Family Next Door by Barbara McMahon

Author:Barbara McMahon [McMahon, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Religious, Romance, General
ISBN: 9781426846847
Google: mJ1fuPT1H0EC
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Caroline Everett called Gillian that evening to confirm she was still planning to visit Maud on Wednesday morning. Gillian told her how she was looking forward to the visit.

Caroline arrived at eight Wednesday morning, and in no time the two of them were driving to Portland.

“Maud is so happy you’re coming,” Caroline said as she merged with light traffic on the highway. “I talked to her twice yesterday. She had me run by her home and pick up some things for her. Breaking a hip is usually very bad for a woman her age, but her doctor said she would make a complete recovery.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting her. You said earlier she actually went to school with my great-grandmother.”

“Oh, they started first grade together. That was in the days before kindergarten. Our school isn’t large, even today, so they were in the same classes all along. I didn’t meet Sophie until I married James and moved to Rocky Point. That was about fifty years ago.”

“So you knew her a long time. Tell me more about her.”

Caroline smiled and started right in with, “Sophie was a pistol. She had a sense of humor that kept us in stitches every time we saw each other. And she had a way with flowers. I noticed the gardens when I drove in. She won prizes at the county fair for her roses, you know.”

“I do know. Marvin Henny stopped by. He’ll be taking care of things from now on.”

“Good. Marvin is honest and has a way with plants.”

Caroline continued reminiscing for the remainder of the trip. Gillian listened, enthralled. Once she discovered she had so much in common with Sophie, she wished more than ever that they had met.

The nursing home was larger than Gillian had expected. Built of brick, all on one level, it had two long wings that branched from the main portion of the building.

They met Maud in the sunny social hall. She was in a wheelchair. Her thinning white hair was done up and her makeup was perfect for a woman in her nineties. She beamed at Gillian as she and Caroline crossed the room to greet her.

“You look a lot like Sophie—though you’re taller. Or does that just seem so because I’m in this chair?”

“She’s much taller than Sophie,” Caroline said, giving her friend a kiss on the cheek. “Here are the things you requested. Including Sophie’s darling Gillian.”

“Sit, sit. I’m so delighted to meet you, Gillian. Sophie told me all about you. Tell me, how do you like Rocky Point?”

“I love it.”

“Settling in okay?”

Gillian nodded. “I went to church last Sunday and met so many people. And I’ve been exploring the town. One shopkeeper—is it Betsy Murphy?—offered a discount at her fabric store if and when I want to do up new window coverings, and she gave me the name of someone to sew them. Marcie Evans has been very friendly. And of course I was happy to meet Mrs. Everett,” she said with a smile at the older woman.

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.