Survivors
Chapter 8
Once Rose was ready to go out for the day, she and Cora headed to town to get some stationery for their letters. Despite the early hour, the center of town was already buzzing with activity. Rose was eager to buy what was needed and go home. Cora, however, seemed very happy to be surrounded by people and noise. She chose to wait outside the shop while Rose went inside to get the stationery and envelopes.
Left alone for a few minutes, Cora found herself smiling at everyone that passed by, especially older ladies. A lot of them smiled back. One of the ladies was carrying what looked like an umbrella. Rose emerged from the shop, and Cora immediately asked a question.
"Why do ladies carry umbrellas when it's not raining?"
"They're called parasols when you use them for sun. Ladies want to avoid sunburn."
"Did you ever have one?"
Rose smiled slightly, both from wistful memory and the fact that Cora was finally talking to her more often. "I did, back in Philadelphia. Maybe we can find you one. Christmas will be here soon enough."
"I'll still get presents for Christmas?" Cora sounded so surprised, it made tears spring to Rose's eyes.
"Of course you will. Now that we have our paper, why don't we go home and write our letters?"
"Okay." Cora grew quiet again on the walk home, simply following behind Rose. She was thinking about what she wanted to put in her letter…. And if Rose might get angry with her for wanting to ask her Nana to visit for Christmas. Boston Christmases were always so snowy and cold. California would have none of that. At least having Nana visit would make it feel like a holiday,
Cora's mind was still on this track when the pair reached home and sat down to pen their letters. The little girl sat staring at the blank page before her, tightly gripping a pencil, when she finally dared ask the question that had consumed her mind.
"Rosie, may I…. May I ask Nana to visit us for Christmas? I know this isn't our house. Maybe there's no room."
"We're hoping to have our own house by then, sweetheart. You can ask her. Maybe she can stay a while."
Cora's eyes widened. "Really? Oh thank you! It will be a good Christmas after all!"
A short while later, Rose and Cora had each finished their letters. Rose folded her page and put it in the envelope. On the other hand, Cora left hers out, wanting to show it to Jack before getting it ready to mail. She waited anxiously all day for him to get home from work.
Jack came through the front door not long after five, looking too tired to stay awake even for the dinner that was already on the stove. He sank into one of the chairs in the living room, relieved to be able to remove his shoes. His feet had been sore most of the day. Cora saw how unhappy Jack looked, and this dampened her excitement at his return. She waited patiently for him to notice her, which he did after another moment or two.
"Hi, Cora. I missed you today. What do you have there?"
Cora smiled, holding out the page. "A letter I wrote to Nana. You can read it if you want. Rose had to spell some of the words for me. Would you draw something at the bottom? Something special just for Nana."
Rose silently observed this exchange from the kitchen. It touched her to realize why Cora had been so anxious for Jack to come home. She watched, trying not to be too obvious, as the exchange continued.
"Sure I can, after supper, okay? What would you like me to draw?"
Cora thought a moment, looking up as if she expected to pluck an idea out of the air. "I think…. A little Christmas tree. I asked Nana to visit us for the holiday. The tree needs a star. We always had a star on top at home."
"Then of course I'll put a star on top. Leave the letter right here by the chair and I'll draw it after dinner."
Everyone sat down to dinner, including Henry, who came in just in time. All at the table ate heartily, leaving not a bite uneaten. Once the meal was over, everyone cleared their own dishes. Rose volunteered to wash everything up, so she was busy at the sink when Jack fetched his charcoal to do the drawing for Cora. His face lit up to be doing what he loved, making Cora smile as well. Rose stole a couple of glances at them, pleased to see them so happy. It took Jack just moments to finish. Cora was thrilled with the finished product, asking Jack to carefully fold the paper so it wouldn't ruin his work. Once the letter was sealed, Cora proudly took it out to the mailbox.
When Cora returned to the house, Jack was still seated in the living room chair, but now had his eyes closed. His feet were up on an ottoman. There was a clear expression of pain on his face, which made Cora frown. Rose fetched the sheets to make up the couch, which was to be Cora's bed. By the time the child laid down, settling her head on the pillow, Jack was fast asleep in the chair, snoring lightly.