Rain Read Online Free PDF Page B

declared, succinctly but with absolute authority, "No rain today."
    At nine o'clock, Elinor and Queenie, already in their finery, converged on Miriam's house and went upstairs to help Miriam into her dress. They found her struggling into it without ceremony or sentiment. "Damn! Damn! Damn!" she cried. "Don't people know enough to take the damned pins out?"
    She was ready in another quarter-hour, and there was nothing to do but sit and wait until ten o'clock. Miriam sat impatiently by the window, beating her bouquet in the palm of her hand and occasionally calling out greetings to one of the workmen passing by below. Queenie went home to make certain that Malcolm got his tie on straight. Lucille and Grace came by, kissed Miriam, and said, "You are making a great mistake getting married to a man. We hope you're gone be the happiest woman in the world."
    A few minutes before it was time to go next door, Elinor got up and shut the door, then strode back across the room and stood before her daughter. She and Miriam were alone.
    "Well?" said Miriam impatiently. "Am I unzipped?"
    "You look beautiful," said Elinor quietly. "I just wanted to ask you what you and Malcolm are doing about a ring?"
    Miriam laughed, and pointed at the dresser in the corner of "the room. "Go ask Lilah if I don't have a whole damned case full of rings in the bottom drawer over there—and that's not to mention my safety-deposit boxes. I reached in there and pulled one out and gave it to Malcolm. No reason in putting out good money when I've got so many already."
    "Miriam," said Elinor, "you know I haven't given you anything yet."
    "Well, you've arranged all this," said Miriam, waving her hand inclusively toward the window. Below were the striped tents, a dozen servants and hired men; the sound of rattling bottles and a murmur of directives floated up. "I couldn't have done all that."
    "I have something else for you though."
    "What?" asked Miriam suspiciously.
    "This," said Elinor, reaching into her purse and drawing out a simple diamond ring. The solitaire was cloudy but large, nearly three karats; the setting a four-pronged gold band. Miriam took it from her mother slowly, fingered the facets of the jewel, and then glaced back up at Elinor.
    "This was Grandmama's," said Miriam slowly. "You took it off her when she was lying in the coffin. Before I got there."
    "That's right," said Elinor.
    "I have never forgiven you for that."
    "I know," said Elinor.
    "It didn't matter that you were the one who told me where the oil was down below Gavin Pond Farm, it didn't matter that you never tried to interfere with me in the running of the mill, it didn't matter that you kept this family together and made everybody pretty much happy—I have never forgiven you for taking this ring."
    Elinor said nothing.
    "I suppose," said Miriam, "that you want me to forgive you now."
    "I don't expect that," said Elinor. "But it was right that you should have the ring, now that you're getting married."
    Miriam glanced out of the window. "It's getting time," she said. "I'm going to have to go speak to Sister." She slipped the ring on her finger, rose and went out of the room, leaving her mother alone.
    Miriam stood at the side of Sister's bed, holding her bouquet in her hands before her. It was the fragrance of those fresh flowers, so pervasive in the room that for so many years had smelled of only dead blossoms, that caused Sister's eyes to open.
    "Sister," said Miriam, "I'm going over to Elinor's now, and Malcolm and I are gone get married."
    Sister tried to turn away her head, but hadn't the strength. Her eyes fell shut again.
    "We'll spend the afternoon getting ready for the reception this evening, and then after that Malcolm and I are taking off for New Orleans for our honeymoon. We were gone go to New York, but there's some business I need to get done in New Orleans, so we changed our plans. Malcolm says we'll go anywhere I want to go, and if I don't want to go anywhere we can stay