Shine Bright (Part Seven)

Shine Bright (Part Seven)


Part Seven: Where are you

"Where were you, Grandma?" Mandy asked her grandmother a bit later when she returned home. "It is getting very cold out there and I was beginning to wonder if you were ok."

"I am just fine," her grandmother quickly reassured her. "I was just running some errands and visiting some old friends in the nursing home. Remember, I grew up here. I have not seen any of these people for many, many years. It was so wonderful just to see them again. We had such a good time. And young lady, may I ask how your trip to the bookstore went? And where is your little friend?"

"She's not that little," Mandy said. "She's eleven too, just like me. She had to go home for supper, Gran, and we had a really great day. Thank you for asking," Mandy replied.

She was not about to tell her about the problems that they had encountered that day, or that they did not have a star for the tree.

"Now let's have a quick bite to eat, a bowl of soup or something, and then you and I are going out to get a Christmas tree. Let's head for the kitchen. Do you like tomato soup?"

"Sure, tomato soup sounds great, Gran. There are crackers in the cupboard too," Mandy replied, wondering where she had left the cook book that she had just bought for her grandmother.

"Must be in the family room," she thought to herself. "I have to run and hide the cook book before Gran finds it. I want to wrap it up for her first, before I give it to her."

"Grandma, I am going to right back," she hollered, as she quickly headed downstairs to the family room. "I have to do something first."

She picked up the bag with the cookbook in it and hid it in one of the cupboards, knocking over a small cactus plant, as she hurried to hide it.

"Dumbo," she chided herself. "I'll have to clean that up later," she said, as she brushed away most of the dirt and stood the plant back up.

Mandy looked at the tree that they had put up, in utter amazement. It seemed to be just about perfect, except for the missing star. The top seemed so bare. The ornaments shone in the glow of street lights coming through the window, as night approached.

Hannah had decided that she was coming back after supper. They had agreed not to put the tree lights on until later that evening, when Mandy's grandmother and Doris were going to be there with them.

"Almost perfect," said Mandy, as she closed the door and headed for the kitchen. She could smell the aroma of fresh soup on the stove. "Glad I got to that cookbook in time."

"Come and set the table for me, sweetie," her grandmother said, as Mandy entered the kitchen.

"I always hate setting the table," Mandy said to herself. "Sure, I can do that for you," she said to her grandmother. "Those were really good cookies today. Thank you ever so much for making those for us."

"You are welcome dear, now tell me about your day. You know something, your dad always loved that kind of gingerbread cookies."

"Gran, can you tell me about my dad when he was a kid, like me? Or about some of your Christmases when you were my age? I would really like to know."

"I will tell you what," her grandmother replied, as she put hot tomato soup into two bowls, one for her grand daughter and the other for herself. "I will tell you anything you want to know. But let's have soup first and then when we are putting up the tree, we will tell stories to each other.
Would that work for you?"

"Sure will," answered Mandy. She was not about to tell her grandmother that the tree was already up and decorated but without a star. "Stories," she said to herself, "That is one way to break the ice."