7. Bigger Than I Thought
PASSION WITH SEAN CURRAN
7
BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT
Working in the kid's ministry always seemed to put things… life… in perspective for Sadie. Were children sticky-fingered monsters sometimes? Yes. Of course. But Sadie loved to be the one giving them the honey sticks and watching them enjoy every last morsel of sweetness. Earning their trust and their tiny, but mighty, friendships. And then, her favorite, sharing the truth of God’s word with a child and seeing them believe so easily and whole-heartedly—one of the purest joys she could ever experience.
Watching a whole crew dangle from Dakota’s strong shoulders and arms as he carried them down the hallway to snack time was just icing on the proverbial cupcake. Each arm and leg seemed to always have a kid attached that week. It was ironic how the kids at Living Hope flocked to him when he loved to claim how much he hated it. Even if it wasn’t his favorite, Dakota was a natural. And it was decidedly not attractive. At all.
Sadie swung the arms of the two girls holding her hands, back and forth, as wide as their arms would take them. They laughed and began to skip until they reached the door and refused to let go as they all walked through together.
“Can we sit next to you, Ms. Sadie?” Abby asked, giving Sadie’s hand a little squeeze. She and her best friend, Eve, had been stuck to Sadie like glue all week.
“‘Course ya can, sweetie pies. But we need to make sure we don’t let anyone feel left out, ‘kay? Everyone wants to feel loved and like they belong.”
They both nodded, accepting her sage advice, and grabbed chairs nearest to Georgia, who was doling out snacks.
Cupcakes. Sadie smiled to herself. She loved cupcakes.
“Alright, y’all,” Georgia said, clapping a few times and getting everyone’s attention. “This week we’ve been talkin’ about all the stars in the sky and how God created each and every one of them. And… He created you! Which is amazing!”
The kids cheered, bringing an adorably dimpled smile to Lake, who watched his wife like she was corralling an army of troops preparing for a very important battle and not a bunch of rascals about to be covered in cupcake icing and sprinkles.
“I know. I know, it’s so exciting. Did you know God makes promises to His people? A long, long, long time ago, God promised Abraham he’d be the father of many nations.” Georgia looked out at her crowd, completely enraptured with what she’d say next—and eagerly waiting to dig into the cupcakes before them. “In fact, God told Abraham to look up at the night sky and to count every single star. Do you think that’s even possible?”
“No!” a cacophony of small voices answered.
“No way. There’s too many stars in the sky to count, but in Genesis 15 we can read all about how God promised Abraham—who was really old and didn’t have any children of his own—that he'd be the father of as many children as there are stars in the sky. And, guess what?”
Heads leaned in, every eye on Georgia. “Abraham believed him! He believed that God had a divine, perfect purpose for his life, and he trusted God’s promise to him, even though it seemed impossible.” Georgia put her hands on her thighs and leaned forward too. “Is anything impossible for God?”
“NO!” they shouted again.
“No. That’s right!” She nodded proudly at them. “Now, Abraham probably doubted sometimes. And that’s normal. He was a human. But he probably reminded himself often of all the ways God had provided for him and kept His promises over and over again. And you and I can trust the promises of God, too.”
She ticked the list off on her hand, keeping it simple, but solid for their young hearts and minds. “We are loved. Purposefully and wonderfully created. Chosen. Adopted as sons and daughters of God. And redeemed through Jesus’ work on the cross! You, my little friends, can trust those promises from God for your life, too.”
Sadie’s arms felt the warmth of the Spirit filling her up. She knew she could trust in the Lord’s promises for her life. She knew better than most, man was fickle, but God was sure and steady.
Georgia clapped her hands together. “So, today we are decorating cupcakes, and you have star sprinkles to make your own night sky to remind you of God’s faithfulness! But before we start… who wants to pray for us?”
Jenny Brewington shot her little hand into the sky before anyone else could say otherwise. Georgia nodded and Jenny looked out over the crowd of children like a well-seasoned veteran of ministry.
“Y’all bow your heads and shut your lids,” she commanded, albeit graciously. “Jesus, thank you for cupcakes, ‘cause ya know we love them. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Sadie fought hard not to laugh, and when she opened her eyes, caught the tail end of the tenacious little girl winking proudly at Dakota. She had heard all about how Jenny had schooled Dakota on the finer points of the Trinity… from Jenny herself.
He smiled affectionately, shaking his head. Like a child being teased by a tiny, but mighty elderly aunt. And Dakota took it all in stride. He was, afterall, accustomed to women in his life giving him a bit of a hard time.
Despite that fact, he’d seemed a little off over the course of VBS week. Sadie knew kids’ ministry was not Dakota’s cup of tea. He obviously loved his nephew and had fun with all the other kids, but it never seemed to be where his gifts lay. Three years of watching him volunteer with VBS had been sufficient evidence of that fact.
And maybe she was imagining it, but this week Dakota had been quieter. In moments where he’d usually throw out jokes or find ways to tease her, in particular, he’d… hesitated.
Yes, he’d played his friendly pranks. He’d gotten her back for volunteering him to take a group by convincing Ginny that Sadie was just dying to lead the hand motions for worship time. So then Sadie, never one to back down, kindly and completely sacrificially took on Dakota’s kids for an afternoon under the guise of concern for his well-being.
“You sure look like you could use a break, Dakota. Why don’t I take your group and you take it easy? Take a load off… etc. etc.”
He, of course, eagerly accepted, only to find out he’d mysteriously been volunteered to join the drama team in that day’s skit. Sadie would never ever forget the look in his eyes as he very uncomfortably pretended to be Abraham receiving a promise from the Lord. It was, in a word, glorious. Or maybe two words… highly gratifying.
Yes, they’d played their games all week, but Dakota seemed to be finding truly kind things to do for her, and therefore, had taken a commanding lead in the Cordiality Count—which was utterly unacceptable.
He’d brought her coffee from Good Start every morning, knowing she wouldn’t go in at all on her week volunteering with VBS. Dakota had also begun to leave various ceramic birds from his collection in places where he knew she’d find them. In her purse. Or on the hood of her car, attached to a passive aggressive note about proper car maintenance. And even waiting on her Bible, in the seat she took every morning. Sadie lined those birds up on her own windowsill and found herself far too warm and fuzzy when she opened her blinds every morning to give them a quick inspection.
Dakota had been unusually quiet, yes, but he had also been blatantly… sweet. It was downright spooky, and Sadie decided, then and there, she didn’t like it at all.
She studied the man in question, hovering over two cupcakes. What made him think he could have two anyhow?! He’d turned his hat backwards and stood in deep concentration, his tongue just barely peeking out the side of his mouth, as he painstakingly swiped dark blue and black icing over his cupcakes, swirling the colors together. It was—Sadie wanted to growl—adorable.
When Theo gazed at his uncle’s art as if it were a masterpiece in the Louvre, Dakota scruffed Theo’s head, praised his nephew’s cupcake, then went back to working with deliberation on his own snack.
No… SNACKS! Plural!
She couldn’t decide why the scene had her so captivated or why her body had suddenly become incredibly warm. Like she could curl up right under the table and take a nap. It gave her the inexplicable urge to lunge across the table and swipe that icing across his beautiful face. But obviously, as a leader of small children, that would be frowned upon. So instead, without preamble and with the poise of a well-mannered Southern woman, Sadie threw a large, star-shaped sprinkle at Dakota’s two-cupcake-lovin’ face, hitting him square in the forehead.
Dakota looked up, his eyes narrowed, searching the room. Sadie quickly returned to decorating. Totally innocent. Totally friendly.
Georgia loudly cleared her throat—Sadie’s only witness—but Sadie simply examined the children’s cupcakes, offering excited praise for their work, all of which looked absolutely nothing like the night sky, but were probably tasty all the same.
When the coast was clear and Dakota had gone back to his careful work—and Georgia and Lake were sufficiently occupied with their duties—Sadie chucked another sprinkle at him. This time smacking him just above his concentrating lip.
But he merely scratched his upper lip and continued his decorating, which simply would not do in Sadie’s plan to earn his attention. She wasn’t thinking too closely as to why she wanted his attention, but she knew he’d been too careful and far too friendly over the past few days. He’d barely even rankled her at all.
She threw a sprinkle. And another. And another. When one landed in the center of his precious masterpiece, Dakota’s head darted up, finding her eyes immediately. Man, he sure was astute. She was positive she didn’t even look that guilty.
“Sadie,” he gritted out through a tight smile, “did you happen to lose a sprinkle, friend?”
Sadie swiped icing off her cupcake with the tip of her finger, popped it in her mouth, and watched with a suppressed thrill as Dakota tracked the movement. “Nope. I know exactly where all my sprinkles are, buddy. Thanks.”
He placed both hands flat against the table, framing his cupcakes. Though Sadie hated to admit it, she actually wanted to see what they looked like after all his tedious care, but she couldn’t get a good look from across the room.
“I could have sworn ya lost a sprinkle or two on this side of the table…”
“Mr. Kota,” Jenny interrupted, “there are sprinkles all over the table. If ya want some different ones, ya just need to ask your sister, and I’m sure she’ll get ya more.”
Sadie giggled. “Thank you, Jenny. Mr. Kota’s just simpl—”
“I know what simple means, Sadie.” He stood, hands still purposely framing—protecting—his beloved cupcakes.
Sadie continued, “Mr. Kota’s just simply,” she emphasized the word, “worried about cleanup because he offered to take over for Mrs. Georgia and Mr. Lake today. Ain’t that right, Mr. Kota?”
Sadie raised her eyebrows, flashing him a wide grin, and caught a glimpse of Georgia and Lake’s knowing smiles and chastising head shakes in her peripheral.
Dakota scooped a tiny handful of sprinkles into his hand and shook them around in his barely closed fist. “Oh, that’s right, Ms. Sadie. And you wanted to help, too. Right? You said it would bring you joy to clean up every…” He took a sprinkle out of his hand and threw it straight at her with surprising accuracy. It had taken Sadie a few times to hit him exactly where she’d wanted to. “Last.” He threw another. “Sprinkle.” And another.
The class of first graders gasped in horror, all likely remembering the mayhem the Remillard siblings had instigated at the May Day Festival the year before, when Dakota had smacked his now brother-in-law with “the most beautiful red velvet cake anyone had seen this side of the Mississippi”. Or that’s what Charlene Emmerson said as she grieved her cake for weeks after the mishap.
Dakota and Ginny had been banned from participating in the cakewalk for this year and the next. There’d been a town-wide vote and everything. Sadie obviously voted in favor. Ya couldn’t just go around wastin’ perfectly good cakes on personal vendettas, even if Griffin Lovett definitely deserved it at the time.
But sprinkles were not prize-winning cakes.
She scooped her own handful and the entire group of surrounding kids ducked for cover. “I’d absolutely love to help clean up.” She chucked the entire handful of sprinkles into the air and watched them arch over the table, raining down on Dakota and his cupcakes.
Was it really VBS if there wasn’t a little pandemonium?
Dakota’s eyes lit with fire, and Sadie felt her heart race with excitement at finally getting a reaction out of him for the first time all week. Lake came to Dakota’s side. Was he gonna take arms against her? Well, that was just fine. She could take them both on.
She grabbed another handful just as Dakota did, both launching them across the table at the same time. Squeals of delight filled the room, and Sadie could’ve laughed at the nonsense of it all.
But then Georgia threw her hands out wide and stepped as close to the table and between them as she could, with her belly resting on the top. “Nope. No way! Y’all drop your ammo right now!” she said in a well-practiced, authoritarian mom-voice.
Lake froze and dropped the sprinkles he’d planned to throw, looking far too pleased with himself. Georgia bit her lip, and Sadie swore her friend was trying to hide a smile before she continued, “We are not havin’ y’all banned from VBS now, too.”
“Hey,” Sadie argued, “I’m not banned from anything.”
“Just a matter of time, Edwin.” Dakota dropped his sprinkles and brushed his hands off. “Just a matter of time.”
“You’re the one with the official Sugartree record. I wouldn’t be so haughty if I were you, Dakota Remillard.”
“That record is a joke, and you know it! And I paid everyone back for damages.”
Mrs. Emmerson’s granddaughter raised her hand but spoke without being called upon. “My granny says ya can’t pay back for emotional damage. Especially if the hurt was just too deep. But she did say she forgave ya, because you were taking up for your sister.”
“Thank you. I was defending my sister’s honor.”
Georgia put her hand on her her hip, ready to give Dakota the verbal spankin’ he obviously deserved, but before she could, Jenny stood and put her hand on her hip in a mirror image of Georgia.
“Mr. Kota, I hope ya don’t mind me sayin’, but those sprinkles didn’t have nothin’ to do with your sister’s honor. It was all in good fun, I’m sure, but your ‘posed to be settin’ an example for all of us.”
Dakota sighed, set his hands on the table, and surveyed the group of kids watching his dressing down. “You’re right, Jenny. I’m sincerely sorry, y’all. I should’ve been more of a grown up here.”
His eyes flicked to Sadie’s and held there. She could almost see his bright hazel eyes light up from across the room. “I do love to have a good time with Ms. Sadie, though. And for the record… I totally would’ve won.”
Sadie rolled her eyes but didn’t hide her smirk. Jenny, hands still on hips, turned towards her. “And, you, Ms. Sadie? Have anythang ya wanna say?”
Whew. This girl was a force to be reckoned with.
“Um…” Sadie pursed her lips and caught a glimpse of Georgia and Lake beaming with pride at Jenny, as if she were their own child. “I’m sorry, y’all. I’ll… of course I’ll clean up here. Sorry, Georgia.”
When everyone had accepted their somewhat forced apologies, Georgia and Lake handed both Dakota and Sadie wet wipes, brooms, and dust pans, and set them to work while escorting their group to the next station.
“No way you would’ve won,” Sadie said, brushing sprinkles from the table directly into the trash.
“Yeah, yeah. Guess we’ll never know.” Dakota came to her side with cupcakes in hand, invading her space just so. Almost like he had at the coffee shop on the day he’d apologized. In fact, he was always just a little too close. She took a step back. And he came a step forward. Meeting her getaway dance, step for step.
“What are you doing?”
“Me?” He looked down at his hands. “I’m trying to give you a dang cupcake. What are you doing… aside from running away from me and starting sprinkle wars?”
She scoffed and took another step away, closer to the exit. “I’m not running away. You… you are… well, you're…”
Dakota raised an eyebrow. It infuriated her.
“You’re confusing me!” She hated to admit it, but it was true. She didn’t know what to make of him and his behavior towards her since the first night of VBS. He’d been his usual self, and then… that first night, she couldn’t quite pinpoint what had happened… Dakota had changed. He was present but distant. Friendly but not himself. She didn’t know what to do with him. Hence the—now embarrassing—sprinkle fight in front of God and everybody.
And she knew the way these kids talked. The whole town of Sugartree would be gossipin’ about their little battle, and likely blowing the whole thing out of proportion, by dinner time. It might even make the Gazette. The headline would read something ridiculous like, Remillard-Mills Tension Escalates at Snack Time: VBS Star Sprinkles Soar.
Dakota held out a cupcake with a near perfectly rendered constellation on it and sparkling, glitter sprinkles surrounding it. Sadie quietly wondered whether he’d had time to slip a laxative into the frosting.
“What’s confusing about a cupcake, Edwin?” He pointed at the cupcake still in his hand and then at hers. “Look, I made Ursa Major and Minor.”
“Major… is that why your parents named you Dakota Major? Like, after the stars?” She hated how romantic she found the notion.
Dakota quickly turned the tables on her. “Why did your parents name you Sadie Edwin?”
Sadie crossed her arms, definitely unwilling to disclose that information. Dakota merely laughed and shook his head at her ever-constant defiance.
“My dad was a major when I was born. Apparently for a solid three years, Mom called him stuff like Major Hot Cheeks or Major Trouble.” He blanched. “I guess they needed another way to commemorate the era… aside from the state they were living in, the kid that came out of it, and the fact that her terms of endearment haven’t changed much over the past twenty-plus years..”
“Hmmm.” Sadie digested the information but swore to herself she’d, under no circumstances, digest that cupcake. She didn’t trust it. And, also, it was far too beautiful. “I’m assumin’ you’ll want a point for this?”
“I mean…” He took a small bite of his cupcake, leaving a tracing of black and blue icing across his teeth—a tidbit of information she definitely would not disclose. “You love cupcakes, Sadie. It was awful friendly of me.”
“I do,” she said, finally accepting his offering. “Thank you.”
“Welcome.” He picked up his backwards ballcap, scratched his head, and laid the hat back in place. “I’ve gotta admit. You’ve got a pretty good arm, Edwin. I can’t believe you hit me with single sprinkles for a half hour.”
“Impressive, right?”
He shrugged. “Not too shabby. But could’ve been messier.”
Sadie swiped her finger across the icing of her cupcake and, before he could resist, took a step forward and used the same finger to spread icing across Dakota’s cheek. Without missing a beat, he wiped the icing off with his pointer and stuck it in his mouth. A move that was decidedly decadent and highly irritating.
“Better, Wade?” she asked and took a giant, messy bite, completely abandoning her promise from thirty seconds before. “I sure would hate to disappoint ya.”
“It’s no cake fight, Edwin, but it’ll do.” He smiled wide, black and blue teeth on full display. “And just from one friend to another… you’ve got icing all over your teeth. Another point for me.”