The River
by
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"Merry Christmas," Annie said to the children as she presented each one with a gift, red woolen socks filled with molasses cookies. The children immediately went for the cookies, but did not respond to her greeting.
“Is it Christmas?” Hettie Potter asked.
“Today is Christmas Eve,” Annie told her.
“What’s Christmas?” Junior looked up at his mother. Annie could hardly believe there was a boy who didn’t know about Christmas.
“It’s a right special day to some folks,” his mother replied without returning his gaze.
“Oh, Christmas is special to everyone,” Annie lowered herself to the boy’s level and spoke in a voice which held a mysterious ring, “and when I finish checkin’ on your Pa, I’m gonna to tell you a wonderful story!”
She had gotten the attention of four pairs of eyes, though the blond toddler, Alene, continued sucking on the edge of a blanket, grunting in a sing-song manner. Annie checked poor Alvin Potter for respiration, for he appeared to be dead. He was still living somehow, though she couldn’t explain how his spirit had managed to cling to his wasted body all these weeks.
“How are you today, Mr. Potter?” Annie asked.
“He don’t talk,” said his wife, “don’t hear neither, I ‘spect. ”
“I always like to speak to patients even if they seem not to hear,” Annie explained, “because Mr. Potter might be just restin’ but still listenin’.” She turned to the man. “I’m glad to see you today. Your wife is here and the children. My, but they are good children, and they’re eatin’ good and growin’ so big. Today is Christmas Eve, Mr. Potter, and aren’t we glad that Jesus came to forgive us of our sins and take us to Heaven some day?” Annie bathed him with warm water as she hummed Silent Night. She then took from her satchel one of John’s shirts. It was way too big for the emaciated patient, but it was clean and warm. Buttoning his new shirt Annie said, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter.” He didn’t open his eyes, but a slight smile crossed his cracked lips.
She then turned to the children who assembled around her, and as she wrapped them in blankets, her story began. “You see children, long ago God in heaven knew that there would be sin in this world…”
“What’s sin?” This question came from Junior whose curiosity Annie felt certain would make him an exceptional student.
“When folks don’t do what the Bible says to do, that’s sin. Now the devil wants folks to sin and do bad things so’s he can take ‘em away from God. That ol’ devil causes sickness and trouble and all kinds of terrible things.”
“Reckon we know ‘bout him.” Junior was old for six.
“So, God decided long ago to send us a Savior that would come and take our sins away. The Savior was God’s son, Jesus Christ, and one day, on a night just like tonight, God sent his son. A girl named Mary was sittin’ in her house one day…”
“I be Lizzie Mary,” Junior’s sister, age four, piped up.
“I know, and that’s such a pretty name! So an angel came to Mary, a beautiful angel named Gabriel, and told her that she would have a baby boy and to name the baby Jesus. Mary’s husband’s name was Joseph…”
“Dat he name!” Mary’s younger sister Essie, pointed to the baby in her mother’s arms.
“Yes, I know.” Annie patted the girl’s short curls. “Then just when it was time for Jesus to be born, Mary and Joseph had to go on a trip to a town called Bethlehem. You know, like when you traveled here to this place. Well Mary and Joseph didn’t even find a house this good to stay in.”
“Oh, no!” Junior shook his head in a hopeless gesture.
“No,” Annie repeated, “Mary and Joseph had to sleep in the stable with the animals! But do you know what?”
“What?” Junior, Mary and Essie asked in unison with their eyes wide. Little Alene also caught wind of a hovering mystery. Her grunting had ceased and she listened intently to Annie’s story.
“God knew where they were even if they did have to stay in a barn!” Annie told them. “God hung a great big star right over that stable, and that night God sent his son, the baby Jesus! That was the first Christmas, and Christmas has been comin’ every year since then.”
They all were quiet, and then Junior spoke. “Reckon God knows where we live too!” A rare smile lit up his face.
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About the Book
This is the story of the community of Riverside and the resilience of its close-knit residents, a collection of stalwart and engaging characters. In the late 1800’s, the town's Granny Woman, Annie Barrett, is in a position to see her neighbors during times of great joy and also at their most vulnerable. Choices lead the people of Riverside to lives of fulfillment or to sorrow, even as they do today.
About the Author
The author lives with her husband in a small Maryland town where she enjoys family gatherings, volunteering and writing. Creating stories since childhood, she has had articles published in magazines with national circulation. One of her ancestors was a nineteenth-century midwife whose life, had it been recorded, might have been found similar to the fictional character, Annie Barrett’s.