MARTY VENTURED TOWARD the kitchen, walking through the dining room, vacant except for a beautifully built-in hutch. The doors to the cupboards above the oak countertop were inlayed with beveled glass, while rows of drawers lined up below the counter.
Everything was grungy, dusty, and in need of a good cleaning. An old lamp hung from the ceiling in the middle of the dining room, with cobwebs floating softy on the air currents as she passed.
She found the kitchen dirty, in need of scrubbing, the cupboards empty, the old windows without coverings, and the back door to the porch padlocked.
Tom and the boys ventured down the short hallway on their right where they found three doors. The first door on the right opened into a narrow bedroom. It was empty. The second door, on the left, revealed an old bathroom with a pedestal sink, clawfoot tub, and shower head, minus the shower curtain. The paint was pealing in this room, water stains marred the ceiling, and the little octagon tiles on the floor needed to be glued back down in some areas. The last door, at the end of the passage, opened into a bare and unadorned bedroom.
The rooms were of moderate size and would do just fine, if only they had some furniture.
Tom was wondering what in the world they were going to sleep on, when a loud knock on the open front door startled him.
“Hello, anyone here?” a voice called into the house.
Marty responded by coming from the kitchen, while Tom appeared in the hallway as the boys ran past him to see what was going on.
“Hello, may I help you?” Pastor Tom asked.
“Hi. I’m Netti Meriwether,” a woman of about fifty, tall, slender and with a pixy face announced, warmly extending her hand. “My husband Ed is the head elder at the church. You must be Pastor Tom Madison,” she beamed, shaking his hand sincerely, “and this is Alma Craddick, and Cindy Spencer, and that coming up the road is Dora Comstock. We’re from the church and have come to help you clean and move in,” she said with a fun loving laugh, as she stood in the middle of the living room with her bucket of cleaning supplies.
“We wanted to have this all done before you got here,” she explained. “But to tell you the truth, we’ve been working our hearts out with repairs on the old place. With patching the roof, fixing the leaking plumbing and replacing broken windows, we just plumb ran out of time and money. But we can offer you our help now and see that you have a place to sleep tonight, God willing,” she concluded enthusiastically.
Alma timidly entered the house with her vacuum, while Cindy and Dora followed with their own supplies.
“Just give us about an hour or so and our men will be here with some of the furniture that’s been in storage and some found among us. We’ll get you moved in and settled,” Netti said cheerfully.
Marty and Tom smiled gratefully, as they shook hands and introduced their children.
Netti and Marty set about tackling the kitchen, while Alma volunteered to clean the bathroom, and Cindy started cleaning the windows. Dora offered to keep the boys occupied, as Tom busied himself with repairs.
Their friendly chatter made the work go quickly and soon the old place was clean and ready for their things. Netti used her cell phone to call her husband Ed, who showed up within a short time with his volunteers.
“I wish we could have painted all the rooms for you before bringing in the furniture. That would’ve helped with the musty smell in this place, but we just didn’t have the funds to get it done,” Nettie told Marty apologetically. “And with all of us working with only the evenings and weekends free, we just ran out of time.”
“We understand. Please don’t worry about it. We’ll get it all done eventually. The most important thing is a place to sleep tonight, right?”
Netti smiled at Marty’s buoyancy and recognized a kindred spirit in the pastor’s wife. She just knew they were going to be great friends. They set about scrubbing down the kitchen counters and cupboards, happily talking away. The stove and old refrigerator were next, before sweeping and mopping of the kitchen floor.
As the two women stood in the dining room, surveying their hard work, when Netti suggested, “We don’t have furniture for this room yet, but maybe we can use it for storing your boxes and things… just until you can find a place to put everything.”
“That’s a great idea,” Marty responded.
Then the men came in carrying in a large, well built, farm table with miss-matched chairs.
“Over here Ed, put the table and chairs in the kitchen over by the windows. There’s plenty of light and room for them in there,” Netti commanded excitedly. Then, in afterthought she asked, “You do want to eat in the kitchen most times, don’t you Marty?”
Marty smiled warmly, nodding at her new friend, “Absolutely. That’s just the place for it.”
Netti beamed as the men placed the chairs around the table, close to the windows overlooking the old back porch that was trying to leave the house.
Alma had climbed up a ladder and was leaning over the kitchen sink that had a window overlooking the side of the house. Hanging up some heavy lace curtains, she spoke timidly, “I found a big, old, lace bedspread I wasn’t using and made you some curtains. I hope you don’t mind.”
Marty expressed her gratitude for the lovely hangings, as she unpacked her coffee maker and cups. “They’re beautiful, Alma. Thank you, so much.”
Alma blushed with pride and happiness.
A fresh pot of coffee was started and the aroma filled the kitchen with its pungent aroma of home, friendship and comfort.
The timeworn dwelling was transforming into a home.
Ed Meriwether was now standing next to Pastor Tom in the living room, telling him about Hank Fairchild who had made the wardrobes the men were bringing in and putting into the bedrooms.
“They’re stunning,” Tom expressed his admiration.
“Yeah, Hank came from Pennsylvania and grew up Amish, before leaving his community and moving out here to Idaho. He now attends our little church, and has a God given gift for working with wood.”
Next, the beds were set up. Though the mattresses were old, they were clean, dry and soft. Linens and blankets had been found among the congregation and donated. Quickly the beds made, ready to be slept in.
The rest of Alma’s bedspread went over the windows in Tom and Marty’s room, while a beautiful donated quilt was put on their bed. Tom was able to get the window open in their room and he opened it all the way, allowing the soft breeze to enter.
Lamps went into the bedrooms and the clothing was put away in the golden, oiled wardrobes standing against the walls. Miss-matched dressers were installed in each room, a welcome asset for storing more clothes.
Soon, all the women were in the kitchen chatting away, unpacking boxes, and getting the kitchen up and running. What little food the Madisons had went into the old fridge in the corner.
As they were finishing, Ed explained to his new pastor, “I know there’s still a lot to do yet, but at least you’ll have a place to sleep tonight, and the roof won’t leak… at least I hope it doesn’t,” he said smiling. “Just make a list of anything you need, or those things that need to be fixed and we’ll try to see that it gets done. God willing, we’ll have you completely settled in and quite nicely by the time winter comes.”
“I have no doubt, Ed. But I’d be happy to spend some of my time working on the place too. I’m quite handy with a saw and hammer. I used to help my adopted grandfather each summer during the school break, building houses from scratch for someone in need.”
“No kidding? That’d be great. It sure would be nice to have someone around here who knows what they’re doing. But I’m also looking forward to all of us getting our hands dirty, so to speak, getting this old house back into shape. It’s been so sad having it just sit here, vacant and unused for so long. We’re all looking forward to this place becoming useful again.”
Walking over to the door in-between the dining room and hallway, Tom tried to open it, but it was locked. “What�
�s this door for, Ed? Isn’t this the coat closet?”
“Nope, that goes up to the attic. There are more rooms up there, but they’re in bad shape, and a lot of mold from the leaking roof. We thought it should be locked up for now, until we can find the funds and time to work on it. It’s a mess. Do you want us to unlock it?”
“No, not at all… Probably best to keep it locked, so the boys won’t get into trouble up there, if you know what I mean,” Tom said, knowing his sons.
“There’s a door off the kitchen that’s locked, as well,” Ed added. “It goes down into the root cellar. It’s just a small room, with a dirt floor and stone walls, used for cold storage. I don’t think it was even used by the last family that lived here.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’re fine with the amount of space we have,” Tom told his elder, happily.
Walking around, Tom was pleased with the change in the place and with the amount of work that had been accomplished in such a short time.
His future was looking brighter now, and he was truly becoming fond of the kind and thoughtful folks that God had placed in his life.
Around 5:00 that evening, Esther Murdock, a sweet, elderly pillar of the church came by with a casserole, piping hot, to feed the small family, along with a loaf of homemade bread, and a fresh salad. Just in time too, because everything was about done.
Ed Meriwether greeted Esther, and after she had placed the meal in the kitchen, he gathered everyone in the living room.
“Well, I think that’s about all for now. Thank you so much for your help and making this old place into a real home for our new pastor and his family. Let’s thank the Lord for this day and for the Madisons.”
Bowing their heads, Ed led a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His answers to prayer, and asked the Lord to bless this home, the young family, and the service of his servant, Pastor Tom Madison, the Man of God who had come to live among them.
Then as quickly as they had come, they were gone. The young family was abruptly left alone in their new home. The silence was noticeable.
Standing in the middle of the room, they admired the transformation that had taken place. Now, they could settle in for a peaceful evening and be ready to start a new life in the morning.
After dinner, the boys played with their toy trucks on the living room floor, while Tom and Marty sat on the couch talking about their day.
“What a wonderful group of people, coming to help us that way,” Marty commented, happy and content with the day’s work. “All hard workers and so friendly. What a blessing this has been.”
“Absolutely. It’s been a good day,” Tom smiled.
Within a short while, exhaustion overtook them and everyone went to bed, weary from the long trip and the excitement of the day.
The boys went to their room where a large bed and a smaller one had been erected. Tyler jumped into the large one, while Sam bounced up and down on the little one in the corner.
After settling the children down and tucking them in for the night, Marty sat listening to their prayers.
“Goodnight boys,” she said softly as she left the door open, just a crack, and went to her room.
The sun was sinking deeply below the mighty peaks outside, while the crystal, clear, brilliant, and uncountable stars filled the cold, black night.
Peace descended over the parsonage as the family slept serenely and quietly in the house the Lord had provided.
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A Tale Of True Love Page 2
