While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin

Author:Lynn Austin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Brooklyn (New York, Christian, Historical Fiction, 1939-1945, General, Christian Fiction, Love Stories, Landlord and Tenant, Historical, World War, Fiction, Religious, N.Y.)
ISBN: 9780764204975
Publisher: Bethany House
Published: 2010-09-30T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

THE HOLIDAY SONG “White Christmas” played on the radio as Esther made a bed for herself on Grandma Shaffer’s sofa. The Bing Crosby tune was very popular this time of year and played so often that Esther had grown tired of hearing it. She dropped the blanket she was tucking in and wove her way through the narrow aisles of junk to turn the radio off.

“What did you do that for?” Grandma asked.

“I hate that song. It makes me sad. I don’t want to hear it anymore.”

“Well, I suppose it is time for bed.”

Esther pulled cushions off Grandma’s chairs to make a bed on the floor for Peter. Daddy had helped Grandma clear a spot in her living room before he went away so Esther and Peter would have a place to sleep on the weekends. He had tried to convince Grandma to throw away some of the useless stuff she collected, but she had refused. In the end, Daddy had no choice but to push everything against the walls and in front of the window in order to make a space on the floor where Peter could sleep. Once Grandma turned out the lights, Esther always felt like she was sleeping in a storage closet.

“Did Daddy tell you about the places where he has to sleep?” she asked as Grandma fluffed a pillow for Peter.

“No. Where does he sleep?”

“Well, on the troop ship he slept in a bunk bed that was like a hammock. There were rows and rows of them hanging on top of each other from the floor all the way to the ceiling, and he didn’t even have enough space to sit up. Then, when he first got to his army base in England, there were too many men and not enough beds, so everybody had to share. Half of the men had to stay awake while the other half slept, then they traded places. He said the sheets would still be warm when he climbed in between them.”

“I wouldn’t like that very much,” Grandma said. She spread a blanket over Peter, then made her way to her birdcage and draped a cover over it for the night. “The two of you can change places, you know, if the floor gets too uncomfortable for Peter.”

“We will.”

Esther didn’t like staying at Grandma Shaffer’s house, but she had decided to use the time this weekend to find out more about Mama’s side of the family. Esther had tried to forget about them after Daddy said they had argued with Mama and wanted nothing to do with her. But everyone Esther knew had dozens of relatives – aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents – and she barely had any. Maybe if she found Mama’s family, she wouldn’t feel all alone. And so ever since Penny had dropped them off earlier tonight, Esther had tried to summon her courage, waiting for the right moment to ask. As Grandma wove her way toward the light switch, Esther knew she’d better ask now or miss her chance.

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.