The Happiest Season Read Online Free Page B

her with a warm smile.        
    “We missed you last night,” Gloria said, her voice holding a
mock-reproving tone.
    Maggie stepped aside and gestured her in.  “I know.  I’m
sorry.  But things got a little crazy around here last night.”
    “So you said.”  She pinned her with a look.  “If you didn’t
want to come to my party, you could have just said so.  You didn’t have to make
up a story about a camel.”
    “Hey, if you’ll remember, I did try to bow out, however…” 
She raised a clarifying finger.  “At your persistent urging, I did intend to
come—had planned to come—but, we had an uninvited guest stop by the house last
night.”  She raised her right hand.  “Honest.”
    “Right,” Gloria said dubiously, her blue eyes narrowed with
suspicion.  “A camel.”
    “Yes, a camel,” Maggie said, as she reached to help Gloria
with her armload of goodies.
    “Anyway, since you missed out on the fun, I thought I’d
bring you and Rickey some of our leftovers.  Lord knows, we had plenty.”
    “I appreciate it,” Maggie said, smiling her gratitude.  “And
I can assure you, Ricky will appreciate it too.”
    “Where is the little guy?” Gloria asked, taking a seat at
the kitchen island.
    “Outside.  I’ll call him in.”  She crossed the room to the
slider and pulled it open.  “Ricky, come on inside.  We have company.”
    “Is it Officer John?” he cried eagerly, as he charged for
the door.
    “It’s Gloria,” Maggie told him.
    “Gloria!  Yay!  Did she bring me a treat?”
    “Don’t I always?” Gloria called.
    “Yes,” came his exuberant reply.
    Rickey dashed into the house and hurried to Gloria.  He
threw his arms around her and gave her a squeeze.  “I missed you!” he
announced.
    “I missed you too,” she said, wrapping him in an embrace. 
Gloria had become like a grandmother to him within weeks of their move to
town.  
    He finally pulled away from her, his eyes brimming with
enthusiasm.  “Did Mama tell you about the camel?”  His face grew serious.  “He
really banged up our house.”  He turned to his mother.  “Mama, you need to come
outside and take a look.”
    Maggie gasped.  She’d forgotten all about the camel kicking
the house.  She should have hurried outside at first light.  She took a deep
breath and braced for the worst.  “I’d better take a look,” she told her
friend.  “Care to join me?”
    Gloria gave a shrug.  “Why not?”
    Maggie started for the back slider, just as the doorbell
rang again. 
    “It’s Officer John!” Rickey cried.  “He brought me a picture
of the camel!”
    Gloria gave Maggie a surprised glance.  “You’re really
serious about the camel…?”
    “ Yes! ” Maggie said, giving her a chagrined glance as
she hurried to the front door.  She pulled it open and found John on her porch,
dressed in civilian clothing.  He held up one of the photos, as if to jog her
memory.  She smiled at the gesture and stepped back to allow him inside.
    “Rickey is going to be so excited to see those,” she told
him, indicating he should walk into the family room.
    There, she discovered that Gloria and Rickey had stepped
outside.  Gloria suddenly popped her head into the room.  “Maggie,” she said
seriously, “you do need to have a look at this.”
    Maggie detected from her tone that there was something amiss
in the back.  She shot John an apologetic look.  “I guess the camel did some
damage yesterday.  I’d better have a look.”
    He frowned with concern and followed her out of the house
and into the backyard.  He immediately registered Maggie’s alarm, when her body
tensed beside him and she gasped with surprise.  “Oh, my goodness!” she cried,
her eyes fixed on the number of deep dents and gouges on the siding of her
house.
    John moved closer to the back wall, crouching down to assess
the damage.  He rose with a sigh and shook his head.  “Wow,” he said, giving a
low