David C. McLavic - 9. Chapter 9

Dinner that evening was the best I have ever eaten. Miss Elly rolled a cart in with a large bowl of hot soup. You could see the steam rising from the bowl. The aroma of the soup made me hungry. There were vegetables in it that I have never eaten. When I asked Dad, he said it was okra.

“Miss Elly used to make this soup for us when I lived here. Your grandfather loved it. So we had it several times during the week.”

After the soup, we had fried chicken with very small potatoes and green beans. Mom just pushed the food around on her plate. The dessert was pecan pie with a scoop of ice cream. I have eaten pecans before but never in a pie. Truthfully, it was too sweet for me and I was glad I had a small piece.

“Young David, how would you like to see the room your dad slept and studied in?”

What a question to ask. “Yes Sir”, looking at Dad.

“Frank, no one has been in that room since I left. It’s going to be dusty and heaven knows what else.”

“Take the vacuum with you. I’ll bring the children with me.”

I think I would have rather gone with Dad. Walking to the staircase, and passing the sitting room, Mom was looking out the only window in the room. Aunt Dorothy went back to reading the magazine she was reading when we arrived. I was embarrassed to see how Mom was acting.

The staircase wasn’t a straight line, it was curved at the base and at the top, which added extra length to the staircase.

Arriving on the second-floor hall, Uncle Frank put Beth Ann down. Taking her hand, he led the way to the middle of the hall. Stopping about halfway down, he opened a door, more stairs leading up,

When we got to the top of the stairs, I could hear the vacuum cleaner. “That is your father’s room and this one was mine. Growing up we were close. His friends were my friends and my friends were his. I missed him when he moved away.”

I could hear the emotion in his voice.

Uncle Frank knocked on the door, we heard the vacuum cleaner being turned off. Dad opened the door and then it hit me. These were the two little houses I saw on the roof when we first arrived.

Walking into the room, I stopped and looked around. There was his desk, bookshelves, artifacts, papers, and his cot. I have always felt close to Dad, and now it was as if I was reliving his past.

Beth Ann was at my side, and Dad and Uncle Frank were at the entrance watching us.

“David look.” She was holding a wooden doll.

“I think that is one of the artifacts Dad brought home.”

“Do you think he will let me have it?”

“Let’s ask him.” We didn’t need to ask him, they were watching us and I’m sure they heard us.

“Beth Ann, that is an Egyptian doll representing Cleopatra who ruled Egypt a long time ago. She was a favorite of the people who made that wooden figure in her honor. The people believed she would bring them good fortune and a long life. I found it in the desert at one of our digs. The Department of Antiquity allowed me to keep it. And now you can keep it.”

From the smile and hug she gave Dad, I knew that doll would be with her for a long time. For the rest of our stay, she had that doll with her.

I saw Dad’s cot and before I could say anything, “Yes David, you can sleep here.”

I saw the look on Beth Ann’s face. “Beth Ann, you can sleep in the cot and I’ll sleep on the floor.” The smile was back.

Didn’t happen. Uncle Frank went to his room and returned with a rollaway folding bed. Problem solved.