Max finished the last bite of his pork chop and macaroni dinner then excused himself and went up to his bedroom. Max’s room was in what used to be the attic. The house originally had one bedroom, but like a lot of houses that were as old as this one, it had a very steep roof to help keep the weight of snow to a minimum. The attic had been converted a long time ago, before Max’s parents even purchased the house, to add a staircase and bedroom upstairs. The room was small with barely enough room for a dresser and bed. The dresser also served as the computer desk. There was a small closet, which was only wide enough for a single twenty-four-inch closet door and that, along with the dresser, stored all of the clothes that Max owned, most purchased used from Goodwill stores and some even hand-me-downs from his dad.

  No posters or sports memorabilia adorned the walls. The only things on the walls were three pictures, all colored with crayons, and created on standard notebook paper. The lines were still visible. They had been trimmed down to fit into cheap plastic eight-by-ten-inch frames and hung side-by-side on the wall above the headboard of Max’s twin-size bed, which had at one time been part of a bunk bed. Two of the pictures were colored mostly in blues and greens, but the middle one was created at the hands of someone with a little artistic talent, and you could tell it was a person with glowing red cheeks. If the average person were to critique the art, they might conclude that it was Santa Claus and two aliens. Only Max and his three Sunday school kids knew the images depicted Jesus.

  As the large, dull-red sun hung almost motionless above the horizon outside his window, Max sat and clicked the mouse of his computer, which was very old and still had the large CRT computer monitor. He only used it sparingly, but it was still frustrating considering it took several seconds each time he went from one web page to another. But it was something he had gotten used to. Max had gotten used to doing without a lot of things. But unlike most kids his age, he didn’t seem to even notice.

  There was a quiet knock on his door whereupon his dad entered. “Hey. What are you doing?”

  “Just checking out Cedarbluff’s website again. Trying to familiarize myself with everything.”

  “Well, I don’t want to bother you,” his dad responded.

  “Why? What’s up?” Max then noticed that his dad was holding a Bible and a notepad in one hand. “Oh, yeah, sure; I’ll be glad to be your audience.”

  “You sure you don’t mind?”

  Max shook his head. This was a common thing, and he enjoyed hearing his dad’s sermons in their rough form and even being able to give critiques and, hopefully, add to them. Even though he and his dad didn’t always see eye-to-eye on scripture, they did at least share a love of studying and discussing the Bible, and Max had always appreciated his dad’s gentle ways when it came to spreading the gospel of Jesus.

  His dad smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. “Okay, this is for Wednesday night and I kind of wanted to follow up on what we touched upon Sunday morning with the end times.” Coughing once to clear his throat, he began. “Today I want to continue our discussion about the end times. Everyone wants to predict when that will be. Most of us think it will be in our lifetime. But I tell you this; the end will come, and it will come for everyone. It might not be at the second coming of Christ; your end could come at any time. You might think you’re the healthiest person of anyone you know, but you could have a heart attack without warning. You could get struck by lightning or be involved in a car wreck. What if your end comes for you tomorrow? Are you confident in your faith? Are you ready to stand before the Lord tomorrow and be judged? Uh…”

  Max sat in silence as his dad flipped the yellow page of his legal pad to follow his ideas.

  “Well, that’s how it begins, anyway. I have some other notes here; I just need to organize them. What do you think of the beginning?” his dad asked.

  “I think it’s brilliant.”

  “Really?” his dad asked.

  “Absolutely,” Max said. “I’ve never thought about it that way. We’re always talking about when the end will come, and we talk about being ready for the end, but that very thing has already happened for a lot of us and will most likely happen for many, many more of us before Christ returns. I think what you’re trying to do is very clever, make people see that it is not the end of the world that should preoccupy our thoughts, but the end of our own life and what we did while we were here that is important.”

  His dad looked through his notes as his eyebrows lowered in thought. “When you put it that way, I am a genius.”

  They both laughed.

  “Give me some more ideas along those lines,” his dad said.

  Before Max could continue, however, there was another knock on the door and his mom poked her head in. “Hey, Max. Carlie is here.”

  “Really?” He looked over at his dad.

  “Go ahead,” his dad nodded. “We can finish this later.”

  Max trotted down the stairs wondering if he had forgotten a tutoring appointment. He had been tutoring Carlie in algebra throughout the school year. His mom and dad followed behind him.

  Carlie was standing just inside the front door holding her algebra book and notebook against her chest with her arms crossed in front resting beneath her neck. She wore short shorts and a sleeveless, pink, button-up blouse that accented her small athletic frame. She was a junior and a cheerleader at Max’s high school.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Max walked up and they gave each other a cordial hug. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  She smiled a little guilty smile. “I know. I’m sorry to just pop in like this. I was going to call but I happened to be driving by and had my books and decided to take a chance.”

  “What’s up?” Max asked.

  “I have my algebra final tomorrow, and I was hoping we could do a review,” she said, her voice sweetened just enough to plead her case. Her long, straight, dark blonde hair with artificial highlights came down over her hands in front of her as she stood motionless. She batted her long eyelashes over her beautiful brown eyes and put on her best pouty face, which always seemed to work with guys.

  It was not necessary, and it was likely that Max didn’t even notice. He only noticed a person in need and that’s all that mattered.

  “The table is cleared off, so you guys can go in the kitchen,” his mom said as she overheard the conversation. She turned and went back into the kitchen to continue washing the dinner dishes.

  Max and Carlie sat at the table and began to go over different algebraic problems.

  “I really appreciate this,” Carlie said as she patted Max on the hand. “You have been a lifesaver this year for me. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without your help. I wish you would let me pay you though.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Max said with a smile. “I’m glad I could help.”

  “Do you have any finals this week?” she asked.

  Max shook his head. “Nope. All done. The only thing the seniors have left is graduation ceremony Friday night.”

  “You’re so lucky. I’ll be glad when the year is over for me.” Carlie rolled her eyes as if she really was dreading finals. “I wish I was good at math like you.”

  “I can’t really take credit. With me, math is a genetic thing.” Max tilted his head toward his dad who had brought his coffee cup to add to the dishes, which his mom had almost finished.

  “He gets his smarts from you?” Carlie asked, smiling at Reverend Maxwell as he passed the table.

  This brought a smile to his face.

  “So, which one of you is better at math?” she asked.

  His dad paused at the table and looked upward as if really scrutinizing the question. But it was all for show. “The one not spending a hundred grand to become a preacher,” he finally answered.

  Carlie laughed. “You’re going to college to become a preacher?”

  “Not necessarily,” Max said, correcting the assertion. “I’m going to seminary to learn as much about theology as possible.” He turned to give a smirk toward his dad. “After all, someone once told me that we are students for life and should always strive to learn as much as we can.”

  His dad made a funny face as if wondering where he could have heard such a thing.

  “And if I do receive the calling to be a preacher,” Max continued, now looking back at Carlie, “having a degree in theology wouldn’t hurt.”

  His dad patted him on the back for assurance and walked back into the living room.

  Max’s mom finished up the dishes and left them alone in the kitchen. They studied until 10:00 p.m. Carlie thanked him for the tenth time and left to drive home.

  Max was ready to go to bed. He left a note for his dad on the fridge.

  Got to work tomorrow from 7 to 4. Can help with sermon afterward.

  ***

  Max got home at 4:30 p.m. after his shift at Hurley’s Market. His mom was working in her small garden chopping with a hoe around her tomato plants to cut out weeds. His dad’s work truck was not there. Besides being a pastor, his dad was also a licensed plumber, and that was what supplemented the small income he made from the church.

  Max walked back to the garden. “Did Dad have a job to do?”

  “Yes,” his mom replied, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Somebody had an emergency; I think a broken water line.”

  Max walked over to the barn, grabbed another hoe, came back, and started working the row next to his mom. They worked in silence for about an hour until his dad pulled into the driveway.

  Walking back to the garden, his dad looked at them and smiled. “Hey guys. Can we have a family meeting?”

  “We’re dirty. Can we shower first?” his mom pleaded.

  “I’m dirty, too,” his dad countered. “We can clean up after. I think it’s time to set the college boy down and put our cards on the table.”

  Max’s mom smiled, which made Max hesitant. I hope this isn’t another attempt at the birds-and-bees talk, he thought to himself.

  They all walked into the kitchen and sat at the table, his mom and dad sitting across from him with a warm smile on both their faces. Max was really uncertain about what was going on.

  His dad began. “First we want to tell you how proud we are of you.”

  Max looked on in astonishment. His dad rarely verbally expressed himself.

  “And even though you’re not in college yet,” his dad continued, “tomorrow is your first step into a bigger world and, well, we want to send you off right.”

  As if on cue, his mom got up, went into their bedroom and came back with several bags and handed them to Max. She then took her seat and looked on with the same smile that had never left her face since sitting down.

  Puzzled, Max opened the bags to discover two new pairs of jeans, several new button-up shirts, and a new pair of tennis shoes. “Oh my gosh,” he said in a whisper as he pulled them out of the bag. “You guys shouldn’t have.” But there was no disguising the happiness on his face.

  “That’s so true,” his dad joked. “I said you should be wearing your jacket and tie to school, but Mom here says they don’t dress like that to go to college these days. I saw some of the brochures and I guess she’s right. I also saw your print-off of the classes you will be taking, and I figured you needed to be dressed comfortably when you take Human Sexuality.”

  Max felt his cheeks turning red with embarrassment. “That’s a required class,” he said to clarify.

  “No, no, I understand,” his dad said as he continued to poke fun. “Whatever you learn, just make sure you come back and share it with us. If you could bring diagrams and charts, that would be helpful.”

  “Robert!” his mom snapped, now blushing as much as Max.

  Max didn’t even hear the joke as he had begun to lace up his new shoes. He had never owned new shoes and even if he had ever received a pair, there would most likely have been a birthday cake on the table. He felt like a kid again. “I really appreciate this,” he said.

  “Wait! We got one more thing.” His mom jumped out of her seat again and came back with a smaller bag this time and handed it to Max. He opened the bag to find a cell phone. “You’re going to be driving a lot, so this is for emergencies.”

  “Mom, we can’t afford this.”

  “No, it’s a prepaid phone. There isn’t a monthly service. We’ve paid up two hundred minutes, so just keep it in the truck. There’s a car charger with it. With driving back and forth to college and studying and still working at the store, we just feel better if you have it.” His mom was starting to tear up.

  So was Max. Although cell phones were common now, he had never owned one and had never given it much thought. But it was the gesture that meant the most to him.

  After dinner that night, Max laid out a new pair of pants, shirt, and shoes for tomorrow’s orientation. He lay awake for many hours after going to bed as the anticipation would not let his mind rest.