Providence (24 page)

“It’s perfect,” she said.

“Can you hold it a minute longer, Becky, while I get this tightened?”

“Yes,” I said, but as I was saying it I turned to face the tree and got a branch in my face. “Ouch,” I said, pulling back from the tree.

The tree started falling forward, and John and I both grabbed it before it got completely away from us. “Sorry,” I said.

It was unlikely John heard my apology, because Rosie was having herself a good old belly laugh and Baby Girl was joining in. “I’m sorry,” Rosie said. “I’m not laughing at you. It’s that you two remind me of my second husband and me, and our first Christmas together. Only we didn’t catch the tree. It went right through the front window. We had to return the gifts we bought each other to pay to replace the glass. It was a wonderful Christmas, though. It was so long ago.”

Rosie sat quietly for a few minutes. When John climbed out from under the tree, she said, “Yes, it’s perfect. I’m a lucky woman.” She kissed Baby Girl’s nose. “How about some decorations?” she asked.

John and I climbed into the attic and searched for the boxes. When we came back with everything, Rosie looked like she had gotten her second wind. She sat up in her chair and directed us to the right spot for each decoration. When we hung the last shiny ball on the tree, I stepped back to look. “Once again, you’re right, Rosie. This tree is perfect.”

Rosie said, “I don’t think I’ve ever had such a beautiful tree.”

“We still haven’t tried the lights,” John said. “Rosie, do you want to do the honors?”

I took Baby Girl, and John helped Rosie out of the chair. “I plugged everything into here,” he said, handing her a switch. “One click and your tree will be lit.”

Rosie looked at the switch in her hand. “You’re not trying to fry me, are you?” she said. “You’re not in my will, you know.”

“Rosie!” I said. John just laughed. Rosie clicked the switch, and the tree sparkled with a spider web of colored lights. I looked at the naked bottom of the tree.

“Our things are still in your truck,” I said. “Can I go get them?”

“Becky, you’re not trying to chase away our company, are you? We haven’t had any of the Christmas cookies yet.”

“No, of course not,” I said. “I made a skirt for the tree, and it’s in my bag in the truck.”

Rosie returned to her chair and put her arms out for Georgia. John and I went to the truck to fetch my things. When we came back in, I pulled the skirt from my bag and crawled under the tree. I stood up and stepped back.

“Now it’s perfect,” Rosie said.

I shook my head. “Not yet,” I said. I dug back into my bag and pulled out a tiny package. “For you,” I said, handing the package to Rosie. I picked Georgia up, freeing Rosie’s hands for unwrapping.

“It’s not even Christmas yet,” she said. “I should wait to open it.”

“This is a pre-Christmas gift,” I said. “I want you to open it now.”

Rosie removed the colored tissue paper. At first, she stared at the snowflake ornament in her hand. Then she passed a finger across the surface of the beads I had added to my stitches. Finally she pressed the ornament against her chest and spoke. “Becky,” she said. “This is the most precious gift any human has ever given me. Thank you.”

She popped up out of her chair without any help. “I want to find the perfect place on the tree for this,” she said. “I want it right in sight when I’m sitting in my chair.”

John tried to leave after the tree decorating was officially finished, but Rosie wouldn’t hear of it. She insisted he stay for cookies and tea. After I brought out the tray, I excused myself. I’d gotten a peek at the kitchen clock and knew that no matter how late a nap Baby Girl had taken, it was time for her to go to bed. It took some time to soothe her to sleep, so by the time I was ready to join Rosie and John, teatime was over.

I stopped and looked myself over in the mirror before returning to the front parlor. I grabbed my hairbrush and quickly pulled it through my hair a few times before giving up and pulling my hair back with a ribbon. I had never worn makeup—Mama and Daddy wouldn’t allow it—but I was wishing I had a little something to put on my face at that moment. From my bedroom, I heard John wishing Rosie a good night. “The shutters on this side look a little loose,” he said. “I’ll come by tomorrow to fix them.”

“You sure you don’t want to wait and say good night to Becky?” Rosie asked. “I’m sure she will be right out.”

“I don’t want to overstay my welcome here,” John said. “Are you sure you can put up with me for a few more minutes?”

I hightailed it out of the bedroom before Rosie could answer. I walked out to the porch with him. “Thank you again,” I said. “I couldn’t have done this for her on my own.”

John tilted his head. “You worry too much,” he said. “Rosie’s done a lot for me. She stopped me from getting into some real trouble a few years back. I’m happy to be able to help her in any way. She is not a burden at all, and in case you haven’t noticed, I like spending time with you.”

Then he bent down and kissed me. It was a soft, gentle kiss on the lips, and it caused all thoughts to leave my mind. John rubbed my arms and said, “It’s too cold to be out here without your coat. This is the coldest winter for as long as I can remember. You better get inside.”

I nodded my head, but I wasn’t feeling a bit of cold. I watched John walk down the porch steps. As he drove away, I started to regain my senses. I thought about how shocked John would be to learn his had been my first real kiss.

I went back into the living room. Rosie wanted to sit in her chair and admire the tree a little more before bedtime. I went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. I stood in front of the sink, working and thinking. I wondered what kind of trouble John had been skirting with when he was younger. Realizing I was doing exactly what I wished other folks wouldn’t do to me, I gave myself a good mental scolding.
Girl, don’t you go poking your nose in his business. If you want to keep your secrets, then you have to let him have his
.

I pushed John out of my mind and concentrated on Rosie. She was moving a lot slower these days, but her spirit tonight was as bright as the day I met her. Her granddaughter had never returned my call, and at that moment I was feeling foolish for making the call in the first place. For all I knew, Rosie may have been taking those pills forever. If she was sick, she would tell me. Mama always said I was the kind of girl who saw a tornado in every breeze.

CHAPTER 27

The next morning, I walked down Main Street like I had sacks of wet sheets tied to my ankles. My special order stitching was keeping me up later and later. On top of that, tree shopping must have been more excitement than Baby Girl could handle, because she’d been awake for more than half of the night. That, of course, meant I had been up more than half the night. I was starting to appreciate Mama’s need for me to tend to the little ones so much.

I decided my first chore of the day would best be completed on my backside. I sat down and called customers to let them know their items were ready for pickup. Then I tried my best to concentrate on sorting some bills that needed Rosie’s attention. Instead, I found myself clock-watching and hoping Jeanie would arrive soon.

Ten minutes before opening time, Jeanie arrived with the energy of a jackrabbit in spring. She placed two bottles of cola on the counter. “I don’t know if you drink regular or diet, so I brought one of each,” Jeanie said.

“Which do you like?” I asked.

“Depends on the day,” she answered. “If I’m really dragging, I go for the regular. If you don’t mind my saying so, you look like you should go for the sugar today.”

We sipped our colas as we worked. Jeanie was right about it giving me an energy boost. My walk home for lunch took half the time the trip into town had taken in the morning.

We had been so busy with the tree the night before that I’d never shown Rosie the christening pictures Jeanie had taken. I decided to show them to her at lunch, knowing they would brighten up her day. Thinking of the smile they would put on her face made me move even quicker.

John was on the front porch, hammering away at the shutters. “I heard you came home around this time every day,” John said.

I smiled. It was nice, thinking he had timed his chores to fit my schedule. “What else has Rosie been telling you?”

“Nothing today. I haven’t seen Rosie this morning,” John answered.

My spine stiffened. “You’ve been out here pounding away on those shutters and Rosie hasn’t come out to check on you?” I asked.

I pulled Baby Girl from her stroller and hurried toward the door. John was at my heels when I stepped inside and heard the needle from her old hi-fi hitting the inside rim of a record. The
tap
,
tap
,
tap
of the needle against the vinyl echoed in my ears. I stepped toward the parlor. The first thing I saw was Rosie’s favorite pink and green china cup lying on the tea-stained carpet.

It seemed like I was staring at that cup forever, afraid to look up into the chair, afraid to move. John whispered, “Stay here.”

I forced myself to look up. Rosie’s white snowcap of hair rested half on the chair and half in mid-air. Her hand hung open over the arm of the chair. I watched John kneel in front of Rosie’s chair. He reached out and felt her wrist, and then her neck. “I’m going to call the doctor. You need to sit down.”

I stood there while John made some phone calls. I didn’t cry. I didn’t speak. I didn’t listen. I kept thinking I should be doing something, but my body didn’t move. I held on to Baby Girl as tight as I could and stared at Rosie. I was shaking so hard, I was afraid I would drop Georgia. John came back to us and took Baby Girl from my arms. He put his other arm around me and said, “You need to sit down.”

I was still sitting when the others arrived. First through the door was Doc Richards. The reverend wasn’t more than a few steps behind him. The sight of the reverend got me moving. I put Baby Girl in her crib and hurried into the parlor. The doctor was putting away his stethoscope, and taking out a bottle of medicine and a needle. Rosie’s eyelids were fluttering, but she wasn’t putting up an argument. I was so glad to see her even half-awake that I forgot my fears and knelt on the floor close to her chair. I balanced there, petting her hand like it was a newborn chick. I kept hoping to hear her say that everything was going to be all right.

“You’re doing fine, Rosie,” Doc Richards said in a half whisper. “We’re going to move you to your bed now. The shot I gave you is going to make you a little drowsy; let it do its job, and take a good long nap.”

I watched as they lifted Rosie from her chair and carried her into her room. Baby Girl had done as much waiting as she was able. She was demanding attention, so I hurried to her before she woke Rosie. Doc Richards was waiting for me when I came out with Georgia perched on my hip. “She is a real fighter, but not even Rosie can have complete control over her body. Her heart is weak, so spells like this one can come at any time. She’s lucky you came home when you did, but we need to make some other arrangements for her. She needs to have someone around her all of the time. Can you stay here with her until we can make other arrangements?”

I nodded and stared at Rosie’s door.

“She needs her rest now, but I left the door open a crack so you can hear her if she wants anything.”

I followed the doctor into the kitchen. He sat down and wrote a list of instructions. He sat there tapping his pen against the tabletop for a few minutes before handing me the paper. After I looked over the list he asked, “Can you read it? Do you have any questions?”

His words took me back some. “I can read,” I said.

“Of course you can,” Doc Richards said. “I was referring to my penmanship, not your reading ability.” He patted my arm.

I walked the doctor to the front door. John and the reverend met us there, and the three men walked out together. Baby Girl and I watched from the window as the men stopped on the walk. They had their heads together like hens gathered around feed. I wished I could hear the words coming out of those bobbing heads.

I brought Baby Girl into the kitchen and parked her in her highchair while I fixed her lunch. After I fed and changed her, I tucked her into her crib for her nap. “I’m sure you will have a better nap here than you have in your carriage at the store,” I said as I bent over to kiss her.

As I closed our bedroom door behind me, I remembered Jeanie. I picked up the kitchen phone and called the store. I explained what happened and was surprised to hear my voice filling with tears all over again. “Close the store and go home to Chloe,” I said, and told her where we hid the extra front door key.

“Do you need anything? How can I help? Do you want me to open tomorrow?” she asked.

“No,” I answered. “Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve. We don’t need to open, and I think we have everything we need for now. Doc Richards is sending some new medicine over for Rosie.”

“You call me if you need anything—food, diapers, company—anything you need,” Jeanie said.

When I hung up the phone, I commenced with my pacing. Up and down the hall I walked, worried that if I was more than a few feet away from Rosie’s bed, I wouldn’t hear her call me. Lucky thing our room was right across the hall. That way my pacing took care of two problems at once. I knew I would hear Rosie, and I would hear Baby Girl before her fussing filled the house.