Sweetness and Light

Sunday, tout le monde le sait, was Julia’s fifth birthday. At primary she was given a coupon to be redeemed after Church at the bishop’s office for candy and a handshake. While Lia loaded Katharine and Eli into the car, I took Julia upstairs to turn in the coupon. She illuminated the elevator with the radiance of her joyful anticipation.

But the bishop, alas, was in a meeting. So she had to settle for a handshake and two Starbursts from the bishop’s first counselor, Allan Munden, who was standing in the door of the clerk’s office. Inside the clerk’s office was Yifru Hailu, redoubtable financial clerk and master chef of our previous post. Yifru, who adores Julia, wanted to contribute to the happiness of her fifth birthday as well. But he had no candy to offer.

“Ah,” he groaned. “I don’t have any candy . . . .”

Julia, misinterpreting the lament, sweetly walked over and held out one of her Starbursts.

“Here Yifru,” she said, “you can have one of mine.”

Brother Munden nearly melted before the sweetness of such a gesture. Yifru explained that he lamented only that he had no candy to give away, and he gave Julia a dollar with which to buy sweets food of her own choosing. I was suffused with a father’s pride.