Providence

by Cocca, Lisa Colozza

  First I saw John in the morning, then a trip to the mall, and now dinner out. What other surprises could today spring on me?

  CHAPTER 14

  The restaurant was busy. Rosie sat down on a bench while I waited in line. When I finally got to the front, a girl asked me, “How many?” When she saw Rosie coming over with the carriage, she rolled her eyes and started snapping her gum. “This way,” she said and led us to a booth in the back.

  Despite the chilly reception, I was enjoying myself. Before the Tick Tock, my only restaurant experience had been on a school trip in the eighth grade. We stopped for lunch on the way home from the caverns. Mama had ignored the teacher’s note and had sent me without any money. I had worried all morning about the stop and planned to hide out in the bathroom while everyone else ate. Mrs. White came into the ladies’ room looking for me.

  “You were taking so long in here, I had to order for you. It will be my treat, since you didn’t get to choose for yourself. Let’s get back to the table now.”

  One look into Mrs. White’s eyes and I knew that she guessed my pockets were empty. For the rest of the year, I brought her baskets of beans and tomatoes and jars of jam. She deserved a better thank you, but it was all I could do at the time. Even that gave me cause to worry about Daddy tanning my hide if he found out.

  Rosie cut my trip down memory lane short. “What looks good to you?”

  The menu at the Tick Tock was just the front and back of a piece of paper. This one was a whole little book and I didn’t know where to read first. I looked over at Rosie, who was flipping through the pages and nodding and decided to do the same. “I don’t know. What looks good to you?”

  The waitress came over and took our orders. When Rosie asked for the special of the day, I decided to follow her lead. Over dinner, Rosie and I talked about where I might be able to buy the paint markers I saw behind the sales counter back at the Baby Boutique. Neither of us was sure about what kinds of things they would work on, and Rosie pointed out our lack of diaper bags.

  While we waited for the waitress to bring us our dessert, I fed Georgia her bottle. She had been as quiet as a mouse throughout the meal and had seemed to enjoy all of the attention she was getting from passersby. She was wearing one of her little white outfits, and I had tied a pink bow in her hair. Before seeing the clothes in that baby store window, it hadn’t occurred to me that it was odd for such things to be in the Second Hand Rose. “Rosie, where did all of these baby things come from?”

  “You saw me unpacking the box,” she answered.

  “I know,” I said. “But where did the box come from? Who gave you a whole box of brand new expensive baby clothes—and a carriage and crib to boot?”

  Rosie didn’t answer at first. She looked down at the peach cobbler that the waitress had just set before her and started tapping her fork against the side of the plate. “I don’t want you to be upset about Georgia having these things when I tell you … well, when I tell you about the awful thing that happened.”

  I looked over at Rosie. I wanted to know, now more than ever, where the things came from, but Rosie’s eyes were filling with tears just thinking about it. “It’s okay, Rosie, you don’t have to say.”

  Rosie took a sip of her tea and took a deep breath. “When my granddaughter was younger she was a real spitfire. She didn’t like coming to work with me, and she turned her babysitter’s hair from gray to white. I couldn’t leave her on her own, so I hired a girl to come stay with her after school. That girl was as special as the flower she was named for—Lily. She was in high school and Jenny, my granddaughter, thought she was something special. That girl worked magic with Jenny. She really helped to keep her out of trouble.”

  “Is that the same woman you and John were talking about?”

  Rosie nodded. “Yes. After high school, she gave up babysitting and went off to college. Unlike my granddaughter, she didn’t forget where she came from. She married a boy she met at the university and they bought some land on the edge of town. He was a handsome young man with a good head for business. They built a house the size of a hotel on that land, but she is still the same sweet girl I met all those years ago. Before the accident, she came by the store almost every week to say hi and offer me a ride somewhere.”

  I wanted to stop Rosie and ask her what kind of accident, but I could tell by the look on her face the story was hard enough to tell without me rushing her.

  “I remember the excitement in her voice when she came to tell me about the new addition to their family. They had been trying for years to have a baby. But as she said, it wasn’t having a baby that was important to them, it was raising a child. The poor girl never had any brothers or sisters, and her mama and daddy had passed on by then. Her husband’s family was the same. They wanted a family of their own. Her husband had a lawyer friend. He knew about a young girl about to give birth. The girl wanted to find a family for her baby. It seemed like a miracle for everyone.”

  I reached across the table and wrapped my hands around Rosie’s hand. Thinking and talking about this was filling her with such pain that it filled me with dread. Rosie glanced at Baby Girl and took a deep breath before continuing.

  “Last April, their dreams came true when a healthy baby girl was born. They named her Beatrice Virginia, for her two grandmas in heaven. The hospital Beatrice was born in was up by Timber Creek. Coming back home on the highway, there was a horrible accident. A trucker fell asleep driving, and his sixteen-wheeler came across the highway and into the family car. Her husband and baby were killed. The new mama was broken body and soul, and ended up spending a month in the hospital. First thing she did when she got home was to have her help pack up all of the baby things and bring them down to me. I guess it made her too sad to see them. Her body is healing now, but she barely leaves her house and never accepts callers. I send notes to her every week in a prayer basket the preacher sends to her house, but I wish I could do more. John lives up on her property and takes care of the grounds for her. He knows how close we are, and thinks she may be up to seeing me now.

  “When I told you those things had just arrived, I wasn’t being completely honest. I just hadn’t had it in me to open those boxes until you and Georgia walked into the Second Hand Rose.”

  We sat quiet for a while. Sadness had come over me like a wave blanketing the shore. I didn’t even know these folks, yet my heart felt heavy from hearing the story. I could only imagine how hard it was for Rosie to share it with me. When we got up to leave, I gave her a big hug.

  When we stopped at the register to pay for our feast, Rosie let out a little squeal. “Will you look at that,” she said, pointing at a newspaper clipping hanging over the register. “That man taking pictures at the parade must work for the newspaper. That’s you, Georgia, and me! It’s a mighty flattering photo, if I do say so myself.”

  I felt my heart starting to race again as I stared at the clipping. It was surrounded by a half dozen other shots of people celebrating the Fourth. Still, Rosie noticed it right away. How many others would? I tried to force a smile on my face, as Rosie patted my arm and continued to heap on the compliments about the picture. Her comments were drawing attention our way, and I wished the girl behind the register would hurry and finish with us. A few minutes later, I was relieved to be walking out of the establishment.

  We made three more stops in the mall. The first one was at an art supply store, where the boy behind the counter was happy to take some time to show me how to use those markers and tell me about all the things I could use them on. Our next stop was at a store that only sold things that cost one dollar. Mama and Daddy would love that place.

  Our last stop was Rosie’s idea. We walked into a department store so big I couldn’t see the other end of it. Polished squares of floor tile formed a path through a jungle of racks packed with clothes. Rosie put her hand on my arm. “You’ve been working so hard; you’ve earned a little bonus,” she said. “I want you to pick out a couple of new outfits f
or yourself. It will be my treat.”

  I started to protest, but Rosie took charge of the stroller and said, “I don’t want to hear any arguments. Don’t be looking at those price tags, either.”

  I snaked my way through a few racks, stopping to feel fabric with my fingertips. I was afraid of ruining something I didn’t own. “Those clothes won’t bite,” Rosie said.

  I turned in her direction. It looked like the carriage was holding her up. I picked up two tops, a skirt, and a pair of pants and hurried back to Rosie. “These are a great start,” Rosie said, “but you’re forgetting something.”

  “What?” I asked, looking at the clothes in my hand.

  “Why, a new bathing suit, of course. You can’t be going to a pool party without a swimsuit.”

  “I’m not going to the party. I don’t know any of Sarah’s friends.”

  “Nonsense, you need a little time to be you without worrying about little Georgia. You’ll get to know her friends at the party. Don’t you worry any. I’ll have Dottie come to help me with the baby. You are going to go and have some fun. Now, I see the bathing suits right over there. Let’s go.”

  Her words sounded more like an order than an invitation, so I did as I was told. When I chose a swimsuit, Rosie took all of the clothes from my arms. She insisted on going to the register herself, and came back looking proud of her purchases.

  We boarded the bus home feeling tired but satisfied. Both of my companions fell asleep as soon as the bus pulled away from the curb, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Hearing about that awful tragedy made me think about how much I missed Mama and my brothers and sisters. Mama must be taking on so much extra work with me gone. Maybe I should go home before the new baby arrives, I thought.

  One look into Baby Girl’s peaceful face brought me back to reality. Even if Mama and Daddy took me back in, they would never welcome this little one into their home. I had searched the papers for a sign of her rightful mama since the day I found her. Truth be told, I’d guessed a while back that no one was looking for either one of us. We were a couple of castaways, and Rosie was now the island we called home.

  CHAPTER 15

  Despite our big shopping adventure, Rosie was up bright and early the next morning. I decided to lay low in the morning to avoid any talk about me going to church with her. I was doing the best I could, but I knew in my heart that my every day was a lie. I couldn’t imagine standing next to Rosie in church and still keeping my secrets from her.

  I decided to try and push back my guilty feelings by making a batch of muffins for when she got home. I had watched Rosie make them and it seemed simple enough. I started measuring and mixing before realizing I was missing a few of the ingredients. I gave the cupboards and refrigerator a quick tour and picked out a few things to add in place of the missing ingredients. I was soaking in the sweet smell floating from the oven and giving Baby Girl her bath when Rosie walked in the kitchen. “What smells so good?” Rosie asked.

  “I made us some muffins,” I answered. “They won’t be as good as yours, but I hope you like them.”

  “They smell better than mine,” Rosie said, handing me a towel. “I’ll take them out of the oven for you while you get Georgia dressed.”

  When I came back into the kitchen, Rosie was sitting at the table with John. The basket of muffins sat in the middle of the table and Rosie had already poured a round of orange juice. I was busy studying the way the napkins were folded, trying to avoid staring at John, when Rosie said, “John came to take me up to see Lily. I invited him to join us for some of these delicious muffins. It’s not every day a young man gets to spend time with a young lady who is pretty and can bake, too.”

  Rosie can say some of the kindest things my ears ever heard, but she also can turn my face redder than anyone else. It took all my strength to keep from running out of the kitchen and hiding out until John left. John got up, pulled a chair out for me, and nodded.

  I sank into the chair, and played with Baby Girl’s ringlets until I could catch my breath. When Rosie served the muffins, I stopped thinking about Rosie’s comments and started worrying about how the muffins would taste. I was feeling a little less sure of those new ingredients the closer the muffins came to being eaten. Rosie took the first bite. “Mmm mmm,” she said. “This time you’re going to have to give me the recipe.”

  I didn’t want to admit in front of John, but I couldn’t even remember what I put in the batter. When we finished, Rosie asked, “Why don’t we bring some of these up to Lily? They sure will sweeten her day.”

  Before I could even nod, she said, “I know you’re nervous about meeting Lily, but I think once you get to know her, you’ll love her as much as I do. I’m sending John over to the store to get a baby car seat from the back room. We aren’t taking any chances with this little one.”

  When John returned, he and Rosie had another chat. When they were both nodding their heads, Rosie said, “John is going to bring me up first, then he will come back for you and Georgia.”

  She didn’t say it like a question, so there was nothing to say. I just nodded and followed them out onto the front porch. Baby Girl and I sat out there watching the birds hop from branch to branch on the tree by the road. “Today will be your very first ride in a truck,” I said. “It will be a real adventure for you.”

  My words got me to thinking again about my own adventures list. I closed my eyes and tried real hard to picture the words in my notebook. It had been some time since I had pulled it out and read the list. Back when I first found Baby Girl, I spent time picturing how it would go with Baby Girl as a traveling companion. But it didn’t take long for me to know I wasn’t prepared for all sorts of things that could go wrong with a baby on the road. I was starting to realize I might never have any of those adventures. I tried to stay far from those thoughts, so I kept the notebook buried in the bottom of a drawer.

  The truck’s horn pulled me out of my little pity party. John hopped out and hurried up the walkway. He scooped up the car seat with one hand and said, “This should only take a minute.”

  I didn’t need to worry about what to say to John during our ride. Neither one of us could have heard a spoken word over Baby Girl. She did not take to this new mode of transportation as well as I’d hoped. My brothers and sisters had always fallen asleep as soon as the truck hit the gravel. No such luck with Baby Girl. She started howling the minute John turned the key. I sat rocking and wiggling the seat trying to get her to calm down. She cried herself asleep about two minutes before we reached our destination. I had been so busy trying to quiet Baby Girl, I hadn’t had a chance to look around yet. John pointed to the house half-hidden by a stone wall and iron gates. Two giant poplars stood guard at the entrance, their arms, heavy with leaves, reaching out to warn strangers away.

  John hopped out of the truck and swung the gates open. A bad feeling washed over me when I looked past the gates. I half wanted to grab Baby Girl and run, but I couldn’t coax my body into movement. John smiled when he climbed back into the truck. “It isn’t half as scary as it looks the first time you see it,” he said.

  The truck rolled to a stop in front of a pair of doors. They were practically the size of the doors on Daddy’s old barn, but a whole lot fancier. John walked us up to the door and rang the bell. A woman opened the door. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun at the back of her head. She had a look on her face that fell halfway between sad and angry. She wasn’t what I was expecting from Rosie’s description. I took a deep breath and said, “Good afternoon, Miss Lil …”

  John put his hand on my shoulder and interrupted. “Mrs. Harper, this is Becky and Georgia. They’re here for a visit with Miss Lily.”

  I hadn’t even stepped into the house and I was already embarrassing myself. I followed Mrs. Harper into the front parlor. The drapes on the windows were pulled tight, blocking every sliver of the daylight that filled the outdoors. A single dim lamp was lit. It cast a soft shadow across the room. Rosie sprang from her c
hair when I walked in. She put her arm around the small of my back and guided me toward the woman sitting by the empty fireplace. At first glance, I wouldn’t have guessed there was any kind of problem. She was neatly dressed with matching jewelry and there wasn’t a hair out of place on her head. On closer inspection, though, I noticed her pale skin, thin frame, and lifeless blue eyes. Her face had an expression that made me feel like her body was here but her mind was far away. Even though she was seated, she kept one hand draped over a cane that looked like an old-fashioned walking stick.

  “Becky, this is Lily,” Rosie said, nodding her head in the direction of the chair. “Lily, this is Becky. She’s the girl who baked those wonderful muffins and does all the work at the store I told you about. You saw the beautiful window displays she did for Fourth of July. You have to come back into town soon to have a peek for yourself at all of the changes she’s made. My words don’t do them justice. And this little one in her arms is Georgia. There is more sweetness in this baby than in a whole field of sugar cane. Why don’t you hold the baby for a bit?”

  Lily’s hand had been sweeping back and forth as if to keep us away as Rosie spoke. She shook her head and whispered to me, “Hello.”

  The hours dragged on like the times I had to stand in front of Daddy while he thought about what punishment was harsh enough to fit my latest crime. Rosie progressed from talking about the weather to church to all the happenings in town. It was as if she feared something awful might happen if she left room for a moment of quiet. Lily looked like she was trying to swallow a sigh. I suspect she was taught not to show her lack of interest in someone else’s words. As for me, I sat, spine straight, hoping Lily couldn’t hear my stomach growling over Rosie’s nonstop chatter. The muffin I’d had for breakfast hadn’t filled me up, and my insides were letting that be known. Lily didn’t seem to notice, though, as she sat there staring at Baby Girl. When the doorbell rang again and I heard John’s voice, I felt like I had been saved.