Chapter 2 #2
He loved where he lived—the views were amazing, and the wide-open meadows were bordered by thousands of acres of mountain woods.
It was the best of all worlds and a little cooler than the rest of the low-lying Virginia area.
They almost had northern weather, they joked among themselves at times.
But he didn’t mind, because it meant snow at Christmas, and he really loved that.
Thankfully, it wasn’t snowing tonight, or that would have made this trip treacherous with all of the steep hills and curves.
It was almost two o’clock in the morning before he arrived at the Harney house. Actually, he parked down the street from them and made four trips, carrying two bags of groceries in each hand as he did so.
On the last trip, as he settled the groceries down, he noticed something he hadn’t noticed before.
Two bags, similar to his but sitting inside a box with the top cut off it, sat right next to the door.
That was odd.
Realizing that he had been smelling freshly baked bread, and the smell hadn’t penetrated his consciousness, he wondered if the freshly baked bread could be in the bags?
It was just the way it was all placed, and it made him wonder if someone else was doing something kind for the Harneys.
Not that the Harneys couldn’t use any kind of good at all. From what he understood, they could use all the help they could get.
But still, he was about to creep forward, just to put his nose next to the box to see if what he suspected was actually true, when the porch light snapped on.
Thankfully, he was standing beside a big old oak tree in the middle of the yard, and he ducked behind it quickly.
Judd hadn’t mentioned it, but perhaps a ski mask would be a good idea from here on out. And a special coat that he wore only when he was making Secret Saint deliveries. That way, if someone did happen to see him, they couldn’t have any kind of identifying information on him.
“Did you hear something?” someone from inside the house said as the door opened.
“I thought I heard a thump,” a man’s voice answered.
Mr. Harney had had an accident the previous year at work, and he hadn’t been able to go back to his regular job. The job that he was working now wasn’t nearly enough to keep his family of eight children fed, hence the need for help.
“What’s that?” the woman’s voice said, and the door opened wider as the man bent down and picked up the box with the bags in it.
They hadn’t noticed the groceries yet, and it made Roland itchy. He wanted them to see the groceries. Come on, look at the edge of the porch. There’s a lot more than just two little bags.
But they were examining the bags that they had found. He could hear the paper crinkling from where he stood behind the tree.
He made sure that nothing more than his forehead and nose were sticking out as he watched the people opening up the bags.
“Oh my goodness! It’s freshly baked bread!”
“It’s still warm,” Mr. Harney said.
“I wonder who could have done that? Wow. We could have that for breakfast.”
“If we keep making all of this noise, the kids will be up and we can have it now.”
He didn’t sound like that was such a terrible thing. The bread must smell really good and inviting.
“George, what’s that?” the woman said.
Mr. Harney’s gaze followed to where her finger pointed.
“Maybe more fresh baked bread?” he asked, and the hope in his voice was unmistakable.
Roland’s stomach fell. They were going to be sorely disappointed if they were expecting eight bags of freshly baked bread.
Suddenly, he didn’t like the idea of being a Secret Saint, especially if people weren’t going to appreciate what he did.
But that was wrong, wasn’t it? The idea of working for man’s applause rather than God’s praise. He knew what he had done was good and necessary, and it shouldn’t matter whether or not it was appreciated.
He stopped thinking about that when the woman said, “Oh my goodness, George. These are groceries. Someone left us eight bags of groceries!” she said, the excitement in her voice making it tremble. Her hands went to her cheeks.
“Oh, George. I didn’t know how I was going to afford the groceries, with the money that I had to put back to pay for Riley’s braces. Oh my goodness. This is amazing.” She turned and started going through the bags without even picking them up.
“It’s everything that we could possibly need. Plus a few little extra things. Look at this! Some treats for the kids. And a six-pack of your favorite energy drink. Who would have thought to get the exact kind that you like?” She sounded amazed.
Roland silently thanked God that he had picked out the right kind. He hadn’t had a clue, other than he remembered seeing Mr. Harney standing beside the gas station in town, an energy drink in hand. He hadn’t had the slightest idea of which one it was.
Lord, You knew. You guided my hands to the right one. Thank you.
It was amazing and so satisfying to see their excitement and the emotion that they displayed.
He wanted to slip quietly away, but he was stuck behind the tree until they carried all the groceries in. Then, it seemed like a couple of the kids had gotten up, and he could see heads moving around the kitchen as the groceries came out on the table, and the kids peppered them with questions.
That was when he slipped away, feeling very satisfied, although there was still a nagging feeling in his heart. Who had left the bread?