Keeper of the Doves by Betsy Byars Read Free Book Online

Mama’s room. Mama was in bed, propped up on pillows. Her golden hair fanned out on either side of her face.
    The baby lay in the crook of her arm. Mama watched the small wrinkled face with a proud smile.
    â€œThis is your brother,” she said.
    We hesitated. My sisters probably felt as I did—out of place—the five sisters from the fairy tale who find themselves at the ball in their nightclothes.
    It was Abigail who managed to speak for all of us. “He’s very nice, Mama,” she said.
    â€œOut! Out!” Grandmama said. “Your mother and brother need their rest.”
    We went without any more coaxing. I, for one, was not sorry to go.

chapter sixteen
    Passing the Baby
    â€œP lease pass the baby,” Augusta said.
    â€œMy five minutes aren’t up yet,” Abigail said. “You are the most beautiful baby in the world. Yes, you are. You—”
    Papa was holding his pocket watch in one hand. He glanced at it.
    My sisters and I were lined up on the sofa to hold our new baby brother. Abigail was first because she was the oldest.
    â€œPapa, it’s got to be my turn now,” Augusta said. “Please pass the baby.”
    Grandmama was standing beside Papa, concerned that the transfer go smoothly. Her arms were half raised to assist if needed.
    â€œIt’s time,” Papa said.
    Grandmama moved forward quickly. “Now be careful of his head.” She lifted Adam and laid him across Augusta’s lap, his head cradled on her arm. I could see a spot on the top of his head where something pulsed.
    Then it was Arabella’s turn. Then Annabella’s. Their turn was a bit shorter, because after about two minutes, the first Bella said, “You can have him now.” The second Bella started to fidget even sooner.
    â€œPlease pass the baby, if you’re through,” I said, smoothing my skirt over my knees. I wished my lap wasn’t so thin, because I didn’t want my brother’s first impression of me to be one of discomfort.
    Grandmama laid Adam on my lap. I looked down at my brother and a wave of love washed over me. Up until this moment, his birth had been only a major upset in my life, and so I was unprepared for the strength of my emotion.
    â€œTime,” Papa said. He returned his pocket watch to its pocket.
    â€œAlready? I just got him,” I said.
    â€œIt was five minutes, Amie,” Grandmama said firmly. “Now Adam needs to go up to his mother. Nurse!”
    The nurse had been standing in the doorway, and she came forward quickly. Grandmama took Adam from me and held him for a moment before passing him to the nurse. My lap seemed suddenly empty.
    â€œAdam is lucky to have such nice, polite, and loving sisters, aren’t you, Adam?” Grandmama said. “Aren’t you a lucky little boy?”
    â€œAnd we’re lucky to have him,” Abigail said.
    â€œAmen,” said Papa.
    I looked up but I knew he was not calling my name.
    That afternoon I wrote:
    Five minutes I held my brother.
I could have held him all day.
But Papa’s watch said time was up
And Grandmama took him away.
    Of course the poem didn’t make it as wonderful as it was. That’s the only trouble with words. There are thousands and thousands of them, but sometimes you cannot find the one you need.
    At any rate that was one of the happiest mornings of my life. My brother really did seem to have banished unhappiness from The Willows. It was like something from one of Abigail’s fairy stories.
    I thought I would never know sorrow again. But, as it turned out, I was wrong.

chapter seventeen
    Quick. Hold That Pose.
    â€œQ uickly now,” Grandmama said.
    We were approaching our new brother with our Pocket Kodak cameras, which Grandmama had, at last, presented.
    Grandmama’s instructions had been hurried. “You have twelve exposures. This is your viewfinder. You look through it and when you see a picture you want to