by Sandra Byrd

Beth Davis stepped out of the soggy Oregon drizzle and into her grandparents’ house. She breathed in the fragrances of Thanksgiving. Turkey steam blended with the scent of pumpkin pie and sweet potato casserole.

“We’re here!” Beth’s older brother, Matthew, said as he headed for the TV in the family room. Nana came from the kitchen, wiping floury hands on a quilted apron. Her soft arms folded around Beth.

“I’m so glad you’re here. Dinner’s almost ready. Papa is watching football with Melinda, Steve . . . and Rebecca.” Dad followed Matthew to the family room while Mom headed into the kitchen with Nana.

Who’s Rebecca? Beth wondered.

She hung up her jacket and checked her hair in the mirror. Her new earrings twinkled; with the money she’d earn selling trees this weekend, she could buy the matching necklace and have enough left over for Christmas gifts.

“Hi, Papa.” Beth bounded into the family room, ready to sit next to her grandfather. But a strange girl was already there, joking with Papa.

“Beth, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” Aunt Melinda said. “This is my husband, Steve.”

Steve smiled. “Nice to meet you!”

Beth smiled back. “Hello.”

“And this is Steve’s daughter, Rebecca, your new cousin.” Aunt Melinda nodded toward the girl sitting next to Papa. “She’s a year younger than you.”

“Hi,” Rebecca said, but she made no motion to move from Papa’s side.

“And boy, can she toss a football,” Matthew said as he threw the Nerf ball. Rebecca caught it one-handed.

Beth looked around the room, but there were no open seats. “I guess I’ll go set the table.”

“I’ve already done that,” Rebecca said.

“Oh, okay.” Beth wandered into the dining room anyway. Nana’s best china shone under the lights. Someone had written each person’s name on a place card in neat calligraphy. Beth noticed Rebecca’s place was next to Nana’s.

“I hope you don’t mind that I set the table,” Rebecca said, turning the corner. “Nana told me you usually wrote the Thanksgiving prayer, so I thought setting the table was something I could do.”

Nana? Was she Rebecca’s nana, too?

“It’s all right,” Beth said. “I guess we should help bring out the food.” She didn’t feel like talking any more.

Family Gathering

A few minutes later everyone was gathered at the table. Beth feasted her eyes on the selection of food, and her stomach growled.

“Are you ready with the prayer?” Papa asked. He smiled and winked as she stood up.

“Yes.” Beth unfolded a sheet of lined notebook paper and read her prayer.

“Dear God,
Thank you for the blessings you gave us this year,
All of the laughter and all of the tears.
We are so glad You are always near.
Of all the things You’ve given to me,
I thank you the most for what I now see.
Everyone here in my family.
Amen.”

Beth sat down, and everyone began loading food onto their plates. Papa spoke first.

“Looks like we’ll have good sales this year. The trees are shaped well, and we’ve already had people stop by to tell us they’ll be buying bright and early tomorrow.”

“I’m ready, Papa,” Matthew said. “Dad taught me how to use the saw safely, so I can help cut trees.”

Nana and Papa grew Christmas trees on their land, and each year they sold them after Thanksgiving Day. It was Beth’s family tradition to stay and help sell during the first—and busiest—weekend. This year Matthew would help cut trees, which meant Beth could take his job, collecting cash from the customers. Papa said he’d pay her more than last year, because now her job was more important.

“I guess since Rebecca’s new to the family, she’ll get to collect the cash, right?” Matthew chimed in before gulping down another mouthful of potatoes.

Beth’s eyes opened wide. She stared as hard as she could to get Matthew to be quiet.

“I’d love that!” Rebecca said. “Just tell me what to do.”

Papa saw the look on Beth’s face. “And I’ll think of a special job for Beth,” he said.

“Or she can be a helper like last year,” Matthew said. Beth shot her brother another look.

The rest of the family ate and joked in happy conversation, but to Beth the turkey suddenly seemed hard to swallow. She had waited years to collect the cash, and now with one comment the job wasn’t going to be hers. Goodbye, new necklace. Goodbye, Christmas money.

Planning Ahead

After dinner Beth ran upstairs to the little cubby where Nana kept her stash of games and toys. She sat on the floor and let the tears slide down her face.

“It’s not fair, Lord,” she prayed. “Why should Rebecca just step in and get my job? It’s okay to share Nana and Papa and even my room, but not the cash box.”

Beth heard the stairs creak and quickly wiped away the tears.

I have to tell Rebecca she can’t be the cashier, Beth thought.

“Do you want to play a game?” Rebecca asked.

“Sure,” Beth grumbled, trying to decide when to tell Rebecca the news.

“I wanted to thank you,” Rebecca said.

“Me?” Beth looked surprised. “For what?”

“For sharing your room with me this weekend,” Rebecca said. “I don’t have any cousins on my dad’s side. And everyone on my mom’s side lives in Germany, so I never see them.”

Rebecca helped up Beth and continued. “When your Aunt Melinda married my dad, it was a dream come true. You have a wonderful family. And now I do, too!”

Heavenly Solution

The next morning everyone was up before dawn, wanting to get to the tree lot before the customers.

Beth met Papa in the kitchen.

“I have something for you,” he said. His weathered skin folded into wrinkles as he smiled. “Follow me.”

They went down into the basement, and Papa dug through some boxes.

“Kind of strange to have another girl around, huh?” he asked, not looking up.

“What do you mean?” Beth asked.

“Well, you know. You’re used to being our only granddaughter, and now there’s another.”

“Oh, that,” Beth said.

Papa stood up. “You know, we loved Matthew when he was born, and then you. Each time one of you was born, it didn’t mean we had less love for anyone. It just meant there were more people to share good times with.” He reached out and squeezed Beth’s shoulder. “You’ll always be my special girl.”

For the first time since she’d arrived, Beth smiled a full smile. “I thought you said you had a surprise for me,” she reminded him.

“Yoo-hoo,” Rebecca called down the stairs. “Are you down there, Beth?”

“Yes,” Beth called back.

“Can I come down?” Rebecca asked.

“Sure,” Beth said. Rebecca walked down into the musty basement.

“Here it is!” Papa said. He unwrapped a long stretch of plastic and then pulled out a shimmering dress with wings.

“What is it?” Beth asked.

“An angel costume. Melinda used to wear it when she was a girl. The Christmas angel, you understand? The customers loved it.”

Oh, great. So this was the surprise. Beth tried to rustle up a smile. Papa wanted her to wear the costume.

“Oh, how beautiful!” Rebecca said. “I love acting.”

A worried look crossed Papa’s face. “I told Beth she could be the angel.”

“Oh, of course,” Rebecca flushed deep red. “I didn’t mean I would wear it.”

Suddenly the solution came to Beth. Thank you, Lord!

More to Love

Papa rummaged around in some boxes a few feet away. Beth drew near to Rebecca’s ear. “Do you want to be the angel?” she asked.

“You’ve already shared so much,” Rebecca said. “I couldn’t think of it.”

“To tell you the truth,” Beth whispered, “I’d rather do the cash box if you want to be the angel.”

“Really?” Rebecca whispered back.

“Really,” Beth answered. “I’ll help you get dressed.”

The girls hurried up the stairs and into their room.

“You’re the real angel, you know,” Rebecca said as Beth zipped up her costume. “You’ve been so nice to me.”

Beth swallowed. “Rebecca, I don’t think you should say that.”

Rebecca looked surprised. “Why not?”

“I wasn’t too happy about you being here. I didn’t want to share my family and my stuff with you. And I was going to tell you I didn’t want you to do the cash box.”

Rebecca sat down on the bed, her angel skirt pooling around her. “I understand. When my dad married your Aunt Melinda, I wasn’t too sure I wanted to share him, either. I said some rotten things to her at first.”

“What changed your mind?” Beth asked.

“Well, she makes my dad happy,” Rebecca said. “And she does fun things with me. Instead of giving up things, I received someone new to love.”

Beth looked at the floor. “I feel that way about you, too,” she said, and meant it. Beth smiled warmly and held out her hand to Rebecca. “Come on, cousin. Let’s go sell some trees!”

	Q: What do pigs write letters with? A: Pig-pens. Alejandro P., 12, California Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe