A Not So Empty Nest

Hear the story read by the author.

In the town of Normal, Pennsylvania, there’s a little church at the corner of Wilson and Elm.   Every Sunday choir member Del Winslow and his wife Karen who teaches the “Guppies” pre-school Sunday school class are among the first people to arrive.  Del is a stickler about punctuality.  Which is why choir director Shane Reed was surprised when Del bustled in five minutes late to the pre-service choir warm-ups, flushed and sweating.

After the choir had run through their vocal exercises and practiced the day’s hymns, they relaxed in the choir room waiting for service to start.  Shane noticed Del looked a little stressed and asked if everything was all right.

“Carrie and Carlos are staying with us,” Del told him.  “Carrie was never the easiest person to get out of bed and with four people trying to use two bathrooms, well, we’ve been running late all morning.”  

Carrie was Del’s thirty-one year-old daughter and Carlos Lopez was her new husband.  They lived in Cincinnati but Shane had met them when they were married at the little church six weeks earlier. 

“Still, it must be nice to have them for a visit,” Shane said.  “And so soon after the last one.”

“I love when Carrie visits.  Unfortunately this isn’t just a visit,” Del explained.  “Carrie and Carlos worked for the same company.  It went bankrupt while they were on their honeymoon.  They’d spent all their savings on the wedding and honeymoon so they came back to no jobs and no money.  They’re staying with us until they get back on their feet.”

As Del was talking to Shane, Karen was relating the same story to church secretary Tammy Billings in the Sunday school room.

“That must be inconvenient,” Tammy said.

“Not at all!” Karen replied.  “The house is so full of life.  It’s wonderful.”

Back in the choir room Del told Shane, “My workshop and den are filled with boxes of their junk.  I have nowhere to go for a little peace and quiet.  It’s getting kind of tiresome.”

While down in the classroom Karen told Tammy, “since Del won’t let them pay rent they’ve been helping out around the house.  They painted the garage door which I’ve been trying to get Del to do for a year.”

And Del was telling Shane, “Now my garage door is purple!  I’m going to have to repaint it as soon as they’re gone.  And Karen won’t even let me charge them rent because ‘they’re family.’”

 “Carlos even made dinner last night!” Karen enthused.  “He’s a wonderful cook.”

“I still have heartburn,” Del said.

While all this was going on Carrie and Carlos were waiting in the sanctuary.  Carrie had dozed off.  She didn’t like getting up early on the weekends. 

Pastor Michelle Tellum, the new young associate pastor who had married them, came over to say hello.  After hearing the explanation of how they had ended up back in Normal, Michelle said, “It must be tough living with your parents again.”

“My Dad’s not so bad,” Carrie replied with a yawn.  “He leaves us alone most of the time.  But my Mom keeps popping into our room unannounced and always wants to know where we’re going and stuff.  It’s like she doesn’t recognize that I’m an adult now!”

An hour and a half later Del, Karen, Carrie and Carlos reunited in the social hall for coffee hour.  They munched on cookies with Shane and Tammy. 

“So, I understand you’ll be with us for a while,” Shane said to the younger couple.

“Just until they can find new jobs,” Del interjected.  “And they’re both quite talented so I have faith that if they make the effort they’ll be employed again in no time.”

“What kind of work are you looking for,” Tammy asked.

“Actually,” Carlos said, “I was thinking I might take the opportunity to go back to school and get my MBA.”

“What,” Del exclaimed.  This was the first he had heard of that plan.

“They have a program at the college here in Normal,” Carrie said.  “And I’m sure they’ll take me back at the restaurant where I used to work while he’s in school.”

“You’re going to try to support both of you on a waitress salary?” Del asked.

“It’ll be a struggle but it’ll be worth it in the long run,” Carrie said.

“And you can live with us to save money!” Karen exclaimed.

Shane glanced over at Del.  His eyes bulged out and his teeth were clenched tightly together as if to hold back any comments he might later regret.  The enamel barrier seemed to work.

Suddenly Carrie dropped a half eaten cookie back on to the paper plate she was holding.  She looked pale and unsteady.  “Excuse me,” she mumbled and shoved the plate into Carlos’s hands before dashing off toward the restrooms.

“She doesn’t look so good,” Karen said.  “I better go see if she’s okay.”

“No, wait…” Carlos said, but Karen was already bustling off toward the bathroom.  Carlos trailed after her.

“Well,” Shane said.

“Well,” agreed Tammy.

“There is no way they are moving in with us for two years while he goes back to school,” Del said evenly.  “I liked being an empty nester.”

Then Karen burst out of the bathroom and announced loudly to the whole social hall:  “I’m going to be a grandmother!”

The color drained from Del’s face.  Apparently his carefree empty-nester days were about to be a thing of the past.