Ice Tea and Roses

There Nana was waiting by the front door. She said to me, "Come with me child," as she patted the top of my head and stroked my cheek.

"Let's go sit on our swing out on the porch, and have some tea to drink, and we can visit awhile before we settle you in."

Papa closed the big oak door behind us. As he shut the door, the light from the morning sun seemed to sparkle across the room through the beautiful cut glass that was fashioned quite nicely in the center of the door.

Nana guided me through the lovely grand old house and out to the back porch where the tea was awaiting us, there on Nana's tea table.

Papa took my little tattered old suitcase upstairs to a room that would be mine for the next seventeen years.

Nana lifted me up on the swing, then reached over and poured our tea. She handed me a small glass of tea. I could hear the ice clattering around inside the glass as she handed it to me. Then she took hers in hand, and sat down on the swing next to me. That was the best tea that I had ever tasted it was delightful.

We sat that day for about two hours, just rocking and sipping our ice tea. We watched the ocean bring the waves in and out. Breaking on the rocks as they came in, and turned them to foam.

My feet could hardly reach down over the edge of the swing, only enough to help Nana make the swing move a little.

I never said much that afternoon, but I just sat with Nana, wondering what had happened to my momma and daddy. I watched Nana as she talked to me about things that she thought I might like to hear.

She kept assuring me things would be just fine, and that I would be very happy here.

Just then Papa came out with some gorgeous yellow roses. They were full and lush. There were three to be exact, and he said that they were for me to put in my room.

"Oh Papa, they're pretty" I said, and then I asked him, "Where did you get them?" but he never answered.

Papa just smiled and turned and then he said, "Take them to your room now and everything will soon be just fine."

I really thought that Papa might have brought the roses to make me feel better.

As Papa bent down to Nana he kissed her. They smiled at each other, and we all went inside. They both seemed to be very happy that I was to be with them, and live with them there in the house on the hill.

Nana carried the roses for me up the stairs, to the room that was waiting for me. I followed Nana into the room, and Nana handed me the vase with the roses.

She said, "I'm going down stairs so you can look around your new room." I was filled with such delight that my little heart could hardly stand it. I had never seen any room as beautiful or as big, for a little girl, as this one was.

Although I was just four, Nana said that I was grown beyond my years, and that I seemed to be smart as a whip.

There I stood in the middle of the room looking around. There were a lot of beautiful little dolls and toys that were in the room and on the bed. It was like they were waiting just for me.

There was a really big oak bed with a canopy over the top of it. There was a lot of white lace draped over and around the canopy. The spread had gathered white lace with little bitty pink flowers in the lace, all around the sides of the bed.

The curtains that hung down the sides of the big windows matched the spread.

I ran over to the window, almost snagging the roses on the curtains. I looked out, and I could see the ocean.

"What a sight," I thought, "It's just as beautiful here, from my bedroom window as it was from the back porch, or even better maybe."

I turned back around to finish looking at the room that was now mine.

There was a beautiful dresser that looked like it had no middle to it. There's a mirror that sat in the center of it so that I could see myself. It wasn't changed, but it was made that way.

There was a very large cabinet that had two large doors that opened from the middle. There was a table over next to the bed draped with the same kind of lace as the bed. It had a tall lamp setting on it.

I went over to the table and placed the vase with the roses in it, there on the table. The roses had such a sweet smell that I couldn't help smelling them over and over before I put them down.

I stood there looking around at the pretty pictures on the wall. There was a picture of a little girl and a collie dog that was hanging in between the bedposts, at the head of the bed.

Then I ran over to a mirror standing on the floor setting next to the large cabinet. I stood there for just a second to see myself in the tall mirror, "What a neat thing," I thought, "To see all of me, in a mirror that big."

How much fun I will have staying in this room, not knowing then that it would be for all my growing up years. That I would stay here, in this delightfully, warm, cozy room, and that I was on my way to a wonderful life with Nana and Papa. But I didn't know then, that day, just how wonderful a life with Nana and Papa would really be.

Just then I could hear Nana call out, "Dinner is ready Sabre'a, come and eat."

I ran out of my room, and down the hall. I slid down the stairs on my bottom landing on the floor at the bottom of the stairs with a jolt. Then getting up, I ran into the dinning room where Papa and Nana were waiting for me.

Nana reached out her arms and gave me a hug and asked, "How did you like your room?" as she patted the top of my head and stroked my cheek gently, and kissed me on the forehead.

"I love it Nana," I replied.

"Come sit down Sunshine," Papa said, in the soft-spoken voice that he had.

"Sit up here next to me, here let me help you," Papa said as he lifted me up on a chair that was just a little higher than his.

By then I was hungry and ready to eat. Nana had pretty plates to eat on and glasses just as pretty. Nana placed a piece of meat on my plate and began to cut it up for me. Than gave me Jell-O that wiggled all over as she placed it on my plate. Then she put some potatoes there next to the Jell-O. At first I just looked at the potatoes and didn't think that I would like them.

"Just try them." Papa said gently.

So I did and boy they were so good I finished all that was on my plate. Nana just smiled and said, "You were a hungry little girl weren't you."

I just smiled at Nana and said, "I'm tired Nana."