Who Made the Cake?

Joe A. Battaglia

Description

An atheistic scientist stumbles upon the evidence of an isolated event leading him to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt in the reality of the Big Bang Theory.
This story has a similar theme and flavor to Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, the  Left Behind series of books and movies.
An atheistic scientist adamantly sets out to prove the existence of life as we know it without the need for a creator. His main objective is to shut the mouths of the leading theologians who advocate from their lofty ivory towers that creation is made possible only by the hands of a creator. He is a man that exists purely on cold hard facts, therefore, if he can’t see, touch or taste it, it lacks all credibility, and that’s precisely why faith has no place in his life.
However, due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond his control, he finds himself thrown into the middle of a heart-wrenching battle, in which he is summoned to engage supernatural forces that he knows nothing of for the safety and survival of his family.

Sujets

• Inspirational
• Religious
• Suspenso
• Suspense
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 18 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798823007542
• Langue: English

Extrait

Who Made The Cake?
 
 
JOE A. BATTAGLIA
 
 

 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
© 2023 Joe A. Battaglia. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse  04/27/2023
 
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0753-5 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0752-8 (hc)
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0754-2 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023907960
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter One

I t was the beginning of September and an unusually still and balmy morning for this time of the year. Five-year-old Johnny was beginning his first day of kindergarten at Mayflower Grade School in Monrovia, California. He had been excited and looking forward to this day all summer long. His mother, Carol, had purchased several exciting children’s books, including boys’ stuff like reptiles, astronomy, and sports. They were fun and intriguing, with many colored photos, yet advanced for his age to improve his reading skills. He took to astronomy like a fish in water and, with eyes wide open, was completely awe-struck by the unique, elaborate, and magnificent solar system. He was fascinated and taken in by the numerous planets, stars, asteroids, galaxies, and constellations.
Carol was surprised her son wasn’t more interested in reptiles since he thoroughly and frequently enjoyed playing with worms and other insects, their primary food source. After giving it further thought, she quickly realized how fortunate she was because it was one less critter to be concerned with. It was much easier and cleaner to invest in a telescope and let Johnny scan the beautiful horizon of the open skies to his heart’s content rather than being burdened with the responsibility of caring for a lizard or snake. She was also delighted with her decision to teach Johnny to read before starting school, so it wouldn’t be so difficult for him right out of the gate.
Carol was up bright and early Monday morning to make her husband’s breakfast. It consisted of ham and eggs from the ham dinner the night before, a slice of sourdough toast, and a strong cup of black coffee. He hurriedly came into the kitchen from the bathroom, sat down, and quickly began chowing down his breakfast.
“Slow down, honey,” said Carol with a smile, “there’s plenty more where that came from.”
James barely looked up and nodded okay, but he continued in the same frantic manner without breaking stride.
Carol shook her head slowly from side to side, mumbling in a whisper, “That’s my James.” Carol began chit-chatting with him about her plans for the day while preparing Johnny’s lunch of a peanut butter and raspberry sandwich, banana, and a handful of raisins.
James finished eating, gulped down his last drop of coffee, wiped his mouth with his napkin, thanked Carol for the delicious breakfast, and kissed her on the lips before rushing out the front door to work.
James was an accomplished scientist and had already published his first book on evolution. As an entrepreneur, he started his science research firm to help solve global problems, developing technology to turn carbon dioxide emissions into valuable products. He enjoyed speaking engagements at prestigious universities like the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA.; and Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA, to discuss the big bang theory and evolution, his first love, and field of expertise.
He attributed his success to adhering to strict discipline guidelines. When doing experiments and testing relative and speculative theories, he highly advocated keeping his work area meticulously clean at all times. He maintained order and was precise in his thinking, clear and accurate in documenting, and careful to safeguard against contamination of any kind, and from making careless errors that would render false conclusions. Above all, James was a dedicated family man first and then a scientist second, and only concerned with facts. If he couldn’t see, touch, taste, or smell it, he was uninterested, dismissing any credibility or reliability on the subject at hand. That was precisely why faith had no place in his life.
Carol graduated with honors from college, getting her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. She worked in human resources for three years when first married, but chose to be a stay-at-home mom, taking care of her husband, son, and home, and was entirely satisfied in doing so. Carol enjoyed reading, photography, gardening, and cooking. She was pretty adventurous when experimenting with new recipes, especially since her family raved about how delicious her food was.
It was 7:15 AM, and Johnny’s first class started at 7:45 AM. Carol knew it took only five minutes to drive to school, but she allowed herself plenty of time to get there. However, before leaving the house, Carol put a few ingredients to make the dinner out on the kitchen island in plain sight. She wasn’t concerned that Johnny would know what she was up to and spoil the surprise. Sure enough, as they walked through the kitchen to exit the side door, Johnny nonchalantly grabbed his sack lunch right off the island without batting an eye and didn’t make any conscious connection to why the ingredients were sitting there.
Carol arrived at his school with plenty of time to spare. She got out of the car, handed Johnny his sack lunch, and escorted him to where a group of kids was playing under the supervision of two teachers. She kissed him on the cheek, and he ran off to join the boys monkeying around on the jungle gym. Carol introduced herself to the two female teachers and mentioned this was her son’s first day of school. After making small talk and exchanging a few words about the unusual weather, she headed home.
Carol was thinking about her plan of attack while driving. Once she entered the inside of the house, she went into high gear. She grabbed her spiffy handheld dust mop from the closet, began cleaning the family room, and continued right into the dining room. She returned the dust mop to the closet and started with her trusty Dyson vacuum cleaner. When she had finished, she decided to take a break, have a cup of coffee, and watch some morning news. It was only 10:15 AM, and the day was relatively young, and she was already off to a great start.
Sitting in the oversized recliner, she felt so relaxed that she closed her eyes for just a moment and fell fast asleep. When awakened, she looked up at the clock and noticed it was nearly 1:00 PM, so she decided this was an excellent time to pick up James’ clothes at Jenny’s Dry Cleaners.
Carol considered herself quite the gourmet chef and prepared all kinds of pasta dishes in record time. She decided to clean the slight mess in the kitchen until after she made dinner. She rinsed out her coffee mug, left it in the sink to dry, grabbed her car keys, and exited out the side rear door of the house.
Carol noticed a space right in front of the cleaners from a distance, so she accelerated to ensure she would get it. She felt grateful for the perfect timing as she pulled into the spot.
As she walked into the cleaners, and before she could get a word out, Jenny, the owner, yelled from between the clothes in the back of the store, “Hi Carol!”
“Afternoon, Jenny; how have you been?”
“It’s been a hectic morning, but who’s complaining? It puts food on our table, right?”
“Yes, that’s true, Jenny; we have much to be grateful for,” replied Carol, “especially during this stressful time of economic hardship that seems to be increasing and affecting everyone.”
“How are your two boys doing?” asked Carol, changing the subject to something lighter.
“They’re doing just fine,” replied Jenny. “Getting bigger by the day and growing like weeds at night.”
“I know what you mean,” replied Carol. “It’s already Johnny’s first day of school. Can you believe it? I can’t wait to pick him up and hear all about his experience.”
“He’s beginning kindergarten, right?” asked Jenny.
“Yes,” replied Carol, with an unusual amount of enthusiasm.
Jenny brought Carol’s clean clothes and hung them on the rack before her. Carol glanced up, counting six pairs of dress slacks, six dress shirts, and three colorful silk ties. She pulled out her Visa Card, swiped it quickly, and was handed the receipt. “All this for only thirty-nine dollars, not bad,” said Carol. “James will be pleased.”
Once she got to the door, she turned and thanked Jenny for always doing such a fine job with their clothes.
“I’ll see you next week,” said Carol.
“Okay,” said Jenny, “say hi to your two men for me.”
Carol nodded and walked out the door. She strategically opened the passenger door using her right forefinger and thumb. Then she carefully hung the clothes on the hook near the car’s ceiling, ensuring they wouldn’t wrinkle since James was a bit obsessive about being clean, neat, and having things in order. His obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) had paid off quite handso