Grace

Beth always loved her time at Grace's. She remembered that first time her father took her there. It was a small house, just two rooms, one for sleeping and one for everything else. There was a large hearth on one wall with a table and a couple of mismatched chairs nearby. There was a comfy chair and footstool sitting not far away. Beside the comfy chair was a basket of needle work. The lone window had a clean, starched white curtain. The house emanated warmth and love. You walked into the front door and the smells of baked goods would just soak into every pore. But when she saw Grace her eyes became as big as saucers. Grace was a stern, sever looking woman. She was tall, lean and you could tell that she meant business, someone you wouldn't want to cross. Beth remembered that out of fear she didn't want to let go of her father. Once her father left, Beth stood in that same spot for most of the morning. Grace was fixing some tea and she spoke for the first time saying "you going to stand there all day, girl?" Beth jumped almost out of her shoes. "Come on girl, I don't like to eat alone." said Grace. Beth almost fell over her own feet getting to the table. Soon Beth felt comfortable with Grace and came to love her. She found that next to her father, Grace was her favorite person. She worked hard to learn everything she could from Grace. At first she was quiet, afraid to say anything, then it was like someone opened the flood gates, the questions would not stop. Some days, Beth remembered, that she would barely get out one question before another would occur to her and would stumble over her words trying to ask both questions. Grace would say. "Slow down, girl, ask 'em one at a time. I sure can't answer 'em any faster." One day Grace laughed out loud at Beth when she tripped over her own feet trying to get the flour to the table and ended up with it all over her. This is when Beth realized that Grace, although expected obedience, was a loving and warmhearted woman. After that Beth found herself laughing at her own clumsiness and she felt as much at home at Grace's as she did in her own home.

Now that Beth was grown, she was doing her best to take care of her father. Nothing made her happier than looking after her father. She had noticed, of late, that something was bothering her him. She didn't like that he was troubled, but when she would talk to him about her concerns he would brush her off, " Oh, it's nothing, Li'l Beth, just thinking about what I have to do today." She knew that this was not the problem. There was something else. She had seen her father thinking about the day before and this was more serious. She was determined to find out what was bothering her father. That old man was here again yesterday, Beth remembered. 'I wander if he has something to do with her father's troubling thoughts.' Beth couldn't quite put her finger on it but that old man reminded of her of someone or something, she wasn't sure, bothered her though. "I'm going to have go see Grace today. Maybe she can shed some light on the situation with her father." Beth said to herself.