Forever Remember: The Rose Code

OTWT Chapter 1: The Great Cricket Caper

Dean winked at me.

My heart skipped a beat. That wink meant trouble. For me. And Jasmine.

Too distracted to sing "Glorious Freedom" with the rest of the congregation, I stared at the hymnal wondering what new and improved pranks Dean had planned for today's service. Previous shenanigans included whoopie cushions, firecrackers, spiders, and ants. Just thinking about all those tiny, tickling feet made my skin itch.

At fifteen, maybe Dean had outgrown putting insects down people's shirts? Unlikely.

I had to stop him this time. But how? And where was Jasmine? She had walked her littlest and latest foster brother Danny down to children's church a while ago.

I turned around to peek at the clock on the back wall just as Jasmine slipped through the swinging doors holding something small in her hand.

She hurried down the window aisle and sat beside me on the pew. "Where's Dean?"

I pointed to him sitting in the front row. "I think he's helping with communion today. Why? What did he do now?"

"Nothing. Yet." She held out Dean's matchbox. For his lucky cricket. She opened the tiny drawer. Only a dandelion leaf was in it.

We both glared in Dean's direction, but we couldn't get his attention without disrupting the sermon.

Pastor Paul read from the Bible. "And Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.' Will the ushers please come forward to pass the bread?" He stepped down from the pulpit and over to the communion table.

Dean and Mr. Stahl walked to the center aisle and stood in front of Pastor Paul who took the lids off the communion plates and handed one to Dean for the pews on the left side of the sanctuary and one to Mr. Stahl for the right.

The bread cubes on Dean's plate moved.

Oh no! Jasmine and I stared at each other with the same realization dawning in our eyes. We were too late.

Dean passed the plate to Mr. Kline who took a bread cube and then held it out for Mrs. Kline to take one.

The cricket jumped in the air.

Mrs. Kline screeched and swatted at the insect, but hit the plate instead. Bread  cubes went flying everywhere, raining down on her and the people in the next row.

The cricket landed on the back of the second pew and then leaped into the center aisle away from Mrs. Kline, who slumped in the pew with both hands over her heart and continued screaming at a decibel that could crack stained glass. As the Pastor's wife Patty rushed to calm her, Dean chased after his pet, pleading, "Don't step on the cricket. Please don't squash Lucky."

The cricket hopped this way, then that, avoiding his attempts to rescue it. Dean reached down to grab it, and Lucky jumped between his legs and next to Mr. Kline's shoe, which stepped on the insect with a loud crunch.

"Remove that pest from the sanctuary. Now!" Mr. Kline demanded.

My mom handed Dean a bulletin. He bent down and scooped Lucky's remains off the carpet with it. Holding the bulletin as reverently as a casket, he plodded down the aisle and out the swinging doors.

Church members picked bread crumbs off themselves and the floor, and Patty comforted Mrs. Kline whose earsplitting shrieks had switched to heart wrenching sobs.

"Since man does not live by bread alone, I'm certain our Savior will understand if we proceed to the sharing of the cup, the blood shed for us," Pastor Paul said while scowling at the swinging doors. Thank goodness, Dean had left the building, or his blood might've been shed next. 

Due to his absence, the rest of the church service was uneventful and ended with the Pastor's benediction.

Jasmine rushed out with the matchbox. 

I briefly greeted the other parishioners and made my way outside to her and Dean at the back of the building just as Jonathan, Jasmine's stepfather, told her to come help him put Danny in his car seat.

Since Dean got arrested for burglary a few months ago, Jasmine's parents didn't want her associating with him anymore. Bad company corrupts and all that.

"Dean, I'll see you at youth group on Wednesday night," Jasmine said, giving him a quick hug goodbye. "I'll call you later, BFF," she said to me and hurried to her parent's car.

"Jon is such an ogre. He won't even let her talk to me after church," Dean complained.

"He's just trying to keep her out of trouble. He doesn't want her to get hurt," I explained.

Dean sighed and stared at the matchbox in his hand.

"Sorry about Lucky, but what were you thinking? Mrs. Kline could've had a heart attack."

"Well, she didn't, and Mr. Kline didn't have to squash Lucky. Now all my good luck is gone."

I shook my head. "It's just a cricket. You seem to care more about that bug than Mrs. Kline."

He pouted. "She's always mean to me."

"Can you blame her after the spiders and the ants? Not to mention the firecrackers. She almost died of fright the last time."

"The firecrackers were awesome. Did you see how high she jumped?" Dean chuckled.

I wanted to shake some sense into him, but I opted to shake my finger at him instead. "Dean King, have you heard anything I've said? There are consequences to your actions. People could get hurt. You should care more about what happens to them, instead of having fun at their expense."

Dean took a hold of my hand and pulled me against his chest. He pressed his lips to mine and kissed me speechless. He stopped, dropped my hand, and took a step back. "I do care about people, Melaney. I care about you."