Jerry turned onto a dirt driveway, dusty and dry. The sun cast long shadows off the surrounding pines. He bounced his way to a hand hewn log lodge with a…

“Jerry, we got quite a few calls from your church members,” said Bryce, chairman of the committee that handled problems with clergy, usually sex addictions or alcoholism. He had been…

Oh man, Jerry thought. I’m in deep shit now. On his living room floor, he beat his head again and again into the wall. He glowered at his watch: 1:13…

“Who is your Lord and Savior?” asked Jerry on communicants Sunday. “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior,” five boys answered back in one cherubic voice. “Do you trust in…

Come morning, he grabbed the phone and called Chloe. “What, Jerry.” Her voice wobbled with morning stiffness. “I need to talk to you.” “Jerry, not today.” “No, I’ve got to…

Jerry crawled along in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate 80 near Berkeley heading towards the Presbyterian Synod Hunger Committee meeting in San Francisco. He glanced at his watch. Even if this…

Sinister took up residence, leaving Jerry with an incessant feeling of dread. Something needed to be fixed, but he didn’t know what it was, much less how, like he was…

Jerry desperately wanted to help Chloe, so for starters he volunteered to pay the $500 for the procedure. To get the money, he would sell his beloved record collection. He…

The next morning, at Witherspoons, Jerry said, “So, let’s look at our options.” “Jerry, it’s impossible to look at anything but your Santa Claus mustache.” “Sorry.” He wiped the cappuccino…

Chapter 22 Jerry and Chloe sat side by side, hand in hand, at the Sacramento Women’s Health Clinic. A converted Craftsman home, they sat in the living room, waiting for…