A Chat With A Character (Part 1 of 3)
I stopped by Ellen’s café the other day to have a chat with one of my characters. Ellen was happy to see me—she always is—but I stopped by at lunch time and the place was busy. “I don’t have a lot of time to talk right now,” she said when I came through the door. She reached for a menu, but then she paused. “I don’t guess you need that. You know what’s on it.” “Give me one anyway,” I said. I don’t know if you’ve tried this, but it’s a strange feeling to be able to walk into a restaurant and order a dish that isn’t on the menu and know that they will being it to the table, cooked to perfection. “And I didn’t come to talk to you.” “Sometime when we aren’t so busy, I might be offended, but as you can see—“ She swept her hand toward the lunchtime crowd. “Who did you come to see?” “Gene,” I said. “Your pastor is retiring. I wanted to talk to him before he does.” “He isn’t here,” she said. “He will be,” I said. “Where do you want to sit?” she asked. “How ‘bout that little table upstairs? You...