The Mulligans of Mt. Jefferson by Don Reid

Author:Don Reid [Reid, Don]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9781434764942
Publisher: David C. Cook
Published: 2011-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Six

The changes came easy for Cal, and when college ended in the spring of ’37, he went immediately into Duke Divinity School. He was led by his passion to learn and by his dedication to the faith in which he was reared. He thought of Dr. Alvin Winifred many times over the next years of study and was taken by the summary of his chosen profession that the elder professor had compacted into a dramatic soliloquy in his tiny office. But he was also amused at all the negative components the man had included without touching on any of the positives. And that’s what Cal Vaxter saw with each passing day. The good he could do. The fulfillment he felt in doing it. And the knowledge he gained with each subject and class. He loved every minute of hard work that went into his degree. He even looked forward to the responsibility that would go with the commitment. He was sure he could handle it. And, yes, he wanted to minister to the people. He wanted to make a difference, no matter how small the scale. Ever since his heart had been touched that special night, he had been changed. And he had talked to no one about it. To do so at that point would be to denigrate the sanctity of the experience. Someday he would be able to put it all into words, but now he would just have to answer all the questions from his family and friends—“What made you want to go into the ministry? You’re the last one I would ever have thought would do that”—with a smile and knowing headshake. “Just something I felt led to do” was as far as he was willing to go.

Durham had become like a second home. He loved the feel of the town even though it was quite a bit bigger than Mt. Jefferson. But it didn’t take him long to adjust and feel like he belonged. It became even easier when he met a town girl at a local restaurant one fall evening when he was eating by himself.

“Excuse me. Could I borrow your saltshaker? Nothing will come out of mine.”

Cal looked up from the book he was reading: The Pilgrim’s Regress by C. S. Lewis. He focused for a second on the girl in the booth next to his table and said, “Sure,” and handed her the requested shaker.

Then he added, “They get damp and clog up.”

“You must be a science student. You talk like you know something about the atmosphere.” She laughed.

“No. Just that I’ve filled up about a million of those little devils in my life. I worked in a restaurant when I was growing up.”

“Really? You a chef or something?”

“Hardly. I bused tables and waited and swept up. Everything except cooking. But I do know how to keep that salt from going solid on you. Put a few grains of rice in there, and it will flow like water.”

“Good to know.

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