The Christmas Bus

by Melody Carlson

  “There will be an unscheduled board meeting tonight,” Charles was telling the congregation. “We’ll meet in the conference room, and it, hopefully, won’t take too long.”

  Edith assumed this must be the “emergency meeting” he’d mentioned earlier. He was probably going to try to convince the board to help this young couple. Feeling reassured, she smiled brightly at her husband. He was such a good man. And then the church began to empty to the soft tones of Marie’s organ playing.

  “What is going on at the inn?” demanded Olive before Edith even had a chance to slip into her coat.

  Edith blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “That bus.”

  “Oh, that . . .” Edith forced a smile. “It’s temporarily stranded, Olive. But I think you’ll hear more about that at the board meeting tonight.”

  “Well, hopefully, it won’t be there for long. It looks perfectly terrible, Edith. And don’t you forget that the pageant is only two nights away. It had better be gone by then, or I’ll want to know the reason why.”

  Now Helen limped over to join them. She was using a shiny black cane to help her walk. Edith hoped that Helen didn’t have any lawsuit plans in mind—that would surely send the church insurance sky-high. “Are you talking about that monstrosity out in front of the inn?” she asked.

  Edith glanced over to the aisle to see if Collin and Amy were close enough to overhear any of this. Fortunately, it looked like they weren’t. But it also looked as if no one in the entire congregation was speaking to them either. Edith longed to go over and join them, make them feel welcome, but she was completely blocked in her pew by Olive and Helen as they discussed the inappropriateness of the colorful bus parked across the street.

  “Not only that,” continued Helen, now turning her attention to Edith, “but Clarence said that Mayor Drummel plans to give you a call. He’s not the least bit happy with this. Especially at Christmas.”

  “Oh . . .” Edith was distracted by the young couple. They were slipping out the front door mostly unnoticed, probably going back to their bus, which was likely cold. She was just about to rush over and stop them. She didn’t know what she’d say or do, but somehow she had to—

  “Did you hear me?” demanded Helen. “The mayor is going to call you on this, Edith Ryan. Aren’t you the least bit concerned?”

  Edith watched the door close behind the couple, then looked at her watch in dismay. “Are you ladies planning to attend the board meeting?” she asked suddenly.

  “That’s right,” said Olive crisply as she took Helen by the arm that wasn’t attached to the cane. “Let’s go.”

  Now, although Edith, being the pastor’s wife, was welcome to sit in on board meetings, she rarely did. She found the conversations not only dull, but usually rather frustrating. It seemed that some people, particularly board member types, liked hearing the sounds of their own voices more than they did resolving issues. And often they would end up in a big argument, and the meeting would adjourn, and everyone would go home disgruntled. Then they would talk among themselves during the week, some holding a grudge, others just hurt. Finally, they would meet again, and worn out from the battle, they would work out some sort of compromise. She hoped that wouldn’t be the case tonight, since the plight of Collin and Amy seemed rather urgent.

  And so she decided that perhaps this was a good night for her to sit in. With people like Olive and Helen already so worked up about the presence of the bus, who knew what might happen tonight. The board members might emerge from the church with torches, storm across the street, and beat on the bus as they demanded that the “hippies leave town!” Oh, she knew she was being overly dramatic, but at the same time she might not be too far off either. So, filled with trepidation, she headed for the conference room, and hoping to be inconspicuous, she took a seat by the door.

  In his usual formal way, Hal Berry called the meeting to order. “As you know, this is an emergency board meeting,” he said, “requested by Pastor Charles, and being that it’s the holidays, our good pastor has promised to keep it short.”

  Then Charles stood up. “I’m sure you’ve all seen the bus across the street. . . .”

  Several sarcastic twitters and indistinguishable comments assured Edith that she’d been right to come. And as her husband made his plea, she could tell by their expressions that most of the board members were not feeling sympathetic to Charles’s straightforward request for assistance.

  “Why should we help them?” asked Olive after he sat down. “They don’t even live here.”

  “That’s right,” added Helen. “If we’re going to help someone, why not start in our own town. We have young families who are struggling to make ends meet right here in Christmas Valley, and they’re just as needy as those—those bus people.”

  “I don’t know about that,” said Peter Simpson, the youngest member of the board. “We don’t have anyone in town who’s actually living in a bus.”

  “And who lives in a bus?” demanded Olive. “For all we know, these people could be drug dealers. They do have that sort of look about them.”

  “Maybe we should let the law intervene,” suggested Hal. “They might be better suited to handle something like this.”

  And on they went, back and forth and getting nowhere fast. As was her custom, Edith just sat and listened, until finally she did something she’d never done before. “May I say something?” she asked.

  The room got quiet, and everyone looked at her.

  “I know I’m not an official member of the board, but I really would like to say something.”

  “Go right ahead, Edith,” said Hal in a kind voice. Charles smiled at her.

  She stood up, feeling slightly light-headed and more than a little self-conscious, unsure if she could even continue. Speaking in front of a group, even one as small as this, had never been her strong suit. She hoped she was really up to the task. “I understand your concerns about our, uh, our visitors. And I realize their accommodations are a bit, well, shall I say unconventional?” More twitters. “But as I was sitting in church tonight, I was remembering what Charles had preached on just last week . . . about showing kindness and hospitality to strangers . . . and how sometimes we might be actually entertaining angels or our Lord without even knowing it. And as I was looking at this young couple, Collin and Amy, it occurred to me that they are in very similar straits as another couple . . . it occurred to me that more than two thousand years ago, Mary and Joseph were strangers in town too. They were looking for a place to stay . . . and, well, I just thought perhaps this is the Lord’s doing. Perhaps he has sent Collin and Amy to remind us of something. Or maybe it’s simply our opportunity to show kindness and hospitality. Or . . .” She lowered her voice now, almost afraid to actually put to words what was really on her mind. “Or is it possible that they might be angels or even our Lord himself in disguise? How could we ever know this for sure? But even if that’s not the case, don’t you think that our Lord would want us to open our hearts to them? To welcome them as if they were sent down from heaven above?”

  Now the room got very silent for a long moment, and Edith, with nothing more to say, was almost afraid to breathe.

  “Oh, that’s ridiculous,” said Olive finally. “They’re obviously not angels.”

  “Of course not,” agreed Helen. “And the Lord?” She shook her head.

  “Arriving in that hideous bus?” added Olive.

  “And yet,” said Helen, with a thoughtful expression across her brow, “and yet . . . I think I am starting to see Edith’s point.”

  And just like that, the attitude in the room began to shift and transform until not only was the board willing to pay for all the mechanical expenses and new tires, but Helen was talking about giving an impromptu baby shower for Amy.

  “But they’ll be leaving soon,” protested Olive. “There’ll be no reason for them to stick around once their bus is running.”

  “Then we’ll have to jump right on it,” said Hel
en with excitement. “I’ll bet you that they don’t have a single thing for that baby. Do they, Edith?”

  Edith held up her hands. “I really don’t know. But I guess I could find out.”

  “Right,” said Helen. “You find out and call me first thing in the morning. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Edith’s heart and heels were happy as she and Charles walked across the street later on that night. “It’s just so amazing,” she told him. “I don’t ever remember the board being so generous, so quickly, before.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Well, you made a beautiful plea, dear. I don’t know how they could’ve turned their backs after what you said.”

  “Do you think it sounded crazy?” she ventured. “I mean the part about them possibly being angels or even our Lord? Goodness, I don’t want everyone to think that I’m losing my marbles.”

  “No, I think it sounded very tenderhearted and compassionate. And who knows? Maybe they are angels unaware.”

  Snowflakes were starting to fall again as Edith paused on the sidewalk to look over to where the bus was parked. For a few seconds she just stared and wondered. Wouldn’t it be like God to send angels in a funny old vehicle like that—so quirky and unexpected? So unlike anything that humans would think of doing. But hadn’t it been like that when the Lord Jesus was born in a humble barn? And as she went to sleep that night, she felt a deep and comforting sense of peace, as if she really was on the right track after all.

  The next morning, Edith was happily puttering in her kitchen, getting cinnamon rolls into the oven and just starting up a pot of coffee, when the phone rang. “Shepherd’s Inn,” she sang out cheerfully.

  “Edith Ryan?” said a male voice.

  “Yes?”

  “This is Mayor Drummel. I’m sorry to call so early, but I hadn’t really planned to be in my office today, and I wanted to take care of this as soon as possible.” He cleared his throat. “There’s been concern expressed over the rather outlandish vehicle that’s been parked in front of your inn.”

  “Yes?” Edith didn’t know what to say.

  “Well, I wanted to let you know that they’ll need to leave as soon as possible. City ordinances do not allow for this type of vehicle to be parked in town. This morning won’t be a bit too soon.”

  “But that might not be possible, Mayor Drummel. You see, they’re broken down, and although our church is going to help them with mechanics and whatnot, I seriously doubt that the bus will be up and running anytime this morning.”

  “So they are leaving, then?”

  “Of course. I’m sure they’ll leave as soon as it’s possible.”

  “Because it doesn’t look good, Edith. I mean, we’re a town that prides ourselves on appearances, especially at Christmas time. I’m sure you must understand the importance of this since you run a very nice inn and Charles oversees the town’s only church—a rundown old bus that’s broken down in the street doesn’t reflect well on you folks either. If necessary, we could probably have them towed away.”

  Now, this rubbed Edith wrong. And while she didn’t care to take the mayor to task, she thought perhaps a gentle reminder might be in order. “I can respect your concern,” she began, “but you must remember that these are real people with real problems, and you can’t simply brush them away as if they were garbage—especially at Christmas. If we’re a town that really cares about Christmas, I’d think that we’d all want to reach out in the spirit of charity and help them out.”

  The mayor didn’t respond to this.

  “We’ll do whatever we can to get their vehicle up and running,” said Edith in a firm voice. “I just can’t make any promises as to how soon that will be.”

  “But what about your church’s pageant tomorrow night?”

  “A bus on the street will hardly stop a Christmas pageant.”

  “But it won’t look good, Edith.”

  Edith was looking out the window now, staring at the brightly painted bus, which suddenly reminded her of a giant Christmas ornament. “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder,” she said simply enough.

  “What? What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean that we are a town that loves to celebrate Christmas, and this year it seems that we are also the lucky recipients of a Christmas bus, and I happen to think it’s rather beautiful.”

  “Oh.”

  After telling the mayor “Good day,” Edith put on her coat and boots and hurried outside to check on Amy and Collin. She was surprised to see that about four more inches of snow had fallen during the night, bringing the accumulation to the top of her boots. Edith trudged through the snow and then knocked on the bus’s door. This time Amy answered, but it looked as if they were already awake and dressed. Collin was sitting in the driver’s seat, hunched over as he studied a worn map with a rather dismal expression.

  “Sorry to bother you,” Edith began.

  “No bother.” Amy held the door open. “Want to come in?”

  Edith hesitated, then quickly said, “Yes, that’d be nice.”

  The interior of the bus was crowded with all manner of boxes and bags and, Edith’s nose suspected, a fair amount of dirty laundry too. But Amy cleared a spot on a wooden crate and pointed for Edith to sit down. “It’s not much,” Amy apologized. “But, hey, it’s better than nothing.”

  Edith nodded, glancing to the back of the bus where a mattress, heaped with quilts and blankets, was wedged. “It is cozy.”

  “You can say that again,” said Amy. “And the bigger I get with this baby, the cozier it seems to get. I can’t wait to get out of here. Collin’s going to get work when we get settled, and then we’ll rent something. Even a one-bedroom apartment will feel like a mansion compared to this.”

  “Speaking of the baby,” began Edith, “I, uh, we were wondering if you have everything you need for it.”

  Amy shrugged. “I have a few things. Like some sleepers and blankets that I got at Salvation Army back home. And Collin got some newborn-sized disposable diapers that are in here . . .” She looked around. “Somewhere.”

  Edith nodded. “Yes, and that’s a good start. But some of the women at church got this idea last night . . . they thought it would be fun to have a baby shower—”

  “A baby shower!” Amy’s eyes lit up. “Oh, man, I’ve been wishing for a baby shower. But we didn’t really have anyone who wanted to do it. I mean, my family is, well, you know, a little dysfunctional. And Collin’s family, well, they live all over the country.”

  Edith could feel Collin watching her now, and she wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but she turned to him. “And that’s not all, Collin. Our church would like to help you with your engine troubles, and even with some new tires . . .”

  “Really?” He seemed a bit skeptical.

  “Really,” she said with a smile. “We had a special meeting last night. And everyone is behind this.”

  “Wow.” He looked at Amy now. “I guess you were right after all.”

  “Right?” Edith wasn’t sure what he meant.

  “Oh, Amy kept telling me that you guys were good people. But after church last night, well, I just wasn’t so sure.”

  Edith frowned slightly. “Well, some of our congregation can be a bit old-fashioned and hard to convince at times, but they basically have good hearts.”

  “That’s just what I told Collin,” said Amy. “I said we can’t judge these people by appearances and that they probably thought we were pretty weird showing up in our bus like this—like from out of nowhere.”

  Edith smiled. “Yes, you’ve got that about right. In fact, I am curious as to where you came from and how you got this bus in the first place. It’s not the sort of thing that one sees every day. At least not in Christmas Valley.”

  “The bus belonged to my dad,” said Amy in a matter-of-fact tone. “But he didn’t need it anymore. And we did.” She held up her hand as if to say, “End of story.”

  “Oh.” Edith looked around their cramp
ed quarters again. “Well, come on in for breakfast whenever. You’re welcome to use my laundry room if you’d like.”

  “That’d be great,” said Amy. “I’m totally out of clean underwear.” She laughed. “I’m actually wearing a pair of Collin’s today. The funny thing is that they actually fit.”

  Edith wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, so she simply stood up and told them she had to get back before her cinnamon rolls burned.

  10

  At ten o’clock, after the last of the guests had finished breakfast, Edith called and informed Helen that the shower was a go.

  “It sounds like they don’t have much of anything,” said Edith. “And living in the bus like that, without laundry facilities, well, I’m sure some extra clothes and blankets will come in handy.”

  “This is going to be fun,” said Helen. “And I have all these decorations and plates and napkins and things that I’d wanted to use when Angie had her baby, and then her sister-in-law went and beat me to the punch.”

  “But that was more than twenty years ago, Helen.”

  “I know. But they were so cute that I hung on to them, and I plan to use them tomorrow.”

  “So you really think you can pull this off by tomorrow?”

  “I don’t see why not. People will come or they won’t. But we will have a shower.”

  Not for the first time, Edith was reminded that Helen had once been a military nurse and that she was used to giving orders.

  “Is ten o’clock all right with you?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Great. I’ll be there by 8:30 to set up.”