Read Online How Sweet It Is by Bonnie Blythe - Free Book Online

with
her—worried she’d grow too attached and have to leave them
behind.
    As she grew, and happened to have a friend or
two at the same time she had a birthday, gifts that had any value
were later taken to a pawnshop for a few dollars to buy milk,
bread, and an occasional lottery ticket.
    Growing attached meant pain when it was time
to move on.
    Delphine blew out a frustrated breath,
silently asking forgiveness for her unfaithful thoughts. Her
parents had tried their best. She’d not been beaten or starved, and
she’d never doubted their love—though she’d wondered at times their
expression of it.
    Now, in their fragile physical states,
Delphine felt she couldn’t expect them to work. Her father received
a small amount of money through disability insurance after
suffering a work-related back injury, and his heart disease
contributed to his inability to work steadily. Her mother had been
fired from the last five jobs she’d had so the burden for provision
fell upon Delphine’s shoulders.
    Some time ago, she’d quit her college classes
and taken a full time job at a bakery. It paid the bills—barely.
Now that she owed money for the airline ticket, she felt even more
decadent over her travel to Europe. Hadn’t she acted as unwisely as
her parents? How was she any different?
    She squeezed her eyes shut as the pleasure of
the evening faded. Time to get back to reality. Mr. Larsen promised
to call within a week on his decision, and maybe she’d even see
Brad again.
    Delphine shoved a lock of hair from her eyes
and went to check on her parents. Her father lay snoring in bed,
while her mother had fallen asleep in the armchair nearby. A pint
of toffee-flavored ice cream sat in a puddle of condensation on a
small table next to the chair.
    Delphine gave a tsk of
annoyance. When the cat’s
away . Must she be made to feel guilty every
time she left her parents for a while?
    She gently woke her mother enough to lead her
to the bed. Once she had been tucked in, Delphine planted a kiss on
her cheek. Flicking off the small TV, she gazed at them for a
moment and sent up a whispered prayer for their well-being.

 
    Six
     
     
    Delphine returned home from work the
following Wednesday to the sound of the phone ringing. It was Mr.
Larsen. When she heard his decision, she sank down onto a chair at
the dinette set in the kitchen and gripped the phone hard.
    “I’ll send Brad over with the paperwork
today,” he said. “Be sure to have it all looked over by an attorney
and let me know if you have any questions. I can get you a check
the day you sign the papers.”
    Her mouth went dry. Her heart forgot to beat.
“Th…thank you, Mr. Larsen. Thank you!”
    “It’s a pleasure doing business with you,
Miss D’Arleux.”
    Delphine hung up the phone
with nerveless fingers. I have the
loan!
    Looking around the room in a daze, she
realized she wanted to tell someone, wanted to celebrate. Caution
made her refrain from telling her parents just yet. In case there
was a problem with the paperwork, she’d wait to tell them only when
the money was lodged safely in the bank—in an account only she had
access to.
    Closing her eyes, she drank in the moment,
her heart reaching out to God in thanks. What a tremendous
opportunity! Her mind began a mad whirl as all the ramifications
set in. She needed to lease a shop, put together a materials list,
come up with a business name—
    And Brad. The realization that this would
keep him at least somewhat involved in her life filled her with a
suffocating sense of anticipation—though she knew she would only be
setting herself up for a fall if she followed such thoughts with
action.
    And who knew what his real feelings were on
the subject. Maybe after the first enjoyment of helping someone
out, he’d become bored as the association dragged on. Assuming too
much would only get her hurt.
    Remember that,
Delphine .
    She took a deep breath, and rushed to her
room to find something pretty to