Learning to be Mary
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About this ebook
Mary's life begins at the end of The Great Depression and beginning of World War II. She survives challenge after challenge by keeping her faith in God and not in man. She overcomes obstacles, is blessed by miracles, and survives in a world that is shaped by traditions of men. Her undying faith inspires others and her nonjudgmental friendship serves as an example of how we all should learn to be Mary.
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Learning to be Mary - L. W. Lawrence
Learning to be Mary
Copyright 2016 L. W. Lawrence
Published by L. W. Lawrence at Smashwords
Cover Design by Laura Shinn Designs
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, or incidents are the work of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is coincidental. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
About L. W. Lawrence
For Mary
Chapter One
Mommy, wake up!
Mary keeps saying the phrase over and over but there’s no reaction from her mother’s face. She shakes her mother’s arm but there is no response. Her mother sleeps most of the time since she returned from the hospital where the doctor said she has cancer and should go home to be as comfortable as possible. Mary continues to study her mother’s face looking for a smile or movement of any kind.
As she studies her mother’s face, Mary reflects on the past few months. After her mother returned home from the hospital, her older sister moved back home with her husband and newborn son to help care for their mother. Even though Mary is eleven years old, she is not old enough to care for her mother and her younger siblings. Plus, her sister’s husband was a military medic so he knows how to give Mary’s mother her pain shots. Mary notices that her mother needs a lot of shots lately and that’s why she sleeps all the time.
Mary continues studying her mother’s face and finally leans up to kiss her on the cheek and realizes that it feels very cold. She adjusts the cover around her mother to help her stay warm when she hears her sister’s voice.
Mary, come out of there.
Her sister’s voice is different from its usual bossy tone. Mary turns to leave the room but looks at her mother’s sleeping face one more time. Today it looks different for some strange reason.
As she walks down the hallway, she hears someone coming and runs to the front porch to see clouds of dust billowing from behind her brother-in-law’s truck as it speeds down the long dirt driveway that frames rows of cotton fields. He’s not supposed to be home already. She shields her eyes from the sun as she watches the truck get closer and closer. She can see that someone is with him and it looks like her father. It’s too early for them to be home.
Again, her sister’s voice is directed at her. Mary, get in here and out of the way. Go wait on the back porch.
Okay!
Mary’s voice is laced with sarcasm to emphasize her frustration with being dismissed. She starts to add another rebuttal but her older sister’s voice sounds serious so she chooses not to argue with her. As she goes back through the house, she sees her sister stopping the pendulum on the grandfather clock in the hallway. She recalls that her mother told her years ago that people do that to mark the time when someone dies so it can be put in the records at the courthouse. Mary discounts her sister’s action and continues her journey to the back porch letting the squeaky screen door slam to demonstrate her disappointment with her dismissal.
Mary sees her younger sister playing with her dolls and singing. She makes a quiet sign to her sister and then walks back to the screen door to hear what’s going on inside. Her sister puts her dolls down and runs to Mary to see what’s so interesting. Mary tells her she’s practicing to be a spy.
Be real quiet and let’s try to hear what’s going on.
She can see through the house to the front porch but she can’t see her older sister so the spying duo sneak around to a row of hedge bushes on the side of the house. They see their father and brother-in-law getting out of the truck. Their father looks sad and takes his hat off as he walks up to their sister. She gives him a hug and then they go into the house.
I’m sorry.
They hear their brother-in-law talking to their sister. She drops her head and starts to cry. At that moment, Mary knows that it’s serious and that it involves their mother.
When will the doctor be here?
They hear their sister talking to her husband. Mary’s little sister pulls on her sleeve and asks, Why’s the doctor coming? Don’t we take Momma to see him?
Their older sister hears them and screams loudly, Didn’t I tell you to stay on the back porch?
Mary steps forward and replies with a stern voice, Yea, but Daddy’s home now and we don’t have to mind you anymore.
Normally, Mary’s sister would remind her who is older and who is in charge, but this time she turns, sits on a porch step, and starts crying again. She asks Mary and their little sister to come sit next to her. They each take a side and look up into their older sister’s face. She looks back and forth from one to the other. Finally she tells them the news.
Momma’s gone.
No she’s not. She’s in there in the bed.
Their little sister innocently points out the obvious.
No, I mean Momma’s gone to heaven.
Oh.
Their little sister puts her head down. Mary already knew what her sister was going to say. She thinks she knew it when she tried to wake her mother up earlier. However, hearing the words makes it real and Mary is numb. She wants to cry but she can’t. She feels that it just isn’t true and decides to check it out for herself. She knows that she can’t get past her older sister so she goes to the back of the house and sneaks in.
Her plan is working until the screen door betrays her. She looks through the middle hallway and sees her sister looking over her shoulder. She looks into her mother’s room and sees her father sitting next to her mother’s bed. He’s talking to her mother. For a moment, Mary believes that her mother isn’t dead.
Mary proceeds into the room and her father holds out his arm for her to join him. She walks up to the bed and it’s strangely quiet. Her mother is still sleeping.
When Momma wakes up, can I tell her that I helped cook dinner?
Her father pulls her closer and she feels his tears landing on top of her head. Momma’s not going to wake up sweetheart. Momma’s an angel now.
An angel?
Mary looks at her mother’s face and thinks she does look like an angel.
Yes sweetheart, she’s an angel now.
Mary knows what he means but she still can’t say it. She thinks that if she doesn’t say it then it won’t be true. She leaves her father alone with her mother. She wants to be alone too. She decides to go down to the bayou’s edge and sit next to the water. She wants to think about the last time she and her