Whatever she decides, we can help her.”
His touch went all the way to Wanda’s heart, and the softest smile sprung to her face.
“I plan on us doing just that, Mr. Court.”
Chapter 34
In Sync
“Confidence comes from finding your inner strength,” Lilly repeated her new mantra. She had walked with eyes cast down the first time around the community college campus, not really seeing or being a part of what surrounded her, willing herself invisible, allowing herself to be swallowed up by limitless words in countless books. Times had changed. A scholarship, a respected job at The Community Voice, a new perspective; she finally felt in sync with her surroundings. She wasn’t intimidated by a lack of experience. More laughter bubbled out in everyday occurrences. She had become a human sponge. But most importantly, Lilly had mastered the art of “the defiant chin”. How often had she teased BAD about that little sign of rebellion? It proved an efficient tool for facing life, and engaging it.
Lilly flowed along, excelling, garnering attention. It was new and surprising, especially when as much of it came from her talent as it did from the male students who jockeyed for a position to be near her. She enjoyed their company without taking them too seriously. With thoughts of Paul still rattling around in her brain, she flirted without focusing on outcomes. It would have been perfect if Bernadette Ann Donahue could have been there to share it.
Chapter 35
A Kick out of Giving
Lights clung to palm trees, encircling them in a dance of white. Every breeze made them wiggle and bounce to a melody just out of earshot. Colorful holiday flags, hanging from lampposts up and down the street, flapped to the same tune.
Watching folks rush in a frenzy to be somewhere else, to buy, to eat, Bernadette thought a balmy Galveston Christmas wasn’t much different from a cold one in Lone Grove. Except here, there was more than one package with her name on it. Payne had appeared one morning with a scrawny fir in the back of her truck, declaring it needed a home. She set it up in the corner by the front window of the café daring anyone to challenge its looks. Slowly, almost magically, it was dressed in others’ yuletide hand-me-downs. It was one of the ugliest and most adored trees on The Strand. At its top, in place of a star, hung a pair of booties.
The little café family agreed to draw names and stay steadfast to their plan of buying for that one person. As days ticked closer to the twenty-fifth, the rule became bent and then broken until the skinny limbs of the overly decorated fir could barely cover its bounty. Bernadette watched the daily piling-up of blanket- and bib-sized boxes. She began to think of what she could offer in return. Feelings of goodwill exchanges were new to her. They squeezed in joy by edging out homesickness. By the third week in December, five small matted and framed paintings neatly wrapped in hand-painted paper, each reflecting a favorite island scene of the recipient, lay nestled by other gifts.
Bernadette placed two boxes under the tree for Wanda. One was a watercolor of a brilliant morning bursting over a small café with a bench out front and a sign in the window. Another held a bright purple shawl ringed in fringe. Payne had seen it in a second-hand store. Throwing it on her shoulders she had begun to swing and sway, setting delicate purple fingers into motion. After the silent dance, she folded it carefully and placed it back on its shelf. The small price had been more than she was willing to pay for an unneeded item.
“Where would you wear something like that if you had it, Payne?”
“Anywhere I wanted to feel beautiful, my dear!”
Bernadette could hardly wait to see Payne’s face when she held it again as her own.
She soon turned her attention to Josh.
“What can I do for him, Payne? He has driven me around, helped me with the legal stuff, met with the Bertans…. How
His touch went all the way to Wanda’s heart, and the softest smile sprung to her face.
“I plan on us doing just that, Mr. Court.”
Chapter 34
In Sync
“Confidence comes from finding your inner strength,” Lilly repeated her new mantra. She had walked with eyes cast down the first time around the community college campus, not really seeing or being a part of what surrounded her, willing herself invisible, allowing herself to be swallowed up by limitless words in countless books. Times had changed. A scholarship, a respected job at The Community Voice, a new perspective; she finally felt in sync with her surroundings. She wasn’t intimidated by a lack of experience. More laughter bubbled out in everyday occurrences. She had become a human sponge. But most importantly, Lilly had mastered the art of “the defiant chin”. How often had she teased BAD about that little sign of rebellion? It proved an efficient tool for facing life, and engaging it.
Lilly flowed along, excelling, garnering attention. It was new and surprising, especially when as much of it came from her talent as it did from the male students who jockeyed for a position to be near her. She enjoyed their company without taking them too seriously. With thoughts of Paul still rattling around in her brain, she flirted without focusing on outcomes. It would have been perfect if Bernadette Ann Donahue could have been there to share it.
Chapter 35
A Kick out of Giving
Lights clung to palm trees, encircling them in a dance of white. Every breeze made them wiggle and bounce to a melody just out of earshot. Colorful holiday flags, hanging from lampposts up and down the street, flapped to the same tune.
Watching folks rush in a frenzy to be somewhere else, to buy, to eat, Bernadette thought a balmy Galveston Christmas wasn’t much different from a cold one in Lone Grove. Except here, there was more than one package with her name on it. Payne had appeared one morning with a scrawny fir in the back of her truck, declaring it needed a home. She set it up in the corner by the front window of the café daring anyone to challenge its looks. Slowly, almost magically, it was dressed in others’ yuletide hand-me-downs. It was one of the ugliest and most adored trees on The Strand. At its top, in place of a star, hung a pair of booties.
The little café family agreed to draw names and stay steadfast to their plan of buying for that one person. As days ticked closer to the twenty-fifth, the rule became bent and then broken until the skinny limbs of the overly decorated fir could barely cover its bounty. Bernadette watched the daily piling-up of blanket- and bib-sized boxes. She began to think of what she could offer in return. Feelings of goodwill exchanges were new to her. They squeezed in joy by edging out homesickness. By the third week in December, five small matted and framed paintings neatly wrapped in hand-painted paper, each reflecting a favorite island scene of the recipient, lay nestled by other gifts.
Bernadette placed two boxes under the tree for Wanda. One was a watercolor of a brilliant morning bursting over a small café with a bench out front and a sign in the window. Another held a bright purple shawl ringed in fringe. Payne had seen it in a second-hand store. Throwing it on her shoulders she had begun to swing and sway, setting delicate purple fingers into motion. After the silent dance, she folded it carefully and placed it back on its shelf. The small price had been more than she was willing to pay for an unneeded item.
“Where would you wear something like that if you had it, Payne?”
“Anywhere I wanted to feel beautiful, my dear!”
Bernadette could hardly wait to see Payne’s face when she held it again as her own.
She soon turned her attention to Josh.
“What can I do for him, Payne? He has driven me around, helped me with the legal stuff, met with the Bertans…. How
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