CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Considering the tension of the day before, Sarah was relieved when the Blessing of the Beasts went off without a hitch. The sanctuary of the Little Brown Church was filled with humans and their animals. Looking around, Sarah saw all the city council members and almost everyone who’d been part of planning or executing yesterday’s parade or the two receptions. Only Emily and Grace, who Sarah knew were prepping for another dinner at the hotel, were missing.
She did a double take when she spotted Thomas and Cliff standing next to each other. Thomas held an animal carrier on which she could clearly see lettering advertising his hotel. Knowing the hotel didn’t permit real animals, she wondered if he was carrying a porcelain or clay cat as a publicity gimmick. If he was, it only complicated her feelings toward him, especially because he was here while her sister and Grace were stuck in Birmingham prepping food to make him look good.
If Thomas was engaged in a publicity ploy, she wondered if Cliff was in on it, too. She hoped not. Before she could fret much more, she sighted a bundle of green and yellow perched on Eloise’s shoulder. Leave it to Eloise to bring a parrot to the Blessing of the Beasts. Apparently, because Eloise’s hair was perfectly in place and there was nothing protecting the shoulder of her designer jacket, it was a trained parrot. Considering everything she knew about Eloise, that figured.
A few of the folks, like her mother and Anne Hightower, who Sarah noticed had regained her normal color and appearance of health, were obviously there simply as observers, cheerleaders, or mingling would-be candidates because they didn’t have pets. Most people, though, came with at least one pet.
The variety of animals held up for the blessing was fantastic. Sarah expected and wasn’t surprised to see cat owners, like herself with RahRah, and dog owners, including Mr. Rogers and Fluffy. Even the rabbit and gerbil owners didn’t surprise her. The three iguanas and two snakes were a bit more difficult for Sarah to imagine bringing to a public service like this for a blessing.
The idea of snakes and iguanas gave her the willies. She bet she wasn’t the only one eyeing the baby boa with trepidation. As their owners took them from the sanctuary to the fellowship hall, Sarah vowed to avoid them, despite their newly blessed state of being.
At the reception, she looked around for Pastor Dobbins. She wanted to congratulate him on his lovely service and the general success of the Blessing of the Beasts. He may have played her for the benefit of his wife and himself, but there was nothing to fault him on in terms of the blessing he delivered. The readings were short and well-chosen, the choir’s songs interwoven beautifully, and Pastor Dobbins’s blessing inclusive. His ability to involve everyone in something joyful resonated with Sarah, especially in light of the many Wheaton lives touched by sorrow during the past week.
Picking up a cookie, Sarah also was grateful for the abundant spread the ladies of the church auxiliary had made. She was going to have to write them a note commending them on having outdone themselves. Glancing around, Sarah saw many familiar faces devouring the home cooking of the ladies’ auxiliary. The glad faces and chow-down-take-no-prisoners behavior made it clear that those attending were more than satisfied. She wished she could bottle the enthusiasm and excitement in the room.
When she noticed Harlan on the other side of the hall with Chief Gerard and the chief’s bulldog, she laughed. The chief and his dog were the perfect illustration of the saying about pets and owners growing to look like each other. From their jowly faces to their round bellies, they looked more like twins than Emily and she did.
She hoped Harlan and the chief were sharing more than compliments about the food with each other. If Harlan could figure out how to get the chief off Maybelle’s case, things would be perfect.
Speaking of perfect, Sarah looked around for Mr. Bailey. Not only did she want to clarify what Thomas had said about the financial success of YipYeow Day with him, she wondered how much more Catapalooza added to the bottom line. Thomas’s repeated implication that the donated amount would be a net amount after expenses had her nervous.
Sarah didn’t see Bailey, but she observed Mr. Rogers and Fluffy leave his nephews and make a beeline straight toward her mother. Maybelle also must have seen him heading in her direction because she abruptly turned and began talking to the person nearest her. Even though the woman had the most beautiful chocolate Portuguese water dog puppy, Sarah was sure, knowing her mother’s lack of affinity for animals, her mother’s selection was random. Sarah was positive her assumption was correct when her mother tilted her head and glanced sideways in Mr. Rogers’s direction.
Maybelle must have ascertained Mr. Rogers was only a few feet from her because she not only seemed more engrossed in her conversation but, completely out of character, she bent and petted the woman’s dog. Watching all of this from a distance, Sarah wondered exactly how much interest her mother would fake for the Portuguese water dog simply because she was still furious with Mr. Rogers.
It didn’t take long to find out. While Maybelle continued her oohs and aahs over the dog, Mr. Rogers closed the gap between them and tapped Maybelle on the shoulder. Sarah couldn’t hear what he said, but there was no question about the adamant way her mother shook her head while she grabbed the arm of the woman she’d been talking to and focused her attention exclusively on her. Despite him still talking to her, Maybelle ushered her new friend closer to the fellowship hall stage, where Pastor Dobbins stood, guitar in hand.
Mr. Rogers didn’t move. From her vantage point, Sarah perceived his shoulders droop as he continued to watch her mother’s back. Only when Fluffy rubbed against his leg did he respond. He bent, as if sharing a thought with the dog. Their exchange finished, he led Fluffy toward the hallway between the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. Because the hallway, on this level, housed the bathrooms, water fountain, and a door leading to an outside area the church had designated for any necessary pet breaks, it had been well used after the Blessing of the Beasts. Uncertain if Mr. Rogers was leaving or simply taking Fluffy out, Sarah considered going after him but was distracted by Pastor Dobbins’s first song.
She was surprised how good he was. In rapid succession, he demonstrated an enjoyable repertoire of pop, country, and Christian music. Over the years, she’d never thought of ministers as being fun. Most of the ones she’d heard preach had turned her off as they tried to scare their congregants straight with talk of fire and brimstone. Hearing Pastor Dobbins’s songs and experiencing how he handled the Blessing of the Beasts, she made a mental note to try one of his Sunday services.
Before singing what Pastor Dobbins announced would be his last song, he again thanked the ladies’ auxiliary and urged everyone to please eat another one or two desserts or he’d be forced to finish them. When the audience stopped laughing at his joke and he began his finale, Sarah saw her mother head toward the hallway Mr. Rogers had gone down a few minutes earlier. Sarah caught her mother’s eye and drew a question mark in the air. Maybelle mouthed back, loud enough for a few people around her to hear and snicker. “Ladies’ room.”
Sarah hoped Mr. Rogers was still where her mother would run into him. Perhaps, if he had taken Fluffy to the animal spot to do her business and Maybelle saw him there, her mother would use the puppy’s cuteness as an opening to clear the air. Then again, her mother wasn’t one to easily kiss and make up.
At that thought, Sarah hurried into the hallway to catch her mother. Maybe, with a little divine daughter intervention, Mr. Rogers and her mother could be coaxed into burying the hatchet they’d thrown at the cocktail party somewhere other than in each other.