Saving Grace

Chapter 53

The noisy herd of children moved into the auditorium. Teachers skillfully maneuvered them into classes and had them sit. Joe watched Miss Higgins' class almost march into the room. His eyes widened as they sat, silent. She knelt in front of one boy. The boy's shoulders slumped. Joe instantly felt sorry for the kid.

Smith clapped him on the shoulder. "The cages are numbered. Obviously, we'll start with one and go up from there. Your job is to shuttle the animals to me then back to their cages."

Joe nodded. "Sure. What kinds of animals?"

Smith shrugged. "Rabbits, a fox, a couple birds, a snake..."

"Whoa. I don't do snakes."

"It's just a gardner snake. Totally harmless."

Joe's lip curled into a sneer. "I shoulda held out for more."

Smith chuckled. "Yeah. You'll do great."

Joe sat on a chair, enjoying his invisibility. He pulled his cowboy had lower on his head as he listened to Smith talk. He chuckled several times until he heard his cue. "Animal number one."

Joe dragged the struggling rabbit from the cage. He tucked it's head under one arm and held it like a furry football as he stepped onto the stage.

"Thanks Joe." Smith said as he took the rabbit. Joe stood off to the side, his hands clasped behind his back as he waited. Smith walked over and almost dumped the bunny into his arms. Joe fumbled for a moment before he was able to restrain the small beast.

The fox was easy. It had been trained to walk on a leash and could even do a few tricks. He cringed and held the snake at arms' length as it curled around his hands. He grimaced, willing Smith to hurry and take the reptile.

His eyes widened at the last animal. "How do you handle a hawk?" He donned the thick leather gloves and coaxed the bird to step onto his arm. He held the strings that were attached to its feet. As he stepped onto the stage, the bird flapped it's wings, knocking his hat to the floor. "Whoa, bird. Whoa."

He ignored the gasps from the crowd as he ran a hand down the hawk's back, soothing it.

"I'll just let Joe keep a hold of him now that he's got him calm. Joe, you wanna walk in front of the crowd slowly, please?"

Joe paused in several places allowing the kids to get a good look at the bird as Smith described it and what it could do.

"Go ahead and put him back. Thanks, Joe."

Joe put the bird away then stepped back onto the stage to retrieve his hat.

"Well, that concludes our presentation for today. Does anyone have any questions?"

Hands shot into the air. Smith answered the few questions. "How about you? What's your question?"

"What happened to your head?"

"Benny!" Miss Higgins gasped.

Smith turned questioning eyes to Joe.

Joe grinned. "Want me to answer that?"

Smith shrugged. "It's a legitimate question, but its up to you."

Joe stepped to the center of the stage and took his hat from his head. He turned around so everyone could see the long claw marks on the back of his head. Murmurs filled the room. He took a deep breath before beginning.

"It was the dead of winter. We were eating dinner and heard a noise from the barn. When we went out to investigate, there he was. A great horrible monster! Can anyone guess what it was?"

Shouts rang out ranging from eagle to beaver to wolf to bear.

"That's right! It was a grizzly bear named Ol' Red. He grabbed a hold of my face and tried to kiss me." Joe pointed at the scars on either side of his jaw. "When I didn't wanna kiss him, he got mad. Scratched his claws clear down my back. Then he grabbed my leg and started to shake it. I finally got away and hid in the loft."

Joe laughed as hands shot into the air.

Smith stepped up and pointed at one little boy.

"Did you die?"

"Almost. It took a great team of doctors to put me back together. I'm lucky my arm isn't growing out of the top of my head," he said with a wink.

More hands waved.

Smith looked over the crowd. "Are there any more questions about animals?"

All the hands dropped.

Smith looked over at Joe. "Your call."

Joe shrugged. "They're just curious. I'd rather not be the scary scarred guy in town."

"Okay. Who has questions for Joe?"

Hands once again shot into the air. Joe spent the next fifteen minutes answering questions about the bear and his injuries.

"Can we see the rest of them?"

Joe shook his head. "Nah. It's a school rule that you gotta keep your shirt on. I don't wanna get kicked out." He winked.

The students groaned.

"Are you married?"

"Uh. No. I'm not married."

"Are there any other questions?" Smith asked. Relative silence filled the room. "Thank you so much for letting us come. We've had a great time today."

Joe slid his hat back onto his head and laughed as several kids rushed onto the stage to shake his hand. He was stunned by some of the comments. "You're amazing." "I wanna be just like you when I grow up."