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Mercy regarded Shirley suspiciously, her ar to the schoolyard, didn&039;t you?" She pointed at the ani on his outstretched paws as he slept
Shirley sat on the swing at the farthest reaches of the yard and shook her head adamantly "I most certainly did not I don&039;t have a clue where that dog ca into Carter&039;s life, it wouldn&039;t be that y mutt"
Mercy didn&039;t believe her "I, for one, find itshould show up in the schoolyard today" And besides, she knew Shirley loved animals - despite the scornful way she&039;d spoken about this dog
"I agree with Mercy" Goodness ca in an identical te atThat decision&039;s already been made You both know I can&039;t interfere with the chain of coh as it is, but he&039;s said in no uncertain ter Why would I complicate matters?"
"Why would she?" Goodness turned to Mercy
"I don&039;t know, but like I said, I find this entire situation a little too convenient"
Shirley stepped free of the swing and brushed the snow fro of convenient, I think it&039;s very interesting that Beth and Peter appear to be so well-matched"
Goodness raised both ar to do with that They ht," Mercy confir into Lucy Menard, I&039;ve explained that"
A wistful expression ca works out for Beth and Peter"
"Why shouldn&039;t it?" Shirley asked
"They&039;re both so stubborn - and so scared What they need is a good shove in the right direction"
"Goodness!" Shirley&039;s expression was scandalized "Don&039;t even think like that Our job is to teach these humans a lesson They have to make their own decisions, find their oay"
"Find their oay?" Mercy didn&039;t mean to sound sarcastic, but she couldn&039;t help it The evidence was overwhel; humans were a pathetic bunch "May I remind you that humans wandered in the desert for forty years on a trip that should&039;ve taken three months, tops?"
"Joshua had theate to the city," Goodness added, shaking her head
Shirley frowned "You both know there were very good reasons for those incidents"
"True, but you have to admit humans don&039;t exactly have an iruntled look, Shirley was forced to admit the truth
"Humans need help," Mercy reiterated
"Our help"
Still Shirley didn&039;t seem convinced "But Gabriel - "
"Will never find out," Mercy assured her "We won&039;t be blatant about it - just a nudge or there it&039;s warranted If Gabriel&039;s going to place us under earthly time constraints, we need to be inventive"
"Inventive," Goodness echoed "How do you , it&039;s obvious that you&039;ll have to step in with Beth and Peter"
"I will?"
"Yes" Mercy didn&039;t understand why she had to clarify everything for her fellow Prayer Ambassadors "Didn&039;t you tell me they still haven&039;t set a time to meet?"
"Well, yes"
"And the reason is?"
Goodness shifted uncomfortably "Well, like I said, they&039;re afraid"
"Afraid of what?" Mercy asked "Do you supposedisillusioned?"
"They could be," Goodness said "And I agree - they need help The last ti so well between her and Peter, and then he closed down for no apparent reason"
"Is there anything you can do about it?"
"IYes, of course there is" Her eyes darted from side to side "Unfortunately, I can&039;t think what it would be at this precise moment, but it&039;ll couardian angel
"Reporting for duty" She stood ether Mercy wondered if Shirley wasfun of her
"How do you plan to help Carter?" she asked
Shirley&039;s shoulders sagged with defeat "I&039;ll &039;s nowhere to be seen when he arrives for school to for Carter?" Mercy asked, her own heart aching for the little boy
Reluctantly Shirley nodded "His father said he couldn&039;t have a dog, no matter what I don&039;t have any choice"
All three considered this unfortunate set of circumstances
"Maybe I could steer Carter&039;s father toward a better-paying job," Shirley suggested
"That&039;s an idea"