Summer at Fraser’s Mill

St. John the Baptist Bonfire and Picnic

O n June 23 rd , the vigil of the Feast of St. John the Baptist, St. Anthony’s Church sang Vespers in the evening. The Vespers were followed by a huge bonfire and a picnic on the church grounds.

The evening before, at choir practice, Mary Jane had encouraged all the choir members to come to Vespers. All the chants were simple chant tones in English, so the singing wouldn’t be difficult.

Grace got out of work just in time to make it to the church before Vespers began at six.

Mary Jane stood in the front pew leading the singing for the women’s side, and Father John, the pastor of St. Anthony’s, was leading the men’s side. The high and low voices alternated pleasantly. It was easy to follow the music in the booklets Elaine and Mary Jane had put together. Grace sang cheerfully from her seat a few pews from the front. She had planned to sit with Alex, but Alex was late—she probably had a lot of things to do on the farm.

They were about halfway through when Alex slid into Grace’s pew, her lace chapel veil slipping off her head. Grace scooted closer so Alex could share her booklet.

Vespers over, everyone headed outside to the church grounds, where everything was set up for a big bonfire in honor of St. John the Baptist. Several Christmas trees, which had been drying out since the previous Christmas, would be the fuel. Around the church lawn were a number of Swedish torches, logs that had been set upright and cut most of the way through with a chainsaw. When lit in the center, they would burn for a long time.

Grace had never been to a St. John the Baptist bonfire before. Father John had brought the custom to the parish when he came two years ago. Besides being an excellent priest, he was an avid outdoorsman, and he liked nothing better than leading the parish in prayers followed by outdoor activities. Right now he was bustling around, starting the bonfire.

Grace eyed the Christmas trees warily. Living in California during the aftermath of the devastating wildfires of 2017 and 2018 had left her cautious about outdoor fires. “Do you think we’d better get a fire extinguisher, just in case?” she asked Alex.

Alex laughed. “The sheriff’s got the hose,” she said. “And the ground’s not that dry. It’ll be fine.”

Someone had set up a canopy tent with a few tables and chairs under it, and a few of the older parishioners were already sitting there. Everyone else milled around near where the bonfire would be.

“So how was your date with Charlie?” Grace asked Alex. “Also, where is Charlie?”

“He had to work,” Alex said. “He said he might be able to stop by later if we’re still here. I had a great time on our date. Although maybe going to see The Princess Bride wasn’t the best idea. Half the people in the theater were quoting all the lines right before they happened. It was getting really obnoxious. Then some guy in the front stood up in his seat and yelled, ‘We know you’ve got the movie memorized. Can’t you just shut up?’”

Grace laughed. “Wow.”

“They actually did get quiet after that,” Alex said. “The rest of the movie was great. Then we got ice cream. Charlie said it was nice to go to a restaurant he wasn’t working at once in a while.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Grace said. “So how was it, going around just you and Charlie?”

“It was really fun,” Alex said. “We have a lot of stuff in common. Hey, look!”

Grace turned in time to see Father John light the kindling at the base of the bonfire, which had been soaked with lighter fluid. The old Christmas trees went up at once, sending leaping flames many feet into the air. The people who were closest to the bonfire jumped back. Sheriff Liddell, unruffled, stood by with the hose.

“Wow,” Grace said.

“It’s really something, isn’t it?” Alex bounced on her toes.

Father John said a blessing over the bonfire and sprinkled it with holy water. Mary Jane led a Latin hymn for the feast of St. John the Baptist.

It was time to eat. The parish had provided ingredients for s’mores, and some people had brought their own picnic food.

“I’m so glad you and Charlie had a good time,” Grace told Alex. “Although I’m not surprised. You know, I thought right at the beginning that there was something going on between you and Charlie, and you flatly denied it.”

“I couldn’t say there was something going on when I didn’t know if there was, now could I?”

“Touché.”

“And by the way,” Alex said, her brown eyes sparkling mischievously, “Charlie agrees with me that you and Doc would be really good together.”

“Charlie? He barely knows me! Him trying to matchmake is even worse than you trying to matchmake.”

“Yeah, but he knows Doc,” Alex said. “The two of them are good buddies. They play golf and basketball together.”

“If they’re such good buddies, Charlie ought to know that Doc and Hannah are already an item,” Grace said. “I stand by that. I saw her face when Doc was dancing with me last Saturday. She didn’t look happy about it at all. Then I saw her dancing with Doc later, and they looked like they had danced together their entire lives. They were ridiculously good. And Hannah—”

“Hey.” Alex’s face had an odd expression.

“What?”

“Don’t look now,” Alex said, “but she’s coming up right behind you.”

“Oh.” Grace stood still. She hoped Hannah hadn’t been close enough to hear her talking about her.

“Hi, girls!” Hannah breezed in to join them. “I’ve got a question for you two about the Fourth of July.”

“The Fourth of July?” Alex asked.

“Yeah. I hear it’s pretty big in Fraser’s Mill. I want to make a video for my channel with some of the Fourth of July celebrations. You two both grew up here. Do you know what the town usually does on the Fourth?”

Grace and Alex looked at each other. “I haven’t been at the Fourth of July in a few years,” Grace said. “But the big thing is always the parade.”

“Most of the town is in it,” Alex said. “There are a lot of floats and things—people advertising businesses, people riding horses, kids in costumes just walking down the street, veterans in uniform, trucks—but you’ve probably seen bigger parades than that in Chicago.”

Hannah shook her head. “I haven’t been to a lot of parades.”

“Oh, it’ll be extra fun for you then,” Alex said. “The mayor reads the Declaration of Independence to kick off the parade. And during the parade there are usually a bunch of booths with things for sale—jewelry, crafts, candied nuts, stuff like that. Then there’s lunch at the fire hall. Hamburgers and hot dogs, but mostly pie.”

“A lot of pie,” Grace said.

“And there’s a big firework display in the park at night,” Alex said. “The firefighters set them off.”

“Wow,” Hannah said. “That’s a lot to video. I think I’ll rope Doc into helping me out. He’s good with a camera.”

Grace restrained herself from giving Alex an I-told-you-so look. She nodded at Hannah instead. “The two of you could combine your footage.”

“I don’t know,” Alex said. “I bet Doc will be really busy that day. Fourth of July is prime time for people to get sunstroke. And people get burned on fireworks and kids fall down and skin their knees.”

“Maybe I should post on the town page and ask people to be careful on the Fourth, so Doc won’t be too busy.” Hannah laughed.

“Speaking of Doc,” Alex said, “he’s right over there.”

Grace turned. Doc was coming their direction.

She hadn’t seen him since the dance, which was odd, because before that it had felt like she bumped into him every time she turned around. She still couldn’t imagine why he had randomly asked her to foxtrot with him.

He sauntered up to the group of girls, his hands in his pockets as usual. He was wearing khakis and a blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Could anybody look more suave? “Ladies.”

“Doc!” Hannah exclaimed. “You missed Vespers. Where have you been?”

“I’m one of those degenerates that skips the prayers and comes for the picnic.” Doc grinned. “Actually, I was still at work. I was behind on paperwork.”

“Nice shirt.” Hannah appraised Doc’s outfit. “It matches your eyes.”

This time Grace did shoot Alex a look. Hannah sure wasn’t subtle about her interest in Doc.

“Thanks.” Doc turned to Grace. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since the dance. Nice little town get-together, wasn’t it?”

“Speaking of town get-togethers,” Hannah said, “we were just talking about the Fourth of July. It’s a good thing you came along. I’ve got a favor to ask you.”

“What’s that?” Doc asked.

“I’m going to make a video for the Fourth of July, but there’s a lot for one person to videotape. It would work a lot better if I had somebody else going around getting footage.” She smiled. “You wouldn’t be too busy to help me out, would you?”

“The clinic’s closed that day, so I could run around with a camera.” Doc’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll get you some prime footage. Close-up truck wheels, dogs, candy wrappers on the ground—”

Hannah giggled. “If you do that, I’ll label it ‘Doc’s Footage’ and have a comparison video showing the difference between your clips and mine,” she said. “Hey, look, they’ve got stuff for s’mores. Come with me. I’ll fill you in on what I’m thinking for the video.”

She took Doc by the arm, beginning to tow him away.

“What?” Off balance, Doc looked at Hannah, then back at Grace and Alex. “Okay, I’m coming. See you around, Grace.” He fell into step with Hannah, and the two walked over to the s’mores table, Hannah’s arm still hooked in his.

Grace turned to Alex. “What did I tell you?”

Alex shook her head. “She likes him. That doesn’t mean he likes her. If he did, she wouldn’t have to try so hard to get his attention. Besides, he seemed like he wanted to stay and talk to you.”

“Suit yourself,” Grace said. “I still think they’re some kind of item. Wanna see if those marshmallows are gluten free?”

“Sure.”

They started for the s’mores table too. Some people were already roasting marshmallows over the Swedish torches. A couple brave souls were roasting them by the enormous bonfire.

All this talk about the Fourth of July had given Grace an idea. “Alex, what kinds of floats are there in the parade?”

“Oh, lots of different kinds,” Alex said. “Nothing super fancy. They’re usually trailers behind pickup trucks, all decked out in streamers and signs and stuff. Lots of the town businesses use them to advertise.” She was reading the marshmallow package. “These are gluten free! And the chocolate is too. I’m going to make a chocolate sandwich with a roasted marshmallow in it.”

“You’d better get about a dozen napkins then,” Grace said, grabbing some extras. “But, I was thinking, the store ought to have a float in the parade. We could get a trailer from somewhere and make a huge display.”

“Hey, that’s a great idea,” Alex said. “We’ve got a trailer you could borrow. We could hitch it behind the truck.”

“Wow, thanks! That would be great.”

“Do you think that will bring in more customers?” Alex asked.

“Well, it can’t hurt,” Grace said. “There are lots of people in town who don’t shop at the store. They go all the way out to Cadillac for their groceries. If we do a good enough job advertising, maybe we can get some of those people to start shopping locally.”

“Are you going to hand out flyers?”

Grace skewered a marshmallow on a long stick. “Maybe we could give out flyers for the grownups and candy for the kids. I’ll ask my parents too. Maybe they’ll have some ideas.”

They headed toward the Swedish torches to roast their marshmallows.

“Want to join Doc and Hannah?” Alex asked.

Hannah and Doc were roasting marshmallows by one of the Swedish torches. They were both laughing about something.

“No,” Grace said. “Let’s find our own spot. We can talk more about the float idea for the parade.”

Was it her imagination, or did Doc keep glancing over at her and Alex? Probably her imagination. As for Doc’s hesitation when Hannah started dragging him away, he was probably just surprised. Grace wasn’t about to let her mind be clouded by Alex’s crazy theory.