Fred stood outside of the church, like he did every morning. In one hand was a warm bacon egg and cheese bagel. The crumpled yellow wrapper danced in the slow morning breeze. This was his post. Fred faithfully stood outside every morning and welcomed people as they came in. He wasn’t paid to do it; he just enjoyed it. Fred figured it was a small task to bring a smile to someone. In his other hand was his broom. It was the same old one he had used since the beginning. He called it Old Steadfast because it was the only thing in the church he knew would always be around. He had been the janitor at the church since it began. He had been there when the first brick was laid and assumed he’d be there till he was laid to rest.
Fred wasn’t educated. He dropped out of school when he was only 16. He wanted to finish but his mom, who was the only one he could ever call family, was quickly fading. She had contracted a rare sexually transmitted disease when she was younger and it was beginning to break her down. It was not because she was unfaithful; it was because her ex-husband shared himself with the world and then brought it all back home. Fred was conceived on the same night his dad gave her the disease. Soon after his dad found out his mom was pregnant and sick, he left.
Fred dropped out to stay at home and spoon-feed his mom as she slowly faded into darkness. He was there the day she died. It was peaceful, if death can ever be considered that. To this very day Fred doesn’t know why she died, he just figured it was all part of the plans that, “Tha Big Man up thar,” had in store for him.
It was always hard for Fred to find a job. In fact, a few of the deacons had some issues with his original hiring. They objected because he wasn’t a member of, “There,” church. They also had issue with his family situation. Being in a small town, everyone about Fred’s mom, many thought she deserved what she got and that Fred was the results of his mom’s promiscuity. Some of the more, “religious,” deacons called Fred many names that will go unstated. Needless to say, his hiring came not by the hand of men but by the hand of God. Fred knew it and figured, “If I gotts that manz on mize side, who else ones need?” Fred never had any anger or bitterness towards the deacons, he was just glad to have a good paying job that let him be surrounded by lovely people.
It was Friday. Fridays were always long. Fred knew that he had to make sure every thing was in order so Sunday morning would run smooth. He found it a high calling to keep the house of the Lord clean. He would work diligently all day long from start to finish. Sometimes Fred had to stay late into the evening to make sure everything was just right. That didn’t happen much, just when someone decided they needed Fred to do something for them that was, “Very,” important. Sometimes the staff would forget to tell Fred about an event or wedding that was coming up. This never bothered Fred. He often thought that even though someone else wrote his check, “Gods tha ones whoes my tru boss,” and that thought always made him grin.
It wasn’t long before Fred got to business. One thing everyone knew about him, once he began working, he was faithful to complete the task set before him. Before he began each day he always made sure he had a fresh bag of Frito Lay sunflower seeds. Every morning he would rip open a hole, plop a handful in his mouth, take a deep breath and go to work. He always had a used plastic bottle that he carried around with him to spit the seeds in. He was very polite and never spit in front the ladies. It was rumored that Fred would sometimes go on the roof during breaks and see how far he spit his seeds. No one knows if it’s true and no one really cares.
It was late in the day when it came time to clean the bathrooms in the Youth building. As He crossed the parking lot to the Youth building he noticed and old 1976 Ford pickup in the parking lot. He thought to himself, “Manz thatz a nice ride bet whosever drives that’s a special persons.” He stared for a moment and then kept on walking.
It never failed that Fred would cringe as he walked in the boy’s restroom because every week someone would get the bright idea that they should redecorate the bathroom with some beautiful, white toilet paper. This day was different though, as he push the old metal door open with Old Steadfast there was a sweet fruity smell in the room. He knew this was odd because the church only bought a generic clean smell. This was to help the old ladies with sensitive noses not break out into fitz of sneezing. And besides the boy’s restroom normally smelled like a mixture of sweat and dead rats.
Entering further into the room Fred notice that the floor had a mirrored glow. It was so reflective that he could see his own face in the floor. He quickly noticed that he missed a spot shaving and that his hair, which had begun balding, was all out of wack. He smoothed the thin hair to the side, laughed at himself and said, “Mas sure made a hansome boy……” He paused, thought about his mom and then went on in to the room.
As he turned the corner Fred almost dropped his broom. In the middle of the room was a basket that was simply decorated with candies and drinks. Tucked in between a can of Diet Mountain dew and bag of Planter’s Peanuts was a small folded piece of paper. Fred sat down on the bench in the middle of the room. He was afraid to read the note, fearful that he would invade someone’s privacy. Soon curiosity overwhelmed him and he figured it would be better to ask forgiveness later than live any longer in suspense. Taking the card in his hands, he quickly opened the piece of paper.
Written on the letter was a simple note addressed to Fred.
Dear Faithful Fred,
Brotha B talked this past Wednesday night about loving people and how we should never do anything to hurt a brother. We thought about how we have intentionally been trashing this place to make your job harder. We are sorry we always mess up the bathroom. We never knew how long it took you to clean it. We hope that you will forgive us. We ask pastor Mark what you like and tried to fill this basket with some of your favs. We cleaned the room for you. Some of the girls sprayed the room with their perfume; the guys think it makes it too fruity but o well. We hope you are blessed and know that Christ loves you.
At the bottom of the note were signatures that needed translation. Fred didn’t care. He just sat there holding the basket. It was filled with all the things that he loved. There was even a small pack of sunflower seeds. As tears swelled in his eyes, Fred looked around the room and thought to himself, “Fader, I dontz deserve non of dis but thank ya for everything, yur a good God ans I am thankful I knows ya.” With that Fred placed the basket in one of the vacant lockers where he knew it would be safe, picked up Old Steadfast and headed toward the Sanctuary.
