Most Precious Blood by Susan Beth Pfeffer Read Free Book Online

knew must have been hers. And there was an envelope that said, “To Val to Be Read on Her Eighteenth Birthday.”
    Val took the letter out. She sat on the floor by the closet and thought about disobeying her mother. She couldn’t remember many times when she’d willfully disobeyed either of her parents. There had never seemed the need. Sure they had rules, and their rules could be strict, but they were her parents, and you always did what your parents told you. After her mother’s death, there seemed to be fewer rules. She didn’t have to be quiet anymore, and for a while her father didn’t even seem to care if she did her homework. She did it anyway. It gave her something else to think about.
    There was over a year to go before her eighteenth birthday. Over a year where her whole life could change. Her mother hadn’t wanted her to know what was in that envelope for another whole year and more. To open it now would be to disobey the last request her mother had made of her. It would be an act of disobedience Val could never be forgiven for.
    She opened the envelope carefully, as though leaving it in one piece would make what she was doing less wrong. She took out the sheets of paper and left them folded for a moment. She didn’t have to read what they said. She could wait until she was eighteen, or until morning, or burn them. She could call her father in Washington and tell him what Michelle had said. She could go back to Kit’s and talk with her about mothers. She opened the letter.
    My Darling Valentina ,
    Today is a good day, and I can sit up in my chair. The sun is shining, and I can see the first daffodils blooming in the garden. I do not know how many more good days I will have, so although I dread writing this letter, I am making myself do it now .
    Many times when I lie in my bed I think about you and what your future will be like. You are such a pretty girl, I know that many boys will fall in love with you. As you read this letter, you are eighteen. Perhaps you are already in love. Perhaps you are even married. I was engaged to your father when I was eighteen. We married when I was nineteen and two months old. Your father was twenty-six. He knew much more of the world than I did, but he was always a loving and gentle man, and I cannot picture my life without him. I pray that someday you will also know this sort of love .
    I come from such a large family, two boys, four girls, and your father also comes from a family with brothers and sisters. Your father’s oldest brother took over their father’s business. His next brother died. And your father, with his father’s help, went into business for himself, and made his fortune building houses and apartments. I wish you had known your grandfather better. He was always so proud of Ricky .
    My family and Ricky’s family had done business together, and everybody thought we would make a fine match. I had always thought him so handsome, and was thrilled when he asked me to marry him. We waited until after I graduated high school, and then there were some problems, so we were engaged a long time .
    I know you’ve seen the pictures from our wedding, but it was even more beautiful than that. I had four flower girls and six bridesmaids and Terry was my matron of honor. I would have asked my sister Angie, but she was seven months pregnant with your cousin Mike. My friend Rose Vitelli caught my bouquet, and six months later she got married .
    Your father and I were happy as newlyweds, although we were much teased about when we would have our first baby. But months turned into years, and no matter how we tried, I was never able to become pregnant. I am sure by now the sisters have taught you how babies are made, but sometimes no matter how much a husband and a wife love each other, they cannot create a life together. That was how it was for Ricky and me. After five years, we went to doctors and had tests done. What their