loves you. He died for you.”
“I’ve been in prison.”
“So have we all.”
His laugh mocked. “Not the same kind.”
“The walls we build around ourselves can lock us up tighter and longer than concrete and steel. Now, listen, dear. If God could create the earth and the universe and everything in it, do you really think your sins can defeat Him?” She held his gaze. “Never. I say never. Christ Jesus has already proven His love for you.” She smiled up at the man tenderly. “Not to mention the fact that He’s the one who brought you over to us so that you could hear what He has to say to you personally. He whispered in your ear and you responded. That tells me He’s chosen you to hear His Word. Now He’s leaving it up to you to choose Him.”
Three Harleys roared outside. A worn-down look came into the man’s eyes. Face hardening, he headed out the door. Eunice watched as he swung his leg over his Harley and put on his helmet. He raised his head as he pulled his motorcycle back. His gaze met hers in a piercing look as his black-booted foot went down hard on the starter. The Harley roared to life.
“Is he going to come to our church?” Timmy stretched to look out the window.
“We can hope, Timmy.” Lois waved. The biker gave a slight nod before turning the bike and speeding toward the freeway on-ramp heading north. She rumpled Timmy’s hair. “If he does, you make him feel welcome. You say hello to him and sit with him. All right? That man probably has a lot in common with one of Jesus’ disciples, Simon the Zealot. Do you remember him?”
“No.”
“No?” She looked across the table. Eunice blushed. She hadn’t spent much time on the disciples. She concentrated on Jesus.
“Well, Simon was a Zealot.”
“What’s a Zealot?”
“In our day and age, a zealot would be a terrorist, someone who plans and carries out acts of violence and murder for political reasons. Zealots were sometimes called Sicarii because of the curved knives they carried.”
The waitress took their order.
Timmy knocked over the paper-wrapped sugar cubes and started building again. Lois watched, amused. Eunice felt uneasy with her surroundings. “Paul is going to be furious with me for bringing you here.”
“You didn’t bring me. I brought you. Besides, we needn’
t worry. David will have his head so full of plans for building the church that neither one of them will even wonder where we went or what we did. Assuming they will even be at the parsonage when we return.”
Eunice had never heard Lois speak with such cynicism. She studied Lois as her mother-in-law looked at the patrons dining at the long counter and in the tight booths and clustered tables. Her smile was wistful. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a place like this. I’ve grown too used to church functions, conference centers, club restaurants, and private homes.”
“The same is true for me.”
“A pity, isn’t it? This is where Jesus would’ve come to eat.”
Eunice saw the sorrow in Lois’s eyes. “What’s wrong, Mom?”
“Oh, nothing. And everything.” She smiled faintly. “What’s bothering you, my dear?”
“Nothing. Everything.” She shook her head. “As afraid as I was coming in the door here, I look around, Lois, and see how much these people have in common with our parishioners. They come in for service. They sit for an hour, expecting to be waited on. They nibble at what Paul teaches them, and then they ride off to life as usual, nothing changed.”
“And you’re the waitress?”
“No.” She laughed bleakly. “I’m the jukebox. Drop some money in the plate, tell Paul what you want to hear, and he’ll make sure I fill the requests.”
“And the rest of the time?”
“Entertainment and background music. CCC has become a spiritual truck stop.”
“Why aren’t you writing songs anymore?”
“There’s no time.”
Lois’s face softened. “Oh, Euny.”
“That doesn’t matter, Mom, but Paul spends hours perfecting his sermons. He never speaks longer than fifteen minutes because someone told him people like short messages. Speak for any longer than that and the men start thinking about the football game they’re going to miss if they don’t get home soon, and the women are making shopping lists. A thousand other things consuming their thoughts. So he works fifteen hours on fifteen minutes of preaching that never gets deeper than their earwax.”