Jubilee's Journey (Wyattsville #2)(24)

I can’t imagine what a terrible burden it must be for Anita, carrying around a guilt such as that.





Thinking It Through



Olivia put the letters back into the bag, zipped it shut, and set it in the floor of the living room closet.

But putting the bag away didn’t erase thoughts of the letters. Anita’s words remained in her head, and the more she mulled them over the more convinced she became that not only did Jubie need her aunt but Anita needed her sister’s child.

Olivia thought back on all the times she’d argued with her own sister. In the heat of anger she once told Geraldine she detested the sight of her face and never again wanted to lay eyes on it. The name-calling and angry glares lasted for almost two days and disrupted the entire household. It finally ended when their mother said she’d disown both of the girls if they didn’t stop that infernal arguing.

When Olivia remembered the hatefulness that had passed between them, she felt a stabbing pain shoot through her heart. Her hand flew up to her chest, and she fell back into the chair. “Lord God, what if Geraldine had died in the midst of all that?”





It was a question, but Olivia already knew the answer. She would gather all five of Geraldine’s children to her bosom and treasure them as if they were her own. Anita would surely feel the same. Olivia could almost see the joy in the sister’s eyes when she met the delightful little girl she had never known. A sense of excitement began to surge through Olivia. It was the thrill of bringing such happiness to someone who, for now, was a stranger.





After Jubilee dried herself and climbed back into the wrinkled dress, Olivia suggested they go downtown and pick up something for her to wear.

“You’ll want to look your best when you meet your Aunt Anita.” She then went on to describe the wonders that awaited. “Aunt Anita will want to take you everywhere: to the circus, to the zoo, out to lunch…”

Jubilee looked up with the right side of her face twisted in an expression of doubt. Her eyebrows were slanted and her mouth pulled up. “That don’t sound right to me.”

“Doesn’t sound right,” Olivia corrected. “And what doesn’t sound right?”

“All of it.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“This Aunt Anita don’t even know me. Why’s she gonna do all that stuff?”

“Because you’re her niece, her sister’s child. Aunties always love their little nieces.”

The crinkled map of doubt spread across Jubilee’s face. “That ain’t what Paul said.”

“Isn’t what Paul said,” Olivia corrected. After a year with Ethan Allen she’d developed a habit of doing it without thinking. “Why? What did Paul say?”

“He don’t know if Aunt Anita is gonna like us.”

“Nonsense,” Olivia poo-pooed the words. “She’s your aunt, your mother’s sister!”

“Yeah, and that’s why she ain’t gonna like us.”

“No,” Olivia said emphatically. “That’s the reason why she’ll not just like you, she’ll absolutely love you!”

Jubie shrugged, but she still wore that crinkled look of doubt.





It was a twenty-minute drive to Kline’s Department Store. On the way Olivia questioned Jubilee about what type of clothes she would like. “Dresses,” Olivia suggested. “Pink, maybe, or pale maize.”

“Whatever they got is fine with me,” Jubilee answered.

“You’ll also need undies and some pajamas.” For almost a full five minutes Olivia counted up the things Jubilee would need. She even added a new suitcase to carry the clothes to Auntie’s house, once they’d found her.

Jubilee listened wide-eyed, and when it seemed Olivia was done with listing all the necessities, she asked, “What about Paul? What’s he gonna wear?”

A jolt of reality shot through Olivia. After Charlie died she’d learned to set aside bothersome problems, relegate them to a spot in her mind that served as a storage closet, a place to put things that were not being used but impossible to get rid of. For a brief while she’d locked the missing brother in that closet, but now he was hammering to get free. “Ah, yes, Paul,” she said. “Well, first we’ve got to find him—”

“He don’t need finding!” Jubilee said with an air of exasperation. “He ain’t lost! He’s working! He’s coming back to where I’m supposed to wait!”

“Well, perhaps Paul had to go somewhere else,” Olivia said softly. “Maybe he wants to come back but can’t.”

“He’s not somewhere else! He’s coming back!”

Jubilee turned an angry face to the window, and in the reflection Olivia saw a solitary tear slide down her cheek.

They rode in silence for several minutes. Then Olivia said, “How about this? We’ll get you some nice new clothes today, and when Paul gets back we’ll buy him some new clothes too.”

Jubilee turned to Olivia with a smile. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”





Kline’s was having their first-Thursday-of-the-month sale, and just inside the door were several rows of colorful dresses. “What size are you?” Olivia asked.