Jubilee's Journey (Wyattsville #2)(94)
“Yes.” Carmella reached across and took Olivia’s hand in hers. “You have a life here, but the apartment is too small for three children. Sidney and I have a big house with rooms closed off because there’s no one to occupy them. It’s a house that needs to have children running through the halls, laughing and playing.”
“Wait a minute,” Anita said. “I’m not giving Ruth’s children to some stranger! I was okay with letting them stay here with Olivia because she’s shown she cares about them, but you?” Anita shook her head doubtfully.
Carmella looked at Anita. “I’m not asking you to give us the children. They’re your niece and nephew, and that will never change. I’m just asking if maybe you’d consider letting them live with us for a while.” She went on to explain how Paul had saved Sidney’s life and how that was a debt she could never repay.
Sidney, who’d been rather quiet during the exchange, spoke up. “Carmella’s right. Our house is sadly lacking in the sound of children, and the worst of it is that Carmella’s got a heart full of love to give.” He paused for a moment, then reached inside his jacket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to Paul. Paul pulled the letter from the envelope and unfolded it. The letterhead bore the same crest as the baseball cap he’d been given. He looked at the letter and silently let the words settle in his head. After a long while he looked up with tears in his eyes. “Is this for real?”
Sidney nodded. “Yes. When you are ready for college, the College of William and Mary has a fully-paid scholarship waiting for you.”
A smile bigger than any Jubilee had ever seen spread across Paul’s face, but then it grew sheepish. “I haven’t yet graduated high school.”
“That’s okay,” Sidney said. “We’ll see that you do.” He pushed back his chair far enough that he could address both Olivia and Anita at the same time. “I know it’s asking a lot, but having the kids live with us would mean the world to me and Carmella.”
A swirl of emotions raced through Olivia’s heart, some pushing her toward such a solution and some pulling her back. She looked across and gave Anita a helpless shrug.
Before anyone had the chance to make a decision Carmella said, “The doors to our house would be flung open! You’d be welcome to come anytime. You could come to visit the children and stay for a day or a week or a month! Every Sunday we could have dinner together, all of us!” She lifted her arms and opened them in a sweeping motion that encompassed all those at the table. “We’d be a family!”
Judging by the open smile on her face, it would be almost impossible for anyone to believe she had anything but the purest of motives.
It was Olivia who finally spoke, and when she did it was with weighted words addressed to Anita.
“I know we both love the children, but I think Carmella and Sidney also have the capacity to do so. If it’s okay with you, I think we should let Paul and Jubilee decide what would be best for them.”
Anita gave a solemn nod.
Olivia turned to Paul. “You’ve taken care of your sister for a number of years and shouldered more responsibility than any lad your age should have to. But we’re going to ask you to make one more decision, and whatever you decide is what we’ll do.”
Jubilee let go of Olivia’s arm and ran around the table to where Paul was sitting. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. After almost two minutes of listening to what she was planting in his head, Paul laughed and pulled her into an affectionate hug.
He whispered something back, and she gave an eager nod.
“Well,” he said, “I guess we’ve made a decision.”
And It Came To Pass…
At eleven o’clock that evening, there was a soft knock at Olivia’s door. The children were already in bed, and she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. At first it seemed something she’d simply imagined hearing, but then it came again. When it happened the third time, Olivia rinsed her mouth and hurried to the door. Knowing that only people with a great sense of urgency came to the door at this time of night, her heart was racing when she loosened the latch and pulled open the door.
Clara stood there with a grin so wide that it took Olivia a moment to recognize her.
“It’s after eleven!” Olivia gasped. “Is there some kind of emergency?”
“Not really,” Clara answered, “but I’ve got news so good it couldn’t wait until morning.”
“Oh?” Olivia pulled back the door and Clara trotted in.
She bypassed the living room and headed for the kitchen. “Got any coffee?”
“Coffee? It’s eleven o’clock at night!”
“Don’t I know it,” Clara answered. Then she went on to say she was far too wound up to go to sleep, so there was no harm in enjoying a good cup of coffee.
As Olivia set the pot to brew, she asked what could be so important that it drove Clara to come calling at this unearthly hour.
“It’s about the building rules committee—”
“Well, they needn’t have bothered,” Olivia huffed. “Paul and Jubilee won’t be staying with me anyway.”
“That’s just it.” Clara’s face was bright as a neon streetlight. “They don’t have to go. They can stay as long as they want. They can live here!”