Designated Daughters Read Online Free PDF Page A

Sister, why? Where was Billy? Or Ransom? Why’d he sneak off to the creek like that? You reckon Letha told him she’d be there? Be just like her, wouldn’t it? Stirring up trouble?”
    So much grief laced her words that the minister fell silent.
    “Sing,” Daddy said suddenly. “Remember that time when she was so sick with the whooping cough we thought she was gonna cough herself to death and Mammy made her easy by singing to her? Remember, Sister?”
    With tears in her eyes, Aunt Sister took a swallow from the Pepsi can in her hand and began to sing in a soft low voice.
    Sleep, Rachel, sleep.
    Just count your daddy’s sheep.
    Her daughter Beverly joined in. We’ve always made music together and over the years, made-up lyrics have replaced some of the original ones. Soon a half-dozen voices or more added harmony to that old lullaby.
    Now mammy shakes them sleeping trees
    And dreams drift softly down like leaves.
    Sleep, Rachel, sleep.
    After two more verses, Aunt Rachel’s hoarse voice dwindled into silence. Her lips continued to move, but no sounds came out. When her clear blue eyes closed, we automatically began to step back quietly. Seth stretched out a hand to help Daddy to his feet and her son-in-law did the same for Aunt Sister.
    Both are in their eighties now but still straight of back and steady on their feet once they’re actually standing.
    “How’d we get so old, Kezzie?” she whispered. “Set too long and everything wants to seize up.”
    As she turned to follow him, someone bumped her arm and her Pepsi went flying, landing in the middle of the bed. Brown liquid fizzed from the can and soaked into the sheet covering that frail body.
    “Oh, dear Lord!” Aunt Sister gasped.
    We all held our breath, expecting Aunt Rachel to waken, but she lay motionless except for her lips, which still formed silent words.
    “Don’t you worry,” said the aide. She stepped forward to raise the bed to working level. “Why don’t y’all go get some supper? I’ll change her sheets and freshen her up a bit.”
    Even Jay-Jay realized that freshen her up a bit meant she was going to change his mother’s gown, and he joined the general exodus.
    I realized I could use some “freshening up” myself, but by now there would be a line in the public restroom. Although there were several rooms on this floor, Aunt Rachel’s was the only one being used, so I ducked into the darkened room across the hall and tried the bathroom door. It was locked.
    “Just a minute,” said a female voice from within and a moment later, I heard a flush and the rush of running water, then a very pretty young woman stepped out, one arm in a pale green summer cardigan.
    “Sorry,” she said and held the door for me. As she put her other arm through the sleeve of her sweater, a button caught in her necklace and pearls went flying everywhere.
    “Oh no !” she cried and immediately began picking them up. “I knew I should have had them restrung.”
    I helped her finish picking them up, then she left and I went on into the bathroom. As I was washing my hands afterwards, I spotted a gleaming pearl that had bounced onto this tiled floor. I retrieved it from where it had landed between the wastebasket and the wall, then walked toward the elevator and staircase, which lay around the corner at the end of the hall. There was no sign of the girl, so I dropped her pearl in my purse and joined the others. People were voicing their regrets as they left, all telling Sally and Jay-Jay to be sure and let them know if there was anything they could do to help in the coming days.
    Sally almost looked her real age and Daddy and Aunt Sister were clearly tired, but they didn’t want to go home. An open wooden staircase led down to the hospice family room on the next floor, part of the original main core of the hospital before new wings were built, and they did agree to go that far when the preacher said that some of Aunt Rachel’s prayer group had set up a