Going Through the Notions(98)

My stomach growled. There was a plethora of fresh healthy fruits and vegetables in front of us, but what I really craved was a succulent rib that had been stewing in marinade overnight and was now slowly basting on the grill.

Martha came up with a plate covered in aluminum foil.

“And what to my wondering eyes doth appear?” Debby murmured. “Is that what I think it is?” She peeled back the foil to reveal a rack of crusty barbecued ribs.

“Martha, did I ever tell you I love you?” I said.

“Yes, now hand over the cash.” Not only was Martha keeping us fed, but she was making one of her periodic trips around to collect the money and make change if we needed it. “Eleanor says that we’re well over twenty thousand dollars at this point.”

“Oh my God, that’s fantastic,” Debby said.

“Mmmf,” I agreed through a mouthful of juicy, savory meat.

Martha handed me a pile of napkins out of the pocket of her dress. “It’s such a success, there’s talk about making this an annual event. We could pick a different charity each year.”

I saw that she’d appropriated one of Sarah’s walkie-talkies. It buzzed now with some indecipherable babble.

Martha pressed the talk button. “Roger, copy that, over and out.”

“Do you know what they just said?” I demanded.

“Not a clue, but this is so much fun.”

Later in the afternoon, Sarah strolled over to the farm stand. “How’s it going, Mom?”

“Great. We’re almost sold out here.”

“Daddy is having the time of his life at the tractor pull. Did you see that guy with the llamas?”

I shook my head. “No, he must have set up after I got here.”

“He has some kind of exotic farm off Grist Mill Road with ostriches, llamas, and peacocks, stuff like that. Says he often rents out his place for modeling shoots. One of them took a dislike to Martha, though.”

Sarah shook her head, puffed up her small chest, and cleared her throat. “‘Good God. That beast just spit at me!’” she declared in a wicked imitation of Martha.

I laughed, even though I shouldn’t have.

Sarah grinned. “Speaking of shooting, I sent those photos I took of the Kratz kids and the farm to a friend who has a stock photography business. He loved them and wants more.” Her walkie-talkie buzzed again. “See ya later.”

So now Sarah had also found a way to help Jimmy’s family out with a little extra income.

I glanced up at the powder blue sky. Not a cloud on the horizon.

“Debby, would you be okay here for a few minutes by yourself?”

“Sure, Daisy.”

I found Reenie and her kids at the face-painting table. Cee Cee was putting the finishing touches to a bumblebee on the girl’s cheek, while her brother hid behind Cee Cee.

Reenie smiled. It seemed like she looked younger and more beautiful every time I saw her. “This is all so amazing, Daisy,” she said, shaking her head. “Thank you again for everything you’re doing for us. I’ll never, ever be able to tell you how grateful I am.”

I smiled. “My pleasure.”

Martha sailed over to us. “Hey, kids, don’t forget the ice cream–eating contest. Do you want to give it a go?”

Cee Cee glanced over her shoulder at the little boy, who shook his head but mustered a shy smile. “Maybe we could just get a cone?” she suggested. He nodded, and a dimple appeared in his soft cheek.

“Walk with me?” Martha offered, and I nodded and fell into step beside her.

Tony Z was busy cutting hair and belting out “La donna è mobile” from Verdi’s opera Rigoletto. He was an inch or so shorter than me, but the voice that came out of him was gigantic, with no need for a microphone. Farther on, a woodworking demonstration was under way, and then we came to Sweet Mabel’s ice cream booth.

Martha ordered a waffle cone with butter pecan, and I selected a sugar cone laden with mint chocolate chip.

“So how come you didn’t enter the baking contest, Martha? I would have thought you were a shoo-in.”

She sniffed. “Well, I would have won, but I didn’t want people to say it was rigged.”

We stopped to watch the goat races, which was where I decided to pump her for the lowdown on what the heck was going on with Cyril.

She shrugged. “He’s an interesting man and I’m enjoying getting to know him.”

“Okay.” I licked my ice cream cone and waited.

She flipped up the brim of her straw hat. “Oh, Daisy, I don’t know. It’s kind of like looking at a deep lagoon and being intrigued by it, but you don’t want to dive right in. There might be something lurking underneath that you’d hit your head on. Better to slide slowly into that cool water.”