Page 27 of Hotter 'N Hell

Twelve

Saylor

Every piece of clothing had been washed and hung up on a rack, according to size and gender. The children’s clothing was in the right corner, where I intended to get some colorful artwork to brighten the area up. Maybe even add some toys and books to keep them entertained while their parents looked for what they needed.

The adult clothing took up the entire left side. There were more women’s clothing than men’s. A very meager amount of coats and jackets. That was something I needed to work on this summer to prepare for next winter. I had made a note in the back of my binder to focus on that once I had everything else completed.

“What all did you toss? There were more shoes than you have piled up over there,” Sister Mena said, standing behind me with her arms crossed over her chest.

I hadn’t gotten to organizing the shoes just yet. That was on today’s agenda once I put the shoe racks together I’d ordered off Amazon. They’d come in a million pieces, but I was good at following directions.

“I only threw away the shoes that had holes or were so worn that they were falling apart.”

Calm down, Mena. You know it looks good in here. I saw your eyes widen when you walked in this morning before you could put that unimpressed scowl on your face.

“If you had ever been without shoes, you would know that to have soles on your feet is a blessing. What you might find to be garbage, there are those who would be happy to have them.”

Oh, how I did not miss your condescending tone, Mena.

“Yes, well, seeing as how most of them had cobwebs or dry rot, it seems they weren’t being snatched up. No one was going to take the shoes I got rid of.”

“Someone will dig them right out of the trash and wear them. You wait and see.”

Placing my hands on my hips, I leveled my gaze on her. Done with this complaining and bitching. “Well, this isn’t a dumpster. It’s a clothes closet with free clothes provided by the church for those in need. It shouldn’t resemble a dumpster or give items meant for a dumpster to anyone. That would tell those who are in need of help clothing their families and themselves that we think so little of them that we expect them to take trash and be happy about it.”

Mena opened her mouth, then snapped it closed. For a moment, I thought I had her. I’d finally said something to shut her up.

“I couldn’t agree with that statement more.”

Father Jude’s voice sent a small tingle down my spine. I turned around to find him smiling approvingly as he surveyed the place. At least someone liked it.

“This looks amazing,” he said, turning to look back at me. “Your thirteen- and fourteen-hour days have paid off.”

He’d been paying attention to how long I stayed.

No, before you go getting any ideas, Saylor, he is the priest. He pays attention to everything happening under the church’s authority.

But, Lord, he was beautiful. I mentally shook myself and landed a hard slap on my right cheek.

Stop it. He’s married to God.

“I have a lot more to do, but it does feel good, seeing it come together already.” I told him.

He started to say more when his eyes swung over to the windows, and I held my breath as he studied them. I had hoped this would go unnoticed. Seemed Father Jude was observant. Which I appreciated, but wished perhaps he could not see everything.

“Did you clean the windows? They look new,” he said, still staring at them. “I don’t think I ever realized the tinting before. Huh,” he added before looking back at me.

Sister Mena’s attention was now on the windows. Great. She’d probably remember some tiny chip or crack that was now gone.

I’d already called and yelled at Gathe over the tinting. It wasn’t something that was obvious or that noticeable, but the previous windows had been basic. I had wanted him to keep it as normal as possible in appearance. But the supplier they used only had the tinted ones in this size premade. It would have taken weeks to make new ones, and Gathe had refused to wait weeks.

“They look new,” she said, walking over to look closely at them.

Walk away, Mena. Let that shit go.

I hated lying, but before Mena figured it out, I was going to have to use the excuse Gathe had given me if this happened.

“They were filthy, so I cleaned them. Then, I decided to add tint to help with the cooling this summer and lower the cost of theelectric bills during those months.”

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