Wednesday

The next morning, Danny barged into Davy’s cabin. “Have you got some gas in that heap of yours?”
“It amazes me, you have a perfectly good car of your own. But when you want to go somewhere, anywhere, you feel a burning need to insult my car and ride in it.”
“The question still stands, have you got any gas in that heap of yours?”
“Yes, I assume you want to go somewhere.”
“If you can break away from catering to these rich people.”
“You mean like the ones here at Camp Eden?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve made some calls.”
“Yes.”
That evening, Danny had just set down the phone when Davy came in the front door of his cabin.
“Front porch?” asked Davy.
“Nope, got people coming.”
“Who I think it is?”
“Yes. I think it’s going to work out beautifully.”
Davy smiled.
In a few minutes, a car pulled up to the front of Danny’s cabin. Davy stood and said, “Want some drinks?”
“If you don’t mind.”
Liza and Ben knocked on the door and Danny invited them in. “Come in folks and have a seat.”
“You two are so kind. And I do hope we did okay Sunday. There’s no way we would ever want to disappoint–“
Davy stood and took Liza’s Coke out of her hand. She looked confused. “Just being safe,” he said, “I do hate to clean these things up.”
"Pardon me?” she asked as Danny stood and handed her something. She looked. It was a set of keys and a checkbook.
Liza’s shoulders dropped. She showed the keys and the checkbook to Ben. “You two just know no end to generosity, but Ben and I got a car and Ben keeps it running. We don’t need no car. And a checkbook? We ain’t got no money for a checkbook, but thank you any–“
”The keys won’t fit a car. They’re to a building, a building on Lacy Street, The Lacy Street Mission, we bought it this afternoon.”
If it is possible for a black woman to turn white, Liza Sparrow did it at that moment. Then, she began shaking and passed out on the couch. Ben went to her and began patting her face. In a moment she revived and Davy told her to open the checkbook. When she did, she read Lacy St. Mission - Rev. Ben and Rev. Liza Sparrow. She smiled and said, “This is real nice, but it’s wrong, Ben, he’s a reverend, but I ain’t no reverend. I ain’t nothin’.”
“Sorry, bad mistake, Miss Liza, you tell her Father Danny.”
“Pastor Danny’s right, you are a reverend, a reverend in the Baptist Episcopal Church.”
“Once more she stood, once more she shook and once more she collapsed on the couch. And, once more Ben came and patted her face. “Ain’t no big thing,” he said, “Liza don’t take too good to good news, I guess cause she ain’t never seen that much of it.”
In a few moments, Liza shook her head and rubbed her face. “I know you two must think I is a sight, but you two... you two...”
“That’s alright Miss Liza, and there’s five thousand dollars in the account. It’s for the mission.”
Again she stood and again she collapsed. Ben moved toward her and Davy waved him back. “Let her sleep,” he said, “It’s been a big day for her.”
Then, Ben sat and began crying. “Liza will be alright, Ben.” said Danny.”
“Oh, it ain’t Liza. Liza, she’ll be fine, but you two, you two just don’t know.”
“Tell us, Reverend Ben.”
“That place, that mission house on Lacy street, it was Liza’s whole life. She loved them people. The poorer they was, the worse off they was, the more Liza loved ‘em. Then they closed the mission and Liza and me was like the others, homeless and hungry. Some good people we once helped took us in a and gave us a little house. We was making it, but all we was really doing was waitin’ to be with the Lord. Two old folks just sittin’ and waitin’. Then one Sunday somebody invited us here, to your church. We is black folks. We been church people all our lives, but neither of us never seen nothin’ like you and Preacher Davy put on. Won’t none of that straighten up or go to Hell stuff. You and Preacher Davy made us feel good. God won’t some mean man. God was good. We loved the way you two did the scripture and the sermons, and them questions... them wonderful questions. That night, that very first night, me and Liza started doin' them scriptures and that sermon jus’ like you and Preacher Davy done. Then we made up questions and answered them. We did it every night. Some people watched television, we did scripture and sermons and questions. It was fun, you saw us Sunday, we was having fun! A many a night, we watched the sun rise up. We had spent the whole night churchin’ You gave two old people a reason to live. The Lord, he’s jus’ gonna’ have to wait. And then, tonight, I just don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything, Brother Ben, just rest.”
In a moment, Ben and Liza were both asleep on the couch. Davy pulled a quilt off a chair and gently covered the two. He and Danny slipped out onto the front porch.
“There’s two happy people in there,” said Davy.
“Yes, did we just get rid of a gang in Greenwood Village?”
“I don’t know, maybe we just ended an extortion racket in Chinatown.”
“Feels about the same, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, Father Danny, about the same.”