The Kingdom Land (22 page)

Erik stopped in mid-stride. “John, I know her. It
looks like she needs help.”

“
How do you know her?”

“
It's Laura, the one I talked
about”

“
Oh, boy,” were
John's only words. He could only shake his head.
What has this boy gotten himself
into
?

Erik didn't say anything until he was right next to
Laura, who was again bent over.

“
Laura, are you okay?”

Laura tried to spit her mouth clean and wiped herself
with the back of her hand. She gave Erik a baleful look as she
straightened. “I'm just great, can't you tell.” She dug in her
purse for a tissue. “Were did you come from? Did anyone else see
me? I guess I must have…must have eaten something bad, but I'm
fine now.”

“
No, just us. We came late to church
and saw you here.”

“
Never seen a case of food poisoning
that went away that fast,” were John's first words to
Laura.

Laura looked at the man who challenged her. She was
used to men with smart mouths like this.

“
Laura, this is John,” Erik
interceded as he saw the challenging look on both their
faces.

“
Nice to meet you, John,” Laura said
in a non-committal tone. “and, Erik, you might want to add this to
the list of weird things that girl from Sweetgrass does. I knew I
shouldn't have come today, so, my fault.” Laura's attempt to
straighten herself and make light of the situation made her forget
the baby's face. “I just have to get somewhere to clean myself
up.”

“
There's a kitchen in the back of
the church. You can go in through that door and no one will see
you” John's voice was still harder than Erik had ever
heard.

Laura gave a curt nod of thanks. She made her way to
the door John had indicated and Erik sensed that she would use the
kitchen and leave post-haste. He couldn't blame her if that were
her intention, not after the tone John had taken with her.

“
What was that all about?” Erik
asked as Laura disappeared into the kitchen. “You sounded like you
wanted to bite her head off. She's my friend. I'd expect you to
treat her with a little kindness.”

“
What do you mean? I was nice to
her.”

“
You were nicer to a stranger in the
restaurant last week. Your voice was sharper than I've ever heard
it.”

“
Sorry, Erik, but it was a surprise
to see the girl you've been talking about outside the church
vomiting. Who knows what her story is? It looks to me like she
could be hung over from a big drunk last night.”

“
You didn't talk to me that way when
I'd just been in a bar fight! What, do you just not like
women?”

“
I've got nothing against women, but
you've got to remember it was only a couple hours ago you were
wondering if maybe God might be bringing you two together. You've
got to be careful. Don't go running off like God's going to be
pleased with everything you do or that you no longer have to use
your head—”

Their conversation was cut short as Laura
returned.

“
Laura, I'm not sure want you meant
by saying you should have never come today, but it's pretty obvious
you're hurting more than a stomach ache. There's a rest area right
at the west city limits. It's nice and overlooks the Fairfield
River. Let go's there and talk,” John suggested.

“
I still have to unpack, so I think
I'll pass.”

“
Laura, I think you're facing a
losing argument. John'll keep hounding you until you say yes. It's
a nice little spot with a couple of big oak trees and there will be
other people there,” Erik urged.

John interceded with a much softer voice. ‘I'd really
like to know what happened. This is my church, and I need to know
if there was a misunderstanding or what happened.

“Besides, it's pretty obvious something is wrong that
needs to be talked out.”

“
Okay, I'll follow you, but I can't
stay long. I still have unpacking to do, and this is my only day
off.” Laura surprised Erik by agreeing. Laura noticed the over
eager look on Erik's face and quickly added, “It's just because I
have the time. Nothing else.”

“
Good,” John said. “We're going to
stop and get some cold pop at the gas station. Can I get you
something?”

“
Sure I appreciate that. I'll take a
bottle of 7-Up for my stomach.”

 

Erik picked a park picnic table close to the ravine
that carried the Fairfield River, which was more a small creek at
this time of year. John handed Laura her pop and they all sat down,
Laura on the bench opposite the two men across the table from
her.

“
Laura, Erik tells me I was sharp at
the church, but I didn't mean to be. You just caught me off guard.
Sorry about that.”

“
What do you mean, caught you off
guard? Aren't you used to seeing girls getting sick at the corner
of the church?” Laura asked. “I'm the one who should be
apologizing.” She turned to Erik. “And as for you, Erik, I would
have told John if he was rude. I'm a big girl. If I have a
complaint, I'll tell you.” Laura made it clear she didn't want pity
or help.

“
Laura, I know what you're talking
about. That's what I've been telling him for years,” John
agreed.

“
For years? I've only known you for
a week.” Erik said.

“
Well, it's seem like years having
to put up with all your problems.”

The playful sparring made everyone relaxed. Laura
took the opportunity to start the conversation.

“
If you're wondering if I had come
to church to worship or to use the side of the building, I'd come
to worship. It's just that some things that were said were
unsettling. I hope I don't look like a charity case that needs
help.”

“
I'd have to say we all need help
from time to time,” John interjected, but he knew Laura wasn't
done.

“
Something happened a while back.
I've been trying to leave it behind. I thought I had and then today
the sermon brought it all back. John, I'm a Christian and a bad
one. Erik, I said I was no good the other night. I committed a sin
against God, and I'd told myself and my friends and God it was
something I would never do. I lied. I did it.”

John said, “Hate to tell you, but we all are sinners,
and we all have made mistakes we can never forget. Good thing for
us we have a God who does forgive.”

“
I know that, John, but every time I
convince myself that God does forgive me, has forgiven me,
something happens that brings it all back, like the sermon today.
The pastor talked about God's holiness being as a white sheet of
pureness and all I could see was the stain of my mistake. I got
sick to my stomach when I saw that sin, as if I had done it that
second. Then when I was leaving, I bumped into a mother and her
child. The child reached out to me as if she was my own. The baby
touched me. The baby looked so vulnerable and I yet I felt more
vulnerable than the child.”

Erik wanted to say something, but couldn't. His
silence pushed him further away from John and Laura.

John said with a firm voice, “I know the pastor very
well. If he talked about the holiness of God being pure, I know he
had something else to say.”

“
He might of, but all I could think
of is how much I'd failed. I know God forgives and all that, but I
know what I did.”

“
So I guess that only leaves one
question: what is more important, what you did or who God is? Seems
to me you're looking at your problem, but you're no longer looking
at God.”

John continued, “We've got to be careful to not
define God by our circumstances. If we are in a problem then we
tend to see the problem first and how we perceive God changes with
the problem. Suddenly He's forgotten us, or doesn't care or isn't
close enough. But the reality is if there is a problem, that
doesn't mean God changes. He's the same God. He doesn't change. He
is always the same. He is consistent.”

“
I know that word. The pastor talked
about consistency today, but I don't know what he was saying about
it.”

“
You can't define God by
circumstances. You define God by who He is,” John said.

“
Laura, you have to take your
attention off what you did and remember what
He
did. He gave His life for you, and
the Word said that His forgiveness and love doesn't end. He doesn't
love you any less because you sinned. Don't let yourself believe
anything else. He wants to embrace you like He did the first time
you met Him.”

John was finished talking. Laura fell into silence,
thinking.

Erik sat involved in his own
thoughts. He didn't know how to feel. When he dreamed of Laura in
the bunkhouse this was never part of the picture. When he talked
with her at the Point he had hoped she had been sent by God to be
part of his life. Indeed, he thought as all three sat in silence,
“
was she sent by God in all these strange
circumstances to be part of my life for me, or for her to see God
again?”

A little poodle dog stopped next to the picnic table
to bark at a nearby collie. The little dog alternated barking at
the collie and darting behind Erik, using Erik as a shield. All
three laughed of the absurdity of such a small dog trying to
intimidate the bigger one.

“
That reminds me of Erik trying to
fight that big farmer. It wasn't a fair fight from the first
punch,” Laura teased.

“
But, boy, that was a great first
punch,” Erik said, not minding her ribbing.

 

 

 

Chapter
Eighteen

 

 

L
aura knew
exactly what John was talking about. She knew all the right
words;
saved by grace and not by works, He
makes all things new, if He saved us when we were yet sinners how
much more does He love us now
. She went
over those words in her mind time and time again the next week back
at work.

She rehearsed those words at her first full week at
WinRight. When there was a pause as one customer finished and
another emptied their carts, Laura remembered those words. She
remember them when she went in the break room and pulled out her
home made yogurt and fruit parfait. She looked around the cluttered
break room and couldn't believe how her fortunes had changed, even
when her break ended, and the morning quickly passed.

“
Any chance your till might actually
balance today?” Ken joked as he came to Laura's line and put a
“Closed” sign at the head of the counter. Actually, Laura had done
very well at the register, never being off more than a few pennies
at the end of the shift. Considering she was new and had to key in
thousands of items every shift, she had done amazingly well. At the
same time, Ken was in a good mood since it was Friday, and this
Friday was the start of the county fair.

Friday was the day of running extra errands as he
went to the bank to square things up for the weekend, making sure
they didn't have excessive cash on hand, but enough cash to run the
store until Monday morning. He counted out Laura's drawer in
preparation for the early run when he deposited all the money up
until noon, and he would pick up the coin. Later he would simply
put the evening deposit in the bank's drop box.

There wasn't much money in Laura's till since Ken
periodically took the larger bills. Laura was amazed at how fast he
could count her money. She had already jokingly accused him of
making her look bad by his quick counting while she was so slow.
Years of doing the same task had allowed his chubby fingers to move
instinctively.

Ken raised his voice in a mock game
barker's chant that were in town that weekend for the Cascade
County Fair.
“We have a winner here today,
folks. Give the lady a teddy bear. She has actually finished five
hours with no errors. If she can make it three more we'll give her
a giant panda.”

At first Laura turned red, feeling the stares of the
customers in the store, but then she responded in a much lower
voice to Ken. “I'll shove that panda in your mouth if you don't
keep it down. If you make a scene every time I balance, I'll make
sure I never do it again. Maybe you should join the fair yourself.”
Laura had only been at the store for a week, but was already
accustomed to the verbal jousting.

“
Great idea! Everybody loves the
fair, and my wife and I can live in a camper and hit the highway
and become part of the carnival.”

Every year in August the date of the county fair was
marked in bold on calendars. The stores would be fuller than usual
and almost every one in a three county area would come to Fairfield
for the horse races, the cotton candy, or to exhibit their prize
rabbits. Laura had never been to the fair since she had no one to
go with, but the talk of everyone else at least made her feel that
something different was around. Anything different was a good thing
in Fairfield.