Book Two/Chapter Thirty-Two: A Good Day
He was absolutely adorable, even though he wasn't being very cooperative. "You look great," I encouraged. I would've kissed him, but the beak thrusting forward from the black cap was somewhat obstructing his face.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," he groaned unhappily.
"You're a pillar in this community! You need to set an example.
He scoffed at the word I'd used.
"You are! And besides," I continued happily, "first prize is a hundred dollars! Obi could use some new toys."
"I guess I can make a fool out of myself for Obi. He's such a good dog," Ben finally agreed before spinning to look at himself in the mirror.
I had fashioned the costume myself out of one of his black sweatshirts by gluing black feathers onto a wire frame sewed onto it as wings. Then I covered a ball cap with black felt and added a large cardboard beak. My own costume was far less complicated. I was a scarecrow with lots of patches on my coveralls.
Quickly, I snapped a photo of us, warning him to smile and not ruin the moment.
"You owe me so big," he told me in a mock threatening manner before tipping his hat and kissing my cheek.
"Let's hurry," I insisted. "The parade will be starting soon."
It looked as if the entire town had gathered on Main Street for the spectacle. There were many participants dressed in costumes and walking down the street. The judges were seated in front of Town Square, which was essentially a patch of grass and trees with a few benches scattered about it. They were judging creativity and presentation. I personally thought Ben and I looked great, although the competition was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. There were sunflowers, corn, pumpkins, and one lady had an entire cornucopia perched on top of her head!
Once the procession was complete, the announcement of the winners was made through a microphone. Ben and I had gotten second place and were presented with a gift basket that included local merchandise and produce. The winner was the lady wearing the basket on her head. What was inside it looked real, so it must've weighed a ton! She deserved the prize and Ben and I applauded enthusiastically for her.
Immediately following the presentation was an announcement that the log rolling contest would soon begin at Monument Dock near the river. It was fairly close to downtown and we decided to walk. As we did, Ben began stripping off his feathers.
"You know," he admitted rather hesitantly. "That was kind of fun, but I think we should've won. We were obviously the best-dressed couple. I might have to talk to the town council about giving out two prizes – one for singles and one for couples."
I got the feeling Ben was more competitive than I was, which was saying a lot. "That sounds like a good idea," I agreed. "Maybe next year we can take first prize."
With my words came the unspoken understanding that I would be in Protection the following year, although no permanent arrangements or agreements had been made. As soon as the words had left my mouth, though, Ben smiled and reached for my hand.
"Nice showing you two," a deep voice said, coming from a tall man who began walking with us.
"Good morning, Sheriff," I said warmly to him.
In his hand was a tall cup of coffee and on his face was an ornery grin. "I never thought I would see one of my deputies dressed up like a crow. Especially this one," he teased. "Whatever magic you're working on him, keep it up," he whispered quietly before someone stepped up to shake his hand in greeting.
Ben pulled me along to keep walking. "He'll be standing there half the day. We need to keep going."
As we made our way, several people said hello, congratulated us on coming in second, or told us how cute we looked together. It was then that I realized how many people I had actually come to know in such a short time. My internship started in mid-August. It was now the second week of October, which meant I only had four more weeks left in Protection.
It wouldn't make any sense to stay after my commitment was completed. It was a three-hour drive into the city where I attended the university. Although I was more than willing to drive six hours a day to go back and forth for classes, it wasn't a logical decision. I couldn't figure out how I would find the time for studying or sleeping for that matter.
In other words, between October and December, I would hardly get to see Ben. Already, I had gotten used to seeing him almost every day! We had established a few routines along the way. Either he would show up at the school when I got off work, or I would go to the station for a visit. On the weekends, we would spend our entire Saturdays together and often snuggle away our Sundays in the cabin.
The two-month break might be good for us, some had suggested, but I wasn't looking forward to it.
"When is Sloan supposed to arrive?" Ben asked just before we drew near the crowd gathered at boat docks.
"She's not an early riser," I informed him. "She told me noon, but I suspect it will be closer to two."
"Just in time for the pie-eating contest," Ben said. "Great. She'll get to see me stuff my face. That should make a good impression."
I bumped into him in a teasing manner and laughed. "Don't worry about impressing my sister. That's an impossible task. Her head is up in the clouds most of the time looking down on all of us miserable mortals."
"Ah," Ben replied. "I see. I shall do my best to bow deeply enough when we meet. I wouldn't want to offend her Highness."
Once again I laughed. "She's not that bad. You'll see," I said, finally giving up. I couldn't describe her any better. Even though we had been raised in the same house, Sloan was very different from me.
After the log event had begun, I quickly changed my mind about wanting Ben to participate. It looked far more difficult than I had imagined. When it came to his turn, however, he appeared to be pleased and was having a great time. He coaxed and teased his opponent; a rather burly man I had never met. The entire time he joked, smiled and even laughed at times. Round and round the log rolled in the water with the two men perched on either end. At one point, it looked as if Ben was about to get wet. He seemed to lose his balance, but recovered and spun the log very quickly in the opposite direction. The older man did his best to keep up with the increased pace, but finally succumbed and fell backward into the river.
The crowd applauded Ben's victory and he managed to get out of the river with only wet boots.
I congratulated him and he received his first blue ribbon. Now, we had to wait for the other contestants to complete their rounds so he could eliminate another opponent. It took two hours to go through them all and reach the final round.
Ben managed to stay dry during all three of his bouts and was now competing for the grand prize: a brand new chain saw, that he told me he would very much like to have. He ended up standing toe to toe with one of the young men who played football at the high school. Josh was his name and I recognized him as being one of the sons in the family who owned the lumberyard in town.
"Finally, a challenge," Ben teased the young man.
"You're going down Officer Kenobi," Joshua told him with a confident smirk.
"Didn't you come in second last year?"
The youth continued to smile, apparently used to Ben's good-natured ribbing. "And I believe you didn't even compete. Something about not wanting to get wet?"
"If you'll notice," Ben returned as the two men balanced precariously upon the log. "I'm nice and dry and I plan on staying that way."
The boy didn't have another opportunity to speak. The referee blew the whistle and the contest began.
Around and around the log spun, this way and that way; both men's feet keeping up with the rapid pace. Their smiles had disappeared and on their faces were expressions of complete concentration.
On and on they went. Nearly ten minutes passed by before Ben started speaking again. He was apparently trying to get into Josh's head.
"Isn't that your girlfriend over there watching? Why is she holding hands with that other guy?"
Joshua chuckled softly before he changed directions of the spin yet again. "Won't work, old man," he told Ben. "We broke up a month ago."
"Sorry to hear that," Ben replied. "That would explain why she's kissing him."
I could tell by the broken words that Ben was tired and losing his breath, but he kept going until suddenly, he bent over and grabbed his leg.
"Cramp!" he yelled before he plunged in head first.
Everyone cheered for the winner, but it seemed Quinn and I were the only ones watching the surface of the river with concern. After what seemed like too long of a time to me, Ben's head bobbed up and he began to swim for shore. I was greatly relieved and the crowd began to disperse.
He joined the Sheriff and me dripping and smiling.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you just lost on purpose."
I glanced up at Quinn's suspicious glare and then at Ben's innocent face.
"That had to be a new record, no matter who won. How long were we sprinting?"
"At least fifteen minutes," I answered Ben before handing him a towel provided by the council staff.
"I'm exhausted," he told me.
"Well, catch your breath, because there's a pumpkin pie with your name on it," I informed him before checking my smartwatch. "And you've only got five minutes to get there. Let's go!"
"Don't I get to dry off first?" I heard him ask behind me. I was already walking away and was dragging him by his hand.
"No time!" I told him, suddenly feeling pumped up and excited like a coach training a gold-medal athlete would be. "If you're late, you forfeit!"
Just as we made it back to the main street, I saw a familiar face. Sloan had arrived and had parked her luxury SUV downtown where everyone could see it as well as her getting out of it. She looked so out of place with her tailored clothing and designer purse. She could at least get off her cell phone!
"Sloan!" I yelled, causing her to look around. She appeared confused at first and then completely appalled after she'd recognized me. I still had on my scarecrow costume and trailing behind me was Ben who was completely soaked. "No time to stop! Follow us! We have a pie-eating contest to get to!"
I was excited and happy. Nothing was going to dampen my spirits! Not even my uptight, snooty sister!
"Yes, it's exactly as bad as we thought," I heard her say. "The place is rustic and dirty. That's right! Mayberry! You know…Andy Griffith? Yes! Apparently, they've turned my sister into an uncultured local yokel! All right darling. We'll talk later. Ciao!"