Miracle in Music City by Natalie Grant & Naomi Kinsman

Author:Natalie Grant & Naomi Kinsman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Published: 2016-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

We absolutely have to wear these things?” Mia asked for the third time, tugging at her hairnet’s elastic band.

Maddie fiddled with her elastic too, trying to arrange it so it didn’t feel so tight around her forehead. Lulu pulled her hairnet down over her chin.

“Lulu.” Mom looked so funny with her hair all stuffed up in the net.

Maddie was used to seeing her sisters looking silly. Especially Lulu, with the wild outfits she sometimes chose, but Mom always looked like . . . Mom. Whether she was in her high heels or wide-brimmed floppy hats or both, Mom always had that Gloria Glimmer style. Hairnets were, well, not so Gloria Glimmer.

Lulu sighed and returned the net to its proper place. Denise handed out aprons too. The aprons were all adult-sized, so they had to wrap the apron strings round and round to make them work. Maddie and Mia’s aprons touched the floor. Lulu’s dragged so much that Denise suggested they fold it in half and try again.

“Let’s all wash our hands now,” Denise said. “And after that, no touching your hair or faces. If you do, you’ll need to come back here and wash up again.”

They took turns squeezing soap onto their palms, and washed between their fingers and under their fingernails. Then, they pulled on plastic gloves.

Denise gave them stations right next to each other at the end of the line. Mom had tongs and a giant bowl of veggie-filled salad. Maddie was in charge of ladling creamy tomato soup into bowls. Mia had crunchy rolls to hand out, and Lulu got to add the final snickerdoodle cookie treat. Denise and Tony, a resident of Third Street, were in charge of the lasagna and pasta options.

“When you run out,” Denise said, “call on back to Zanne, and she’ll bring you another batch. Any questions before Henry opens the door?”

“I think we’re set,” Mom said, and then gave the girls a reassuring smile. “You’ll do great.”

As soon as Henry opened the door, Maddie’s worries evaporated. She didn’t have time to think about anything except for putting soup in bowls.

“Thank you,” a woman said, causing Maddie to stop and look up. The deep lines around the woman’s eyes didn’t take away from the spark of something . . . what? Happiness? Maddie smiled at the woman, remembering that while handing out soup was her task, what she truly wanted to do was to warm hearts.

Maddie looked past the woman to the room beyond. The tables were starting to fill up. Rather than being heavy with sadness and gloom—the way Maddie realized she’d been expecting it to be—the room was warm, colorful, and filled with laughter and lively conversation. In fact, as she watched, the warmth spread into her too, making her eyes fill with happy tears. Honestly, it felt like she was the one who was being given the gift.

“Thank you,” she echoed back, truly grateful that this woman had interrupted her busyness to help her see what was all around her.

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