Down from the Mountain by Elizabeth Fixmer Read Free Book Online Page B

everything gets fuzzy because my eyes are watery. I miss the hook and they smash to the ground. When I scramble to recover the rose quartz, the pearl strand slips and beads fly everywhere. They hit the shelf behind me; they roll into the aisle and under displays. I slump to my knees and scramble to pick them up, but my actions seem to be in slow motion.
    A chorus of voices swells behind me. Several people, including customers and store clerks, help with the pickup. So many people are scrambling to recover the beads.
    “Oh no, Eva,” from Rachel.
    “Look what you did!” from Esther.
    “Let me help you,” from Marcy.
    “You know we’ll have to pay for these,” Esther hisses.
    “I’m afraid so” from Marcy. She points to a big sign above the displays that says “You break, you buy.”
    I’m crying, and all the words seem to be going through a long tunnel before they reach me. I can barely see the beads on the floor.
    “It’s okay,” Rachel says, hugging me. She lifts my face to meet her eyes. “Eva, my goodness, you’re pale and shaking. It’s not the end of the world.”
    I am barely aware of leaving the store and walking back to the van. My dad’s face floods my brain, and I suddenly remember what these beads mean to me.
    The last time I saw my father was on my fourth birthday. I remember driving Mother crazy because he was coming to the house and I couldn’t stop jumping around in excitement. I was a daddy’s girl, but all of my begging never made a difference.
    Some things about that day are so clear in my mind that they could have happened this morning. Other things are fuzzy, and I’m sure there’s lots I’ve forgotten.
    I do remember the fancy dress Daddy got me because it was so beautiful. It was white with purple puffy dots. I don’t know the name of the fabric, but it was soft and wispy and layered. If you picked up just one layer, you could see through it. Mommy did something special with my hair. She pulled back hair from both sides, braided it, and attached a bow where the braids came together on the back of my head. It matched my dress and made me feel beautiful. I couldn’t wait for Daddy to see me.
    Daddy only lived three blocks away, but it was so hard for Mother to be around him that our visits weren’t anywhere near as often as I wanted.
    Even now I can feel his prickly mustache against my cheeks and the beard that tickled me when he kissed my face. I would pretend to hate his beard and yank on it a little. He would pretend that I was hurting him. Then we’d both giggle.
    Mommy started yelling at Daddy about something. I think it was because he let me dive right into opening my presents instead of making me slow down and open the card first.
    I know he gave me several presents and that made Mommy mad. “You’re spoiling her,” she said. Daddy would yell back that he only had one daughter and he could spoil me if he wanted to. But only two of the gifts stand out in my mind. One was a red-and-white tube with ribbon on both ends. The other was a little box with a bow on it.
    I tore open the first but Daddy had to explain what it was. “It’s a calendar for two years. That’s how long I’ll be in China. Every time you wake up in the morning, you put an X on another day and each X brings us closer to the time we can see each other again.”
    I probably shrugged the calendar off because I hadn’t grasped how those little boxes related to time passing. And I didn’t want to think about him going far away to teach. I was much more interested in the little box. I’m sure I ripped it open eagerly.
    Inside was a pink and white necklace that I thought was beautiful.
    “Your name is hidden in this necklace,” he said. I loved puzzles, but no matter how hard I studied it, practically crossing my eyes, I couldn’t find the puzzle. Finally he laughed and told me the secret. “The pearls are lily white. That’s for the Lily part of your name.”
    I laughed.
    “And the pink stones