“Isn’t it?”
She walked around to his side of the car. She hooked her arm, and he accepted it.
“Thank you for joining me. We’ll go in through that side door,” he said.
They walked up to the large doors, and once inside, he led the way to a pew that clearly he’d been sitting in for years. The people nearby all greeted him.
She took a seat next to him, trying not to insert herself into the conversations around them.
The organist began to play, and everyone quieted.
It was a good sermon, but she couldn’t keep her mind from wandering as the pastor preached about family. Had Jeremy ever been to this church? How many people in this room knew that she was his widow? She’d bet most of them. A wave of anxiety came over her.
A rudderless boat. That’s what having no family felt like. And Jeremy had been such a steadying force for her. She missed him madly at this moment. She clenched her hands together. People here, they’d never understand how huge losing Jeremy was for her. He’d been her everything.
At that moment, the preacher called for them to bow their heads in prayer. She did so, and thankfully the moment passed. She wiped her sweaty hands on her dress as she sat down.
After the service, she and Paul walked back out to the car. Orene caught up with her just as she closed Paul’s door.
“How are you? It’s good to see you,” Orene said.
“How nice to see you here. This is a beautiful church.”
“Oh, yes, and our new pastor, isn’t he great? I swear sometimes he’s reading my mind. Sometimes that makes me a little nervous.” Orene nudged her playfully. “Why don’t you come over for tea this afternoon? I’ll make some of those little tea sandwiches for us. We can call it lunch.”
“I’d love that. I just have to drop off my client first.”
Orene squeezed Natalie’s arm. “Lovely! I’ll be waiting.” Orene was off and running, waving her hand over her head as she rushed across the lot to chat with someone else.
Natalie got in the car. “You ready to go home?”
“Yes,” Paul said. “Such a simple yet important message today.”
She smiled politely. She’d only heard about half of it, getting caught up in her own history and feeling so out of place with all the family talk.
“I was really delighted you chose to join me in church. I hope you’ll do that every week.”
She smiled, appreciating his kindness. “It’s been too long since I made this a regular part of my life. I’m thankful for the invitation.”
She drove back to his house and stopped next to his scooter. “All set.”
“Thank you. I’d like to go to the market tomorrow. Could wedo that in the afternoon?” His hand gripped his cane. “Would two thirty work for you?”
“That’ll be fine. I’ll see you then.”
She waited at the end of the driveway until she saw him clear the corner. What a strange thing for him to insist on coming to the gate. Maybe he’d change his mind at some point.
Natalie stopped and switched out cars, getting back in her truck, which felt gigantic after driving the car. She stopped at the market to pick up something to take over to Orene’s, because no Southern girl would purposely show up to tea empty-handed.
She scoured the baked goods for something that would do.
Finally, she settled on miniature pumpkin cakes filled with cream cheese frosting and topped with candied pecans. Two of those and two tiny apple tarts. The gal working the counter set them in individual pastry cups in a cake box.
“They look beautiful. Thank you.” She carried them to the checkout and then set them gingerly in the truck’s front seat. Then, nervous they’d slide or tip out of the seat, she placed them on the floor.
She made it to Orene’s without incident.
From the front porch, she could hear Orene singing. She waited, enjoying her sweet voice until the last note, then knocked.
