Blame It On The Mistletoe - A Novel of Bright's Pond by Joyce Magnin Page B

lightning. Next to her was a tall woman, skinny as a rail with long hair tied in a ponytail that hung down her back and reached to her waist. I didn't recognize her. But next to her was Charlotte Figg holding what had to be a pie.
    "Let's go stand with Charlotte and her friends."
    "You think it's going to be all right?" Ruth asked. "I wouldn't want to intrude. It is their fountain."
    "Oh, don't be silly, they won't mind. Come on."
    "Hi, Griselda," Charlotte said. "I'm glad you could make it. Do you know my friends?"
    "Of course she does," Ruth said. "I told her all about them. This here is Rose, the woman with all the tattoos."
    I shook Rose's hand and noticed green, scraggly tattooed vines encircling her wrist and one finger. I tried not to pay it any attention. But she smiled into my eyes like she knew the best secret in town.
    "Nice to meet you," she said. "We've heard a lot about the Sparrow sisters."
    "And this is Ginger Rodgers. She's a Little Person. They don't like being called midgets."
    "Nice to meet you too," I said to Ginger.
    She shook my hand seemingly unaffected by Ruth's remark. I will admit it was a little like taking the hand of a child.
    Ruth swallowed about a dozen times trying to get her bearings. A tattooed woman and a little person might have been a little much for her to introduce all at once. She became a bit rattled and starter to sputter her words. She was like an outboard motor having trouble getting started. Or she fibbed and has been sucking down coffee like wild again.
    "This is my friend Ruth Knickerbocker," I said. "I don't believe you and Charlotte have met."
    "Ruth," Rose said. "Are you Vera Krug's sister? The woman on the radio?"
    "In-law. Sister-in-law."
    "Oh, well, anyhoo, I saw her earlier. She's probably gonna report about the blessing on tomorrow's show."
    "Dandy," Ruth said.
    One of those silent, awkward pauses passed through our little group until Ruth blurted out, "I'm just so excited that you're all coming to Thanksgiving dinner."
    "I was meaning to ask," Rose said. "Would it be all right if Asa came along? Otherwise he'd just be here by himself."
    Ruth's table was going to need another leaf, or we were gonna have to rent out the town hall to get everyone accommodated.
    "Absolutely. I just hope my turkey is big enough," she said looking at Ginger Rodgers. "But I don't suppose you eat much now—"
    I elbowed her spleen.
    "Don't let my size fool you," Ginger said. "I can eat like a lumberjack."
    "How . . . delightful," Ruth said.
    The crowd continued to grow and then all of a sudden music blared through the PA system. "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Some folks clapped but most grew quiet. I noticed a few men take off their hats, placing them over their hearts in a silent meditation.
    The music faded off and so did the noise from the crowd. Asa stood on a homemade podium that seemed a skosh crooked to me. "Leon must have made it," I whispered to Ruth.
    Asa spoke into a microphone and his voice was transmitted over the speaker system. I figured they could hear him clear to Scranton.
    "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to the Blessing of the Paradise Fountain."
    A cheer went up through the crowd.
    "Some have said that the fountain would never flow again. But they were wrong."
    Another cheer, but smaller and shorter.
    "Thanks to our new friend, Leon Fontaine, the waters flow again." He indicated for Leon to join him on the podium. Leon had been sitting up front in one of the wooden folding chairs arranged for the VIPs. I saw Pastor Speedwell and Boris Lender also.
    Leon, a little troll of a man with a long crooked nose, long curly hair, and a chin the size of a Granny Smith Apple, stood to a resounding round of applause and cheers. Then he sat back down.
    "He must be shy," Ruth said.
    "Leon didn't want to speak today," Asa said. "We are all so appreciative of his great effort and skill. Thank you, Leon Fontaine."
    Leon stood and took a deep bow, swiping the ground with his hand.
    Another cheer