Steeling herself for whatever news he had, she turned the lock and opened the door.
"Pastor. Come on in."
"Miss Olivia. Thank you."
"You don't have to call me Miss Olivia." She laughed, shaking her head as she shut the door.
"It's just a respect thing. But I won't if it makes you uncomfortable."
"I kind of feel like you might be younger than I am, so it feels odd."
"I think we're probably about the same age," Pastor Mark said, and then he looked away, as though he realized that was a personal topic and he felt like he shouldn't be discussing it.
"I assume you came for more than to talk about how old you are. Do you mind if I work while we chat?" she asked, going back over to the counter where she had been putting labels on the batch of candles that was cool.
"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, as though he had all of the time in the world.
"I was putting labels on this batch, and if you do that, then I can go over here and add the last ingredients to this wax and start dipping."
"Show me how, and I'm happy to help."
She gave him a look, and then shrugged. "All right."
She walked behind the counter, and he followed.
"Hey there, boys. Looks like you're eating blueberries. That's my favorite."
"Our favorite too!" Aidan said.
"But we'll share," Ethan said. It was funny how kids could come up with something that just made her feel like the proudest mom in the entire world. Her kid offered to share his favorite snack.
It looked a little bit like Aiden was trying to shush Ethan and give him a hard time for saying that, but hey, at least one of her boys was starting to learn some of the things that she had been teaching.
"I'm not hungry tonight, but thanks," Pastor Mark said, sounding totally at ease with her kids. She'd seen adults who seemed to melt into a muddled mess when they saw children, like somehow little kids scared them. Pastor Mark was not one of those people.
"You're pretty good with kids," she said casually as she picked up the labels that she'd printed on the computer.
"They seem to like me. I'm not sure why. I don't have any of my own."
"You're not married," she said casually, not digging for information, but she would've been surprised had he had any children, considering that he had no wife.
"That's true. No wife, no kids."
"But you have a mom," Aiden said, having gotten up and wandered over to see the newcomer.
"I used to. That's true. But she's in heaven now, along with my dad."
Olivia didn't say anything. He was kind of young to have lost both parents. She could relate a little, since she hadn't talked to her parents since they'd given her a hard time about marrying her husband.
"Do you have a twin?" Aiden asked, after Olivia had shown Pastor Mark how to put the labels on the jars.
It wasn't too uncommon for townspeople to help each other out, but... it felt a little weird that the pastor was in here. She wanted to ask how the meeting went. Maybe him coming in and offering to help was an attempt to soften the blow that she wasn't going to get the candle order today.
"Nope. No twin, no siblings."
"You're all alone in the world?" she asked, feeling like she could relate. Although her parents weren't dead. They just weren't talking to her.
"My church family has always been my family. I guess I just don't know it any other way. Maybe the idea that I don't have siblings and my parents are gone has helped me to stick closer to my church family. God has a way of working those things out."
