The Waltons 3 - The Easter Story by Robert Weverka Read Free Book Online

We’re goin’ to do the best we can, and we’re goin’ to show Mama how much we really love her.”
    Erin nodded and sniffled back the tears.
    Mary Ellen and Elizabeth had both turned to listen. Elizabeth took her thumb from her mouth and buried it deep under the covers. John-Boy smiled at her and moved toward the door.
    “Now let’s all get some sleep.”
    “John-Boy?” Mary Ellen murmured.
    He paused at the door.
    “Thanks,” she said.

III
    T heir first visit with their mother had all the characteristics of a homecoming party. Through the afternoon, all seven of them impatiently watched the clock on the classroom wall. When Miss Hunter finally dismissed them they bolted for the door and headed home at a half run.
    At the house Grandma helped Olivia change into her prettiest nightgown and then cleaned up the room while Olivia brushed her hair. Following Grandma’s instructions, Grandpa made sugar cookies and a pitcher of lemonade while John washed the bedroom windows. When the thunder of footsteps hit the back porch and roared up the stairs, Olivia was ready and waiting.
    They each got a hug and a kiss and a beaming smile. Then they sat on the floor or at the foot of the bed and Grandpa served the refreshments. If anything, it seemed that Olivia was more lighthearted than they had ever seen her. Elizabeth said she was going to learn to cook, and Jim-Bob said he already had plans to enlarge her vegetable garden. Olivia laughed and said that maybe she should have gotten sick a long time ago.
    There were no longer any doubts or fears. Olivia was still their mother, and she was as warm and loving, and as dependably strong as ever.
    After forty-five minutes John rose and shooed everyone out with a grin. If they all had such wonderful plans, he said, they’d better get started with them before they wore themselves out talking. And they had chores and homework to do before suppertime.
    In the days that followed, John-Boy didn’t at first fully appreciate what his mother was doing. But it soon became clear that she was going to permit no one to waste time brooding, or feeling sorry for her. And she was going to insure against it by encouraging each of them to think about and plan their own futures.
    Before they all went off to school each day, they gathered in her bedroom. Smiling cheerfully, she asked each about his studies, or his homework, or their classmates. Sometimes she gently admonished them to apply themselves more, and to their inquiries about how she was feeling, she laughed and observed that it wasn’t fair for everyone to be working so hard while she lolled around in bed all day.
    When they arrived home from school she was in the same cheerful mood, and talked to them individually.
    “John-Boy, I hope you’ve been given some thought to what you’re goin’ to be takin’ in college next year. You’ll be graduatin’ pretty soon, and you should be prepared. I been thinkin’ about it all afternoon, picturin’ you on campus.”
    Even before his mother’s illness John-Boy had grave doubts about ever going to college. Now, with all the medical expenses, it seemed like his chances were even more remote. He smiled. “You mean in my porkpie hat and raccoon coat?”
    “No. What you wear doesn’t concern me as much as what you’ll be learnin’—what classes you’ll take.”
    “I’m not sure, Mama. And I reckon it’s pretty hard to pass the entrance exams anyway.”
    “You know very well you can pass those exams, John-Boy. You just start thinkin’ about what courses you’re goin’ to take.”
    It was almost like a game, as if they were pretending she wasn’t sick at all, and there was plenty of money. Still, in spite of his doubts, the conversation lifted John-Boy’s spirits.
    “I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Mama. It’s only about twenty-five miles over to the campus. Suppose I drive over and get a catalogue. Then you and I can plot it all out.”
    “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”