"When are you gonna get the Menorah out, Mama?" Sharon asked Pearl, who was taking a box of Christmas tree decorations out of the closet.

"We aren't celebrating Hanukkah this year," Pearl told her younger daughter.

"But we have to have Hanukkah, Mama! What would Daddy say?"

"Your new Daddy's a Christian," said Pearl. "We'll be celebrating Christmas from now on."

"I never really cared that much about holidays, anyway." Patty, who was sitting on the bed, watching her mother, spoke for the first time. "I remember how important Christmas was to Ruth. She'd dress in her Sunday best and go to a special service at her church and then come home and cook lots of delicious food. Remember how she'd always invite us over for dinner, Sharon?"

"Course I do." Sharon glanced at her sister. "But I'm gonna miss not lighting a candle every night for eight nights."

"Well, this year, you'll get a lot of presents under the tree on Christmas morning," her mother replied.

"I've never had that before!"

Pearl smiled. "Well, you will this year. Hush, now, here comes your Daddy."

A moment later, Ike entered the room. "Did you find those balls?"

"These balls?" Pearl showed the box in her hands to her husband.

Ike nodded. "Yep, that's them. Cora Beth had some blue ones too, and some gold ones, somewhere in here. You'll have to look. I've got a customer."

"Why didn't you tell Ike about us being Jewish before you got married, Mama?" asked Sharon.

"You know you're supposed to call him 'Daddy' now, Sharon." Pearl sighed. "I didn't tell him because I was afraid he wouldn't marry me if he knew, and then what could I have done, just keep running that store by myself forever?"

"I thought you married him because you loved him," said Patty.

"Well, I do love him, but that doesn't mean he has to know every single little detail about my life, does it?"

"Your religion isn't just a single little detail," Patty observed.

"Oh, hush, Patricia. You always make such a big deal about everything."

"He's so cute!" Patty said as she watched Max toddle across the kitchen floor, munching on a Zwieback. "I think I'd like to be a Mom someday."

Elizabeth laughed. "It's a big responsibility!" Max reached chubby hands up to her, and she lifted him and kissed his cheek. "I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world!" she told him, and he blew a raspberry at her.

"Elizabeth, do you know if there are any Jewish people here on Walton's Mountain?" asked Patty.

"My sister-in-law, Toni, is Jewish." Elizabeth sat down in a chair at the table, still holding Max. "Why do you ask?"

"Can I trust you with a secret?"

"Why, of course! I'd never betray your confidence, Patty."

The teenager sighed, wondering how to begin.

"Well, you see, my family's Jewish - I mean, me, Mama, and Sharon are, but Ike doesn't know. Mama never told him. She said if she had, he wouldn't have married her."

"I don't think that's necessarily true at all." Elizabeth was washing her son's sticky fingers with a washcloth. "My brother Jason didn't let it stand in his way. True love conquers all, like they say."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Of course! How do you like having Ike for a stepfather?"

"He's really nice, much nicer than my real father was. One time I was taking a pan of lasagna out of the oven and accidentally dropped it. I thought he'd be really mad at me, but he wasn't mad at all!"

Elizabeth frowned. "But why should he have been angry if it was just an accident?"

"My real Dad used to get mad at me about all kinds of things. He even beat me sometimes."

Elizabeth gasped, shocked. "Did he ever really hurt you? I mean, bad enough you had to go to the hospital?"

"Oh no, never that bad. He did leave bruises on me, though."

Elizabeth was left speechless. She couldn't imagine anyone beating a sweet girl like Patty Bergen.

"When he died, I felt guilty," Patty continued. "I was afraid I was the cause of it, somehow."

"Oh no, Patty. Please don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault at all."

"Mama said he was under too much stress, and that was why he had the heart attack. She said if I'd behaved better, he wouldn't have been under so much stress."

Elizabeth went to Patty and gave her a hug. "Honey, nobody's a perfect angel all the time. I'm sure I gave my parents my share of grief. We all do. You didn't kill your father, Patty. Never let anybody tell you you did."

Patty sighed. "I sure hope you're right."

"Of course I am. It's almost time for me to start dinner. Would you like to join us? There's plenty."

"Oh no, thanks. Mama's expecting me home." Patty smiled. "I'm glad we had this talk. I feel a whole lot better now."

"Patty Bergen came over for awhile this afternoon," Elizabeth told Paul as they were eating dinner.

"That's nice." He served himself a dollop of mashed potatoes.

"That poor girl told me her biological father used to beat her."

Paul gasped. "Oh, no! Poor girl!"

"That's just how I felt," Elizabeth said, nodding. "And not only that, it sounds like her mother blames her for his death."

"How did he die?"

"He had a heart attack. Pearl blames Patty for putting him under too much stress."

Anger flashed across Paul's face. "I've never liked Pearl Godsey. Always seemed to me Ike could have done much better."

Elizabeth sighed. "He was so lonely after he lost Cora Beth. Loneliness can blind you to some things, I guess."

"I'm sure you're right, but at least Patty has a good stepfather now. Ike's a good man."

"He is, and Patty and Sharon are both such lovely girls. Maybe things will work out all right for them."

Paul took a sip of tea. "I hope so."