After we settled back in the van, our seat belts snugly secured, Josh turned to me. "Dad, you've been on the rescue squad a long time . . ."

I nodded, "Yup, twenty years now."

"Well," Josh continued, "do you think this is something I oughta be worried about? And please, Dad, level with me. I'm not a baby any more, you know."

I chuckled. "That's for sure, son. You're growing up to be a fine young man and your mother and I are very proud of you. But, let's try real hard not to worry. Worrying doesn't accomplish a thing. The best we can do is sit back and wait until the tests are complete, then see what the doctor has to say. In the meantime let's just hope and pray it's only something minor and temporary."

Josh nodded. "Okay, thanks Dad. You're right, but let's not tell Mom until after dinner. I don't want to spoil the fun."

"Yes, I'd thought of that. I was planning on telling her before we go to bed tonight."

Joshua switched the conversation to the school play. He'd played various bit parts in the past and always did well, but this was his first starring role, and he was excited about playing the king in "The King and I." Little Becky even had a part as the youngest of the king's children. Maggie and I would be attending the opening night performance tomorrow and his grandparents were coming Saturday night. Josh was really looking forward to this.

Stopped for a red light, I turned to Josh. "Hey, wanna stop for some ice cream?"

"That sounds great, Dad, but what about dinner? Won't it spoil our appetites?"

With an evil laugh, I replied, "That sure doesn't sound like you, Josh. You know as well as I do that we guys have stomachs like bottomless pits. We'll be just fine by the time dinner rolls around. Hey, it's not every day my son plays a king. I think you deserve a little royal treatment, don't you?"

Josh wasn't going to argue so we two conspirators took a detour to the soda shop on Mountain Avenue and each of us splurged on a hot fudge sundae, sprinkled with nuts, topped with a mound of whipped cream and a cherry.

It was about four-thirty when we pulled into the yard, and Becky came bounding out to meet us with Mom following in hot pursuit.

"My Bubba," Becky yelled, running straight for Joshua. "Bubba" was as close as she could get to brother, which was still better than her mangled attempts at saying Joshua--sounding like "Zee-oshie-ya." Bubba was much easier, but Joshua secretly hoped that moniker wouldn't stick for the rest of his life.

Josh adored his little sister. Genuinely glad to see her, he caught her up in his arms and swung her around several times, finally giving her a big bear hug. "And, how's my little Beck-Bunny today?" he asked.

"Fine," she giggled, squirming to get down. The two of them started chasing each other around the yard, then Joshua offered to push her on the swing set. Mom and I sat on the back steps, enjoying their youthful exuberance.

Soon after, Maggie pulled into the yard and parked the car. After passing hugs all around, she delivered the biggest hug to me, followed by singing "Happy birthday to you!" Everyone joined in and Dad pulled into the yard just in time to get in on the last line.

John McKinley, Maggie's father, is a bit on the plump side as he liked to put it, with a full head of salt and pepper hair, twinkling brown eyes and a ready smile. Although he's almost seventy, he has no intention of retiring from Kopy Kat, the print shop he's owned for over thirty years. He loves the business and often brags that the people he deals with are more like friends than customers. In fact, his little print shop on Main Street has become a legendary stomping ground where the local folks like to linger and chat with the affable proprietor, known for his bubbly personality and droll sense of humor.

As we gathered to greet him, Dad brought us all back to reality. "Hey, look at the time! It's after five, and we have six o'clock reservations at Giuseppe's, remember? So, let's get moving, gang!"

After that, we all scattered to spruce up for a festive evening.

I was struggling with my necktie when I heard strains of The Star Spangled Banner came from the bathroom, followed by a screech from Maggie. Honestly, that nutty Marty and his gimmicks! I knew it had to do with that toilet paper dispenser I installed earlier.

I braced myself for the onslaught of a furious, redheaded wife, but surprisingly when Maggie stepped out of the bathroom, she was howling with laughter.

"Now that's the first time I ever refused to stand up for our national anthem," she giggled, asking where I got the bizarre gadget. I filled her in briefly on my lunch with the "boys" and showed her the other gifts.

"They're a great bunch and it sounds like you had fun," Maggie commented. After she straightened my tie one last time, she leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Okay, now let's get going. I'm famished!"

Once all three generations were assembled in the back yard, we decided that everyone except Josh and I would go in Grandma's Honda, with Grandpa driving. Becky's car seat was still fastened in the back seat, saving us a little time. Josh and I would go in my van, in case there should be some rescue squad crisis along the way, as so often seemed to happen whenever we had something special planned.

I let Josh pull the van to the end of the driveway, then we switched places. Josh didn't have his learner's permit yet so that was as far as he was allowed to go.

"Gee, thanks, Dad. I like to drive whenever I can. May I park the van at the restaurant, too?"

"Sorry, Josh. Not this time. Giuseppe's is one of those 'fancy schmancy' places with valet parking. Guess your grandparents wanted to go all out for my birthday this year. I must have been a good boy," I smiled.

We made good time, arriving at the restaurant, right behind Mom's Honda. After Maggie extricated Becky from her car seat, we let the parking attendants take care of the vehicles. The maitre d' greeted us at the front door, and Dad told him we were the McKinley party of six. He escorted us to a large round table in a quiet corner of the beautifully appointed main dining room. Thick wine-colored carpeting muffled our footsteps and the dim lighting and candlelit tables added to the romantic ambience.

A waiter dressed in a tuxedo scurried to the table with a booster seat for Becky and handed each of us a large menu with a thick leather cover secured with tasseled cords. The selections inside were printed on elegant parchment paper. Maggie and Mom marveled at the beautiful white linen tablecloth and napkins, as well as the elegant china, silverware and crystal water goblets.

With a huge selection of sumptuous dishes, we finally made our choices. As we indulged in one mouth-watering course after another, I shared some of the details of my extraordinary day, starting with my lunch date with the "boys." Josh was especially excited about the digital camera they gave me and offered to show me how it worked. He'd been using one in school for several months.

"Not only that . . . wait 'til you hear this," I said, extracting the publisher's contract from my inside jacket pocket. They were in total shock, as I'd never mentioned to any of them I was writing a book! Pressing me to explain how and when I'd managed to pull that off, I told them that I'd done it now and then, during study halls at school and odd moments at home. I explained that I'd started writing it just to practice using the new laptop and it just sort of kept growing.

Of course, I made no mention of my experience with the lady in the mirror or the situation with Joshua's high blood pressure.

When it was time for dessert, our waiter appeared with a large chocolate cake ablaze with candles. As he signaled the piano player, the rest of the waiters and waitresses gathered 'round, and they all joined in singing "Happy Birthday."

Maggie pulled the waiter aside after we were through. "Would it be all right if we stayed for a few moments after dessert so my husband can open his gifts?"

"Certainly, Madame," the waiter assured her with a warm smile. "Our busy time doesn't start until after nine. Just relax and stay as long as you'd like."

Joshua asked to be excused, saying he was going to the men's room, but I saw Maggie pass him the car keys under the table and I wondered what was going on. Josh returned shortly, carrying an enormous gaily-wrapped box.

"What on earth . . . ?" I spluttered.

"Happy birthday, Joe," Maggie chirped. "This is something very special--a combination birthday-anniversary gift, in fact."

"Well, from the size of the box, Christmas better be included, too," I declared.

They were all bugging me to "Get on with it," so I started peeling the paper methodically from one end of the box. Normally Maggie was a fanatic about re-using gift paper.

"Joe," she sighed anxiously, "just this once, we don't need to save the paper."

"Yes, dear," I dutifully replied, shredding the paper as fast as I could while the others sat at the edge of their seats in eager anticipation. When I finally got the box open, I discovered another slightly smaller box, also wrapped in festive paper.

"Uh oh," I said, "I thought that felt awfully light for such a big box. Well, here goes . . ."

Again as I tore off the paper, I discovered . . . yes, another box! This continued through nine packages, with the ninth being a long flat necktie box.

"Well, actually I can always use a new necktie," I said. "Or is there another box inside this one?"

Maggie laughed. "Nope. Last box. Go for it, Tiger!"

I was surprised to see there was no necktie after all. Instead, I saw a handsome itinerary folder from Thompson Travel where Maggie works as a bookkeeper.

"What's this?" I muttered, more puzzled than ever as I opened the folder and pulled out four plane tickets.

"Oh my . . . ! Jerusalem?!" I whispered. No, this can't be, I thought, remembering the lady had said it was "all arranged."

I noted the date of departure--July 7--exactly as she had said. Coincidentally, that's also the date of our twentieth wedding anniversary. Included in the folder was a voucher for the King David Hotel in Jerusalem along with a ten-day itinerary.

My mind was reeling. I tried to speak but nothing came out but a gasp. Becky giggled, "Daddy, you look just like Okser!" Everyone laughed. "Oscar" was Becky's pet goldfish.

I leaned over to Maggie. "Sweetheart, this is the trip of a lifetime, but how can we afford it?"

Maggie grinned. "We can't afford not to go, dear. When I talked to Jerry about it, he said it was no problem. With all the trouble in the Middle East, my boss said they're hurting for tourists, plus he got us on a 'fam plan' deal. Even though I'm just the bookkeeper, he said he was able to swing it because I help customers with travel arrangements when it gets busy or when the others are out to lunch. So, in other words, we're only paying 10% of the airfare and the hotel is free . . . you can't beat that!"

"That's astonishing," I said, with more meaning than Maggie would ever guess.

Dad handed me an envelope. "We have a little something for you, too, Joe." Inside was a voucher for a rental car for the entire trip.

Dumbfounded, I was about to rattle off a string of 'thank yous' when Joshua announced: "Beck and I have something for you, too, Dad." He handed me another envelope that contained vouchers for limousine service transfers to and from the airport.

"Shucks, Josh, you shouldn't have spent all this money," I said.

"You're worth every penny, Dad. But, remember that can crusher you got me that I told you was for a Boy Scout project? Well, as I crushed the cans, Becky was such a little angel - she carefully took each one and put it in a bag. We earned quite a bit of extra cash gathering those cans and actually had fun doing it. I'm sorry I had to fib to you, but I knew you'd understand."

Winking at Becky, I tousled Joshua's hair. "You two sure are special!"

Looking around the table, I said, "I don't know how to begin to thank you all. This is such an incredible surprise!"

Maggie said, "Well, Joe, I know you've always dreamed of a trip like this, and with your love of Biblical history, there isn't a more appropriate place in the whole world, so . . ."

I leaned over and kissed her long and hard. "Have I told you lately that I love you, honey?

"Yes," she replied with a twinkle in her eye, "but I never get tired of hearing it. I love you too, sweetheart."

After we finished our coffee, Dad paid the check while the others helped me stuff the shredded wrapping paper and boxes into the big outer box.

"I'll take care of removing the debris for you," the waiter volunteered. "And thank you for dining at Giuseppe's. It was indeed a pleasure serving all of you and I hope we'll be seeing you often in the future."

As we prepared to leave, I carefully tucked all the vouchers and tickets into my inside jacket pocket along with the papers from the publishing house. I took Maggie's arm gently and whispered, "Do me a huge favor and pinch me, okay? I just want to make sure this isn't just a dream!"








Continue to Chapter 5


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