Lauren got home about
Marcus heard his cell phone ring but he couldn’t get it. He was under a sink in a tiny bathroom just off the guest room in Evelyn’s house. He was wet from his collar to his belt. His hands were dirty and so was the ivory-colored tile on the bathroom floor, tools scattered on the floor. Marcus knew it was Lauren calling. He regretted not calling her sooner. Maybe she could have helped him out of this mess! At least distracted Evelyn who kept hovering over him and asking if he had everything fixed yet. “Almost got it!” Marcus said. “Just clean up after yourself,” she grumbled and plodded back into the living room clutching her walker.
Finally he did finish. He cleaned up the best he could and slipped into the living room. He wanted to say a quick goodbye but Evelyn asked if Marcus could take her back to the doctor next week for a blood test. “I’ll give you a call,” he said as he backed out the door. While walking out to his truck he checked his cell phone and noticed he had missed two calls. One was from Lauren. He called her. She answered with, “How was your day?” Marcus had to laugh, “I’ll tell you about it when I get home.”
An hour later Marcus was sitting on the couch in their apartment eating Lauren’s spicy rigatoni and between bites telling her the epic saga of his day. They had arrived over an hour early at the doctor’s office and Marcus, at Evelyn’s request, spent most of the time scouring the waiting room for the February issue of “Better Homes and Gardens.” Then a nurse called him to the window and asked if he was her grandson. He said he was just a friend from church. The nurse explained Evelyn often came in for “unexplained back pain” and would he come back to see the doctor along with Evelyn. It would sure help Dr. Lemos if he could speak to someone “clear-minded” on Evelyn’s behalf.
At this point in the story Lauren interjected a scripture, “help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” Marcus was quick to reply, “I had plenty of practice today.”
Marcus continued his tale. After a bizarre conversation with Evelyn and the doctor in which Marcus served as both translator and referee, he had to stop by the pharmacy to pick up her prescription. But the computer had her date of birth wrong. The technician asked for her accurate date of birth. Evelyn didn’t want to tell anyone what year she was born. The technician said, “Ma’am we can’t give you your prescription without that information.” Finally Marcus persuaded Evelyn just to write down her date of birth on a slip of paper and pass it to the girl, but then she couldn’t find her glasses and when she finally did she couldn’t find a pen.
Lauren chimed in again, “help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil...” Marcus took a deep breath and went on.
Finally they got home and he got Evelyn to her chair. But her back hurt and she needed to take her pills. However, the sticker on the bottle clearly said, “TAKE WITH FOOD.” So Marcus went to the kitchen to get something but Evelyn said there was nothing there she wanted to eat. She sent him to Whataburger to get a vanilla shake. A large vanilla shake. With those big red straws, not those puny little clear straws. Lauren was laughing now. Marcus couldn’t go on. “Then the sink was another two hour episode I’d rather not relive.”
One last time Lauren quoted 1 Thessalonians 5:14,“help the weak, be patient with them all...”
Marcus had finished his dinner and was idly playing with his phone when he remembered he had missed another call. He opened his cell phone and checked the list. He didn’t recognize the number. He called. A lady answered.
Marcus said, “Hi, this is Marcus Redding, I missed a call from this number.” The lady said, “Hi Marcus. It’s Stephanie. Your barber. I’ve got a job lead for you.”
More about Marcus Redding’s journey of faith next week.
