“Yeah. Me too. And…” Georgia leaned in close and mock whispered in her ear, “I heard that there are cookies for dessert! You don’t also like cookies, do you?”
The little girl’s eyes widened and she nodded excitedly. She looked at her mother. “Can I have cookies too, Mommy?”
“Yeah, baby.” The woman, clearly exhausted but thankful, gave her little girl the sweetest of smiles and celebrated along with her. “I can’t wait for cookies!”
Georgia stood up and made a silly face at the toddler in the mother’s arms. “You’re a little sweetie too, aren’t you? Let’s get y’all some cookies, then. May I?” She reached her arms out to the mother, offering to help carry the child. With a look of utter disbelief and then relief, she handed her baby over to Georgia. Georgia gave her a look of understanding and led them inside.
“Now,” she said as they walked along a narrow hallway, “wearegonna get those cookies, but first, your mama can talk to a really,reallynice person who will see if we can help y’all out some more, okay?” The kids nodded silently, and their mother, too, remained quiet but followed Georgia to the room where families were able to meet social services volunteers privately.
When Georgia opened the door, she found Lakeland Lovett waiting to greet them. Only, it wasn’t the frazzled Lakeland Lovett she’d seen an hour before in basketball shorts and a well-worn University of Georgia shirt, effortlessly casual but flustered by his predicament. No. The Lakeland shocking her system now looked professional. His hair, perfectly mussed, and wearing a pair of jeans and a button down shirt. Lake didn’t seem at all surprised to see her. In fact, the look of pure shock on Georgia’s face caused little disturbance in Lake’s as he strode to meet them, shaking hands with the mother first, learning her name was Anna, and then bending down to speak to her eldest child, just as Georgia had.
“And who do we have here?” He offered her a high five, which she gladly accepted.
“My name’s Roni. I’m six and three quarters, and my birthday is in April. I love dogs and cats, and one day I’m going to be an animal doctor so I can help dogs and cats… and other animals too, I guess.” Roni looked at Lake with a wide smile, clearly enchanted with him.
“Wow!” He sat on the ground, legs crossed, and Roni sat in front of him. “That sounds like a really fun job! My name is Lake.” He gestured to Georgia, “And this is my friend, Ms. Georgia. We aren’t doctors, but we do try to help people.”
Georgia could barely respond with a smile, still stunned with Lake's presence in the room—in the building—and the ease in which he spoke to Anna and Roni.
Roni scrunched her eyebrows. “Lake is a weird name.”
“Veronica! That’s not kind.” Anna looked down on her daughter, fighting between a smile and scowl.
Lake continued, though, unaffected, “It is a weird name. You’re right. Veronica isn’t though. That’s a really pretty name.”
“RONI,”she corrected.
Lake smiled and pulled gently on a loose curl hanging from her head.
“Roni. Of course. Well, Roni, I am gonna sit and talk to your mama for just a really, really short time, okay? You can stay here and play with your sister. Ms. Georgia and I heard that if you look underneath that Christmas tree,” he gestured towards the lightly decorated tree in the corner of the room, “you might find a present under itJUSTfor you…”
“And for Meggie?” she interrupted and looked at her sister, who still sat happily in Georgia’s frozen arms.
“Of course. Meggie has a special gift, too.” He winked, affectionately pulled her curl again, then stood.
“You alright, Ms. Georgia?” he asked with a knowing smile. Georgia nodded without speaking and fought against a sudden onset of tears.Who was he? Why didn’t he tell her he was coming here all along? And how very wrong had she been about Lake?Lake gave her a single nod then gently led Anna to a small table nearby where she could watch her children and receive counseling.
As Georgia played with the two sisters and the other children that followed the first family, she felt not only the sting of her earlier judgments against Lake but also the warmth of watching him serve so wholeheartedly. He seemed to really love those he encountered, a look of genuine peace and understanding across his face with every family he greeted and every parent he counseled. It was a confusing contrast to the Lake she’d been hurt by.
Georgia found herself praying for each and every family and child she met, by name. She prayed the small gifts, hospitality, the warm meal, and Lake’s aid information might make a difference in their lives. That God would use that day—their interactions—to further His kingdom.
With the help of other volunteers and Evan, who’d met them there, Georgia shuffled the youth back onto the bus that evening after a full day of serving the community. But before he could leave too quickly again, Georgia jogged to Lake’s car, parked across the lot. Slung across his chest was a well-used cloth computer bag, which she now knew was filled with paperwork and resources. He dug around inside for his keys as she approached.
“Hey.” She stopped just in front of him, hoping she could clear the air.
He grabbed his keys and clicked the fob, unlocking his truck. “Hi, Peaches.”
“Umm.. hi.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You already said that.”
“Right… I did. Umm…” She fumbled with her own keys, although her car was miles away outside the city. Her hands twisted and then subsequently dropped the keys on the ground. They both grabbed for them, nearly knocking heads when Lake picked them up first and stood too quickly with Georgia so close to him.
“You’re kind of a mess right now, ya know?” he laughed and tilted his head, studying her with a hint of concern. “What’s up? Something on your mind? Ya tired? Sick? Do you need a little light verbal sparring before the drive home.”
“You…” She swallowed an instinctual sarcastic reply. “You never said anything about… well, that you’re in social work now.”
He looked at her unabashed. “You never asked.”
