Facelift by Leanna Ellis

Author:Leanna Ellis
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2010-06-17T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Harry wipes his black greasy fingers on the side of his pants. He seems to know his way around a drain. “Looks like whoever installed this faucet, put it in backwards.”

“Can it be fixed, Mr. Klum?” Exhaustion weights my words. After sending the fire department off and listening to Marla complain that she didn’t know what to do or who to call over and over again because I didn’t leave the plumber’s number for her, I’m ready to crawl into my sofa bed, cover my head with the pillow, and try to block out this evening.

“Call me Harry.”

“Harry,” I test out his name.

He nods in a gentlemanly fashion, which strikes me as odd while we sit in my bathroom, he on the side of the tub and me on the toilet lid, as we watch the water slowly swirl down the bathtub drain like a miniature tornado. The water had just started to overflow when Harry came to the rescue. A pile of damp towels sits at my feet.

“I can fix this. No problem.”

“I don’t want to impose. I can call a plumber.”

“You’ve already got one here. I don’t mind helping.” He looks at me with kind blue eyes, the corners crinkled with lines. “Makes me feel useful again.” He focuses on wrenching off a bolt. “Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Besides I wouldn’t want Miss Marla to forgo her bath.”

I glance toward the door that leads to my bedroom, where Marla has barricaded herself. “Why did you retire? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I had some things I needed to do around the house. And now, I piddle around here and there. Gives me more time for volunteer work at the church. There’s always a stopped-up toilet. And we have a ministry to single moms, so I help with that.”

“Your church sounds very ministry based.”

He nods, focusing on replacing the handles for the faucet. “Aren’t they all?”

I purse my lips. My church has prayed along with me that Cliff would return to his marriage and family. I’ve heard sermons on receiving blessings, doing good, tithing. There are mission trips to faraway places like Latvia and Africa. But there isn’t a ministry to help single mothers. Or even single fathers. There are plenty of activities for singles. And seniors. Vacation Bible School. Family bowling or swim nights. The imaginary finger I’m pointing is aimed straight at me. But I focus on Harry’s hands, with calluses and knobby knuckles as they move slowly but deliberately. “What do you do for single moms?”

“Well . . . we have a day where they drive their cars through and we check oil and tires and fix car seats. Then there’s plumbing and other handyman type of work. Even yard work. Keeps me busy enough.”

“I’d say.” He’s a plain man, but there’s nothing plain or ordinary about his heart. It sparkles like gold. He makes me question if my church is deficient in not offering such a ministry or if I’m

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.