| |
SHORTLY AFTER JULIETTE arrived home from work, Mrs. Cork was knocking on her door, a covered dish in hand. Juliette had to force her jaw not to drop—Mr. Bobo was on a leash! Tootles-Bob launched himself out the front door between Juliette's legs, and he and Mr. Bobo did their meet-and-greet dance all over again.
"I brought you a casserole," Mrs. Cork said, stepping adroitly over the leash as Mr. Bobo ducked between her legs. "I hope you like chicken and broccoli."
"Mrs. Cork, oh my!" Juliette was at a complete loss.
"Well, I thought it was the least I could do to help. I know how difficult a new dog can be, and I wasn't very understanding last night. I'd like to try to make amends, and food often opens closed doors."
Juliette could hardly believe her ears as she held open the door for her neighbor and her food. And the dogs. Unsure what the protocol was for this awkward, albeit hopeful situation, she said, "Well, the thought of cooking was giving me a headache. In fact, I was just getting ready to call Mr. Chen Yu over at The Green Dragon." She paused for just a heartbeat. "Would you like to join me for dinner?"
"That's all right. We've already eaten. But thank you just the same."
"Oh. Okay. Um, would you like a drink? I just put on some tea water."
"That's all right," she said again. "We're going to call it an early night ourselves, aren't we, Mr. Bobo?" The little dog was nowhere to be seen, having followed Tootles-Bob into the kitchen, and the muscles around Juliette's heart squeezed a little over the thought of how lonely the woman must be. Was Mr. Bobo her only friend?
"Well, maybe another time, then." An idea popped into her head, and before she could reconsider, she said, "Mrs. Cork, would you like to go to church with me this coming Saturday night?"
The light that came on in the woman's eyes was something to behold. "Oh. Well. I haven't been to church in a long time. I—I think I'd like that."
"Then it's a date," Juliette smiled weakly. "Church is at seven so if you come a little early, we can get there in time to choose our seats. And of course, Mr. Bobo is welcome to stay here with Tootles. Bob. Will that work?"
"Yes. I think that will be just fine. Thank you." Mrs. Cork turned toward the sound of scuffling dogs in the kitchen and called for Mr. Bobo. The fur-ball came bounding in, panting and happy, and she scooped him up in her arms. "We'll see you Saturday then, if not sooner. Bye-bye, Bob." And she headed out the door without looking back.
"Well!" said Juliette to herself. Tootles-Bob licked her foot supportively. Neither one of them knew quite what to think of Mrs. Cork's and Mr. Bobo's visit, but Juliette was glad it had been brief. All she wanted to do was eat, and shower, and go to bed. Or, rather, to couch.
~ ~ ~
BY THE TIME SHE CLOCKED out on Friday, Juliette was ready for some down time. Between the nights spent sleeping on her lumpy sofa, and a last-minute induction into a planning committee for a new exchange student program, Juliette wanted nothing more than to lose herself in a chick-flick and chocolate marathon. She didn't really want to spend it alone, but she knew Sharon and Chris had a busy weekend planned. Phoebe hated chick-flicks unless they were foreign films with or without subtitles, and Ren hadn't been an option since her wedding night. But perhaps Gia would be game.
Her little sister was thrilled and suggested they start early, making it an all-nighter. "I brought my Eden Rising movies!" Gia held up the box set as she walked in the front door. Since Juliette hadn't seen any of them, they watched them, one right after the other, with only a dinner run to The Green Dragon in between the first and second movie. They also made a quick stop on the way back at Mona's, to stock up on sticky buns for breakfast, and a few chocolate essentials to keep their energy up throughout the night.
Tootles-Bob was in heaven with the attention of not one, but two Gustafson girls, and he rewarded them by being on his best behavior. By the time the credits rolled on the last of the series, all three of them were burrowed down into Movie Night Pillowland, a mass of pillows and blankets on the floor in front of the television. Juliette woke up just enough to hit the power button on the remote.
Saturday morning started out with a face-wash, courtesy of Tootles-Bob, and Juliette sat up and hollered, "Agh! I've been kissed by a dog!"
"Good morning to you, Lucy," Gia chortled from under the blanket she'd pulled up over her own face to protect it from Tootles-Bob's lavish adoration. "I'll make the coffee if you want."
Juliette shoved Tootles-Bob off her blanket. "Since when do you drink coffee?"
"I started a new job a few weeks ago. At Café Rico," Gia said proudly, standing and stretching.
"I didn't even know you were looking. Congratulations!" Juliette hugged her warmly, a bit surprised at how grown up her little sister felt in her arms. She stepped back and looked at her, pushing a red corkscrew curl away from her eyes. "So what happened to Katie Girl?" Gia had been working part time after school at a children's clothing boutique for nearly two years, and Juliette thought she liked the job.
"I'm still working there. I needed more hours but my boss couldn't give me any, so I took the job at the coffee shop, too. According to Rico, I can make a mean cup of java."
"Is that a good thing?" Juliette teased, placing Mona's sticky buns in a glass casserole dish and sliding them into the toaster oven. She opened the slider to let Tootles-Bob out back.
"I don't know," Gia admitted. "All coffee tastes mean to me. I just paid attention to what people said they liked the first several times I made the coffee, then tried to brew it the same way the next time."
"Clever girl, Clarice."
"Ugh. I hate it when you quote that movie." Gia shivered, scrunching up her face.
"Habit. Sorry. I don't know why I used to like it so much. How about this one? 'If you brew it, they will come.'"
"Clever girl, Clarice."
"Touché, Gia." Juliette turned away quickly, not wanting her little sister to see her blush as she remembered Victor saying the same thing to her.
Soon the whole house smelled like French roast and cinnamon, and the girls salivated as they straightened the living room. They decided to eat out on the back patio so Tootles-Bob could run around and sniff Mr. Bobo through the fence while they enjoyed the crisp fall morning. Still in their pajamas, they bundled up in blankets, foregoing the formality of robes, and headed out with their morning victuals.
"Is it all right if I thank God for Mona's buns?" Gia smirked, but bowed her head in agreement while Juliette said a simple prayer. "Lord, thank You for this time You've given me with Gia. Thank you for Mona and her delicious baked goods, and thanks retroactively for Mr. Chen Yu at the Green Dragon since I forgot to pray before dinner last night. He really knows how to cook a noodle." She dropped her voice to nearly a whisper and added, "And help things to go well with Mrs. Cork tonight. Amen."
When Juliette raised her head, Gia whispered discreetly back, "Your neighbor?" But her face was filled with curious questions.
Juliette nodded and broke off a dripping chunk of cinnamon roll. "I'll tell you about it when we go back inside," she mumbled, then shoved the piece into her mouth. When she finally managed to swallow the bite, her voice was filled with awe. "I don't know how Mona does it."
After breakfast, they gathered up their dishes to head back inside. "Tootles! Bob!" Juliette called, and Gia eyed her curiously. "That's part of the story. Inside." They quickly and companionably washed up after breakfast, and Juliette fixed herself another cup of coffee. "Barista Gia, Rico is right. This coffee is sans imperfection; perfect."
Gia poured herself a glass of milk. "Do you want to see how I drink coffee?" Then she added a splash of coffee to the top of her glass, and a heaping spoonful of sugar, and stirred. Taking a sip, she nodded, and said, "Sans imperfection; perfect." They settled into either end of the sofa and Gia prompted her for information. "So? Mrs. Cork?"
Juliette squinted against the morning sun pouring through the front window. It warmed the room, so instead of closing the blinds, she turned more fully toward Gia. "Believe it or not, she and Mr. Bobo—her dog—brought me dinner Wednesday night, so I invited her to come to church with me tonight."
"Okay. Wow. What happened?" Gia's eyes were wide, a glass blue made brighter framed by all her copper curls. "I mean, the last time I was over here you weren't even speaking to her and now you two are hanging out and you know her dog by name!"
Juliette smiled as she told Gia about her midnight mediator. "And now you also know how Tootles became Tootles-Bob."
"So this is the guy you were telling us about at the last G-FOURce?"
"It is." Juliette grinned. "Anyway, so now Mrs. Cork and I are being nice to each other because Mr. Bobo and Tootles-Bob want to be friends."
"You might as well just call him Bob, Jules. Tootles is a cute name, but it seems to me that Bob likes Bob, not Tootles."
Juliette sighed resignedly. "I know. I think I'm just resisting because of some weird control issue. My dog; I should get to name him, right?"
"I can totally see that." Gia was nodding her head, a strange look on her face.
"What?" Juliette asked, nudging her with her socked foot.
"You're just different somehow, Jules. I mean, you bring home a dog, you hardly ever talk about Mike anymore, you go to church, you speak up for yourself, but it's not in a mean way, you know? And now you're making friendly with the neighbor you've hated for eternity. And you even called me to come over here and hang out with you for no reason except to...to...hang out. You used to just do stuff alone. Or just with Sharon. It's like you're freer or something. Not so careful and worried all the time."
"Really? Actually, I do feel more ... more awake, I guess."
"See? You're still the old you, but it's like you're all wrapped up in a new version of you." Gia cocked her head and looked sideways at her sister. "I loved the old you, don't get me wrong. But whatever is going on with you is pretty cool."
"And I have you to thank for it."
"Me?" Gia pressed a hand to her sternum. "What did I do?"
"You put Trevor on the Monday ManDate list."
"Who?"
"Trevor. Taz."
"Oh, yeah. I always forget his real name is Trevor." Gia reached over and flipped Bob's ears back, turning them inside out. Bob just shook them back into place and licked her toes.
"He helped me see Jesus in a way I'd never seen Him before and I'm telling you what, Gia. It's changed the way I see almost everything. And everyone." Suddenly she heard Sharon's rant from earlier that week echoing in her mind. That's the way God sees you, so why should you or anyone else see you any differently? "Except for the way I see myself," she frowned, the words rocketing through her as she said them. "Ow. That kinda hurts."
"What's wrong?" Gia looked concerned.
"I'm fine," Juliette whispered. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. By grace. By God." She wasn't quite sure how to explain it to Gia.
But to her surprise, the girl nodded, her own eyes glistening in sympathy. "I know what you mean. Sometimes, out of nowhere, I'll think about something God's done for me, and I'll just start crying like a baby."
Juliette stared at Gia, stunned by her words. "What? You're a Christian, too?"
Gia shrugged, and dropped her gaze to her lap where she was picking at her cuticles. "Yeah."
"Why didn't you say anything when I told everyone about me at our last G-FOURce?"
"I kinda didn't want Phoebe to feel too awkward, you know? She'd be the only one not."
Juliette shook her head, amazed at what she was hearing. She'd learned so much about her sisters these last few weeks, things she should have known long ago had she been paying attention to anyone but herself. And the fact that Gia tried to be so sensitive to Phoebe said a lot about the youngest Gustafson girl. Juliette reached over and squeezed her hands.
"You're something else, little girl."
The girl rubbed her foot down Bob's side. "That's what Grandpa always says."
"He's right. You are." Juliette had an idea. "Hey. Do you want to go to church with me and Mrs. Cork? Officer Jarrett is supposed to be there, too. If he is, I'll introduce you."
Gia's eyes lit up almost as much as Mrs. Cork's had. "Are you serious? I can meet Officer Hot on Your Tail? That's what Ren calls him," she explained quickly.
"If he's there, and we run into him, yes. I'd love to get your opinion about him."
Gia leapt up and danced around the room, followed closely by Bob. "Ha! Ren will be green with envy! Yes, I want to go!" She flopped over the back of the sofa and lay sprawled on the cushions. "He's a friend of Taz's, right? I wonder if Ricky knows him. I should call him and find out!" She hopped up again and reached for her purse, but Juliette stopped her, laughing at her exuberance.
"Don't you dare call Ricky, you little nut! All I need is for it to get back to Victor that I'm stalking him and—"
"Victor? You're on first-name bases with him now? Woo-hoo!" Gia jabbed Juliette in her side, and Juliette responded by thumping her with a cushion.
"Pillow fight!" Gia shrieked, jumping up and launching the pillow she held at Juliette.
~ ~ ~
THEY ARRIVED ALMOST ten minutes early for church, but sat near the back for a speedy getaway. Mrs. Cork worried about leaving Mr. Bobo too long, even though he was hanging out with his new best bud, Bob. Although the plan to duck out quickly dashed any hope of lingering long enough to scout for Victor, Juliette was surprised by how much she was enjoying herself with the other two women.
Right at seven o'clock, the musicians made their way on stage. A young man in blue jeans strapped on his guitar and stepped up to the microphone. Without any introduction, he began to play. The rest of the band and singers joined in, and the chattering around the sanctuary died down as the congregation began to sing along.
Juliette wondered how Mrs. Cork was receiving it all; the casual crowd, the full band on stage, the modern worship songs. She stole a few surreptitious glances at her, but the woman seemed attentive and receptive.
Pastor Eric, in true form, preached a wonderful message from Psalms, and before long, Juliette was swept up in what he was saying. After the last chord of the night was strummed, she turned to her seatmates and nodded, signaling that she was ready to go when they were.
"Well, that was lovely," Mrs. Cork stated as they passed through the sanctuary doors and out into the chilly fall evening. "I didn't want it to end."
Gia reached over and put her arm around the stooped shoulders of the older woman. "I didn't either. That was a wonderful message, wasn't it?" Juliette just grinned proudly, still bemused both by the disclosure of Gia's faith and Mrs. Cork's personality change.
"Juliette!" The sound of Victor's voice brought her up short, and she stopped mid-stride. Was she imagining it? Her eyes met first the question in Gia's, then the delight in Mrs. Cork, who turned and waved demurely at the man rapidly approaching them.
"Hello, Officer Jarrett," the older woman called out.
"Officer Jarrett? The Officer Jarrett?" Gia grabbed Juliette's hand, whispering loudly. "Is it him?"
Juliette squeezed her sister's hand, nodded, and grinned helplessly. They both turned around to wait for him.
"Oh, my." Gia's impressed reaction made Juliette blush.
