Grounded by Angela Correll

Author:Angela Correll [Correll, Angela]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781940192048
Publisher: Koehler Books
Published: 2013-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Beulah tied her orange apron around her waist, the one given to her by her Aunt Sara years ago. It was still her favorite, despite her having half a dozen now. Soft as a lamb’s ear, it felt the best to her and she needed a little comfort today. Slices of country ham sizzled in the iron skillet. A dozen store-bought eggs sat awaiting their turn in the frying pan. They were pale, anemic little things compared to the rich eggs she used to gather from her own chickens. That was one of the many things she had let go of after losing Fred. One by one, the hens died of old age, and she never replaced them.

Tomorrow was her surgery, and she dreaded it. The nurse told Beulah not to eat a thing after midnight, but who in the world ate anything after midnight? Yet somehow, hearing what she couldn’t do made her feel deprived. Surgery was not for the weak, but neither was growing old. She flipped the ham slices, breathing in the salty aroma. Well, the Lord knew best, and she had to trust Him. That was all there was to it.

Preparations were made. Every closet and drawer in the house had been organized and cleaned. The garden was growing and beans would be ready for picking soon. She might even be able to help Annie break beans, if the Lord let her live through the surgery.

There, she had pulled the niggling thought out into the open. What if she went to sleep and never woke up? It wasn’t that she was afraid to die; no, the Lord had taken care of that for her. It was Annie. Beulah felt the child was in the middle of a great transition and needed her right now. With everyone else in her life abandoning her either by choice or by death, Beulah did not want to leave Annie alone, and especially as their relationship had taken a subtle turnabout.

Beulah’s stubborn streak had almost reared and made Annie go back. But Annie’s offer to stay and help had touched her in a deep place, and by God’s grace, she accepted. Pride. She had struggled with that old sin all her life and reckoned she would until the end.

Beulah poured water on top of the ham. A little boiling made the slices good and tender. Black coffee sat on the counter, ready to make red-eye gravy as soon as the water boiled off and the ham was removed from the pan.

“Lord, your will be done tomorrow. I’m in your hands,” she whispered.

“What can I do?” Annie asked. Beulah noticed she had changed out of her church clothes into jeans and a short-sleeved top.

“You can get the biscuits out of the freezer and put them in the oven. When I made them up I froze them in the pan, so they’re all ready to go.”

Annie did as Beulah asked, then set about dressing the table. “Lindy won’t be coming today. Do you know who might be here?”

“Scott can’t come this week.

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