Free The Christmas Cantata (The Liturgical Mysteries) by Mark Schweizer Page A

morning, I drove to the station early, and stopped by the Piggly Wiggly to pick up a box of donuts. Amelia Godshaw was the only checkout girl on duty, even though characterizing her as a "girl" was to overstate her status by about sixty years. Roger Beeson, the manager, was tucked away in his "office," a raised twelve-by-twelve, half-walled cubicle containing a desk, a safe, and a couple of chairs, from which he could survey his domain. Amelia was not known as a "people person," and was most probably packing heat under her checkout counter. It didn't do to irritate Amelia, and Roger might have gotten rid of her except that, for some reason, he couldn't keep any help at the Pig for more than a month or two. Amelia and her friends, Hannah and Grace, were the only employees that he could count on not to rob him blind and to show up for their shifts. There was also a stock-boy named Clem, but no one had ever heard him speak.
    I was in line at Amelia's checkout counter. In front of me was a woman I didn't know and in front of her was Elaine Hixon. The woman in front of me looked irritated, tapping a bottle of mouthwash angrily on the conveyor belt. Elaine had half a cartful of groceries and was a few items into her checkout routine.
    "I'm having a party this evening," Elaine said to Amelia. "A Christmas party."
    "Goody for you," grumped Amelia. She rang up a cheese ball from the deli Christmas end-cap, on sale for $3.95.
    "Could we hurry it up?" said the next-in-line woman.
    "I'm going as fast as I can," said Amelia. "You wanna do it?"
    "Amelia," said Elaine, "are you having your hair done at the Beautifery? It just looks lovely."
    Amelia blinked, blinked again, and then smiled. "Well, yes I am," she said. "Noylene's got a new girl. We're trying a reddish blonde with a lemon rinse." She lowered her voice. "She also told me that new opportunities are just around the corner."
    "How exciting," Elaine said to Amelia. She spotted me in the back of the line. "Hayden! Good morning!"
    "Morning," I said, giving her a wave with my free hand.
    "Listen," said the woman, "I've got an appointment in town and I'm already late."
    "Who are you meeting?" asked Elaine.
    "None of your business!" snapped the woman.
    "I only ask," said Elaine, as she pointed to the plate glass windows that comprised the front of the store, "because I think your car slid down the hill and into that ditch."
    The woman screamed, dropped her mouthwash, and stared at her car, the front end of which, as Elaine had described, was pointing, headlights down, into the drainage ditch in front of the Piggly Wiggly.
    "Oh, my God!" she cried. "How?...What?..."
    "You probably just parked on a patch of ice," said Elaine. "Don't worry. Billy's right around the corner with his Bobcat scraping another parking lot. I'll give him a call." She flipped open her phone, punched a button, and a minute later, dropped her phone back into her purse.
    "He's on his way. He's got a chain. You'll be out in three shakes."
    "How much is this going to cost me?" said the woman, resignation and disgust evident in her voice.
    "Why, nothing, dear," said Elaine. "Don't be silly. It's Christmas, after all."
    The woman's mouth dropped open. Then, a moment later, she said, "Thank you. Sorry I snapped at you before."
    "Oh," said Elaine, waving a hand absently in her direction. "It's nothing."
    The woman turned to Amelia. "And I'm sorry I was cross with you." She searched for a compliment. "You're doing a great job there...ringing things up. You're the best grocery checker I've seen in a long while, I can tell you."
    "Well..." said Amelia, smiling just a little.
    "I'm just on edge," said the woman. "I'm new in town and I'm supposed to meet the president of the library council at eight. Now I'm going to be late. I'm a caterer and I'm trying to get the library patrons' Christmas party job."
    "Louise?" said Amelia. "You're meeting Louise Harrison?"
    "Why...yes."
    "Pfft," said Amelia. "She's my next door neighbor.