Page 22 of From Rivals to I Do

“Nope! Thanks, but I got it,” he says, so we just go back to chorin’, only taking a break to eat lunch, which Mitch opted out of. Zack still

hadn’t returned from his blatant ditching, but he was still young and unlike Noah, had just started getting interested in girls. So, I

figured I’d leave it alone.

Dinner time rolls around, and I come inside just as Zack pulls into the driveway.

“Mitch is still here?” Zack asks.

“That’s the first thing you ask after abandoning your chores all day, Casanova?” Noah shoots back, sounding annoyed. “You would

know what’s going on if you’d have been here.”

“Wait, what?” Zack replies.

“Mitch is going to be staying here with us,” I reply as we walk inside, and I go to the fridge to start pulling stuff out to get dinner

going.

“Seriously?” Zack asks, but his tone isn’t one of excitement but of concern. I stop in my tracks and turn around to face the boys, a bit

surprised by Zack’s poor reaction to the news.

“Yeah,” I reply. “You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“Dad, we don’t know this guy from Adam,” Zack replies. “What if he’s some looney tune?”

“He’s got a point,” Noah chimes in. “I mean he’s only been here what, a month? Barely?”

“I understand what you boys are saying, but we need to keep in mind what the Lord would want us to do,” I say. “God would want us

to help someone in need, and Mitch is in need. He lost his wife and his home.”

“Oh. . .” Zack replies, the worried look on his face slipping into a sad one. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, he’s a man, Zack,” I reply. “It’s not like he’s going to advertise it. Shoot, I didn’t even know how bad it was ‘til yesterday when I

offered for him to stay here.”

“So, does that mean Becky can come move in too?” Noah jokes, his attention at trying to lighten the mood.

“Haha, very funny,” I say as I roll my eyes. “That’s a little bit of a different situation.”

“I don’t know Dad, her parents are kind of a pain,” Noah insists, and my only response is an annoyed groan.

“I was wondering why he was on the couch this morning,” Zack says, still looking like he feels awful. Out of all the kids, Zack had

always seemed to take it the hardest when his mama died. He’d been a big time Mama’s boy, and when she was taken from us, for a

long time he wasn’t right.

Lately, he’s finally coming into his own, which has been lovely. But as he sits there with that dejected look on his face, I wonder if

Mitch’s story has stirred up the past in his mind.

“Well, now you know,” I say. “He’s in Jeff’s old room, and I’d appreciate it if all of us could be understanding of Mitch’s situation and

welcoming, just like people were with us.”

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