Part 28
Sunday morning Anna went to church as usual. The music was particularly beautiful because their choir included several of her favorite Christmas hymns, including Silent Night. Fr. Jim talked about how life throws us curve balls and how we have to understand that we don’t get to write the script for our own story. We have to let go and trust God to be the author of our life’s plan. The message hit Anna hard and she remained deep in thought during Communion and during the closing hymn as well.
She walked out to her car, being careful of the slippery spots in the parking lot and she saw that John was standing by her car.
“Hi Anna,” John said. “I’m just parked right over there,” he said motioning to the next row of cars. Anna could see Katie’s little head in the backseat.
“Hi John. How are you doing?” Anna asked.
“Good … good. I was wondering. Would you like to go over to that great little donut shop down the way and have some coffee and donuts with Katie and me?” John asked.
“Okay, that sounds really good. I didn’t have anything to eat this morning,” Anna answered.
John opened the door for Anna and then he walked around to his side. He wasn’t driving his truck, but rather a small green sedan.
As though God was smiling on them, there was a parking place right in front of the donut shop and John opened her door for her, then retrieved Katie from her child seat and they went in. Katie immediately knew what was going on.
“Dow-nut,” she said clearly. “Calkalot peas.”
Anna laughed. “She’s really getting a vocabulary, isn’t she?”
“For all of the wrong things,” John said. “She loves sweets. It drives Janet crazy.”
John got a tray and they picked out their donuts, then sat down. He retrieved the highchair that was against the wall and put it by their table. John got Katie some orange juice and he poured it into a sippy cut he had brought along. Then he got two steaming cups of coffee and brought those over.
“Oh, this tastes so good,” Anna said. “My feet were freezing in church.”
“You know, it was kind of nippy in there,” John answered. “And I usually don’t notice that kind of thing, working outside like I do sometimes.”
“How is the project going?” Anna asked.
“Really well. We’re getting a lot of cooperation and Mr. Collins is wonderful to work with. I think this thing is going to be something very special. They did their homework. They visited other centers around the country and hired a first-rate architect. You are going to be so impressed,” John said.
“Oh, it sounds perfect,” Anna said. “I can’t wait to start working there.”
“Wow. I didn’t realize that. You’re going to work at the center?” John asked.
“Yes, when Mrs. Licci told me about it, I started making inquiries and met with Mr. Collins. I passed the CPA exam and have been wanting to make a change for a long time now. Plus, it will be a couple of miles from my house versus driving into the city every day and paying for parking,” Anna said.
“That is awesome!” John said. “And by the way I must apologize for Christmas. That just wasn’t the way I wanted it to be at all. Janet said I’m way too polite sometimes.”
“Janet called me and I told her that it was fine. I was happy to spend some time with Katie and Janet’s kids, and of course, the Liccis. It was a beautiful dinner and your family is very special,” Anna said.
“But I couldn’t get away from that woman. Honestly, I tried. She was always one or two steps ahead of me,” John said. “You know … since my wife … we started dating about six years ago and I’m not used to …”
“It’s okay, John,” Anna answered.
“And she’s been calling me. Somehow she got my cell phone number,” John said. “And I’ve been ignoring her calls completely. Except for the other day when she called on another number and I there was no ID,” he said. “I finally got so annoyed, I told her not to call anymore.”
“That’s kind of pushy,” Anna said.
“I think so,” John said. “It’s way too pushy for me.”
Pretty soon the conversation switched from Tonya to the project again, and then to John’s hectic schedule.
Katie was so busy eating her chocolate donut that she was quiet and well behaved, but finally she ran out of patience.
“Done. Done,” she said.
Anna got out a wipe and cleaned up Katie’s hands and mouth.
“Okay, honey. Let’s get you ready to go then,” John said. He bundled her up in her coat and put on her winter hat. He opened the door for Anna and then managed to get Katie into the backseat on his side. They drove back to the parking lot where Anna’s car was the only one.
“Anna, thanks for having coffee with me. I really enjoyed it,” John said. “Adult conversation is very treasured.”
“It was great. I should be able to go home and almost be able to fly with the caffeine high. They really make it good and strong,” Anna said.
John laughed out loud. “Yeah, I have a little energy too. Once I get Katie down for her nap, I’ll start cleaning up the house and doing some laundry.”
Anna went home and put on some music while she did some ironing.
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