Remembering Christmas by Walsh Dan

Author:Walsh, Dan [Walsh, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Christmas stories., FIC042040, FIC027020
Publisher: Baker Book Group
Published: 2011-09-01T05:00:00+00:00

27

Rick hung up the phone.

His mom had just told him about Art being sent to Shands this morning. They’d be putting him in the ambulance any minute. He felt bad for her; she sounded so afraid. She always tried to sound brave when she worried, even upbeat. “It’s all in God’s hands. We have to trust him. I’m sure everything will be fine.” But he could tell by the tone of her voice, pauses in the wrong place, the sighs after each sentence.

He wasn’t sure if this extra effort was for his sake or hers. Whatever the case, he still felt bad. He and Art weren’t close, but Rick could tell . . . Art was her whole life.

A bell rang, just like it was supposed to. Worked like a charm. His second hardware achievement this week. He’d come in a half hour early this morning just to install it above the door. A little brass bell. Rick smiled and looked up at the front door.

But the man who’d walked in just now startled him. Big tall guy, probably six-four, all dressed in black. Rick zeroed in on a white spot under his chin. Oh no. It was a collar. This guy was a priest. He felt himself tense up.

“Well, hello, young man,” the priest said as he cleared the two inside steps. He looked around the store. “Art here?”

“No,” Rick said. “He’s not.”

The priest stepped inside. He had thick red hair parted on the side and wore a big smile. But still . . . he was a priest.

“Leanne?”

“No, she’s not here, either. Just me.”

The priest walked up to the counter. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Rick, Leanne’s son. I live in Charlotte. I’m just down for a while to help out . . . Father.”

The priest’s face turned serious. “Actually, it’s the Right Reverend. Or you may call me His Eminence. I’m not just a father, I’m a bishop.”

“Oh . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

The priest’s face broke into a wide grin. “Just messing with you, Rick.” They shook hands. “I am a bishop, and some people in the church do call me things like that. But I hate it when they do. Your dad helped me get free of that stuff. You can call me what he calls me . . . Charlie.”

“Actually, Art’s not my dad.” He didn’t see how he could ever call this man Charlie. Except for the smile, he really did look like a Right Reverend.

“Your stepfather, then?”

“Yes, sir.”

Father Charlie stood up straight. “Know when he’ll be back?”

“Guess you haven’t heard. Art’s in the hospital. He’s on his way to Shands right now, in Gainesville.”

“Oh no,” Father Charlie said.

Rick filled him in over the next few minutes, carefully choosing his words. The priest’s face shifted through ever-increasing measures of concern. When Rick finished, he simply said, “My, my.”

“The surgery is supposed to be tomorrow morning,” Rick said.

“I need to check my schedule, see how soon I can get over there.”

If Rick could get past the way the man looked, he seemed almost like a normal person.

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.