Gossip in Slippers
Gossip never walked into The Shepherds Cafe wearing boots. It wore slippers—quiet, familiar, and comfortable enough to pass as “just talking.”
The Whisper Tax
Barbara stirred her coffee slowly, watching the dark surface twist into circles. “That’s what slander does,” she said. “It doesn’t always explode. It just keeps stirring until everything gets cloudy.”
Gossip Is Not “Processing”
Barbara heard her name in the hallway—and the tone told her everything. A rumor had already started forming a verdict. Instead of defending herself in public, she chose the harder road: “Can we talk privately? Right now. Let’s obey Jesus.”
A Name on the Prayer List
The bell over the door of The Shepherds Cafe gave its soft, familiar chime, and the warmth of the room met Barbara like a blanket—coffee and cinnamon in the air, low jazz woven under the murmur of early conversations, the windows holding back a gray January drizzle that made the street outside look rinsed and reflective.