Mandy Brennan decided to park down the street from the beauty salon so she could walk through town and get a feel for the place. After double-checking to make sure she had locked her car, she looked around and laughed. She had to keep reminding herself, this was not Chicago.
What a quaint little place, she thought. It was like a breath of fresh air after living in the city. White clapboards and dainty flower boxes delighted her weary eyes. The warm wind tousled her hair and brought with it the scent of newly mown grass. The heat of the summer day rose up from the pavement and lazily called to meandering lizards that played tag in the flower boxes. In Chicago, the coldness of the city had entered her bones and she prayed it had not reached her heart. When Matt had first gotten the assignment to Trinity, they both had been a little hesitant about taking it. The history of Trinity was not a good one. She could not figure out how there could be so much turn over of pastors, in one small church.
You had only to look at the enchanting town to wonder what was going on. She could see evil living and taking root in the heart of a city where high risers, like cement Legos, blocked out the sunlight, and the only green anyone ever saw was a taxi streaking by. But here, this was God’s country. The sunlight lit up the town and Mandy couldn’t wait to meet the residents who lived within its gentle rays.
The wind was gusting and tousling her long, honey colored hair. She leaned her head back and loved the feeling as her ponytail tickling her toned shoulders and back. She was thirty-two years old, but most people mistook her for about twenty-five. She never believed the comments they made about her, how gorgeous she was.
Unbeknownst to Mandy, she had drawn the curious eyes of several townspeople, as they enviously watched the young woman enjoying the sun and wind. The heady smell of cinnamon drew her towards Nadine’s Bakery. A hand carved goose squatted outside the door with a cheery sign suspended from its mouth that read, “Welcome, come on in.” Now isn’t that cute Mandy thought? You could never leave something like that outside in the city, it’d be snatched up and sold on the next corner. Yes, she was glad that after much prayer, she and Matt had decided to accept the new position. She needed a new start, and a renewing of her relationship with the Lord. After serving in the church for so long, she discovered she had built a wall of protection around her heart, and here in this place, it was going to come down. She truly loved people, but boy had she become disillusioned about them.
After years of being the target of backbiting Christians she had finally realized that they were like everyone else. Just because they were born again, did not mean their mortality had died. As Mandy pushed open the screen door, a merry tingle delighted her ears and a heavenly aroma rushed up to meet her. Behind the counter stood a plump, elderly woman with her arms plunged into a bowl of dough. Her tiny glasses had slid down the bridge of her narrow nose, and in Mandy’s eyes, she looked like Mrs. Claus, twinkly eyes and all.
“Why how you doing this morning?” Nadine asked, as she blew a wayward strand of gray hair out of her eyes. “I’m Nadine Burke and who might you be? Haven’t seen you in town before.” She hastily grabbed a towel and scrubbed the rubbery flour from her hands.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” said Mandy. “And yes, I’m new to town. My husband Matt Brennan, has just been assigned to Trinity church, and I’m Mandy Brennan. I was walking by and couldn’t resist. That cinnamon smelled so delicious I just had to come in and find the source.” She extended her hand in greeting while taking in the glass cases, mounded high with all kinds of goodies.
“Well I do all my own baking, nothing artificial in here. Fresh every morning, unlike Rosa’s over there at Cornbread Corner,” she said, with a nod of her head towards the door. “She tries to pander those biscuits as homemade, but I can tell you, I’ve seen the wrappers stuck outside her garbage cans, and if they aren’t frozen and baked, I’ll eat my raw dough.”
Stay tuned for the next episode!
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