Box of Crackers - 4. Chapter 4

I got a call from the priest at our church and wanted to know if I could arrange to help him in the soup kitchen. I’ve done that before and always volunteered. “Bobby, I have to go to church. Our church operates a soup kitchen and being so cold, we’ll serve a lot of soup. You can stay here if you want or you can come with me.”

Bobby elected to come with me. We bundled up and walked to the church. As soon as we entered the church, Father Jenkins came over to escort us to the basement. I was put behind the table serving, Bobby watched, but soon he was gathering up empty soup bowls as people left. It seemed for everyone who left, two entered. The ladies in the kitchen kept two large pots of soup going all the time, as soon as one pot was empty, someone started another pot of soup.

Someone came up and slapped me on my back, I turned and there was Billy and John. “I tried to call you and when I didn’t get an answer, I knew you’d be here.”

“Father, two more volunteers. If you’re going to hunt me down, then you got to work.”

I like my friends, sometimes they could be a pain, but when the chips were down, you could count on them. Soon they were working the line as well. John’s dad owned a bakery about a block over. He called and pretty soon, a kid arrived carrying a basket of bread. “Father, this is the bread we baked this morning but haven’t sold.”

The bread did smell fresh, and in no time, one of the women took the bread and cut it into serving size. They were about three inches wide. With the two of us working the line, John went and helped Bobby clean up the empty tables so other people could sit down. I was very proud of him, worthless, he was worth more than his dad any day. It was late when everyone who wanted to eat was fed. Father Jenkins came over to thank us. “I’m glad you could help. With this weather our usual helpers couldn’t get here.”

“Anytime you need us Father call Pete. He knows how to get in touch with us. Billy and John gave me a hug, rubbed Bobby’s head and left. I knew then that they already knew about Bobby, probably from the party last night at Al’s. Fred would be there and that would’ve been the source.

“Pete, who’s the young man who was helping tonight?”

“Father, his name is Bobby. He was tossed out by his father as being worthless. I found him on the street several nights ago and I couldn’t leave him there. He’d have froze to death. So I took him in and now I’m trying to adopt him. He’s a great kid and I’m falling in love with having him as my son.”

“Bless you Pete, I’m sure God has had His hand in this.” I smiled and thought if not God then Bobby’s mother for sure.

Walking home, “Did you enjoy what you did tonight?”

“Yes, some of those people said they slept in a shelter and some slept in doorways. I’m glad that I found you.”

“There are a lot of poor people in this world and here as well. Some are sick, some have been out of work so long that they had to sell everything to live. Some have let alcohol and drugs take away their pain from their miserable existence. It’s sad to see them like this. But we need to be thankful that we aren’t like them and that we can help make their lives a little better by feeding them. At least the ones we fed, will not have to go to sleep with an empty stomach.

“Are we going to do that again?”

“Do you want to do that again?”

“Yes”

“Well, each Church has a different night, St. Stevens normally has Sunday so will volunteer there, ok?” Bobby nodded ok.

When we got home, picking up the mail, we headed to the apartment. “Can I have some pizza for dinner?”

“I would rather you save that for your lunch tomorrow. I was going to make hamburgers for tonight.”

“Yea, that sounds good. I’ll eat the pizza tomorrow then.” Hamburger and chips was dinner, I had a small salad to go along with that. It was good, Bobby was happy and I was more than content. I couldn’t have been happier.

“Bobby, do you like to read?”

“Yes, I was reading ‘Lord of the Rings’ when my dad threw me out. I never finished it.”

“I’ll see about getting your books from your dad and if that isn’t possible, I’ll get you a new copy. Just give me a list of books you like to read.”

We sat and watch a little of TV, Bobby went downstairs and soon came back in his pajamas, I made a mental note to get him a bathrobe. He crawled up on the couch next to me and snuggled under my arm. I’m not sure what Bobby felt, but I felt like I was in heaven. This was perfect for me.

The news was the usual, cop killing, racial unrest, trouble with Islamists, it seems that the news never changes, just the names. The weather report wasn’t good either. It looks like the cold spell was going to last the week. There was a ticker at the bottom of the screen showing schools that were closed. “Your school is closed because of the weather. So you aren’t missing any school. After we get your school papers, I’ll enroll you in the academy close to the office.”

Bobby didn’t say anything, he just snuggled closer. I continued to watch the weather report as they began to go into details concerning roads, particular interstate roads. I looked at Bobby and he was sound asleep. Carefully. I picked him up and carried him to his bed. Tucked him in, kissed his forehead, “I love you Bobby.” I listened a few more minutes to the weather report and wondered if Dave was going to get to work in the morning.