Monday July 11

     Great news! I accepted the job offer from the Church Of The Resurrection today. Donna seems to have her reservations about it, but I think it will be a good way for us to get out from under the wing of her parents. Her dad told me it's a fine idea, but her mom has expressed it's a mistake for us to move so far away just so you can be the custodian of some old church. Since I was laid off a month ago, we've been living with her folks. It's driving me crazy. At least this way I'll have a job and we'll be on our own, just Donna and I.
     The head of the church elders, a man named Larter, agreed to my counter offer of employment. I told him their original offer wasn't enough for me to pack up the family, so he has now made it worth my while. The salary is quite generous for a glorified janitor, and they are providing us with a house, too. I'm told it's not a big house, just a small cottage out back of the church, but hey it's a start. At least we won't have to worry about rent.

      I told Larter to expect us within a couple of days. He said that was fine, he'd leave the key under the mat for us. I can't wait. This is going to be so sweet. A brand new beginning. Heck, I almost feel like it's a sort of resurrection for me: Paul rises from the dead...ha-ha

Tuesday July 12

     I got up early this morning. Will and I went to pick up the moving van. It took us an hour or two to load everything, but by 9 AM we were ready to go. Will had agreed to drive the truck for us, since I'm not very good with a straight drive. I offered to pay him since he was laid off too, but he wouldnt hear of it. It was decided hed drive ahead of us and we would follow in our family wagon. Donna and I had spent all night packing. We only had about 4 hours sleep. At least she would be able to sleep while I drove. Lucky thing...

     We said some tearful goodbyes (not me, though) to Sadie and Jack. In a way I was going to miss the company of Donna's father, but Sadie was a whole other story. You know all those bad Mother-in-law jokes you hear? Well, in her case they were all true, haha..I could tell she hated to see her only daughter go.

     "You better take care of her and not let one harm come to her head, she commanded. I just nodded my head with a forced smile. She gave me one of those half hugs that seem to say, 'I don't really like you, but I have to do this for my daughter's sake.'

     On the way out of town, we stopped at Matt & Susan's. We couldn't leave without saying goodbye to our best friends in the whole world. They are the only ones I truly hate to leave behind.
     Susan said to Donna, "Keep in touch. And don't wait until you're pregnant to call us." I rolled my eyes. Susan's been trying to get us to start a family for some time. I keep telling her they have enough kids for all of us. 3 children in 4 years. Talk about a busy couple...
     Before we left I told them they'd have to come visit after we're settled in. Matt gave me a big bear hug.
      "You just call us buddy and we'll be there." Knowing Matt, he'll be true to his word, too.

     The drive itself took the rest of the day and some of the night. It was dark by the time we arrived at the church. In the glare of our headlights we made out a tall steeple upon which sat a cross rising into the night sky. The front of the building was almost entirely stained glass. Pulling into the lot and driving around to the side, we could just barely make out the true size of the building in the dark. It appeared to be two floors, but the gabled roof made it seem taller. It reminded me of the Catholic church in my hometown, St. Michaels. That reminds me, I don't even know what denomination this church is...Hell, they could even be devil worshippers, for all I know...

     We pulled our car around back following Wills truck and there it was: our new home. The porch light was on. Just as Larter had said, the key was under the mat. I could tell Donna liked it.
      "This is soooo cozy, she exclaimed, followed by excited statements of being able to do so much with the place. I left her to her talking, as Will and I unloaded the truck. We just threw everything inside, not bothering to arrange anything just yet. It was too late in the evening for that and I was pretty bushed. We just wanted that truck unloaded as quickly as possible.

     Will left only a few minutes ago, right before I sat down to write this entry. He's on his way home now. Im going to miss him and the good times at work. As for Donna and I, we are in our own home at last. I think well just curl up together and sleep on the floor tonight. We can worry about arranging and unpacking tomorrow. It's been a long day.

Wednesday July 13

     I woke up this morning to the smell of breakfast cooking. Donna had already unpacked all the kitchen boxes and was proceeding to turn the place into home.
      "Our first meal in our new home", she said, handing me a plate of bacon and eggs. I have to say it was very good.
     The cottage is nice. It's been well taken care of, though I can tell it has been around awhile. It has a porch out front, and I noticed some of the boards on the step could need some replacing. It's a small place, yet big enough for us, with a bedroom, a bathroom, a combination kitchen/dining area, and another small room that may have been used as an office at one time. Its in particular need of a new look, for it has been wallpapered with biblical scenes. I noticed quite a few depicting Jacobs wrestling the angel. On closer inspection, we learned its not really wallpaper though. Its pages torn out of books, maybe illustrated bibles. Its very disarming to walk into the room and be bombarded by all these erratically plastered images. I'm sure Donna will do wonders with it. She is very good with things with that. Shes already mentioned taking the wallpaper down and painting the walls baby blue.

     After breakfast I decided to walk around the church grounds and check it out. In the daylight the place looks quite massive for a small town church. Kingston Corners has a population of a couple thousand. It looks like they could house every one of them in here. The churchs architecture is not modern, but almost medieval in its design. Old gray brick, sharp edges and corners, Im surprised there arent stone gargoyles on the roof. The place seems more suited for the Bavarian Alps than Virginia. If it weren't for that towering steeple and cross, I'd say it reminds me of a German castle more than anything.
      I could see the building has some wear and tear to its stonework, blocks cracked or missing, replaced by recently set cement. But whoever did the repairs got it to match closely. The surrounding yard is in a pretty sad state and is going to take some work to get it back into shape. The invasion of crabgrass and kudzu seems to have consumed nearly everything in sight, including the church building itself. On one side of the church, the vines have begun to climb up the wall, and are nearly to the roof. Lots of outside work here, that's for sure.

     While I was checking the building out, Larter showed up. He's a very likable fellow, not at all what I expected. With my dealings with him on the phone, I took him to be an "all business, no fun" kind of man. I was way off the mark, though. Hes a gentleman not much older than myself with a big toothy smile and a firm handshake. Just the kind of person you would expect to be greeting you on a Sunday morning with a happy "God loves you."
     He took me inside the church and gave me the grand tour, explaining along the way my duties and things that need to be done eventually. Despite things he pointed out that are in disrepair or need cleaning, the place is nicely kept. We went through the entire church, bottom to top and back down again. The sheer size was almost overwhelming. No wonder they are paying me a nice salary to care for this place. It's going to be a ten-hour a day job from the looks of it.
     Finally, after the 'tour', we walked back over to the cottage and he handed me some papers that were basically a list of my duties and a crudely drawn map of the church and grounds.
      "In case you get lost, he chuckled.
      I put the papers in my pocket. "When do I start?"
     "We have prayer meeting tonight, so you can start tomorrow morning."
     Donna came outside to the edge of the porch. "Hi, she said to my new boss.
     "You must be Donna, he replied, grasping her hand and shaking it firmly.
     She smiled. "And you must be Mr. Larter."
     "Oh please. No need to be formal. 'Big Dummy' will do just fine," he laughed. "I was just showing your husband all the work we have for him to do. I don't think I've managed to scare him off just yet."
     "Well, he doesn't get scared away easily, just look at me, she joked.
     He seemed not to hear her quip, instead his eyes were focused on something behind her, causing us to turn and look. It was a mongrel dog on the porch between her and the door. Its eyes were focused intently on Larter.
     Donna, who doesn't like dogs by the way, stamped her foot on the porch. "Shoo!"
     The mongrel took off and ran off into the woods behind the house.
     "I don't like those strays, they get into everything, Larter said afterwards. "Well, I must be going." He reached out, shook my hand again, and gave a quick nod to Donna. "We'll look for you tomorrow, Paul. It was nice meeting you, Donna."
      "Likewise, she replied with a genuine smile.

     I helped Donna finish unpacking the last of the boxes. I fixed us some lemonade and we sat on the front porch to watch the sun set. Its beautiful out here. Kingston Corners is surrounded by mountains, a small strip of valley that is yet untouched by the expansion of big city life. You can actually hear the birds singing, and the shadows of the clouds against the mountains give those hills a faded blue look. Compared to where we came from this place seems to appreciate a quieter way of life. I think this is going to be a really good thing for us.

Thursday July 14

     My First day on the job. I went over to the church about 7 AM. Larter was already there and waiting. He must be an early riser. Started off sweeping floors. I can tell I am going to need to come up with a cleaning schedule as big as this place is. It seems I could sweep all day long and still never finish. Good thing Larter gave me that map. You could get lost going to the bathroom around here, ha-ha.
     People moved in and out of the church all day. Some came in to pray, others to meet with church elders. I thought children must have been playing upstairs, for I heard their footsteps running across the floor above me, but when I went to check, the kids were gone. I guess something like rowdy children running around is to be expected when the church is open.
     Despite that distraction, the church is basically quiet. I ran the vacuum cleaner in the sanctuary, a vast auditorium where the main church services are held, and it seemed so loud, almost deafening. When I shut it off, I could nearly hear its echo.

     I went home for lunch and noticed the dog from the other day was on the porch again. He was just standing there, silent, almost like a sentry on guard. "Shoo, I said and waved my hand. He bounded off the porch and took off, running playfully across the parking lot, as if I'd just told him to go chase a cat or something. I shook my head and went inside. Donna was scrubbing the kitchen floor. I greeted her with a kiss and told her I chased off the mutt again.
     "Maybe he's got a crush on you, I told her.
     "I don't need any dogs, she replied. "I have my prince."
     I couldnt help but smile.

     I went back over to the church later and finished up the day cleaning the bathrooms. Larter came by and gave me a set of keys on a ring. They were all labeled: Front Door, Library, Kitchen, Side Entrances, Custodian Closet, Back Door, Cellar. I kind of wondered why they need a locked door to the cellar. Or why they even needed a cellar at all. I'll have to ask Larter sometime or maybe just check it out myself.

Friday July 15

      It's been extremely busy today. I spent most of it trying to get all the floors clean before Sunday services. I've swept and mopped so much yesterday and today that I'm surprised my arms don't fall off. Im wondering how long its been since they had someone here to take care of the place.
     I got to meet some of the other church elders. They are all pretty much quiet and reserved, not quite as outgoing as Larter. The pastor, a Rev. Chiles, is a little more talkative than the rest. He sprinkles "praise His name" frequently in conversations. He seems like a nice guy, but I can definitely hear the fire and brimstone in his voice. He has what my mother would call a "preacher's voice", both strong and with authority.
     I mentioned to both Larter and the Pastor about hearing the kids running around upstairs yesterday. They gave me slightly curious looks.
     "Well, we do have our doors open all day long to whomever wants to come in, praise His name, replied Rev. Chiles, "But the children mostly stay outside in the playground."
     Larter cast him a barely noticeable glance. "I don't recall hearing or seeing any yesterday, he added, "but it is possible. The Sunday School classes are up there. Who knows what kids will get into?"
     "If I run across any up there, Should I get them to go play outside then?"
     The pastor nodded his head. "Yes. Children don't need to be upstairs...except on Sundays, of course."

     Later I looked for the playground that Pastor Chiles mentioned. I didnt notice one on the church grounds the other day when I was taking a look around. I didnt find it today either. Nothing. Not even one swing or sliding board. I walked around the entire church twice and didn't see anything. Maybe the preacher was talking about a playground down the street at a park or something...

Saturday July 16

     Donna and I went downtown today. Resurrection church is in a small neighborhood about a ten minute drive from the heart of Kingston Corners.
     The downtown area itself is nice, almost like a picture postcard of small town life. It’s not exactly the kind of place where everybody knows everybody, but the people do behave friendly and familiar as if they’ve known you their whole lives.
     In the shops, Donna bought a few things for the kitchen, as well as a picture frame to put a collage of photos in. “Now we’ll just have to take some pictures,” she laughed.
     “We’ll have to get us a camera first,” I added with a smirk.

     At the hardware store we picked up a light for our outside porch. There’s one mounted right by the front door but it gives off little light. This one should shine out in the yard, and its motion activated too.
     Donna spent about half an hour agonizing over which shade of baby blue she wanted for our back room. Finally she selected something called Angel Blue. I told her that sounded appropriate considering the wallpaper we were replacing.
     “I could always paint it devil red if you prefer.”
     “Angel blue is fine,” I grinned.
     We ate at a nearby diner for lunch. A place called “The Counter”. It’s appropriately named for it’s really nothing more than a lunch counter and a few booths, but the food is excellent. The waitress asked us if we were new in town.
     “Is it that obvious?” I asked. I went on to tell her I worked at The Church Of The Resurrection and asked her if she’d heard of the place.
     She nodded. “Everyone’s heard of Resurrection Church,” she spoke, her voice barely over a whisper.
     “Why?” asked Donna. "Is it the only church in town?”
     “Oh no, There’s several churches around.” She paused for a moment as if choosing her next words cautiously. “But you be careful up there.”
      Then she walked off leaving us confused and curious.

     Before we left I approached the waitress again. I looked at her nametag. “Excuse me Nancy, what did you mean about being careful up there?”
     She gave me a sideways glance as if she was checking to see if we were being watched.
     “Bad things have happened at The Resurrection,” she replied
     “What kind of things?”
     “I can’t rightly say. There’s been so many stories over the years, I don’t know what’s true and what’s talk. Just be careful, sir.”
     No matter how I tried to coax her, she wouldn’t give me any details. All this unnerved Donna quite a bit and we discussed it on the way home. In the end, I convinced her not to worry.
     “It’s just small town gossip, nothing more,” I reasoned.
     “I hope so. I really want this to work for us.”
     “It will.”
     Still I wonder what the stories were the waitress had mentioned. She had said to be careful. What could be so dangerous about a church?

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