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Yes, Sir. I Won’t Let You Down

“She’s a hoot.” Paul chuckled. “So, without further ado. What did you have in mind, Carol?”

“First question, do you have a special costume that stretches?”

“Fortunately, my powers do that. If I grew right now, outside of course, I’d be a hundred foot tall guy in khakis and a sweater. Clothing just kind of grows with me. I have to be careful not to touch other people. The chaos energy, well, it’s bad.”

“So, if we got you a nice Santa costume, you could grow to like thirty feet and put a star on the big tree in Laurel Park?”

“Sure, I could do that. The costume would grow with me.” He scratched his chin. “Kind of wonder how many kids would be scarred for life by a giant Santa.”

“I’ll have to run a poll on that. We’ll chalk that up as a definite maybe.” Carol tapped away at her phone. “What’s your comfort level with public speaking?”

Paul pulled out a chair and sat beside the torn box of cookies. “Old hat. No problems there.” He poked around and found an iced snowflake with blue sprinkles.

“Great. Do you prefer a prepared script or are you one for ad lib?”

“I can do pretty much whatever you need. I’ve been at a bunch of conventions and parades before. I know the basic drill. If you give me some talking points and local flavor, I can do running commentary.”

“I’ll send you a list of the vendors and contributors to name drop among the general Christmas cheer.”

“And the rest of the municipal government. I met the mayor, but it would be good to be able to mention folks on the council and department heads. Everybody likes to be recognized for their contributions.”

“Good point. I’ll send you that list and we’ll do a quick tour around City Hall at three.”

“Great, I can work with that.” Paul’s watch scrolled the list as a virtual screen over his wrist. “So, this tree, the streets guys will decorate it except for the topper?”

“Yes, Earl has it down to a fine science. I’ll run the idea of giant Santa putting the star on top by him when we stop in.”

“Okay, Maggie is the mayor and Earl is the streets guy. Who else do we have here?”

“Tom O’Reilly is our Chief of Police, but everybody just calls him Chief. We’ll meet the whole Rogues’ Gallery at three. Let’s talk about some of the key events.”

Sarah popped her head in the door. “Can I see you a moment?”

Paul smiled and waved at her as he nibbled his cookie. She blushed and slid from view.

“What’s up?” Carol closed the door behind her back.

Sarah’s eyes darted up and down the hall. “That guy has a record.”

“Ryan?”

Sarah nodded.

“Did Earl have a problem with it?”

“I wanted to check with you before I took him.”

“If the pastor is vouching for him, it should be alright. I don’t think Earl would mind as long as he’s willing and able to do the work. It’s just temporary labor.”

“But it’s a gun charge.” Sarah hissed.

“If he did his time, and the pastor is vouching for him…” She saw the terror in Sarah’s eyes. “Okay, let me check with Greg first. Go in and get Paul up to speed.”
Pastor Greg was sitting at his desk mulling over ideas for next week’s sermon when his phone rang. “Lutheran Grace Fellowship, Pastor Greg speaking.”

“Greg, it’s Carol Snyder.”

“Hi, Carol. I guess Ryan found you?”

“Yes, we’re going to have him interview with Earl, but I wanted to touch base with you about this item on his application.”

“It’s a condition of his parole that he finds work. I hoped that if he could be considered for the seasonal spot, he might prove himself worthy of a more permanent position.”

“I understand, but this is a very red flag. I assume that since you’re vouching for him, you’ve got some insight you could share.”

“It probably sounds like I’m being a do-gooder, but I sincerely believe Ryan has turned over a new leaf. I worked with him extensively in Prison Fellowship. He made a drastic mistake and has paid for it in so many ways.”

“Greg, did he mention that he and I have history?”

“He did. We felt that if anyone could see the change in his heart, it would be you. He spoke very highly of you and deeply regrets the decisions that drove you apart. I know you’re working on the town’s Christmas project. What is Christmas if not a time for forgiveness and healing?”

“He certainly seems different, but you don’t really know how reformed someone is until they’re under pressure.”

“Trust me, Carol. He’s under quite a bit of pressure already. I genuinely believe he is a more mature man than the rowdy kid you used to know.”

“I hope so, Greg. If we’re wrong, there are going to be a lot of Christmas geese getting cooked around here.”

“There are no miracles without faith, Carol. Ryan has been through the grinder and emerged a new man. He just needs a clean start.”
Carol went to the waiting room where Sarah had stashed Ryan. “Hi.”

“Hi, Carol.” He looked up at her hopefully.

“Bring your application. Let’s go have a talk with Earl.”

“Do you think he’ll go for it?”

“As far as I know, he attends Greg’s church. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already talked about your situation.”

“The pastor didn’t mention anything about that, but maybe.”

Carol led him to an office and knocked on the open door. “Hi, Earl. I’ve got a candidate for you.”

Earl was a burly man with swept back silver hair. He had a blue oxford shirt with ‘Laurel Ridge Streets’ embroidered on the breast pocket. His top button was unbuttoned and his tie hung loose.

He stood up to shake Ryan’s hand. “Hi, I’m Earl Townsend. Come on in. Let’s take a look at your application. Say, you look familiar.”

“I’ve been helping the sexton at Lutheran Grace Fellowship. I seem to recall seeing you at services.” Ryan shook his hand.

“Have a seat.” Earl sat back down as he scanned the application.

Ryan sat and looked up at Carol. She smiled.

“Looks like you had a couple of detours, Ryan. Life is like that. Are you ready to work?”

“Yes, sir. I just want to make an honest buck and do something good for the community.”

Earl looked at Carol and winked. “It’s music to my ears, son. These decorations aren’t going to hang themselves. You mind a bit of weather? It’s mostly outdoors.”

“It would be nice if the wind died down a bit, but yes. I’m good for outside work.”

“I hear you.” Earl chuckled. “Today is pretty rough. Forecast is looking a lot nicer for the rest of the week. We’ve got a lot to get done and we need all hands on deck. I’m going to have Carol take you over to see Marsha. She’ll process your paperwork and show you some safety videos. Come back tomorrow morning at five and I’ll introduce you to the crew. Sound good?”

“Yes, sir. I won’t let you down.”