An Abundance of Blessings Page 15

  “I’ll see you then,” Charlotte replied, looking forward to another chat with her dear friend.

  In the meantime, she had Anna to deal with.

  “Bill, have you seen what your girls look like?” Anna asked as she glanced over her shoulder.

  At the back of the church Bill was talking to Bob who had exited out the other side of the pew. He hadn’t heard what Anna said so she turned her laser gaze back on Charlotte.

  This was not supposed to happen, Charlotte thought, bracing herself for the onslaught as Anna pinched her lips together. She knew Anna wouldn’t be pleased with how the girls looked, but she had hoped she could get them cleaned up by the time they got home.

  “Aunty Anna doesn’t look happy,” Emily whispered, loud enough for Charlotte to hear.

  Then Anna saw Jennifer and her thin eyebrows jumped to her hairline.

  “What have you done to my girls?” she asked, her astonished gaze flicking from Jennifer to Madison and then to Emily. “They look like they’re auditioning for some outlandish play. They’re the laughingstock of this church.”

  Charlotte suspected she had taken Hannah’s casual comment too much to heart.

  “It’s just a little bit of makeup,” Emily said, defending herself. “I think they look cute.”

  “Well I’m their mother, and I don’t approve of them wearing any makeup.”

  Emily wanted to respond, but she caught a look from Charlotte and bit her tongue.

  Anna rounded on Charlotte. “Mother? How could you let this happen?”

  Charlotte felt as if she was mentally trying to catch her balance, and Anna’s anger pushed all coherent thought away.

  “I’m sorry, I just—” she stumbled. “The girls were just—”

  “They look ridiculous.” Anna glanced around the church. “And you let them come here? What are the people of this church going to think of us? Of Bill?”

  “I said I was sorry, Anna. Emily should not have done that—”

  “I’ll say she shouldn’t have.”

  Charlotte struggled to find the right words to deflect Anna’s when Bill joined them.

  “Bill, look at this. I can’t believe your mother let the girls come to church looking like this.”

  As Bill frowned and as Anna’s words battered her, Charlotte glanced around and noticed a few people were watching them. This had to stop.

  “Let’s discuss this at home, Anna,” she said.

  Anna’s voice grew shrill. “Emily is clearly at fault here.”

  Charlotte didn’t know how else to get Anna to keep quiet. “Yes. Emily made a mistake and I will talk to her later. Now, I’ll take Jennifer to the restroom and get rid of this,” Charlotte said, “and then we’ll meet you at the house.”

  “Emily, where are you going?” Madison called out as Emily, her head down, scurried out of the sanctuary, Ashley following behind her.

  “You come with me,” Anna said, holding out her hand to her daughter.

  “I want to go with Emily,” Madison protested, in a rare show of spirit.

  “I don’t appreciate this, Madison,” Anna said, her tone brooking no more argument.

  Madison sighed, then took her mother’s hand.

  Please let her stay quiet until we at least get inside the restroom, Charlotte thought. And she meant Anna, not Madison.

  Anna made it as far as the door of the ladies’ restroom before she started up again. “This is terrible, Mother. What will people think?”

  Her words echoed Charlotte’s own misgivings about what Emily had done, and she had no reply for her daughter-in-law.

  The girls, sensing the tension, were quiet as Anna and Charlotte wiped what they could off their faces. The paper towels were the rough, industrial kind, but the girls knew better than to complain.

  “I will never get this hairspray out of their hair,” Anna grumbled, scrubbing away at Madison’s face. “And those sparkles—”

  Her heavy sigh added another brick of guilt to Charlotte’s burden.

  “Well, that’s the best I can do.” Anna stood back, shaking her head.

  “And how was your holiday?” Charlotte asked, trying to bring the conversation back to safe ground.

  This elicited another heavy sigh. “The flight was horrible, both ways. Once we got there the weather was atrocious and the resort we were staying at, well …” Anna simply rolled her eyes as if words were too small to convey what she had endured.

  And that pretty much exhausted the subject and explained Anna’s mood.

  “We did tie-dyeing,” Jennifer offered, closing her eyes as Charlotte tried her best to remove the black rings around them. “Aunt Rosemary came and helped Emily and Ashley.”

  “Did you girls do your homework?” Anna asked.

  “Every day.”

  “I’ll have to have a look at it when we get to Grandmother Stevenson’s house.”

  Charlotte wished Anna wouldn’t talk about her as if she wasn’t present.

  “I hope you girls were good,” Anna added.

  The girls just nodded.

  As Anna spoke it was as if the sparkle in the girls’ eyes was slowly dampened and extinguished by each word she uttered.

  “I hope you didn’t cause any problems for your grandparents,” Anna said. “I know you are always such good girls for Grandpa and Grandma Adlai.”

  And this was enough.

  “Bob and I thoroughly enjoyed having them stay with us.” Charlotte wiped a stray drop of water off Jennifer’s chin, then gave her a gentle smile. “They were very good and I think we had a lot of fun. Tell your mother about the dress-up clothes.”

  A bit of the previous light returned to Jennifer’s eyes. “We found boxes of clothes and I found a really pretty dress with lots of ruffles. It was blue and Emily said I looked like a princess and I wanted to wear it to church but Emily said you wouldn’t let me so I didn’t. But it was real pretty.”

  Charlotte smiled, even as Anna stood stiffly next to her. “And now we should see about getting home. I’m sure Bob will be waiting, wondering what happened to us.”

  Bob stood in the foyer, talking with Emily, Ashley, and Melody. Christopher was slouched on a bench by the front door, squinting at his Game Boy while he punched buttons and frowned. Bill sat beside him, his hands clasped between his legs, staring off into space. He looked more like a man who had just found out his pet died than a man who had just come back from an exotic holiday.

  He got up when he saw them and forced a smile.

  “So, we should be getting home,” Melody was saying, her arm slung around her daughter’s shoulder. “Thanks for having her. Sounds like the girls had a lot of fun.”

  Emily stood beside Ashley, but wouldn’t meet Charlotte’s eye as she and Anna came near.

  Ashley thanked Charlotte again, and then she and her mother left.

  “So. We’re all here. Let’s go.” Bob buttoned up his overcoat, raising his eyebrows at Charlotte as if to hurry her along.

  But Bill hadn’t had a chance to talk to his daughters yet, and as he hugged them and listened to a more subdued version of their visit, Charlotte glanced around the foyer.

  People were still mingling, and though she knew better, she wondered if she would see Pete at all. Or Sam.

  But Bob was getting anxious and Emily was already heading out the door.

  Bob nudged Christopher on his way out and everyone seemed to fall into line behind him.

  “We’ll take the girls,” Bill said, a daughter on each side.

  “Then we’ll see you at the farm.” Bob whistled lightly as they walked toward the car. He seemed happy, and Charlotte envied him his mood. Christopher was lost in his GameBoy, and Emily had stuck the earphones of her iPod into her ears and was staring out the window.

  One of those rides home, Charlotte thought with a sigh. She had her own thoughts to occupy her. Pete. Sam. Anna. Bill. Emily.

  Was her life truly simpler before the children came? Or did she simply have other
worries?

  She wasn’t sure, but she did know that the past half-year had been one of challenges at every turn.

  By the time they pulled into the driveway, it didn’t matter as much to Charlotte that she’d be serving sandwiches and canned soup instead of the ham dinner she’d originally planned.

  Even had the food been gourmet quality, Charlotte sensed mealtime would be tense.

  “Christopher, I’d like it if you and Grandpa could go through the family room and tidy it up a bit.” Charlotte started planning as soon as they entered the house. “Emily, can you grab a couple of cans of minestrone soup from the pantry? I’ll take care of the cold cuts and the bread.”

  She was already tying on her apron when Anna came into the house. Alone.

  “I’m just picking up the girls’ suitcases and then we’ll be gone,” Anna announced as she slipped off her knee-high leather boots.

  “You’re not going to stay for lunch?”

  “We’d like to get home.”

  “I haven’t packed yet,” Charlotte said, knotting the strings of her apron, suddenly wishing her daughter-in-law was staying. This was no way to end the visit. She was looking forward to one more meal with the girls.

  “Just tell me where their things are.”

  Don’t get angry, Charlotte reminded herself as she led Anna to the girls’ room. She’s probably still tired from the flight home, that’s why she doesn’t want to stay for lunch.

  Jennifer and Madison’s suitcases were on the bed, and it only took a few minutes to pack up the rest of the little girls’ clothes.

  “And their toiletries?” Anna asked as Charlotte zipped the suitcase closed.

  “Just over here.” Charlotte led her to the upstairs bathroom and remembered too late that Anna had specifically mentioned that their toiletry bags were to be kept downstairs.

  Thankfully Anna said nothing as Charlotte packed up the dental floss, shampoo, and toothbrushes, still damp from this morning’s brushing.

  Charlotte ignored the pots of makeup scattered over the counter, the tubes of mascara, lipstick and eyeliner but caught Anna glancing over them with a look of distaste.

  Had Anna never played dress-up as a young girl? And when had she started wearing the makeup she wore so frequently now?

  Wisdom kept the questions simmering inside. Charlotte couldn’t understand Anna’s strong reaction, but Madison and Jennifer were her children. And Anna had a right to raise them the way she thought best.

  “Okay. I guess we got everything.” Anna gave Charlotte a tight smile. “Thank you so much for taking care of Madison and Jennifer.”

  “I just want to tell you how much I enjoyed having them. They are wonderful, precious girls.” Charlotte touched Anna on the arm, hoping Anna caught the sincerity in her voice.

  She wasn’t sure what Anna wanted or needed right now. It was as if tension fairly vibrated around her.

  Anna just nodded, her head down. “Thank you, Mom.”

  The unexpected shortening of her usual “Mother” caught her unawares.

  “You’re welcome.” Charlotte was about to apologize again for letting Emily put makeup on the girls, but didn’t want to stir up that hornet’s nest again. Best let this truncated visit end on a positive note.

  “I’d like to say good-bye to the girls,” Charlotte said, keeping her voice quiet. Nonthreatening.

  “Of course.”

  Emily was setting the table when Charlotte came downstairs. Emily knew Anna and Bill weren’t staying as well.

  Anna didn’t even look at Emily as she walked past her. Nor did Emily glance at Anna.

  “I put the girls’ books in the suitcase with their schoolwork,” Emily said to Charlotte. “They’re on the porch.”

  Her words were curt, her tone abrupt. Which made Charlotte feel as if she was teetering between pleasing her granddaughter or her daughter-in-law—and not managing to do either.

  She shouldn’t have to take sides. There shouldn’t even be sides. But if they were going to maintain some semblance of extended family, she would have to find a way to keep the peace.

  Bob was leaning in the car, obviously saying his own good-byes to the girls, when Charlotte and Anna came out.

  Bill took the luggage from Anna and found a place for it in the already-full trunk.

  “You come again, girls,” Bob was saying as he drew back from the window. “We’ll go for ice cream again.”

  Charlotte took his place, leaning in as far as she could. She kissed her fingertips and pressed a kiss on each of their cheeks, then stroked them lightly. “Love you girls. I had fun taking care of you.”

  “Thanks for everything, Grandma,” they chimed.

  “Drive safe, Bill,” Charlotte said to her son as he got in the car. “You’ll have to tell us all about your trip next time you come. Maybe show us some pictures.”

  Bill gave her a wan smile and nodded, making Charlotte wonder, yet again, how much fun either of them had on this trip.

  Anna got in the car, tossed off a wave of her gloved hand, and then with a push of the button, the window between Charlotte and the girls slid shut.

  They drove off in a plume of exhaust and Charlotte released a sigh.

  “So, I wonder who put vinegar in her cereal this morning,” Bob said as he stood beside Charlotte, waving good-bye.

  “She was upset about the girls and the makeup Emily put on them.” As she spoke the words out loud, the offense seemed to shrink.

  “It was a bit over the top.”

  “A bit? You thought it looked silly,” Charlotte retorted.

  “I’m a man. I’m supposed to think makeup is silly. And sure it was a mistake, but it wasn’t malicious.” He snorted, his breath a white puff of disgust. “Emily and that Ashley girl were just having fun.”

  “Some of the other women in church thought it was a bit much.”

  “You worry too much what other people think,” Bob said, dropping his arm over Charlotte’s shoulders. He gave her a quick sideways hug. Then, as if his job as husband and supporter was done, he turned and walked away, the snow squeaking under his shoes.

  Charlotte hugged herself against the cold, watching as Bill and Anna’s car disappeared around the last bend in the road.

  Bob’s words touched a chord of memory. Pete had said the same thing when she confronted him about going to the bar.

  Did she care too much? Was that why she was so concerned today about Pete sitting with Miss Grienke? About Sam not being in church? About Anna’s anger over the makeup Emily put on the girls?

  Charlotte trudged back to the house, sorting her thoughts.

  Their simple lunch was a subdued affair. Emily just stirred her spoon through the soup. Christopher seemed to pick up on the tense atmosphere and ate quietly.

  As soon as they were done, Emily and Christopher brought their plates to the counter. When Emily retreated upstairs, Charlotte didn’t call her back to help with the dishes.

  “Thanks for your help, Christopher, but I’ll do the dishes,” Charlotte said as Christopher brought in the rest of the plates. “Go do your other chores. Then you can work on the computer if you like.”

  Bob leaned back in his chair, his hands folded over his stomach as Charlotte cleared the table. “Why wasn’t Sam in church?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied.

  “Did he phone? He should have phoned if he wasn’t going to come.”

  “I haven’t checked the answering machine for messages.” Charlotte glanced over to the machine and noticed a flashing light. When she pressed the button, Sam’s voice came on informing them he would be home later that afternoon.

  The nonchalant tone of his voice frustrated Charlotte. She hit the stop button and glared at the machine, as if it was somehow to blame.

  “Doesn’t sound like he has a reason,” Bob said, pushing himself up from his chair. “We’ll have to talk to him about that when he comes home. He can’t act as if what’s important to us shouldn’t matter.”


  “But what do we say?”

  Bob sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Which wasn’t a lot of help.

  Bob pushed his chair back under the table. “I’m going to see if Christopher needs any more help.”

  Too many things going on, Charlotte thought. How could Sam act as if he hadn’t done anything wrong? And how was she supposed to talk to him without alienating him?

  And then there was Pete dating Lisa Grienke and Anna’s public meltdown at how her daughters were tarted up. Why hadn’t she checked on the girls before they came down? Why hadn’t she taken the time to clean them up?

  Now she looked as if she didn’t know what was going on in her household. She felt like a mere spectator, standing outside of her family, watching them do whatever they wanted.

  Charlotte rinsed the dishes, splashing water over her apron. She dropped the dishes into the dishwasher, and when one plate hit the other and chipped it, she caught herself.

  “Everything okay in there?” Bob called out from the family room.

  No. Everything was not okay, but there was no reason for her to be taking out her frustration on the dishes. Or her husband.

  “Just a little accident.”

  Charlotte rested her hands on the edge of the sink as the water ran, looking out the kitchen window as she tried to settle her mind. Ever since the kids had come into their home, it seemed that she and Bob jumped from problem to problem, crisis to crisis.

  Charlotte knew it had been the same when her kids were younger. But she and Bob were younger then. They had more energy. Even as that thought formed, she also reminded herself that God had placed the children in their home. He would give them what they needed.

  Besides, it was wrong to feel so angry when she had just come from church. It was equally wrong to feel so upset on such a beautiful day.

  The sun glinting off the snow-covered fields, frosting the branches of the trees around the yard, reminded her of that moment of peace and contentment she had felt in church only a few hours ago.

  She closed her eyes.

  “Forgive me, Lord,” she prayed. “Forgive me my frustration and my need to control my life.” As she prayed she knew the reason for part of her frustration. Her life and her attitude toward the circumstances of her life were always skewed when she neglected her devotional time. And since Madison and Jennifer had come, she had been too concerned that she do everything Anna told her to that she hadn’t spent regular time reading the Bible and praying.