Una crinkled her right eye in the briefest of winks as the first worshippers headed their way.
Having been a member for years, Una was able to welcome most people by name followed by a “nice to see you” or “I’m happy you’re here.”
The older women asked after Gunnar or shared a tidbit or two about their own children or grandchildren. Their husbands talked to Kristofer about last night’s game, grumbling over the ump’s call in the sixth inning.
When the sailing families arrived, the parents took the proffered program and ushered their children into the church without pausing to socialize.
Occasionally, a woman would hold Una’s hand a little too tightly while whispering, “I’mstillwaiting for an opening in your schedule.”
Extricating herself from the woman’s press-on-nails grip, Una would say, “I’m still booked, but you’re first on the list.”
“There’s always that one person,” Kristofer said after the entrants had trailed off. “Dale Berger asked me if I look through people’s magazines before I put them in the mailbox. Fred Carter wanted to know if I’d been chased by any dogs this week. Then he barked at me as he walked away.”
“I heard him. He sounded like a seal.”
When it was almost time for the bells to ring, Una saw the Scott family spill out of their station wagon. Justin grabbed Jill’s hand and tugged her toward the church. J.J. followed behind, his hands plunged deep in his pants pockets. Natalie smoothedher dress and threaded her arm through Jimmy’s. He seemed pleasantly surprised by the gesture.
“Una!” Justin ran down the path and flung his arms around Una’s hips.
“Hello, little bee,” she said, kissing his plump cheek.
“Why am I a bee?”
Jill tugged on her baby brother’s shirt. “Because your shirt is yellow with stripes.”
“Then what’s Jilly?” Justin asked Una.
Una made a show of studying Jill from head to toe. Jill wore a floral sundress and white sandals. Her hair was parted in the middle and pulled back into ribbon barrettes. The ribbons were blue and white and nearly the same length as Jill’s hair.
“Jill’s a fairy queen,” said Una.
Beaming, Jill took a program and tried to pull Justin away from Una. “Come on. We’re gonna be late for Sunday school.”
“But I want to stay with Una,” Justin whined.
“I wish I could go to Sunday school,” Una said. “You’re making pinwheels today. And Mrs. Drew baked chocolate chip cookies for snack. Withextrachips.”
That was all Justin needed to hear. He sprinted inside the church.
J.J. smiled shyly as he shook Una’s hand, glowing when she remarked that he had a strong grip. A man’s grip.
“I bet it helps you when you race today,” she added.
J.J. glanced at the trees in the churchyard. “There’s hardly any wind.”
“You could always pray for wind,” Jimmy said as he moved to shake Kristofer’s outstretched hand.
Natalie hung back until the rest of her family had disappeared inside. After making sure no one was around, she leanedclose to Una and whispered, “You’ll never believe this, but Elaine got a letter from Mrs. Smith.”
At the sound of Mrs. Smith’s name, the air turned leaden. It pressed down on Una’s shoulders and sat heavily on the crown of her head.
“A letter?”
Natalie watched Kristofer hand a program to the manager of the local bank. She waited for him to enter the church before saying, “Elaine wrote her first.”
As she spoke about vines and fireworks, Una glanced up at the sky. The clouds reminded her of Amma’s sheep. Their long fleece was dark gray or jet black, but Amma’s favorite, a ram with double curled horns, was dual coated. His fleece was a dirty white and gray. His eyes were black as flint. He was the biggest ram in her herd, and the most aggressive. He’d charge any human who came near, and when a neighbor’s ram strayed onto Amma’s land, her ram had headbutted the creature to death.
The neighbor had called him Púki, which meant demon.
