Part 22
Anna was on her way to the car one day after work, and she saw Mr. Collins who parked in the same deck as she did. They exchanged greetings and Anna asked about the project.
“It’s going along very well. I’m pleased because it is on schedule and under budget. You know, Anna, we need to talk before long. I know Aaron Licci and he spoke very highly of you, told me that you helped on the Kentucky trip for the parish with his wife,” Mr. Collins said.
“Yes, it was an amazing experience and Mrs. Licci is amazing too. It was so nice of him to say something,” Anna said.
“We’ll be having a grand opening within the year and that will include all sorts of events including some fundraising. Would you be willing to help us out with it?” Mr. Collins asked.
“I would love to,” Anna answered.
“Call my office next week and let’s work out a time for lunch. I’ll add you to the committee list when I get back in the office tomorrow morning,” Mr. Collins said.
Anna realized that God had opened doors for her in so many ways. Her hope was that perhaps she could be hired by the center as the financial director in charge of everything from receipts to non-profit paperwork to investments through donor endowments. She would be around doers every day, and also around young people whose lives would be shaped in part by the center and all of its services.
On the way home, Anna stopped for some carryout food because she was just not in the mood to cook. Her mother would chastise her for it, saying something like, “Anna, why did you spend all that money on a beautiful kitchen and then not use it?” But her mother had never known what it was like to work a full day at an office with chaos raining all around. And then turn around and do it all again the next day.
Anna thought about John and what Mrs. Licci told her. He said he would be working on the center, but she hadn’t noticed his truck there when she passed by the site. A block from the hamburger place was the center’s large lot. She drove by and saw that there were still workmen there although it was already past five. She glanced up and down the line of parked cars and trucks and she saw it – John’s truck. She felt her heart skip a beat and felt guilty about it. She didn’t know why and the whole thing shook her up. She hurried home and enjoyed the burger while she watched the news and then a corny movie on LMN. She escaped.
What she had told Jeremy when he had said, “All alone?” wasn’t completely true. There were times when she did feel a wash of loneliness come over her, and this was one of those nights. She decided to get out her Bible and do some reading in it before she turned in for the night. The verses she decided to read came from the psalms which encompass all human feelings – loneliness being one of them. Psalm 142 that came next on her bookmarked page summed up what she felt at that moment, even though she knew she was being irrational:
When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
For at that moment, Anna missed her mother as much as the days after her death. She knew that her aunt in California cared about her, the LIccis cared about her, and some of her friends at work cared about her. But when it grows dark in the last hour before bedtime, when the wearies of the day sweep over, and when the sound of the clock ticking is almost deafening, this is the moment when the devil offers up only despair while Jesus offers hope.
For Anna knew that Jesus watched over her, and she demanded that the feeling leave her – and it did.
Lunch with Mr. Collins –
Mr. Collins was a no-nonsense man at lunch. He was portly and enjoyed a good sandwich as well as at least three cups of coffee AND dessert. Anna smiled at him because he was someone impossible not to like.
“Look Anna, this is a tricky balancing act, this center. Five different churches, five directions of funding, one fundraising arm, and kids who need our attention and help. Keeping the place going is all about the funding, no matter how good of a job we do in programming or anything else. The board has decided on a slate of employees that we need to have full-time. The one best suited for you is the one of Director of Finance. I’ll have a job description for you by next week. It is the Board that will approve all hiring, so they will interview you at length. What do you think?” Mr. Collins said after he’d polished off the apple pie.
“This is actually what I was hoping for,” Anna said. “I have an accounting background, of course, and now the CPA but I also have strong links to investment people who might even be willing to provide the center with free help in that department. Of course, with the board’s approval. I don’t mind helping with the fundraising as long as I’d get some help.”
“I think that can be arranged. Of course, the programming staff at the center would work on fundraisers, and we’d get the kids to help too. I don’t think that would be taking advantage of them, because they would be the direct beneficiaries,” Mr. Collins explained.
“I agree completely,” Anna said. “And that’s where the Kentucky trip experience would likely come into play.”
After lunch, Anna was so tired at work that she nodded off in front of her computer monitor a couple of times. She made a mental note to call the doctor’s office for an appointment. This was no time to run out of energy.
On the way home she struggled with herself to avoid the center site, and she went straight home. When she pulled into the driveway, she was shocked to see John’s truck there. He was just getting out of the truck.
“Hi Anna!” John called out. “How are you?”
Anna parked alongside of the truck and got out. “I’m doing well. So what brings you to this part of town?”
John laughed. “Oh, I got off work a little early today and thought I’d double check on that leak. Have you been watching under the sink?”
“You know, I honestly forgot about it. I haven’t checked since you were over here,” Anna admitted.
“Well, let’s just take a quick look, okay?”
John followed Anna into the house and he headed right for the sink. He looked underneath and seemed pleased. “Dry as a bone,” he said.
“John, I saw you at church last Sunday,” Anna blurted out.
“Oh, you did? I usually sit near the back so Katie doesn’t bother anyone. She loves to make mouth noises at her age,” he said smiling. “I didn’t realize that you attend St. Joseph’s.”
“Yes, I started back to church about six months ago. Katie is adorable,” Anna said.
“Well, that was a good decision and yep, Katie’s a cutie. Melts the heart. She’s starting to talk pretty well already. My sister-in-law is really good with kids,” John said. “Matter of fact, I’d better hit the road because my sister-in-law has to take her own kids somewhere tonight.”
“Well, it was awfully kind of you to stop by, John,” Anna said. “I appreciate it so much.”
John headed out the door toward the car and called back, “See you at church.”
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