Chapter 8 - Page 109 - Talking Eyes

    Jim and Jackie lowered their heads to say grace. Rhasha saw what they were doing and bowed her head. Jim asked God to bless the community church. It worried him that very few people ever attended Sunday services. He asked God to do something that would cause people to be interested in the church, then concluded with “Amen,” and they all raised their heads and began to eat.

    Jim hadn't realized until now that this was Rhasha's first full meal since he'd met her. "Rhasha," he said, "I'm sorry that I didn’t bring you to eat earlier. I don’t eat much during the day and I just didn’t think about it.”

    “It’s OK, Jim. I was enjoying all that we did. I didn’t think about food, either.” Rhasha bit off a chunk of chicken and chewed it slowly. She swallowed and smacked her lips, then bit off another chunk. She chewed each bite as if it were the last meal she would ever get. Every now and then she mumbled comments about the food through a mouthful of chicken. “Ooh, this is sooo good.”

    Jim hadn’t eaten anything. He enjoyed just watching her eat. “Rhasha, do you like the food?”

    “Ohhh, yes. This chicken is just . . . ohhh, it’s sooo . . . I could just eat all day.” Rhasha winked at Jim and smiled. “I’m going to eat until I get really fat.”

    Everyone at the table laughed.

    “Sweetheart,” Jim said, “I’ll still love if you get really fat, but it would cause a problem.”

    Rhasha knew Jim was teasing, so she played along. She stopped munching, but held her drumstick where she could get another bite. “And what would that problem be?”