The Happiest Season (2 page)

Suddenly, Rickey appeared and pushed a large candy cane into
its mouth.   Maggie was certain the camel actually smiled in gratitude.  Its
lips pulled back, exposing the striped candy cane in its huge teeth.  It began
chomping at the candy, seemingly delighting in the sugary treat.

It was still working on the candy cane when the doorbell
rang.  Rickey ran to answer the door.  Maggie was at his heels as he flung it open. 

A tall, dark police officer stood at the door, his
expression anything but friendly.  His brows were drawn low over his dark eyes,
his mouth set in a pursed line.  “I’m…” he began, but Rickey interrupted him.

“There’s a camel in our backyard!” he shouted at the police
officer.  “And it likes cookies and candy canes!”  He spun on his heel and ran
toward the kitchen, calling out a cheerful, “Come on!  You
really
have
to see this!”

The officer gave Maggie a glance, seeming to size her up. 
“Ma’am, I have to tell you, I have more important things to do with my time
than respond to crank calls…”

She didn’t appreciate the reproving note to his voice, but
she understood his skepticism.  “I don’t make crank calls, Officer,” she said
patiently.  “I’m afraid there
is
a camel in my backyard.”

He watched her, a dubious expression on his handsome face.  His
striking brown eyes regarded her as if she were a few bricks short of a load. 
She really couldn’t blame him.  She doubted he received many calls of camels
turning up in residential neighborhoods. 

Suddenly, the whole house seemed to shudder, in conjunction
with another loud boom.  “Oh, no!  He’s kicking the house again!” she cried.

“What was … that?” the officer asked, instinctively resting
a hand on the back strap of his holstered pistol.

“Follow me,” she said tiredly.

When she reached the kitchen, she found her son hand feeding
cookies to the camel.  It had had apparently polished off the large candy cane. 
“Rickey, don’t feed it all of them!” 

The officer, who had followed her, came to an abrupt stop and
gasped in surprise.  He couldn’t miss the big-headed camel, presently
struggling to shove its shoulders through the open window, in order to gain
access to the remaining holiday treats in the little boy’s hands.

The officer turned to Maggie, aiming a limp finger at the beast. 
“There’s a…”

“I know,” she said, nodding her head up and down in measured
intervals, as she folded her arms across her chest.  “What are you going to do
about it?”

***

“Uh, ma’am,” the officer said, “the camel is no longer in
your backyard.”

Maggie heaved a sigh of relief.  “I can’t tell you how much
I appreciate your help.”

He gave her a rueful glance.  “Sorry for…”

“Accusing me of making crank calls,” she said, chuckling. 
“I would have thought the same thing,” she admitted.

He pulled a notepad from his pocket.  “I’ll need to write up
a brief incident report.”

“Mama!  The camel’s gone,” Rickey cried, bouncing into the foyer,
where Maggie and the officer were currently standing.  “It was a boy camel.  He
really didn’t want to leave, but a man came and called to him, and…”  He gave a
shrug.  “The camel went with him—like he knew him or something.”  He gave a
sigh.  “I’ll miss him.”  He suddenly perked up.  “Can I have a camel for
Christmas?”

“
May
I have a camel for Christmas?” Maggie corrected.

“Yeah.  May I?”

“Absolutely not,” Maggie said, smiling at her exuberant son.

The officer stood silently by, listening to the exchange
between mother and son.  He quirked a smile, which didn’t go unnoticed by
Maggie.  He was really handsome when he smiled, his well-formed lips curving up
at the corners and exposing perfectly even teeth.  His nose was straight, his
eyes heavily lashed and currently sparkling with humor.

He cleared his throat.  “It seems your camel is part of a
live nativity scene that went on display recently in an open field beside the
church, just around the corner,” he informed.  “I understand the folks at the
church bring the animals in the day after Thanksgiving.  The animals’ owner had
already discovered the camel was MIA, and apparently called into the station
fifteen or so minutes after your call.”

Maggie nodded.  She’d heard about the live nativity, and had
intended to take Rickey by to see it soon.   

“About that report…” he prompted.

“Oh, sure.  Will you follow me into the family room?  We’ll
be more comfortable there.”

He nodded and she directed him into the cozy space, which
adjoined the kitchen.  She gestured toward a blue-striped chair and he sat
down.

“Name?” he said.

“Maggie.  Maggie Dulane,” she told him.

He made a note on the pad, and then quirked a quick grin.  “I’m
John Dutch.  I have to write a brief summary of the call…”  He shook his head. 
“The guys at the station are going to get a kick out of this.”

She conceded the point with a chuckle, and then gave him a
concise detailing of the evening’s events, to the point at which he’d arrived.

“Thanks,” he said, when she’d finished. 

“Thank
you
again for your help.  I don’t know what I would have done if you

hadn’t shown up.”

“It’s fortunate it’s a relatively quiet night, or I may not
have.  I was actually coming by to scold you for calling in a false report,” he
admitted. 

She nodded, digesting his words.  “Well, lucky for me, it
was a slow night.”

Rickey suddenly dashed over to the officer, his eyes bright
with excitement.  “Did you see where the camel spitted on our back door?  It
was really gross!”

John laughed.  “I bet it was.  Just think, though—when you
get back to school Monday, you’ll have quite a story to tell your friends.”

Rickey nodded his head, but then frowned.  “They probably
won’t believe me about the camel.”  He turned to his mother.  “Mama, we should
have taken a picture.”

“I’m afraid in all the commotion, that didn’t cross my
mind,” she said, smiling apologetically.  “I was more worried about getting him
out of the yard, so he’d stop trying to kick in the back of our house.”

Rickey’s shoulders drooped.

“Hey, no worries, Rickey,” John said, pulling out a small
digital camera from his pocket.  “I took several pictures of the camel.”  He
turned toward Maggie.  “I didn’t think my coworkers would believe me either.”

“Could I have a picture of the camel?” Rickey asked shyly.

John nodded.  “Sure.  I’ll print one up and drop it by…”

“Soon!” Rickey cried.  “I want to take it to school on
Monday.”

John gave Maggie a tentative glance.  “May I drop the
picture by … tomorrow?”

“That would be fine.  Thank you,” she said gratefully.  She
knew Rickey would cherish a photo of their surprise guest.

He caught her gaze, his eyes twinkling.  “Well, uh, don’t
hesitate to call if another camel happens to show up.”

She gave him an alarmed glance.  “By the way, how did it get
into my backyard?  There’s a gate out back, but it was closed and latched.”

“Was it locked?” he asked with concern.

She shook her head.  “Since we back up to a park here, I
like to leave it unlocked so Rickey and I can have easy access to the
playground.”

“Our yard’s too small for a swing set,” Rickey said sadly. 
“At my old house…”

“Rickey,” Maggie scolded.  “We’re thankful for what we do
have.”

He nodded his head vigorously.  “Yes, Mama.  I am.”

“I take it you haven’t lived here long?” John said.

She shook her head.  “We moved in a couple months ago. 
We’re still getting settled.”

“Are you new to town then?”

“Yes.  We moved here from
Eugene
,
Oregon
.”

“Well, I hope you like it here.”

“I’m sure we will.”  She gave a sheepish smile.  “We seem to
have gone off on a tangent.  I still wonder how the camel got into my yard.”

“Maybe the gate wasn’t latched,” he speculated.

She nodded.  “Maybe…”

“Well, there are no other large animals in your backyard. 
I’ll let you get back to your evening.”

Maggie suddenly remembered the time.  It was after nine, and
the party had started at eight-thirty. 

“Is everything all right?” the officer asked her, watching
her with concern.

“Oh, no, I mean, yes,” she said, giving a dismissive wave. 
“It’s just…  One of my coworkers is having a holiday party at her home.  It
started a half hour ago, and I was supposed to bring cookies…”  She gave a
sigh.  “My son fed them all to the camel.”

He smiled.  “Well, he didn’t give them
all
to the
camel.  He gave me one too.  The cookies were delicious.  I can understand why
the camel liked them so much.”

“Thank you.”  She smiled self-consciously.  “I guess I’ll
just call my friend and bow out of the party.  I think I’ve had enough
excitement for tonight.”  Her eyes widened.  “Oh, goodness.  I need to call the
babysitter too.  I should have dropped Rickey by over an hour ago, but in all
the excitement, I…”

“I’ll let you get back to your evening,” he said, smiling as
he turned to walk to the front door. 

She followed and pulled it open for him.  “Thanks again,”
she said.

He nodded in reply and touched the tip of his hat.  It was
such an old-fashioned gesture, but made her heart give a jump.  He really was
handsome.  She hadn’t noticed before, but he was very tall—towering over her by
a good eight inches.  His shoulders were broad, his waist lean.  He looked
great in his uniform.

She swallowed over a lump in her throat.  She hadn’t had a response
to a man other than her husband in years. 

Her stomach twisted and a wave of sadness washed over her.  Shane
was dead and she missed him with the same intensity she’d felt when he first
passed.  She just couldn’t seem to let him go.    

“I should get back to work…” 

John’s deep voice penetrated, causing her eyes to snap to
his.  “Oh, yes.  Thank you again.”       

“Don’t forget the picture of the camel!” Rickey called.

“I won’t,” he assured him, smiling.

At the door, he gave another salute, and walked out the door
and into the darkness.  Maggie watched after him and felt an odd feeling in the
pit of her stomach.  She felt, almost–bereft.  She couldn’t understand the
reaction—and to a stranger, no less.

She suddenly missed her husband terribly.  But he was gone. 
And he was never coming back.

“Okay, son, we’ve had quite a night, but it’s time for bed. 
Let’s get your teeth brushed,” Maggie said. 

“It was great!” Rickey cried.  “I hope the camel comes back
soon.” 

Maggie laughed.  She hoped the camel stayed exactly where he
was. 

“I’m just glad Melinda wasn’t too upset about me canceling
her babysitting job tonight,” she said, grateful the teenager had seemed
understanding of the situation.  Of course, once she’d told her about the
camel, she had forgiven the late call to cancel. 

“Let’s say our prayers,” Maggie urged, as Rickey ran into
his small bedroom. 

The little boy promptly dropped to his knees beside his bed,
where Maggie joined him.  He recited his prayer first.  After Maggie said a
brief prayer, he leapt into bed.

“Scooch down and let’s get you covered up,” Maggie said.  “It’s
going to be a chilly night.”

Rickey snuggled down into his blankets.  “What a great night
we had.  I bet we’re the only people in this town who had a camel visit—maybe
the only people in the
United States
.”

“I’d bet you’re right and I’m glad
you
enjoyed it,”
Maggie laughed, but abruptly sobered.  “I’ll have to have a look at the back of
the house tomorrow.  I hope the camel didn’t do any damage.”

“We never had any camels in our yard in
Eugene
,”
Ricky commented.   

“True,” she said, and kissed him on the forehead and then
padded to the doorway.  “Sweet dreams, honey,” she said softly.  “I love you.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

She’d no sooner left than Rickey climbed out of his bed.  He
ran to his bedroom window, which overlooked the backyard.  It was relatively
dark, but the park behind the house was well-lit with lamps.  He strained to
see beyond it, where he knew the animals from the live nativity scene were either
sleeping or grazing.  He couldn’t manage to see any of the animals and gave up
with a sigh.

He returned to his bed, but rather than climb in, he knelt
down beside it again.  He put his hands together.  “Dear God,” he prayed, “I
just wanted to talk to you some more.  I hope that’s all right with you.  I
know how busy you are.  Well, um, you know, God, I would never tell you how to
do your job or nothin’, but…”