* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * *
By the next week her phone was hooked back up, but she'd forgotten to pay her rent and didn't have enough left to cover it. One of her first calls was from her credit card company's debt collection agency. She pretended they had the wrong number, then hung up without saying good-bye. The phone rang again, but she didn't pick it up.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She saw Rachel the next week when they had a flight to Puerto Rico together again.
"Hi Mary! I tried calling you but couldn't get through."
Mary smiled weakly. "We had some problems with our phone lines last week."
"Too bad. That kind of thing can be a real pain."
They passed another pleasant flight and afterwards went to Capilla del Cristo in Old San Juan which is known for its santos - carved religious figures. Mary picked out a set that represented the Three Kings while Rachel looked on making comments about the use of local dyes and materials.
"I love the story of the three kings, don't you? I think it's really inspirational, the way they recognized the truth and sought after it."
Mary smiled. Though it had made her a little uncomfortable at first, she'd gotten used to Rachel's frequent references to Bible stories. It seemed strange to her now that coming from a Minister's family she wasn't used to making reference to the Bible. She envied Rachel's certainty. Lucy had always had that.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they returned to New York, Rachel asked if Mary'd be interested in attending a party with her the next evening. Mary had a sense of forboding as she remembered the last couple of parties she'd gone to, but her fears were quickly allayed when Rachel told her that it was a church-run event. You might find us a bit tame, she warned. Mary smiled. Tame was fine.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her phone was ringing when she came home. She'd dreaded picking it up every since the call from the debt collection agency. More bills piled on her table. She'd been paying them as she could but didn't seem to be making much headway. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was probably too late for the agency to be calling. Her landlady Mrs. Corning always went to bed early so it was probably safe. She picked up the phone.
It was Lucy.
Almost as bad as the alternative.
Lucy'd started taking her desire to be a minister more seriously in the last few months. The result was heightened dramatics whenever the religious health of her siblings came up. Last time she'd spoken to her father Mary had heard Lucy in the background expressing "concern" about Mary's not joining a church yet. Mary'd been working most Sundays since her training had finished. Before that she'd just been too tired. Too tired of religion. Maybe that was it. Well, tonight she had something good to report. She told Lucy about the party she was going to with Rachel. It was church-affiliated, after all.
"Well … that's great Mary." Did she sound just a little disappointed? Tough.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mary was looking in the mirror doing some last minute primping when she heard the toot-toot that indicated that her ride was there. Rachel had explained that the church had its own van to pick up people without easy transport. Well, it would save her a transit fare that she couldn't afford.
She grabbed her purse and ran downstairs.
She was surprised to see a full-length school bus. It was painted in slightly garish colours with a not quite professional picture of a rising sun on one side and a rainbow on the other. In the middle, lettered in several colours were the words "Children of the New Promise". "So hokey," Mary thought, relaxing.
She saw Rachel on the steps and was relieved. Rachel grinned at her. "Hi Mary!" The whole bus echoed "Hi Mary!" and rocked with laughter.
She entered the bus and saw that it was already almost filled to capacity. Rachel pointed to an empty front seat. "I've saved you a place." Mary smiled thankfully.
The ride to the church was a raucous one, but the cacophony was one of which even Lucy would have approved. With great enthusiasm passengers sang through the songs that Mary remembered from childhood. It brought back warm memories of Sunday School. She'd loved it when she was little. It was only later that … but she wasn't going to think about that now.
When they turned off the road Mary was surprised to see that the huge archway with the sign "Children of the New Promise" marked the beginning not merely of a church property, but of a whole community of buildings.
Rachel must have seen her puzzled look. "A lot of members joined together a few years ago to form a sort-of co-op." She explained. "Actually, I'm one of them. It's a really nice community and it's quite a lot cheaper than renting in the city."
"That must be nice." Mary looked at the modern buildings with some envy.
"Oh look. Here's the Church."
The church was a modern, low bricked building. The bus drove up to a parking spot at the back of the building and everyone piled out. Rachel introduced Mary to people as they walked towards the front steps. Mary struggled to remember the names of the faces all with identical smiles.
Inside, the church had a festive air. There was punch on a refreshment table. "Non-alcoholic, of course," Rachel had whispered to her. Mary nodded, glad that Rachel couldn't see her blush in the darkened room.
People were dancing in an area cleared for the purpose. Mary recognized the song as one that she'd heard on the local Christian Music station in Glenoak.
Rachel pulled her over to one of the tables where a group of people all about Mary's age sat. "Hi guys! This is Mary." An enthusiastic chorus of "Hi Mary"s followed. "Mary," Rachel continued, "This is Mark." She pointed at a cute blonde. He smiled at her. Dimples. She loved dimples. "This is Charity." A tall blonde waved a hand. Mary fingered her own not- so-natural blonde tresses self-consciously. The roots were growing in. "That's Peter." Mary smiled at him. His dark hair reminded her of … no, she wouldn't think of that. "And lastly this is Elizabeth." "But everyone calls me Bitsy." Pointing self-deprecatingly at her limited stature, evident even when sitting.
"It's really great to meet you, Mary." The blonde one was speaking – Mark. "Rachel's told us all about you. We've been hoping you could come."
Mary felt a twinge of unease. Her experience of people knowing "all about" her hadn't usually been good. But Mark and the others seemed genuinely delighted to meet her. Like Rachel, they all seemed buoyed over with enthusiasm.
People came over to see Rachel and the others, and these people greeted Mary with the same warm enthusiasm that the others had.
She went over to the refreshment table with Rachel, grabbed a plate and selected a variety of items from the selection on the table. All vegetarian, she noticed, but it was pretty good. They sat down together and talked about their family and jobs. Mary was surprised with how comfortable she felt confiding in such recent acquaintances, but they really seemed interested and concerned about her. She told them about her father being a Minister and all the pressure she'd always felt trying to live up to his standards. She talked about her siblings – all seemed to have an easier time at school than she had. She even told them about her dream of being a basketball player when she'd been in high school. Mark started to ask her about that. She was grateful that they were interrupted by the screech of a microphone being turned on. The whole room let out a groan.
Mary could just make out the person tapping on the microphone over the heads of the other people there. He must be the Minister. She prepared herself for the type of pedantic sermon that her father insisted on at some point during youth events at his church.
"I'll keep this short," he began, and was greeted with wild applause. Mary smiled, her father had never had gift for keeping his sermon's brief.
"As most of you know, I'm Pastor David. I just want to remind everyone of a few things. The Choir will start their practice half an hour early tomorrow. Bob tells me you're working on a great new song for Sunday's praise service that needs just a little tweeking. (Laughter) We also need volunteers for a couple of small projects (Exaggerated groans. Some laughter) Now, come on, you know it's not that bad. This week we're trying to pull up the last of our vegetable garden, and we need to set up a work crew to make some 'minor' repairs (again groans) on the green house. We're not sure how it happened, but if the owner of this football would like to retrieve it, it'll be in my office." He smiled, more laughter.
"Lastly, and the most pleasant part for me. I'd like to welcome our visitors and ask them to say a few words."
Mary looked at Rachel, questioningly. Rachel shrugged and smiled. "No big deal," she said. "Just say a little about yourself. You know, where you come from, that kind of thing."
The Minister called out a number of names, Mary's last.
Mary stood up, nervous.
She looked around her. Everyone smiling, encouraging. "I'm Mary Camden." She said, "I've just moved here from GlenOak." She paused and looked around, not sure what else to say. More smiles. More nodding encouragement. "And … I'm really happy to be here." And when she looked around again at all the smiling, encouraging faces she realized to her surprise that she really meant it.
By the next week her phone was hooked back up, but she'd forgotten to pay her rent and didn't have enough left to cover it. One of her first calls was from her credit card company's debt collection agency. She pretended they had the wrong number, then hung up without saying good-bye. The phone rang again, but she didn't pick it up.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She saw Rachel the next week when they had a flight to Puerto Rico together again.
"Hi Mary! I tried calling you but couldn't get through."
Mary smiled weakly. "We had some problems with our phone lines last week."
"Too bad. That kind of thing can be a real pain."
They passed another pleasant flight and afterwards went to Capilla del Cristo in Old San Juan which is known for its santos - carved religious figures. Mary picked out a set that represented the Three Kings while Rachel looked on making comments about the use of local dyes and materials.
"I love the story of the three kings, don't you? I think it's really inspirational, the way they recognized the truth and sought after it."
Mary smiled. Though it had made her a little uncomfortable at first, she'd gotten used to Rachel's frequent references to Bible stories. It seemed strange to her now that coming from a Minister's family she wasn't used to making reference to the Bible. She envied Rachel's certainty. Lucy had always had that.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they returned to New York, Rachel asked if Mary'd be interested in attending a party with her the next evening. Mary had a sense of forboding as she remembered the last couple of parties she'd gone to, but her fears were quickly allayed when Rachel told her that it was a church-run event. You might find us a bit tame, she warned. Mary smiled. Tame was fine.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her phone was ringing when she came home. She'd dreaded picking it up every since the call from the debt collection agency. More bills piled on her table. She'd been paying them as she could but didn't seem to be making much headway. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was probably too late for the agency to be calling. Her landlady Mrs. Corning always went to bed early so it was probably safe. She picked up the phone.
It was Lucy.
Almost as bad as the alternative.
Lucy'd started taking her desire to be a minister more seriously in the last few months. The result was heightened dramatics whenever the religious health of her siblings came up. Last time she'd spoken to her father Mary had heard Lucy in the background expressing "concern" about Mary's not joining a church yet. Mary'd been working most Sundays since her training had finished. Before that she'd just been too tired. Too tired of religion. Maybe that was it. Well, tonight she had something good to report. She told Lucy about the party she was going to with Rachel. It was church-affiliated, after all.
"Well … that's great Mary." Did she sound just a little disappointed? Tough.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mary was looking in the mirror doing some last minute primping when she heard the toot-toot that indicated that her ride was there. Rachel had explained that the church had its own van to pick up people without easy transport. Well, it would save her a transit fare that she couldn't afford.
She grabbed her purse and ran downstairs.
She was surprised to see a full-length school bus. It was painted in slightly garish colours with a not quite professional picture of a rising sun on one side and a rainbow on the other. In the middle, lettered in several colours were the words "Children of the New Promise". "So hokey," Mary thought, relaxing.
She saw Rachel on the steps and was relieved. Rachel grinned at her. "Hi Mary!" The whole bus echoed "Hi Mary!" and rocked with laughter.
She entered the bus and saw that it was already almost filled to capacity. Rachel pointed to an empty front seat. "I've saved you a place." Mary smiled thankfully.
The ride to the church was a raucous one, but the cacophony was one of which even Lucy would have approved. With great enthusiasm passengers sang through the songs that Mary remembered from childhood. It brought back warm memories of Sunday School. She'd loved it when she was little. It was only later that … but she wasn't going to think about that now.
When they turned off the road Mary was surprised to see that the huge archway with the sign "Children of the New Promise" marked the beginning not merely of a church property, but of a whole community of buildings.
Rachel must have seen her puzzled look. "A lot of members joined together a few years ago to form a sort-of co-op." She explained. "Actually, I'm one of them. It's a really nice community and it's quite a lot cheaper than renting in the city."
"That must be nice." Mary looked at the modern buildings with some envy.
"Oh look. Here's the Church."
The church was a modern, low bricked building. The bus drove up to a parking spot at the back of the building and everyone piled out. Rachel introduced Mary to people as they walked towards the front steps. Mary struggled to remember the names of the faces all with identical smiles.
Inside, the church had a festive air. There was punch on a refreshment table. "Non-alcoholic, of course," Rachel had whispered to her. Mary nodded, glad that Rachel couldn't see her blush in the darkened room.
People were dancing in an area cleared for the purpose. Mary recognized the song as one that she'd heard on the local Christian Music station in Glenoak.
Rachel pulled her over to one of the tables where a group of people all about Mary's age sat. "Hi guys! This is Mary." An enthusiastic chorus of "Hi Mary"s followed. "Mary," Rachel continued, "This is Mark." She pointed at a cute blonde. He smiled at her. Dimples. She loved dimples. "This is Charity." A tall blonde waved a hand. Mary fingered her own not- so-natural blonde tresses self-consciously. The roots were growing in. "That's Peter." Mary smiled at him. His dark hair reminded her of … no, she wouldn't think of that. "And lastly this is Elizabeth." "But everyone calls me Bitsy." Pointing self-deprecatingly at her limited stature, evident even when sitting.
"It's really great to meet you, Mary." The blonde one was speaking – Mark. "Rachel's told us all about you. We've been hoping you could come."
Mary felt a twinge of unease. Her experience of people knowing "all about" her hadn't usually been good. But Mark and the others seemed genuinely delighted to meet her. Like Rachel, they all seemed buoyed over with enthusiasm.
People came over to see Rachel and the others, and these people greeted Mary with the same warm enthusiasm that the others had.
She went over to the refreshment table with Rachel, grabbed a plate and selected a variety of items from the selection on the table. All vegetarian, she noticed, but it was pretty good. They sat down together and talked about their family and jobs. Mary was surprised with how comfortable she felt confiding in such recent acquaintances, but they really seemed interested and concerned about her. She told them about her father being a Minister and all the pressure she'd always felt trying to live up to his standards. She talked about her siblings – all seemed to have an easier time at school than she had. She even told them about her dream of being a basketball player when she'd been in high school. Mark started to ask her about that. She was grateful that they were interrupted by the screech of a microphone being turned on. The whole room let out a groan.
Mary could just make out the person tapping on the microphone over the heads of the other people there. He must be the Minister. She prepared herself for the type of pedantic sermon that her father insisted on at some point during youth events at his church.
"I'll keep this short," he began, and was greeted with wild applause. Mary smiled, her father had never had gift for keeping his sermon's brief.
"As most of you know, I'm Pastor David. I just want to remind everyone of a few things. The Choir will start their practice half an hour early tomorrow. Bob tells me you're working on a great new song for Sunday's praise service that needs just a little tweeking. (Laughter) We also need volunteers for a couple of small projects (Exaggerated groans. Some laughter) Now, come on, you know it's not that bad. This week we're trying to pull up the last of our vegetable garden, and we need to set up a work crew to make some 'minor' repairs (again groans) on the green house. We're not sure how it happened, but if the owner of this football would like to retrieve it, it'll be in my office." He smiled, more laughter.
"Lastly, and the most pleasant part for me. I'd like to welcome our visitors and ask them to say a few words."
Mary looked at Rachel, questioningly. Rachel shrugged and smiled. "No big deal," she said. "Just say a little about yourself. You know, where you come from, that kind of thing."
The Minister called out a number of names, Mary's last.
Mary stood up, nervous.
She looked around her. Everyone smiling, encouraging. "I'm Mary Camden." She said, "I've just moved here from GlenOak." She paused and looked around, not sure what else to say. More smiles. More nodding encouragement. "And … I'm really happy to be here." And when she looked around again at all the smiling, encouraging faces she realized to her surprise that she really meant it.