Descent – Part 12
He stepped into his office hoping to get a few minutes of peace before going to face his class. Before he closed his eyes, he looked around the room he called an office. It wasn’t much of an office, really, as much as it was a storage room with a desk. In the corner stood the extra microphones and music stands. Beside them was a bare spot that usually housed the candelabras, now being used for Christmas decor. Crowding the rest of the space were folding tables, bookcases, old file cabinets. Along one wall leaned a number of folding tables, waiting for the next church supper, and facing them on the other wall were the bookcases that served as the weigh station for bad literature. All of the books that were donated to the church’s library were tested for spiritual substance. All that failed were placed on these shelves to collect dust. Other than that, there were just a few file cabinets filled with irrelevant files dating back to the dawn of disco, Kyle’s desk, and a couch that got a lot of use for Sunday afternoon naps.
Although the office wasn’t much, Kyle liked it especially at times like these when he could take a few moments to avoid the other people running around the church and gear up for the lesson. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Just as he was getting overly comfortable, he heard a knock at the door. He looked up to see the pastor’s head peek in.
“Good morning, Kyle. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure, Dave. I was just doing some last minute preparations for this morning’s lesson.” He was hoping that Dave thought he was preparing in prayer and not napping. Kyle knew that Dave Buchanan was big on accountability it, and wouldn’t think a pre-lesson nap constituted as preparation. Kyle had been late to church once. That’s all it took. Pastor David Buchanan had let him know that he did not approve of Kyle taking his position so lightly. Dave was a great man of God, but he was also over 6’3” and weighed in at just over 225 pounds. He was not the type of man that Kyle wanted upset with him.
“What can I do for you?”
“I know that you are planning to leave this week for Christmas break, but I was just hoping that you might reconsider staying an extra few days to teach Bible study on Wednesday night.” He had a gentle softness to his voice that one would not expect from a man his size. “I’ve tried to get a replacement, but it seems that quite a few people are going out of town for the holidays. What do you think? Can you stay just a little longer?”
Kyle felt his stomach churn as he faced the hulking man and scrambled for an excuse.
“Well, I was really looking forward to seeing my family. I mean, I haven’t seen them since August. I wasn’t able to be home for Thanksgiving.” It wasn’t entirely untrue. He did want to see them, but mostly just wanted to start his vacation. It had been a hard semester juggling a job and his senior thesis, and he needed the break badly.
“I know, Kyle, but I’d really appreciate it. And you can leave Thursday morning and be there in plenty of time for Christmas.”
Kyle stood up, hoping that the man would be less intimidating, but Dave still towered over him.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll call my mom and see what she says, but I’m not making any promises. You know how mothers can be. I told her I’d be home Tuesday night, so who knows what kinds of plans she has made.”
“That’s fine. Just let me know as soon as possible. Thanks, Kyle. See you in church.”
“Will do, Dave,” he replied as the man exited the room.
Kyle couldn’t believe that, after all of these years, he was still using his mother as an excuse. When he had been was a teenager, he had used his mother to get out of several situations. If he felt he may be in a compromising position, he would just explain that he had to visit him mother in the hospital or give her a ride somewhere. His friends must have thought him quite the mama’s boy, but the excuses had worked, and still did.
This is an excerpt from Descent by Steve McAllister. Buy the eBook now!
