| General Fiction posted October 29, 2017 |
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A Gabriel Hope Story.
My Path Is Different~Chapter 7
by papa55mike
This afternoon, I'm walking down Main Street in Brownsville. The clouds are starting to roll in from the north bringing a cold wind with them. There's supposed to be a soup kitchen on Second Avenue looking for volunteers to help cook an all-day Thanksgiving dinner, tomorrow. I'm on Main Street, but I haven't found Second Avenue yet. I stop to get my bearings and check all the street signs. "No wonder I can't find it, I'm standing on it."
While walking down Second Avenue, I notice the neighborhood is quickly changing for the worse. On Main Street is the elegant Southern Mansions, but two blocks away are the smaller, seedy shotgun shacks. In the front yard of this house on the left are three children playing in the dirt. I can't believe that there are six pieces of bailing-wire holding together the right side of their tin house. All three of the children smile and wave to me and I do the same.
At the end of Second Avenue is what looks like a closed restaurant painted a not so pretty brown. The sign above the door reads, Second Avenue Soup Kitchen and Food Bank, staff and volunteer entrance is around back. "I believe I'm here."
Walking up to the back door, I open the screen door and notice the seven dead-bolt locks that line the frame. There's a small four-panel window near the top of the door and a sign above it that says, please knock, so I do. The curtain moves and a female voice asks, "Can I help you?"
"Actually, I'm here to help you."
"I can't see you, bend down."
We finally meet eye to eye. "Hi, I'm here to volunteer."
Her eyes get big. "Who sent you?"
"Miss Sonia Clark."
"Oh yeah! Hold on a minute." There's a series of locks clicking, the door opens and the voice says, "Come on in."
I have to bend down then turn sideways to get in. Once I'm in, it turns into a normal restaurant with high ceilings and ugly yellow paint. Time seems to stop for a minute. The six young lady volunteers suddenly focus entirely on me. I feel like the main course.
There's a voice behind me that says, "Oh, my goodness!" The voice walks out of an office. She's a tall, lovely lady in a pair of jeans and a pink Jesus tee shirt with a bleach-blonde beehive on top of her head. You can see the spark of a long life in her big blue eyes. "Look at what the Lord done sent us. Sweetie, my name is Pearlie Sowell." She extends her hand.
She has a firm grip. "My name is Gabriel Hope, but you can call me Gabe. All my friends do."
"I bet they do, sweetie." Her lazy gaze starts at my feet then finally makes it to my eyes. "Just what can you cook, besides me?"
"Anything you have on the menu. How many are you planning to feed?"
Pearlie gets serious. "We'll have a thousand people through here once we open the doors at ten in the morning and they won't close until six that evening. It makes for a long day."
"That figures out to at least fifty-five turkeys, a hundred pounds potatoes, thirty pans of stuffing, twenty gallons of gravy, a hundred gallons of tea, and at least fifteen cakes. How many ovens do you have?"
"Ten convection ovens and we have sixty turkeys." She scratches her head with a yellow pencil. "How do you know all of this?"
"This ain't the first time I've cooked for the needy on a holiday. It's usually Christmas, though."
"Sweetie, I think you're going to be something special?"
"Maybe, we'll see. Do you have a place I can store my gear?"
"Right in my office, follow me said the spider to the fly."
All of my gear takes up a whole corner. I pull out a clean tee shirt then ask, "Is there a place I can clean up?"
"Well, we don't have a men's bathroom. It's now a storeroom. You're the first man ever to volunteer. You'll have to use our bathroom. It has a feminine touch, to say the least. Right through that door. If you need any help, just holler."
"I'm sure I can manage." I slowly close the door then turn on the light. I haven't seen this much male skin since my Army Ranger days. "Where did they get all of the nude male posters."
Five minutes later, I make my grand entrance into the kitchen. Two large stainless steel mixing bowls hit the floor. I never knew I looked that good in a pair of jeans and white tee shirt.
Pearlie speaks up. "I ain't never seen that many muscles in my life! How old are you, Gabe?"
"I'm sixty-one."
"I'm sixty-two and I've never seen a sixty-one-year-old look like you."
"Miss Sowell, what do you need me to do?"
"First, I want you to meet the staff." She walks over to the other ladies. "This is Daphne, Debra, Linda, Keisha, Cindy, and Donna." All of them nod a hello.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
Pearlie scratches her head with that pencil again. "Let's see, we're baking all of the cakes today. Putting together all of the pans of stuffing. We need to peel all of the potatoes for mashed potatoes, but we have a problem of them turning brown before we use them."
"Do you put them in cold water then into the fridge?"
"Yeah, but they still turn brown."
"A handful of salt in the water will take care of that."
"Really, where did you learn that?"
"The first time I heard it was in the Army, but I've cooked all over the world."
"I believe you, sweetie. Can you do ten pots of potatoes for us?"
"I'd be glad to, ma'am."
"Please call me, Pearlie."
"Okay, Pearlie."
Ten minutes later, I'm racing through a fifty-pound sack of potatoes. Peelings are flying into a large garbage can.
Pearlie walks over to me. "Where did you learn to peel taters that fast?"
"It was never my favorite thing to do. So, I learned to peel them real fast." Pearlie cracks up. "Do you want me to start cutting up bread for the stuffing when I finish this?"
"Yes, sir. We're about done with the cakes and all of us will pitch in to make the stuffing."
"Great!"
With the ten pots of potatoes in the huge fridge, all of the fifteen sheet cakes are baked and cooling. Everyone is gathered around a large stainless steel table tearing up day old bread. Pearlie is cutting up two mountains of celery and onions. I'm cooking twenty pounds of sage sausage to mix with the cut-up bread.
Daphne and Linda are whispering, "No, you ask him."
Pearlie knows what they want to be answered. "Hey, Gabe! Are you married?"
"I was, but she passed away twenty years ago." I start to drain the sausage in a huge colander.
Daphne asks, "How did she die?"
"My wife Debbi was killed in a bus crash." I start scooping the celery and onions in the sausage grease with a huge spatula.
Pearlie looks at me. "You've been alone all of that time, Gabe?"
"No...Well...Yes. But I have many friends and I've been on a mission for the Lord."
Linda asks, "What kind of mission?"
"That's hard to explain." I scoop up some more celery and onions and add them to the pot. "Debbi was the only family I had. Before the funeral, the Holy Spirit put on my heart to start walking for the Lord. He leads me to where I'm needed. It was the Lord who guided me here." Adding to the pot again I ask, "How many of you are married?"
Total Silence.
"Well, I must have hit a nerve?"
Donna speaks up. "All of us are recovering drug addicts. We're alone, just like you."
"None of us are ever alone, God is always with us."
Cindy says, "I've heard that a thousand times and never believed it. I always thought heroin addicts were too lost for God. But hearing it from you, I do now."
Pearlie stands up. "I've got all of you beat! My sorry husband left me thirty-five years ago for a woman half his age. I searched for years and couldn't find a man. I finally quit looking. There were several pretenders, but all they wanted was one thing. I figured that if God wants me to have a man, He'll send me one. That's why I got so excited when you walked in the door, Gabe. I thought to myself, praise the Lord, for this beautiful man!"
All of us crack up!
After Pearlie's hilarious statement, Keisha asks, "Are we really forgiven for all we've done?"
"Look, I've been an alcoholic since I was a baby. My mother always put rum in my milk bottle at night, so I would sleep better. At the age of four, my dad would give me a beer to drink, so he could laugh at me stumbling around the house. I was six-foot tall in the sixth grade, so I could buy beer whenever I wanted to. I secretly drank all the way through the rest of school. Joining the Army sure didn't help. They want you to drink. After my first Ranger Assault, in which I killed thirteen enemy soldiers, we hit the Officer's Club hard and closed it down. During my time in the Rangers, I've killed countless men. Granted, I was under orders and it really wasn't my fault. That didn't stop the pain, though. It only made me drink more." I stir in two more scoops. "With the Lord's help, it took me two years to quit drinking. I know deep in my heart that I've been forgiven for everything I've done. If God forgave me, He's forgiven all of you." I stir the huge pot of celery and onions then wipe my eyes. "Man, these onions are strong."
Pearlie walks over to me and puts her arm around my neck and says, "Thank you, Gabe, you're just a big softie." She kisses me on the cheek. "Your secret is safe with us."
I turn around to find six dazzling smiles.
~
It's ten-fifteen and we have everything prepped for tomorrow. Pearlie and her staff are getting ready to leave and Pearlie asks, "Gabe, do you have a place to sleep?"
"I was hoping you would let me catch a few winks here. We need to start the first twenty turkeys at four in the morning. I'll make sure it gets done."
Donna says, "That won't be much sleep for you, Gabe."
"It's okay, I'm used to it."
Pearlie speaks up. "You could come home with me, Gabe. I don't think you'd get much sleep there either."
"Nothing against you, Pearlie. I think I'll stay right here."
She smiles. "Okay, it's your loss. Mine Too!"
The quiet one, Keisha, walks over to me and slowly wraps her arms around me. "Thank you, for your wonderful words. They truly lightened my heart."
"You're welcome, but they're God's words."
We're all walking out the door when we hear a woman screaming a few houses down. That's when I smell the smoke of a house burning and take off running. Pearlie and the others are right behind me.
I holler at Pearlie. "Call 911! Tell them we need an ambulance and the fire department."
When I get to the house, flames are shooting out of the back windows, smoke is pouring out the front door. The mother is hollering, "My babies! My babies are in there!"
"Which room is it?"
She screams, "The second window on the right."
I run to the window and try to raise it, but it won't open. So, I take five steps back.
Pearlie gets there and hollers, "Wait, Gabe, the fire department is on the way!"
"There ain't enough time, Pearlie. This place is about to collapse!" I take off running towards the house.
Pearlie and the others scream, "No!"
One step before the window, I jump and duck my head. The glass shatters, the center bar crumples under my weight. Turning a somersault into the room, I land on my butt in the middle of the floor. The acrid smoke rushes out the window. There lying by the door are the three children, coughing. Grabbing a blanket off a bed, I wrap all three of them up. Taking the bundle in my arms, I kick the door open. Flames shoot in the door seeking oxygen. I take a deep breath then run through the flames, feeling the heat on my cheeks and arms. The old house begins to crack and moan. The thick black smoke pouring out the front door leads the way. The moment I make it out the door, the house starts to crumble. Linda, Debra, and Cindy come running to help me with the children. We gently lay the children on the ground by an old tree.
The mother screams, "My, babies! Are they alive?"
"Yes, ma'am! But they need air."
The sirens begin to scream down Second Avenue. The ambulance arrives first, I holler at the driver. "Over here, guys! We got three children with smoke inhalation."
They snatch up a bunch of gear and come running.
All of us watch the house collapse into itself. Flames reach for the starry black sky while kissing the dead branches of a tree next door.
Pearlie loses her breath then looks me in the eye. I simply smile at her.
The Pumper truck roars down the Second Avenue, announcing its presence with a deafening siren. It screeches to a stop in front of the house. Four firemen leap out of the truck, snatch and connect the hoses in one fluid move. Suddenly, a powerful stream of water surges towards the flames. The billowing smoke begins to blanket the stars.
The three children start to cry for their mother.
Pearlie and the others walk over to us standing by the tree. Pearlie asks, "That was the craziest thing I've ever seen, why did you do it, Gabe?"
"The Holy Spirit told me that if I didn't do something, those children would die in that house. I knew God would protect us."
One of the paramedics walks up to me. "Are you all right, sir? The mother told me what happened."
"I've got some minor burns on my forearms and cheeks. Besides that, I'm fine."
"I've got some burn cream for that."
"Are you taking the children to the hospital?"
"Yes, we'll hold them for twenty-four hours. But where will they go after that?"
"Believe me, my friend, the Lord is already working."
He smiles. "I'll get you that cream."
~
My internal clock starts clicking in my head. I start to pray, "Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful day. Let me be a blessing to everyone I see. In Jesus name. Amen. I kick my blanket off then glance at the clock, three-fifty-eight in the morning. "The Lord never fails."
After a quick trip to the bathroom to clean up, I start all of the ovens. The fridge feels good on my forearms and cheeks while I'm taking out the twenty turkeys. When I finish loading the ovens, I go right back to my spot then grab my cover. That's when I hear the seven locks start to click.
Pearlie pops in the kitchen. "Good morning, sweetie! Did you sleep well?" She's dressed to the max in a flowing pink dress, pinks Nike's, and her hair in a completely new style.
"Just fine! What are you doing here?"
She puts her apron on. "Well, I always make breakfast for everyone. It's the least I can do for their help on Thanksgiving day."
"You're a mess, girl. Do you need any help?"
"No! You sit right there, I got this. The coffee will be ready in a minute. I hope you like it strong?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
She turns to me. "Gabe, are you going to do this thing you do forever?"
"I don't know, Pearlie, only God knows the plan." I sigh then look away. "But this last year has been a hard one."
"Have you ever thought about settling down again?"
"I haven't thought about it in a long time. Then I met you, Pearlie." Our eyes meet for a moment.
Pearlie's smile is pure joy. "Well, Gabe, let me show you what a good woman can do!" She kicks up her heels then starts to rattle some pans while I'm laughing in the corner.
~
The kitchen is now full of the smells of Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone is scurrying around. We're getting ready to open the doors in five minutes.
After we have the serving line set-up, Cindy sneaks out the back door to see the crowd. She comes back all excited. "They're lined up all the way to Main street."
"Let's feed the masses for the Lord, everybody. Open the doors, Gabe." Pearlie's smile is radiant.
I do, we begin to share God's love.
At noon, while I'm refilling everything on the serving line. An elderly lady in a baby blue dress and hat taps me on the shoulder. There are tears in the corner of her big brown eyes. "Mister, are you the man who saved those children from that burning house?"
"Well, the Lord and I did."
She can't hold it back any longer, in between sobs she says, "I want to thank you for saving my grandchildren." She begins to weep.
I take her into my arms, the room becomes totally silent. "It was our pleasure, ma'am. Do you know if they have a place to stay?"
"Yes, they're moving in with me."
"That's good to hear, ma'am. You take good care of them."
"I will, sir." She starts to fill her plate with a huge smile.
~
Cindy, Keisha, and I are washing dishes about four o'clock. We want to be ready to go when the last patron ambles out the door at six. Even though it's been a long, hard day. Our hearts are full of love and the satisfaction of helping someone in need to have a great meal. Giving them something to be thankful for while sharing the knowledge that God loves them.
"How far have you journeyed on this mission of yours, Gabe?" Cindy asks.
"All around the world and then back to Tennessee. I've been wandering around West Tennessee for five years now. I guess God wanted to keep me close to home?"
"Where is your home?" Keisha asks.
"I was born and raised just outside of Milan in a little widening of the road community called Sitka."
They both laugh and Cindy says, "Pearlie is from Milan. I'm from Bradford and know exactly where Sitka is. Have you been back there in a while?"
"No."
"You wouldn't recognize it now. It's a huge shopping complex with Wal-Mart and Lowes superstores."
"Unbelievable! I need to see that one day."
Suddenly, we hear two men hollering then a scream from the dining room. "He's got a gun!
Cindy and Keisha's eyes get big, but I narrow my focus then calmly dry my hands. Walking into the dining room, there's a man holding a gun to another man's head, screaming, "You're going to apologize to my wife or I'm going to blow your head off!"
I stop right in front of them, blocking out the light on their faces. They both slowly raise their eyes to mine. Glaring at them, I say, "I don't care what this is about. But both of you have many things to be thankful for. The main one is the fact that I'm not mopping the floor with both of you, right now! Put that gun away or I'm going to stick it someplace you don't want it to be." The man quickly puts it back in his pocket. "Good! Now you apologize for whatever this is about!"
The man quickly says, "I'm sorry for calling your wife fat."
"Now, let's have a nice quiet meal. You don't want me coming back here again, do you?"
They both answer, "No, sir!"
I smile at both of them. "Have a blessed day, fellows." Then slowly walk back to the kitchen.
~
Pearlie finally closes the door after the last hug is passed out. All seven of them sit down for the first time in eight hours. There's a peace among them, it must be heaven sent with a knowing that they were angels today. That's when Pearlie notices that someone is missing. "Where's, Gabe?"
A quick search of the place yields only a letter taped to the back door. They gather around the kitchen table, Donna hands it to Pearlie. The envelope says, "To My Loving Friends."
Pearlie opens the envelope then begins to read the letter. "I have never been so blessed in my life to meet so many wonderful women. Your hearts are full of love and so willing to share it. Any man should be honored to have you in his life. I want to thank you, Pearlie, for putting the spark of romance back into my life.
I love each one of you with all of my heart,
Gabe
p.s. Hey, Pearlie, keep Christmas day open. We might go out on a date. If you're willing?
The look of astonishment on Pearlie's face causes the others to simultaneously say, "Oooh, Pearlie got a boyfriend!"
The kitchen explodes with laughter!
This afternoon, I'm walking down Main Street in Brownsville. The clouds are starting to roll in from the north bringing a cold wind with them. There's supposed to be a soup kitchen on Second Avenue looking for volunteers to help cook an all-day Thanksgiving dinner, tomorrow. I'm on Main Street, but I haven't found Second Avenue yet. I stop to get my bearings and check all the street signs. "No wonder I can't find it, I'm standing on it."
While walking down Second Avenue, I notice the neighborhood is quickly changing for the worse. On Main Street is the elegant Southern Mansions, but two blocks away are the smaller, seedy shotgun shacks. In the front yard of this house on the left are three children playing in the dirt. I can't believe that there are six pieces of bailing-wire holding together the right side of their tin house. All three of the children smile and wave to me and I do the same.
At the end of Second Avenue is what looks like a closed restaurant painted a not so pretty brown. The sign above the door reads, Second Avenue Soup Kitchen and Food Bank, staff and volunteer entrance is around back. "I believe I'm here."
Walking up to the back door, I open the screen door and notice the seven dead-bolt locks that line the frame. There's a small four-panel window near the top of the door and a sign above it that says, please knock, so I do. The curtain moves and a female voice asks, "Can I help you?"
"Actually, I'm here to help you."
"I can't see you, bend down."
We finally meet eye to eye. "Hi, I'm here to volunteer."
Her eyes get big. "Who sent you?"
"Miss Sonia Clark."
"Oh yeah! Hold on a minute." There's a series of locks clicking, the door opens and the voice says, "Come on in."
I have to bend down then turn sideways to get in. Once I'm in, it turns into a normal restaurant with high ceilings and ugly yellow paint. Time seems to stop for a minute. The six young lady volunteers suddenly focus entirely on me. I feel like the main course.
There's a voice behind me that says, "Oh, my goodness!" The voice walks out of an office. She's a tall, lovely lady in a pair of jeans and a pink Jesus tee shirt with a bleach-blonde beehive on top of her head. You can see the spark of a long life in her big blue eyes. "Look at what the Lord done sent us. Sweetie, my name is Pearlie Sowell." She extends her hand.
She has a firm grip. "My name is Gabriel Hope, but you can call me Gabe. All my friends do."
"I bet they do, sweetie." Her lazy gaze starts at my feet then finally makes it to my eyes. "Just what can you cook, besides me?"
"Anything you have on the menu. How many are you planning to feed?"
Pearlie gets serious. "We'll have a thousand people through here once we open the doors at ten in the morning and they won't close until six that evening. It makes for a long day."
"That figures out to at least fifty-five turkeys, a hundred pounds potatoes, thirty pans of stuffing, twenty gallons of gravy, a hundred gallons of tea, and at least fifteen cakes. How many ovens do you have?"
"Ten convection ovens and we have sixty turkeys." She scratches her head with a yellow pencil. "How do you know all of this?"
"This ain't the first time I've cooked for the needy on a holiday. It's usually Christmas, though."
"Sweetie, I think you're going to be something special?"
"Maybe, we'll see. Do you have a place I can store my gear?"
"Right in my office, follow me said the spider to the fly."
All of my gear takes up a whole corner. I pull out a clean tee shirt then ask, "Is there a place I can clean up?"
"Well, we don't have a men's bathroom. It's now a storeroom. You're the first man ever to volunteer. You'll have to use our bathroom. It has a feminine touch, to say the least. Right through that door. If you need any help, just holler."
"I'm sure I can manage." I slowly close the door then turn on the light. I haven't seen this much male skin since my Army Ranger days. "Where did they get all of the nude male posters."
Five minutes later, I make my grand entrance into the kitchen. Two large stainless steel mixing bowls hit the floor. I never knew I looked that good in a pair of jeans and white tee shirt.
Pearlie speaks up. "I ain't never seen that many muscles in my life! How old are you, Gabe?"
"I'm sixty-one."
"I'm sixty-two and I've never seen a sixty-one-year-old look like you."
"Miss Sowell, what do you need me to do?"
"First, I want you to meet the staff." She walks over to the other ladies. "This is Daphne, Debra, Linda, Keisha, Cindy, and Donna." All of them nod a hello.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
Pearlie scratches her head with that pencil again. "Let's see, we're baking all of the cakes today. Putting together all of the pans of stuffing. We need to peel all of the potatoes for mashed potatoes, but we have a problem of them turning brown before we use them."
"Do you put them in cold water then into the fridge?"
"Yeah, but they still turn brown."
"A handful of salt in the water will take care of that."
"Really, where did you learn that?"
"The first time I heard it was in the Army, but I've cooked all over the world."
"I believe you, sweetie. Can you do ten pots of potatoes for us?"
"I'd be glad to, ma'am."
"Please call me, Pearlie."
"Okay, Pearlie."
Ten minutes later, I'm racing through a fifty-pound sack of potatoes. Peelings are flying into a large garbage can.
Pearlie walks over to me. "Where did you learn to peel taters that fast?"
"It was never my favorite thing to do. So, I learned to peel them real fast." Pearlie cracks up. "Do you want me to start cutting up bread for the stuffing when I finish this?"
"Yes, sir. We're about done with the cakes and all of us will pitch in to make the stuffing."
"Great!"
With the ten pots of potatoes in the huge fridge, all of the fifteen sheet cakes are baked and cooling. Everyone is gathered around a large stainless steel table tearing up day old bread. Pearlie is cutting up two mountains of celery and onions. I'm cooking twenty pounds of sage sausage to mix with the cut-up bread.
Daphne and Linda are whispering, "No, you ask him."
Pearlie knows what they want to be answered. "Hey, Gabe! Are you married?"
"I was, but she passed away twenty years ago." I start to drain the sausage in a huge colander.
Daphne asks, "How did she die?"
"My wife Debbi was killed in a bus crash." I start scooping the celery and onions in the sausage grease with a huge spatula.
Pearlie looks at me. "You've been alone all of that time, Gabe?"
"No...Well...Yes. But I have many friends and I've been on a mission for the Lord."
Linda asks, "What kind of mission?"
"That's hard to explain." I scoop up some more celery and onions and add them to the pot. "Debbi was the only family I had. Before the funeral, the Holy Spirit put on my heart to start walking for the Lord. He leads me to where I'm needed. It was the Lord who guided me here." Adding to the pot again I ask, "How many of you are married?"
Total Silence.
"Well, I must have hit a nerve?"
Donna speaks up. "All of us are recovering drug addicts. We're alone, just like you."
"None of us are ever alone, God is always with us."
Cindy says, "I've heard that a thousand times and never believed it. I always thought heroin addicts were too lost for God. But hearing it from you, I do now."
Pearlie stands up. "I've got all of you beat! My sorry husband left me thirty-five years ago for a woman half his age. I searched for years and couldn't find a man. I finally quit looking. There were several pretenders, but all they wanted was one thing. I figured that if God wants me to have a man, He'll send me one. That's why I got so excited when you walked in the door, Gabe. I thought to myself, praise the Lord, for this beautiful man!"
All of us crack up!
After Pearlie's hilarious statement, Keisha asks, "Are we really forgiven for all we've done?"
"Look, I've been an alcoholic since I was a baby. My mother always put rum in my milk bottle at night, so I would sleep better. At the age of four, my dad would give me a beer to drink, so he could laugh at me stumbling around the house. I was six-foot tall in the sixth grade, so I could buy beer whenever I wanted to. I secretly drank all the way through the rest of school. Joining the Army sure didn't help. They want you to drink. After my first Ranger Assault, in which I killed thirteen enemy soldiers, we hit the Officer's Club hard and closed it down. During my time in the Rangers, I've killed countless men. Granted, I was under orders and it really wasn't my fault. That didn't stop the pain, though. It only made me drink more." I stir in two more scoops. "With the Lord's help, it took me two years to quit drinking. I know deep in my heart that I've been forgiven for everything I've done. If God forgave me, He's forgiven all of you." I stir the huge pot of celery and onions then wipe my eyes. "Man, these onions are strong."
Pearlie walks over to me and puts her arm around my neck and says, "Thank you, Gabe, you're just a big softie." She kisses me on the cheek. "Your secret is safe with us."
I turn around to find six dazzling smiles.
~
It's ten-fifteen and we have everything prepped for tomorrow. Pearlie and her staff are getting ready to leave and Pearlie asks, "Gabe, do you have a place to sleep?"
"I was hoping you would let me catch a few winks here. We need to start the first twenty turkeys at four in the morning. I'll make sure it gets done."
Donna says, "That won't be much sleep for you, Gabe."
"It's okay, I'm used to it."
Pearlie speaks up. "You could come home with me, Gabe. I don't think you'd get much sleep there either."
"Nothing against you, Pearlie. I think I'll stay right here."
She smiles. "Okay, it's your loss. Mine Too!"
The quiet one, Keisha, walks over to me and slowly wraps her arms around me. "Thank you, for your wonderful words. They truly lightened my heart."
"You're welcome, but they're God's words."
We're all walking out the door when we hear a woman screaming a few houses down. That's when I smell the smoke of a house burning and take off running. Pearlie and the others are right behind me.
I holler at Pearlie. "Call 911! Tell them we need an ambulance and the fire department."
When I get to the house, flames are shooting out of the back windows, smoke is pouring out the front door. The mother is hollering, "My babies! My babies are in there!"
"Which room is it?"
She screams, "The second window on the right."
I run to the window and try to raise it, but it won't open. So, I take five steps back.
Pearlie gets there and hollers, "Wait, Gabe, the fire department is on the way!"
"There ain't enough time, Pearlie. This place is about to collapse!" I take off running towards the house.
Pearlie and the others scream, "No!"
One step before the window, I jump and duck my head. The glass shatters, the center bar crumples under my weight. Turning a somersault into the room, I land on my butt in the middle of the floor. The acrid smoke rushes out the window. There lying by the door are the three children, coughing. Grabbing a blanket off a bed, I wrap all three of them up. Taking the bundle in my arms, I kick the door open. Flames shoot in the door seeking oxygen. I take a deep breath then run through the flames, feeling the heat on my cheeks and arms. The old house begins to crack and moan. The thick black smoke pouring out the front door leads the way. The moment I make it out the door, the house starts to crumble. Linda, Debra, and Cindy come running to help me with the children. We gently lay the children on the ground by an old tree.
The mother screams, "My, babies! Are they alive?"
"Yes, ma'am! But they need air."
The sirens begin to scream down Second Avenue. The ambulance arrives first, I holler at the driver. "Over here, guys! We got three children with smoke inhalation."
They snatch up a bunch of gear and come running.
All of us watch the house collapse into itself. Flames reach for the starry black sky while kissing the dead branches of a tree next door.
Pearlie loses her breath then looks me in the eye. I simply smile at her.
The Pumper truck roars down the Second Avenue, announcing its presence with a deafening siren. It screeches to a stop in front of the house. Four firemen leap out of the truck, snatch and connect the hoses in one fluid move. Suddenly, a powerful stream of water surges towards the flames. The billowing smoke begins to blanket the stars.
The three children start to cry for their mother.
Pearlie and the others walk over to us standing by the tree. Pearlie asks, "That was the craziest thing I've ever seen, why did you do it, Gabe?"
"The Holy Spirit told me that if I didn't do something, those children would die in that house. I knew God would protect us."
One of the paramedics walks up to me. "Are you all right, sir? The mother told me what happened."
"I've got some minor burns on my forearms and cheeks. Besides that, I'm fine."
"I've got some burn cream for that."
"Are you taking the children to the hospital?"
"Yes, we'll hold them for twenty-four hours. But where will they go after that?"
"Believe me, my friend, the Lord is already working."
He smiles. "I'll get you that cream."
~
My internal clock starts clicking in my head. I start to pray, "Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful day. Let me be a blessing to everyone I see. In Jesus name. Amen. I kick my blanket off then glance at the clock, three-fifty-eight in the morning. "The Lord never fails."
After a quick trip to the bathroom to clean up, I start all of the ovens. The fridge feels good on my forearms and cheeks while I'm taking out the twenty turkeys. When I finish loading the ovens, I go right back to my spot then grab my cover. That's when I hear the seven locks start to click.
Pearlie pops in the kitchen. "Good morning, sweetie! Did you sleep well?" She's dressed to the max in a flowing pink dress, pinks Nike's, and her hair in a completely new style.
"Just fine! What are you doing here?"
She puts her apron on. "Well, I always make breakfast for everyone. It's the least I can do for their help on Thanksgiving day."
"You're a mess, girl. Do you need any help?"
"No! You sit right there, I got this. The coffee will be ready in a minute. I hope you like it strong?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
She turns to me. "Gabe, are you going to do this thing you do forever?"
"I don't know, Pearlie, only God knows the plan." I sigh then look away. "But this last year has been a hard one."
"Have you ever thought about settling down again?"
"I haven't thought about it in a long time. Then I met you, Pearlie." Our eyes meet for a moment.
Pearlie's smile is pure joy. "Well, Gabe, let me show you what a good woman can do!" She kicks up her heels then starts to rattle some pans while I'm laughing in the corner.
~
The kitchen is now full of the smells of Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone is scurrying around. We're getting ready to open the doors in five minutes.
After we have the serving line set-up, Cindy sneaks out the back door to see the crowd. She comes back all excited. "They're lined up all the way to Main street."
"Let's feed the masses for the Lord, everybody. Open the doors, Gabe." Pearlie's smile is radiant.
I do, we begin to share God's love.
At noon, while I'm refilling everything on the serving line. An elderly lady in a baby blue dress and hat taps me on the shoulder. There are tears in the corner of her big brown eyes. "Mister, are you the man who saved those children from that burning house?"
"Well, the Lord and I did."
She can't hold it back any longer, in between sobs she says, "I want to thank you for saving my grandchildren." She begins to weep.
I take her into my arms, the room becomes totally silent. "It was our pleasure, ma'am. Do you know if they have a place to stay?"
"Yes, they're moving in with me."
"That's good to hear, ma'am. You take good care of them."
"I will, sir." She starts to fill her plate with a huge smile.
~
Cindy, Keisha, and I are washing dishes about four o'clock. We want to be ready to go when the last patron ambles out the door at six. Even though it's been a long, hard day. Our hearts are full of love and the satisfaction of helping someone in need to have a great meal. Giving them something to be thankful for while sharing the knowledge that God loves them.
"How far have you journeyed on this mission of yours, Gabe?" Cindy asks.
"All around the world and then back to Tennessee. I've been wandering around West Tennessee for five years now. I guess God wanted to keep me close to home?"
"Where is your home?" Keisha asks.
"I was born and raised just outside of Milan in a little widening of the road community called Sitka."
They both laugh and Cindy says, "Pearlie is from Milan. I'm from Bradford and know exactly where Sitka is. Have you been back there in a while?"
"No."
"You wouldn't recognize it now. It's a huge shopping complex with Wal-Mart and Lowes superstores."
"Unbelievable! I need to see that one day."
Suddenly, we hear two men hollering then a scream from the dining room. "He's got a gun!
Cindy and Keisha's eyes get big, but I narrow my focus then calmly dry my hands. Walking into the dining room, there's a man holding a gun to another man's head, screaming, "You're going to apologize to my wife or I'm going to blow your head off!"
I stop right in front of them, blocking out the light on their faces. They both slowly raise their eyes to mine. Glaring at them, I say, "I don't care what this is about. But both of you have many things to be thankful for. The main one is the fact that I'm not mopping the floor with both of you, right now! Put that gun away or I'm going to stick it someplace you don't want it to be." The man quickly puts it back in his pocket. "Good! Now you apologize for whatever this is about!"
The man quickly says, "I'm sorry for calling your wife fat."
"Now, let's have a nice quiet meal. You don't want me coming back here again, do you?"
They both answer, "No, sir!"
I smile at both of them. "Have a blessed day, fellows." Then slowly walk back to the kitchen.
~
Pearlie finally closes the door after the last hug is passed out. All seven of them sit down for the first time in eight hours. There's a peace among them, it must be heaven sent with a knowing that they were angels today. That's when Pearlie notices that someone is missing. "Where's, Gabe?"
A quick search of the place yields only a letter taped to the back door. They gather around the kitchen table, Donna hands it to Pearlie. The envelope says, "To My Loving Friends."
Pearlie opens the envelope then begins to read the letter. "I have never been so blessed in my life to meet so many wonderful women. Your hearts are full of love and so willing to share it. Any man should be honored to have you in his life. I want to thank you, Pearlie, for putting the spark of romance back into my life.
I love each one of you with all of my heart,
Gabe
p.s. Hey, Pearlie, keep Christmas day open. We might go out on a date. If you're willing?
The look of astonishment on Pearlie's face causes the others to simultaneously say, "Oooh, Pearlie got a boyfriend!"
The kitchen explodes with laughter!
While walking down Second Avenue, I notice the neighborhood is quickly changing for the worse. On Main Street is the elegant Southern Mansions, but two blocks away are the smaller, seedy shotgun shacks. In the front yard of this house on the left are three children playing in the dirt. I can't believe that there are six pieces of bailing-wire holding together the right side of their tin house. All three of the children smile and wave to me and I do the same.
At the end of Second Avenue is what looks like a closed restaurant painted a not so pretty brown. The sign above the door reads, Second Avenue Soup Kitchen and Food Bank, staff and volunteer entrance is around back. "I believe I'm here."
Walking up to the back door, I open the screen door and notice the seven dead-bolt locks that line the frame. There's a small four-panel window near the top of the door and a sign above it that says, please knock, so I do. The curtain moves and a female voice asks, "Can I help you?"
"Actually, I'm here to help you."
"I can't see you, bend down."
We finally meet eye to eye. "Hi, I'm here to volunteer."
Her eyes get big. "Who sent you?"
"Miss Sonia Clark."
"Oh yeah! Hold on a minute." There's a series of locks clicking, the door opens and the voice says, "Come on in."
I have to bend down then turn sideways to get in. Once I'm in, it turns into a normal restaurant with high ceilings and ugly yellow paint. Time seems to stop for a minute. The six young lady volunteers suddenly focus entirely on me. I feel like the main course.
There's a voice behind me that says, "Oh, my goodness!" The voice walks out of an office. She's a tall, lovely lady in a pair of jeans and a pink Jesus tee shirt with a bleach-blonde beehive on top of her head. You can see the spark of a long life in her big blue eyes. "Look at what the Lord done sent us. Sweetie, my name is Pearlie Sowell." She extends her hand.
She has a firm grip. "My name is Gabriel Hope, but you can call me Gabe. All my friends do."
"I bet they do, sweetie." Her lazy gaze starts at my feet then finally makes it to my eyes. "Just what can you cook, besides me?"
"Anything you have on the menu. How many are you planning to feed?"
Pearlie gets serious. "We'll have a thousand people through here once we open the doors at ten in the morning and they won't close until six that evening. It makes for a long day."
"That figures out to at least fifty-five turkeys, a hundred pounds potatoes, thirty pans of stuffing, twenty gallons of gravy, a hundred gallons of tea, and at least fifteen cakes. How many ovens do you have?"
"Ten convection ovens and we have sixty turkeys." She scratches her head with a yellow pencil. "How do you know all of this?"
"This ain't the first time I've cooked for the needy on a holiday. It's usually Christmas, though."
"Sweetie, I think you're going to be something special?"
"Maybe, we'll see. Do you have a place I can store my gear?"
"Right in my office, follow me said the spider to the fly."
All of my gear takes up a whole corner. I pull out a clean tee shirt then ask, "Is there a place I can clean up?"
"Well, we don't have a men's bathroom. It's now a storeroom. You're the first man ever to volunteer. You'll have to use our bathroom. It has a feminine touch, to say the least. Right through that door. If you need any help, just holler."
"I'm sure I can manage." I slowly close the door then turn on the light. I haven't seen this much male skin since my Army Ranger days. "Where did they get all of the nude male posters."
Five minutes later, I make my grand entrance into the kitchen. Two large stainless steel mixing bowls hit the floor. I never knew I looked that good in a pair of jeans and white tee shirt.
Pearlie speaks up. "I ain't never seen that many muscles in my life! How old are you, Gabe?"
"I'm sixty-one."
"I'm sixty-two and I've never seen a sixty-one-year-old look like you."
"Miss Sowell, what do you need me to do?"
"First, I want you to meet the staff." She walks over to the other ladies. "This is Daphne, Debra, Linda, Keisha, Cindy, and Donna." All of them nod a hello.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
Pearlie scratches her head with that pencil again. "Let's see, we're baking all of the cakes today. Putting together all of the pans of stuffing. We need to peel all of the potatoes for mashed potatoes, but we have a problem of them turning brown before we use them."
"Do you put them in cold water then into the fridge?"
"Yeah, but they still turn brown."
"A handful of salt in the water will take care of that."
"Really, where did you learn that?"
"The first time I heard it was in the Army, but I've cooked all over the world."
"I believe you, sweetie. Can you do ten pots of potatoes for us?"
"I'd be glad to, ma'am."
"Please call me, Pearlie."
"Okay, Pearlie."
Ten minutes later, I'm racing through a fifty-pound sack of potatoes. Peelings are flying into a large garbage can.
Pearlie walks over to me. "Where did you learn to peel taters that fast?"
"It was never my favorite thing to do. So, I learned to peel them real fast." Pearlie cracks up. "Do you want me to start cutting up bread for the stuffing when I finish this?"
"Yes, sir. We're about done with the cakes and all of us will pitch in to make the stuffing."
"Great!"
With the ten pots of potatoes in the huge fridge, all of the fifteen sheet cakes are baked and cooling. Everyone is gathered around a large stainless steel table tearing up day old bread. Pearlie is cutting up two mountains of celery and onions. I'm cooking twenty pounds of sage sausage to mix with the cut-up bread.
Daphne and Linda are whispering, "No, you ask him."
Pearlie knows what they want to be answered. "Hey, Gabe! Are you married?"
"I was, but she passed away twenty years ago." I start to drain the sausage in a huge colander.
Daphne asks, "How did she die?"
"My wife Debbi was killed in a bus crash." I start scooping the celery and onions in the sausage grease with a huge spatula.
Pearlie looks at me. "You've been alone all of that time, Gabe?"
"No...Well...Yes. But I have many friends and I've been on a mission for the Lord."
Linda asks, "What kind of mission?"
"That's hard to explain." I scoop up some more celery and onions and add them to the pot. "Debbi was the only family I had. Before the funeral, the Holy Spirit put on my heart to start walking for the Lord. He leads me to where I'm needed. It was the Lord who guided me here." Adding to the pot again I ask, "How many of you are married?"
Total Silence.
"Well, I must have hit a nerve?"
Donna speaks up. "All of us are recovering drug addicts. We're alone, just like you."
"None of us are ever alone, God is always with us."
Cindy says, "I've heard that a thousand times and never believed it. I always thought heroin addicts were too lost for God. But hearing it from you, I do now."
Pearlie stands up. "I've got all of you beat! My sorry husband left me thirty-five years ago for a woman half his age. I searched for years and couldn't find a man. I finally quit looking. There were several pretenders, but all they wanted was one thing. I figured that if God wants me to have a man, He'll send me one. That's why I got so excited when you walked in the door, Gabe. I thought to myself, praise the Lord, for this beautiful man!"
All of us crack up!
After Pearlie's hilarious statement, Keisha asks, "Are we really forgiven for all we've done?"
"Look, I've been an alcoholic since I was a baby. My mother always put rum in my milk bottle at night, so I would sleep better. At the age of four, my dad would give me a beer to drink, so he could laugh at me stumbling around the house. I was six-foot tall in the sixth grade, so I could buy beer whenever I wanted to. I secretly drank all the way through the rest of school. Joining the Army sure didn't help. They want you to drink. After my first Ranger Assault, in which I killed thirteen enemy soldiers, we hit the Officer's Club hard and closed it down. During my time in the Rangers, I've killed countless men. Granted, I was under orders and it really wasn't my fault. That didn't stop the pain, though. It only made me drink more." I stir in two more scoops. "With the Lord's help, it took me two years to quit drinking. I know deep in my heart that I've been forgiven for everything I've done. If God forgave me, He's forgiven all of you." I stir the huge pot of celery and onions then wipe my eyes. "Man, these onions are strong."
Pearlie walks over to me and puts her arm around my neck and says, "Thank you, Gabe, you're just a big softie." She kisses me on the cheek. "Your secret is safe with us."
I turn around to find six dazzling smiles.
~
It's ten-fifteen and we have everything prepped for tomorrow. Pearlie and her staff are getting ready to leave and Pearlie asks, "Gabe, do you have a place to sleep?"
"I was hoping you would let me catch a few winks here. We need to start the first twenty turkeys at four in the morning. I'll make sure it gets done."
Donna says, "That won't be much sleep for you, Gabe."
"It's okay, I'm used to it."
Pearlie speaks up. "You could come home with me, Gabe. I don't think you'd get much sleep there either."
"Nothing against you, Pearlie. I think I'll stay right here."
She smiles. "Okay, it's your loss. Mine Too!"
The quiet one, Keisha, walks over to me and slowly wraps her arms around me. "Thank you, for your wonderful words. They truly lightened my heart."
"You're welcome, but they're God's words."
We're all walking out the door when we hear a woman screaming a few houses down. That's when I smell the smoke of a house burning and take off running. Pearlie and the others are right behind me.
I holler at Pearlie. "Call 911! Tell them we need an ambulance and the fire department."
When I get to the house, flames are shooting out of the back windows, smoke is pouring out the front door. The mother is hollering, "My babies! My babies are in there!"
"Which room is it?"
She screams, "The second window on the right."
I run to the window and try to raise it, but it won't open. So, I take five steps back.
Pearlie gets there and hollers, "Wait, Gabe, the fire department is on the way!"
"There ain't enough time, Pearlie. This place is about to collapse!" I take off running towards the house.
Pearlie and the others scream, "No!"
One step before the window, I jump and duck my head. The glass shatters, the center bar crumples under my weight. Turning a somersault into the room, I land on my butt in the middle of the floor. The acrid smoke rushes out the window. There lying by the door are the three children, coughing. Grabbing a blanket off a bed, I wrap all three of them up. Taking the bundle in my arms, I kick the door open. Flames shoot in the door seeking oxygen. I take a deep breath then run through the flames, feeling the heat on my cheeks and arms. The old house begins to crack and moan. The thick black smoke pouring out the front door leads the way. The moment I make it out the door, the house starts to crumble. Linda, Debra, and Cindy come running to help me with the children. We gently lay the children on the ground by an old tree.
The mother screams, "My, babies! Are they alive?"
"Yes, ma'am! But they need air."
The sirens begin to scream down Second Avenue. The ambulance arrives first, I holler at the driver. "Over here, guys! We got three children with smoke inhalation."
They snatch up a bunch of gear and come running.
All of us watch the house collapse into itself. Flames reach for the starry black sky while kissing the dead branches of a tree next door.
Pearlie loses her breath then looks me in the eye. I simply smile at her.
The Pumper truck roars down the Second Avenue, announcing its presence with a deafening siren. It screeches to a stop in front of the house. Four firemen leap out of the truck, snatch and connect the hoses in one fluid move. Suddenly, a powerful stream of water surges towards the flames. The billowing smoke begins to blanket the stars.
The three children start to cry for their mother.
Pearlie and the others walk over to us standing by the tree. Pearlie asks, "That was the craziest thing I've ever seen, why did you do it, Gabe?"
"The Holy Spirit told me that if I didn't do something, those children would die in that house. I knew God would protect us."
One of the paramedics walks up to me. "Are you all right, sir? The mother told me what happened."
"I've got some minor burns on my forearms and cheeks. Besides that, I'm fine."
"I've got some burn cream for that."
"Are you taking the children to the hospital?"
"Yes, we'll hold them for twenty-four hours. But where will they go after that?"
"Believe me, my friend, the Lord is already working."
He smiles. "I'll get you that cream."
~
My internal clock starts clicking in my head. I start to pray, "Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful day. Let me be a blessing to everyone I see. In Jesus name. Amen. I kick my blanket off then glance at the clock, three-fifty-eight in the morning. "The Lord never fails."
After a quick trip to the bathroom to clean up, I start all of the ovens. The fridge feels good on my forearms and cheeks while I'm taking out the twenty turkeys. When I finish loading the ovens, I go right back to my spot then grab my cover. That's when I hear the seven locks start to click.
Pearlie pops in the kitchen. "Good morning, sweetie! Did you sleep well?" She's dressed to the max in a flowing pink dress, pinks Nike's, and her hair in a completely new style.
"Just fine! What are you doing here?"
She puts her apron on. "Well, I always make breakfast for everyone. It's the least I can do for their help on Thanksgiving day."
"You're a mess, girl. Do you need any help?"
"No! You sit right there, I got this. The coffee will be ready in a minute. I hope you like it strong?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
She turns to me. "Gabe, are you going to do this thing you do forever?"
"I don't know, Pearlie, only God knows the plan." I sigh then look away. "But this last year has been a hard one."
"Have you ever thought about settling down again?"
"I haven't thought about it in a long time. Then I met you, Pearlie." Our eyes meet for a moment.
Pearlie's smile is pure joy. "Well, Gabe, let me show you what a good woman can do!" She kicks up her heels then starts to rattle some pans while I'm laughing in the corner.
~
The kitchen is now full of the smells of Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone is scurrying around. We're getting ready to open the doors in five minutes.
After we have the serving line set-up, Cindy sneaks out the back door to see the crowd. She comes back all excited. "They're lined up all the way to Main street."
"Let's feed the masses for the Lord, everybody. Open the doors, Gabe." Pearlie's smile is radiant.
I do, we begin to share God's love.
At noon, while I'm refilling everything on the serving line. An elderly lady in a baby blue dress and hat taps me on the shoulder. There are tears in the corner of her big brown eyes. "Mister, are you the man who saved those children from that burning house?"
"Well, the Lord and I did."
She can't hold it back any longer, in between sobs she says, "I want to thank you for saving my grandchildren." She begins to weep.
I take her into my arms, the room becomes totally silent. "It was our pleasure, ma'am. Do you know if they have a place to stay?"
"Yes, they're moving in with me."
"That's good to hear, ma'am. You take good care of them."
"I will, sir." She starts to fill her plate with a huge smile.
~
Cindy, Keisha, and I are washing dishes about four o'clock. We want to be ready to go when the last patron ambles out the door at six. Even though it's been a long, hard day. Our hearts are full of love and the satisfaction of helping someone in need to have a great meal. Giving them something to be thankful for while sharing the knowledge that God loves them.
"How far have you journeyed on this mission of yours, Gabe?" Cindy asks.
"All around the world and then back to Tennessee. I've been wandering around West Tennessee for five years now. I guess God wanted to keep me close to home?"
"Where is your home?" Keisha asks.
"I was born and raised just outside of Milan in a little widening of the road community called Sitka."
They both laugh and Cindy says, "Pearlie is from Milan. I'm from Bradford and know exactly where Sitka is. Have you been back there in a while?"
"No."
"You wouldn't recognize it now. It's a huge shopping complex with Wal-Mart and Lowes superstores."
"Unbelievable! I need to see that one day."
Suddenly, we hear two men hollering then a scream from the dining room. "He's got a gun!
Cindy and Keisha's eyes get big, but I narrow my focus then calmly dry my hands. Walking into the dining room, there's a man holding a gun to another man's head, screaming, "You're going to apologize to my wife or I'm going to blow your head off!"
I stop right in front of them, blocking out the light on their faces. They both slowly raise their eyes to mine. Glaring at them, I say, "I don't care what this is about. But both of you have many things to be thankful for. The main one is the fact that I'm not mopping the floor with both of you, right now! Put that gun away or I'm going to stick it someplace you don't want it to be." The man quickly puts it back in his pocket. "Good! Now you apologize for whatever this is about!"
The man quickly says, "I'm sorry for calling your wife fat."
"Now, let's have a nice quiet meal. You don't want me coming back here again, do you?"
They both answer, "No, sir!"
I smile at both of them. "Have a blessed day, fellows." Then slowly walk back to the kitchen.
~
Pearlie finally closes the door after the last hug is passed out. All seven of them sit down for the first time in eight hours. There's a peace among them, it must be heaven sent with a knowing that they were angels today. That's when Pearlie notices that someone is missing. "Where's, Gabe?"
A quick search of the place yields only a letter taped to the back door. They gather around the kitchen table, Donna hands it to Pearlie. The envelope says, "To My Loving Friends."
Pearlie opens the envelope then begins to read the letter. "I have never been so blessed in my life to meet so many wonderful women. Your hearts are full of love and so willing to share it. Any man should be honored to have you in his life. I want to thank you, Pearlie, for putting the spark of romance back into my life.
I love each one of you with all of my heart,
Gabe
p.s. Hey, Pearlie, keep Christmas day open. We might go out on a date. If you're willing?
The look of astonishment on Pearlie's face causes the others to simultaneously say, "Oooh, Pearlie got a boyfriend!"
The kitchen explodes with laughter!
Well, this one is different than the others. No violence!
In this story, I wanted to share a message of hope. I'm hoping that you find the true meaning of Thanksgiving that lives in all of our hearts. By sharing God's love for one another throughout the year. May all your upcoming holiday's be filled with love and hope!
One more chapter to go!
Thanks for reading!
Have a great day and God bless.
mike
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. In this story, I wanted to share a message of hope. I'm hoping that you find the true meaning of Thanksgiving that lives in all of our hearts. By sharing God's love for one another throughout the year. May all your upcoming holiday's be filled with love and hope!
One more chapter to go!
Thanks for reading!
Have a great day and God bless.
mike
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