excerpt
Before she could reply, Sarah caught sight of a young woman in
a squatting position between the vegetable rows. Penny looked up
and, scrambling to her feet, she picked up her son from where he
sat playing on the grass, and hurried to meet them.
She’s so pretty, was Sarah’s first thought. But when she got closer
she realized that Penny’s beauty was not so much because of her
features as because of her smile. It lit up her face and made her
brown eyes dance. She bounced, rather than walked, over the path,
and a pony tail of dark hair beneath the straw sunbonnet bounced
with her.
Alan introduced the women, then returned to his work in the
yard. When Sarah was installed in a wicker chair on the front veranda,
Penny hurried upstairs to change out of her gardening clothes.
She returned carrying a tray laden with fine china cups, a pot of tea,
and a plate of cookies. She placed it on a wicker table which she had
covered with an embroidered teacloth.
“You’re going to a lot of trouble,” Sarah said, but the pleasure she
felt at being treated to such luxury gave her a warm glow.
“Not at all,” Penny said lightly. “It’s such a treat to have a visitor.
And I was sure as soon as I saw you that you like things done nicely.
Most of my neighbours don’t care if they have their tea served in
old mugs or tin cups.” She stopped, made a facial grimace, then
laughed. “Oh dear, that sounds so snobbish, doesn’t it? They’re
good people, really. It’s just that I long to do things up nicely sometimes,
but if I were to get out my teacloth and best china for them,
they really would think I was being snobbish.”
Sarah smiled at her, already certain that she and Penny McNeill
were going to be friends. “I know what you mean. I’ve been wanting
to do the same ever since I’ve been married but I haven’t even had
visitors. Except your Dave, of course.” She leaned over and ran her
hand over the copper curls of the baby sitting in his high chair. “I
was so happy to hear there’s a young family living close by.”
Penny handed her a cup of steaming tea, and offered cream and
sugar from the tray. “Did Ben not tell you about us then?”
Sarah laughed nervously, “Well, you know Ben. He’s a man of few
words. He did say we had neighbours not far away, but that’s all.”
She hoped Penny would not ask any more questions about Ben,
in particular where she had met him.
Libros Libertad 