the place you’d think anybody inside would have been killed.”
As they watched, an ambulance slowly, cautiously, inched along Main. “No sirens,” Greg observed. “That’s a good sign.”
“I know. I can’t imagine what it’s like at our little local hospital, though. It must be terribly crowded.”
“Thankfully, we don’t have to go there for treatment and find out,” Greg said soberly. “How are you doing?”
“Fine. You were right about the shoes.”
“I’m surprised you admit it.”
That made her laugh. “It slipped out. Forget I said it, okay?”
“Okay.” He guided her across the front lawn of the church, then followed her to the side door that led to the annex containing the preschool.
“I’m going to see if I can leave Layla here for a little while,” Maya said. “I can be of a lot more help in the kitchen, or wherever, if I don’t have to keep an eye on her, too.”
“Good idea. I’ll go find Michael and see what else he needs. If the generator isn’t already here, tell the ladies I’ll have power for them soon.”
“Will do.” She paused, then gifted him with the sweetest smile he’d ever seen. “And I take back everything I thought about you, Mr. Garrison. You’re all right. Just like regular folks.”
He returned her smile. “I assume that means I should be grateful.”
“Very,” Maya said, laughing quietly. “You have no idea.”
The next few hours passed in a blur. Maya found plenty to do in spite of the crowd of women who had already made enough cold sandwiches to feed a small army. Some people were arriving in shock,weeping and lamenting their losses, while some praised God and went right to work helping others. Surprisingly, there was as much laughter among the women as there were tears.
That had been one of the biggest surprises for Maya. The joy in spite of everything. It was as if she and her fellow survivors were happy just to be alive, to have their families around them, to be gathered in God’s house where they could openly rejoice and either shed tears of relief or whoops of delight without censure.
As she worked preparing the dining tables in the fellowship hall to accommodate the large numbers of evacuees they were expecting, Maya wondered how her boss was faring. The image of him, kneeling and hugging Tommy, kept popping into her mind. If she lived a hundred years she’d never forget that sight. The man had shocked her all the way to her toes.
Overcome by a strong urge to see him again, to know he was all right, she checked with the others in the kitchen, was assured that there was nothing else that needed to be done, then picked up a spare plastic bottle of drinking water and excused herself to go seek him out.
He wasn’t easy to locate. Dozens of men were laboring outside the church, making sure that no one was trapped in the collapsed structures nearby and clearing the streets for emergency vehicles asbest they could with their bare hands. She finally spotted his blue shirt among the other workers and hurried to him.
“Hey. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good.” He straightened, wiped perspiration from his face with his shirtsleeve and quickly downed the bottle of water she’d handed him. “Thanks. Man, it’s so hot out here I’d almost welcome another rainstorm. But we didn’t find any victims here so that’s good news.”
“I’ll say. Michael’s planning a short praise service tomorrow. Will you come?”
“I suppose so,” he answered. “Don’t want to tarnish my bright and shiny do-gooder image when it’s so new.”
She was about to offer a wry comment when she looked toward the river and saw a small boy near the water. “Is that Tommy?”
Gregory frowned and shaded his eyes against the late afternoon glare. “Could be. I guess we should go see.”
“I’ll go. You stay here and keep working.”
“We’re about done. Even if that isn’t Tommy, I think we’d better see what the kid’s up to. He could get
As they watched, an ambulance slowly, cautiously, inched along Main. “No sirens,” Greg observed. “That’s a good sign.”
“I know. I can’t imagine what it’s like at our little local hospital, though. It must be terribly crowded.”
“Thankfully, we don’t have to go there for treatment and find out,” Greg said soberly. “How are you doing?”
“Fine. You were right about the shoes.”
“I’m surprised you admit it.”
That made her laugh. “It slipped out. Forget I said it, okay?”
“Okay.” He guided her across the front lawn of the church, then followed her to the side door that led to the annex containing the preschool.
“I’m going to see if I can leave Layla here for a little while,” Maya said. “I can be of a lot more help in the kitchen, or wherever, if I don’t have to keep an eye on her, too.”
“Good idea. I’ll go find Michael and see what else he needs. If the generator isn’t already here, tell the ladies I’ll have power for them soon.”
“Will do.” She paused, then gifted him with the sweetest smile he’d ever seen. “And I take back everything I thought about you, Mr. Garrison. You’re all right. Just like regular folks.”
He returned her smile. “I assume that means I should be grateful.”
“Very,” Maya said, laughing quietly. “You have no idea.”
The next few hours passed in a blur. Maya found plenty to do in spite of the crowd of women who had already made enough cold sandwiches to feed a small army. Some people were arriving in shock,weeping and lamenting their losses, while some praised God and went right to work helping others. Surprisingly, there was as much laughter among the women as there were tears.
That had been one of the biggest surprises for Maya. The joy in spite of everything. It was as if she and her fellow survivors were happy just to be alive, to have their families around them, to be gathered in God’s house where they could openly rejoice and either shed tears of relief or whoops of delight without censure.
As she worked preparing the dining tables in the fellowship hall to accommodate the large numbers of evacuees they were expecting, Maya wondered how her boss was faring. The image of him, kneeling and hugging Tommy, kept popping into her mind. If she lived a hundred years she’d never forget that sight. The man had shocked her all the way to her toes.
Overcome by a strong urge to see him again, to know he was all right, she checked with the others in the kitchen, was assured that there was nothing else that needed to be done, then picked up a spare plastic bottle of drinking water and excused herself to go seek him out.
He wasn’t easy to locate. Dozens of men were laboring outside the church, making sure that no one was trapped in the collapsed structures nearby and clearing the streets for emergency vehicles asbest they could with their bare hands. She finally spotted his blue shirt among the other workers and hurried to him.
“Hey. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good.” He straightened, wiped perspiration from his face with his shirtsleeve and quickly downed the bottle of water she’d handed him. “Thanks. Man, it’s so hot out here I’d almost welcome another rainstorm. But we didn’t find any victims here so that’s good news.”
“I’ll say. Michael’s planning a short praise service tomorrow. Will you come?”
“I suppose so,” he answered. “Don’t want to tarnish my bright and shiny do-gooder image when it’s so new.”
She was about to offer a wry comment when she looked toward the river and saw a small boy near the water. “Is that Tommy?”
Gregory frowned and shaded his eyes against the late afternoon glare. “Could be. I guess we should go see.”
“I’ll go. You stay here and keep working.”
“We’re about done. Even if that isn’t Tommy, I think we’d better see what the kid’s up to. He could get
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