Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 As you can imagine, Father Phillip had tons of questions for the squirrels. "I've spent my life studying the Bible, but you've lived it!" he marveled. "Not the whole Bible," Merle pointed out. "Just the last part. We're not that old." "Well, the whole Bible is about 3,500 years old, and the last part was written 2,000 years ago. So that's a pretty good chunk," Father Phillip quipped. Pearl elbowed her husband in the ribs. "Face it, Merle. We're old." Merle waved off the comment. He didn't feel old and preferred to keep it that way.

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"So, tell me more about the loaves and fishes." Father Phillip leaned forward in his chair. "Well," Pearl began. "It was a lovely day..." Pearl's story was interrupted by someone at the door. "That was quick!" Merle smiled. "The airport must be closer than I thought." "A little too quick." Father Phillip glanced at his watch, concerned. The airport was at least 60 minutes away, and it had been less than an hour since he'd sent the email. "Who's there?" he called out. How high do you suppose the chances were that the airport chaplain found Dr. Gomez and Michael immediately after reading the email Father Phillip sent? And that the Gomezes hopped in a car, sped down Highway 79 into a crowded Nazareth, found the basilica, a parking spot, and Father Phillip's office all inside of an hour? NOT. VERY. HIGH. The door BURST open, revealing a disheveled Ruben wearing a sinister grin! "There you are!" Ruben grunted and dove into the room.

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A flurry of scattering fur followed as Merle and Pearl ran around the small office to avoid capture. "AHHHHH! RUBEN!" Merle and Pearl shouted in unison. "Sanctuary!" Father Phillip shouted. "This isn't Notre-Dame, and you aren't Quasimodo!" Ruben yelled, kicking the door closed with his heel and diving after Merle, who scrambled on top of a bookcase. "Ahhh! What does that even mean?!" Merle hollered as he zigged and zagged around Ruben's grasping hands. The thing about most friars is that they love to teach, and some can't pass up any teachable moment, even in a crisis. Father Phillip was one of those. "He's referring to

the book The Hunchback of Notre Dame by the nineteenth-century author Victor Hugo, where the hunchback Quasimodo claims 'sanctuary,' or safe haven, for the Roma girl Esmeralda inside the Notre-Dame cathedral," he pontificated. "That's nice!" Merle shouted as he jumped off the bookcase and onto the door handle, the weight of his body releasing the latch.