by Patricia Fry
"Jake," he said, taking Damon's hand. "I'm related to the bride, not that I'm proud of it."
Damon frowned. "That's a strange thing to say. The Brannons are some of the coolest people I know."
"Is that right?" Jake mocked.
Puzzled, Damon asked, "So how are you related, Jake?"
"Savannah and Bri are my cousins. My dad is Aunt Gladys's brother."
"Are your folks here today?" Damon asked.
"Nope. Dad's too sick anymore to do anything." He let out a sigh. "He had different excuses when I was younger."
"Excuses?" Damon questioned, starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
"For not being present. It didn't seem to bother Jimmy. That's my brother—the one with that big RV."
"Yes, I met him and his family earlier." When something caught Damon's eye, he said, "Uh-oh, it looks like Michael's having trouble corralling the cat. I'd better go help. Nice talking to you, Jake"
"If you say so," Jake mumbled.
"You got him!" Damon said, catching up with Michael.
Michael ruffled the fur around Rags's neck as he held him. "Yeah, but he let me chase him for a while, didn't you, boy? Maybe Adam would like to hang out with you. Adam!" he called when he saw the boy watching guests dig into the wedding cake.
"Yeah?" Adam said, trotting up to his father. He petted Rags and chuckled. "Did you let him out?"
Michael shook his head.
"He got out all by himself again?" Adam asked. "I can't believe it. How's he doing it?"
Michael shrugged, then asked, "Hey, want to go get his leash and let him mingle for a while? Then we'll put him in the pen and hope he'll take a nap."
"Sure," Adam said. He reached for the cat. "Come on, Rags. Want to go for a walk?" He called, "Hey, Misty, want to help me walk Rags?"
The child joined him, looked at the cat, and said, "Okay."
"Just don't let him out of your sight," Michael instructed.
"I know, Dad," Adam said.
Damon laughed. "He's a high-maintenance cat, isn't he?"
"Yeah, you mean your two fluff balls don't give you a run for your money around your place?" Michael asked.
Damon thought for a moment and said, "Not really. Colbi sometimes complains about the amount of sand they kick out of the litter boxes, and Dolly is a beggar." He cringed. "That's probably my fault. When she was a sickly kitten, I may have spoiled her a little." In his own defense he said, "Heck, what did I know about cats when I started doctoring Dolly? I didn't even like cats, remember?"
"I remember," Michael said, grinning, "especially not after Rags squealed on you and put you in prison."
Damon shook his head. "That was all me. Officer Rags was just doing his job."
"I'm glad you see it that way," Michael said. He pointed. "Hey, looks like Bri's going to throw her bouquet. Come on."
"Why?" Damon asked, following along. "We're both spoken for."
Michael grinned. "I just thought it would be fun to watch all those single women fight over that thing."
The two men approached Savannah just as Lily ran up to her. "Mommy, can I catch the flowers? Aunt Bri's going to throw the flowers at people. Can I catch the flowers?"
"Oh," Savannah stalled. When she saw several women and a few small children gathering in anticipation of Brianna tossing the bouquet, she said, "I guess it's all right. Just be careful."
"Yeah, watch out for desperate women eager to catch that thing," Michael said.
"And a man," Damon added.
"Huh?" Savannah said, confused.
"Desperate to catch the bouquet and to catch a man," Damon explained.
"Oh, Damon," Savannah huffed playfully. She walked with Lily toward the group of
women.
"I'll watch her," Gladys offered.
"She wants to catch the bouquet," Savannah explained.
Lily stared at her mother. "No I don't. I want to catch the flowers."
Savannah and Gladys exchanged smiles, then Gladys took Lily's hand. When she saw Iris with Rosemary, she invited, "Come on, Rosemary, want to catch some flowers?"
The three-year-old nodded and took Gladys's other hand.
It took a while for the photographer to set the stage and for participants to get in position. Meanwhile, everyone laughed as the little girls giggled and danced around together.
Finally the photographer was ready and so was Brianna. She picked up the bouquet and prepared to toss it when suddenly she lost her balance and almost fell. She looked down and said, "Rags, what are you doing?"
"Rags," Adam scolded, pulling on the leash. "I'm sorry Aunt Bri. I didn't know he was going to jump on you like that."
Bud laughed. "He wants your flowers."
"No, Rags," Brianna said, holding the bouquet up over her head.
The cat continued to reach for them.
"You're going to ruin my dress," Brianna complained. "Stop it, Rags."
Adam, realizing there was a problem, ran forward to pick up the cat. However, before Adam could put his hands on him, Rags took leap up onto the buffet table and continued to meow and reach out toward Brianna. Adam picked up Rags and backed away with him in his arms. "I'm sorry, Aunt Bri. I'll put him away."
"Good idea," Brianna complained, examining her dress for damage. She looked at the photographer, who nodded that he was ready. Exasperated now, she turned around and heaved the bouquet into the air, over her head behind her.
As the women ran toward the flowers, the little girls watched and waited in awe. Gladys, however, saw the bouquet and the crowd of women heading toward the children and she attempted to move the little girls out of the way. When someone shouted, "Look out!" Gladys glanced up just in time to see the flowers coming right at her. She held up her hands in an attempt to deflect the bouquet and suddenly found herself holding it in her arms.
"Grammy caught the flowers!" Adam shouted. "Look, Grammy caught them!"
"Oh no," Gladys said as the younger women encircled her. "I'm sorry, ladies. I was just trying to keep them from hitting the children." She held the bouquet out and said, "Here, do it again. I didn't mean to spoil your fun."
"No, Auntie," Roxy said, looping her arm in Gladys's. "You caught them fair and square."
"Yeah," Melanie said. "You keep them, Auntie. You're not married."
Roxy chuckled. "I hear there's a man in your life." She shouted, "Hey, everyone, Aunt Gladys is going to be married!"
"Can I have a flower?" Lily asked, jumping up and down. "Rosemary, and I want a flower. Can we have a flower, Grammy?"
"Sure," Gladys said, leaning over toward the children. "Which flower do you want?"
Just then, Lily screamed.
"What's wrong?" Savannah asked when she saw the child back away and cover her face with her hands. "What's wrong?" she asked again.
Concerned, Damon moved closer, picked up his daughter, Rosemary, then asked Gladys, "What's going on?" Suddenly, he shouted, "Snake!" He snatched the bouquet from Gladys, handed Rosemary to Iris, and walked swiftly toward the stand of trees behind Jimmy's and Belinda's RV.
"A snake?" Brianna said weakly, clinging to Bud's arm. "In my bouquet? How…?"
"Yes," Bud said, frowning, "how?" He asked her, "Where was it, Bri—I mean before you tossed it?"
"The bouquet? I left it on the table next to the cake. Oh," she yelped, "I guess someone moved it when the cake crashed." She put her hands up to her face. "Oh, this is awful. Just awful." She looked out over the crowd of young women and asked, "What's wrong with Casey? Is she hurt? I think she's hurt." Brianna walked swiftly toward where her friend sat on the ground. Two other women kneeled next to her.
Before Brianna reached Casey, however, Jake approached the woman. "Need help?" he asked, holding out his hand to Casey.
One woman said, "She sprained her ankle. I don't know if she can walk."
"I can carry you," Jake offered. He looked around. "Let's get you to that chair over there and we'll check out your ankle."
&nb
sp; "Okay," Casey said, putting her arm around his neck as he lifted her.
"What happened, Casey?" Brianna asked.
"I guess I tripped over someone trying to catch that damn bouquet," she said.
"How is she?" Michael asked, joining Jake and Brianna.
"I think I can handle this," Jake said curtly.
"Are you a doctor?" one of the women asked.
"Well, no, but I've seen broken bones and I've seen sprained ankles. I think I can tell the difference. Let me take a look," he offered.
Meanwhile, Michael set out to catch up with Damon.
"Hey, Dad," Adam called, running up to him. "Where's that snake? Do you know what kind it is?"
Rather than respond, Michael asked, "Where's Rags? You were supposed to keep him out of trouble."
"He started getting into trouble while I had him on his leash—you know, he was bothering Aunt Bri's dress. So I put him back in his pen."
Michael frowned at his son. "Adam, did you have anything to do with that mean-spirited prank?"
Adam tilted his head and repeated, "Prank? Do you mean someone put the snake in the flowers on purpose?" He shook his head. "No, Dad. What kind is it?" the boy asked again. "Did you see it?"
"No," Michael said. "Damon brought him out here to turn him loose." He glanced up and pointed. "There he is. Let's go take a look."
Damon saw Michael and Adam approaching him. He held out the snake and chuckled. "Want to tell him goodbye?"
"I want to see it," Adam said, edging closer. "What kind is it?"
"A little garter snake," Damon said.
Adam examined the snake, then looked at Damon. "Do you think he found the flowers and crawled in there?"
Michael stared across the yard and muttered, "It's possible, but doubtful."
"Rags must have known the snake was in the flowers," Adam said. "That's why he was bugging Aunt Bri. Maybe he saw the snake crawl inside."
"Or he saw someone put it in there," Michael said.
"Huh?" Adam questioned. When Michael didn't respond, Adam said, "I'll go get Rags out. Now that the snake's gone he won't bother Aunt Bri anymore."
"Let's leave him in the pen, Son," Michael suggested. "I'm sure he could use a time out."
"Awww Dad," Adam complained, "he doesn't like it in there."
"He'll be okay," Michael said. "I don't want anyone tripping over his leash out here and we can't turn him loose in the house, because someone's bound to let him out."
"Someone keeps letting him out of his pen, Dad. This is the second time we put him in there and he got out."
After he thought about it for a moment, Michael sighed. "Okay, then. Let's leave him in there for now. We'll all try to keep an eye on him. You can take him out for short walks from time to time to keep him from getting too antsy." He put his hand on Adam's shoulder. "Want to help me with that?"
"Okay," Adam said, running back to the house.
"Joshua, I want to talk to you," Michael said when he caught up to the boy a few minutes later.
"Okay," Joshua said, facing him.
"What are you doing there?" Michael asked. "Were you going someplace?"
"I was going to check on Belle. She's napping in our RV. Mom said she's been sleeping too long. She's afraid she's getting into stuff or something."
"Oh," Michael said. "Okay if I walk with you?"
"Sure."
Michael watched as the boy absent-mindedly slapped the ground with a willow branch, then he asked, "Joshua did you put that snake in Brianna's bouquet?"
"Her what?" he asked, looking up at Michael.
"The flowers. Don't play dumb with me, Joshua. Did you or did you not put that snake in there."
"No. I didn't touch the flowers. Do you mean the flowers she carried when she got married?"
"Yes."
Joshua shaded his eyes with his hand and looked up at Michael. "There was a snake in there?"
"Yes," Michael said, impatiently. When he saw the puzzled look on the boy's face, he asked, "Do you mean to tell me you didn't know that? Where were you when the women got all excited and upset? One of them even hurt her ankle."
"Why?" he asked. "They got excited about a snake? How did he get in there, anyway?"
"That's what I'm asking you."
Joshua glanced up at Michael again. "When did that happen? I didn't know anyone got hurt. Did the snake bite someone? What kind of snake was it?" As they approached the RV, he put his finger up to his lips. "Shhh." Carefully and quietly he opened the door and looked inside, yelping, "Belle, what are you doing? Awww, man, look at the mess you made."
"What did she do?" Michael peered around Joshua to see inside the RV.
"She got into the animal crackers. Darn it, Belle." He snatched the package from the child, and picked up those she'd scattered around her in the bed. "How long have you been awake?" he asked, placing the cookies in a high cupboard and dusting the crumbs into a trash container. "Belle, you're going to get us both in trouble, you know."
Michael chuckled and picked up the child. He looked around in the kitchen area, then grabbed a paper towel and wetted it. "We'd better wash the evidence off her."
"Thanks, Mr. Michael," Joshua said. "She can sure get me in trouble sometimes doing stuff like this."
"So you take care of her a lot do you?" Michael asked.
Joshua nodded and mumbled, "Unfortunately." More brightly, he said, "I mean, I love her and all. She's my sister and she can be a lot of fun, but sometimes I sure get tired of always being her babysitter."
"Your folks depend on you a lot, do they?" Michael asked.
"Yes." He took Belle's hand. "Come on, let's go see what Mom and Dad are doing." Under his breath, he said, "I suppose they'll want me to watch her. At least it's more fun than just sitting and watching the RV in case she gets up and comes out and doesn't know where she is."
"Lily and Rosemary would probably like to play with her," Michael suggested. "See them over there playing with some dolls or something?"
"I'd love that," Joshua said. He looked down at his sister. "And so would you, right. Belle? You like to play with other little girls. I'll go ask Mom if I can let her."
Michael stopped him. "How about we just take her over there and see if she wants to play?" As they drew near, he said, "Lily, Belle would like to play with you girls. Can Belle play with you?"
Lily jumped to her feet and took the child's hand. "Come on, Belle. Rosemary and I are playing dressing dolls. She sat back down on the quilt, held up a cutout doll and demonstrated how the magnetic clothes could be pressed on and removed. "See her princess dress? Want to put on her princess dress?" She looked at Michael. "What's her name again?"
Michael chuckled. "Belle."
"Belle," Lily repeated. "Sit down, Belle. Here's a doll and some clothes."
Once Belle seemed comfortable with the two little girls, Michael suggested, "Let's sit here and we can watch the kids while we talk. Okay?"
"Okay, I guess. So where's the snake now?" the boy asked. "It didn't bite anyone, did it?"
"No. We turned him loose out among those trees. So Joshua, you don't know anything about how that snake found its way into the flower bouquet?"
The boy picked up a rock and absentmindedly tossed it. "No," he said, shrugging.
Michael went out on a limb. "And you didn't put that red paint on your Aunt Roxy's dress?"
"What?" he asked. "What red paint?" He looked into the crowd and focused on Roxy. "Someone put paint on her dress? She must have washed it off; I don't see any."
"She had to wear a different dress today because hers was ruined," Michael explained. When the boy simply stared blankly at him, he continued, "Joshua, there's also the issue of someone letting the horses out. I'd like to ask you about that."
"Why?" he asked. He squinted at Michael. "The horses got out of their corrals?"
Michael nodded. "You didn't see us trying to catch them after we got home from the rehearsal dinner? You were helping us repair the arbo
r this morning. Don't you know how it got broken?"
Joshua shook his head. "I didn't know they got out last night. Belle was asleep when we got home and Mom told me to stay inside the RV with her in case she woke up and was scared. I wondered how that wedding arch thing got all broken. The horses did that?"
Michael tilted his head and looked at the kid, thinking, He's either a really good liar or he doesn't have a clue about what's been going on around here. "Joshua," he said, "the last time you were here, you and Adam seemed to have a lot of fun together. What happened? Don't you want to hang out with him this year?"
Joshua looked down, then glanced at Belle. "Mom told me this is her family party and she expected to have fun and not have to worry about Belle. She told me I'm supposed to watch her." He grimaced. "Do you know how hard it is to watch a three-year-old all day long?"
Michael chuckled. When Teddy ran up to him at full speed, Michael scooped up the toddler and roughhoused with him for a moment. He said to Joshua, "Yes, I know about chasing after a young one or two." He looked across the yard at Jimmy and Belinda. "But it doesn't seem right that you're given that responsibility. There are other kids here, and I'm sure you'd rather hang out with them than be a babysitter."
"Yeah, tell Mom that," Joshua complained.
Michael thought for a moment and blurted, "Yes, maybe I will. Maybe I just will." He looked at the boy and said, "So you don't know anything about the horses getting out or the snake or the red paint?"
Joshua's eyes lit up. "Oh, the red paint in your shed? That's still good paint, Mr. Michael. You should use it for something." He glanced around. "If you'd give me a paint brush I'll paint the door on your kids' playhouse or that bench out there if you want. That bench would look cool painted red and I'll bet there's just enough in that can to do the job."
Michael laughed. "Well, it sounds like a good idea, but what would happen if the children want to play in the playhouse this afternoon, or someone sits on that bench? Those are the kinds of things you'd do when no one's around to spoil your work."
"Yeah, I guess so," the boy agreed.
Michael asked, "You like to paint, do you?"
"I like using tools and making things look good again." More enthusiastically, he said, "Last year I stayed with my grandparents for a while—you know, my real dad's parents. Grandpa has a cool workshop and he let me help him build some things and fix some things around the house. We even fixed up an old shelf for Grandma—you know, sanded it and painted stuff on it. It really looked new when we finished."