Pastor Bron let out a startled squawk and jumped up from the leather chair behind the desk. His hands clenched into fists that flew in front of him, ready.
It took him a second to recognize me. “Oh, Brooke.” He dropped his fists but continued standing. “You scared the hell out of me.”
I hadn’t been thinking when I tossed open the door, and consequently, I jumped in fright when Pastor Bron yelped. Since when had I gotten so rude? “I’m so sorry, Pastor Bron,” I stammered. “I wasn’t even thinking, I was so intent on getting here, I just walked on in.”
“That’s quite all right, my boy. No harm done. Now I don’t have to go running this evening. You just did my cardio workout for me.” I could see the rest of the tension leave his body as he sat back down. “I’m sorry you rushed over here. Brother Thomas isn’t here this morning. He and Sister Thomas went to Springfield for the day.”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you looking for Pastor Thomas? You were anxious enough to get into his office.”
“Oh, his office, of course. I wasn’t even thinking. No, I was looking for you. I just came here out of habit, I guess.”
He smiled at me kindly, like one does with a small child. “Then things worked out perfectly. This won’t be my office until the New Year, but Brother Thomas is kind enough to allow me to use it when it isunoccupied.” He motioned to one of the two armchairs across from the desk. “Come on in. Shut the door if you would like.”
I did and sat down. Now that I was in the office, my brain was slowing down enough to realize why I was here. I was getting nervous.
“Do you like Garfield, Brooke?”
“Excuse me, Pastor Bron?” I wasn’t hearing correctly. Very nervous. Maybe I should leave.
“Tyler.”
“Huh?”
He smiled a little more. “Tyler, please. Remember?”
“Oh yes, sorry. Tyler.”
“I prefer it in book form.” He held up a Garfield book that had been sitting in front of him. “I don’t think it’s as enjoyable one little strip at a time. Better as a whole. I was reading it when you came in. I had just gotten to one of his little segments when he talks to the spiders. Those are always my favorite ones. And the Christmas ones as well.”
I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or just trying to make me more at ease. Considering he had a Garfield book there, he was probably serious. Either way, I was feeling better. “I like those too. My favorites were always when he would try to convince Jon he was trying to kill the mouse, but they were actually friends.”
Tyler nodded. “Yes, those are fun too. However, it always bugs me that Garfield is friends with the mice, and sometimes the spiders, but always eats the fish and birds.”
“I guess I never thought of that. That does seem a little strange.” As did this conversation.
“I assume you didn’t come here to talk about Garfield, though, did you?”
I laughed. “No, I guess I didn’t.” The nerves came back full force.
He closed the Garfield book and pushed it to the side of his desk. He leaned forward, resting his weight on his hands folded in front of him. “I was expecting you, to be honest. Although I didn’t think it would be this soon.”
“You were?”
“Of course. I thought it was more than wishful thinking that you would be involved in the youth group. I am very pleased. I’m not used to having prayers answered so expediently.”
“You probably have Mandy to blame for that.”
His laugh was warm and soft. He glanced toward a picture on his desk. “Yes, she is remarkable. I think even the angels move faster for her.”
“Donnie seems to think so as well. And, from all I have seen so far, I would say he’s right.” I looked away from him, my eyes traveling over the office. “Although I would say the Devil has more to do with me being here than God.”
His head jerked back slightly. “That’s quite a statement.”
“Yes, well, I’m not completely clear on my motivation for seeking you out this morning. I suspect it is partly due to yesterday evening being a rather rough night.”
“I am sure you know that God works through hardship much more frequently than He does through mountaintop experiences.”
