Page 51 of Let Me Hold You

What’s happening?

Levi started to text Maggie, then changed his mind. He told himself to remain calm and take a deep breath. He’d be sitting next to her at the concert—they had agreed to sit together. He’d have plenty of opportunity to ask about the box.

When Levi’s strawberry shortcake came, he texted Maggie.

Levi:

Want my ice cream? Two scoops.

Maggie looked up from her phone, and nodded to Levi. She waved for him to bring them over.

Levi walked to Maggie, carrying the ice cream bowl in a palm, and trying to look casually nonchalant. He placed it next to Maggie’s plate, right next to the mysterious red box.

“Two extra scoops of ice cream altogether in the middle of winter for Lady Maggie.” Levi cast a furtive glance at the red box on Maggie’s table.

To Pastor Kim and Lydia.

Oh.

It didn’t say whom it was from, but Levi didn’t care. It was enough that the gift wasn’t for Maggie per se. He was able to breathe again and his heart felt auspiciously calm.

“You know me well, Levi.” Maggie clapped.

“Always.”

Maggie and Levi drove separately from the restaurant to the church, arriving at the same time, and parked near each other, but walked into different levels of the building. While Levi saved seats for them in the church sanctuary, Maggie went downstairs to put the gift box on Mrs. Kim’s desk in the women’s ministry office.

She had found out this evening that Alden’s parents, who lived on Hilton Head Island, knew Pastor and Mrs. Kim. They called her Lydia. Actually, Mrs. Kim had told Maggie that she could call her Lydia as well, but to this day, Maggie couldn’t bring herself to. Lydia Kim was the same age as her dad, and there was just no way she could call her Lydia when she reminded Maggie of her parents.

The staff offices were quiet as everyone was either at home, out of town, or upstairs in the sanctuary. Some staff members were in the choir and in the skits. Maggie had chosen not to participate in any Christmas plays and concerts because they were not her thing. She felt that she could support the ministry best by being in the cheering section.

The only lights that were on were in the hallways, but Maggie felt safe and at home here.

She had been working at church for seven years since she graduated from a Christian college with a communications degree. Her entire career had been in a church setting. ComeJanuary she would venture out into the wide world, away from this place.

Her eyes clouded over. She blinked.

I don’t know if I can leave this place.

Then again, Pastor Kim had reminded the congregation often to never worship this historical building.

“Worship Christ instead. If this building burns down, does His church still thrive? Of course.”

Pastor Kim’s office was around the corner, occupying the biggest space just inside of the reception desk. That way, preachers and guests didn’t have to walk all over the place to get to the pastor’s office, and thus, the staff could focus on work instead of dealing with non-staff foot traffic.

Maggie’s phone buzzed. She checked her messages. Levi had found them seats. He told her which door to enter the sanctuary.

Maggie walked up one flight of stairs to the main level of the church. She opened the doors to the roar of people talking, with live Christmas music as the backdrop. A string ensemble next to a grand piano—which they had rolled from the choir room—played a medley of Christmas music.

Maggie hummed to “In the Bleak Midwinter” and sang a stanza of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” as the musicians played.

Reaching their designated entrance, Maggie stopped in her tracks when she spotted Levi talking with…his ex-girlfriend and her new husband.

Maggie wondered if she should give them space to chat or whether she should step in to provide support for Levi. She continued walking again to see what tone of voice Levi was using and to assess his emotional state.

He seemed to be talking amicably to Soline and Gene Lee.

Levi had come a long way since he walked out of Tally’s wedding reception after Gene proposed to Soline. Maggiehad opinions about proposals in someone else’s wedding celebration, but nobody asked her.

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