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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: General Interest
- Published: 08/23/2024
A Visit from Pastor Gene
Born 1929, M, from Roseville/CA, United States2024Pastor Gene ( Approx. 600 wds.)
A Visit from Pastor Gene
Paul Lerner had been surprised when he received a phone call from Pastor Gene asking if he could come over and visit. The Celebration of Life for Paul’s wife Sally had been two weeks ago at the local church to which many residents of their retirement community belonged. Sally had been a church member; Paul wasn’t. Pastor Gene had conducted the Celebration of Life. Paul didn’t particularly want to see any visitors at that time but he liked Pastor Gene and the pastor had never tried to convert him so he said, Sure, he could come over.
So now Pastor Gene was here, seated in Paul’s living room. He asked Paul how he was doing. Paul could not help thinking of what the writer Norman Mailer when he got old would reply when someone asked how he was doing---I’m 80 years old. How do you think I’m doing? He could very well replay, I’m 92 years old and I’ve just lost my wife. How do you think I’m doing? Of course, he didn’t say that. A lot of people had asked him how he was doing recently and he said what he always did, I’m just trying to get through day by day. That much was actually true but far from the whole story.
Pastor Gene looked around the living room, which was pretty messy, and he asked Paul how he was managing by himself. Paul said that his cleaning lady would be coming the next day and the house would look much better. Pastor Gene asked if he was doing any cooking for himself. Paul replied that the extent of his cooking was using the microwave. He went on to say that during the last couple of years Sally hadn’t actually done that much cooking as she couldn’t stay on her feet that long. They had ordered things delivered from the local Safeway and an occasional meal from a local restaurant. Paul said he’d just kept on doing this and so far it had worked out.
Pastor Gene asked if Paul’s sons came by often and Paul told him that since Sally’s passing they had been coming almost every weekend. He thought they wanted to keep an eye on him. Also, his youngest son, who lived in Ireland, called him every week. Pastor Gene seemed satisfied with this and somehow they got to talking about the Olympics, which Paul had been watching on television and which, it turned out, Pastor Gene had been following himself. One reason Paul was so interested in this Olympics was that it was being held in Paris and it reminded him of his first visit there, when he was in his twenties and in the Army. He’d roamed all over the city, stopping at cafes when he was tired and imagining Hemingway writing his stories at the next table. Then on later visits after he’d retired and gone there with Sally, bittersweet memories.
Paul and Pastor Gene talked about the events they’d seen. They agreed that they rooted for the gymnasts to succeed and that it would be a shame that if, after years of training, one small mishap and no medal. Pastor Gene knew all about Simone Byles and her difficulties at the Tokyo Olympics. They talked about how much better the athletes had become, setting new records that would have been unheard of twenty years ago. They also agreed that the announcing could be better but the coverage was good.
Finally, Pastor Gene seemed to feel that Paul was doing as well as could be expected and he stood up to leave. He said that he shouldn’t expect Paul to start attending the church, should he? Paul said that he knew how he felt about that. Pastor Gene nodded. Sally was quite devout, he said. She was sure that there was an afterlife and that she’d be waiting for Paul to join her there. Paul just nodded and saw Pastor Gene to the door. Pastor Gene asked if Paul would mind if he stopped by again. Paul said that would be fine.
After all this, Paul sat down in his chair. He considered what Pastor Gene had said about joining Sally in the afterlife and he thought of the end of Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises” when Lady Brett tells Jake that if things had been different they would have had a wonderful time and Jake says Yes, isn’t it nice to think so or words to that effect. Would he be seeing Sally again? Yes, it was nice to think so.
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