Still, she hadn't had a chance to talk to the pastor, since he had been surrounded by people once the service was over and sheneeded to get downstairs because she taught Sunday school and needed to be in her classroom.
She was sure she would be introduced to the pastor at some point, and hoped that she would have enough presence about her to ask about the candle order.
She didn't want to sound desperate, but she also needed to know if she needed to sell more candles some other way, or whether she could depend on the church to be business as usual.
"Mommy? Is it almost time for lunch?"
She looked down at Aiden. The kid seemed to always be hungry. Ethan, on the other hand, had to be coaxed to eat sometimes.
It showed in their physiques too, with Aiden being husky and with chubby baby cheeks, while Ethan was slightly slimmer and just looked a little less healthy to her.
Not that he was sick all the time—far from it—but as a mom, she worried a bit. She really couldn't afford for either one of them to get sick anyway. Or herself. An ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure in that regard, so she tried to be careful.
"I just have about forty-five minutes more work to do. You two can get the crackers that are on the shelf behind you, and you can munch on them while you're playing with your trucks on the floor if you'd like."
He nodded eagerly, and then ran to the shelf to grab the crackers.
She didn't like to let her kids eat too many snacks, but sometimes when she was working, she didn't have a choice.
The bell rang, indicating someone had stepped into the shop. She was open, but didn't typically have too many customers this early in the morning, so she didn't hesitate to work in the back room.
She couldn't see the door from where she stood, so she just called, "Go ahead and look around. I'll be out in a minute!"
There were footsteps, and then a voice made her glance up.
"If it's okay, I actually came to talk to you. I'll just stand here?"
It took her a moment to recognize the new pastor. He looked a little different when he wasn't wearing a suit and tie. He had onjeans and a sweatshirt and looked very casual. More casual than Pastor Johnson ever did.
"Did Mrs. Tucker approve that outfit?"
She could've slapped a hand over her mouth after she said that. Maybe the new pastor didn't have a sense of humor.
But he laughed. "She does have a lot to say about what goes on in the church, and I'm guessing she has just as much to say about what goes on in the town. But I could be wrong."
"No, you're exactly right. She's a great lady, though. She watches my children on occasion, and is always first in line to cook a meal if we're under the weather. I love her, but I'm pretty sure she would shake her head at what you're wearing right now."
"I see. Well, maybe I'll have to talk with her and explain that my wardrobe might not be up to her standards."
"You can do so at your own peril," she said with an exaggerated shudder.
She really did love Mrs. Tucker to death, and didn't mean anything unkind. Mrs. Tucker would be the first to say that she liked to see people dress in what she called an old-fashioned way, where they were still fairly formal for today's society.
"She gave me a little bit of grief when she saw that I had worn jeans to church on Sunday, and I guess it's a good thing I realized I wore my apron and got it removed before she saw me, or I might've gotten in trouble for that too."
"I saw you in your apron. So now I have blackmail material I can hold over your head. I think I'll tuck that in my back pocket for when I might need it."
She looked up at him, her mouth open, and then realized he was joking. But it was still a little shocking, since he was a pastor. She wasn't used to a pastor having a sense of humor.
"All right, I'll remember that and watch my p's and q's around you."
She straightened out the wick, and then said, "Is it okay if I continue to work while we talk?"
"Sure. I didn't want to interrupt you. But I saw you come into church... Although I didn't know it was you until you mentioned wearing your apron. Then I put the two together."
"I guess I made quite a first impression," she said, laughing to herself a bit. Of course he remembered the person who came in late wearing a work apron.
"Twins, right?" He nodded at the boys playing on the floor in the corner. They were used to people coming in and out of the shop, and Aiden especially could be quite friendly. But other times they didn't even notice where there were people around.
