Something Old, Something New by Beverly Jenkins

well.”
    There were tears standing in the reverend’s eyes. “Oh, my goodness. Zoey. I was so worried when she and Bonnie stopped coming around. Where’re they living?”
    â€œHow well did you know them?”
    â€œI knew them very well. Bonnie played the organ here on Sundays, with Zoey sitting right beside her.” She met their eyes and came to her own conclusion. “Bonnie’s dead, isn’t she?”
    They nodded.
    She solemnly crossed herself and finally looked up from Zoey’s smiling face. “Bonnie had a gift. She made our decrepit old organ sound like Carnegie Hall. Even when she showed up here some Sunday mornings so cracked out she couldn’t walk straight, she’d sit down on the bench, put her hands on the keys, and you’d swear it was the angels playing. How’d she pass away?”
    Bernadine and Lily related all that they knew. When they described how and where Zoey was found, the lady priest cried softly. Finally gathering herself, she said, “I used to run a soup kitchen here, and one morning, a few years back, a young woman came in with her pale-as-chalk, big-eyed daughter. Bonnie wasn’t high that day, but I could tell by the rotted teeth that she was on crack. It didn’t matter—she and her child were hungry, and I was there to feed them.”
    She paused a moment, as if the memories were taking her back to that time. “She said she wanted to pay me back for the meal. I knew she didn’t have any money, but when she asked if she could play the organ on Sunday as a way to say thanks, I said sure. I didn’t think for a minute that she’d actually show up, but she did, and her skill blew us away.”
    â€œWas Zoey mute when you knew her?”
    â€œMute? That chatterbox? Of course not.”
    Lily said, “She is now. Hasn’t spoken a word in the two years she’s been with us.”
    She looked puzzled. “Was it the trauma of the rats?”
    Bernadine shrugged. “The doctors think so. They can’t find anything physically wrong.”
    â€œSo where is she living?”
    They gave her a thumbnail sketch of Henry Adams and Bernadine’s foster program.
    The priest asked with wonder, “You own a town?” She turned to Lily. “How rich is this woman, Lily?”
    â€œIf I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
    Paula shook her head in amazement.
    â€œTell me a bit about your background, if I’m not being too nosy,” Bernadine asked.
    They learned that Paula was a native Oklahoman. When she mentioned her degrees in child psychology and that she’d run her own practice, Lily’s heart began to beat with excitement. A quick look Bernadine’s way showed her that the Boss Lady was experiencing the same rush.
    â€œSo you’ve no immediate job prospects?”
    â€œNone. Your town wouldn’t need a woman of the cloth, would it?”
    Lily and Bernadine shared a knowing smile.
    Bernadine finally replied, “Presently, we don’t have a church, but I can get one built. How big do you want it to be?”
    Paula waved off the remark. “I’m just kidding.”
    â€œI’m not.”
    Paula’s smile faded. “Excuse me?”
    â€œYou just said you’re unemployed, right?”
    â€œEver been convicted of embezzlement?” Lily wanted to know, wearing a big smile.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œEver been convicted of anything?”
    â€œNo,” Paula said, glancing between the two visitors as if she wasn’t real sure what was going on.
    Bernadine declared, “Then at the conclusion of a positive background check, consider yourself hired.”
    She stared dumbstruck. “Just like that? Wait a minute.”
    Lily’s eyes were dancing with laughter. “Welcome to the world of Bernadine Brown, Reverend Grant. Glad to have you aboard.”
    While Bernadine continued to reassure the priest that they were indeed