An Abundance of Blessings Read online

  “So. Let’s start,” Rosemary said.

  They dipped and rinsed and dried with blow dryers.

  “That looks like fun,” Emily said, biting off a thread.

  “It is. So, shall we unwrap this and see what we’ve got?” Rosemary said when the girls had done their dipping and drying.

  “I’d like to try that,” Ashley put down her shirt. “I’m almost done with my shirt.”

  “We have dye left over, if you have some more T-shirts.”

  “Looks like there’s lots,” Emily said, lowering her needle to watch.

  Emily glanced at Ashley who was looking at the T-shirts the girls were now unfolding.

  “That looks kind of neat.”

  “I wouldn’t mind making one,” Emily said. She looked down at her shirt. “I only need to put a couple more beads on, and Aunt Rosemary has all the dye out now.”

  “Let’s do one,” Ashley said, laying down her own shirt. “We can make a shirt for everyone. We’ll look like a gang.”

  Emily held up her palm and Ashley smacked it with hers. High-fiving, the kids called it. Also a sign of ebullient spirits. And in this house, ebullient spirits were a good thing.

  Soon they were all laughing and chattering, tying and dipping and experimenting. Emily was helping Madison, Ashley and Jennifer. Rosemary and Charlotte were busy mixing up dye and rinsing the shirts.

  “Wow, Maddy, that is going to look pretty neat.” Emily watched as Madison loosened the rubber bands from her shirt. The little girl shot her cousin a grateful glance.

  Charlotte couldn’t be happier. And the occasional drips of dye on the floor were a tiny price to pay for the happiness she saw on the children’s faces.

  “So, let’s see what we’ve got!” Rosemary said when all the kids had finished their shirts.

  Ashley held up her hand. “Wait. Let’s go put them on at the same time.”

  “Yay,” Jennifer shouted.

  They gathered up the now-dry shirts and scooted into the living room just off the kitchen. A few minutes later they returned, an explosion of color and starburst patterns.

  “My goodness. You all look so wonderful,” Rosemary said, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe what stood in front of her.

  “These are so cool,” Emily said, stepping away to have a look herself.

  Madison did a twirl. “Now what are we going to do?” she asked.

  Ashley grinned at Emily. “We should do makeovers.”

  Emily grinned. “Sure. Makeovers would be fun.” Then she glanced at the kitchen table with its assortment of bowls and dye. “But I guess we should clean up first.”

  “Why don’t you take the girls upstairs,” Charlotte said, pleased to see how much fun both Madison and Jennifer were having with the older girls and thankful to have them entertained. “I can take care of this.”

  “And I’ll help,” Rosemary put in.

  “Okay, let’s go, then,” Emily said, grabbing Madison by the hand. Ashley took Jennifer and then they were gone.

  “Well, isn’t that cute,” Rosemary said, carrying two bowls to the kitchen sink.

  “I’m just so pleased to see Emily spending time with Madison. And seeing Madison having fun, not being so wound up,” Charlotte observed.

  “She certainly is her mother’s child.” Rosemary smiled as she returned to the table and helped Charlotte gather up the scraps of leftover material, thread and dye containers. They put Ashley and Emily’s nearly completed projects to one side with the containers of beads. “But that can change. Wasn’t Bill a bit pompous when he was younger?”

  “A bit? Pete still can recall the times they would play cowboys, and Bill always had to be the mayor of the town or the sheriff. Used to drive Pete crazy.” Charlotte smiled at the memory.

  “I can understand that Pete wouldn’t appreciate that. He never did like anyone telling him what to do.”

  “Still doesn’t,” Charlotte said, stuffing the fabric scraps into a plastic garbage bag.

  “I’m sensing a subtext,” Rosemary said with a lifted eyebrow.

  Charlotte wasn’t sure she should be talking about Pete behind his back, but her frustration needed an outlet. Bob wouldn’t understand how she felt about Pete’s latest actions, but Rosemary would.

  “He’s been seeing Lisa Grienke. I believe they even went on a date last night. I have no idea where he is today. Christopher has been hoping to catch him to talk to him about a report he’s doing.”

  “I thought he and Dana Simons were dating. They seemed to be quite serious the past month or so.”

  “Yes, I thought they were growing closer. Next thing I know, Lisa Grienke is bringing him cake. Pete’s buddy, Brad, who he’s been spending inordinate amounts of time with, is telling me that Pete dumped him for a date with Lisa. And Pete doesn’t want to talk about Dana. At all.”

  Rosemary swept the last of the threads into her cupped hand and dropped them in the bag. She chewed her lip as she thought. “Did they maybe have a fight?”

  “Over what? Dana is the sweetest person I know. She comes to church and is very involved in the community. I had high hopes for their relationship.”

  “And you don’t for Pete and Miss Grienke?”

  Charlotte sighed as she tied the garbage bag shut. “She’s fine, but I’ve always felt that Dana was such a good match for Pete. And a good influence on him.”

  “Wasn’t Lisa at church on Sunday? She doesn’t usually go, does she?”

  “Not that I can recall. She had her brother with her.” Charlotte set the bag by the back door. One of the children could take it out to the garbage bin later on.

  “That’s right. I remember seeing a young man sitting with her. Is he Sam’s age?”

  “Yes. I know Sam mentioned him. But only briefly.” Charlotte thought of her grandson and hoped he was having fun with his friends. “At any rate, there’s not much I can do except keep praying Pete will make wise choices in his life.”

  “Isn’t that all we can do anyway? Pray and let go?”

  “Something, I have to confess I haven’t spent enough time doing the past week. I feel like every spare minute I’ve had has been spent with Madison and Jennifer.” Charlotte wound the electrical cord of the sewing machine and slipped it into the case.

  “Surely you don’t need to entertain them that much?” Rosemary asked.

  “Anna gave them homework that she expected me to do with them. I am behind on that as well and was hoping to finish up today, but I felt so sorry for them, having to work while they’re here on the farm with me.”

  “Schoolwork for such little girls? What are their teachers thinking? What was Anna thinking?”

  And what would Anna think when she found out that Charlotte hadn’t kept the work up?

  Charlotte pushed the thought out of her mind. Right now her grandchildren were having fun together and surely that should be good enough.

  Their conversation moved from Anna and Bill to other family members and soon the kitchen was tidied up and Rosemary and Charlotte were sharing a cup of coffee.

  “Grandma?” Emily called out from the stairwell. “We want to show you something.”

  “Of course.” Charlotte pushed her chair back to get up.

  “Just stay there,” Emily said, “and close your eyes.”

  Charlotte and Rosemary shared a smile, then did as Emily told them.

  She heard a shuffling, then some giggles and laughter.

  “Okay. Open.”

  Charlotte did. Her first reaction was surprise, then laughter.

  All four girls were overwhelmed with what looked to be old prom dresses, tricked out with layers of lace, poufs, and miles of ribbon.

  But the makeup and the hair on the littlest girls was the pièce de résistance.

  Jennifer’s hair was curled and primped and covered with sparkles. Her hazel eyes looked even brighter thanks to the judicious application of eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara. Her bright red mouth made Charlotte blink.r />
  Madison’s makeup was more subdued, but she still looked as if she was a hopeful in a child’s beauty pageant.

  “Well now,” Charlotte exclaimed, momentarily a loss for words. “Don’t you girls look amazing!”

  Jennifer picked up the skirt of her dress and did another twirl. “Ashley said I would be the belle of the ball.” She frowned, her penciled eyebrows joining across the bridge of her nose. “What is a belle?”

  “A beautiful girl,” Charlotte said with a smile.

  “Do I look like a belle?” Madison asked, her voice taking on a wistful note.

  “You look stunning.” Rosemary gave her praise with a firm tone that brooked no argument.

  Over the heads of the little girls, Charlotte caught Emily’s eye. She gave her a wink, which was returned with a grin.

  “Let’s go find some more dresses,” Jennifer said, grabbing the yards of fabric in her dress and clomping off towards the stairs in a pair of high-heel shoes that stuck out inches past her feet.

  As the other girls followed, Rosemary glanced at Charlotte, her finger over her lips as if holding back her laughter.

  She waited until they were all upstairs, and then she let a chuckle escape. “Oh my goodness, the faces on those girls,” she said shaking her head. “I don’t think I’ve seen that much makeup off Broadway.”

  “It was a bit much, but as long as they’re having fun,” Charlotte said, “I’m satisfied.”

  Rosemary glanced at the clock on the wall, then got up from her chair. “Sorry I can’t stay for any more of the show, but I have a meeting tonight that I must attend.”

  Charlotte gathered Rosemary’s things. “Thank you so much again for coming and rescuing the sewing project. You certainly saved the day.”

  “Glad to be of help,” Rosemary said as she slipped on her coat. “Let me know what the consensus is about the shirts when they wear them to school.”

  Charlotte agreed, but as she closed the door behind her sister-in-law, she caught sight of Madison and Jennifer’s schoolbooks and once again felt guilty. Anna and Bill were returning tomorrow, and she was behind schedule.

  Chapter Fifteen

  So, you’re catching on quick,” Jake said, as he set his snowboard against the house. Sam knocked the packed snow off the bindings of his board and followed suit. His cheeks were numb, his eyelashes iced up, and he could hardly feel his toes. But he’d had a blast.

  “I didn’t know you could have so much fun getting pulled behind a snowmobile,” he said, brushing the snow from various falls off his coat.

  “On the flatland we do what we gotta do to get our snowboarding fix,” Paul put in. “But you’ve got your stance, you’ve hit a few jumps, you can totally kick it at the hill when we go.”

  When we go, Paul had said. They wanted him to come along. Sam had more fun today than he’d had in a long time. Winter in Nebraska suddenly seemed doable.

  “It will be harder down a hill,” Sam said.

  Jake shrugged, his movement languid. “Nah. Speed is speed and we hit some good runs today. Tomorrow we’re going to try in the back. By the ravine. We’ve got a few jumps back there.”

  “Jumps sound like fun,” he said.

  But even as he spoke, his expectation was dampened by the memory of Grandma saying they were going to see him on Sunday. In church.

  He wanted to prove to Grandma and Grandpa that they could trust him, but how was he supposed to get to church? He had no vehicle. Jake’s father would have to bring him.

  Maybe he could just phone Grandma and tell her he couldn’t come.

  Or maybe he could call Uncle Pete and get him to pick him up? That might work. Or Grandma and Grandpa.

  But either way he now had to explain to his friends about Sunday and church and he wasn’t sure how to do that.

  “So, city slicker, let’s go get something to eat.”

  Jake’s mother had made them hot chocolate and a massive plate of cookies that they all dug into.

  While they ate they made plans for the next day.

  “We could make a new jump on the other side of the ravine,” Paul was saying.

  Jake shook his head. “Too many trees. I like to bomb my jumps, not weasel at them through the bush.”

  Sam wasn’t entirely sure what Jake was talking about, but he guessed Jake liked to hit his jumps as fast as possible. Although Sam was a natural skateboarder, he had never had the opportunity to go snowboarding.

  “Sam, would you like more hot chocolate?” Jake’s mother was asking him.

  “Wow, dude, you really snarfed that down,” Jake said, glancing at Sam’s cup.

  “Thirsty, I guess.”

  Jake laughed. “Give him some more, Mom. He’s gonna need his strength for tomorrow. We are going to get some major air when we hit those jumps.”

  Tell them now, Sam thought. Tell them now.

  But as he glanced around the table, he felt a sense of belonging he hadn’t felt in a long time. And he didn’t want to wreck that. Once he told them he wanted to go to church, they were going to hassle him for sure. And right now he couldn’t take that.

  “Okay, guys, pizza in front of the television. We got movies to watch.”

  Sam hesitated a moment, guessing they weren’t eating supper together.

  So he got up and followed his friends downstairs into a large family room with a massive plasma television dominating one wall. Surround sound filled the room as the opening credits flashed up on the screen. Paul threw a pillow at Sam. “Hurry up. We don’t got all night.”

  “Actually we do, dude,” Jake put in as Sam caught the pillow and dropped onto the couch beside Paul. “All night and all morning. We don’t need to get up until we want. Then we’re going to show our friend a thing or two about boarding on the baby hills.”

  Sam smiled. Our friend.

  But as he settled onto the couch beside Jake and Paul, he thought of his Grandma waving good-bye. What would she think when he didn’t show up at church?

  Then he dismissed that question. It shouldn’t matter. He wasn’t going to stay with Grandpa and Grandma forever. He would be leaving as soon as he could.

  And right now he needed his friends more than his grandparents.

  “Hey, this guy reminds me of that Adam dude,” Jake said, pointing his remote at a character on the television covered with tattoos. “I heard he’s the one who pulled the fire alarm.”

  “Not surprised,” Paul put in, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl in front of them. “He looks like trouble.”

  “I also heard he’s the one who let the air out of Principal Duncan’s tires.”

  “No way.”

  “Way.” Jake nodded with all the confidence of someone in the know. “Dale Kaffleck told me.”

  “That Dale. He’s such a little weasel. I wouldn’t believe him.”

  “Well, he’s hanging with Adam. So he would know.”

  “Then why is Dale spouting his mouth off?”

  Sam listened to the conversation, feeling a mixture of relief and guilt. Relief that he hadn’t made friends with Adam like he had been encouraged to and guilt that he had forced Dale on Adam.

  And now it sounded like Adam was getting into trouble.

  Not my worry, he thought, leaning back against the cushions of the couch. I got enough on my mind. He wasn’t here forever, so no sense getting all worked up about what happened to someone like Adam.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Come on, girls, time to go to church.” Charlotte adjusted the cuffs of her shirt, and slipped her blazer over her top. She gave herself a once-over in the mirror, smoothed back a lock of graying hair, and resigned herself to the age creeping up on her every day.

  “You’re a grandmother of five,” she said aloud, as if she needed a reminder to ground herself in reality. “You’re allowed a few battle scars.”

  “Ashley, have you seen my skirt?” she heard Emily calling out from the bathroom, followed by giggling from Madison and Jennifer.
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br />   “Grandpa is bringing the car to the door,” Charlotte called out, giving a quick glance at her wristwatch.

  After the breakfast dishes were done, the four girls had scooted upstairs, and had been busy up there ever since.

  Christopher had come wandering down shortly after they hid themselves away in the room, looking disgusted and muttering something about makeup. Charlotte suspected he was talking about Ashley and Emily. Though she had her moments when she thought Emily wore too much, for the most part her granddaughter was discreet and careful. But to Christopher, of course, anything would be too much.

  A flash of sun reflecting off the car windshield caught her eye. Bob was pulling up to the door.

  She called out, “C’mon, girls. We have to leave right now.”

  The honking of the car’s horn relayed Bob’s impatience. Christopher was already in the car, eager to be out of a house full of women and perfume.

  Charlotte was just about to call out again as she slipped on her coat when the giggling girls finally hurried down the stairs. Emily and Ashley came into the porch first. Emily wore her new top over a bright pink T-shirt.

  “What do you think, Grandma?” Emily said, doing a twirl.

  “The shirt looks wonderful,” Charlotte said. “You didn’t want to wear yours?” she asked Ashley.

  “No. I didn’t want to share the spotlight with Emily.” Ashley waved her hand and batted her eyes in an imitation of a forties’ movie starlet.

  “And I’m guessing Emily did your makeup,” she teased.

  “But of course. She’s the best.”

  Both the girls were wearing a bit more makeup than she would have liked, but she knew it could have been a lot worse. At least they hadn’t gone too overboard.

  “Your shirt looks lovely over that T-shirt,” Charlotte said. Yes, they were pressed for time, but Charlotte also knew she needed to take a moment to encourage her granddaughter.

  And the way Emily beamed at Charlotte’s praise made Charlotte realize her instincts were correct.

  “And what about these babes?” Emily asked, pulling Madison in front of her. Ashley did the same with Jennifer. “I did their makeup too.”