The Case of the Missing Kindness - part two

The Case of the Missing Kindness , part two

Morning broke on the horizon as Cat Stevens sang Morning Has Broken on Mauve's unique Spotify playlist. It was a vibrant offering of color, quite unusual after a week if so many storms and not just the nature based ones but the human ones as well. It was nice to see God waving a cherry hello as the morning woke up along with Mauve and her daughter Cleo who was already in her room playing. The evidence of God so forefront on her life made her hum as she fixed breakfast. 

As she peeked in on Cleo she was in creation mode. Her sister, Tori Rae had encouraged Cleo all her short life to be a voracious reader and an unapologetic artist like her aunt. Mauve wished she was as creative. But her artistic visions were more of the made in the kitchen variety than the art studio.

Tori Rae had taken a bit of a step back from the Art Studio After School program at the Maplewood Rec Center to give more attention to her and Hannah Bakewell's, one of her good friends, Christmas mission art projects they needed to start getting ready for. Tori had moved to a more part time role at the Rec which let Flo Henderson enjoy leafing the kids in her unique craft times. 

Tori Rae's Christmas Mission hadn't happened last Christmas due to a popular singer Nia Jaco trying to make Tori's project one of her advertising stunts to get music sales for her coincidently released Christmas Hymns album. It had been good for the town but it had put the kabosh on her and Hannah's plans. 

But that was life sometimes. It stung when your plans weren't yet ready to manifest. Mauve figured Tori was still licking her wounds because her old boyfriend and church leader Noah had been a big part of sabotaging her passion project. And that hadn't been the first time he had interfered in one of Tori's creative visions. And that experience had built quite a wedge between them.

Mauve sent up a prayer for her sister. She had been through so much and that had been the last thing she needed. But God worked in mysterious ways. She shook off the sorrow for Tori Rae. This week in the Art Studio After School program it was Florence Henderson's crafty fun time. Cleo just loved it. Flo was an 80 year old whirlwind. Her husband Earnest was now in the nursing home because he was beyond what she could do to care for him. She was so resilient. Mauve was inspired by her passion for quilting, crafting and crochet. Everyone's talents were so precious. Cleo was loving the little crochet towel topper she was making for her aunt. She prayed that gift might soothe Tori's inner ache. All she could do was stand with her in the storm holding the umbrella as she cried.

The thoughts brought Mauve back to the missing kindness jar and Mr Abernathy's missing tie clip with the unique compass etching he had received from his father as a reminder of not only his dad's love but the love of his father in heaven. She had heard from Tori that Larry Abernathy had just recently had to put his wife into the same nursing home Ernest was in. It had him wondering what other big life changes he might have to start to consider. His big two story house was way too big and too empty for him. She and Tori had offered to help him in whatever he decided to do. That missing compass tie clip was turning his life arrow to not so true north. It was no wonder he was so sad when she saw him at the bakery each morning to speak with Hannah who was a wise guide and a quiet gentle leader of the bakery.

Mauve finished tidying the kitchen, the soft clatter of dishes a counterpoint to the quiet stirring in her heart. Mr. Abernathy’s sadness was a palpable thing, and the missing jar, the general gloom at the Rec Center… it felt wrong. It felt like a little piece of Maplewood's everyday grace had gone adrift. 

And then there was Sly. He had a quick smile, but it looked more calculated then honest.

She thought back to yesterday evening, standing in the Rec Center lobby, just after Cleo had whispered about the Kindness Jar. She’d spotted Sly Snow leaning against a wall, looking out the large glass doors towards the setting sun. Usually, Sly was a whirlwind of energy, always organizing, always bustling, always a pie in the sky plan to get ahead, just like his father Phillip. 

But yesterday, he’d been unusually still, his brow furrowed, a faraway look in his eyes. He’d seemed almost… thoughtful. And when he’d briefly looked in her direction, there had been a flicker of something in his gaze, a kind of quiet concern, before he'd quickly ducked his head to stare at his phone.

He mentioned something about a compass... The memory of Cleo's fleeting comment about Mr. Abernathy and the way Sly had quickly called his dad after seeing Mr. Abernathy's private prayer clicked into place. Sly was observant, just like her. He noticed things. And he was Philip Snow's son, the best fix-it man in Maplewood, who probably had even more pie in the sky plans than Sly could even dream of.

A warm certainty settled in Mauve’s chest, like a perfectly risen dough. This wasn't a case for the police – not yet, anyway. This was a puzzle of the heart, a tangle of well-meaning intentions, perhaps, that had simply become muddled. And Mauve, with her signature pink bandana and a heart full of confident care, knew exactly who could help unravel it.

She pulled out her phone, her thumb hovering over the contact for Flo Henderson. Florence, with her eighty years of wisdom and resilience, would surely know the full story of the Kindness Jar’s disappearance since Tori Rae was on a short hiatus. And maybe, just maybe, she’d shed some light on Mr. Abernathy’s tie clip, and Sly’s pensive, calculating gaze.

Before she could dial, her phone vibrated with an incoming text from Hannah. "Mauve, darling, could you swing by Mrs. Henderson's house this morning? Her usual bread order is ready for pickup, but she sounded a bit down when I called. Just a quick check-in, if you wouldn't mind."

A small smile bloomed on Mauve's face. God truly worked in mysterious ways, orchestrating the perfect opportunity. Her morning mission had just become clear. It was time to put her listening ear and her kind heart to work, to find the grace hidden beneath the layers of misunderstanding.