Episode #29: The Weekly Mercies of Pam Ellis

Call me a prude, but I still had a hard time being in a place where everyone thought it was okay to parade around in their underwear. I don’t care what fabric it was made out of; calling it a swimsuit didn’t change the fact that it was called underwear everywhere else.

It didn’t help that I was nervous about being here. Going to a waterpark had sounded so fun when I added it to the list. When Ivy had grabbed my hand and pointed to one of the tallest slides, I doubted my sanity for adding this place to the list in the first place.

I stood in line holding my end of the two-person raft, wondering if all these half-dressed people would laugh if they knew that I was nervous about rides at a waterpark that catered to young families and children.

“I’m so glad it worked for us to get off on a weekday. Can you imagine how crazy this place is on the weekends?”

I shook my head. I had found discount tickets for a slow day of the week, but it was busy enough for there to be lines. We finally reached the top of the stairs, and we were directed to place our raft into an area and wait for the green light.

“Ready?” Ivy asked.

“Not really,” I said, honestly questioning if I had lost it for even thinking of hurling myself down so many feet. Were they sure we wouldn’t fall out?

“It’s going to be fun.” My sister smiled at me.

I took a deep breath and let out my anxiety. I had come here to have fun. If I didn’t enjoy this slide, I could ride the Lazy River for most of our time here, or try another slide. So, I didn’t approve of the swimwear most people were wearing. I didn’t have to walk around with my nose in the air. I could enjoy this experience, and stop focusing on the negative.

The light turned green.

We dropped down and I squealed. We came out into the sunlight and twisted and turned before we took a final dip and slid out into the pool. Laughing, I scrambled out and stood next to Ivy, soaked.

“That was so much fun!” Ivy said. “Let’s go again!”

I nodded and moved to get back in line. I had enjoyed it. It had been fun. I was glad I had put this on our list.

Meg sat with her salad while I’ve and I chowed down on my chicken strip baskets. “So, what has been your favorite ride or slide so far?”

I swished my chicken in the ranch dip. “I think the first slide Ivy picked or the Lazy River. I enjoy both of those.”

“Oh! I like the really big slide.”

I shuddered. That one had lasted too long for me, and I hadn’t liked how long you were in the dark.

“The wave pool is my favorite,” Meg said. “Oh, and the Lazy River.”

“We should come again,” Ivy said.

I smiled. “As much as I’ve enjoyed today, I’m not sure I want to come back soon. I think one day a year is enough fun for me.”

“Want to go on the slide again?” Ivy asked as she finished the last of her fires.

“As soon as I finish this.” I lifted the basket with the last third of my meal.

While I had enjoyed my day of fun, being back at the quiet bookstore with everyone fully dressed was nice. Even when the Peterson family had come with their very loud kids, it was still nicer than the bratty kids I had heard at the park yesterday. And yet, I hoped to return the next year with Ivy and Meg if they wanted to go.

I glanced around the store. There weren’t any customers, and everything was all neat and clean, so I pulled out my current read. A book Molly had told me she loved, Love, Mary Elisabeth. So far, I was enjoying this precious, epistolary novel written for a younger audience.

I had read quite a few pages when the door opened. I woman I hadn’t seen before entered. I set aside the book and put on my professional smile. “Welcome to My Weekend is Booked to a Tea. Can I help you find anything?”

The middle-aged woman turned toward me with her brown eyes. “Yes, I’m looking for a book my sister recommended to me. I’m here on vacation and thought I would like to read it.”

“Do you know the title?” I asked. I was used to having to help customers find books with little bits of information.

The woman gave the title of a popular book we didn’t stock.

I nodded. “I’m sorry, we don’t have that. But maybe I can help you find something you would like just as much?”

She didn’t seem enthusiastic, but she allowed me to lead her to a shelf toward the back of the store we kept for customers such as these. While we stocked mostly Christian fiction and non-fiction, we had a shelf of books that were clean fiction with attractive covers to try to give some readers what they wanted without compromising Lacie and Jarad’s standards.

“You might like one of these.” I pointed. I pulled a book with an illustrated cover. “A couple of people who liked the book you mentioned also enjoyed this one. It has the same feel of a girl's challenge advice, but with some unique twists.” I held out the book to the woman.

She looked at the book, then at me. “I couldn’t help but notice that this was a Christian bookstore.”

I braced myself for the belligerence that usually followed those words. “We are. We try to carry some books like these that are clean, but for a general audience like this book, but most of what we carry is Christian.”

The woman looked around. “I used to read a lot, but when I got saved a couple of years ago, I gave up all the books I’ve collected. I’ve been trying to stay connected with my sister, who also likes to read, but it’s hard. Is there a lot of good Christian fiction out there?

I nodded. “Over half the books we carry are fiction, and almost all of those are Christian.

A smile broke over the woman’s face. “Really? You’ve just made my day. I’ve missed reading, but I thought Christians only wrote non-fiction.”

I beamed. “Well, let me introduce you to a fun new world of books.”

Sometimes, I really loved my job.

Mercies this week:

A fun day at the water park

Getting to introduce a woman to Christian fiction

A job I love