Elizabeth's New Friend
Elizabeth Walton, the youngest of the large family was lonely. She was nine years old and had no close friends. At one time, she did have a close friend, her name was Judith Anne Richardson and she had been Elizabeth's seat mate in school since first grade. But last spring, Judith Anne got sick from what her Mama got the Spring when she was only five, it was called Infantile Paralysis, or more commonly known as Polio.
Judith Anne died at the age of seven-and-a-half. This broke Elizabeth's heart. Then her cat she named calico died giving birth to kittens a few months later, then her doll Kitty, got burned up in the fire that destroyed the upper floors of her families home. Jim Bob was a big boy now, he was thirteen and interested in girls and cars and was tired of his little sister tagging along. He would tell her often
"If you just stay home with Mama and the girls, I'll buy you some root beer barrels and some Mary Jane's and a Coke at Godsey's Mercantile okay?"
Jim Bob got an odd job at the store, helping Ike with the groceries and got a dollar a week for helping. Ike's wife, Cora Beth was Elizabeth's cousin twice removed and she came to Walton's Mountain when Elizabeth was six, she married Mr. Godsey a year later and was going to have a baby last year, but something happened and the poor baby didn't make it. She heard her Mama and Daddy saying that the Godsey's were adopting a baby from a home because Cora Beth was unable to have any more children.
One afternoon, as Elizabeth was in the store with Grandma and Mama, the telephone rang, Cora Beth answered the phone. It was the home, they told her they had a six-day- old -baby boy that was ready to be brought home. Cora burst into happy tears and told them as she and Ike were leaving to pick up their son.
"We're naming him Henry Isaac And we'll call him Ike Junior."
"We'll be back home later, just lock up the store at six-o-clock and we'll bring Ike Junior over for you to see. Bye ladies!"
Ike told them as they rushed to the car and got inside
"Congratulations Ike and Cora Beth! We'll have supper waiting for you at our house so you can just come back here tonight and just settle in with your new son."
Olivia said happily. At six, they locked up the store and walked home. After Mama and Erin cooked supper, which consisted of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob and buttermilk biscuits with jam and butter and a pitcher of ice cold milk and chocolate pudding for dessert. The Godsey's car horn tooted and the family all ran outside in anticipation. The car slowed down and stopped.
The front seat doors opened and Ike and Cora Beth got out, in the back seat, a blond haired child was seated, the door opened and a pretty little girl with shoulder length blond hair got out and smiled sweetly at the family.
John, Olivia, Grandma and Grandpa and children, this is our newly adopted daughter Aimee Louise. They spelled her name the French wa E. Isn't that lovely?"
Grandpa smiled and said to the little girl
"Well aren't you a pretty little thing."
Elizabeth smiled and said to the child
"Oh boy! I have a new cousin to play with now. How old are you?"
"Nine, I just turned nine in August."
Aimee answered Elizabeth, she was a few months younger, Elizabeth was a May baby. The girls went up to Elizabeth's room and talked a few minutes to get acquainted. Meanwhile, the grownups told them what had happened.
"When we got to the Orphanage, the woman told us the mother wouldn't give up her baby and was going to raise him alone and Aimee had been there for a few weeks, her parents were killed in a car accident and she'd been living with a foster family since she was seven, they moved away and couldn't take Aimee and we just fell in love with the sweet little girl, just sitting there forlornly at a table."
After the families ate and talked a while longer, the Godsey family went home. Aimee was not surprised to see a crib and baby things in her new room.
"For tonight, you can sleep in the little youth bed, tomorrow, we'll go into Charlottesville and buy you some brand new furniture for this room."
Later on Cora Beth heard soft sobbing noises coming from the child's room. She went into the room to see Aimee crying in her pillow, she dried the little girls tears and told her she would stay in here until she fell asleep. The next day, they did as they said and went to a store called Richard's Furniture Store. They bought a Princess Bedroom Suite, complete with a double bed with a canopy, a chest of drawers, a highboy and some pretty curtains and bed sheets and some covers that matched the walls in her room.
Later on, they gave Elizabeth permission to come play with Aimee. She came into the bedroom with her new doll Lucy. They had bought Aimee a doll in Charlottesville when they bought her some new clothes and shoes and other needs for the child. Her doll was named Rachel.
"It's weird here Elizabeth, she calls him Mister Godsey."
"She's always called him that. I don't know why, hey Aimee, lets go outside and swing okay?"
As the days passed, Esther got sick and they had to take her to the hospital. Cora Beth and Ike were kind and loving to Aimee, but the little girl felt like they really didn't want her. Elizabeth liked Aimee and she liked her new cousin. The girls would stay at one another's homes and eat over a lot. Occasionally, Ike took the girls to Rockfish to the ice cream parlor and bought them vanilla cones and Coke. At the Walton home, Zebulon was lonely without Esther, the couple had been married fifty-three years and every one of their children were born in the bed in their room, all the grandchildren had also.
One afternoon, Cora Beth was trying to teach Aimee how to sew and knit, a chore a little bit too mature for a nine-year-old girl, but she was determined to learn the child "proper manners for a young lady".
"No Aimee! You are doing it all wrong, you keep dropping stitches and it's going to look bad. No Aimee, the thimble goes on the middle finger"
After the little girl had stuck herself with the needle and was bleeding. Cora went on and on about the proper way and got frustrated at the little girl, meanwhile, Zebulon was very angry and upset because the hospital wouldn't let him stay overnight with Esther and John kept telling him that he knew they wouldn't let him. That evening, a knock sounded at the Walton's door, Zebulon was sitting in his chair listening to the ten-o-clock news on the radio and wondered who was knocking at the door so late. He opened the door and saw Aimee, her suitcase in her hand and her doll in the other
"Hi Mr. Walton, I want to come here to live if they don't mind. I don't like it at the Godsey' s and Mrs. Godsey doesn't like me, I want to be a Walton. I know uncle John loves me and Aunt Olivia does too, and I want to be Elizabeth's sister.
"Oh honey! Ike and Cora Beth love you. They just can't tell people how they feel, they were so happy when you joined their family. I ought to know because I heard Cora Beth telling Esther and Olivia that you made her so happy. I know that she's hard to get along with, but if you just tell her how you feel. Maybe she'll let you just be a little girl and not a young lady. Come on Aimee, let me take you home."
Zebulon walked the child home and as they entered the family door, a tearful Cora Beth ran to the door. She had her clothes on and was putting the telephone down.
"Ike! She's back, our baby girl is back!"
"Aimee, we were about to call the police! Why did you leave?"
Ike asked the child. She had no idea that they had argued earlier, that Ike told Cora Beth that Aimee was nine and not fifteen and she needed to be a little girl before she grew up and went away. That she needed some loving from a mother and father.
"I know I care about her Cora Beth, do you?"
"Yes Mister Godsey! I love Aimee. I just don't think she loves me though."
The argument was over after Ike went in to check on the child and didn't see her in her bed, they looked in the store to see if the little girl was there but she wasn't. Aimee told Cora Beth to please let her play in some play clothes.
"I want some overalls like Elizabeth wears, I'm scared to play in my clothes you bought me because they're too nice."
"Oh Aimee, I'm sorry I treated you harshly, will you please accept my apology?
"Yes Mama! I love you too Mama!"
Cora Beth tearfully hugged and kissed her daughter. The next day, they bought Aimee some overalls and sneakers. She felt like a country girl now. She and Elizabeth were the best of friends now more than ever Esther came home soon after and Zebulon was happy again. The family was happy to hear the couple talking in bed at night again, and meanwhile, Elizabeth and Aimee played everyday together. They sang a song they heard on the radio about some fish in a dam
"Poo Poo waddum waddum diddle choo poo poo waddum waddum diddle choo, poo poo waddum waddum diddle choo, and they swam and they swam all over the dam!"