Creative Christianity: The Widow's Quest - Part 5
(This story and its previous parts are based on the story of the widow and the judge found in Luke 18:1-8. This is a fictional story with a world and characters built by me.)
Connie had been working for two hours on the old water heater, but she finally managed to find the problem. Several of the pipes had become clogged with mineral deposits and rust. It was amazing the pipes had not started leaking. She moved up the basement steps and found Rocky playing with Adam and the pups. She found Maribelle in the kitchen working on a pot of soup.
“That smells delicious!”
Maribelle smiled. “It was my mom’s recipe. It lasts a few days if we are careful. It’s not as rich as she used to make it, but…well…things are not as easy as they were when she was alive.”
Connie nodded her head. “A lot has happened in the last few decades. How long has she been gone?”
“About three years. She got the lung illness, and my dad was already gone. We tried the best we could to help her, but it finally took her.”
Connie wiped her dirty hands on a rag that Maribelle had given her and then put her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. It is never easy to lose a mother. Mine has been gone for almost twenty years, but I try to remember the good days we had together. Your mother was very fortunate to have you and your husband to help care for her.”
Maribelle nodded and seemed to brighten a bit. “I guess you are right. I never really looked at it that way. I only wish she would have lived long enough to meet Adam. He’s our future.”
Connie looked at the waning daylight out the window and realized she would not get to the Manor of Minward on this trip. She was going to have to return to the Rift by tomorrow morning, or Neopolo would send a few of his goons after her. It seemed ridiculous. She was nobody, but De Caro believed everyone in the Rift was his. If you went out, you came back, or you died.
Maribelle must have noticed her gaze out the window. “If you have to be going, I understand. It has been wonderful for Adam to have a few playmates for a while. Please don’t feel the need to stay.”
Connie turned, her mind already made up. “I’m not going anywhere, leastwise not until later tonight when I have to make my way back to the Rift. I found the problem with your water heater, all I need are a few clean pipes, and a torch. I already have solder and the other necessary tools. Usually at steam works they have torches for workers to use. Any ideas?”
“My husband, Lukas has a torch. He does metal work for the Hy-Breds. They like all them fancy fences and designs on their moving vehicles. I’m not sure about clean pipes. You could check at the church. They take in a lot of scrap stuff in trade for food. I’m pretty sure, it is just another way to get people in to hear their message.” She laughed.
“If you think Lukas would let me borrow his torch, then just point me in the right direction and I will go see if I can get the pipes I need for the job.”
“Oh, I am sure Lukas will be happy to loan you his torch in exchange for a hot shower. I’ll write the address of the church down for you. It’s just a few blocks away.”
“Do you mind if Rocky hangs out here while I’m gone?”
Maribelle peeked around the corner to where Adam was giggling and puppies were yapping. “Not at all. He’s the first babysitter I’ve had since Adam was born.”
* * * * *
The church was a solid, old structure built from brick, with large wooden doors and stained glass windows that still looked mostly intact. There were only a few open churches in the Rift, and they were barely hanging together. De Caro gleaned anything and everything shortly after he came into power. He wanted all the residents of the Rift to know they, and everything they had, belonged to him.
Connie saw a few people standing outside one of the sets of doors, so she moved in their direction.
“Excuse me, I was told I might be able to find some usable scrap materials here.”
A very large, dark skinned man gave her a stern look. “Who sent you?”
Connie had no idea who these people were and she wasn’t about to give them Maribelle and Lukas’ names, especially after they were being so kind to her.
“Well, I...as you can see I am a steamer, but I live in the Rift and often when I get sent to a job out here, I try to pick up a few odd jobs, just to help stretch the coin…I mean who can blame me…my name is Connie by the way. What is yours?”
The man looked a little unsettled by Connie’s friendly, matter-of-fact tone. He hesitated. Another voice from behind him said, “His name is Reggie, and he is being very rude.”
An older man stepped past Reggie and extended his hand towards her. “I’m Andreas Eastman. I help out around here when I have time.”
Connie took his hand and smiled at him. He was a nice looking man, and she suddenly felt mortified at how dirty her hands and everything else on her was. She quickly pulled her hand away and adjusted her hair behind her ear.
“What can we do for you?”
“Well, I am doing a job nearby on an old water heater and a few of the pipes need to be replaced.”
“Come on. I’ll show you where we keep the scrap metal.”
Connie followed Andreas into the church. They went through the sanctuary where a small group huddled together with their heads bowed. They came to a hallway which led past several rooms and what looked and smelled like a kitchen. Connie’s stomach growled. Eventually they went through another outer door into a small yard. Taking up about one fourth of it was an area filled with all sorts of metal, wood and other material scarps.
“Wow! This is impressive, and everything is so well organized.”
Andreas chuckled. “We do a lot with volunteers. It’s our way of trying to keep people off the streets. It gives them a place and a purpose. The scrap is here for locals to purchase.”
Connie felt her heart sink. “I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of money.”
Andreas smiled at her warmly. “Oh, you misunderstand. When I say purchase I mean barter. People can stay for a message, help in the kitchen, even do some cleaning. No currency is ever exchanged. Around here that is hard to come by.”
Connie still felt wary. She didn’t have much time.
Andreas seemed to sense her hesitation. “I overheard you say you are from the Rift. You are a ways from home aren’t you?”
Connie nodded, but didn’t speak. She was feeling overwhelmed.
“Listen, I am aware of how it works. I have a few friends in the Rift. You have a time limit. Did you get all your legitimate business finished?”
Connie felt herself coming unhinged. She was so tired of carrying this burden alone. “Well, I…I actually didn’t have legitimate business. My work papers were forged. I was on my way to the Manor of Minward. I expected to be there and back before my time was up. I didn’t know I would meet an orphan, a mother pup and her babies and a family who needed a little help…”
She looked up at Andreas and noticed his light eyes looking at her intently. “Why were you going to the Manor of Minward?”
Connie took a deep breath and stood a little straighter. She was not going to be deterred in her efforts. “I am going to talk to the Lord of the Manor. He needs to do something about the Rift. People are living in squalor and Neopolo De Caro needs to be taken down!”
As soon as it came out of her mouth, Connie worried that she had said too much. How did she know that the “friends” this man had inside the Rift weren’t a part of DeCaro’s mob?
“Look,” she started. “You don’t need to worry. I’m not going to hurt anyone. I’m just one person who would like to make a difference. You get that, right?”
Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay
Andreas smiled. “Yes. All of us who are at this church want to make a difference.”
"Why don’t you just let me scrounge through the scrap, tell me how to pay and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Sure! Have a look. When you are done you’ll need to talk to our pastor. He’ll tell you how you can pay.”
Connie nodded then slipped past Andreas and began scouring the scrap pile. She found several pieces she thought would work, plus a few flexible stainless steel pieces with the appropriate attachment ends. She was delighted by that find. When she was finished she made her way back into the church.
She was just going to step back into the sanctuary when Andreas called to her from down the hall. “Connie?”
She turned and he motioned her to follow. She moved down the hall and saw him slip into a doorway a few feet further on.
When she stepped inside she took a sharp breath. Sitting in a chair on one side of the desk was a man she assumed to be the pastor. Across from him sat the guard from the first check point in the Rift.
“Hey there, Sunshine!”
