Weekly Expressions Week #6 ~TJ

Bitter snow fell outside, and darkness came a couple hours early this time of year. It will be pitch black before they will have time to eat dinner. Grandmother hurried to get the last of the cornbread and the crescent rolls in the oven before the relatives came over. And not a moment too soon, the moment the buzzer for the oven signaled that it accomplished it's mission, the doorbell fought for equal attention with news of guests at the door. Thank heavens they made it up this awful hill in such a snowstorm!
Warm hugs and jackets were exchanged as the families stomped their snow-ridden boots on the winter carpet. Mary took care of the food, Alice set the table, and little Gracie arranged the forks and spoons so not one distance was greater than the other. And of course Uncle Doug lit nearly every candle in the house and nearly burnt his finger playing with them.
The meal was eaten heartily and loved by everyone, except little Gracie, who didn't care much for cranberry sauce, or "frog liver" as her Uncle Doug called it.
Family rules entails that whoever doesn't help prepare the meal must help clean up. The adults didn't mind since they enjoyed socializing while they carried out their duties, while to the children, it was nothing more than a unnecessary distraction from Grandmother's toy chest she kept in the closet. Grandmother entertained the children with some hand-made toys left by Grandfather while the adults conversed in the kitchen. While Mary and Alice played with wood dolls and trains, Gracie had an odd fascination for the Jacob's Ladder; How could such a simple device be so devious to change colors and patters from end to end? Gracie ran to her grandmother across the room to ask her when she suddenly hit a small table, knocking it over and shattering the glass bowl of precious stones all over the wood and carpet floor.
"Oh Grandmother, I'm so sorry! I'll never do it again." Gracie cried as tears poured from her eyes.
Grandmother merely chuckled a little, "I'm sure you won't, dear. It was an accident." She hugged her granddaughter as they searched for glass pieces in the carpet.
Gracie reached for a shiny piece that fell just under the corner of the big recliner chair, but it wasn't glass. It was a carefully crafted golden picture frame with a very old picture of a girl in a beautiful white dress, with what looked to be lace and flowers in the front.



"Grandmother, what's this?" Gracie asked, clutching the photo in both hands.
Grandmother was astonished, "oh my holy cows! That is a photo I thought was lost forever. That is my grandmother Gracie, for which you're named."
"Where is she?" Gracie asked, not peeling her eyes off the picture, the figure was beautiful.
"Oh she's been dead for many years, but let me tell you what she did:
"Grandma Alice was born before the civil war times. She married a handsome young man named Ralph, but two years after they were married, Ralph signed up for the Civil War on the side of the Confederates."
"But the Confederates were the bad guys, Grandmother!" Mary exclaimed.
"Not entirely so, my dear. While yes, they did support immoral things like slavery, the Union did not provide a more noble cause. Both sides made many moral mistakes.
Nevertheless, she became a nurse for the Confederate army. But her camp was attacked by the ruthless general Burnside. Not many survived. In fact, the Union Army came and took women prisoners and... married them. Even though the women didn't want to marry the Union troops." Grandmother was careful in her choice of words for the unpleasant occurrences in the course of wars. "Now not all generals were this ruthless, but this one was. A man attempted to marry grandmother Gracie, but she escaped, and killed the man who tried to marry her."
By now the entire family had gathered in the living room to hear her story.
"She vowed... promised, to kill General Burnside, but she was shot by a musket pistol when she attempted to kill him. She died shortly after."
Grandmother took the picture in her hands, "this is the only photo of her. It was her wedding day. It's a family myth why there's two faces in the picture, that maybe she came back as a ghost to haunt General Burnside. But of course this has never been proven."
"Silly night time stories, that's all it is." Uncle Doug interrupted, "and besides, it's getting late and the young ones will need to be heading to bed soon and we still have a long drive home."
"Sometimes the silliest of night time stories are the ones worth listening to, Douglas. But yes, it's time to clean up, girls."
Her granddaughters let out a moaning chorus of complaint, but did as they were told. They cleaned up their toys, Mother packed some leftover food, and Father ran out to get the car started. Goodbye hugs were exchanged, and in no time at all, the vehicle had left the house and sped off down the hill.

Everyone had done an excellent job of cleaning up, even washing the dishes. Grandmother was tired, so she turned out the lights and walked up the creaky wood stairs to her bedroom. When she was finally comfortable under the covers, the voice spoke, "well told story, young one."
"Thanks, grandma Gracie."