A Heart of Faith – Chapter Sixteen
Time. Some think it’s something of which they have lots. But we never can know how much we do have, until it becomes jeopardized. That’s a lesson the Meltsner learnt the hard way, when just that happens to Eugene Meltsner.
All of a sudden, time seems to be slipping away for him, quicker than anyone could have expected. Will the situation be able to be turned around before time is completely gone for good? Only time and faith will reveal what God could possibly have planned for them—of what use the situation could be. And maybe, as the saying goes, “One man’s loss, is another man’s gain.”
Although the events prove to be a fright for the family, and even their close friends, they are all able to find that they can have Hearts of Faith that God will take care of them and their every need.
It was another seemingly routine day at Whit’s End. Sunlight was finally beginning to shine again as the clouds of the earlier storm began to disappear—revealing much friendlier, whiter clouds against a bright blue sky. Connie was cleaning the parlor’s countertop, while Renee was serving the customers either also at the counter, or at their tables. And Whit, who had been upstairs checking on a few of the attractions in Eugene’s stead—almost reminiscent of the early days of the shop before his employment—was returning downstairs to check on his employees. He also wanted to say hello to any regulars who happened to be by.
A couple of said regulars arrived at the shop just as Whit made it to the ground floor. The little bell above the door chimed, and in entered Wooton and Penny Bassett. “Heya, Whit!” Wooton greeted with a smile. “Hello, Wooton, Penny!” Whit greeted in return. Connie noticed the couple’s arrival from across the room. She set the rag aside, the countertop was clean now, anyways. “Hey guys!” Penny gave her best friend a wave. “Hi, Connie!”
“Can I get either of you something? A cool drink, maybe?” Whit then offered, as he and the couple went over to the counter. “Oh, I’d love a lemonade, please.” Penny requested. “Coming right up. And you, Wooton?” Wooton nodded, while also reaching into his mail bag that was slung over his shoulder. “Lemonade sounds great, thanks,” He confirmed, before then going on to say, “And I’ve also got a package here.”
“Oh?”
“For a John A. Whittaker!” Wooton announced in a semi-theatrical tone of voice as he set the small parcel down on the counter. “Why, thank you, Wooton.” Whit thanked, as he turned to set the two glasses of icy cold lemonade on the counter for them. After, he took the parcel in question. “It’s no problem at all, Whit. All in a day’s work of your local mailman!” Wooton answered gladly. Then, both he and his wife took a sip of their lemonade. Penny hummed. “That hit the spot. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Whit answered. “I think Renee just made that pitcher of lemonade not long ago, so it’s still fresh.” Connie noted, simultaneously garnering the red head’s attention as she returned with a tray of dishes. “I did what, now?” She asked, seeing as she didn’t entirely catch what it was her co-worker had said. “You made the lemonade, right?” Connie wondered. Renee nodded. “Aye, I did.”
“And it’s really good, Renee.” Wooton complimented her with a nod. “Ah, thanks.” Renee answered with a slight laugh, before she disappeared into the kitchen to tend to the dishes on the tray she held.
While the couple continued to sip at their lemonade, Wooton asked another question—changing the topic of conversation. “So, any news on how Eugene’s doing?” Whit sighed, as he thrummed his fingers on the countertop. “He’s back in the hospital, I’m afraid.” He answered, all while Renee returned from the kitchen. “Oh, that’s too bad… I take it they still haven’t found a donor yet?” Whit shook his head ‘no’. Penny hummed sadly. “We’ll just have to keep praying.”
“Like always.” Connie agreed. “Y’know, I had this idea earlier,” They turned to look at Renee. “Somethin’ you could do to maybe cheer Eugene up while he’s in the hospital.” Whit gave her a nod. “We’re all ears.” The four listened quietly as Renee then went on to explain her idea.
•·················•·················•
The following day, Katrina was back at the hospital to visit Eugene. Having come on her own, it was only herself and her husband visiting with one another in the hospital room. Both were carrying on in quiet conversation, courteously not wanting to potentially bother any other patients nearby.
“How was it yesterday, with your brother?” Katrina wondered, still smirking happily that Everett had flown out to Odyssey. “It was a very pleasant surprise, I must admit.” Eugene began, he himself smiling. “Having his company here was wonderful.” Katrina nodded. “I’m sure it was. You know, him and Buck seem to be getting along pretty great.”
“I’m glad to hear!” Eugene said, his smile growing a bit upon hearing that. “And, how has your mother’s visit been, thus far?” He asked next. “It’s been good. I’m happy she agreed to come to Odyssey.” Katrina answered. She still had a smile on her face as they spoke. “As I can very well deduce.” Eugene noted, chuckling. His wife shook her head a little.
“Could you excuse me for a minute? I’ve got to go to the restroom.” Eugene nodded, watching as Katrina got up from her seat. She crossed the room, leaving her husband alone again. He turned to look out the window of the hospital room, which was on the second floor of the building. There wasn’t much of a view from his hospital bed, aside from the white fluffy clouds and blue sky.
A knock on the doorframe brought Eugene’s attention away from the window. Looking over, he saw Wooton standing in the threshold. “Ah, hello there, Wooton.” He greeted, gesturing for his guest to enter the room. “Hey, Eugene,” Wooton, in return, greeted. “I heard from Whit that you were back in the hospital.” He explained, entering the room. “So, I thought I’d drop by, say hi and, y’know… see how you’re doing ‘n all that.”
“Thank you. Visitors are certainly appreciated.” Eugene told him, watching as Wooton made his way to the other side of the room—near the window. With a small shrug, Wooton then asked, “How have you been doing…?” There was slight hesitation in the question, as he’d asked it at the same time as he made eye contact with his friend. Eugene didn’t miss that slight hesitation, knowing that the question was already partially answered simply by how he appeared… Unwell.
“I don’t entirely know how to answer you, Wooton.” Eugene started with a quiet sigh. “I can’t say that I am faring well, as my health is failing me. There’s no ‘sugar coating’ that… to borrow th-the… c-colloquialism-” The end of his sentence was cut off by a few short, yet bad sounding coughs into the crook of his elbow. “Oh, you okay, there?” Clearing his throat a little, Eugene gave a nod. “Yes…” Wooton hummed, all while looking out the window again—as he’d been doing while Eugene had been talking.
“Are you looking for something?” Wooton looked away from the window again. “Oh, no, I was just looking to see if you got one of the good hospital room views.” He excused with a smirk. “By the looks of it, you do.” Eugene gave him an intrigued look. “I confess, it is a little hard to see the view properly from this bed.” Wooton mouthed an ‘oh’, realizing the dilemma. “It’s not anything fancy, but you can see the bell tower from here!”
“The bell tower can be seen from virtually anywhere in town, Wooton.” He nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but we’re a little high up here, so the view is that much cooler.” He justified with a case resting hum. “I suppose I must take your word for it, then.” Eugene commented with a chuckle.
Before the small talk continued any further, Katrina made her return to the hospital room. She paused briefly upon entering. “Oh- Hello, Wooton.” Wooton smiled in her direction. “Hi there, Katrina.” He greeted. “I didn’t realize you were going to visit today.” She commented, returning to her seat by the hospital bed. “Well, actually neither did I until yesterday. When I decided to come by.” Eugene gave Wooton a curious look. “Did anything of significant happen yesterday?”
“Oh, um-” Wooton slightly cleared his throat to try and distract from his near spoiler of statement. “Yesterday was uh, when I heard from Whit.” He answered, before then adding on with, “That’s all I’ll say right now.” He smirked. Eugene hummed. “Ah.”
“Yeah. Anyways, could the two of excuse me a quick minute?” Katrina and Eugene briefly glanced to one another, and just as Katrina was about to answer, Wooton made his way to the door of the room. “I’ll be back in a flash!” With that, the couple were left alone once more. “… Sure.” Katrina quietly mumbled. “He’s acting strangely. More so than usual, at that.” Eugene noted, to which his wife nodded in agreement.
Not a minute after Wooton had left, did he return again. This time, however, he wasn’t alone. Returning to the room with him were Penny and Whit. “Hi, you two!” Whit greeted as everyone entered. “Oh, hey guys!” Katrina said in return. “Why, what a pleasant surprise having you both visit.” Eugene told with a smile. “If you think this is a surprise,” Wooton began, still having a knowing look about him. “Then you’d better hold onto your glasses, Eugene, ‘cause the surprises don’t end there!” Subconsciously, Eugene adjusted his glasses as Wooton looked over to Whit. In a game show host impression, he asked, “Mr. John Whittaker, would you so kindly show us what’s behind doorway 13?”
“With pleasure,” Whit answered. He went back to the threshold of the door, and peered out. Then, he waved at whoever was out in the hallway. Several sets of footsteps could all be heard, as a group of a few kids from Whit’s End arrived at the room. They were all following Connie, and being followed by Renee. Both Eugene and Katrina’s eyes widened, very much surprised again.
“Hey, Eugene! Hi Katrina!” Connie greeted on behalf of the group. Before either were able to ask why such a large group had come by to visit, Camilla Parker and Emily Jones stepped forward. Camilla had a balloon in hand that had the words “Get Well Soon”—likely from the gift shop on the ground floor—which she went to tie to the end of the bed. Emily was holding a card, which she handed over to Eugene. “A bunch of us kids at Whit’s End all got together and signed this for you.” She explained. He hummed, opening the envelope. “That’s awfully generous of you all!”
Sliding the card out of the envelope, it was obvious that it had been hand made. The design on the front, sketched with colored pencils, was of a teddy bear holding onto a small, plush heart. The little heart had an even smaller white bandage on it. The words on the cover were neatly handwritten, and said, “We Miss You Beary Much”. Eugene instantly deduced who had both drawn the bear, and written the pun. She was also snickering quietly. “I presume you are the one who made the card, Miss Kendall?”
“I am,” Connie confirmed, smiling a bit mischievously. “And of course, I couldn’t pass up the pun.” Eugene, laughing a little himself, lightly shook his head. “I must say, the bear is charming.” He complimented. “Thanks.” Connie chirped. Eugene then opened the card. On the left half, there were multiple signatures from kids and regulars of Whit’s End, like Emily had said. There were even signatures from many of his friends amongst Odyssey’s community. The right half had a message. It was written in Whit’s handwriting, and read;
“Dear Eugene,
I’m sure you’ve come to notice that, over the years, many of us at Whit’s End—the kid’s especially—appreciate and love you. We’ve all missed having you around. We also want you to know that we’re praying that God provides a donor, and that he brings you peace, continually. We also pray that this card is an encouragement for you.
Prayers and Thoughts from
The whole gang at Whit’s End, and others.”
“For with God, nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37
After reading the smile, Eugene was smiling brightly. There was even maybe a tear in his eye, truly touched by everyones’ act in putting the card together. Closing it, he looked up at the group. “I’m… unsure what to say,” He began. “Thank you! This card, and all of you coming here was indeed a wonderful encouragement!” Wooton glanced over at Renee. “This was definitely a great idea!”
“Actually, we have one more thing to give you, Eugene.” Whit told him. “Oh?” Looking over at Connie, Whit gave her a nod. She then addressed the small group of kids. “Okay, how about we start with He’s Got the Whole World in His Hand.” Following her suggestion, they all began to sing.
While the kids sang, Katrina was smiling as she sat by her husband’s side. Though, her thoughts slowly began to wander a bit, as she wasn’t giving the song her full attention. She glanced over to her husband once more, and once more saw how ill he looked. Then, questions began flooding her mind again. Questions about if and when a heart donor would be found. About if Eugene would even still be there when the doctors do find one. The ‘what ifs’, wondering about if most everyone in this room would be attending a funeral in the near future.
With the questions distracting her, Katrina could feel tears begin to well in her eyes. For the moment, she couldn’t find it in her to try and suppress them. Getting up from her seat, she hastily left the room in a fast paced walk. Whit and Connie both saw her leave, and as Connie was about to get up and follow after her, Whit stopped her. He gave her a nod, and she backed down to let him go instead.
Little ways down the hall, where a few chairs were set against the wall, Katrina sat hunched over. She held her head in her hands with her glasses hanging from her fingers. Her shoulders were shaking thanks to her crying. Quietly, Whit went over and sat next to her—placing a supportive arm around her shoulders.
“You’re not alone in finding this hard.” Katrina lowered her hands, and wiped some of her tears away. Her eyes were red and puffy. “I-I’ve been trying so hard… not to be afraid…” She began, her voice sounding shaky. “B-But it s-still scares me… Whit, Eugene is dying! M-My husband is dying!” She exclaimed, just as her crying continued. Whit held her close, empathetic to what she was feeling—having lost his own wife many years back. “I know, Katrina. I know how hard the thought of losing someone close to you is. Trust me… All we can really do now is pray, and ask the ‘God of all comfort’ to give us peace through this—to strengthen our faith.”
Katrina’s cries slowly quieted, allowing for both to hear the children singing just nearby. “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty. There’s nothing my God cannot do…!~” Whit hummed. “What a truth to remember.” Still sniffling a little, Katrina answered, “Yeah…” After another minute, Whit looked at her. “Do you feel a bit better now?” The blonde nodded in response, before then the two stood up to rejoin the others.