A Deal With God: The Power of One Page 4

  Deana jumped in the Stratus and went to church. She parked the car at 9:50am and walked slowly towards the sanctuary. She was polite and said hello to everyone she could. To those that seemed interested, she introduced herself.

  Deana had already met a few of the people during the week at Vito’s. She would try to meet a few more after the service.

  When Deana walked thru the door at 9:55am she looked for any clue that would lead her to identifying the Samuels. After several minutes of scanning the church, she shook her head in utter bewilderment. All she could do was take a seat in the back and hope God would send her a sign.

  At 10:05am, God sent her a sign all right. Four of the most unkempt looking individuals Deana had ever seen walked into the church, creating a ruckus. The nine and ten year olds were fighting with each other. The father looked despondent. His hair was long and uncombed; his beard was straggly and he was heavy set. He almost looked like a hillbilly. He was followed by a little boy who looked like something the cat had dragged in.

  The father, Leon Samuels, picked up the little boy and walked into the only empty pew in the church. Leon entered from the left and put his youngest to his right. The nine and ten year old stayed to their dad’s left.

  During the commotion, Deana moved to the far right of the Samuels’ pew hoping not to draw attention to herself. The little boy soon noticed Deana twelve feet away and immediately scooted next to her. She gave him a friendly hug. He smelt awful but was really cute at the same time.

  Leon did not look happy. Deana with the young boy in her arms, shifted left about eight feet so the boy would be close to both his father and Deana. Hopefully this would make the boy happy enough to sit still.

  It was a good idea that yielded mixed results. The little boy remained still only when Deana let him sit on her lap. Deana did not want to seem too presumptuous, but did not say a word. The oldest boy looked over and seemed intrigued by his little brother’s new friend. The middle brother, Mark, stared out the window as if his mind was elsewhere.

  When the service finished, Leon looked over to Deana and said, “I’m sorry ma’am.” He opened his large arms and Deana handed the boy to the very big man.

  Deana smiled at Leon. “I’m Deana, I just moved into town.” As Deana spoke she looked down at the little boy. “I enjoyed making a new friend today.”

  The little boy could neither stop smiling or looking at Deana. The oldest boy asked Deana where she was from.

  “I just moved here from Tampa, Florida. I’m the new waitress at Vito’s. Are you going to stay for the luncheon they are about to have now?” Deana had heard the pastor mention the luncheon before his sermon.

  “It’s the main reason we’re here,” the boy joked.

  Leon gave Matthew a stern look and sent him to get some bottled waters.

  While he was gone, Deana asked Mark if they played sports in the courtyard of their church like they did back at her old church in Tampa.

  Mark’s eyes lit up. “We used to play football here all the time, but I guess someone lost the ball so we stopped. You wouldn’t happen to have a football, would you?”

  “I think my foster brother left one in the trunk of my car. I’ll go look.” When Deana finished speaking, Matthew handed her a water.

  Deana went to the trunk and got the brand new leather football she bought yesterday.

  “This is a pretty nice one, I think. My foster brother spared no expense when he was getting sports equipment.”

  “What’s a foster brother?” Mark asked.

  Deana was hoping he would ask this. “My mother died when I was little. My father left before she died, so I grew up in an orphanage. The other children I grew up with at the orphanage are my foster brothers and sisters.”

  Matthew overheard Deana’s explanation. “Our mother died not too long ago. I guess we have something in common.”

  Mark back–pedaled about twenty yards away. Deana had left her jacket in the car, so it would be easy to throw the football. She threw a perfect spiral with a lot of velocity. Mark put his hands up to catch the ball and it went right thru his hands.

  “Holy crap,” Mark said. “Where did you learn to throw like that?”

  “I told you, I grew up in an orphanage with a lot of foster brothers. Also, having this doesn’t hurt.” Deana curled her right arm showing off her bicep. Deana was a little more muscular than your average twenty–five year old woman. Throw in the intense rehab she just went thru and the tank top she was wearing, and Deana looked pretty impressive.

  Deana, Matthew, Mark and a 23 year old guy who introduced himself as Jerod, played football, ate lunch and played more football. They had a great time.

  The boys knew 1pm was approaching. Their dad wanted to watch the big football game on TV, so he’d want to leave soon.

  Deana had prepared for this moment all week. She walked up to Leon who had been tending to Luke while she was playing football with Matthew and Mark in the courtyard.

  Leon had not told Deana his name yet. Leon had called her ‘ma’am’ earlier, so, in an effort to be as safe as possible she called him ‘sir.’

  “Sir, I know this is going to sound strange, but the stove at my new place does not work. I have not been able to cook a hot meal for myself all week. I just went shopping and have lots of ziti, if I could use your oven I would be glad to share.”

  Before Leon could respond, Matthew answered for him, “We’d love to have you over. We live at the end of the next street. Just follow us.” Deana got to her car as quickly as possible, not wanting to give Leon a chance to object.

  She saw the four of them get into a large Dodge extended cab truck and drive in the direction Matthew said. Deana went slow and kept her distance. She was praying Leon would not be upset.

  The front door was left open for her, which she took as a good sign. She collected her ingredients and headed into the kitchen. The boys went straight for the TV.

  The kitchen was a disaster. Dishes, glasses, utensils and mail were scattered everywhere, except where they should be. Deana was going to have to clean for at least half an hour just to make a path to the stove. Not to mention the time it would take her to scrub the pans, plates and silverware she would need.

  She had to work tonight, so she had less than four hours. She started the water boiling and the pasta cooking while she was cleaning. She knew the best time to serve the food would be at half time, which should be around 2:30pm.

  As the second quarter of the football game ended, Deana was filling plates in a clean dining room that bore little resemblance to how she’d found it.

  Leon did not say a word but it was obvious he was impressed. He had three helpings. Deana was quite a cook. She knew the secret to making ziti is the mozzarella cheese. She used a two pound block plus grated parmesan cheese. She also knew food presentation; not only did her food taste good, it looked good too.

  The four Samuels and Deana, mostly the four Samuels, devoured the entire pan. Over four pounds of food was gone. One thing surprised Deana though. Luke and Mark picked out most of the hamburger. She had never met boys that didn’t like hamburger.

  It was killing her. She had to ask. “Y’all don’t like hamburger?”

  “We used to” Mark explained. “But pretty much all we’ve eaten the last two months is take out burgers. We’re just kinda getting tired of it.”

  “I understand,” Deana replied.

  With that said the boys expressed their thanks and went back into the living room to watch the end of the game. Deana just stared at the big empty pan in disbelief.

  While she was cleaning the dining room, she found an old Nintendo video game system. It must have been close to twenty years old. She knew most boys loved video games. She plugged it in to see if it still worked, but she couldn’t get it to power up.

  Matthew and Mark must have heard her trying to get the player to work. They both came into the dining room.

  “It’s dead,” Matthew said. “We played it so mu
ch it finally stopped working.”

  Deana turned towards Matthew as she unplugged the Nintendo system. “I have a practically new Sony PlayStation at my place. My foster brother got it for me when I was in the hospital. He felt bad for me because I can’t play competitive soccer anymore because of my accident.”

  The boys’ eyes lit up. “Is there any way we can use your PlayStation?” Mark asked. “We love video games.”

  “The only game I have is soccer; I would love it if you could teach me to play it. I’m off from work tomorrow. What time do you get done with school?”

  “We don’t go to school anymore,” Matthew answered. “Since my mom died last August our dad says we are being home schooled. We have to stay home to watch Luke.”

  “Oh, I have to run into town in the morning, but I can be back here by twelve. We can have lunch together and play the soccer game if your dad says it’s all right. By the way, what is your father’s favorite meal for dinner?”

  “Fried chicken and corn bread is his favorite, “Mark answered. “Do you think we can have dinner again here tomorrow?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Deana went into the living room. There were only three minutes left in the game. She very quietly sat down in a chair. Luke immediately came over and sat on her knee. She intended to wait for the game to end, then talk to Leon.

  Mark and Matthew beat her to the punch. Before Deana could say anything the boys blurted out, “Deana is bringing her PlayStation over tomorrow. She’s going to make fried chicken and corn bread for us.”

  “Is that all right sir?” Deana leaned closer to Leon. He nodded his head in agreement.

  “I apologize for not formally introducing myself, Deana. My name is Leon Samuels. Thank you for dinner. It was very nice.”

  “I enjoyed it too. Thank you for lending me your stove.”

  Deana handed him Luke and shook his hand just like they had at church.

  “Well I work Wednesday thru Sunday night. It’s time for me to head home and change. Thanks again.” Deana headed for the door. She got in her car quickly, trying not to show any emotion. She recalled her agreement with God, but knew there was no way she’d ever fall in love with this man.

  To make matters worse, Jerod from church came to the restaurant to see Deana. He was quite taken with her and asked Deana to go out with him on a date.

  Jerod was very much Deana’s type. He was tan and athletic, almost six feet tall, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a great smile. Deana wanted to say ‘yes’ in the worst way, but said ‘no.’

  “I have a dinner date tomorrow night with someone and I don’t think it’s right to be dating two guys at the same time. I really am sorry,” Deana said.

  She quickly retreated to the ladies’ room. She tried her best to hold back the tears. Delores saw her go in and knew something was wrong.

  Deana refused to let on how upset she was. “I hated saying ‘no’ to Jerod. However, I’m kind of seeing someone.”

  “Is that someone Leon Samuels?” Delores asked.

  Deana gulped. “Yes, please don’t tell anyone yet; we are just friends.”

  “If you’re only friends with Leon, why won’t you go out with Jerod?”

  “I’m not able to have biological children,” Deana explained. “Leon being older and having children of his own makes things far less complicated. Me with a twenty–three year old wouldn’t work. I’ve got way too much baggage for Jerod to deal with.”

  Deana was doing her best sales job. She didn’t know if she believed it herself or if Delores would either. “Please trust me, Delores; it’s complicated. Can we keep what I just told you between us?”

  “I won’t say anything Deana” Delores said. “But, there is something you should know. Two local policemen who come in here all the time sat at my station last night. I overheard them talking. The store owners in town are complaining about Leon’s boys loitering outside their stores during the day while Leon is working. They’re going to crack down on Leon because he’s not properly home schooling his kids.”

  Deana thanked Delores but said nothing more. She finished her shift, cleaned her station and went home. Still in her uniform, Deana laid face down on her bed and cried into her pillow until she drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER 5

  BIG CHANGES FOR THE SAMUELS’ BOYS

  Deana awoke just after 8am. She got in a quick workout, showered and went online to find the closest gaming store. The cheapest PlayStation system was almost three hundred dollars. Even the soccer game was over sixty dollars.

  To save money, Deana decided not to buy a television for the boys to hook the PlayStation to. Instead, she took the 27” television out of her bedroom. In Tampa, her apartment was cable ready in the living room and bedroom. Her duplex only had cable in the living room, so the bedroom television wasn’t going to get used much anyway.

  Deana went grocery shopping and barely made it to the Samuels by noon, like she promised.

  The boys were eagerly awaiting her arrival. “Did you bring your PlayStation?”

  “Of course. Let’s have a quick lunch and then we can put everything together.”

  Deana bought sandwich fixings and potato chips for lunch. She also had picked up the ingredients to make fried chicken, corn bread, and green beans for dinner. She cleaned a few plates and put the lunch food out so the boys could make their sandwiches.

  Deana made sandwiches for Luke and herself, as Matthew and Mark watched. Then Matthew and Mark made their own sandwiches following Deana’s lead. She had the older boys assemble their own; she wanted them to start learning to be self–sufficient. Lunch did not last long. The boys were ready to hook up the television and game console.

  “Like I said yesterday, I’m more than happy to lend you my PlayStation, game and television. But there are a couple of important rules I need you to follow and I need a favor in return.”

  “Anything,” Mark said. “Whatever you want,” Matthew added.

  “For the next two hours I’m going to do laundry, clean up the kitchen and take care of Luke. You both can play all two hours. At 3pm, I’m going to start dinner. Let Luke play the game while you clean your room and put away the clothes I’m washing. Sound fair?”

  “Yes, absolutely,” the boys agreed.

  “If you can follow my rules, you can play again after dinner while I talk to your father.”

  Matthew was curious. “What are the rules?”

  “The PlayStation is only for the five of us. I will leave it here, but it’s only for us to use. Also, absolutely no trash talking or swearing of any kind. I’m very strict about that.”

  “No problem,” Matthew said.

  Next, Deana turned on the radio and started to clean. Deana would dance to the music while cleaning and Luke laughed hysterically.

  The boys had the game set up and were playing within a matter of minutes. The Samuels’ household was already benefiting from Deana’s feminine touch.

  Just after 3 pm, two large loads of laundry were done and the kitchen was clean. Deana gave Luke a bath and clean clothes. He wasn’t a smelly little boy anymore. Matthew and Mark let Luke play the video game as they cleaned their bedroom and put away their laundry.

  Deana got the largest frying pan the Samuels had and went to work. She knew a trick to make her fried chicken extra special. She butter basted the fried bread crumbs. As the chicken was done frying she quickly got it out of the oil and onto a plate. Immediately, she coated it with lots of butter using a cooking brush.

  She also used lots of butter on the corn bread and green beans. She needed Leon to love tonight’s meal. She had something important to ask him and she wanted him in a good mood.

  Leon got home just after 5 pm and looked around in amazement. Luke and Deana were having fun playing the video game. Mark and Matthew were cleaning their room. The kitchen and dining rooms were clean and the delightful aroma of freshly fried chicken filled the home.

  Deana had fried over six pounds
of chicken. She baked a big loaf of corn bread and made plenty of green beans. The dinner table was set and ready. Everything looked perfect. Thirty minutes later, everyone was stuffed.

  Deana was thinking she might have to start working overtime at the restaurant to cover the expense of feeding the Samuels’ family.

  “Dinner was absolutely amazing,” Leon said. “You definitely know your way around a kitchen.”

  Deana appreciated the compliment. “Thank you, I’m going to do the dishes and clean up. Why don’t you go relax in the living room? There is something I’d like to discuss with you when I’m done.”

  “I’ll help you with the dishes, and the boys can help clear the table.”

  “I promised the boys they could play the video game after dinner. You worked hard all day. Go relax. Me and Luke can knock this out pretty quick. She turned the radio back on. Luke and Deana laughed and danced, as she cleaned. Half an hour later, Deana asked Matthew and Mark to let Luke play too so she could talk to Leon in private.

  Matthew and Mark wanted to know what she was going to ask Leon.

  “If your father agrees to my suggestion, I’ll buy the Sony baseball and football games and spend more time here with you. Please let me talk to your dad in private. I promise I’ll explain everything to you before I leave tonight.”

  Apparently the boys were okay with this. They let Luke into the game and Deana walked into the living room. It was just her and Leon. She sat down next to him on the couch. “Leon, I’ve been praying you won’t hate me for what I’m about to suggest. At my restaurant, policemen come in all the time. Delores overheard them saying the other night that you are headed for trouble because the boys aren’t in school. Sometimes they go into town during the day and there have been complaints from the store owners.”

  Deana paused before continuing. “Will you let me watch Luke during the day? You wouldn’t have to give me anything in return, except to let Matthew and Mark go back to school. Tomorrow, I can get all the paperwork, take the boys to the doctor for their check–ups and bring home the papers you need to sign. I can have everything pretty much done by the time you get home tomorrow night.”