“Church!” sniffed Dick, still hanging around.
“Just for that,” grinned Betty, “I believe I’ll urge Father to take you with us.”
“If you do,” threatened Dick, shaking a fist, though, grinning, as he disappeared altogether from his position in the kitchen door, and they heard him scampering down the hall.
“Now he’ll get out a book or something,” said Betty to Janet, “and settle down for awhile. The point is, we really think it better to have Doris, at least, at home, to amuse Amy Lou and keep her out of Mother’s way a little; and since they didn’t want to go to church with us, it’s all right. Oh, you are going to enjoy the service, I think. One of our very best preachers is to give the sermon at the sort of union service of the churches; and it’s in one of the very prettiest churches, too, with a big vested choir and everything! There will probably be some grand solo, or quartette, or something special, and we want to get there early enough to hear the chimes.”
“Sue and I will get ready, then, right away–shall we?”
“Please, and I’ll whisk into something and we’ll be off in a jiffy, when Father’s ready to go.”
In such active fashion Thanksgiving Day began for this household and its guests, with everybody in fine spirits. The air was cold and Dick was hoping for snow. “Gee, I bet the boys are skating up home,” said he as he followed his father to the garage.
“I doubt it,” replied his father, “but you’re not going to get as much snow and ice as you want here, I suppose.”
Three happy girls, warmly clad, climbed into the machine with Mr. Lee and they were soon whirling on their way toward the church, whose service was almost as new to Betty as to her guests, with beautiful music and an impressive message. And then came the return to the warm house, the smiling mother with her face a little flushed from frequent bastings of the turkey, and the good old-fashioned Thanksgiving dinner, which makes every one thankful whether he was in that mood before or not.
As usual, Mr. Lee stopped to let his passengers enter by the front door, while he drove to the garage, and Betty was rather surprised to have her mother open the door for them, though probably the night latch was on. Mother kept things locked up as a rule, since coming to the city.