The Christmas Mural
"Wow, that's going to have to go! It's a shame, too...makes me want to take the whole wall out and put it in my house."
"It's beautiful..."
Principal Jason McNab and janitor Elliot Wilson gazed in silence for a moment at what had to be the most intricate painting Elliot had ever saw.
"There are three more down there that are almost as incredible," McNab said as he gestured down the main hallway leading to the classrooms. "This one was intentionally meant for the entrance."
"Who painted them?"
"A woman named Angela King. She was the art teacher with the Christian school. From what I heard, she worked on all four murals a little each week for nearly 30 years. I have no idea if she's still alive or not. Principal Vega said the other 3 shouldn't cause any stir. She hoped we wouldn't do anything to this one, but the Board of Education won't go for this. One lawsuit, and the legal fees would take up more money than we already don't have for the kids. We have to anticipate complaints now even when there may not be one."
"Why didn't the Christian schools just merge here instead of Hampton? They look the same size from the outside."
"Hampton's a newer school with more A/V equipment already built in. They're taking the money the state gave them for this building and getting more computers. Vega says her and Hampton's principal are also considering a tuition break until the economy picks back up again. They don't want to lose any kids due to parents getting laid off and that sort of thing."
Still looking over the painting, Elliot's mind began to think of alternatives to what may have been the most tragic and horrible thing he'd ever been asked to do in his life.
"If you can give me a week, I can build out the wall around this to where the kids will never know there was a painting. I'll find the wood, drywall, paint-everything. Maybe one day after the school is closed it can be opened back up again without having to destroy or paint over it."
"We need to have everything ready by Monday, and there are also some other issues I need to show you. I have a list here somewhere," McNab replied as he patted his pockets, finally handing Elliot a piece of notebook paper, "Could you get it done in a weekend? I should be able to approve you for the extra time."
"I'm not sure if I could get the supplies in-"
"Don't worry about the supplies. Just call me tomorrow with what you need, and I'll go by Home Depot. I'll take care of the expenses personally. Just take care of everything else first, and tell as few people about this as possible. I have to go. I was supposed to meet my wife for lunch 15 minutes ago. Call me if you have any questions about my handwriting."
As the front door shut, Elliot glanced down at his list.
"This doesn't look so bad," he said to himself, looking at the half sheet of minor things like changing some florescent light bulbs and some minor repairs.
Then he unfolded it, revealing an entire back sheet of more minor repairs.
"Great..."
Before he could get started, Elliot's stomach interrupted him. He went outside and got a turkey sandwich and a can of Coke out of his truck.
Going back inside and taking off his coat, he began to examine the painting in more detail as he ate, carefully staying back enough to prevent any accidental crumbs or spill.
Even several feet away from the mural, a person's eyes were immediately drawn to the small nativity scene in the middle. It was the lightest part of the painting. It also looked like the light illuminated three-fourths of the entire painting, with the night sky only having full impact on the outer edges.
The nativity scene itself had painstaking detail, from folds in Mary and Joseph's clothing to the wood grain and straw in the manger. Jesus was asleep, wrapped in such as way where only His tiny face was exposed to the viewer. From there, your eye moved to lambs and shepherds, donkeys, and camels.
Behind the nativity, there was a country-style church with a cross on top. Candles lit the windows. A wreath was on the door. You could see small details of the steps and railing.
Elliot sighed. He had reached the end of his sandwich and would have to get to work. Sadly, he realized he was going to have to make a choice between saving the painting and looking at it all weekend.
Maybe tomorrow I can get some digital photos, he thought.
All of Friday and the beginning of Saturday, Elliot worked as fast as he could without being sloppy. Changing lights in several of the classrooms, he briefly was able to see the other three murals.
Angela King had apparently done one for every season, all set in the same small little valley. From Spring to Fall, a person could watch farmers plant and harvest crops. Little children played and some had books in their arms like they were either coming to or from school. The longer you looked at them, the more details emerged. Elliot wondered if it would take as long to find everything in the paintings as it did to paint them.
Everything about the paintings just made Elliot feel happy and warm, even as the rain began to fall outside. It looked like the whole weekend was going to be wet, making him concerned about the drywall needed to wall in the Christmas mural.
He was halfway done with his list. As he got out his cell phone, he decided that if needed he would stay late and then work the following day just on saving the mural. He dialed the number for Principal McNab.
"Hi Elliot, I'm just checking out right now. I'll be over in about 30 minutes. It's going to take me a minute to get some plastic over everything-I'll call again when I'm almost there."
"I don't know if you knew about it or not, but there's a great place in the back where you can pull the truck in-I guess it's where they made food deliveries for the cafeteria. It has an awning and everything."
"Sounds great. Oh there's something else I need to warn you about. Do you know Sandra Holtz?"
Elliot cringed but decided to be polite, "Only by reputation..."
"She may be coming by either today or tomorrow to look at everything. I don't know who she's paid off, but somehow she's in the running for Assistant Principal of the school. I've voiced my opinion about her to the Board, but I don't know how much weight that will carry. If you can find a tarp or something to hide the mural until you have a chance to box it in, it may be a good idea."
"I know where one is-I'll hang it from the ceiling so it surrounds the entire wall and around the corner. It should be light enough to not do any harm to it or the ceiling."
"Sounds good. I'll see you in a few minutes."
Elliot had just finished hanging the tarp when McNab arrived. They carried the lumber, plywood, drywall, paint, rollers, drywall tape and screws, compound, and sandpaper inside a classroom that was being used for storage.
"I really wish I could stay and help you Elliot, but my daughter's car has been having trouble. I promised to look it over and find out what's wrong before she goes back on Monday, too. If it's something easy, I'll come by tomorrow. I know this is a lot of work."
"It's all right. I can get it done."
"Call me if there's anything else you need."
"I will."
As Elliot walked back to the front of the building, he saw a car pull up. A woman got out with her umbrella and approached the main entrance door. It was Sandra Holtz.
Elliot's heart began to pound, and he hoped the tarp idea was going to work.
If a stranger initially saw Sandra Holtz, she would appear to be a very polite and professional woman. She could smile on cue when she met parents, but the smile was always just on her mouth and never in her eyes. Away from anyone that in her opinion had significance, she was bitter and hateful.
Where Elliot and McNab had developed a natural respect for each other despite their different positions, Holtz had always viewed Elliot as incompetent and stupid just because he was a janitor. It didn't matter that his job with the school was more of a backup for him when his drywall and carpentry jobs slowed down.
Looking at the blue tarp, Holtz's nose wrinkled.
"It's not going to look like that when the kids come in, is it?"
"I have to do some things to make the wall look better. It'll look great by Monday."
Holtz insisted on a tour of the entire building, and Elliot sighed as he looked at his watch and the paper with the rest of the tasks he needed to do before he could even start on the wall.
As they approached the Spring mural, Holtz paused.
Maybe this will get a real smile out of her, Elliot thought.
"What do you think? Beautiful, isn't it? There are two more down the hallway."
Looking more closely at the painting, Holtz's expression did not change.
"It looks like Thomas Kincaid got together with Where's Waldo. I used to hate those books. Why would a whole town wear red and white striped shirts? It's dumb."
"I think they're to teach kids to be observant."
"Well, let's just hope half the school doesn't need glasses by the end of the year from staring at these things. What else is here?"
During the rest of the tour, Elliot mentally kept track of anything positive Holtz had to say. It wasn't difficult because there wasn't anything. Finally, she seemed ready to leave.
"Make sure you take down all those posters in that one room. I noticed a few of them had Bible verses on them."
Elliot held up the piece of notebook paper McNab had given him.
"On the list..."
"They have a lot of nerve leaving all of that stuff up. What did they think? That we were actually going to keep it all up and just move kids into the room? Now people's tax dollars are having to be wasted just for you to get everything ready..."
And apparently to give you a tour of the building, Elliot thought but didn't say out loud.
"From what I understand, the state only gave the school two days to get everything moved out before we came in so we'd be ready by Monday. There's still a lot to do, so if you'll excuse me I need to get back to it."
Partially because of the rain, it was already beginning to look dark outside. Elliot walked with Holtz out to her car and then went back inside.
Looking over the list, it now became an urgent issue. Now to get everything done, he'd have to be there until midnight...possibly longer...and then get up early the next morning.
He had not eaten anything in hours. There were a couple of vending machines at the end of the hallway that were still plugged in, and after browsing for a moment he decided on a Snicker's bar and a Fanta. Beside the vending machines was a poster of the food pyramid. He smirked at the thought of "protein group" and "fruit group" as he looked at what was in each of his hands.
It was going to be a long night.
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.~Proverbs 27:28
"Reminds me of the people trying to creatively dodge the Salvation Army bell ringers every Christmas..." Elliot said aloud as he pulled the pins out of the poster and carefully laid it with the stack of 18 others.
Other than the heating system kicking on that he had just repaired an hour earlier, his own voice was the only thing that cut through the silence. He wished he had brought a radio or could find one.
He planned on giving the posters to McNab to pass on to Principal Vega if the Christian school in Hampton still wanted them. From the looks of the room, they had been so rushed in moving out that nothing had been taken off the walls.
It was 11:48-still pretty late, but Elliot had finally gotten done with everything except for taking down the posters.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.~John 3:16
Elliot sighed as he laid it on the stack, the words lingering in his mind as me moved on to the next poster.
Elliot had no children, but just the idea of giving up something so precious-that God loved humanity so much despite all our sin, screw ups, imperfections, and mistakes...and that He still loves us in the here and now. Elliot looked up at the ceiling for a moment and went back to pulling out another push pin. Then he paused for a second.
"I just want to ask for Your help-my body keeps telling me I'm exhausted, and I've pulled out so many push pins in the past hour that I'm going to be pulling them out in my sleep. I just want this to all turn out the way You want-I can't shake the feeling that this mural is really important, and I'm going to do everything in my power to get that wall finished in time so it will be protected...I just don't know right now if my power alone is going to be enough."
Finally taking down the last poster, Elliot yawned and stretched. Then he stacked the posters up evenly and brought them with him to the front entrance. He laid them on a table, then looked up at the blue tarp covering the Christmas mural wall.
After climbing the ladder, he detached the blue plastic tarp from the ceiling one fastener at a time. Not exactly the grand museum opening the mural really deserved...
Quickly going back outside, Elliot got his digital camera out of his truck. As an afterthought, he wished he had borrowed one that was professional quality. There just hadn't been enough time. He made a mental note to call McNab the next morning to see if he one that was better.
He took as many shots as he could, trying to create some overlap so that the entire mural could be reconstructed in a computer. His friend Ben in high school had done this one time with a panorama of Washington, D.C. using Photoshop, and the process did not seem extremely difficult for him to do.
The houses in the mural had candles in the windows like the church, and one house in the foreground had a larger window with a Christmas tree just inside of it-complete with lights, garland, and a star on top.
A little boy walked toward another house dragging a sleigh behind him, and his tracks led back to a snowman with a hat and scarf. There were snow angels imprinted on some of the snowbanks. Carolers gathered by another house. A horse-drawn carriage carried a farmer and his wife from the Fall mural.
Were these based on a real place and real people, or were his eyes just playing tricks on him from a lack of sleep? Shaking his head, he made his way over to the nativity. He took multiple shots of it, on the chance any of them came out blurry.
Each shot of the mural had something he hadn't noticed before, but Elliot decided he could look at the photos later. His eyes hurt. His head hurt. He needed to get some sleep and come right back as soon as possible. Three or four hours sleep would be enough to get him through tomorrow, and then he would take all of Monday off. This was going to work.
The drive home was somewhat scary, just from the fact Elliot felt his eyelids getting heavy and wanting to shut. The continuing rain didn't help the drive, but the squeak of his truck's windshield kept him awake.
He made it home safely and feel asleep almost immediately after his head hit the pillow.
The alarm clock went off what seemed like moments later. Hoping it was some kind of mistake on the clock's part, Elliot looked up and verified that it was really 4 A.M.
After his shower and breakfast, he actually felt more alert than he thought he would. As he went out the door, he put his coat hood over his head and stepped over a developing stream that was going into a drain under the sidewalk. It was still dark outside. The weather report on the radio said it was going to clear up overnight and by Monday turn into party sunny to sunny skies, just in time to frustrate the kids who had been stuck inside all weekend.
He pulled into the school at 4:43 and was about to open the door when his phone startled him.
"Hello."
"Have you ever had one of those nights where you feel like you're a kid again and that you've forgotten about some big project until the night before it's due?"
"Actually, I was pretty good at remembering things-does that mean we can trade jobs now?"
"Funny. Seriously, could you use some help? I can't sleep. This whole mural thing was on my mind all day yesterday."
"Did you get your daughter's car fixed?"
"No, but I've narrowed down the problem and ordered the parts-they won't be here until Tuesday. My wife is going to let her borrow her car for the week. We work the same hours, so it's not that big of a problem."
"Well I could definitely use the help at least getting the new wall into place. Sanding and painting won't be that-"
"Primer."
"What?"
"When I went to Home Depot I forgot to get you some primer. Would it be better for you to get that now or later?"
"It doesn't matter really either way-is there a Wal-Mart on the way? They should have it. If not, I can go there when I need a break."
"I know of one that's not out of the way. I'll see you in about 15 minutes."
Elliot hung up the phone. He took a step into the building, and before he could react it happened. He felt his left sneaker hit a small puddle and slide rapidly across the floor. He tried to compensate, but his right sneaker failed to give him any grip. One moment he was vertical. The next he was on his back looking up at the tile ceiling.
He wanted to shout, but the fall had knocked the wind out of him. He didn't feel any pain, but he suddenly felt sleepy like he had a few hours earlier.
"No, I've got to stay awake," he finally said out loud.
He blinked once...twice...and then everything went dark.
He woke up in a hospital bed. McNab was seated in the corner and jumped up immediately.
"I'm really glad to see you're awake. Are you all right?"
"The mural-"
"Don't worry about the mural-it's still Sunday. I called Vega and told her what happened, and she's going to send her brother-in-law over to complete the wall. I left a side door unlocked for him. She's also going to call Angela King's son so he can bring his kids to see the mural one last time before it's closed off. She said to thank you for coming up with that idea of the wall instead of just painting it over."
The clock on the wall in front of Elliot said it was a little before noon.
"I was so stupid...I got in a hurry and didn't bother to wipe my feet at the door. I climb on ladders on a daily basis, sometimes work with electricity, and it turns out to be a little puddle that gets me. Crazy, isn't it?"
"I'm just glad you're all right. They just want to keep you here a little while longer to make sure you don't have a bad concussion, and the doctor that was in here a minute ago said he doesn't want you going back to the school today. You know I don't like pulling rank on you, but I agree with them.
Elliot frowned for a moment and rubbed the base of his neck. It was disappointing he wasn't going to complete the wall, but he was at least relieved that it was going to get done.
"The back of my head hurts a little where it hit the floor, but I don't feel sleepy anymore. Oh, before it's too late I was going to ask you if you had a professional camera. Mine's not bad, but I think it would be good to get as many pictures of the mural as possible before Vega's brother-in-law closes it in."
"My wife is the photographer for our church. We usually go to the later morning service, which should be letting out any minute now. I'll call her in a few minutes and have her go by the school on the way home and snap off a few. I'm curious about it, too."
A nurse walked in to check Elliot's blood pressure and get some readings off of his monitors.
"I'll be back in a few minutes," McNab said as he went out the door, "I'm going to get you something better than hospital food-no offense."
"None taken," the nurse laughed and then turned to Elliot, "Well, Mr. Wilson your blood pressure is normal. I'm going to let Dr. Gregory know you're awake and have him come talk to you in just a few minutes. Do you need anything?"
"A glass of ice water would be great-I promise not to spill it on the floor and slip on it."
"Sure. I'll be back in just a moment."
She came back with a pitcher of water and a cup. Dr. Gregory followed behind her. He looked at Elliot's chart and apparently found something on the first page that made him smile for a moment and then continued to flip through the other pages. Elliot hoped it all meant he could leave.
"I saw when you were brought in that you were doing some work over at Northbrook Christian Academy-and Principal McNab filled me in about why you were working by yourself on a weekend. I know the mural you were working to save-I went to Northbrook for about a year when I was a kid. My dad got a different job, and we had to move. Mrs. King promised she would paint me in one of the murals."
"What happened to Mrs. King? Is she still alive?"
"She passed away about a year ago-I got to speak with her once at a grocery store with her husband after I had moved back. She had begun to develop Alzheimer's about six months before she retired. It was hard for her to leave-she loved all the kids. When I talked to her, she said she was beginning to call kids by the wrong names-kids names she'd had in class years ago...she knew what she had to do as far as the teaching side of things."
"That's really sad..."
"She had a great attitude about it, considering the circumstances. She was just that type of person. I wish you could have met her."
"I still hope I do someday-I'm just not in any rush, you understand."
Dr. Gregory smiled.
"Just imagine the kind of canvas she's probably got now...I have to go make the rest of my rounds, but when I get back if you still feel fine I'll get everything ready so you can be released. It would still be a good idea to have Principal McNab or a relative drive you home. Just take it easy for a few days-don't get up on any ladders or that sort of thing."
As Dr. Gregory almost reached the door, Elliot thought of something.
"Did you ever find yourself? In the murals I mean?"
"When I moved back here after medical school, it was the funniest thing-the first thing I wanted to do after getting off the plane was go find where she had put me. I'm the little boy in the blue baseball cap pulling the wagon with the glove and bat in the Spring mural, near the baseball field. You know, she would have had a much easier job if she had just reused the same 20 or 30 figures each year and told the kids which one was them...how many people do you think are in all of the murals combined?"
Elliot thought for a moment.
"Several hundred easily..."
"How amazing do you think it felt as a kid to know you were going to be included in something so wonderful? It wasn't just that Mrs. King was a very talented artist, Elliot. It was how she made us feel about ourselves...about God...she would tell us as she painted that the universe was not some big pile of paint buckets, with our lives just splattered across some wall in the mix of random chaos that doesn't really matter. We watched on a daily basis how much love and time she put into those murals, and she would tell us how that barely scratched the surface of how much God loved us. That was her real gift to us-and personally I don't think I would even be a doctor right now if it wasn't for learning that so young..."
Another verse on one of the posters popped into Elliots mind. This poster was in another classroom that was now very likely to have been Angela King's old art room.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.~Psalm 139:14
As McNab was about to pull into the McDonald's near the hospital, he remembered to turn his cell phone back on. He had two voicemails.
The first was from a member of the school board named Jimmy Sullivan, who had gotten word that Elliot was hurt and wanted to check on him. He also wanted to give McNab a heads up it was Sandra Holtz who had told him what happened but that she seemed more concerned over some sort of Christian mural at the school. She was wanting him to immediately call in some painters even though it was a Sunday. Sullivan said he told her to hold off until he knew the entire situation from McNab, but he believed she was calling other board members as well.
The second was a message from Tina, McNab's wife, who only said to call her back as soon as he got the message. She sounded upset, and McNab pressed the button to dial her back first.
"Hey, it's me. Everything all right?"
"No, it's not. I just got to the school the same time as Vega's brother-in-law about five minutes ago, and there were already some trucks here...Jason, they've painted over the mural at the entrance. If we had gotten here any later, I think they were going to paint over the others, too. They didn't know...they just didn't know."
McNab couldn't believe what he was hearing. His mind raced on what to say or do.
"Tell them that I said to stop! I'll be there in five minutes."
"They've already put down their rollers. I explained the situation, and they're both honestly a wreck right now."
McNab pulled out of the drive-thru line and began to head toward the school.
"Is Sandra Holtz there?"
"No, but from what I understand she was the one that set things in motion. The painters were called by Central's principal, who was called by Chad Andrews on the school board, who was called by her."
"I'm almost there. I need to call Vega so she can call the mural artist's son. He was supposed to be bringing his kids by there today see the mural before it was closed off. Stay outside the building until I get there in case they show up. I have to call Elliot, too...I don't believe this! She had no authority to even be there!"
McNab's following calls to Principal Vega and Elliot were short but extremely painful. Vega was immediately upset. Elliot was very quiet over the phone-it was likely that the news was just too unreal to him to process. All he asked was if McNab could just take him home after he was finished at the school. McNab promised him to be back as soon as he could.
When he pulled up to the front entrance of the school, Tina was there to meet him. As they walked inside, McNab put his hand to his face and shook his head when he saw what was now a dark blank wall. It was hard to keep his composure, and he felt like he had to throw up. Tina finally broke the silence.
"You remember when they repainted Central's gym-that's the paint they used. It's two layers of dark blue."
"It looks almost black at this angle. Is there anyone else still here besides us?"
"Vega's brother-in-law had to go a few minutes ago. The painters left the moment they heard you were coming. "
"I'm really glad for that right now. Does it seem really cold to you? Elliot got the heating system fixed, but it seems colder in here than it does outside."
"I don't know...maybe the painters opened up some windows. Jason, is there anything that can be done about this? I feel horrible-I could have come here directly instead of dropping Jenna off at the house first. It just took a few minutes, but I didn't-"
"There's no point to it, but I think we're all going to thinking what we could have done differently...all of us except for Sandra Holtz."
"Are they really going to make her Assistant Principal here, even after all of this?"
"It's very possible. I'm going to talk to Sullivan tomorrow and let him know everything. Andrews is not a bad guy, but he tends to act before he has all the information about something-Holtz knew this. Go ahead and go home, Tina. I'll do one more check of everything and lock up. I need to pick up Elliot and take him home."
McNab found a couple of open windows and shut them. He turned out the lights, trying very hard not to look where the mural should have been. He grabbed the stack of posters Elliot took down to give to Vega. The poster on top caught his attention.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.~Proverbs 3:5
"I definitely don't understand this mess," McNab said softly as he turned out the lights.
Elliot met McNab in the hospital lobby. McNab handed him a bag of McDonald's food and a drink. Elliot had an envelope and handed it to McNab.
"What's this?"
"My resignation. I don't know if I have to do that as a janitor, but it has the reason why. You can read it when you get home if you want. I just want to get out of here."
"Elliot, please think this over. These situations...they run off the people schools need the most. Part of me wants to leave after all of this, too-the idea of seeing that blank wall every morning for at least another five years just makes me sick. I have to face this though because otherwise Holtz will try to position herself to replace me. I could use a friend."
"After Dr. Gregory released me, I was just about to leave the room to go downstairs when Angela King's son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren showed up to visit me-to thank me. When you called me earlier, they were all in the room-I wanted to say so many things, but they were right there. It was at that moment when Vega called Angela's son and told him what happened, but he had already guessed from my reaction."
"How did they take it?"
"Her son told his wife to take the children downstairs. I thought he was going to hit me or something at first, but he just sat down in the chair like he was in shock. I told him I was so sorry-that if I hadn't fell, the mural would have still been there."
"Elliot, you can't blame yourself for this..."
"The guy looked at me, and he just said not to worry about it-that when he was a kid he remembered his mom saying one day someone was going to try to destroy the Christmas mural. Not any of the others-just the Christmas mural-and that when it happened not to cry or worry..."
"She must have picked up on the way things were heading, even years ago."
"I told him about the pictures I had taken, and he asked for copies when I have them printed off. Then he thanked me again and left-he thanked me even after what happened."
As they were about to pass the school, McNab slowed down.
"Do you want your truck? If you don't even want to be near the building right now, I can find a way to get it to you tomorrow."
"I feel fine enough to drive home. You've had a rough day, too. Call me tomorrow after you read the letter. I'm going right to bed when I get home."
"Text me when you get home-that way I know you made it."
"All right."
McNab went home and said goodnight to his daughter Jenna . As he walked upstairs, he opened Elliot's resignation letter. It was then he understood why Elliot had wanted him to read it and why he was firm in his decision.
Tina was already in bed.
"Are you asleep?" McNab whispered.
"No-I can't stop thinking about what happened today. What are you going to do tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, I'm going to let the Lord handle everything that's beyond my control-it's the only thing I can do."
The following morning, McNab dropped Tina off early at her job at the county library and arrived at the school early. After unlocking everything and turning the lights on, he still found the building to be too cold. Unlocking the thermostat box, he turned the heat up. The last thing he wanted were kids with colds, especially with all the rain over the weekend. He also found some floor mats to put in front of the doors and just inside the entrance to prevent anyone from slipping.
All he could do now was wait. It was 6:30. The teachers would start coming in around 7 or 7:30, followed by the kids being dropped off by their parents around 7:45.
McNab looked at the dark blue wall where the mural once was and sighed. This was going to take awhile.
Sandra Holtz's car pulled in at 6:45. McNab debated on keeping the doors locked awhile longer, but instead he decided to let her in to find out the reason behind her actions. She looked around to see if anyone else was in the building before she spoke.
"You know, if you had just told me your little plan with the wall from the beginning, I wouldn't have called Andrews. As Assistant Principal, I'm going to need to know these things-by the way, I just got word this morning that I got the position."
"You could have waited when Sullivan told you to hold off-instead you called Michaels and then Andrews until you got what you wanted!"
"Something had to be done with that mural before any kids started showing up here-if you're too blind or biased to see that, maybe it's time you move on and retire. Things have changed, and it's in those children's best interest to have someone in leadership who understands that-"
"Is this what this is about? My job? You want my job, so you completely wreck a beautiful piece of art that took a woman decades to create to try to run me off? I don't care if I have to work here until I die! I will not have you in charge over an elementary school! Not with the way you treat people..."
Holtz smirked and walked toward the wall.
"You know, you have to be asking yourself the questions, 'How could God allow for this to happen-the janitor falling when he did, the fact that no one was here to stop the painters from rolling paint over the mural?' I can bide my time and still have your job-I just wanted to prove something to you. Now you and that janitor friend of yours need to think about that-let me know when you come up with the answer."
"Elliot handed me his resignation last night."
"Really? Don't tell me? He couldn't bear to work here with his precious mural gone? What's he going to do-clean churches?"
"Actually, he's going back to college. He wants to teach. I'm going to call him back today and let him know he'll have a position here after he graduates and has his license."
Holtz thought for a moment.
"You're going to try to hold out long enough for him to get experience, aren't you? Well, I'm going to-"
At that moment, several teachers began to file in. Many smiled and commented on the other murals as they walked down the hallway to their rooms.
"This isn't over," Holtz said under her breath.
They both greeted the teachers, with Holtz putting on a fake smile when talking to most of them. All the teachers filed into the classrooms to get ready for the children to arrive, leaving McNab and Holtz alone again.
"I have to ask since you've basically dropped your act with me-what in the world happened to you to make you so bitter?"
This seemed to catch Holtz somewhat off-guard. It was likely that no one had ever asked her the question.
"There were times in the past where I really wanted to believe, but if you look at all the pain and suffering that goes on-to me, it just makes more sense to believe that it's all just random chaos, and we're all just along for the ride. You can save yourself a lot of heartache if you just let go of the idea that there's some plan or purpose behind all of it-because very rarely do things ever go according to plan. This whole thing with the mural should be proof of that to you..."
"I have seen and experienced too much in my life that I have no doubt that God exists, and He has ways of turning things around for good even in bad situations. Elliot may be able to positively impact some kids for the better because of this-that he wouldn't have otherwise-and in that respect I can maybe come to understand why this had to happen. Being a Christian doesn't make you immune from problems, Sandra-it's that God shows you how to overcome them."
Holtz shook her head and walked away.
"What I think is you just see what you want to see and fit it around your worldview. I'll be right back. I'm going to check out my new office."
Cars and school buses began to arrive a few minutes later. A Fed Ex driver made his way through the small crowd and handed McNab an electronic signature reader. He signed it and told the man to leave the packages in a corner near the doors.
McNab greeted a few parents and children, and then he looked down to see a small boy tugging at his pant leg.
"Hi, what can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to tell you I really like the lightning wall. It's really cool."
"Lightning wall?"
McNab turned around. Where the heat vent had been blowing directly on the blue wall, the paint had begun to crackle, with wide gaps looking like lightning bolts against a blue background. The forks were now growing and spreading across the entire wall, catching the attention of everyone in the room.
The noise got the attention of several of the teachers in the hallway, who were soon followed by the children in their classrooms. Sandra Holtz came out of her office and gasped.
"Get those kids back to the classrooms, now! This is nothing they need to see!"
"Let them stay!" McNab said loudly just as the teachers were initially beginning to move, "Kids-you may or may not ever see a miracle again in your life, but I think you're about to see one now."
Everyone froze as the paint began to fall to the floor like blue snowflakes, beginning at the top of the wall and making its way down to the bottom until the moon in the mural was beginning to appear. The mural itself appeared undamaged, no different than if it had been wrapped in a thick blue plastic.
Holtz's face turned red. She looked angrily at McNab and tried to make her way to the wall.
"This is not a miracle! This is a...chemical reaction between paint and heat and something the mural artist must have done to keep the mural from being painted over! I repeat, this is not-"
At that point, the rest of the blue paint fell in one big sheet, shattering once it hit the floor. For a moment, everyone stared in silence as the entire mural was revealed.
"Wow-it's beautiful."
"It's a miracle!"
For 30 minutes, both the children and the teachers looked at the mural and began to point out everything they were finding. Several of the children were able to point out Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the nativity portion. Others were looking at the people skating, building snowmen, and carrying gifts.
McNab noticed the little boy from earlier shift from looking at the mural to the large flakes of paint on the floor. He reached into his backpack for a pencil and picked up a piece of paint on the pencil's tip to examine more closely.
"Don't worry-it's not poisonous," McNab said to him, then realizing that the boy looked around 6 or 7, "Just whatever you do-don't eat it."
The little boy kept his eyes on the paint and then looked up at him.
"Principal McNab, is this stuff sin or paint?"
After awhile, the teachers were able to direct the children back into the classrooms. McNab said nothing but smiled at Holtz.
"You are not going to convince me that this was a miracle, McNab. Do you realize how much damage you may have just caused-how many parents we may have calling in tomorrow when their kids tell them about the 'miracle' painting they saw today?"
Holtz turned around and was about to go back into her office. She then noticed the large packages by the door.
"What are these? You going to put up some 10 Commandments plaques in all the classrooms while you're at it?"
For a moment, Holtz thought she had finally got a good jab in-McNab frowned and just shook his head. He walked over to a drawer and got a utility knife. He handed it to Holtz.
"Open them."
She slid the utility knife through the tape, set the it on the floor, and then pried open the box with her hands.
The boxes contained the metal detectors.
7 Years Later...
Elliot picked his little girl Emily up to where she could see the Christmas mural.
"Merry Christmas!" she said as she clapped her hands together.
"This is where you'll be going to school in a couple of years. Does that sound like fun?"
Elliot tickled her, and she started giggling. He passed Emily to his wife Denise and went to read a plaque above the mural.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.~Psalms 119:105 Dedicated to Angela King (1937-2006)
"It's beautiful, Elliot-did her family buy the plaque?"
"I'm not sure."
"Actually it was the PTA," McNab said, "Holtz kept pushing the issue so much that finally some of the parents and teachers got tired of it and took a vote to protect the mural from being painted over again-so they dedicated the wall to Angela King and bought the plaque."
Emily had a grip on two of McNab's fingers. He smiled at her before he continued.
"Then Holtz even tried to sue the school and the school board over the decision-got charged with contempt of court when she called the judge a bigot for ruling that the mural should be preserved for it's artistic and cultural value. She's obviously not at the school anymore-may have moved on to another county, but I haven't heard anything about her since."
"Wow..."
"It didn't happen overnight, but we did start turning things around for the better for the entire county about five years ago. Sullivan got elected Superintendent, and his first move was a real gamble. He started asking parents for honest feedback on what they thought was going right and going wrong in the public schools and what they thought were possible solutions. He also talked to parents of private and home schooled children to find out ways we could learn from those options instead of putting them down. We still have a long way to go, but the results are going in the right direction."
"I'm looking forward to actually teaching here this Fall."
"I promise not to burst into your classroom to have you change a bulb in the gym or anything like that."
"I had not even thought of that-thank you," Elliot laughed, "Who's ready for some food?"
"Me!" Emily shouted.
"Tina has us a table and is waiting for us. I'll let her know we're on our way."
They went out the door and McNab turned out the lights. Two small spotlights lit the mural behind them as they left.