The next day was Lord’s Day. Jan wiggled a little in her seat. Mom and Dad were on one side of her, Julie was on the other. Candy and Steve had gone downstairs to their Sunday School class.
Jan sighed a tiny sigh. Mr. Murphy was reading from the Bible. His words flowed over her like warm water, but she was not really listening.
Her thoughts were busy though. She was thinking about the FACT Club and planning the kinds of things she would like to do. She thought the barn would be such a good place to have a club.
Thinking of the barn made her frown a bit. Hopefully the owner, who they learned was named Mr. Hinkle, would let them play there.
Mom had known who owned the barn. She had been a history teacher at North Falls High School before Jan and Julie were born. She was interested in local history and sometimes told the family little things she learned about North Falls. Mom said that the Hinkle family had owned that barn and the house old Mr. Hinkle lived in for over a hundred years.
“Over a hundred years!” Jan had exclaimed. “Wow, I thought that barn looked old.”
She decided to take a closer look at it the next time she went there. A barn that old must have seen a lot of history.
That is if I go there again. If Mr. Hinkle lets us. She frowned again. Really Julie was to blame. No one else had even thought of asking. She glanced sideways at her sister.
Julie was sitting very still. Her gaze was intent on the speaker. She seemed not to want to miss anything he said.
Jan’s frown turned into a scowl. She looked down at her hands so no one would see her face. Julie had always been the more serious of the two girls. But since she had had a talk one Lord’s Day with Mr. Murphy, she had changed somehow. Jan couldn’t explain the difference in words. Yet she felt the change in her twin. She didn’t think the old Julie would have wanted to ask before playing in the barn.
Not that the girls hadn’t talked it over. They had. Julie, in fact, seemed anxious to tell Jan. She had said things about Jesus being in her heart now, and how He had taken all her sins away.
“I’m a new person now, Jan.” Julie was solemn. “The Bible says so.”
Mom and Dad were very pleased. They had tried to explain to Jan too. She had listened. But she just could not understand. Why did Julie need her sins forgiven? She was not so very bad. And neither am I, Jan thought to herself stoutly.
There was more reading from the Bible again. That meant the meeting was nearly over. Jan felt guilty. She had not heard one word of it. Now she tried to listen to make up for all her daydreaming.
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’
“Jesus wants us to walk in light, not in darkness. We will be in the light if we follow Him, as He says in this verse and as we have tried to share this morning. Yet no one can follow Jesus unless he first receives Him as his Savior.
“Those of you who may not know Jesus yet in a personal way ponder these words that He spoke in His Word as we go our separate ways. Let’s pray.”
Jan bowed her head with everyone else. The words from the Bible bothered her somehow. The prayer ended. Everyone filed slowly outide.
The sunshine was blinding after the cool darkness inside. The words, I am the light of the world, jumped into Jan’s mind. She wondered what it meant.
Her thoughtful mood left her in the car. She and Julie spent the short ride home discussing the club and wondering aloud what sort of person Mr. Hinkle was.
Lord’s Day dinner was a large meal at the Davidson house. Mom always made it a special meal by cooking foods the family especially liked. She also made certain that dessert was extra delicious. Today, Jan noticed happily, a large chocolate cream pie was on the menu.
When the roast beef was done to Mom’s satisfaction, she called, “Jan, Julie, come set the table.”
The twins clattered downstairs from their bedroom. They felt much cooler since changing their dresses.
Soon everything was ready. Dad looked around the big dining room table. Everyone was in his place. Then Dad bowed his head and thanked the Father in a very simple way for the food.
Today Jan could not help noticing that Dad spoke to God as though He really was his Father. Prayer was offered at every meal in the Davidson family. But for some reason Jan had never been struck by it as she was this time.
Meals were always lively. This one was no exception. Candy and Steve each began to tell what had been said and done in their Sunday School class. Jan and Julie were still talking about club plans.
Talking about the club reminded Jan of Mr. Hinkle.
“Mom,” she said, “could Julie and I go see Mr. Hinkle after dinner today? We can’t start our club until we have asked Mr. Hinkle for permission to use his barn.”
“Don’t forget there are dishes to be done first,” Mom answered. “Then I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t go, do you, Chuck?”
Dad shook his head. “I think the sooner the better, myself. You probably shouldn’t have been there yesterday without asking. Tell me more about this club, girls.”
“Well,” Julie said slowly, “it is called the F.A.C.T. Club, and we’re going to say it FACT like the word. But what the letters mean is a secret.”
“Aw, Julie, tell us what it means,” said Steve. “We won’t tell anyone, will we, Candy?”
Candy shook her head. Her pretty hazel-colored eyes were even bigger than usual. “Cross my heart,” she said.
Jan and Julie laughed at her unusually serious expression. But Jan’s voice was firm, “Nope, sorry Honey, but it’s a Club secret, and we can’t tell.”
Candy’s face fell.
Steve said, “We’ll have our own club and secrets. And we won’t tell you two smarties anything.”
Mom thought it time to say something. “All right, let’s be a little kinder, please. You can have as many clubs as you wish unless it causes fighting. If there are going to be too many disagreements, the clubs will have to end right there.”
The children knew Mom meant it when she used that tone of voice. Nothing more was said.
The pie was as delicious to eat as it looked. Jan savored each rich bite for a minute before swallowing it. Chocolate was her very favorite!
The twins did not waste any time getting the table cleared after dinner. One happy part of the new house was a shiny dishwasher. The dishes were soon rinsed and in it.
Afterward they crossed the street together and knocked on the Baker’s door.
Susan answered it. “Hi, come in a minute and meet my Mom and Dad,” she said holding the door open for them.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker were reading the Sunday paper at the kitchen table. Mrs. Baker was a little plump woman with red hair like Fred’s. She had a twinkle in her eyes when she said, “Hello,” to the twins.
Jan thought probably Fred and his mother had more in common than just their hair color. In the next minute she knew she was right.
“You must be the un-twin twins Fred told us about,” her voice was teasing. “My, my, he was right. You don’t look anything alike, do you?” She didn’t expect an answer because she went right on without stopping, “Could I get you girls something cold to drink? It’s an awfully warm day. I was just telling Dad here,” she nodded toward Mr. Baker, “how much hotter it seems today than yesterday, wasn’t I, Dear? Dan, say hello to our new neighbors.”
Mr. Baker looked over his paper and said good naturedly, “Well, I’m sure I would, Cathy, if you’d give me a chance. Hello, Jan, Julie,” he went on gravely, “I’m very glad to meet you even if you don’t look like twins are supposed to.”
Everyone had to laugh at that.
“Were you saying something about a cold drink, Cathy?” he continued. “If you were, I would take one myself.”
At this Mrs. Baker got up rather slowly and took some bottles from the refrigerator.
When everyone was settled with a glass at the table, Jan told their plan. “The barn belongs to Mr. Hinkle, Susan,” Jan said. “He lives in that older house we saw yesterday. Julie and I would like to go now and ask him about using the barn for our club.”
While she was speaking, Fred came into the kitchen. Now he joined the conversation by saying, “Good idea. Can we go, Mom?”
“Can’t think of any reason why not. We won’t be having dinner until later, maybe much later if it stays so hot. Yes, go on if you wish,” Mrs. Baker said in her round-about way.
The children finished their drinks. After thanking Mrs. Baker politely, the four crossed the street. They ran down the little hill, crossed the creek, and followed the path to the barn. This time they stepped on the weeds whenever possible to avoid the burrs.
As they walked the short distance from the barn to the house, Jan said, “Oh, I hope he says yes!”
No one had to ask who ‘he’ was.