The Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank

Author:Dorothea Benton Frank [Frank, Dorothea Benton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Contemporary Women, Romance, Contemporary
ISBN: 9780061741326
Google: BxZXGXHv29wC
Amazon: B000WJOV4A
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: 2009-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

Part Three

CHRISTMAS DAY

I knew it was Christmas morning as the warm first light of day washed across the foot of my bed. Something was different; I mean beyond Pearl’s presence and all the accompanying drama. The normal sounds of early day were muffled. It was unusually quiet.

In my bare feet, admittedly somewhat unsteady at first, I made my way to a window that overlooked the backyard. I wiped away the frost on the pane with the heel of my hand. The fog had lifted. The temperature had dropped, and to my utter astonishment, everything was dusted with at least one inch of pure white snow. I rubbed my eyeglasses clean with the hem of my nightgown. I looked again. There was no mistake about it. It had snowed. The skies were overcast in all the splendor of thick Confederate-gray flannel. Most importantly, it was still flurrying. Every place my eye fell to rest looked like a drawing from Currier & Ives.

What do you think I spotted? One bright cardinal posed on a snow-covered branch of an old live oak. His beautiful red plumage stood out against all the white. He seemed to perch there just for me to admire him. I tapped on the window to get his attention. He saw me, held his head to one side then the other, and flew away. A childish laugh of delight escaped my lips. We had a white Christmas! A red bird! It was simply spectacular.

My own fog started to lift as the previous night came back to me in living color. Christmas Eve had been an unmitigated disaster. I doubted my family would be able to pull off a merry anything…although Pearl had assured me over and again that she had a foolproof plan. She promised that everything was going to turn out all right. Talk was easy enough. I had yet to see any positive results. Oh! All the unnecessary pain they inflicted on one another! Why? I hoped and prayed with all my heart that Pearl was right.

To be honest, I had grave doubts. I realized it was time to align myself with Barbara. This family needed a matriarch immediately. I didn’t want to interfere too much, as it would undermine Barbara’s authority, ineffective as she had been till now. Pearl couldn’t be the matriarch—she was already dead and leaving soon anyway. It truly was beyond Barbara’s time to take the podium. I would help her. What could I do?

After some consideration, I decided it would be best to act as if nothing untoward had occurred on Christmas Eve. I would go down for breakfast, be pleasant to them all, and assess the situation. That assessment would tell me what, if any, further actions were necessary. If Pearl’s plan failed, I would take my family aside with Barbara, one at a time. Together we would give them this old dame’s version of a walk behind the barn.

“Best to get this show on the road,” I said to no one other than the room itself.

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