Provider - Part 3

 Good morning and happy Friday!

I'm not sure how it can be the middle of June already, but that's what the calendar says. I haven't gotten as much writing done this week as I had hoped, but I did have to stop and do some research a few times. I haven't been working on my secret project this week. Sorry. Monday's Mystery said it was time I work on it. So I am.

Anyway, enjoy this next part.

 

 Provider

Part 3

    Laughing voices announced the arrival of the other girls.
    “You’re late,” Cherry said, shaking her finger at her friends.
    “I know, and I’m so sorry, Heidi!” Thia slid into a chair. “One of the other students had a question about our group project that I had to answer.”
    “It’s okay. Let’s get started.”
    Heidi quickly found out that tutoring these three friends was fun but exhausting. If it wasn’t for Cherry’s reminder to her friends to “quiet down and get to work,” a few time, Heidi wasn’t sure how she would have lived through the session. As it was, when they had finished she gave an inward sigh of relief.
    “Can we have a session tomorrow?” Ems asked. “I promise I’ll come without Thia if I have to, but there’s a test next week, and I need all the help I can get right now.”
    Lyds and Thia instantly added their pleas for a session tomorrow.
    After checking schedules, they agreed to meet at the same time and place.
    “And don’t be late tomorrow,” Cherry said.
    “Promise!” Thia pulled out a blank check from her pocket. “Do you mind a check. I will pay for today and tomorrow at the same time, and next week I’ll make sure I have cash.”
    “That’s fine.”
    “Wait. Would you rather have us vinmo it to you?” Heidi must have given her a blank look, for Thia said, “Never mind. Let’s stick with a check.” She looked at her two friends. “Did you two bring cash, or do you want to vinmo me the money and I’ll just write one check.”
    “Oh, that would be good. I don’t carry cash,” Ems confessed. “It never occurred to me that I couldn’t vinmo the payment. Sorry, Heidi.”
    “It’s fine. I’m just not up on all that technology stuff.”
    “Put mine on the check too, Thia,” Lyds said. “Then she won’t have to cash two checks.”
    This was quickly done.
    “Thanks so much, Heidi! We’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “Bye. Thanks.”
    Heidi gave a wave and a smile and put her things away.
    “Are you sure you’re okay?” Cherry hadn’t left with the others.
    “Yeah. I’ll go home and eat something.”
    “And maybe take a nap too. That often helps my headaches. I’ll be praying for you.”
    “Thanks.”
    The walk home through the misty rain, was almost disheartening to Heidi. If she wasn’t feeling so light headed and dizzy, and if her head didn’t pound so hard, and if the bank and grocery store hadn’t been on the other side of her apartment, she would have gone to the bank, cashed the check, and then stopped at the grocery story for some food. “After I eat something,” she murmured to herself. “Then I’ll go to the bank and the store.”
    Never had the bare and almost dreary rooms of her tiny apartment looked so good to her. It was quiet. She could act as miserable as she felt, and no one would notice and question her.
    She started her last can of soup heating up then took off her shoes and put on her slippers, hung up her coat, and pulled a worn sweatshirt over her sweater. Maybe it wasn’t the most stylish thing to do, but it was warmer, and her apartment wasn’t known for being warm. Except in late spring when it felt more like summer outside.
    Once her soup was heated, Heidi ate it, enjoying the warmth. She closed her eyes for just a minute when the pan was empty. “I should have kept my shoes on,” she thought, resting her head on her arms. “Now I have to put them on again. What should I buy at the store? Bread. Eggs. Waffles. Soup. Something to put on the bread. What do I put on . . .”
    A crash of thunder startled her.
    She lifted her head and rotated her stiff shoulders. Her eyes fell on her watch and she gave a cry of dismay. The bank was closed. She’d fallen asleep, and now there was no way to get the check cashed until tomorrow!
    Rain began pattering against the window as though the clouds were crying with her.
    “What am I going to do, Lord?” she prayed in a whisper. “I have a little bit of beans and rice, and two packs of ramen, and that’s it. I’m trying to trust You to provide, but it’s really hard right now.” Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she gave a shiver as another crash of thunder seemed to shake the apartment.
    A part of verse she had memorized a few weeks ago came to her mind, and she repeated it out loud. “He prepareth a table before me.”
    Slowly, with a feeling of uncertainty, she rose and carried the empty and now cold pan to the sink. Then she looked into her cupboards once more.
    They were still the same. The fridge was still empty except for some salad dressing, a half filled bottle of catsup, and a little bit of maple syrup.
    Giving a sigh, she stood and leaned against the counter. “I can cook the rice for supper tonight. it’s not much, but I did just eat some soup. Then tomorrow I can cook a package of ramen noodles and eat them with syrup. I wonder how they will taste. But lunch . . .” She frowned. “Maybe I could cook the other ramen and eat it cold. People do make pasta salad and that gets eaten cold. It would be better than nothing. Then, no matter the weather, no matter how much my head aches, I’ll go to the bank first.”
    With this plan in place, Heidi got through her evening of studying, eating her small bit of supper, and working on her group project. She went to bed early in hopes that extra sleep would help her head.

How has June been for you?

Have you ever tutored?

Does rainy weather ever give you a headache?