Chapter Twenty-One
Marshall
I left the bakery feeling a renewed surge of hope. Lori and Sam weren’t going to pay the money the church was demanding; Sean would see to that. I’d never heard of a situation where a small-business owner had to pay tens of thousands of dollars just to stay in the same place. The pastor and his lawyer were counting on our ignorance of the law to confuse and frustrate us. They didn’t realize we had a friend who was well-versed in legal matters.
As I sped down the Ash River Road toward the lumberyard, even the rain couldn’t dampen my spirits. Lori didn’t seem to be harboring any lingering animosity toward me as a result of our date on Saturday. Whatever shyness she had been feeling when I came into the room quickly subsided as we began talking. Best of all, now I had a real chance to help her out. It was the sort of opportunity that doesn’t come around often, and I was determined to use it.
When I arrived in the yard, I found Sean sitting out in the rain, straddling a piece of lumber like a cowboy would. His grandfather had flung open the window of his office and was yelling obscenities at him. I added my own voice to the clamor. “Sean, will you knock it off? This is idiotic!”
Sean glared down at me as if he hadn’t seen me until that moment. “What’s gotten into you this morning? Can’t a man have a bit of fun?”
“Get down from there and dry off. I’ve got something serious we need to talk about.”
With a reluctant groan, Sean climbed down off the log and followed me into the office, knocking over his grandfather’s chess board in the process.
“How are things with the girl?” he asked me, once their argument had subsided. “Did you ever figure out what was wrong?”
“No, but it’s not important at the moment. Her business is in some financial and possibly legal trouble, and we need you to straighten it out.”
Sean looked perplexed, as if no one had ever looked to him for help before and he wasn’t sure he was up to the challenge. Briefly, I brought him up to speed on Lori’s meeting with the lawyer and the church’s demand for $70,000 by the end of the month. “They’re not happy about it. Even if they could pay the fee, which they can’t, they’re not interested in giving money to a man who once called Barack Obama ‘the forerunner of the Antichrist.’”
“I can’t imagine why not,” said Sean sarcastically. “Did you bring the papers?”
“Yeah, here.” I reached into my back pocket and handed them over.
Sean pulled out his glasses and scanned the top page. “It’s going to take me at least a couple hours to look over this. If you’re up for grabbing dinner tonight, we can talk about it at Montreux…”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll pay.” I texted Lori to let her know we would have an answer by the next day. I asked her if she and her sister wanted to meet for dinner on the following night. Under the circumstances, I didn’t think she would mind.
She texted back within a few minutes: Yeah, we’d love that! :)
I stared hard at the text for a moment, wondering whether the emphasis was on the “we” and if she was trying to signal that this wasn’t a date. I thought about texting and clarifying, but decided in the end that that would only make things more awkward.
Sean’s grandfather, meanwhile, was fuming about SCHOP.
“I never did like those guys,” he said. “They’re always coming in asking for favors and then trying to get out of paying. I’ve never had that problem with members of any other churches, just theirs. I can always tell a SCHOPper because they have a dead-eyed, zombie look and because they try to stiff me.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard nothing but complaints about them,” said Sean. “I heard they believe there’s going to be a second civil war in America, and only a ‘righteous remnant’ are going to survive it. Their pastor looks like Moses in blue jeans and is one of those annoying patriot types who are always screaming about their Second Amendment rights. He claims to have visited heaven on three different occasions and been handed a shotgun by Paul the Apostle.”
“How can anyone follow somebody like that?” I asked in a tone of distaste. “Obviously none of that is true.”
“I don’t know, man. There’s no idea so ridiculous that it can’t find followers. Anyway, I’m sure if we really thought about it we’d realize that we’ve believed some pretty dumb things in our time.”
“Sure, when we were kids. But you grow up and come out of it eventually. Hopefully.”
I sank down into a swivel chair, still puzzling over Lori’s text and the folly of man. Sensing my unease, Sean repeated his first question. “I take it you and Lori made up? Perhaps even… made out?”
“We didn’t go that far, but we’re doing better.” Reaching down, I picked up a rook off the floor and set it in its place on the chess board. “I don’t think I realized how worried I was until I went in there to see her. It feels like I’ve been holding my breath all weekend and I’ve only now let it out. You want to hear something crazy?”
“Always,” said Sean, his eyes bright.
“I actually went by the library this morning.”
“Are you kidding me?” He looked simultaneously pleased and horrified. “Did you actually check out a book?”
“Yes, I checked out several. Got myself a library card and everything. I liked the atmosphere of the place. It was quiet, and it felt strangely comforting to be surrounded by all those books, all that knowledge. I can almost see what it is Lori loves about them.”
Sean shook his head, aghast. “I don’t know if I like the effect this girl is having on you—but it’s clear she’s having an effect!”