“And so my gift to Baby Jesus is my teddy bear,” Molly said into the microphone. She brought her teddy bear over to the manger and stepped back to her place in the chorus as the next speaker came up to the mike.
Sophie started to relax on the front pew. This Wednesday night rehearsal was the last practice before the pageant on Sunday morning, so she and the children were in the sanctuary with the sound crew. So far, so good. No one had gotten sick, nothing had been stolen, and everyone—
“AAAAAAHHHHH!” Jordan Longton streaked into the sanctuary, his shepherd costume trailing behind him like a blaze of fire—
It really IS fire! Sophie sprang from her seat and raced toward the little boy. She grabbed him and threw him down on the carpet, rolling him until the fire went out. Carefully, she pulled the head covering away from his face, revealing his wide, frightened eyes.
“Jordan, are you all right?” she asked.
The boy nodded.
She helped him stand and inspected the rest of his costume. Other than the headpiece and a tiny spot on the back of his gown, none of his clothing looked burnt. She checked the back of his head and found a few singed hairs, but his scalp was normal color. The boy was lucky.
“Jordan, what happened?”
“I went back in the room where the costumes are because I forgot my truck to give to Baby Jesus. And I found this—”
“Fire!” Sam dashed into the sanctuary, waving his hands. “Get the kids outta here. I’m calling the fire department.” He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed, leaving Sophie to herd the children out, grabbing coats as they went. Thankfully, two moms had decided to stay and watch the dress rehearsal, so she had some extra help.
Once outside, she counted her charges. One was missing. Who was it? She went through the first graders… all eleven were there. Second graders… she should have had nine, but there were only eight. “I’m not finding enough second graders,” she called out. “Look around and see if you can tell who’s missing.” The children stared at each other for a moment, and then Jordan Longton called out, “My brother isn’t here. He went to the bathroom.”
Cold air filled Sophie's lungs as she gasped. “Josh is in the bathroom?”
“Yeah. Grandma took him there.”
She couldn’t let the children see her panic. “All right. Everyone stay right here with Mrs. Groendyke. I'll see if I can find Josh and Mrs. Longton."
The fire department arrived with sirens blaring and quickly got to work. Spotting Chief Zondervan, she dashed over to him and relayed what Jordan had told her. He nodded grimly and called two of his men, instructing them to check the restrooms for the missing people.
Returning to the children huddled in the church parking lot, she realized she needed to get them all someplace warm. Their parents needed to be notified…
She looked over at the other adults and realized they had already begun. One mom separated the children according to where they lived, and the other mom and Mabel Groendyke, the pianist, had their cell phones to their ears. Helen DeGroot and the older students in the drama soon joined them, and siblings were paired together. Helen and Sophie both used their cell phones to call parents.
Someone wrapped a blanket around her and she realized she’d forgotten to grab her own coat before leaving the sanctuary. She snuggled into the blanket. It smelled like Mitch, but when she turned her head to thank him, he was gone. He’d gone over to help comfort a frightened little boy. Angie and Joey stood close to her.
Dave pulled into the lot and made a beeline for Joey. “I heard the sirens and looked outside — we could see the fire from our house. Are you okay? Did everyone get out?” He gave Joey a hug then asked the other adults what he could do to help. One of the moms gave him a handful of children whose parents still needed to be contacted, and he pulled out his cell phone to start calling them.
Around them, the parking lot buzzed with the commotion of anxious parents herding their children and their neighbor’s children into their cars.
“Sam! Did Sam get out?” Sophie looked around for the custodian.
“He’s over there, talking to the Fire Chief.” Mitch spoke into her ear, instantly calming her. She glanced over to where he pointed and, seeing the elderly man for herself, sighed with relief.
“Jordan Longton, where did you get that? I told you not to pick up things that aren’t yours. And where is your brother?” Peggy Longton’s exasperation cut through the chaos.
“He went to the bathroom with Grandma Longton. Mama, isn’t this cool? I found it in that room where the tables and big candles are. I wanted to light the candles like Grandma does. There were lots of candles in there. See, you just hold it like this and push this button—”
“Well, it’s not a toy. It’s for grownups to use—”
“Did I just hear this boy say he tried to light the candles in the store room?” Chief Zondervan asked. “Sam, didn’t you tell me the fire started in the storage area?”
The custodian nodded.
The color drained from Peggy’s face. She clutched her son tight. “Please, no,” she cried. “He couldn’t have started the fire. He’s just a baby. Please, Sam. You can’t let him be arrested.”
“I knew it was just a matter of time before something like this happened.” Sam glared at Jordan menacingly. “Both those boys are always causing trouble. They can’t keep their hands to themselves and they run around like animals.”
Martha Longton came around the side of the church, leading Josh by the hand. “The boys told me they needed to use the restroom, and while Josh was still in there, Jordan told me he had to get his truck. I didn’t know where he’d gone. I’ve been looking all over for him—” She spied the candle lighter in Jordan’s hand and gasped. “No—” Her hand went to her mouth.
“Ladies, I’m going to have to talk to this young man,” Chief Zondervan nodded at Peggy. “Ma’am, why don’t you bring your son over to my car so you’re not standing outside in the cold.” He turned to Martha. “Mrs. Longton, perhaps you’ll be good enough to see that his brother gets home.” Without waiting for an answer, he led the way toward his vehicle. Peggy followed with Jordan, looking more defeated than Sophie had ever seen her.
The parking lot was lit as brightly as a football field, and she realized the blaze had engulfed the roof. There was a loud crash as the steeple sank into the church. Sophie’s heart clenched as she thought of the danger they’d escaped.
“Sophie, all the kids have been accounted for and picked up. Why don’t I take you home?” Mitch put his hands on her shoulders and spoke as he gently guided her toward his car. Sophie was too drained to argue. He opened the car door and waited for her to get in, wrapping the ends of the blanket around her. Angie got into the back seat, and he pulled out of the lot. But before they’d even gone a block, the tears started to fall.
Where the tears came from, she didn’t know. But they came. In buckets. Mitch pulled into Dave and Joanie’s driveway and reached for her. She laid her head on his shoulder and let her pent-up feelings pour out. She sobbed because she could have been inside with all those kids, totally unaware of the danger until it was too late. She sobbed because of all the hard work the kids had put into the pageant, which would not take place. She sobbed because the church, the cornerstone of the community, someplace where she’d always felt safe, was gone.