Geology
By Dory Adams
It’s Good Friday, 1964, the day before Lee Ann’s ninth birthday and she’s giddy with springtime excitement. Even the disappointment of not winning a baby chick in yesterday’s Easter egg hunt at school has evaporated.
She walks around the flowerbed, trying to step only on the rocks her dad has painted white, holding her arms out at her sides like a tightrope walker, around and around the circular bed, singing a hymn. Her favorite hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross.” When she gets tired of this, she changes directions and sings “The Star Spangled Banner.”
She’s hoping to get a black onyx ring for her birthday. Rachel has one that’s shaped like a heart, with a diamond on each side. Her dad picked it out. Lee Ann made a point of having Rachel show her mother the ring the last time she was over to play. After Rachel left, Lois said the clear stones on each side of the onyx were too big to be real diamonds.
©2007 Dory Adams. All rights reserved.
