âhe was quite pleased with Cookâs progress.â
âOh, that is good news, indeed, Sister,â I say, tears filling my eyes. I clasp my palms together in gratitude. âWhen he wakes please tell him that his daughter came to visit with her fondest love and that I shall return bright and early tomorrow.â
CHAPTER 9
The Glory of Girlfriends
Polly, put the kettle on,
Polly, put the kettle on,
Polly, put the kettle on,
Weâll all have tea.
Â
Sukey, take it off again,
Sukey, take it off again,
Sukey, take it off again,
Theyâve all gone away.
I nearly skip away from the hospital Iâm so happy to hear Father is on the mend, but the closer to home I get the heavier my heart grows, and my skip slows to a somber trot, dreading the dark and lonely cottage without Father.
Turning the bend, Iâm surprised to see a lamp in our front window and another light flickering inside. Luâs face appears in the window. What a nice surprise.
Dear Lu has brought egg salad sandwiches with pickles chopped in the way we both love best, and sweet fried onion chips, succulent strawberries picked fresh from the patch today, a cloth sack filled with warm chocolate cookies studded with walnuts, and her famous sea taffy. And last, but not least, gossip about the princes.
Ahh, the glory of girlfriends.
I take a bite and then another. âIt is you who should be the cook one day, Lu. Such talent is wasted cleaning.â
âHmm . . . maybe someday,â Lu says.
I try the sweet fried onion chips. âOh my heavens, these are delicious! â
I was in such a hurry to visit Father, I passed up Noraâs spread for the servants. Iâm sure she didnât treat the kitchen crew with the pomp and dignity Father always offers on this special evening. She probably fed them in the kitchen instead of insisting they sit in the fine chairs at the royal tables, but nonetheless, Iâm sure the food was tasty. No one can say Nora Baker canât cook.
Suddenly ravenous, I devour another sandwich, popping one salty crunchy chip after another into my mouth, washing it all down with fresh sweet lemonade from the jug. Lu laughs, happy to see me eat.
âYouâre worm thin,â she says. âGet some meat on those bones. Youâll never fill out a ball gown unless you plump up some.â
âYouâre such a mother, Lu.â
âI canât wait to be, someday, Grace. I want to have a house full of children and a big bright kitchen to . . .â
She stops. Her face clouds. âWhat, Lu? Tell me,â I say.
âMy dreams are not meant to come true,â Lu says. She turns and begins clearing up from our picnic.
âThatâs preposterous,â I say. âCome here, Lu, right now.â I fetch the jewel-rimmed mirror and hold it up to Luâs face. âLook in there,â I say.
Lu giggles. âYouâre silly.â
âGo ahead, look,â I say.
Lu does.
âNow,â I say, ârepeat after me. I, Lu.â
âI, Lu.â
âI, Lu, am beautiful . . . bright and beautiful . . . inside and out.â
Lu giggles. She looks away from the mirror. I hold it back up to her face. âGo ahead, say it.â
âI, Lu, am beautiful, bright and beautiful, inside and out.â
âAnd the dream I dream will come true.â
Lu pauses, then begins to smile. âAnd the dream I dream will come true.â
I grin. âThis, I believe.â
âMe too, Gracie. This, I believe.â
Thereâs a knock and then the cottage door swings opens. Nuff pokes her head in carrying a blanket and a pillow. âI thought you might like some company tonight.â
âCome in!â I shout. âNow weâre all here.â
Lu slides down the couch, making room for Nuff to join us.
I look at them and my heart fills with joy. What would have been a dark and lonely cottage quickly fills to bursting with laughter and