Providence (26 page)

Lily stopped talking, and I understood that I was supposed to do as I was told and encourage Rosie to move into Lily’s house. I admit my selfish feelings were keeping those words from rolling off my tongue. What would happen to Baby Girl and me? Where would we live? Could I still work at the store? I did a quick accounting of how much money I had saved over the past months. I had been able to sock away more after I finished paying off the barn. Still, it wouldn’t last long if my job came to an end.

“Becky,” Lily said. There was a real sharpness to her voice.

“Of course you should go live with Lily,” I said. “She will be able to take much better care of you than I can. How long will she need to stay there?” I asked Doc.

Lily answered me instead of Doc. “We are talking about a permanent move,” she said. “It is time for Rosie to retire and enjoy being pampered for a change. Why, once she is back on her feet, we may even do a little traveling.”

“Will you still be wanting me to work at the store?” I asked.

Rosie looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Like Lily said, you should be thinking about college. Between school and Georgia, there will be no time for the store. I’m afraid we will have to close it.” Rosie took a deep breath and smiled. “I don’t know what everyone in this town will do without those creations of yours, though.”

I nodded my head, wishing for the right words. I stared into my soup for a while before asking, “Would it be all right if Georgia and I stayed here for a couple of days more? I promise I’ll take care of everything and make sure the house is closed up tight when we leave.”

“Like I told Lily before,” Rosie started. “We are a package deal—where I go, you and Georgia go—so if I move up to Lily’s, so do the two of you. If you want to spend Christmas in our house, then here is where we will be. There is plenty of time for moving. Besides, we don’t want to spend our Christmas Eve trying to pack up all our belongings.”

“As Doc said, there likely is a storm coming, and I can send some people down to pack up your things,” Lily said.

“There are some things people like to do for themselves,” Rosie argued.

“You aren’t strong enough yet to be packing,” Lily answered.

“Maybe not, but I have Becky here, and I would rather have family going through my things than your hired help,” Rosie shot back.

It was clear neither of these ladies was about to back down. I was worrying about what all this arguing was doing to Rosie’s health. “On the other hand, it might be nice having Christmas morning at Lily’s. I can get whatever you need for this week packed up this afternoon, and come back during the week to get whatever else you need,” I offered.

“How are you going to get three people packed up by yourself while you’re limping around like that? I thought you were going to fix her up?” Rosie pointed at Doc.

I had never seen Rosie with a hankering to pick a fight before. “My foot is already feeling much better,” I said.

Doc patted my arm. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day, Rosie. Let’s get you back into bed. Moving can wait a couple of days. Becky, you get together a list of groceries you need for the next couple of days and call your order into Haystack’s Market. I’ll pick it up and drop it by on my way home.”

“We can’t take up your whole day,” I said.

“No one comes to see the doctor on Christmas Eve,” Doc answered. “And you can do me a favor in return. Follow the care instructions I gave you regarding your foot. Rosie will never forgive me if you are not back in perfect shape soon.”

“I will,” I answered.

CHAPTER 29

I settled onto the sofa in the front parlor and rested my foot on a pillow. I had the television set turned low, so as not to wake Rosie or Georgia. I had been thinking about doing just this from the moment our company left. By the time I finished cleaning up, I was worried there would be no time for a rest before everyone else woke up from their naps. My body was feeling very thankful that my head had been worrying about nothing.

I needed a nap, but it wasn’t meant to be. As I rested my eyes, a million worries filled my head. Could Baby Girl and I really move to Lily’s house? Lily wasn’t the kind of woman who left questions unasked or unanswered. Both Lily and Rosie talked about me going to college. I hadn’t told either of them, but I wasn’t going to be taking those high school graduation exams. They had both worked hard to get me ready for the exam, but when I went to fill out the application it said I needed a birth certificate or driver’s license to take the test. I didn’t have a driver’s license, and wasn’t about to go back home looking for my birth certificate. Rosie had done so much for me over the past six months—so much for both Baby Girl and me. I felt guilty just thinking about leaving her when she needed us the most, but then again, would she really need us after she moved to Lily’s home?

The doorbell rang, ending my thinking session. I opened the door and I found John with an armful of Christmas gifts. He looked over the top of the carton and said, “There’s more in my truck.”

He made six trips between his truck and the parlor before saying, “Merry Christmas!”

“Who is all this from?” I asked.

“Just about everybody in town sent something,” John answered. “They wanted to bring their gifts themselves, but Miss Lily would not hear of it. She said Rosie needs her rest more than she needs visitors.” John looked at my foot. “Would you like me to help you unpack all of this and get it under the tree?”

Just then Baby Girl started to cry. I detoured into the bedroom, soothed her tears, and gave her a clean dry bottom. By the time we got to the parlor, John had all of the gifts arranged under the tree. The sight brought me back to the gift drive at school. It was the only place I’d ever seen so many gifts under a tree. I used to love looking at that gift tree at school, until I got old enough to realize that some of those gifts were going to end up in our house. Knowing that made me a little sad to think Mama and Daddy never thought buying us gifts was worth the money. Daddy had plenty of money for the things that were important to him, like tools and whiskey, so I was sure it wasn’t an actual lack of funds that was stopping them.

“Becky, is everything okay?” John asked.

“I’m sorry, I got lost in my thoughts,” I said. “Everything looks beautiful.”

“Becky,” Rosie called from the bedroom. “Who’s out there?”

John walked back to her room and tapped on the door. “It’s John,” he said. “I was on my way out when I heard you calling Becky. Can I help you out of bed?”

John helped Rosie to her chair. “Will you look at that,” Rosie said. “It looks like Santa came a little early this year.”

“A lot of people in this town love you, Rosie,” John said, pulling his coat tighter around him. “I’m heading home for the night. It feels like we might have a white Christmas, but don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”

“I have everything I need right here,” Rosie answered, nodding in my direction. “You go home and enjoy the holiday,” she said to John. “You should make a stop by your brother’s house. You’ll want to get there before he has to get over to the church.”

“Yes, ma’am,” John said. He sounded like a boy who was just sent to clean his room. I didn’t think leaving me was the reason for this turn in his outlook. I was trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together in my head, and once again lost track of what my body was doing, which apparently was staring at John. “My last name is Thompson,” John said.

That’s all it took to start the puzzle pieces tumbling together. I remembered thinking I knew those eyes the first time I talked with the reverend. Now I could see even more of a resemblance.

I walked our guest to the door and wished him a merry Christmas. John reminded me one last time to call him if I needed any help. I settled Baby Girl in her bouncy seat and went back to my room to gather my gifts for her and Rosie. I had hidden them in the back of my closet. I know that makes me sound silly; Rosie was too old to be hunting for a peek at her gifts, and Baby Girl was too young for such activity. Still, it seemed like the Christmassy thing to do, so I had spent some time finding just the right hiding place.

“What is all that?” Rosie asked, as I walked into the parlor with my armload of gifts.

I put the gifts under the tree, or more like near the tree, as everyone else’s gifts prevented me from getting any closer. I bent over and picked up the afghan that had slipped off of Rosie’s legs, and tucked it around her again. “Those are my gifts for you and Georgia,” I said. “There’s something there for Lily, too, to thank her for all of her help with my lessons. I forgot to get it out when she was here earlier.”

“It’s just like you to think of everyone else when you’ve been driving yourself into exhaustion trying to take care of us and the store without any help from me. You shouldn’t have bothered with anything for me. I already have everything I need.”

“It’s not much,” I said. “Just a few things I made.”

Rosie perked up at my words. “Homemade gifts are the best kind,” she said. “Of course, I don’t have your gift for making things. I hope you’ll keep that in mind when you open my gifts. I needed a little help from some mail-order companies. Can you bring them out here for me? I hid them in the back of my bedroom closet.”

I laughed out loud at Rosie’s secret hiding place. “We think alike,” I said. “I hid my gifts in the back of my closet, too.”

Rosie was still chuckling when I returned with her gifts. I had just settled on the couch when Baby Girl started fussing. I picked her up, and discovered she was a little warm. I took a good look at her, and wondered if her droopy eyes and drippy nose meant a cold was brewing inside of her. Doc had just given her a once over while he was here. If anything worse was happening, surely he would have caught it and told me about it, but then again, he never mentioned a cold, either. As selfish as this was, and Christmas is no time to be selfish, I was thinking less about Baby Girl’s discomfort than about how much I needed a good night’s sleep. Or more specifically, how I was never going to get that good night’s sleep if Baby Girl had a cold.

A few minutes later, I was feeling mighty guilty about those selfish thoughts. Baby Girl had sunk into the crook of my arm, her feet resting on my other arm, and was sighing as I stroked her silky red curls. I could almost picture her sprouting angel wings as she lay there, content just to be in my arms. Rosie always seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to Baby Girl. Sensing her current need for calm, Rosie spoke in a whisper. “I hope you’re not too upset about me closing the store. I know you could do it on your own, but a girl your age has more important things to do with her time. You deserve a chance for an education; you have a real future with those talents of yours. I know you’ve been worrying about those tests, but there’s no need for that. I’m sure you will pass all of them with flying colors.”

I guess when it came to feelings, Rosie had a sixth sense about me, too. “I know you want to help me,” I said. “And Lily has been so good about tutoring me so I can do well on the tests. But the truth is I don’t have the money for college anyway, so all those efforts were for nothing.”

“Don’t you be worrying about money,” Rosie said. “I have enough of that, and I can’t imagine a better way to invest it than in your education. I never told you this, but I had a baby when I was your age. My good for nothing first husband up and ran off when my baby girl wasn’t any older than Georgia Rose. I know how hard it is to raise up a child when you’re still one yourself. You’re not alone in this, Becky. Let me help you. Let Lily help you. I know you want to be a good mama to that baby, but you never have a moment without her. I think moving in with Lily will be good for all of us. You won’t need to be tending to me so much, and there will be help with the baby, so you can go to school and study, and not have to worry about Georgia Rose. That little one is going to be mighty proud when you graduate from college.”

We sat in silence for a minute or two. I was staring at Baby Girl’s toes, trying to come up with the right words to say. When I looked up, Rosie was sleeping. I think all that talking just wore her out. I sat there, watching her breathe, until the ammonia smell drifted up from Baby Girl’s diaper. She was overdue for a change. I don’t know how that got away from me, but I got up and took care of the problem right away.

Later, after I had warmed up some leftover soup for our dinner, Rosie suggested we follow an old family tradition of hers. Each of us was to open one gift before retiring for the night. Rosie pointed at a stack and asked, “Who are those from?”

I read the tags and was surprised to see there were gifts for Baby Girl and me, too. “These gifts are from Dottie and Ray.”

Rosie nodded her approval, so I toted the packages over to her. They weren’t the most neatly wrapped gifts I’d ever seen, but they sure were the most colorful. Dottie’s take on the traditional red and green went to the shades of hot pink and glow-in-the-dark green. A giant sparkling silver and gold bow sat in the middle of the colorful stage. I insisted Rosie open hers first. She put up no argument and tore into the paper as soon as I put the gift on her lap. “A tin of homemade muffins! I’m glad I opened this one tonight. Now we can enjoy these for our Christmas breakfast. Open yours.”