a little child had quite unconsciously poured oil on a wound.
“Well, sort of, William” said Zeke.
“Zeke and I paint by number at the shelter!” said William.
“Maybe you have taught him the basics, young man, so he can go on to take lessons elsewhere!” Luther’s eyes twinkled.
“Hey Zeke, we’re not going to stop painting together, are we?” asked William.
“Not ever, young man.”
Zeke was well beloved at the shelter. He had no one at home and often came by to fix a lock or unplug a drain. Then he’d stay and talk sometimes for an hour or two. He was especially good with the kids and was careful never to be alone with them.
“Okay, folks, we’re headed out for the parade. Everybody sit down.”
“And shut up!” said William.
“How impertinent, young man,” said Emily.
“Thank you!” said William, smiling ear-to-ear.
Luther snickered behind his sleeve.
Chapter 21
The entire High School parking lot was in chaos while participants waited to be told what place they would take in the parade. Katye wondered how she would ever get this started on time. Maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe she shouldn’t. Maybe it should start when it was ready.
She suddenly felt a warmth and relief go through her body. She relaxed. She knew Joe would approve. Maybe he was approving even now!
“Everything in its time,” he had said. It was an old cliché but when he said it, it was as if it was being said for the first time.
Suddenly, behind her she heard the voice of Mrs. Saugus, the high school principal.
“Mrs. Saugus! Hi!”
“Hello yourself!”
Katye looked at her and thought that her face carried on it the time tracks of a million school days.
“I had come in to take care of a couple of matters in my office before the parade,” she said. “I looked out my office window and I saw . . .”
“You saw chaos!”
“I saw an opportunity, maybe a place for me where I can help. I have some organizational skills myself.”
“I’m sure you do! I could use some help here.”
“I have a bullhorn that I sometimes use in the lunch room and at assemblies. I turn the volume up or down according to the situation,” she smiled.
“Well, today,” said Katye, “it seems we will need to use it at its loudest!”
With that, a partnership was formed. Soon Mrs. Saugus and her bullhorn were one.
“People,” she called out, as if she were talking to some unruly students, “I need your attention and I need it now! Everybody in the parade needs to be quiet and listen!”
She repeated herself three times.
“You have to get their attention first,” she said. “That’s far from easy. The first time, you’re just a droning voice. Each time, you rev up the volume just a bit. The second time, they notice someone is speaking. The third time, they deem it important. The fourth time, they really listen. You give me the order of things and I’ll get these people in line!”
The “Unsettlement Band” would lead off the parade. Daniel followed with his long-suffering pickup that had seen much better days. The truck bed was filled with smiling, waving children and their parents. Behind him, he pulled a hayrack that had been arranged by Hobe, complete with bales of hay, to carry anyone else in the Unsettlement who wished to be in the parade. The children from the Village of Hope Disability Center followed in their fifteen-passenger van. A second van carried the students at the Pacific School for the Blind. Luther had arranged for those from the homeless shelter to walk with the Always Sunny church banner sign that usually stood at the driveway of the church parking lot.
Suddenly, out of the school bus garage, came the sound of a foghorn. The doors opened and a farm truck appeared, pulling a flatbed wagon. A large coffee cup, made of flowers, was mounted on the flatbed. “Joe’s Fine Dine-ing” had been painted on a banner.
“They aren’t on the list,” said Mrs. Saugus. “What do you want to do with them?”
“They’ll go next, Mrs. Saugus, right behind the homeless shelter.”
“Move it right on in here!” she said to Hobe, who was driving.
There had to be music all through the parade. So, the bands were scattered throughout. The Middle School band came next.
Small business floats followed on behind the band. The nearby town of Clever sent their mayor and her husband in a new car from Clever Chevrolet. Susanna had put together a beautiful float for Argostoli’s. The De-light-full Coffee Shop and Book Store came next. The Kite Shop, Ripple’s Grocery, The Art Center, and many others, followed.
The Chamber float was placed right behind the high school band. And behind them all was the Grand Marshal’s car with Magdalena, Rock, and Hope aboard. Everything was ready.
Now, where was the Mayor?
Chapter 22
Hope called her husband on her cell phone. His voicemail answered.
“This is Mayor Lou and I’m not available right now. I’m out and about, no doubt, doing something good for the people of Safety Harbor. I do want to talk to you though, so leave a message for me.”
“Lou, I don’t know what you are doing,” she said, “but we need you to get up here right now! Things are getting organized and it won’t be long before the parade starts.”
In fifteen minutes, Lou still hadn’t shown. Hope called again. No answer. She started to be anxious.
“He’s not answering his phone,” she said to Katye. “It’s a busy day in town. I hope he’s okay.”
“He’s probably down at the waterfront glad-handing again and has forgotten the time,” said Katye.
The truth was more concerning. Lou had collapsed. A crowd had gathered around him now. Hope heard the sound of an ambulance in the distance and hoped it wasn’t about Lou.
“Somebody call Hope! Somebody call Doc Bailey! Call 911!” Voices could be heard through the crowd.
“Doc will meet the ambulance at the hospital,” said Carmelita, who arrived within five minutes. “Stand back out of the way! We need your cooperation here.”
The two ambulance attendants rushed to his side and took off quickly for Harbor View Hospital where they were met by nurses and Doc Bailey.
“Hello!” answered
