“Welcome. Have a seat while I look these over in case I have any questions.”
“Can I wander around and look at your work instead?” Ethan asked
“Sure” she smiled and went back to reviewing the plans “I think I understand what he is looking for” she said a few minutes later. Ethan asked her a few questions about her work and then started for the door.
“Can I ask you one more thing?”
“Sure.” She answered
“Do you know a Rachel that attends our church? She was a great help to me when I moved here and I haven’t met her at church yet. She answers the phone at a Ministry to the Shepherds.”
“That would be my sister. She is in the house, I’ll introduce you.” She said pointing the way to the house
“Wonderful” Ethan said following her
Robin led Ethan to the door that went down to Rachel’s office. She turned on the light and opened to the door to lead him down when someone knocked on the door. “Just go on down, I’ll be right back.”
Ethan walked cautiously down the stairs when he heard talking. As he was halfway down, he recognized his own voice and sermon. “Do I really sound like that when I preach?” he asked.
Rachel jumped and spun around in her chair. Her hand went to her face in surprise from his appearance. “What?” she asked stupidly
“Do I really sound like that when I preach?” he asked as he approached. Rachel reached over and found the off button and shut the tape off.
“Sorry. Pastor Hayes?”
“Ethan please.” He said extending his hand but she didn’t take it in hers.
“I’m Rachel Hale” she said extending her hand. He finally noticed she was wearing sunglasses inside in a basement. He grasped her hand in his and said hello. “You didn’t answer my question?” he joked
“Well, I tape your sermons so I can listen to them again. I happened to be studying James before you started preaching on it, so you are helping me study.”
“I’m glad. That explains the insightful questions you had last week.”
“Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have bothered you with those.”
“Nonsense. That’s what I am here for. And it wasn’t a bother, it made me think too.”
“Did you and Robin need something?” Rachel asked nervously. She was not used to strangers in her office space.
“No, I wanted to thank you again personally for helping me with my move. It was greatly appreciated.”
“Anytime.” Rachel shrugged
“You have quite a setup down here.” He said looking at her computers and machines. “Can I ask an extremely rude question?”
Rachel laughed and said yes. She liked people who weren’t shy around her handicap.
“How do you type on the computer without sight?”
“Watch and learn.” She said joking with him. “Email program on” she said into her microphone. “New email” she said when she heard the signal that indicated the program was open. After she heard the next signal she began to spell his email address. Then she commanded the program to the subject line and said “Hi”. She moved the cursor down to the body of the email with another voice command and then with one more voice command she activated the typing feature. “Hi Ethan. I am teaching you how I do my work.” Then with a command to close typing program and then “Send email”, he watched her send him an email. She couldn’t sense where he was in the room so she stayed facing the microphone on her desk.
“I’m impressed.” He said from over her left shoulder “Want to do my correspondence?” he joked
“No thanks. Long emails get very tedious.” She explained
“I’m still impressed. Well, I’d better be going, I’ll see you Sunday hopefully.”
“I’m usually there.” She stated as she turned to hold out her hand. Ethan shook it and wished her a good day as he left her office. Robin met him at the doorway and apologized for getting held up.
“No problem. I was just talking with Rachel. She has quite a setup down there. She showed me how she works on the computer, I’m impressed.”
“She did? Wow, that isn’t like her. I mean she usually isn’t as forthcoming with people she doesn’t know real well. That sounded rude didn’t it. Forgot I said anything.” She said embarrassed
“It wasn’t rude. I think I know what you meant. Strangers are not something she is comfortable with.”
“Exactly.” Robin agreed as she walked him to the door. “Thank you for bringing the plans over. The sooner I get started the less my mother will fret over when they will be done.”
“You have one of those too, huh?” he asked laughing
“Absolutely. You may have met her. My parents are Jacob and Pearl Hale.”
“I’m going there for dinner tomorrow night.” Ethan stated
“Well, amazing coincidence so are we. See you tomorrow.”
Ethan said his goodbyes and walked to his car. The Hale sisters were extremely talented. He had to get back to his office, he had an email to answer.
Robin went down to see Rachel after seeing the preacher off. “Rach?”
“You couldn’t have warned me he was coming down here?”
“I’m sorry. The doorbell rang just as I was about to bring him down here. I didn’t even think about it.”
“It’s okay. Do I even have matching clothes on today?”
“Yes, little girl. I matched your pink tigers with your purple tigers as I dressed you this morning.” Robin joked reminding Rachel of the way their mother used to dress them in matching outfits.
“Thanks mother” Rachel joked back. “What was he doing here anyway?”
“He brought me the plans for the Christmas scenery and then asked if I knew a Rachel who went to our church who answered phones for the Ministry to the Shepherds.”
“I thought Tom has the plans, why did Pastor Hayes bring them by?”
“He wanted to meet me.”
“Oh really?” Rachel asked
“Knock it off. We hadn’t met yet at church and so he made a pastoral visit is all.”
“Sure he did. Robin’s got a new boyfriend.”
“Goodbye. I’m done talking to you.” Robin said climbing the stairs.
Rachel turned Ethan’s sermon back on and went back to her studying. She was trying to memorize a verse as her email signaled that she had a new message. Rachel activated the programs necessary and listened to what the email said. “Thanks for showing me your work. Ethan”
Robin forgot to mention to Rachel that Ethan would be at their parent’s house the next day until she pulled into the driveway and saw him exiting his car. “Rachel, I forgot to tell you something. Ethan is here for dinner tonight.”
“Please tell me that that is a joke.” Rachel stated
“No, it isn’t. He is already here and walking up the front steps.”
“Is this payback for picking on you?” Rachel asked
“No, I’m truly sorry. I completely forgot he told me he would be here. What do you want to do?”
“Pray that I don’t embarrass myself. Kick me under the table if I spill food or something.”
“Okay. Wait for me to come around and walk you to the door. His car is in the way.”
Robin parked the car and went to walk around the car to get Rachel, but Ethan beat her to the door. “I parked in your way, Rachel. I’m sorry. May I walk you to the door?”
“Sure” Rachel answered trying to be happy about this. She maneuvered out of the car until she could stand up and then held her hand out for Ethan. He carefully and skillfully guided her to the front door. “You have done that before.” She stated without thinking
“Yes I have. My grandmother was not able to see.”
“Thank you for your assistance. I appreciate it.” Rachel said as she turned to listen for Robin at the door. Thankfully Robin was quick to open the door and walked Rachel
the rest of the way in. Once she was inside, she knew her way around and could go around by herself. Rachel excused herself and Robin took Ethan into see her father. “Dad, have you officially met Pastor Hayes.”
“Yes, we met on Sunday. These are my sons Jeremy and Paul.” He said indicating the two men that were standing around him.
“Hi again Jeremy. Paul, it is nice to meet you.” Ethan said as he shook their hands
“Pastor Hayes” Pearl said as she entered the living room “We are so glad you could come to dinner.”
“Please all of you call me Ethan. And I am glad to be here.”
“Where’s Rachel?” Pearl asked of Robin
“She is here somewhere. She is probably talking to Martha.” Robin said with a meaningful glance at her mother.
“Oh yes, probably. Robin, I need your help, can you join me in the dining room?” Pearl said walking towards the room she mentioned. Robin followed and closed the door behind her. Pearl started talking quietly the moment the door closed “I completely forgot her reluctance to eat around strangers. Is she mad at me?”
“No, I’m not. But can you warn me or not invite me next time.” Rachel said from the far side of the room.
“I’m sorry sweetie. I truly did forget.” Pearl said going to hug her daughter
“It’s okay. But we will be leaving as soon as we finish dinner. Sooner if I spill something which I probably will since we are having “messy” foods tonight.” Messy food was Rachel’s definition of Mexican food which was hard to eat gracefully and even harder to eat when you couldn’t see it.
“I’m sorry. I asked Ethan what he liked to eat and he said he loved Mexican food.”
“It’s okay Mom, Robin’s going to kick me under the table if I make a mess.”
Martha stuck her head through the doorway and announced that dinner was ready. Robin directed Rachel to the chair as their mother went to call the rest of the crowd. Robin sat on one side of Rachel and Jeremy sat on the other but unfortunately Ethan sat across from her. Robin grabbed Rachel’s hand under the table and gave her silent support as their father prayed.
Robin helped Rachel dish out the food as it was passed around the table. They had over the years worked at their own form of communications. Rachel could also tell that Ethan watched her as she ate. She ate slowly and carefully and Robin didn’t have to kick her under the table.
A few minutes after finishing dessert, Rachel excused herself from the table and went to wash up. Rachel wandered around in the upstairs part of the house instead of venturing back down to the dining room. Rachel counted steps and doorways until she found her old room. She stepped inside and closed the door. She didn’t move any farther into the room because she was unfamiliar with where things were located now. Mainly she just wanted familiar around her right then. Rachel let the pictures of her childhood play in her mind as she stood there.
Rachel remembered the night she had accepted God’s gift of his son Jesus Christ. She had been about ten and finally told God she needed his gift. Her father had prayed with her and then stood with her as she was baptized in the same church she still attended. Rachel was still replaying memories when she heard footsteps in the hall. “Rachel?” Robin called softly
Rachel opened the door and stepped out into the hall. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Yes. Are you?”
“Is that a joke?” Rachel laughed
“No. I didn’t know if you had changed your mind or not.”
“I have not changed my mind. Go tell Mom we are leaving and maybe she will come to the door instead of me having to walk back into the dining room.”
“Everyone moved to the living room already.” Robin stated
“Oh great. Let’s just go home.” Rachel said as Robin directed her hand to the banister. Rachel gracefully and carefully walked down the stairs and turned towards the living room. “Mom, we need to be going. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Rachel stated “Good night everyone.” She said turning for the door. Robin helped her down the front steps after her father and mother came to hug her goodbye.
Pearl and Jacob returned to their guest in the living room. “Your daughters are impressive.” Ethan said to them. “Robin is a master craftsman and Rachel was a great help to me when I moved here.”
“She was? How?” Jacob asked
“I called that Ministry to the Shepherds organization that she works for and she gave me information about Albuquerque.”
“She doesn’t work for them. She is the owner of Ministry to the Shepherds. It is an organization she formed and now runs from the basement of her home. She has lots of volunteers and three other employees that help her.” Jacob clarified
“Then I’m even more impressed.” Ethan stated “She takes her mission seriously. All I had to do was ask a question and if she didn’t know the answer right away, she got back to me within a few hours.”
Ethan talked to the Hale’s for several more minutes before announcing that he needed to head home. “Thank you very much for dinner and for the opportunity to get to know your family even more.” He said shaking Jacob’s hand. “Jeremy, basketball next Monday right?”
“That’s right. See you Sunday.” Jeremy said shaking his hand.
Rachel wasn’t talkative on the way home. Usually they had plenty to discuss after a night with their parents but tonight Rachel wasn’t talking.
“You are awfully quiet. I thought tonight went well.”
“Me too. I didn’t embarrass myself. I felt like he was watching me the whole way through dinner.”
“Who Ethan?”
“Yes, was he?”
“I don’t know, I was watching you. Wasn’t that my assignment?”
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair to you. This whole night has been unsettling. I wasn’t expecting him to be there, or to help me walk into the house.”
“I thought you would be impressed by that. You hate it when people are nervous around you.”
“That is true, but it was still unsettling.”
“Rachel has a crush on her new pastor.” Robin said teasingly
“Why in the world would you jump right to that conclusion? You are nuts. Me and a pastor? That would be a joke.”
“And why wouldn’t a match work between you and Ethan?’
“Well, overlooking the obvious” she said pointing to her long scar “Let’s just pick one area where I would fail miserably to be the kind of wife a pastor would need. We are standing at the back of the church greeting church members, how would I know whose hand I was shaking?”
“The same way you do now. People tell you who it is when the walk up to you to talk to you now.”
“Yes, but ..”
“But nothing; and I’m not even discussing the scar issue. I think I see you and Ethan together perfectly well.” Robin said getting out of the car and coming around to help Rachel
“Please don’t.” Rachel said almost sadly. Robin, however, was thinking that she actually could see Rachel and Ethan married. Rachel didn’t see herself as being a help to anyone only a hindrance; but help is what Rachel did best. Robin decided to appoint herself as matchmaker for her sister and her new preacher. This was going to be fun.
Chapter 3
Sunday morning, Robin once again helped Rachel to find her seat in the worship center and then went to the choir room but all that was after she purposely led Rachel right by Ethan as he was talking to another member. Rachel was pulling out her tape recorder and preparing for the service as her brother Jeremy sat down beside her. “Hi Jeremy” Rachel stated.
“How did you know it was me?” he joked reaching one arm around her to give her a quick hug.
Rachel was just about to say something when Jeremy spoke up “Hello Ethan.”
“Hi Jeremy, Hi Rachel”
“Hello Pastor Hayes” Rachel responded formally. Ethan was a bit surprised by her greeting but Jeremy w
as asking him a question so he paid attention. As soon as he finished answering Jeremy’s question, he saw the music minister enter the auditorium so he went to the front row to take his seat. I wonder what I did to cause that kind of a greeting from Rachel.
Rachel was too preoccupied to pay attention to the music being sung. It was all Robin’s fault; she made her self-conscious in front of the pastor now with her teasing. Pay attention to the sermon and remember you are here to worship God, not worry about the preacher. I’m sorry Ethan. Please forgive me Lord for giving my thoughts priority.
After the sermon, Ethan decided to stand outside the front doors of the church and greet people, it was a beautiful day and he wanted to enjoy it. As he was greeting people, he saw Robin lead Rachel out from the side of the building and to their car. That explains why I never met them until I went to their house.
“See you tomorrow night Ethan” Jeremy said as he came up to say goodbye.
“I’ll be there.” Ethan returned
Monday evening found Rachel reading her Bible in the living room when her first guests started to arrive. Robin was the door handler and when everyone had arrived, she joined the other five people in her living room.
Rachel began to talk as soon as it was quiet. “Brenda Smith suggested that we have a prayer group for our new pastor. I agreed with her and thought the six of us could be that prayer group. We can take turns praying for Ethan when we meet together and then continue to pray for him each day on our own.”
“Great idea, Brenda” Robin said to Brenda
“It was your sister who organized it though.”
“Anyway, who would like to start?” Rachel asked and Brenda’s husband Bob volunteered. “Let’s pray.” He stated and began his prayer.
At Pickles Park on Monday evening, Ethan spotted Jeremy talking to a group of males across the way. He walked over to them and Jeremy introduced him. They were a team from around the neighbor that started playing basketball on Monday nights just for fun. Ethan was glad it wasn’t a league, he was an okay player but not outstanding.
There was a lot of ribbing and good natured teasing as the game progressed. Ethan’s skills were about like all the others. Jeremy was the biggest jokester of the all. He loved to have fun. He didn’t take the game or himself seriously. Ethan went up to block a shot and ended up getting hit in the head by Jeremy’s elbow. Ethan was momentarily dazed and stumbled backwards a couple of steps. Jeremy was instantly apologetic and concerned for Ethan. “I’m sorry. Here sit down.” He said leading Ethan to the nearest bench. “Are you okay?” Jeremy asked.