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.Ethel and Florence, thankfully, seemed busy chatting with other people and had not exchanged more than a “Happy Thanksgiving.”Several times, Louise glanced at her aunt, but Ethel was chatting in animated fashion with others at the table and seemed unconcerned that she had not spoken to Louise.Resentment and sadness churned in Louise’s breast.She realized she had been too forceful with her suggestions and too abrupt in her criticism, but she had apologized.Ethel had made no effort to do anything of the sort, and yet she continued to behave as if Louise was the pariah.Once again, Louise wished Alice were here.Even if she could not do anything about their aunt’s attitude, Louise would have welcomed the support.Jane bustled back and forth, setting steaming bowls of vegetables on the table.Finally, she entered with the pièce de résistance, her marvelous turkey on a large platter, surrounded by greens and radishes for color.It had been carefully sliced so that the meat could easily be forked onto plates without disturbing the handsome effect.“What a lovely meal you’ve prepared, Jane,” said Ethel.“It’s almost a shame to disturb it.”“Oh, wait! I have a digital camera,” Florence said.“Let me take a picture before we sit down.” She snapped several shots in short order, and then the guests took their places.“This way, Alice will be able to see how our meal looked,” said Ethel.“After the meal, we could take a group picture,” suggested Florence.“So you girls could show it to her when she returns.”“An excellent idea.” Ethel beamed at Florence.Louise could not help sliding a glance at Jane as Kenneth invited them all to bow their heads.Jane winked and grinned.It just went to show, Louise thought, that there was no predicting a person’s behavior.Thanksgiving at Camp Compassion was odd without her family, Alice decided.That was the only word for it.Odd.The volunteers had set up two long tables end-to-end out in a grassy area.Along one side, a third table was placed to serve as a buffet.Riley had directed Miranda and Royce to cover the tables with sheets of white butcher paper with the shiny side up, for effect.Diners were asked to bring their own chairs and drinks.Accordingly a variety of camp stools, lawn chairs and folding chairs were placed haphazardly, while water bottles, fruit juices and energy drinks dotted the tables.Paper towels served as napkins, and there were paper plates and plastic utensils.But the meal itself was the most radical departure from that to which Alice was accustomed.The meal had been provided by a vegetarian chef who volunteered his services and supplies after he’d read about the animal-rescue efforts online.The main dish, served in place of turkey, was butternut squash with whole-wheat, wild rice and onion stuffing.Alice knew the ingredients because on the buffet table where the food was set out, there were small placards indicating what each of the dishes was.There was something labeled a “Jerusalem Artichoke Salad.” Baked maple-and-tarragon sweet potatoes, cranberry-apple sauce, and wine-and-honey-glazed brussels sprouts were among the other offerings.Finally, at the end of the table, to Alice’s immense delight, was a familiar sight, pumpkin pie.“This is amazing,” Ellen said as they took their seats.“Way beyond amazing, Mom.” Miranda thanked her brother as he unfolded her stool for her.“How much cooler could it get than to have a vegetarian meal here?”“I have to confess it never even occurred to me,” June said.“I’ve been making turkey and stuffing for my kids, my brothers and their families for years.I guess I just assumed we’d have turkey.”“This is exciting.” Alice picked up her fork and sniffed at the stuffing.“Yum.”Mark sat down on her other side, his own plate loaded with some of everything.“I’m starving.”She laughed.Then Joe tapped on the end of the table.“All right, everybody.Someone said we need a prayer.But right now, around this table, there are people of at least three different faiths and probably more.I know this interesting fact because I asked.”There was a ripple of laughter around the table.“So I’m going to keep it simple,” Joe said.“Those of you who aren’t believers, feel free to ignore us.I respect everyone’s right to his or her own beliefs.Now, for those who wish to pray, let us bow our heads.”People began to clasp their neighbor’s hands, although Joe had not suggested it.Heads bowed.Alice noted, just before she closed her eyes, that every single person at the table was participating.“Dear God,” Joe said, “we came here from different walks of life, from different faiths, different ethnicities, educations, careers and economic backgrounds.But we all came here because we believe.We believe we were called by You to care for Your creatures.We believe You are with us as we minister to animals in need [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]