"Do you want to play with us?" Ethan said, looking eager.
"No, dummy. Don't ask him to play with us. If he stays, Mom's never gonna have lunch ready."
Mark laughed at Aiden trying to whisper to his brother.
"I'd love to play with you guys, but maybe some other time. I have some other visits I need to make today."
"That's your job?" Aidan asked. Apparently it was okay for him to talk to the pastor—it was just Ethan who got in trouble.
"It actually is. It's my job to go around and visit people, and to talk to them about Jesus, or anything else they want to talk about. And to see how I can help them."
"And you get paid for that?" Ethan said, his eyes wide.
Mark chuckled. "It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" He almost went into how he worked for God and not for man, but while the kids seemed to be pretty intelligent for four-year-olds, he didn't want to hold up their lunch any longer than necessary. In fact, he was getting a little hungry himself. "I won't hold you up anymore. Maybe Mom will get lunch on the table if I scoot out of here."
"I'm hungry," Aidan said in a little voice that mimicked his own.
"I bet you are. Although, you don't have to take a nap after lunch, do you?"
"Not if Mom doesn't remember," Aiden said, looking at his mom over Mark's shoulder, as though he were hoping that she didn't hear him.
"All right. Well, have a good day, and hopefully no naps."
The boys waved bye and went back to their playing as Mark straightened and walked toward the door into the shop.
"Nice kids," he said. Meaning it. They were mature for their age, and polite, although still children, and still human.
"Thanks. You're good with them," Olivia said, and his heart warmed. He didn't think he was particularly great with children, but Olivia's compliment seemed sincere, and he'd take it.
"Thanks." He couldn't think of anything else to say, and really did have a couple of other visits he wanted to make. A few other items of business he wanted to get settled before he went to the meeting the next night.
"Take care. I'm sure I'll see you around. Thanks for chatting with me today."
"No problem. See ya."
There was a lot about Olivia that intrigued him, and he hoped that he would continue to get to know her.
Chapter 6
The clanging of bells as the children’s bell choir practiced downstairs with Noah gave the church meeting room a festive, happy holiday vibe, as if the wreaths hanging over the crosses weren't enough.
Mark glanced around at the chairs that had been arranged in a circle. Mrs. Tucker was busy bustling around getting everything ready and welcoming everyone, like she was the self-appointed greeter.
Maybe there was some rule that said that she was supposed to greet everyone. Mark really didn't know. This was his first ever church meeting here in Mistletoe Meadows.
It had felt like a whirlwind since he had started, with him trying to make sure that he was able to visit every member of his congregation, and not just for his new position as pastor.
He might as well use what he had been given to make sure that everyone was well taken care of for Christmas, because with his Secret Saint activities, he had more avenues of finding out who needed help.
Immediately, Olivia came to mind. But what could he do for her?
He glanced down at the agenda that Mrs. Tucker had passed out. Number one was talking about the candles for the Christmas Eve candlelight service.
From what he understood, Pastor Johnson had always gotten the candles from Olivia, and now he wondered if maybe that wasn't because Pastor Johnson knew that Olivia could use the money. And she was too proud to ask for help, or even accept it.
"Everyone's here. You can call the meeting to order. Noah will slip in after all of the children have left his music class. But it's not supposed to end for another fifteen minutes or so." Mrs. Tucker smiled at him, speaking in a low voice, like they were conspiring together.
He nodded his head, and even though Mrs. Tucker seemed like she could be an overbearing kind of person, he appreciated her organization and the energy that she put into helping. So many churches had a ton of members, but only a few who actually did anything to help the church.
