Read Christmas Visitor for Free Online Page B

heart overflowing with love and compassion toward every person she had the pleasure of knowing.
    â€œAch (oh) my, Ruth.”
    She bent to look at Lillian with Waynie bobbing along on her hip. She felt the large lump, stepped back to look at Lillian’s face, and lifted the eyelids to look for contraction in the pupils. Then she clucked.
    Ruth was assailed by odors of cooking and baking, twice weekly baths, Waynie’s unchanged cloth diaper, and other smells associated with Mamie’s relaxed approach to life.
    â€œWhat happened? Here, Waynie, you sit here. Look, there’s a car. You want to play with the toys? Look, there’s a teddy!”
    Waynie gurgled happily and crawled across the floor, his questionable odor following him. Mamie grunted and straightened her substantial frame before sitting down beside Ruth, who promptly leaned against her as the cushions flattened under Mamie.
    â€œThe children were playing and knocked her over. She hit her head against the corner of the sandbox. She really cried.”
    â€œOh, she looks aright. Some color’s coming back to her cheeks. Gel, Lillian? Gel, doo bisht alright. Gel? (Right, you will be fine. Right?)”
    Nodding and smiling, Maime reached for her neighbor’s daughter, her arms and hands and heart needing to be about their business. She gathered Lillian against her greasy dress front and kissed her cheek.
    â€œBisht falla? (Did you fall?)”
    Suddenly, Lillian sat straight up and said, “I broke my head apart.”
    â€œYou did? Just like Humpty Dumpty?”
    Lillian nodded and giggled, watching Waynie crawl in pursuit of a rolling ball. She pushed against Mamie’s red hands and slid off her lap. She walked steadily over to Waynie and patted his bottom, giggling.
    Tears sprang to Ruth’s eyes, and her knees became weak with relief. Mamie beamed and said Lillian had quite a bump there but by all appearances would be fine.
    â€œYou wouldn’t have a doctor examine her?”
    â€œNo. She just had a good tap on her head.”
    â€œTap?”
    Ruth shook her head, laughing.
    As the sun made a glorious exit behind the oak tree, Mamie settled herself into a kitchen chair with a cup of hot spearmint tea and a plate of chocolate peanut butter bars.
    â€œYou didn’t need to do this,” she chortled happily, immensely pleased at the prospect of visiting with Ruth.
    â€œNo, no, it’s okay. I need something to pick me up after that scare,” Ruth assured her.
    â€œI can’t imagine life without Ephraim,” Mamie said, quick tears of sympathy appearing in her happy eyes.
    Ruth nodded, then sent the older children out to finish the removal of the cornstalks. After they’d gone, she turned to Mamie.
    â€œIt’s not always easy, although I can’t complain. I have so much to be thankful for, in so many ways.”
    Mamie dipped a bar into her heavily sugared tea, then clucked in dismay when it broke apart and the wet part disappeared into the hot liquid. Quickly, Ruth was on her feet to get a spoon, but Mamie held one up, laughing, and fished the wet particles out of the tea.
    â€œDrowned my chocolate chip bar! Oh well.”
    She slurped mightily as she bit into another half of a bar. She nodded her head in appreciation and shook her spoon in Ruth’s direction as she chewed, an indication of the volley of words that was to follow.
    â€œI don’t know how you do it. Everything so neat and clean. Your work is always done. You just glide seamlessly through your days and never complain. Waynie, no. Don’t. As I was saying, how can you handle all your children, and get your work done? Waynie, no.”
    She heaved herself off the chair and extracted her young son from a potted plant, as Ruth winced at the trail of potting soil spreading across the linoleum, which was apparently invisible to Mamie.
    Mamie settled Waynie on her lap and began feeding him chunks of the chocolate chip