Beloved Physician by Al Lacy Read Free Book Online Page A

not believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It is all a fairy tale.”
    Knowing the Word of God can penetrate the most stubborn mind and heart, Mabel went back to sewing, but as they worked together, she quoted Scripture after Scripture, doing her best to sow the seed of the Word in Cassandra’s heart.
    They had lunch together, at which time Cassandra did not bow her head when her aunt prayed over the food.
    At one o’clock, they went back into the sewing room.
    At one-thirty, Mabel was showing Cassandra a particular type of stitching to do when there was a knock at the front door of the house.
    Cassandra sprang off her chair and hurried into the hall, saying she would get it. When she reached the front door, she opened it and found Rosemary Snyder standing there with a pained look in her eyes.
    “Hello, neighbor. What can I do for you?”
    Rosemary asked, “Can we talk?”
    Cassandra stepped back and opened the door wider. “Why, of course. Please come in. We’ll go into the parlor.” As they were heading down the hall toward the parlor door, they saw Mabel coming toward them from the sewing room.
    Mabel smiled. “Hello, Rosemary. It’s nice to see you.”
    “It’s nice to see you too, Mrs. Downing.”
    As her aunt drew near, Cassandra said, “Rosemary came over to talk to me about something. We’re going to talk in the parlor.”
    “Oh, I see. Well, I’ll go on back to the sewing room.”
    Rosemary shook her head. “Please, Mrs. Downing, I’d like for you to be in on the conversation too, if you don’t mind.”
    “Well, all right, dear. I’ll be back in a moment. I just want to go to the kitchen and get each of us a glass of lemonade. You two go on into the parlor.”
    Mabel bustled down the hall, and Cassandra led Rosemary into the parlor.
    When they were heading for the spot where two overstuffed chairs, Mabel’s favorite rocker, and the sofa were positioned in a circle, Cassandra looked at her friend. “What’s this all about?”
    “I’ll tell both of you when your aunt gets back,” said Rosemary, a tiny frown forming between her pretty green eyes.
    Moments later, when Mabel returned carrying a tray with three full glasses of lemonade and a plate of sugar cookies, the young women were sitting side by side on the flowered sofa.
    After giving the refreshments to Rosemary and Cassandra, Mabel placed the tray on an end table by the sofa, took the remaining glass and a couple of cookies, and lowered herself into her soft rocking chair. She took a small sip of the lemonade. “Now, dear, what is this all about?”
    Rosemary shifted sideways on the sofa so she could look at Cassandra, glanced at Mabel, and said, “Mother and I were at the general store early this morning, and we got to talking to a couple of ladies from Mrs. Downing’s church, Beulah Franks and OpalDomire. The subject went to you, Cassandra.”
    Cassandra’s brow furrowed. “Me?”
    “Mm-hmm. The ladies informed Mother and me that Mrs. Downing had told them Cassandra had come to live with her because her parents had put her out of their home.”
    Cassandra’s features reddened. She looked at her aunt, then turned to face Rosemary.
    “Why did you tell me that your parents had died?” said Rosemary.
    Flustered, Cassandra sent another hot glance toward her aunt, then silently looked at the floor for a few seconds. She nervously ran her tongue over her lips, cleared her throat, looked up at Rosemary, and said, “Well, in a way, my parents are dead to me, since they want nothing to do with me. I told you they were dead, Rosemary, because I didn’t want you or anyone else to know that my parents had put me out.”
    Mabel’s head bobbed. “Cassandra! That’s a terrible thing to do! How would your parents feel if they knew you were telling people they were dead?”
    Cassandra burst into tears and threw her hands to her face.
    She sobbed hard for a minute, while Rosemary and Mabel looked at each other in consternation, then left