Maida's Little Shop Part 31

"I'm looking for something for my mother."

"I'll help you," Maida said. She took Rosie's hand, and, thus linked together, the two little girls discussed everything that they saw.

Suddenly, Rosie uttered a little cry of joy and stopped at a jeweler's window. A tray with the label, "SOLID SILVER, $1,"

overflowed with little heart-shaped pendants.

"Mama'd love one of those," Rosie said. "She just loved things she could hang round her neck."

They went inside. "It's just what I want," Rosie declared. "But I wish I had a little silver chain for it. I can't afford one though,"

she concluded wistfully.

"Oh, I know what to do," Maida said. "Buy a piece of narrow black velvet ribbon. Once my father gave my mother a beautiful diamond heart. Mother used to wear it on a black velvet ribbon. Afterwards papa bought her a chain of diamonds. But she always liked the black velvet best and so did papa and so did I. Papa said it made her neck look whiter."

The other three children looked curiously at Maida when she said, "diamond heart." When she said, "string of diamonds," they looked at each other.

"Was that another of your dreams, Maida?" Rosie asked mischievously.

"Dreams!" Maida repeated, firing up. But before she could say anything that she would regret, the dimples came. "Perhaps it was a dream," she said prettily. "But if it was, then everything's a dream."

"I believe every word that Maida says," d.i.c.ky protested stoutly.

"I believe that Maida believes it," Arthur said with a smile.

They all stopped with Rosie while she bought the black velvet ribbon and strung the heart on it. She packed it neatly away in the glossy box in which the jeweler had done it up.

"If my mama doesn't come back to wear that heart, n.o.body else ever will," she said pa.s.sionately. "Never-never-never-unless I have a little girl of my own some day."

"Your mother'll come back," Maida said.

CHAPTER XIV: CHRISTMAS HAPPENINGS

Maida was awakened early Christmas morning by a long, wild peal of the bell. Before she could collect her scattered wits, she heard Rosie's voice, "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!

Oh, Granny, won't you please let me run upstairs and wake Maida?

I've got something dreadfully important to tell her."

Maida heard Granny's bewildered "All roight, child," heard Rosie's rush through the living-room and then she bounded out of bed, p.r.i.c.kling all over with excitement.

"Maida," Rosie called from the stairs, "wake up! I've something wonderful to tell you."

But Maida had guessed it.

"I know," she cried, as Rosie burst into the room. "Your mother's come home."

"My mother's come home," Rosie echoed.

The two little girls seized each other and hopped around the room in a mad dance, Maida chanting in a deep sing-song, "Your mother's come home!" and Rosie screaming at the top of her lungs, "My mother's come home!" After a few moments of this, they sank exhausted on the bed.

"Tell me all about it," Maida gasped. "Begin at the very beginning and don't leave anything out."

"Well, then," Rosie began, "I will. When I went to bed last night after leaving you, I got to thinking of my mother and pretty soon I was so sad that I nearly cried my eyes out. Well, after a long while I got to sleep and I guess I must have been very tired, for I didn't wake up the way I do generally of my own accord. Aunt Theresa had to wake me. She put on my best dress and did my hair this new way and even let me put cologne on. I couldn't think why, because I never dress up until afternoons. Once when I looked at her, I saw there were tears in her eyes and, oh, Maida, it made me feel something awful, for I thought she was going to tell me that my mother was dead. When I came downstairs, my father hugged me and kissed me and sat with me while I ate my breakfast. Oh, I was so afraid he was going to tell me that mother was dead! But he didn't! After awhile, he said, 'Your Christmas presents are all up in your mother's bedroom, Rosie.' So I skipped up there. My father and Aunt Theresa didn't come with me, but I noticed they stood downstairs and listened. I opened the door."

Rosie stopped for breath.

"Go on," Maida entreated; "oh, do hurry."

"Well, there, lying on the bed was my mother. Maida, I felt so queer that I couldn't move. My feet wouldn't walk--just like in a dream.

My mother said, 'Come here, my precious little girl,' but it sounded as if it came from way, way, way off. And Maida _then_ I could move.

I ran across the room and hugged her and kissed her until I couldn't breathe. Then she said, 'I have a beautiful Christmas gift for you, little daughter,' and she pulled something over towards me that lay, all wrapped up, in a shawl on the bed. What do you think it was?"

"I don't know. Oh, tell me, Rosie!"

"Guess," Rosie insisted, her eyes dancing.

"Rosie, if you don't tell me this minute, I'll pinch you."

"It was a baby-a little baby brother."

"A baby! Oh, Rosie!"

The two little girls hopped about the room in another mad dance.

"Maida, he's the darlingest baby that ever was in the whole wide world! His name is Edward. He's only six weeks old and _he can smile_."

"Smile, Rosie?"

"He can-I saw him-and sneeze!"

"Sneeze, Rosie?"

"That's not all," said Rosie proudly. "He can wink his eyes and double up his fists-and-and-and a whole lot of things. There's no doubt that he's a remarkable baby. My mother says so. And pretty as-oh, he's prettier than any puppy I ever saw. He's a little too pink in the face and he hasn't much hair yet-there's a funny spot in the top of his head that goes up and down all the time that you have to be dreadfully careful about. But he certainly is the loveliest baby I ever saw. What do you think my mother let me do?"

"Oh, what?"

"She let me rock him for a moment. And I asked her if you could rock him some day and she said you could."

"Oh! oh!"

"And what else do you think she's going to let me do?"

"I can't guess. Oh, tell me quick, Rosie."

"She says she's going to let me give him his bath Sat.u.r.days and Sundays and wheel him out every day in his carriage."