Chapter 14
The next day, Thanksgiving, dawned crisp and bright. The frost from days before had been strengthened by a midnight snowfall.
Christy was awakened from her slumber when a loud "ping" radiated from her window. At first, she thought it was Ruby Mae playing a trick on her, but Ruby Mae was already up.
The "ping," was followed by several others. What in the world? Christy wondered. Then, she smiled with realization. Christy hopped out of her bed and pulled on her robe. She rushed to the window and threw it open, disregarding any thought to propriety. She knew who was down there.
Neil had positioned himself below Christy's window and was tossing pebbles up at it. "Oh, my bonnie lass, please come down," he said in mock princely fashion.
Christy chuckled, "My Bonnie Prince Neil, I will be down in a moment."
Neil met her at the bottom of the stairs a few minutes later. "'Bonnie Prince Neil,' ey?"
"'Bonnie Lass?' " Christy smiled as she stepped off the stairs and onto the plush carpet.
"Aye. Happy Thanksgiving. I know I have much to be thankful for," he said as he offered her is arm.
"As do I," she said softly, taking his arm.
The kitchen was in a flurry of excitement, though Thanksgiving dinner had a long way to go before it was ready.
Christy almost burst out laughing when she saw Ruby Mae. The girl had tried to start making some bread, and apparently, her use of flour had gotten out of hand, Ruby Mae's red hair had turned to a dusty orange.
"Mornin' Miss Christy. Ye have a good sleep?"
"Yes, I did Ruby Mae. That bread looks, uh, wonderful."
Julia Huddleston, looking a bit disgusted, motioned to the only flour-free part of the kitchen and said to Christy, "Your breakfast is over there."
"Am I the only one to have not eaten yet?" Christy asked, a bit ashamed, as she grabbed the food.
Julia scowled, "Yes, dear. I understand you were dreadfully tired and needed your beauty rest, but it is quite late. I was about to come wake you up myself."
"I'm sorry," Christy said somewhat guiltily. But Neil's whispered comment, "I like to be the one to wake my lass up anyway," brought a smile and a blush to her face.
"Mother, where are Margaret, Miss Alice, and Daddy?" Christy asked.
"They went to pick out a turkey at the market."
"You didn't get one yesterday?"
"Well, of course not! We were too busy preparing for everyone," Julia said defensively.
Christy knew to back off. Her mother was in one of "those" moods.
Throughout the rest of the morning and afternoon, Christy, Ruby Mae, Julia, Miss Alice, and Margaret slaved over the Thanksgiving dinner. In reality, Miss Alice and Christy's mother ended up doing most of the cooking, as Ruby Mae, Christy, and Margaret soon discovered they were more of a hindrance than help. William and Neil happily agreed to stay out of the kitchen. They spent their time in the library.
George, on the other hand, was not content to stay in the library. Christy caught him more than once peeking in the kitchen, staring at Ruby Mae.
Hours later, as the final touches were put on the table, Christy sighed as she gazed upon the prepared food. All of it could feed every person in the Cove, with leftovers. Christy knew she would never take food for granted again.
Turning from the food, she glanced at the mantle clock; twenty minutes until seven o'clock, when they were to eat.
Just then, Ruby Mae bounded up to Christy in her ever-excited manner.
"Miss Christy! Ain't it wondrous! Why, this much food could keep everyone as fat as a pig fer months!"
Christy was exhausted, and did not know how much of Ruby Mae's chatter she could stand.
"Ruby Mae, why don't we go find a dress for you real quick?"
"Ya mean, I'm not gonna wear the dress I wore last night?" Ruby Mae asked, astonished.
Christy smiled, "No, not unless you want to."
Once Christy had a dress for Ruby Mae, she searched for something herself. Finally deciding on a plain rose-colored dress, Christy proceeded to see how Ruby Mae was doing.
Ruby Mae stood in front of the mirror in Christy's parents' bedroom. The deep green satin complimented Ruby Mae's hair quite well.
"Miss Christy?" Ruby Mae asked shyly. "You think yer brother George will like ma dress?"
Christy smiled. "Ruby Mae, he will love it."
As they sat down at the table, and Christy looked around at the faces shining with love, she wondered how everything could have turned out so well. Based upon the mess at the schoolhouse two months earlier, Christy would have never thought it would turn out like this.
Christy looked at Neil. She could tell he was thinking the same thing.
They joined hands and bowed their heads in prayer as William thanked the Lord,
"Heavenly Father, we all have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. We thank you for the beautiful love you have bestowed upon Neil and Christy, and for the wonderful mending of human hearts you have done. Thank you, Lord, and may this rich food that our fellow ladies have so lovingly prepared nourish our bodies. In Christ's name, Amen."
"Amen," they all murmured.
Christy raised her eyes upward and whispered another silent prayer of thanks to God. Just a moment ago, she had been wondering how it could have all turned out so well, but she was not wondering any more. She knew. God. God had healed everything.
The meal was well worth the work; everyone loved it. Ruby Mae even had many encouraging comments from her bread.
But, throughout the meal, Christy could not rid the thought of the surplus of food at her table compared to the meager offerings on her friends' tables in the Cove. These thoughts made Christy feel guilty, and she could no longer eat.
Neil, who had been watching Christy's every move, noticed that she was toying with her food instead of eating it.
"Christy?" he asked gently, "Is everything all right?"
She looked up. "Of course." But seeing his compassionate gaze brought tears to her eyes. "Please excuse me." Christy pushed her chair back and rushed to the back door. She needed some fresh air.
Everyone exchanged worried glances, and Julia stood up to follow her daughter, as did Neil. Miss Alice stopped them.
"I think I know what is wrong; let me talk to her."
They nodded, and Miss Alice briskly walked to the back door and went out of the house.
Christy was sitting on the back steps, crying.
"Child, thee does not need to feel guilty about thy life here," Miss Alice said, placing a hand on Christy's shoulder.
"Miss Alice, how did you know?" Christy asked, wiping her tear-streaked face.
"Ah, Christy, I have spent many a nights distressing over this myself. I would ask God why He gave these people so little and others so much."
"Why did He? Does He care about the mountain people at all?" Christy asked.
"He does indeed care for them, if they will only let Him in. That is our job, Christy as missionaries. We must show people that God loves them."
"But why do they have so little?" Christy cried.
"Christy, I cannot answer that. But, I can share with them what I have."
"How do you do that?" Christy asked. "You can't just bring loads of food to them; they won't take it."
"No," Miss Alice smiled, "but you can share with them in other ways. Like the turkey shoot we had last year; I gave them the idea and they were able to get a surplus of game. Perhaps thee could share recipes with them or traditions that would reap a multitude of goods."
The wheels started turning in Christy's head. Perhaps they could organize other contests and. . . .
Miss Alice chuckled, "Thou art thinking—good. Come now, let's go back before your thinking freezes out here."
Christy smiled and nodded, "All right."
All eyes were on Christy as she returned to her seat and started to eat. Christy stared at the food on her plate; but this time, was not flooded with guilt or sadness. Instead, thankfulness for what she had and her ability to share it stole through her heart.
An hour later, as everything was being cleaned up, Neil took Christy aside.
"Lass, everything has been so hectic we haven't had a chance to talk. Would you take a stroll with me in the garden?"
"I'd love to." Christy glanced at her mother, who nodded.
"Neil, if you don't mind my asking, how was your talk with Margaret?" Christy asked as they strolled about the garden.
"I don't mind. It went quite well. We both were deeply sorry for what we did to each other, and admitted that we had no right to be together. There are no hard feelings, Christy. We rejoiced in our new-found faith, and in the fact that we are both happy with our lives."
"I am so glad. I never would have even dreamed it would turn out like this."
"Aye, and I thank God everyday for what He has done," Neil said softly as he leaned down and kissed her.
They pulled apart at the sound of voices on the other side of the garden. Christy recognized Ruby Mae's voice and also . . . George's?
Christy motioned for Neil to follow her and took off on a path through the garden known only to her.
They crouched behind some cattails, now frozen, and strained to hear what was going on.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to eavesdrop?" Neil whispered with a smile.
Christy winced. "Ah, well I. . . ." She smiled. "I consider it mild revenge for all the times Ruby Mae has eavesdropped on me."
"Revenge, Miss Huddleston? Now doesn't the bible say. . . ."
Christy glared at him. "Do you mind? My brother is concerned here."
Neil chuckled, "All right. . . ."
". . . Ruby Mae, I'm glad my sister invited you to celebrate with us," George was saying.
"Oh, me too, George. I'm much obleeged ta Miss Christy fer all she's done fer me."
"Oh, yes. She's the best. I'm pretty proud of my big sis." George paused. "Ruby Mae, do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Na, jest me."
"What about your mother and father?'
"Ma done went off to care for her kin, never came back. Dunno where Pa is."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you ever see your father?" George gently asked.
"Waal, I reckon hit musta been last spring, right after my birthday, that Pa came back, wantin' me ta come back home."
Christy winced, remembering when Duggin Morrison had wanted Ruby Mae to return to their home. How horrible it was for Ruby Mae.
"Did you go back with him?"
"For a bit. Say, George, ain't the moon right purty?" Ruby Mae asked hastily, trying to advert the subject of her father to something safer.
George, sensing her discomfort, said, "It sure is. Ruby Mae you said your birthday was in the spring. What day?"
"On March fourth, I turned sixteen," Ruby Mae said proudly.
"You're sixteen? I thought you were older."
"Why would you think a thang like that?"
"You seem to be older than the girls here, in a sense. You're also prettier than some of them."
"Me, prettier than a city-gal? Na, I reckon I'm no purtier than the possums I cook."
"You're just like a princess, to me."
Christy winced at Ruby Mae's possum response to George, but smiled at her brother as he overlooked that. Christy thought that Ruby Mae would most certainly be blushing now. George is quite the charmer, Christy thought.
But, he was partly right. Ruby Mae, though she didn't know how to act in a world outside of Cutter Gap, had, in some aspects, grown up more quickly than any city-girl her age. The Cove had harshly presented and forced her to accept the dark side of life as normal, from the very beginning of her existence on Earth.
And, as for her physical appearance, though not the cream-skinned, fair-haired city-girl, Ruby Mae's red hair certainly turned heads.
George continued, "Most girls here are so picky and fragile; don't do anything but go to dances and parties and fuss over this and that. They're too quiet and reserved, not adventurous and honest, like you, Ruby Mae."
"Don't ya like parties?" Ruby Mae questioned.
"Well, yeah, but I like physical activities, like horseback riding, and baseball."
"I like ridin' horses, too, George. But, a girl can't help but wanna be like Miss Christy, all pretty and smellin' nice."
"Ruby Mae, I think you're very pretty," and it was this softly spoken reply that made Christy peek through the cattails, to see George softly kissing Ruby Mae.
Christy had forgotten Neil was behind her, and that was clearly a mistake, because she suddenly felt something race up her back. She gave a shriek and fell back against him. Christy could just see Ruby Mae and George jump away from each other and head to the house before she glanced up at Neil.
His eyes betrayed any innocence, and for that, Christy gave him a jab and crawled out of her spying place.
Back in the house, Neil and Christy, both refreshed from their excursion, followed the voices they heard into the parlor, where they were met with many happy faces.
Christy smiled when she noticed that Ruby Mae and George's faces were especially glowing as they exchanged dreamy glances.
"Christy, we were just talking about you," Julia said as Christy and Neil sat down. "Ruby Mae tells us you have been playing the piano. Would you play us something?"
Christy momentarily forgot that she had thought Ruby Mae was grown up, but conceded to play a few pieces. She received a wink and a smile from Neil as she sat down to play on the trusty Brewster, New York Cabinet Grand upright piano. Luckily, Christy had memorized all the songs she wanted to play.
After Christy had finished performing her favorite, the "Moonlight Sonata," she played "Adieu to the Piano," another song that had lured her to perfect it with its beautiful tune.
She also played a song that Keri had taught her: "The Entertainer," by Scott Joplin. Christy had very hesitantly decided to play this song, for it was harder than anything she had ever tried.
"The Entertainer," though not very popular even eleven years after it's composition, had trapped Christy with it's lively, vivacious tune the minute she had heard Keri playing it. It was this attraction that kept Christy going while tentatively memorizing it, though with many mistakes.
Christy knew it would take many more weeks of constant playing before she could execute "The Entertainer" perfectly, if that was even possible, but it was very exciting and exhilarating to play.
"Oh, Christy. That was wonderful. I see you have made good use of the books I sent you," Julia said when Christy had finished.
"Yes, Mother, thank you," Christy smiled. "You not only sent me some music to share with everyone in Cutter Gap, but you also finally awakened in me the desire to play." She sat back down beside Neil, who smiled and whispered,
"You'll have to learn some Scottish tunes for me, lass."
"On one condition," she answered, "that you'll always call me 'lass.' "
"Of course, it's my pleasure." Suddenly, Margaret stood up and all was quiet.
"This Thanksgiving has been a most memorable one for me. Thank you, Mother, Neil, Christy," she said, glancing at each individual, "for giving me a second chance. I am overjoyed that the Lord sees me anew, not as I was but a few weeks ago. Thank you, William, Julia, George, for inviting me into your home to share with you this wonderful holiday. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart."
Miss Alice wiped a tear from her eye, and Christy looked admiringly at Margaret.
Neil sat there with his head down and his eyes closed, giving thanks and to the Lord.
Christy sent her own prayer of thanks upward, and caught Miss Alice's eye. Christy had never the older woman so happy or proud.