His Uptown Girl. Gail Sattler

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      The words were out of his mouth before he had the chance to think. “You’re more than welcome to come and worship with us one Sunday. It’s a very contemporary service, and the crowd is very informal. Sunday evenings we have coffee and donuts after the service.”

      Her eyes widened even more than they had before. “Coffee and donuts? At church?”

      “Uh, yeah…” He let his voice trail off, not knowing how to reply. Her surprise told him that she hadn’t been a Christian very long.

      “I’d love to go. Thank you so much for inviting me. Can you write down the address?”

      Warnings about not mixing business with pleasure clanged through his head. George had done well today, but today was only one day. If her skills and abilities didn’t mesh with what they needed, and if he became too friendly with her, it would cloud his ability to make a rational judgment when her probationary period was over. That clashed with his duty toward her fledgling Christianity, which included widening her Christian circles. He couldn’t very well take back his invitation.

      He scribbled down the address for Faith Community Fellowship. “Would you like directions? It’s actually not far from here.”

      She scooped the paper up quickly. “That’s okay. I’m sure I can find it. I can hardly wait.”

      He pictured the way most people dressed for church, compared to the way George had been dressed when she first arrived that morning.

      A newcomer was always noticed, especially during the evening service. A newcomer, coming with him, dressed to the nines, would be almost newsworthy enough to make the bulletin. He wouldn’t hear the end of it for months.

      “Just one thing. Like I said, it’s really informal there. Please, wear jeans.”

      “It’s Sunday night. Where are you going?”

      Georgette smiled at her father. “I’m meeting a friend from work. Then we’ll be having coffee and donuts. Don’t wait up for me! Bye, Daddy!”

      She closed the door behind her before her father could question her further. Every day, he became increasingly irritated at the lack of details she provided him about her job, but she didn’t know what to tell him. Her clothes on the first day, suitable for work in an office, let him initially believe what he wanted to believe. But the questions became more and more insistent, and she’d finally told her father she was working as an assistant for two gentleman entrepreneurs in a limited partnership. She had told him her primary job was working in the accounting department, but part of her duties involved customer service.

      He watched her leave daily, openly showing displeasure that she was going to work. However, at the same time, he seemed proud that she dressed well. He’d even noticed her new bright-red nail polish, and asked if it was because she was trying to attract a man.

      Georgette detested wearing nail polish. She did it to hide the grease she couldn’t get out from under her fingernails. She took the nail polish off on the way to work, while sitting in traffic, then put it back on, on the way home.

      She knew Bob wondered why she arrived at work every day dressed to impress and then changed clothes, but she found herself caught in a cycle she couldn’t break. In order to make the long drive across town and be on time, she had to leave before her father. She couldn’t let him see her leaving the house wearing anything other than what his preconceived ideas told him she should be wearing.

      So the household staff wouldn’t have to lie for her, Georgette changed back into her good clothes in the gas station washroom on the way home. But, once at home, she changed in order to work on the old truck in the garage, so her father wouldn’t wonder why she smelled like oil at supper time.

      Instead of confronting her father, she was acting like a coward.

      She pushed that thought aside as she pulled into the parking lot of a well-cared-for building that looked as if it had once housed some kind of small business. Inside, everything had been renovated and decorated in neutral shades of greens and browns, giving the place a welcoming atmosphere. Signs indicated that classrooms and a gymnasium were downstairs. As she stepped forward, soft music from the worship team echoed in the background.

      A couple welcomed her as they gave her a bulletin.

      “Welcome to Faith Community Fellowship. My name is Kaitlyn,” the woman said, smiling. “Are you new to the area?”

      Georgette smiled back. “No, I actually don’t live near here. I’m here with Bob Delanio, except he had to come early.”

      The woman’s eyebrows arched. She quickly glanced at the man she was with, then turned back to Georgette. “Then you’ll want to go in right now, so you can find a seat close to the front. Would you like me to show you where to go?”

      Georgette shook her head. “I’ll just follow the music. Thanks.”

      As she’d said, Georgette followed the music until she was in the sanctuary where Bob, two other men and a woman were at the front.

      Georgette slid into a chair, and surreptitiously she checked the place out. It was nothing like the church she’d been attending.

      Even though she felt strange, she had worn jeans because Bob had told her to do so. Now she was glad she’d listened to him. Everyone was wearing either jeans or casual clothes. Not a single man wore a tie, including a man she thought might be the pastor.

      Instead of a stately sanctuary with stained-glass windows and wooden benches, this sanctuary was a large rectangular room. A large opening in the wall showed a kitchen, which indicated that the sanctuary also doubled as a banquet hall. But for now, a single, plain wooden cross at the front, and banners on the walls clearly defined it as a church setting.

      Most of the people in attendance were her age, except for a large group of teens, who took up at least a quarter of the seats in the back.

      At the church she’d been going to, everyone was solemn, and once inside the sanctuary, silent.

      Here, all around her, people talked and even laughed. Out loud.

      “Hello, everyone!” a voice boomed from the speakers mounted on the walls. “Welcome to Faith Community Fellowship. Please stand and let’s worship God together.”

      Georgette hustled to her feet. To her surprise, the first song was from one of her praise CDs that her father hadn’t managed to find and throw out.

      She forced herself not to watch Bob, and to pay attention to the words.

      Until now, the only time she’d actually sung God’s praises out loud was in the closed car, but here things were different. The enthusiasm of the crowd around her encouraged her to ignore her father’s warnings not to make a spectacle of herself. Here, she joined in with the rest of the congregation to praise God in song. Being able to express herself out loud among other people opened a rush of emotion she hadn’t experienced before.

      By the time they had sung the fifth song in praise and wonderment of God’s glory, tears streamed from her eyes, and she didn’t care if her mascara ran.

      When the songs were over, she quickly reached down and started digging through her СКАЧАТЬ