Chapter 13 #2
"Well, I'm no expert on candles, but we could use a specific design around the instrumentalists to try to keep the fire hazard down, but in the open areas, we could have a different kind of candle.
Or something like that?" Mark was thinking as he spoke, and he probably shouldn't have even made suggestions.
What did he know about candles and the artistic arrangement of them?
"That's a great idea! And if we did it like that, I might actually not have to make nearly as many candles as what I was just thinking."
"I think anything would be beautiful. And... I can help."
She blinked, and her eyes widened as she looked at him.
"You would?"
"Yeah. Noah left before we said anything, but he had asked if I would give a presentation of the gospel for the people who are there, and I’m invested in it now. So helping you would be part of my job, actually."
She laughed a little, as he had intended. There was something about her laugh that just made him feel good the whole way down to his toes and back.
"Well, that sounds logical to me. Are you sure you don't mind?
" she asked, and he appreciated the fact that she wanted to be sure that she wasn't taking advantage of him.
A lot of people assumed that since he was a pastor, they could get away with a lot more than they could with a regular person, because after all, he was commanded to be kind and not mean.
And they expected him to live by that. Interestingly, the commands for him were no greater than the commands for regular Christians, but it was Christians who expected him to be held to a higher standard.
"Are you sure we'll be able to get it done? I'm not sure how long we'll be sidelined by the storm."
"That is a concern. But yeah, as long as I have a week, I think I'll be fine. It'll be a hectic week, and I probably won't sleep much, but as long as I have some time off to spend Christmas with my boys, it’ll be good."
He nodded. "They come first. And they're good kids too."
"They seem to be able to finagle their way into a lot of situations that I could not. I should blame Aiden, because Ethan usually just goes along."
"I think most relationships have people like that. They're hardly ever equal. One is a go-getter, and one is more content to stay behind and be the support." Their eyes met, and he wished he knew what she was thinking.
Was it about the kind of couple that she and her husband had been?
"We've got enough musicians to practice," Noah said, before Mark could change the subject in any way. Not that he wanted to. This was not the place to talk about stuff like that. Even if he did want his relationship with Olivia to be a little bit more than what it was.
Was that what he wanted?
He needed to find out what she wanted before he got so emotionally attached that he wasn't able to make logical decisions.
He'd seen that happen over and over again—people who were not compatible at all forming relationships and getting married just because they were doing what their emotions dictated.
When anyone who looked at them knew that it probably wasn't going to last.
Not that he ever wanted to have such negative views of anything. After all, he was a firm believer that God could take anything and make something out of it.
"That's great. I was just trying to figure out how many candles you would need and whether or not I would be able to get it done, but Pastor said he would help me, and I actually think that it's doable."
"That's great!" Noah said, looking excited. Grace stood beside him.
"Are you sure? I don't want you to not sleep for the entire week of Christmas because you're working your fingers to the bone."
Olivia shook her head at Grace. "No. I think it's totally doable, and I'm excited about it. It sounds like it will be beautiful, and I'm thrilled and honored that I will get to play a small part in it."
"We haven't actually talked about the cost. I assumed that we would charge money for tickets and be able to pay for the candles that way. I guess I hadn't gotten any further than that." Noah looked a little sheepish, like he should've thought of such things.
"I'm not too concerned about it. I will use some candles I already have, and while I can definitely use the work and the money, I understand this is a spur-of-the-moment thing."
"But we've got a captive audience right here, and we can sell tickets to all of them, and also make some announcements on social media and online. We can even use the church's website to announce it as well."
"All right then. I'll figure some things out and we'll get together to make those announcements." Grace smiled. And then, talking to each other, they walked off.
"They work so well together," Olivia said. And then she shook her head, and glanced at him and gave a nervous laugh. He got the feeling that she hadn't meant for him to hear that.
"I think some people just do. They click or something, you know? Not that a marriage can't happen between two people who don't get along, don't work well together to begin with. I think that's something you grow into eventually if you don't have it to begin with."
"I agree. It's always nice when that happens."
Again, he wanted to ask about her previous relationship, but he knew this was not the time.
"I probably ought to make some rounds, but I'll check in with you in a little bit. And if I don't see you again tonight, I'll see you in the morning."
"All right. Sounds good," she said. She took a step toward the tables where the soup was, and then she turned back and said, "Thanks a lot for this, for the candlelight service. I appreciate that."
He wasn't sure exactly what she was saying.
Whether or not she knew that he had pretty much finagled both of those things for her, thinking of her and hoping to help her.
Or whether she was just excited to be a part of it.
He wasn't sure, but he simply nodded and said, "It's just a small-town thing. "
"It's a God thing," she corrected him before she turned and left.
Yeah. It was a God thing. And he loved that she saw it.
The more time he spent with her, the more he felt like she would be a perfect pastor's wife, but it had to be something she wanted.
Not something that he forced her into. Like the couples who worked well together.
It might not be smooth sailing at first, all the time, but there had to be a want-to from both of them.
Lord, I don't want to jump the gun if this isn't what you want. Please show me.