Hearing Mike's suggestion, Mary's eyes lit up, and she had an idea.
By dinner time, Mary's plan had already taken preliminary shape.
After the pre-meal prayer, she solemnly began, "I've already made plans for this year's church Halloween event. Combining Mike's ideas, I plan to set up two exhibition halls. One is 'The House of the Possessed,' highlighting 'evil,' and the other is the 'House of Angels,' promoting goodness..."
After Mary's explanation, everyone realized that she had simply changed the name of the 'House of Hell' from previous years to 'The House of the Possessed,' while the content remained largely unchanged.
And the 'House of Angels' was merely a variation of the 'House of Heaven' that Mike had previously suggested.
In retrospect, Mary had simply reiterated Mike's earlier proposal.
"What do you all think of my new plan?" Mary asked, looking expectantly at everyone after presenting her proposal.
However, after hearing Mary's plan, everyone's expressions were strange, and their eyes "secretly" darted towards Mike.
It was clear that everyone realized this was not a "new" plan from Mary.
She had completely "stolen" Mike's idea.
Seeing the atmosphere at the dinner table gradually become awkward, George said against his will, "It's a very good plan, Mary."
It was evident that George was still very considerate of his wife's feelings.
However, the straightforward Sheldon couldn't quite stand his father's behavior. He immediately asked, "How is it good?"
"Uh..." George, who had only intended to smooth things over for his wife, was momentarily stumped by his youngest son's question.
Across the table, Connie, seeing George's discomfited look, couldn't help but laugh impolitely.
This completely made the atmosphere awkward.
Georgie, having been teased, glared discontentedly at his youngest son.
"I understand." Sheldon, who had been glared at, said knowingly, "She's good, you're good, everyone's good"
Clearly, the intelligent Sheldon was "satirizing" his father's unconditional support for his wife.
Mary, too, was a bit embarrassed by her youngest son's actions. After a moment, she bit the bullet and said, "Alright, now I want to hear your good suggestions for these two exhibition halls."
"I think Mr. Lundy is very suitable to be in charge of 'The House of the Possessed.' The performance of 'Annie' last time was very 'terrifying'..." Sheldon immediately suggested.
Evidently, Sheldon had also seen Mr. Lundy's leg-hair performance from the best viewing area backstage last time.
And 'The House of the Possessed' can be considered a variation of the 'House of Hell,' where the most needed element is horror.
Mr. Lundy could be said to have earned this opportunity with a "professional" Performance.
Here, reminded by her youngest son, Mary also recalled the viewing experience of the last play and couldn't help but show a look of distaste.
"No, Mr. Lundy is not a good choice; he will ruin the church's event," Mary immediately said, resisting.
It was clear that Mary took the church's Halloween event very seriously, and she did not want Mr. Lundy's crude performance to appear in her planned activities.
"Why not? Doesn't religion rely on 'intimidation' and 'punishment' to gather faith?" Sheldon retorted.
As mentioned before, Sheldon had once attempted to establish the Church of Mathology, although it ultimately failed.
However, that experience also led him to conduct in-depth research into religion.
He discovered that the greater the demand for religion, the more people needed it during times of disaster. It could be said that religion fulfilled people's spiritual sustenance.
And to give followers strong cohesion, some means of intimidation or punishment are needed.
For example, rumors like 'a certain believer committed a sin and will go to the eighteenth level of hell' can effectively regulate the behavior of believers.
Hearing her youngest son's words, Mary strongly disagreed and retorted, "Christianity is different from other religions; its core is 'God loves the world.' Therefore, God does not use 'intimidation' and 'punishment' to gather faith."
As a devout believer, Mary firmly believed that God was the embodiment of "goodness."
"Is that so?" Sheldon clearly had a different understanding, and he casually asked, "If a Christian commits an unforgivable grave sin, how will God treat him?"
"Of course, He will send him to hell to endure the burning flames..." Mary realized what she had said only after speaking.
Clearly, 'God loves the world,' but He also has a thunderous side.
After a long silence, Mary finally realized that perhaps entrusting the preparation of 'The House of the Possessed' to Mr. Lundy was a good choice.
After all, his performance was indeed "scary" enough.
"Alright, regarding 'The House of the Possessed,' I will discuss it with Mr. Lundy," Mary said, accepting her youngest son's suggestion after some thought.
Then, she continued, "Next, let's talk about the 'House of Angels.' I already have a good plan here..."
Next, Mary revealed her plan: she intended for the whole family to dress up as angels and stay in the 'House of Angels' activity hall to guide lost souls.
"Sorry, I have an appointment that day," Connie said with a smile, "John reportedly prepared a surprise for me."
For the past few weeks, Connie and Dr. Sturgis had been hitting it off, and they were increasingly feeling like a couple.
Seeing her mother's happy expression, Mary did not object to her withdrawal.
"I also have plans; I'm meeting Tam to go trick-or-treating," Sheldon said, raising his hand.
Trick or treat!
This was the most popular activity for children in America on Halloween.
Rarely seeing her youngest son's lively side, Mary smiled and did not object to his withdrawal.
"I also have an appointment that day," Georgie then said.
In fact, Georgie had no appointment and no activities planned. He just felt that the church's Halloween event would be boring, so he really didn't want to participate.
And Mary, for her part, didn't have high expectations for her eldest son dressing up as an angel. So, she also tacitly approved his withdrawal.
"Mary, I don't think I'm suitable to dress up as an angel, so..." George patted his beer belly, very self-aware.
Since losing his job as a football coach, George had been drinking beer more and more frequently.
Without body management, his beer belly had visibly grown a large circle. And due to stress, his gray hairs were becoming more prominent.
This made his overall state look very poor.
Mary looked at her husband twice and then agreed, "You really aren't very suitable to play an angel... How about you act as the angel's guard at the entrance?"
Hearing his wife's arrangement, George nodded and said with a smile, "Alright, I will protect my angel well."
Seeing her husband's almost confessional gesture, Mary also smiled knowingly.
Then, she looked at Mike, who had been silent, and asked, "Mike, you should be able to come and help that day, right?"
In fact, Mary was very unsure about the 'House of Angels' plan. So, she really needed an eye-catching "selling" point.
And the handsome Mike met this requirement perfectly.
At least with him there, it would definitely attract the attention of the girls.