Follow Me to Little Jesus: Part 1

Leo checked the license plates of every car that passed them on the highway.

He’d seen Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Nebraska.

“Dad, there goes Alaska!” Leo cried out. “I’ve never seen an Alaska plate before!”

“That’s pretty cool, Son. They’re probably in the Coast Guard here.”

“I think that makes seven, right, Mom? Did you get them all down?”

“I did, Leo, and that makes eight,” his mother corrected.

Leo bit his lip and sat back in his seat, trying to recall the state he had forgotten.

“Oh, right! South Carolina. The Palmetto State. I can never remember that one.” Leo hit his head with his hand.

“Just remember the palm trees outside the church we attended when we visited Myrtle Beach last year,” his father reminded him. “And we talked about the palms on Palm Sunday.”

“Oh, right,” Leo said, looking out the window, watching for a new plate. Suddenly, he sat up.

“DAD!” he shouted. “Dad, you have to follow that car! That little gray car!”

“Leo, what are you talking about?” His mother turned slightly from the front seat to face him. “Your father can’t just chase after cars.”

“No … please …” Leo begged. “It had a bumper sticker I’ve never seen. It said, ‘Follow me to Little Jesus.’ We have to follow that car to see what the rest of the bumper sticker says. We have to find out where the Little Jesus is!”

Leo’s parents, Ross and Maeve, looked at each other and shrugged. Sunday was family day. After church and breakfast, they usually went on some kind of outing — to a fair, ballgame, or historical site. Today was their drive to nowhere, to see what they could see and go where they could go. They had stopped at a couple of car dealerships to look at used cars. They were a one-car family, and their hatchback, nearing 180,000 miles, was also beginning to limit their family outings. Today’s journey began to push it. Other than that, they had no plans. Why not find the Little Jesus?

“Maybe it’s a shrine,” Ross said. “I wouldn’t mind visiting it.”

“Well, I’ve never heard of it,” Maeve said, some resentment in her voice.

Leo thrust his arm between the two front car seats. 

“There’s the car! It’s the only car on the road older than ours!” His mother said nothing but glanced side-eyed at him. His father pressed the accelerator a bit harder.

“Ross, I don’t think you should force the car to go that fast,” his wife cautioned. Within seconds, they were close enough to read the bumper sticker:

Follow me to Little Jesus

The most divine pie café and gift shop on earth

Rt 12 & 4th St., Heavens Gate

“What? It’s a pie café?” his mother said in disbelief. “Is that blasphemous?”

“I don’t know,” Ross laughed. “I didn’t think Heavens Gate was a real town. I just thought it was a section some people really liked. It’s in the middle of nowhere.”

“Yeah, nobody wants to go there. But we are approaching the exit,” Maeve said, checking the directions on her phone. “Isn’t that a coincidence?” She was becoming impatient. But Leo leaned forward anxiously, waiting for his parents’ final decision.

“I could go for a slice of cherry pie,” his father said. “What harm is there in checking it out?”

“Okay,” his mother sighed, looking out the passenger side window. “What else have we got to do?”

“Oh, thank you!” Leo cried out.

Next Month:  Maeve remains skeptical as she, Ross, and Leo meet the family of the visionary behind Little Jesus.

© 2026 Mary McWilliams

Edited by Paula V Babadi

AI Image created in Adobe Firefly