Chapter 11
Wesley had enjoyed himself, even though the work was hard and hot. Miles and Pastor Garnet were great guys to work with, and they had been joking around all day. That made the time go a lot faster, and it made the work a lot lighter.
Of course, his enjoyment of the day might have also had something to do with the fact that Birdie was inside. And he knew it.
She looked cool and fresh as she helped the other ladies finish setting the table. Gramps carried his masterpiece and set it down in the middle. Somehow, they’d made the table bigger, although Wesley had not figured out how. And then he realized that maybe they’d set a chair down on its side and thrown a tablecloth over top of it. And probably borrowed chairs from his house, because he thought the one looked familiar.
“Move out of the way, boys. This is the best chicken divan you’ve ever had.”
“I sure hope you can replicate that, when you’re back in your natural environment,” Wesley muttered.
“Don’t give me no lip, boy. This here’s some good eatin’.”
“We actually made two. I could see the worry in my husband’s eyes as he looked around the table and then back at the dish.” Mertie set the second pan on the table, right next to her husband.
“I believe I detect some favoritism here,” Wesley said .
“Maybe you should become a man of the Word, and then the ladies will serve you like that,” Pastor Garnet said with a smirk and then another sweet look at his wife who patted him on the shoulder.
They all settled around the table while the aroma of apple pie made Wesley’s stomach growl. They must be in the oven. And he’d be willing to bet that there was gonna be ice cream to go along with it. Gram seemed to be able to align all those things perfectly. He wasn’t quite sure how she did it.
“Knock knock?” a voice called from the door as they were all getting settled.
There was silence, and then Birdie jumped up from her chair where she was sitting across the table from Wesley.
“Becky! Perfect timing. We were about to begin. You were coming to eat, right?”
“I smelled the apple pie over my side of the hill, and I just followed my nose. I didn’t realize it was going to be so crowded in here though.”
“We always have room for one more. Come on in,” Birdie said again, opening the door and waving Becky inside. While Birdie had been opening the door, her gram had jumped up and set another place on the table. They had used some kind of bench at the end, and her gram, who had been sitting on it, slid over to the side to make it a two-seater.
“You can sit right here. Plenty of room. The cooking class of the Independent Bible Church of Raspberry Ridge had their first lesson, and you can help us decide if I was successful in teaching these folks how to make chicken divan.”
“I can do that, no problem. But it looks like there was some roofing going on as well.”
“That was us. We just happened to schedule it for a day that the church was also having their cooking class,” Pastor Garnet said seriously. “I always admire the Lord’s good timing.”
There were some murmurs and laughter around the table as Becky settled down and Birdie took her place across from Wesley again.
Pastor Garnet said grace, and they passed the food, with the conversation flowing, periodic laughter ringing out. Wesley had to admit that the food was delicious. Whether his gramps had actually made it or not, he wasn’t convinced, because he’d never actually eaten anything that his gramps had made that was actually edible.
But he wanted to believe. Mostly because if the ladies ever went on a trip, he knew he wasn’t going to starve .
“You know, Cassie Spokes, who is Doyle’s housekeeper, has been thinking about starting a diner. I think you would be a good addition to that diner, Gram. You and she ought to get together.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I might be able to squeeze that into my schedule somehow. It sounds like fun. Maybe I will look her up. Does she go to church?”
“She’s been there a couple of times, but she doesn’t necessarily come on a regular basis. However, maybe we can change that as well as add a diner to the businesses in Raspberry Ridge.”
“Becky is hoping to open a riding stable. Which would be another really great addition,” Birdie said.
Wesley hadn’t realized that, and he looked in surprise at the girl at the end of the table. She had been wearing boots with jeans and a regular T-shirt, with her hair in a ponytail. She looked young, but he figured she was probably mid-twenties.
“That’s why I was here, actually. I told you I would let you know when I got my second saddle, and I have it if you’re still interested in riding.”
“I am.”
“The best times to ride are dawn and dusk. Not only is it cooler for the horses, but you have a pretty sunrise and sunset to look at while you ride.”
“Do you have enough horses? Because I wouldn’t mind going?” Wesley couldn’t believe that he had spoken up. And especially in front of all of the people. He hadn’t exactly asked Birdie on a date, but he had shown some serious interest. He held his breath while she looked at him in surprise.
“I was under the impression that Becky was going to ride with me.”
“The horses don’t always like to go out by themselves. Sometimes you’ll get a horse who doesn’t mind, but the two I have now don’t like to go out without the other one. It doesn’t have to be me riding the other one. It could be the two of you going together.”
“I need a crash course in riding, since it’s been years since I sat on the back of a horse, and I don’t remember much of anything else other than I’m supposed to stay there until it stops.”
“That’s right. Please stay seated until the rides come to a complete stop,” Miles intoned like he was a teenager working at an amusement park ride.
“Sounds to me like you did that a time or two. Did you work at an amusement park as a kid? ”
“I did. Not Disneyland though. Craig’s Cruisers.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. That’s really all I got out of it though, the ability to tell people to stay still.”
“That comes in handy when you’re a parent, or so I understand,” Pastor Garnet said.
“It might also come in handy if the pastor goes over time in church,” Mertie said with a teasing smile at her husband.
“Now that I know that there is someone in the congregation who can do that, I don’t have to make sure I let everyone out on time.” He paused and then looked around the table with narrowed eyes. “On time is one o’clock, right?”
Laughter rang around the table as the buzzer for the oven went off.
“Oh! That’s for me,” Gramps exclaimed and then hopped up from his seat.
“Don’t forget to use oven mitts,” Norma Jean said softly as Gramps opened the oven without picking anything up with which to take his pies out.
“Thanks. I made that mistake once. I shouldn’t be making it a second time.”
There were some glances exchanged around the table, and a couple of the ladies had smirks on their faces, but nobody said anything else. Until finally, Gram said, “What happens in Raspberry Ridge Independent Bible Church’s culinary class stays in Raspberry Ridge Independent Bible Church’s culinary class.”
Everyone laughed, although Wesley was going to have to get the real story out of Gramps when they got home. Had he burned his fingers?
Regardless, the air smelled glorious, and Wesley rethought his decision to get a second helping, when it might mean that he would only get one piece of pie before he couldn’t eat anything more.
Mertie had gotten up to get the ice cream out of the freezer, and Birdie had stood and started taking away the plates of the people who were finished eating the chicken.
“Eyes bigger than your stomach?” she said as she walked by him, leaving his plate.
“No. Buyer’s remorse, I think, since something better came along after I got this.”
“We made one for you to take home, so no worries.”
“You are a good neighbor. The best,” Wesley said as she gave him another smile before walking away.
He had enjoyed the day, even though the work had been hard, because the company had been good .
He ended up leaving with Gramps shortly after everyone had eaten pie, without talking to Birdie again. He wasn’t sure whether they were still going to meet along the beach, but he hoped so.