Fleece Navidad Part 21

"Okay, now that we've got all hands on deck, I want to capture this moment forever." Jennifer pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open. "Who knows? Maybe I'll turn it into my screen saver."

"Okay, everyone, huddle up," Kelly said, waving the kids to a corner of the vestibule so Jennifer could snap photos. Churchgoers were still traipsing through the doors.

The teenagers cl.u.s.tered about in an untidy and rowdy semicircle, while Jennifer captured cheesy smiles and last-minute goofing off. "That's great, you guys," she said, pocketing her phone. "And just to let you know, I'll be recording the Nativity scene. So stay sharp and stay in character."

"Hey, will ya e-mail us the video?" O'Leary asked.

"Oh, I'll do better than that," Jennifer said with a wicked grin. "I'll e-mail the entire video file to my niece, and she'll upload it to her Web groups. She'll have you guys all over YouTube. With enough hits, you'll be Internet stars by tomorrow."

Kelly had to laugh, watching the mixed reactions explode from the cast. From Mary's look of horror to the Wise Guys' whoops of glee. Angel and Narrator looked delighted. Shep One and Shep Two looked amused. Joseph looked skeptical. Jennifer's brilliant scheme had sent an electric charge throughout the cast that was guaranteed to override any nervousness.

From the corner of her eye, Kelly noticed a familiar figure hovering in the stairwell. Lucy, cradling Baby David in her arms. Kelly sent her a big smile. Now it was time for the first of her two contributions to this production. Aside from providing muscle and playing straight man to Jennifer.

"Is someone saving you a seat?" Kelly asked as she approached mother and child.

"Oh, yes," Lucy replied, over the sound of organ music billowing from the sanctuary. "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful" rose along with voices. "I just fed him, so he should stay asleep the whole time. But I'll be in the front row with Hilda and Lizzie in case you need me."

"You're a sweetheart, Lucy. Let's go over and meet the stage parents," Kelly said, beckoning Lucy over to the teenagers.

Jennifer had already lined them up in order of procession. Narrator was in front, followed by Angel. Ready for her walk into stardom. Shep One and Shep Two would be right behind. Mary and Joseph would follow, walking side by side. The Wise Men would bring up the rear, which was perfect placement for any spontaneous showing off to occur.

Kelly noticed the mischievous expression on Shep Two's face and hoped he wouldn't use that shepherd's staff to trip Angel during her promenade down the aisle. Shep Two was looking for trouble, Kelly could tell. No telling what an inventive teenage mind could come up with.

Fortunately, Kelly had planned for such an occurrence. She glanced toward the front door, people still entering. Sure enough, she glimpsed someone else she recognized standing outside. Kelly smiled and held up her hand, giving a wait signal to the woman.

"Hey, Lucy, how's the little guy?" Jennifer said, joining them.

"Sleeping soundly," Lucy said with a smile. "Are your kids ready?"

"Let's find out," Kelly said, escorting Lucy toward Mary and Joseph. "Hey, guys, I thought we'd add a bit of realism to this whole scene. This is David, who's six months old, and his mom, Lucy, has agreed to let him partic.i.p.ate."

Mary stared, eyes wider than wide. "What? You mean hold him?"

"He's sound asleep. He won't be any trouble," Lucy a.s.sured her, placing the snoozing David into a surprised Mary's arms.

"But . . . but what if he cries? I used to babysit my baby brother and he cried alot !" Mary protested.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Jennifer said, giving Mary a rea.s.suring pat on her shoulder. "You already know how to do this." Mary stared back at Jennifer, looking only slightly less fearful.

Kelly pointed to the surprised and still skeptical Joseph. Your turn, Joe .

"Okay, Joseph, your job during this whole thing is to take care of Mary and the baby. That was the original Joseph's role, and he did a pretty good job of it, too. If he hadn't, we wouldn't all be here today celebrating."

A spark of engagement flickered in Joseph's eyes. "Okay," he said, nodding.

"Good. There are a lot of steps leading up to where you two are sitting, and we don't want Mary to trip. Her hands are full, so she can't pick up her skirt."

"Got it covered," he said, then turned to Mary. "Listen, if he starts making noise, I'll help. I was the only one who could get my baby sister to sleep."

"Hey, guys, I've gotta run to the front pew before they finish singing," Jennifer said, opening the door to the sanctuary. "You'll do great. Trust me." She hastened up the aisle, cell phone in hand, as the last notes of the chorus echoed out the door.

Okay . . . time for the piece de resistance. Kelly walked to the front doors and beckoned the woman outside to join them.

"Sorry to make you wait," Kelly said as she held the door open. "You're sweet to do this, Sh.e.l.ly."

Sh.e.l.ly Reynolds stepped inside the vestibule. She, too, was carrying something in her arms, but it wasn't a baby. Not exactly.

"Baaaaaaaah!" Annie announced her entrance.

"I couldn't pa.s.s this up, Kelly. It's just too cute. I'll be watching from the back in case she gets too playful," Sh.e.l.ly said as she approached the startled teenagers.

"Guys, meet Annie the Celebrity Lamb," Kelly announced. "She appears at charitable events all over town. And her owner and I thought she'd make a great addition to the scene."

Everyone except Mary and Joseph stared blankly at Kelly. And Annie. Then they all started talking at once.

"Don't look at me, Coach," O'Leary said, holding up both hands.

"You've gotta be kidding!"

"Oh, man!"

"What if it p.o.o.ps?"

"Don't give it to me, I'm allergic to wool."

"Baaaah!"

Kelly took Annie from Sh.e.l.ly's arms and walked to the front of the line, where Shep One and Shep Two stared in disbelief.

"Shep Two, hand off your staff. Annie is yours."

He did a double take. Any hint of mischief evaporated from his expression. "You've gotta be kidding!"

"Hey, you're a shepherd, here's a sheep." Kelly handed over the fuzzy bundle. Annie bleated once, then licked Shep Two's chin.

"What if she . . . you know, p.o.o.ps up there?"

"Step around it," Sh.e.l.ly said, chuckling.

Kelly glanced over her shoulder and noticed Jennifer giving them the high sign from the front of the church.Show-time. She opened the door.

"Okay, guys, this is it. Narrator, start 'em off. Angel, hang back so you can make a big entrance."

Narrator set off, chin high, pipe and composure in hand. Rock-Star-in-Waiting Angel paused until he was halfway up the aisle before starting off, smiling and angelic at the same time.

"Oh, man. . ." Shep Two complained as Annie nibbled at his inside-out fleece.

"Listen, it'll be fine. Annie's a bigger ham than you are. You can let her walk around when you're up there, but keep track of her. We don't want her chewing the scenery."

"Okaaaay . . ." he said doubtfully.

Noticing Angel's progress, Kelly pointed up the aisle. "Shep One, you're on. Shep Two, you and Annie lag behind. Milk the audience reaction for all it's worth." She gave him a wink.

Something in Shep Two's eyes flickered, and Kelly wondered if she'd set more in motion than she'd planned.

Shep Two paused then set off, Annie bleating at appropriate intervals, which caused a stir throughout the entire congregation. Heads turned all over the church. Even the priests were grinning. Parents, relatives, visitors, all grabbed their cameras and cell phones and clicked away. Kelly noticed Shep Two slow down, clearly taking his time. Annie bleated as he showed her off to everyone.

If Annie had elicited smiles and laughter, it was nothing to the oohs and aahs heard when Mary and Joseph walked down the aisle, Baby David still asleep. Not only did Joseph help Mary up the steps, but he also moved a cus.h.i.+on for her to sit on. Kelly smiled to herself.Good job, Joseph.

O'Leary and the Wise Guys made the most of their entrances, displaying their finery, causing chuckles and laughter to ripple around the church. Kelly noticed O'Leary had added his jersey number to the back of his kingly robe. Number 43. King in the making. So far, so good, Kelly thought as she stood at the rear of the sanctuary. Now, if they can just stay in character.

She shouldn't have worried. Narrator carried off his reading in a clear voice. Mary sat holding the sleeping babe, looking beatific, while Joseph knelt beside them. The Three Wise Men had scattered themselves around the altar steps after presenting their gifts. Angel stood on the top step, smiling radiantly, arms outstretched, flanked by both shepherds. Annie bleated periodically, causing Narrator to repeat himself while the audience chuckled.

Kelly sighed with relief. They were a hit.

Suddenly the chuckles got louder. Kelly noticed Jennifer hold her cell phone at an angle, aiming its camera toward Angel. Kelly peered closer at the scene, and noticed that Shep Two had maneuvered himself close enough to Angel to enable Annie to indulge her favorite pastime-nibbling.

Annie had stopped bleating. She was too busy nibbling Angel's fluffy wings. Shep Two had that troublemaker grin on his face again. Meanwhile, Angel continued to beam at the a.s.semblage, blissfully unaware.

Once again, Annie had managed to steal the show.

"Where's that chocolate mint fudge?" Marty demanded as he surveyed the knitting table. "I swear I saw it a minute ago. Now it's gone."

"Rosa's in charge of the fudge," Mimi said from across the table, where she and Burt sat surrounded by the rest of Lambspun's family and friends. Every inch of the knitting table was covered with holiday food. Plates spilled over with delectable treats.

Brownies, both b.u.t.terscotch and chocolate, rum cake, cherry cake, meringues, divinity, toffee bars, chocolate rum b.a.l.l.s, and cookies of all kinds-Mexican wedding cakes, spritz cookies, sugar cookies shaped like Santas and candy canes frosted with icing. Kelly's gingersnaps were almost gone. So was the pumpkin nut bread Megan made.

Two huge punch bowls dominated both ends of the table. One with Burt's deadly wa.s.sail and the other with milder eggnog. And an urn of coffee was also perched on a side cabinet. Mimi made sure all her guests could drive safely when they left.

"But I haven't had any fudge yet!" Marty complained dramatically. "I saw Greg chowing down."

"She only let me have one piece," Greg replied before he took a bite of toffee bar. "Man, Rosa, you're brutal."

"Have to be, with you guys around," Rosa said, hovering over the foil package of fudge while she enjoyed a slice of cherry walnut cake. "You two are worse than my dogs at home, and they gobble up everything."

Burt chortled. "Now, that's a picture."

"May I please have a piece of fudge, Rosa?" Marty asked politely, palm outstretched. "Oh, and put my name on your list for seconds, okay?"

Rosa grinned and handed over a fat piece of fudge. "I'm not sure there will be any."

"Dude, give it up."

"Hey, Marty, any word about Claudia?" Jayleen said, leaning over the table to snare a gingersnap. "Didn't you find her a Florida lawyer?"

Marty didn't answer at first. Instead, he made several loud humming sounds of pleasure. Sugar delight. "Yep, I heard from him right before the service. Claudia is settled into the Sarasota jail. Her hearing is scheduled for this Friday."

"Poor Claudia," Mimi said before sipping her wa.s.sail. "I cannot imagine how she's going to hold up if she's sentenced to prison. She just might fall apart."

"Don't be so sure," Jayleen said, cup of coffee in hand. "I've got a hunch Claudia's a lot stronger than she lets on. She may come out of this a whole lot tougher than before."

Burt sipped from his cup. "I hope you're right, Jayleen."

Steve leaned over the table and s.n.a.t.c.hed some chocolate rum b.a.l.l.s, popping first one, then another into his mouth. "Mmmm, you gotta try these," he told Kelly as he sat beside her.

"I already did, and they're deadly. Almost as deadly as that chocolate mint fudge," she said, sipping eggnog. Burt's wa.s.sail was also a potent brew.

"I cannot believe that baby is so good," Rosa said, glancing to Lucy, who was seated in the corner beside Curt and Jayleen.

"He's a sweetheart." Lucy cooed to her son, who had captured Curt Stackhouse's index finger in his fat baby fist.

"What a cutie," Jayleen said, caressing Baby David's soft hair.

As if on cue, Annie trotted up and nuzzled David's baby blanket, then bleated. Lucy, Jayleen, and Curt laughed as David discovered Annie. A little baby fist reached out for Annie to sniff.

Kelly watched the tableau. Lambspun's own Madonna and Child.

"Who made the fudge?" Lisa asked from the other end of the table. "It was here last year, too."

Mimi shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea. It suddenly shows up for the holidays. Whenever we have a gathering like this, the fudge magically appears."

Curt snorted. "Magic? Somebody's pulling your leg, Mimi. You ought to cut off their wa.s.sail until they confess."

"Not a bad idea," Megan said from another corner, her plate overflowing with goodies. "Okay, fess up, someone. Who made the fudge?"

"Not me."

"Don't look at me, I only do gingersnaps."

"Are you kidding?"

All around the room, the same negative responses.

"Come on, somebody had to make it," Connie said from the archway.

"I told you," Mimi said with a smile. "It's magic. Maybe Santa Claus makes it."

That caused another round of laughter.

"I bet Pete made it," Jennifer said, giving him a poke as they both sat side by side at the table. "It's good enough to be Pete's." She took a bite of toffee.

Pete shook his head. "It's not mine. I don't do candies, just pies and cakes," he said with a broad smile, clearly enjoying the cranberry bread.

"Maybe it's a satisfied customer who slips it on the table when we're not looking," Kelly suggested, snagging a rum ball. The fermented flavors of rum and chocolate melted on her tongue.

"Maybe so," Burt mused out loud. "The shop was open today until right before we headed to the church."

Kelly waited for the surrounding voices to rise before she leaned toward Burt. "Any word on Sheila? Have you heard from Dan or anything?"