Light of Dawn by Vannetta Chapman

Author:Vannetta Chapman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736966580
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

FORTY-FIVE

It took Shelby’s eyes a minute to adjust to the darkened interior of Mary Jane and Stu’s home. Five from their group had come along to see whatever it was the couple wanted to show them. Surely, it couldn’t be this, though.

What would this sad but all-too-common situation have to do with them?

And what could Mary Jane and Stu possibly want?

“I’d like y’all to meet my twin sister, Mary Jo.” Mary Jane walked over to the daybed and peered down into her sister’s face. “We have company, Mary Jo.”

“I can hear, Mary Jane. I’m not deaf, only dying.”

“As you can see, she’s a real spitfire,” Mary Jane said.

Stu seemed used to their bantering. He shuffled to the front window and pulled back the curtains, flooding the room with light.

Mary Jane made quick introductions, and everyone said hello.

Shelby’s heart softened when she took the woman’s hand in hers and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You’re all the way from Abney?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“My granddad had an old dry goods store in Abney once. This was before my sister and I were born. But he often talked fondly of the area and how kind the people were.”

“They are that.”

The skin of Mary Jo’s hand was paper thin, and Shelby could clearly see the pattern of veins running beneath. Unlike Mary Jane, she had very little hair on her head—a few white wisps. A faded quilt draped her frail body. The sheets and her clothing were crisp and clean. Her eyes seemed to say that she understood what was happening, and that she was at peace with it. Shelby stayed by the bed, talking with her, remembering her time working at the nursing home in Abney. Those dear people had tugged at her heartstrings with their need, their gratitude, and their resilience. She saw the first two in Mary Jo’s eyes, but she wasn’t so sure about the resilience. The woman seemed to almost fade into the freshly laundered pillowcase.

They’d only been in the living room a few minutes when Stu suggested they go outside to see the chickens.

Gabe and Bianca held back, speaking to Mary Jo in a soft voice.

Stu took his slow, sweet time leading them through the house.

He insisted they stop and admire Mary Jane’s windowsill herb garden. “There’s even aloe vera, which is good for many things, including indigestion.”

“You can put a spoonful of the jelly into your tea.” Mary Jane stuck a finger in the soil and then added a small amount of water from a watering can.

“Also works as a salve for burns,” Shelby said.

“Indeed,” Mary Jane agreed.

Stu pointed out several other plants—some that Shelby knew about and had growing at High Fields, and a few that she didn’t. She’d have to put those names into her journal as soon as they were on their way.

They meandered through the kitchen and across a screened-in porch, walked back out into the sunshine, and trooped over to the nearby chicken coop.

Stu picked up one of his prize roosters to show off.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.