(Hi Readers! There's a good chance that I won't post tomorrow, but start again Thursday. I'm going to Fairview Park for my 50th high school class reunion committee meeting tonight. And staying over at my sister's into Wednesday. So see you Thursday for more adventures of Anna.)
Part 35
It is often noted that those of us on earth, after having an encounter with a heavenly creature, are never the same. So it was with John.
Anna noticed a difference almost at once. When she picked him up from the hospital the next morning, he was pretty chipper for a guy with cracked ribs. He got into her car with a few grunts and groans and she drove him straight to his house.
The night before, Anna had made John some homemade chicken noodle soup. The temperatures in Ohio were still pretty chilly and she thought it might taste good to him. So after John got himself situated on the couch, supported with a couple of cushions, she brought him one of those portable table trays and started heating up the soup.
“Oh, my gosh, that smells so good. Why is it that everyone makes chicken noodle soup?” John laughed. “But for me that’s a good thing. It’s one of my favorites.”
Anna found a soup spoon and she put some crackers on a plate and then asked him what he wanted to drink.
“Good, hot black coffee,” John said.
“Coffee it is, then,” Anna said, pretending to salute. “You’ve got to be miserable. You are in such a good mood for what you’ve been through.”
“I can’t explain it. Life is good. Life is so precious. When I was falling, so many things came into my mind. You, Katie, Janet, God, everyone I love,” he said. “I’m grateful to be in this good of shape.”
“Did the doctor talk to you this morning before I came?” Anna asked.
“Yeah, he did. And he said again that he could not figure out how I wasn’t more seriously hurt. He kept asking me – what broke your fall? I told him what I told you – that it felt like someone caught me. He just stared at me like I was nuts,” John said laughing.
Anna stayed for a couple of hours with John. He kept telling her he was okay on his own, but she stayed until she was sure he could get up and make it to the bathroom on his own.
“Wow, you are such a stubborn woman,” John said, slowly walking down the hall to the bathroom, shaking his head. “And I thought Janet was bad.”
When Janet heard the story of John’s accident, she cried. Anna had called her to tell her about it.
“Oh, that’s unbelievable!” Janet said. “John has always been a little distant from everything in the church. He did the basics, went to Mass and received the sacraments, but he just didn’t really express his faith much. My sister used to worry about him. When she got sick, she really worried because she was afraid that when she died, John would get angry at God and quit going to church. She worried about Katie in that sense too. I always reassured her, saying that John would find his way to God in a deeper sense,” Janet said. “And today my prayers have been answered.”
Two days later John was back at work. He said the guys couldn’t believe it. The ladder he fell from was still leaning against the wall. He looked at it – a 20 foot ladder – and just stared for the longest time.
His ribs were hardly bothering him at all. He was so happy to get back into his routine.
The grand opening was just two weeks away, and everyone was working almost nonstop to put the finishing touches on everything. Counters were installed in the kitchen and at the front desk. The walls were freshly painted and a couple of art students came and painted a mural. Carpets were laid. Exercise equipment was delivered. Desks and chairs were still in boxes, waiting for the study area to be ready for them.
The food had already been ordered, as well as some flowers for the front desk, and Anna had ordered colorful balloons to be placed all about. Each child that visited would take one home.
Mrs. Ferguson, the woman who was going to be their front desk employee, was already getting her hands dirty in the preparations. Anna had signed up several women from the different churches to help Mrs. Ferguson on grand opening day. They learned how to fill out the forms, and getting closer to the date once the computers were installed, they would know how to help Mrs. Ferguson with that too.
High school students were acting as tour guides. Several students from the school were already working with the exercise science employee and athletic trainer on some demonstrations that they would put on, showing how the rooms would be used.
A local landscape company with close ties to St. Joseph’s donated shrubbery, bushes, trees and flowers for the front of the building. They were busy out front with piles of top soil, mulch, and the materials to be planted. The front walkway was already done and the file entry too. The parking lot was still a muddy mess, but the asphalt was going to be installed in just two days.
It was coming together very well, although Anna felt stressed and tired. She was seeing a lot of John, but most of it in the work setting. One evening after work, she was surprised when John showed up at her house.
“What are you doing here?” Anna said.
“Well, last time I checked, someone special to me is living here and maybe needed a hug,” he said.
John held Anna for a long time, neither one of them saying a word.
“I love you, Anna,” John said.
“And I love you, John.”
The Big Event
The day of the open house finally came. The place sparkled thanks to a thorough cleaning the night before by scores of volunteers. The work was done and now all Anna had to do was more or less watch it all unfold. A powerpoint slide program was looping in the gym area so that everyone could see what the site looked like as the building came up from the ground.
Neighboring businesses sent more flowers and one sent a huge tray of candy. Congratulatory notes from the church pastors were framed on one wall that also featured many of the donors. John’s business was on there, since he offered a reduced rate for his work on this particular project.
All of the construction workers were invited, as was the architect and the various trade laborers. At ten o’clock when the doors opened, the place was humming with activity. TV news cameras were taking shots outside and then came inside for more footage. Anna was documenting the open house herself with a good camera that she owned.
Mr. and Mrs. Licci came by and stayed for a little bit. They thought it was great. Janet brought her own children and Katie at right around lunch. They were serving pasta and salad to anyone who wanted some. John thought to bring Katie’s high chair along and so she sat with her cousins and enjoyed herself and her lunch. When she saw Anna, she smiled widely and proclaimed as she gestured with her index finger, “Kiki.”
It was an exhausting but a terrific day all told. Only a few little wrinkles popped up. One plug wasn’t working so they had to move the projector to another location. There were still a few spots that needed to be touched up on the walls, but John said that all of the work would be done by Monday.
The TV news reporters interviewed Anna, then John and some of the construction workers, and of course, Mr. Collins and all of the board members were on hand at various times during the day.
The Center would officially open on Monday. The following Sunday was Easter.
Janet and the kids all went home. The place started quieting down by 5:00 p.m. and close was set at 5:30. The caterer began cleaning up the tables and the kitchen area.
John motioned toward a table and Anna went and sat down with him. Her legs and feet were aching and she grabbed some pain reliever out of her purse and took some with a swig of punch. John had some decaf coffee.
“So you start on Monday?” John asked.
“Yes, Monday at around 8:00 a.m. The Center will open every afternoon on school days, all day on Saturdays, but we will be closed on Sundays and all major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. At some point, we may have some early morning events, but for right now, this is how it is shaping up,” Anna answered. “What are you going to be doing?”
“I’ve got another job starting up Monday. It’s another commercial job, a renovation in Addleford. You might have heard of the old department store that’s been closed for years?” John asked.
“Oh, yes. I went there with my mother when I was a child. That should be really interesting,” Anna said.
“Should be. So do you think that you and me will be able to find some time together now that this project is done?” John asked.
“YES! I am going to keep regular hours. No more of this crazy stuff,” Anna said.
“What about tomorrow?” John asked.
“Well, there’s church …,” Anna said.
“And then there’s after church?”
“Sure, that would be fine. I’d like that a lot,” Anna said.
“I’ll be bringing Katie to church with me and then I’ll drop her off at Janet’s house. Janet’s oldest girl has been really helping a lot, and taking a lot of the burden off of Janet. She loves Katie to come over,” he said.
“There’s got to be a reason why teenagers are such good babysitters,” Katie said laughing. “I spent enough time at it.”
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