Providence (20 page)

“I love you, Rosie,” I said. “I couldn’t love you more if you were my blood relation. I don’t know what would have become of Georgia Rose and me if it hadn’t been for you.”

Rosie looked up at me and placed her hand on my cheek. Then, without a word, she turned and walked off to her room. I went to the kitchen and put the kettle on for a cup of tea. I thought about the hodgepodge of feelings I’d had in the past weeks. I thought about how I felt holding Baby Girl at her christening. I thought about how I felt when I read Daddy’s letter. I thought about how I felt hugging Rosie and realizing that she needed me to take care of her now. I had stopped looking for my name in the paper months ago. I had stopped looking for news about Baby Girl and her real mama. I would never understand how someone could leave her baby the way Baby Girl was left, but it didn’t matter to me anymore. Instead, I worried that someone, having recognized Baby Girl’s picture in the paper, would spot us on the street and tell the whole world about us. Baby Girl and I were two castaways when we met on that train, but that was behind us. I was Baby Girl’s mama now. This was our home. This was our family. It was time to stop looking back, and start looking forward.

CHAPTER 23

I tiptoed through the house the next morning. There was a tree waiting to be trimmed and a window waiting to be changed at the Second Hand Rose. If I wanted to get both of those jobs done before opening time, I needed to get moving extra early. If things worked out the way folks downtown were hoping, the stores would be packed with shoppers getting ready for Christmas. I thought Rosie should sleep in since today was an extra-long workday. I hoped that she might even decide to take the day off rather than walk into town by herself. So I tried to slip out unnoticed—not an easy task when you’re in the company of a little girl who has come to love the sound of her own voice.

It had taken me longer to remove the last traces of Thanksgiving from the front of the store than I had anticipated. Folks were walking Main Street with their tree ballots before I finished dressing the window for Christmas. I don’t mean to brag, but I do believe I outdid myself with that window. I had found a battery-operated truck in the store and rigged it so it would travel through the little village I was building. I put a little Santa doll and a decorated tree in the back of the truck. I had done my best to copy Main Street. The village had a used bike shop, a miniature Needles and Notions shop, and a tiny little diner. Of course, in the middle of it all was a miniature Second Hand Rose. Someone tapped on the glass, and I turned to see a small crowd standing on the walk watching me at work. I smiled and waved, and the people waved back. Nobody moved on. I felt like a fish in a bowl—a fish on all fours with her behind facing the glass. I repositioned myself so as not to spoil anyone’s holiday spirit with the sight of my backside.

Working at that angle went a little slower and I was starting to resent my audience. It gave me a great view of the curb, though, so when I heard John’s truck I was able to watch him without being too obvious. Back and forth he went, trying to squeeze his big truck into the little space left in front of the store. He must be part magician, because he got it in there with only inches between his bumpers and the cars that bookended his truck. I heard his door bang shut through my glass wall and watched as he inched, tightrope-style, across his back bumper to get to the sidewalk.

My insides started to race like the time in the sixth grade when I was waiting for Mrs. Purdy to announce the winner of the Harvest Composition Contest. When John hopped down from the bumper and turned to walk up the block, my heart sank into my stomach as fast as when Mrs. Purdy had called Billy Wagner’s name. But John didn’t go far. He stopped, opened the passenger door of his truck, and reached up to help someone out. Rosie was his passenger, and she waved him away once her feet were on solid ground. He ignored her signal and followed her up the steps.

My heart started thumping against my chest. I scolded myself for having such a reaction. “Don’t be silly,” I whispered under my breath. “He isn’t here for you. He’s helping Rosie out.” I stood up and waved goodbye to the window watchers. They applauded, so I smiled and took a bow. I thought about how Daddy would have reacted to my boastful behavior. It made me grateful he wasn’t there.

Rosie passed through the door that John had reached ahead to open for her. “Now, I told you once already,” she said, “just because I asked you for a ride doesn’t mean I need you following me around like a guard dog all day.”

John laughed. “I’m not following you around, Rosie,” he said. “Your store has become famous in this town for its fancy window displays. It’s a little slippery out there, and I didn’t want your window dresser getting hurt climbing a ladder by herself.” He looked at me and said, “You are planning to put lights up outside, aren’t you?”

I smiled and nodded.

John turned back to Rosie. “There you go,” he said. “You wouldn’t want your best employee getting hurt on the job, would you?”

“Just don’t you forget that there is nothing wrong with my eyes,” Rosie answered. “I’ll be sitting right here, keeping an eye on you.”

Rosie’s words were harsh, but I saw the corners of her lips and eyes curl upward. John carried the ladder, and I carried the lights out. I struggled with the choice of letting him climb the ladder and hang the lights his way, or me climbing the ladder and hanging them my way. I decided I would rather live with his work than with him having the same view of my behind I had treated all of Main Street to earlier.

John suggested we put the lights on a timer to save on the electric bill. I knew Rosie would favor that plan, but I had no idea what a timer was or if we had one. John grinned and said, “I’ve got one in my truck you can borrow.”

I wondered what kind of person drove around with one of those contraptions in his truck, but I held my tongue. When he finished setting up the timer and showing us how to use it, he suggested I walk him to his truck. Baby Girl was fussing a bit, so I hesitated.

“You go ahead,” Rosie said. “You’ll only be a minute, and I’ll keep Georgia Rose happy until you get back.” She looked at John. “And remember, I still have two good eyes, so don’t you get fresh out there.”

I turned redder than a Santa suit. “Now, don’t you mind my teasing, Becky. John knows I’m only kidding,” Rosie said.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was disappointed when we got to the curb. John turned and said, “I can come back to pick Rosie up so she doesn’t have to walk home. What time should I come by?”

“Why didn’t you ask Rosie that?” I asked.

Now it was John’s turn to feel uncomfortable. He dug his hands into his jean pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. “If I ask her, she will tell me not to come,” he said. “I figured you can talk her into it. I can’t take all three of you at once in my truck, but, if you want, I could bring Rosie home and come back for you and Georgia.”

I was feeling lower than a snake’s belly. I don’t know why I was so sharp with him when he was being so kind to Rosie. “Thanks,” I said. “Georgia and I will be fine on our own. I’d like to get some dinner in Rosie before she goes home, since I’ll be here late. Do you think you could come back early in the evening?”

John opened the truck door and dug through the glove compartment. He pulled out a road map and a pen. He wrote his phone number on the corner of the map, then tore it off and handed it to me. “Give me a call when you are ready for dinner, and I’ll come back for Rosie.”

I stuffed the slip of paper in my pocket and took the stairs up to the store, two at a time. Georgia’s whimpering had grown to a full-blown wail that could be heard from the bottom step. I came in and picked her up, and apologized to Rosie for taking so long.

“She’s just exercising her lungs, that’s all,” Rosie said. “So what did John want?”

“Nothing, really,” I answered.

“He’s a nice boy,” Rosie said. “A college boy, you know. And he seems to have an eye for you. I thought he might be asking you about where these flowers came from. It looks like they need a little more water in the vase.”

“I don’t have time for boys,” I said. “Nice, college, or otherwise. I have enough to worry about with this little one.”

I was happy a customer walked in and put an end to that conversation. I would have moved the flowers, if I’d known Rosie was coming in today. Whoever first said, “Oh! what a tangled web we weave/when first we practice to deceive” sure knew what he was talking about.

I should have given that tree committee more credit. Main Street was elbow to elbow with people by noontime. And the best part was that they weren’t just lookers, they were buyers. I set the chair in front of the register for Rosie, but she was up and down so often that she decided it was easier to just stay standing. I lost track of time until the colored lights around the front window popped on. I looked out the window and saw a line of hungry customers in front of the Tick Tock.

“Rosie, I think we’ve earned a break,” I said. “Why don’t we call across to the diner, order us some dinner, and put a sign on the door telling shoppers we’re closed for an hour?”

“A whole hour?” Rosie shook her head. “How about a half hour? That should be plenty of time for us to eat and you to feed Georgia.”

Baby Girl had spent most of the day perched on my hip, so it felt good to put her down. She immediately started to fuss so Rosie volunteered to sit down and hold her. I was glad to have a reason for Rosie to sit, so I moved Baby Girl from her carriage to Rosie’s lap. I taped the sign on the door and walked across the street. I felt bad passing by the folks in line, so I kept apologizing and explaining that I was picking up an order.

When I got in, I used the pay phone to give John a call. As I hung up, I heard a shriek of laughter. I looked down the row of booths and saw Sarah and her friends packed into one. I didn’t have to worry about an awkward moment, though. Sarah never even looked up in my direction. Our dinner was waiting by the time I got back to the register, so I paid and headed across the street.

The food tasted especially good that night. I had been too busy all day to notice how hungry I had gotten. When I stood to clear away our garbage, my napkin fell on the floor. I bent over to pick it up and noticed how swollen Rosie’s legs looked.

“How are you feeling, Rosie?” I asked.

“My heart’s feeling young, but my body’s feeling its age,” she answered. “Maybe that hour is a good idea. It will give me time to rest my eyes for a few minutes.”

Rosie closed her eyes and drifted off. I was changing Baby Girl into her sleeper when John walked through the doorway. The jingle bells I hung from the doorknob woke Rosie.

“What are you doing back here?” she asked.

“I was driving by and saw your light on. I thought you might like a ride home,” John said.

Rosie raised her eyebrows. “You just happen to be down here, driving by?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” John answered. “I think all of Watson’s Grove is down here tonight. I’ve never seen Main Street so busy. I don’t know how Dottie and Ray are handling that crowd over there.”

Rosie couldn’t argue with that. “Thanks for stopping by, but like you said, we have a real crowd down here tonight. I can’t leave Becky alone to take care of everything,” she said.

“Rosie,” I interrupted. “You could help me more by going home with John now. I need the sewing machine at home, so I don’t get behind with our orders. If you and John bring it to the house now, you can show him where to set it up so it doesn’t inconvenience you any. That way when I get home, I’ll be able to get right to my sewing.”

Rosie thought about this for a minute.

“Please, Rosie. I’ll really appreciate it. John, do you have time to help with this?” I asked.

John nodded. “No problem,” he said. “Where is the sewing machine?”

I showed John the machine and he carried it out to the car while I helped Rosie with her coat. When John came back in, I asked, “Can you do us one more favor? Can you drive Rosie up and down Main Street, so she can see the trees and the decorations before she goes home?”

“Scouting out the competition, ladies?” John grinned. “Sounds like fun.”

I stood in the doorway holding Baby Girl. John put his hand on Rosie’s elbow to help her down the stairs. Instead of pushing him away, Rosie seemed to sink in toward him using his strength to move her body forward. We waved to Rosie and John as the truck pulled from the curb. I closed the door and started to cry. I guess somewhere deep inside of me, I knew that this was Rosie’s last day in the Second Hand Rose.

CHAPTER 24