Hearing Mike's suggestion, Mary's eyes lit up. She had an idea.
By the time dinner rolled around, the plan in Mary's mind had taken shape.
After they finished saying grace, she spoke up with a solemn tone. "I've decided on the plan for the church's Halloween event. Incorporating some of Mike's thoughts, I intend to set up two exhibition halls. One will highlight 'Evil,' which we'll call the House of Horrors, and the other will promote 'Good,' called the House of Angels..."
As Mary explained, everyone realized she had simply changed the name of the usual Hell House to House of Horrors without actually changing the content.
As for the House of Angels, it was just a variation of the Heaven House concept Mike had proposed earlier.
Basically, Mary was just restating Mike's previous suggestions as her own.
"So, what do you think of my new plan?" Mary asked, looking expectantly at everyone around the table.
However, after hearing her out, everyone wore strange expressions, their eyes darting "secretly" toward Mike.
It was obvious to everyone that this wasn't exactly a "new" plan. She had completely swiped Mike's idea.
Seeing the atmosphere at the table growing awkward, George lied through his teeth. "It's a great plan, Mary."
You could tell George was trying hard to spare his wife's feelings.
But little Sheldon, straight-laced as ever, couldn't stand his father's dishonesty. He immediately asked, "In what way is it great?"
"Uh..." George, who had just wanted to smooth things over for his wife, was stumped by his son's direct question.
Across the table, Meemaw saw George floundering and couldn't hold back; she let out a rude, audible chuckle.
That pretty much cemented the awkwardness in the room.
George, feeling mocked, shot a disgruntled glare at his youngest son.
"I get it," Sheldon said with a look of realization after catching the glare. "Happy wife, happy life."
Clearly, the clever boy was being sarcastic about his dad's unconditional surrender to his mother.
Mary, feeling a bit embarrassed by her son's comment, cleared her throat and pushed on. "Alright, moving on. I'd like to hear if you have any good suggestions for these two exhibits."
"I think Mr. Lundy would be perfect for the House of Horrors," Sheldon suggested immediately. "His performance in the stage play Annie was truly... terrifying."
Evidently, Sheldon was recalling the view from the "best seat in the house" backstagewhere he'd gotten an eyeful of Mr. Lundy's hairy legs.
Since the House of Horrors was essentially a variation of a Hell House, the main requirement was the scare factor. In that regard, Mr. Lundy's "dedicated" performance had earned him a nomination.
Reminded of that particular play, Mary recalled her own viewing experience and couldn't help but look disgusted.
"No, Lundy is a terrible choice. He'll ruin the church event," Mary said, instantly rejecting the idea.
Mary took the church's Halloween event very seriously, and she didn't want Lundy's vulgar acting style anywhere near her planned activities.
"Why not? Doesn't religion rely on 'fear' and 'punishment' to gather followers?" Sheldon asked.
It's worth noting that Sheldon had once tried to establish a "Church of Math," though it hadn't succeeded. However, that experience had led him to research religion deeply.
He found that the more disastrous the times, the greater the human need for religion. You could say religion satisfied a spiritual dependency. And to keep believers loyal, you needed certain intimidation tactics—or punishment mechanisms.
For example, rumors like "sinners will descend to the eighteenth level of hell" were very effective at regulating behavior.
Hearing her son's words, Mary retorted, "Christianity is different from other... cults. The core message is that 'God loves the world.' So, God does not use 'fear' or 'punishment' to gather faith."
As a devout believer, Mary firmly believed that God was the embodiment of all things good.
"Is that so?" Sheldon clearly had a different understanding. He asked casually, "If a Christian commits an unforgivable sin, how does God treat him?"
"He is sent to Hell, of course, to suffer in eternal fire..." Mary stopped mid-sentence, realizing what she was saying.
Obviously, God loves the world, but He also has a thunderous side.
After a long silence, Mary finally realized that maybe handing the House of Horrors prep over to Mr. Lundy wasn't such a bad idea. After all, his acting was genuinely "scary."
"Fine. I'll talk to Mr. Lundy about the House of Horrors," Mary said, accepting her son's suggestion after some thought.
She continued, "Now, let's talk about the House of Angels. I have a nice plan for this..."
Mary laid out her vision: she wanted the whole family to dress up as angels and stay in the House of Angels activity hall to guide lost souls.
"Sorry, I have a date that day," Meemaw said with a smile. "John says he has a surprise for me."
For the past few weeks, Meemaw and Professor Sturgis had been getting along famously; they were feeling more and more like a real couple.
Seeing the happy expression on her mother's face, Mary didn't try to stop her from opting out.
"I have a plan, too. I'm meeting Dan to go door-to-door for candy," Sheldon said, raising his hand.
Trick or Treat!
It was the hottest activity for American kids on Halloween. Rarely seeing her youngest son show such a lively, normal side, Mary smiled and didn't stop him either.
"I'm meeting someone that day, too," Georgie chimed in.
In reality, Georgie wasn't meeting anyone and had no plans. He just thought the church Halloween event would be lame and wanted no part of it.
Mary didn't have high hopes for her eldest son dressing up as an angel anyway, so she tacitly accepted his withdrawal.
"Mary, I don't think I'm suited to dress up as an angel, so..." George patted his beer belly, showing a rare moment of self-awareness.
Ever since losing his job as the football coach, George had been drinking beer more frequently. With no physical training, his gut had grown visibly larger. Plus, due to stress, his gray hairs were becoming more prominent.
He just wasn't looking his best.
Mary looked at her husband for a moment, then agreed. "You really aren't suited to play an angel... How about you stand at the door and act as the Angel's Guard?"
Hearing his wife's arrangement, George nodded and smiled. "Alright. I will guard my angel well."
Seeing her husband's borderline romantic gesture, Mary smiled knowingly.
Then, she turned to Mike, who had been silent the whole time. "Mike, you should be able to come help that day, right?"
Truth be told, Mary wasn't entirely confident about the House of Angels plan. She needed a "selling point" to grab people's attention.
And the handsome Mike fit that requirement perfectly.
At the very least, having him there would definitely attract the attention of the young ladies.