Free Lewis & Ondarko - Best Friends 03 - Now and Zen by Pat Ondarko, Deb Lewis Page A

noise, holding her candle boldly upright toward the night sky. Ahead of her she could see two glowing eyes low to the ground reflected in the light.
    “I can’t stand this,” Pat said in a shaky voice. “The last time I saw eyes like that it was a skunk in my path on the way to the outhouse.”
    The others laughed nervously behind them. Inching closer, Deb could make out the unmistakable form of a large dog lying on its back. Julie moved forward and shone a light on the animal. Crunch. Crunch. Legs wide apart, the dog playfully itched its back.
    Realizing she had been holding her breath, Deb let out a sigh of relief.
    “It’s just a dog,” she whispered towards the women behind her. “And it’s cute.”
    “Oh for heaven’s sake!” Julie answered. “We got worked up over that?”
    The women turned around and walked back to the front door, swatting mosquitoes as they went. The dog followed and before they knew what was happening, the beast went to the rug in front of the fire, turned three circles and lay down as though it belonged in the room.
    “Get that dog out of here!” Linda said. “I just swept the floor.”
    “Aww, look at him. He’s happy!” Deb cooed.
    “It’s a girl,” Julie said.
    The dog was a full-grown golden lab. No gray hairs were encroaching on her muzzle. Sighing contentedly, the dog closed her eyes and went to sleep.
    “I’m not making her leave,” Deb said to the others. “You can if you want. For me, there are few sweeter sights in life than a content dog by a fireplace.” The women shrugged and moved back to their seats, as the dog was soon temporarily forgotten.
    “It’s a good thing you didn’t call the police,” Deb teased, patting Carolyn on the arm.
    “It’s late,” Carolyn said. “I’m going to bed. It’s an early morning.”
    “Good night,” the others called, as Carolyn retired.
    “So, I remembered one thing we didn’t do yet for the retreat. What are we going to do to make sure everyone knows where to go tomorrow?” Pat asked.
    Julie smiled mysteriously and glanced at Noreen.
    “Shall we tell them now?” she asked.
    “Better now than tomorrow,” Noreen replied.
    The two women went into the bedroom and returned with a pile of poster boards already attached to stakes.
    “Wow!” Pat looked at the pile. “Where did these come from?” she asked, reading the titles aloud:
RETREAT BREAKFAST AHEAD
Heavenly food at St. John’s Church
PIE CHI HERE
Tai Chi with an Italian flair
WRITING WORKSHOP
Write the story you never wanted your husband to know
TAROT READING
Need an answer to a life question? Bev is your gal
SELF DEFENSE
Don’t count on that male in your life to take care of you.
Learn to defend him!
DEB AND PAT’S CABIN THIS WAY
    Everyone laughed.
    “Great job!” Pat said.
    “We got to thinking this afternoon that you might need some help with organizing,” Julie said with obvious pride. “We thought we could have those of us who are not leading an event stationed around the signs to help direct the people. So we just tried this. We’re a step ahead of you.”
    “More like half a mile, you mean,” Pat replied, picking up a sign. “Oh, you women! I knew there was a reason we invited you along. You think of everything! But do we really need one that tells where we’re staying?” she asked, pointing at the signs.
    “‘Fraid you’re gonna get lynched?”
    Pat smiled.
    “Okay,” Deb said. “With the ghostie and all, we forgot to talk about the missing woman. Did anyone hear anything?”
    “I’ve got enough on my plate,” Linda answered dismissively. “We’re not the police.”
    “I’m not asking you to be; all I’m asking is for you to keep eyes and ears open… and mouths, too,” Deb replied.
    “That won’t be hard for you, Pat,” Julie joked, playfully punching Pat on the shoulder.
    “What do you want me to do?” Linda asked, picking up a tablet and a pen from the table.
    “Well, tomorrow there’s going to be a breakfast