by Denise Irwin
Sue went one way while Leona went the opposite way. They talked with everyone along the way. Leona found Matt and Liz, so she said, “Jack thinks that Haley Brennan is dating your son.”
Liz said, “He’s right. We had Miriam and Haley to dinner last week.”
“I am so happy to hear that. Jack thought that they were spending a lot of time together on Thanksgiving.”
“That’s where it started.”
“I’ll let him know that he was right.”
She then moved on to talk with Jon and Betty to wish them a happy holiday. Sue caught up with her in the hall, “I think we need to feed these people. All of the appetizers are gone.”
Brian watched as they made their way to the kitchen and saw that they were getting platters of food onto the buffet in the dining room. He grabbed two and took them out. When all the platters were in the dining room, Neal asked everyone to take the hand of the person standing next to him.
He then said, “Sue and I have been hosting this dinner since we bought this place. In life, we go through a lot of heartache in our lives and the way we live through it is having good friends. I’d like to thank you for coming and next year bring someone who looks like they could use a friend. Okay that’s it. Let’s eat before the food gets cold. Grab a plate, fill it and then find a place to enjoy it.”
Leona, Sue and Brian refilled the platters when they were empty. When it looked as though the crowd had eaten its fill, they grabbed plates and filled them. Brian said, “Now the trick is to find a place to eat.”
Leona said, “Let’s go check out the stairs and see if we can sit there.”
She waved to her husband as they passed by him. She, Sue and Brian sat on the steps with their plates in their laps. Brian said, “Sue, you and Neal just might need to add an addition to the house.”
“There are years that we thought about it. Are you and Phil taking the dog classes?”
He chuckled, “Yes we are. The last class is on Saturday.”
“That’s what I heard. I think that Neal and I are gonna go and see how the training goes.”
Neal pulled up the rug and pushed a disk into the player. The loud music filled the room and everyone danced the night away. They took short breaks to refill their glasses and use the bathroom. When Neal played a slow song, Sam reached for his wife to dance. He whispered in her ear, “I love you babe.” She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
Neal stopped the music and announced, “My wife just told me that the desserts are out, so we’re gonna take a short break and then continue dancing.”
Leona had no idea how many pots of coffee she made, but a new empty cup would appear and wait for the pot. She looked up to see that there was no line. She asked Sue, “Do you want a cup of coffee?”
“Hell no, I want a glass of wine and I’m gonna sit my ass down at the kitchen table.”
“I’ll pour one for the both of us and sit with you.”
As Leona handed Sue a glass of wine, Sue asked, “Have you been working?”
“Do you mean investigating cases?”
“Yeah, that’s what I mean. Neal and I haven’t seen anything on the news or in the papers since that human trafficking case.”
“Sue, that’s not a bad thing.” She went on to tell Sue about the case that Sam worked on and when the sentencing was, she could see that her friend was shocked.
“Oh my word. That is just unbelievable. I can imagine what the citizens of Stonehaven think about our fine City.”
“I think that there’s a good chance that they realized that the murderer focused on their son.”
“Well, I hope that you’re right. Now tell me about the classes for the kids.”
“The children’s classes are done, they both did well enough that they can now compete. The last adult class is Saturday at 2:00 in the afternoon at Perry Hall Middle School. Molly and Jack would love it if you came.”
“I think I told Molly that we’ll be there."
“Just be prepared to laugh your ass off.”
Neal put the music back on, so Leona and Sue went out to watch the dancing.
Leona saw Sam on the other side of the room, so she walked over to join him. He chuckled, “I thought I lost you in the crowd.”
She kissed him and then said, “You’ll never lose me.”
“Lee, please don’t ask me to dance, I end up looked like a puppet on strings.”
“I know that which is why I’m going to ask Gabin to dance.”
Sam laughed, “You want the dip, don’t you?”
“Sam, how could you say such a thing to your wife?”
He howled with laughter, “Because I know you only too well.”
She walked away to ask Gabin to dance with her. “Of course I’ll dance with you.”
Neal had put a slow number on. Gabin said, “My guess is that you want the dip on Haley and that’s why you asked me to dance.”
“My word Gabin, do you think that I would do such a thing?”
“Yes ma’am, I know you would, so here it is. We really get along well. We’re both very nervous about going too fast and last you can call us a couple.”
“That makes me very happy. Jack asked me at Thanksgiving if the two of you were dating.”
“At that time, I think we were just talking about what we have in common.”
The music ended, so Leona hugged him and thanked him for the dance.
She found her husband in the crowd. She walked over to him to say, “Sam, it’s getting late and we have a dog to walk.”
“I was thinking the very same thing. Do you have a clue as to where our kids are?”
“No and I haven’t seen them in hours.”
“Okay, you go one way and I’ll go the other.”
They worked their way through the dancers and met one another at the place they had departed from childless. “Sam they have to be in this house, so if you go look for Neal, I’ll look for Sue.”
“Got it.”
Leona ran into Neal before Sam did. “Neal, do you know where Molly and Jack are?”
“Yes, they’re in our bedroom sleeping. Sue found them dozing off so we took them upstairs. I guess you’re ready to go home?”
Sam said, “We are because we have a dog to walk.”
Sue showed up at that moment. “Molly and Jack were starting to doze off, so Neal and I got them into our bedroom to sleep on our bed. I’m so sorry that I didn’t think to find your or Sam to let you know. I just wanted to get them out of the crowd because they were starting to fall onto the floor. Leona, why don’t you and I walk out to your car and warm it up?”
“That’s a good idea.”
They sat together in the car to warm it up. Sue asked, “Is it really okay if Neal and I come Saturday?”
“It’s more than okay and you’ll get a chance to meet Vinny.”
Sue leaned over and hugged her. “The guys are here with the kids. Neal and I will see you on Saturday.”
“We usually go out to eat afterwards, do you think that you can make that?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Sam and Neal loaded the kids into the back seat. Neal said, “Get those kids home before they totally wake up.”
The children slept all the way home. When they felt the car stop, they both woke up. Molly asked, “Are we home?”
Leona told her, “Yes we are.”
“Good because that means that we can go to bed.”
Sam asked, “Molly can you walk?”
“I think so, if someone holds my hand.”
“Molly, take my hand and we’ll walk together.”
“Thanks Mom. That was a lot of fun at Aunt Sue’s”
“It sure was.”
Jack and Sam were behind them, Leona heard Jack tell his wife, “I knew that Gabin wants to date Haley and that’s really cool.”
Sam chuckled, “Well I think you got it right.”
After the kids were in bed, Sam asked, “Are you up for a nightcap?�
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“You can bet your sweet ass on that. I think Sue and I had one glass of wine the whole night.”
“I wouldn’t doubt that because the two of you worked your asses off.”
“Brian helped a lot.”
“How did your warm mushroom salad do?”
“Oh my word Sam, I should’ve made more. It was gone in no time.”
“I saw that it was a big hit. I saw you dancing with Gabin, did he give you the dip?”
“He said that they both were nervous about dating, but that they really get along well. Miriam invited Liz, Matt and Gabin to dinner. It’s my honest opinion that they are two peas in a pod.”
“Did I also hear that Sue and Neal plan to come to the school on Saturday?”
“She said that they’ll be there and will go to dinner with the crowd.”
“Do the kids know?”
“I think so, but don’t say anything until we’re there. I’m wondering if Bob and Ellie will be there.”
“They just might since the holiday is over.”
“Our cheerleading group keeps growing.”
“You can say that again. Luckily, we have the entire gym to ourselves. Do you want another glass of wine?”
“Thanks, but no. I’m going to bed and just might stay there all day tomorrow.”
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For the next two days, Leona managed to feed her family, but that was about it. She told Sam, “I must be getting old. Shelly and I used to party all night and go to work in the morning.”
“Well, let me just say; you and Shelly went to a bar to party where you didn’t have to take care of the food, the drinks or the cleanup.”
“I like the way you put that because you didn’t refer to me as being old. It was so much fun and I like playing hostess because I get to talk with everyone. Sue needed help with that crowd, so Brian and I stepped up to the plate. It’s always amazing to me that Brian just jumps in and helps with anything. He and Phil would make great dads.”
“They sure would.”
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On Saturday morning during breakfast, Molly said, “I’m so excited about watching the adult class today.”
Sam asked, “Is there a particular reason that the adult class excites you?”
“Yes there is Dad. I like to watch the adult class because everyone does so well.”
“Is that right?”
Sam wasn’t sure that he heard the real reason, so he prodded her on. “Molly, you and Jack were good enough to compete. Do you think that anyone in the adult class will make it that far?”
“Yes, I do. Jack and I have watched all the adult classes and everyone did very well, so I’m sure that Miss Shannon will tell everyone that they can compete.”
Jack asked, “Can Molly and I be excused. We’ll be in the dining room when it’s time to leave.”
Leona said, “Of course, you can.”
Leona and Sam remained in the kitchen for another cup of coffee. Leona asked, “Sam, if Shannon says that we’re good enough to compete, would you do it?”
“Sure. What about you?”
“I really would like to. It’s really good exercise and we’ll meet new people. I don’t mean to say that I dislike the people we know, I just wanted to say that there will be new people to for all of us to meet. At the PTA meetings, you say hello, but that’s about it. I’m sure that if we did compete that we’d travel around the county.”
He chuckled, “Don’t stop there, we could end up traveling around the country.”
She smirked at him and then said, we need to get on the road. He rounded up the kids along with the dog and herded them to the car.
Just as they parked the car, Molly needed to use the bathroom. Leona said, “I’ll take her to the ladies room and meet you in the gym.”
When they entered the gym, Leona saw that everyone was already there. She waved to Sue and Neal and sent Molly to sit with them. Shannon was speaking with the students. Leona arrived in time to hear her say, “For all of the students who do not have dogs, we’ve brought in some dogs for you to work with. Are there any questions?”
No one had any questions, so she lined them up on their courses and then said, “This will be a timed run.”
The first handlers turned out to be all of the woman. They walked their dog to the starting point and when Shannon blew the whistle, the handlers ran the course.
“Good job, next handler up.”
They each ran to course three times and then spoke with Shannon. Sue asked, “What’s going on?”
Molly said, “This is when Miss Shannon said that Jack and I were ready to compete.”
“Well, I have to say that everyone did really well from what I saw.”
Jack said, “They did Aunt Sue. Let me go get Vinny, so you can meet him.”
Jack asked his father for the leash. When Sam handed it to him Jack walked the dog for Aunt Sue and Uncle Neal to meet him.
“Jack, he really is a remarkable dog. I’m sure that his training as a service dog really helped, but he’s now getting great exercise.”
The adults made their way to the bleachers deciding whose turn it was to pay for dinner. Bob said, “Dinner’s on me if you want to eat at my pub.”
Sam said, “Let me run the dog home and we’ll come back.”
“Sam, didn’t you tell me that he’s a trained service dog?”
“He was for an eldery woman.”
“He’s not going to just lose those credentials. He’s welcome in my pub.”
They drove downtown to Pickles Pub and Bob invited them in. Once everyone was sitting, Leona asked, “Bob, isn’t this where Ian Macgill worked?”
“Yes it is. Give me just a moment because I want the kitchen staff to meet you.”
He brought all of the kitchen staff out and said, “These are the people who found Ian’s murderer. Please introduce yourselves to them and say just a little something about what you thought of him.”
Each staff member stepped forward to introduce himself and spoke of a good memory that they had of Ian.
There were ten staff and Leona, Amanda and Nancy started crying at about the fifth person.
Sam asked, “Is Ellie going to join us?”
“Yes, she’s on her way.”
After meeting the kitchen staff, everyone lightened up to talk about the training. Sue said, “Ya’ll looked like you were having so much fun. What did the trainer tell you?”
Sam chuckled and then said, “That we are now eligible to participate in competitions.”
“I sure hope that you’re planning to. We’ll come and watch.”
No one had noticed the new comer until she spoke, “Hi, I’m Ellie Williams. I know most of you, but I don’t know some of you.”
Sue went first, “My name is Sue Sampson and sitting next to me is my husband Neal.”
Nancy went next, “Ellie it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nancy Martin and sitting next to me is my husband Bill. We’re Leona’s parents.”
“It’s my please to be here with everyone. Without everyone’s hard work, Ian’s murderer would never have been taken into custody.”
It was a fun evening with tall tales from everyone. Jack and Molly joined in on the fun. Jack told how his dad came to speak to his class about what he did for a living. Molly said that when she grows up she wants to have a kennel like her Aunt Sue’s.
After dessert, Leona announced, “The Marksman family doesn’t do much on New Year’s Eve, so you’re all welcome to ring in the New Year at our house.”
Molly and Jack fell asleep during the drive home. Both woke when they felt the car stop. Jack said, “Dad, I’ll walk Vinny and then I’m going to bed.”
“Me too Dad.”
“Me too Dad, what?”
“Whatever Jack said.”
“I’ll walk the dog, so just go into the house with your mother.”
He and Vinny found Leona in the kitchen. She had a glass of wine sitting in front of her at the kitchen table. There
was a cold beer for him. Leona said, “Today was so much fun. Should I ask Shannon to look into adult competitions?”
“Let me sleep on it and I’ll give you an answer tomorrow.”
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During breakfast on Sunday Morning, Molly asked, “Mom are you going to ask Miss Shannon about adult competition classes?”
“Dad and I are going to think about it.”
“I think that you should do it.”
“Molly you will be the first person that I’ll tell if we decide to do the competitions.”
“Thanks Mom, I just hope that you decide to do it.”
Jack asked, “Can we play board games in the dining room.”
Sam told him, “That’s a great idea.”
When they left the kitchen, Leona said, “Sam, today is Sunday, December 29, and the kids don’t go back to school until January 2 which means that we need to find activities to do with our children other than sending them into the dining room to play board games.”
“You’re right. See what’s playing at the theater and we’ll take them to the movies.”
“I thought ahead. There’s an animated movie called Frozen playing now. They’ll love it. The matinee starts at 1:00 this afternoon.”
“Okay, it’s now 10:00 in the morning, so let them play board games for let’s say until lunch time and then we’ll go. We’ll take them out to eat after the movie.”
“Good plan.” She then cleaned up the breakfast dishes and then called her mother. When she answered the phone, Leona asked, “How was your Christmas?”
“It was good. The entire family went to Jeremy and Zoe’s for dinner. How was it at Sue’s?”
“Crazy as usual. The house was packed so tight that it was hard to get through, but we had a lot of fun and danced the night away. Are you planning to come here for New Year’s Eve?”
“Bill asked me that this morning. Yes we’ll be there.”
When they disconnected the call, Leona said, “Let me go tell the kids to get dressed.”
They were in the dining room playing a board game. Leona said, “The two of you need to go upstairs and dress in your school clothes because we’re going to the movies this afternoon.”