98. Spotlight on Crepuscular Meadows: The Autumn festival at the Anything Goes Church
Created | Updated Sep 21, 2020
98. Spotlight on Crepuscular Meadows: The Autumn festival at the Anything Goes Church
Because of the Covid virus, it was hard to plan any kind of gathering, but the good people at Anything Goes did their best. The yard was only big enough to allow about twenty people to be in it at any one time. Ordinarily, this would include the people who were selling food and drinks, but an ingenious design allowed the vendors to be in the alley behind the yard, so they wouldn't be counted. They would hand items through sliding windows. Another innovation involved putting picnic tables on the sidewalks along the street. This allowed the twenty people in the yard to be doing things, looking at displays, marveling at the huge pumpkin and the lovely decor.
Alex Doulton, the dour insurance man whose office was just a few blocks away, could be heard Harumphing as he walked down the street past the Church. "He makes his money when bad things happen, not when people are having fun," Mrs. Mumble said under her breath so he wouldn't hear.
Suddenly he stopped, appearing to have read her mind (or her lips, another possibility).
His face and tone of voice softened considerably. "Mrs. Mumble, you are a dear person who sees the good in life, and I have no quarrel with you," he said, with that rarest of commodities, a smile on his face. "I am an incorrigible purist, though. Autumn starts tomorrow, not today. I can see not having the festival on a Tuesday, when many people might be at work, but Monday has the same problem. If you were going to have the festival too early anyway, why not have it yesterday, a Sunday? And why clutter the sidewalks with picnic tables? Many people might want to use the sidewalks for going to their destinations. Plus, think of the litter. Not everyone is as a neat as, er, people like me. There's more. Shall I go on? Oh, why not? It's awkward to eat food together with masks on your face."
"Those are a lot of objections," Mrs. Mumble agreed, pleased to have been called a 'dear person.' "I am guessing that you feel left out, as you are one of those who have to go to work today. I think you deserve some kindness and consideration. I can buy some food treats for you and bring them to your office when it's convenient for you."
Mr. Doulton blushed (another extremely rare behavior for him). "Well, I've always been very fond of candy apples, and I hear that the ladies at the Church make very good coffee. And I haven't had a really good cheeseburger in a long time. Could you buy a cheeseburger for yourself, taste it, and decide whether it might meet my standards?" He handed her a twenty dollar bill. Buy a candy apple, a large coffee, and a cheeseburger (if it's good enough). Bring them to my office at 1:00. That will save my going out for lunch, and I can show you some insurance policies that might work well for you."
With that, he was off up the street, his long legs pumping at a rate that belied his 67 years. "Insurance policies?" Mrs. Mumble exclaimed. "He takes his work far too seriously."
There were nineteen people in the yard now, so Mrs. Mumble hurried to become the twentieth. She admired the huge pumpkin (as if she hadn't seen it from the street six times already). There were also broccoli, gourds, and a mystery vegetable that people were encouraged to identify
for a prize. She bought a raffle ticket, to help the overseas charities, and enough pie so that Freckles would never go hungry again that day. She bought the food that Mr. Doulton wanted, plus a couple of those cider doughnuts. She hurried out to the sidewalk, where Freckles and Minny Dandrich had saved a table for her.
"God bless them for having the audacity to mount a festival in this difficult year," Minny said between bites of her food.
"I will need to go back in around 12:45 to get what Mr. Doulton wants," Mrs. Mumble said.
"Keep a count of the people in the yard," Minny advised her. Once the number exceeds 20, you'll have to wait until someone leaves.
All in all, it was a successful festival, even if it was still Summer.
