Visitors Welcome

“You don’t need to be nervous, Janeen. You’re going to do a great job.” Alex wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze as they approached the back entrance of the church.

“I’m glad they let me switch to this week so you could be here. It’s so much harder speaking in church when you’re in front of a crowd of strangers.” Janeen replied, smiling up at him.

“Hey, who’s a stranger? You’ve been here three weeks already; I’m sure you’ll see plenty of familiar faces in the crowd. I’m just glad you remember mine after being apart for almost a month.”

“Oh,” Janeen cooed, “How could I forget my favorite face?”

He put a hand to his heart and affected a stately bow as he opened the door for his wife. “Now that is a compliment indeed, considering how much you gush about Luna’s face.”

“Well, my favorite human face,” she amended.

“The feeling is mutual,” he replied. Janeen laughed and kissed his cheek as she passed into the building. “You go ahead and take your place on the stand, Hon. I’m just going to get my jacket on.” She nodded and waved before picking up her pace down the hallway. The spring day was so warm that Alex had removed his suit coat and slung it over his arm for the walk to church.

He shrugged on his coat, buttoned it, and straightened his tie, but stayed outside for a few moments longer, taking in the gorgeous weather and towering trees around him. It was true, he thought ruefully: Janeen had no trouble making friends and interacting with strangers. It had always been more of a challenge for him.

Finally, he stepped inside and started down the hall, doing his best to confidently nod and smile at the unfamiliar faces around him. At first, his greetings were returned in kind, but as he approached the chapel, a commotion behind him attracted everyone’s attention. As Alex looked around to find its source, he felt something rub up against his pant leg and heard a small chirrup at his feet. Before he could react, a few youngsters made grabbing motions in his direction and he saw a grey streak dart through the crowd and under the sofa in the corner of the foyer.

Alex groaned. “Excuse me, everyone,” he said, raising his voice above the hubbub. “I’m afraid she’s mine. Would you please all step back so I can coax her out and take her home?” The faces around him contained varying expressions from surprised curiosity (probably those who had pets of their own) to downright glares (probably those whose children had allergies). Luckily, the crowd obliged and Alex was soon kneeling on the floor, hunched almost upside-down, peering into the shadows at the luminous green eyes of his eight-month-old nebelung cat.

“Come on, Luna,” he whispered. “It’s time to come out, little scamp.” As he continued a glib stream of quiet encouragement, she reluctantly crept toward him. He reached slowly under the couch, allowed her a few sniffs of his outstretched fingers, then gently wrapped his hand around her tiny torso and pulled her out. She didn’t resist or make a sound, and as he rose and tucked her under his lapel, she curled into an obliging ball of fur and began purring. Not waiting to see how the crowd reacted, he beelined for the door.

Though unexpected, Luna’s appearance was not entirely surprising. She could be swift and silent as lightning when she wanted to, her silver grey fur easily blending into the shadows. She hadn’t let Alex out of her sight since he arrived two days ago. She had snuck out of the house after him and Janeen countless times before, though this was by far the furthest she had ever pursued them.

What a mess, he thought as he strode out into the sunshine. And why today? What a way to be introduced to a new ward. He would have to walk well over a mile round trip to take Luna home, and then show up ridiculously late. He slowed to a stop as he realized that he might even miss Janeen’s talk.

He pulled back his lapel and peeked inside. “I suppose you wanted to come see Janeen speak too, huh?” he asked the ball of fur curled against his chest. Luna twisted and stretched her long neck up to rub her head against his chin with an affectionate, “Mrow.” It felt like a yes. “Well, too bad for both of us.” He sighed and started walking again, then stopped as a thought struck him.

After her second week here, Janeen had mentioned in one of their video chats that this building had a Cry Room positioned immediately next to the chapel with a connecting window, allowing occupants to see the meeting as it was piped into the room through a speaker. Did he dare? As he stood considering, Luna discovered the inside pocket of his coat and climbed in. She didn’t completely fit, but she sat in it anyway, and it meant he didn’t have to cradle her against him.

Alex straightened his coat, trying to flatten the lump that was Luna. She began to purr louder, cozy and happy as the proverbial clam. Good thing she was tiny and loved small, dark spaces. He turned and started walking around to the front of the building. He hadn’t seen a Mother’s Room on this side and didn’t want to face any of the same people that had just watched him pull his cat out from under a sofa.

He glanced toward the chapel as he heard muffled voices begin singing, “Welcome, welcome Sabbath morning…” and saw the familiar plaque mounted on the bricks of this and every other Latter-day Saint church in the world. It read: “Visitors Welcome.” He prayed with all his heart that it was true today.

The foyer was empty and Alex easily found the sanctuary he sought. It, too, was blessedly vacant. He took a seat and let out a sigh of relief just as the opening hymn ended. Unfortunately, his respite didn’t last long. As the Bishop was announcing the calling of a new Relief Society Secretary, the sound of sobbing permeated the walls from the direction of the foyer. A moment later, the door opened and a man about Alex’s age walked in with a distraught child wriggling in his arms. The girl, who seemed about three years old, was kicking her feet and flailing, crying out, “Lemme go, Daddy! I wanna go home! HOME! No here without Mommy! I hate you, Daddy! I want Mommy!”

Alex felt Luna stiffen and stop purring, but she was otherwise still. He tried to politely ignore the conniption going on next to him, but he had a difficult time hearing — let alone concentrating on — what the Bishop was saying. The organist began the chords of “Reverently and Meekly Now” and Alex tried to mumble along without a hymnbook.

The poor father appeared to be on the verge of tears himself, trying to soothe the child in a loud whisper whenever she stopped long enough to gulp some air. He clearly wasn’t keen to be overheard by Alex, but had to speak up to be heard over his child. “We talked about this, Honey. I told you it would be different.”

“But she always p’ays de o’gan! Why dat old lady was p’aying Mommy’s o’gan?”

“Sweetie, Mommy can’t come back here, remember? We talked about this. Callie, stop. It’s not Mommy’s organ. Sister Lunt is playing it because Mommy’s gone. Not just at home. Mommy’s not… Mommy’s gone.” He seemed to choke back a sob on the last words. But his child was inconsolable. Her words became incoherent and she only wept and thrashed about all the more, trying to break free. Her father was clearly on the brink of giving up.

Suddenly, Alex heard himself speaking in a loud whisper, “Would you like to meet my cat?”

Silence fell as heavily as a thick blanket, snuffing out both the last note of the organ and the cries of the miserable child in the same moment. She stared at Alex, then turned to look up at her father, desperate hopefulness in her eyes.

“Kitty?”

Alex hoped his face didn’t look as hot as his collar felt. He had no idea why he had said it, but he couldn’t retract the offer now. The girl’s father was giving him a wary, appraising look. As he was considering, and as Callie began to squirm once more, the voice of a young man came over the speaker, beginning the words of a prayer.

The father looked down into the hopeful face and asked, “Sweetie, can we be very reverent for the Sacrament first?” She looked inclined to argue but he continued, “Remember how special it is, Callie? Let’s think about Jesus during the Sacrament and after that we’ll…we’ll meet the kitty, ok?” Her lip quivered, but her father pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Please?”

“Ok, Daddy,” she finally mumbled into his shirt.

A few moments later, the door opened and a young man offered each of them the broken bread. He stepped out and the tense stillness in the room began to subside into peacefulness. The child’s breathing slowed as her small fingers traced the lines on her father’s tie. He leaned back slightly in his chair and sighed. Even Luna seemed to relax. A few minutes later, another prayer followed and another young man brought sips of water for each of them.

When the door closed behind him, the child looked eagerly into her father’s face. “Now da kitty,?”

“Well…” He shot a questioning glance across the room and Alex answered with a nod and a smile. “Ok, Sweetie. Please be polite.” She nodded vigorously as she slid out of her father’s lap and toddled over to Alex, who was unbuttoning his coat.

“P’ease can I see da kitty?” she asked politely. Alex pulled back his lapel and gently lifted Luna onto his knees. “KITTY!” Callie shrieked, startling Luna into nearly bolting. Alex held on to Luna firmly with one hand while putting the other to his lips.

“Shhh. Let’s not scare her ok? She prefers it when we’re quiet and gentle.”

“Can I…can I pet it? P’EASE?” Callie gasped in a loud whisper, bouncing on her toes. Alex looked over at her father, who was staring wide-eyed at Luna. Who knows what he had expected — a picture, a tie pin…certainly not a real cat.

Alex asked him, ”Is it ok with you? Your daughter’s not allergic or anything?”

He shook his head a fraction before answering, “No. I mean, she’s not. Yes, it’s ok. Does it…like kids?”

Alex smiled, then turned back to Callie as he answered slowly, “This is Luna. She loves everyone who is quiet and gentle. She would love for you to pet her.”

Callie put out a shaky hand and softly patted the delicate fur ruff around Luna’s shoulders. “Hi, Yuna.”

Alex joined in, stroking Luna’s back until her lithe body relaxed, stretching across his legs. Callie copied his movements, petting Luna from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. Callie’s father pulled a chair over so she could sit right next to the purring cat.

A familiar voice sounded over the speaker. Alex looked up to see Janeen at the podium, beginning her talk. Although she had read it to Alex last night for practice, he felt that he was hearing it all for the first time.

“We are all unique and precious in the sight of our God. He knows us, and He knows our needs. He will never leave us comfortless.”

“P’ease,” said a small voice next to him, rousing him from his absorption in his wife’s message, “P’ease, can I sit by Yuna a’ways at church?”

Alex glanced at Callie’s father, who looked just as nonplussed by the question as Alex felt. “Well,” he began, “You’ve probably noticed that cats don’t usually come to church, right?” Callie looked up at him with large, serious eyes. “Luna doesn’t come to church, either. Today is just a special occasion.”

“What special ‘casion?” Callie asked.

“Do you see that lady speaking up there?” Alex pointed to the podium in the chapel.

Callie craned her neck in that direction for a moment, then turned and climbed up on her chair to see better through the high window. “Yeah?” she asked as she climbed back down.

“That’s my wife, Janeen. Luna wanted to visit church today to see Janeen give her talk, but she’s just visiting today — a special occasion.” Callie slumped in disappointment. “But,” Alex continued, then paused to look at her father, who was watching Callie with a small smile on his face; a little sad, but full of love. “But if your dad doesn’t mind bringing you, Janeen and I would love to have you come visit Luna sometimes at our house.”

“YEAH!?” Callie lit up again, then — because Luna had flinched at the sudden sound — put her fingers to her lips as if to shush herself. She climbed slowly off her chair and tiptoed over to her father, tugged on his sleeve, and asked, “Daddy, I can visit Yuna at her house? The man said Jan…that Jeen yikes it. P’ease?”

“Of course you can, Sweetheart,” her father said, giving her a quick hug. She pantomimed cheering, punctuated with a silent “Yay!” before hurrying back to her chair next to Luna. She reached out to pet Luna’s neck and the cat turned her head and stretched out to rub her nose and cheek against the outstretched fingers. Callie sighed with delight.

As Janeen sat down and the next speaker began, Alex glanced again at the exhausted young father. He was leaning forward now, with his arms on his knees, examining his clasped hands, a watery sheen just visible in his eye.

Alex had tried not to speculate on the words he had overheard, but it was impossible to miss the fact that the child’s mother had died. Only now it hit Alex that this man had also lost his wife. How would he, himself, feel if he lost his beautiful Janeen? Even without a child to comfort and care for? These humbling thoughts occupied his mind as he and Callie continued quietly petting Luna through the rest of the meeting.

Their small tableau remained unchanged through the final talk, the closing song, and prayer. As the crowd in the chapel began to disperse, Alex was startled by the click and creak of the door opening. He, Callie, and her father turned to see a middle-aged woman lean into the room, smiling brightly.

“Ben! My husband said he thought he saw you come in. It’s wonderful to see you back.” Ben nodded gratefully as she turned in Alex’s direction. “And Callie — OH!” Her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she saw the furry visitor on Alex’s knees. Luckily, she didn’t glare.

“I was…well, I was just wondering if Callie wanted to walk with me to Primary,” she asked hesitantly.

To everyone’s surprise, Callie stood immediately and brightly said, “Ok!” She crossed the room and took the woman’s outstretched hand. As they walked away, Alex heard Callie reporting, “I met Yuna. She’s a cat and she yikes me.”

As the door closed behind them, the two men stood. Callie’s father stretched and rubbed his eyes. Alex tucked Luna back into his inside coat pocket and said, “Well, I’d better get this little lady home.” He reached out a hand and added, “I’m Alex, by the way. Alex Harris. My wife and I — and Luna — are new here.”

“Ben Saunders,” the man replied as he shook Alex’s hand. “Thank you. I’m so glad you came today.”