Read Online Katani's Jamaican Holiday by Annie Bryant - Free Book Online Page A

sneak it out.”
    “Should you?” I asked. Now I was the one who was nervous. What if her dad found out? I didn’t think Cousin Cecil would be real chill about something like that.
    “He won’t allow me to wear Mom’s jewelry. He says I am too young, but I think it’s that he doesn’t want to see anyone wearing her things. My mom would want me to look pretty. I mean, look, Katani, see how beautiful it looks with this shirt.”
    She was right about it being the perfect accessory. The necklace was handmade from small, flat, very smooth multi-colored stones intermixed with delicate seashells. Olivia said that her grandfather had made it especially for her mom. He had spent a lot of time looking for the perfect stones and shells. Her mother had cherished it. “Really, Katani, I’m sure that my mother would want me to wear it,” Olivia reassured me. I could see that although it couldn’t be considered super expensive—I mean, it wasn’t made of diamonds or anything—the necklace was a treasure. And I guessed that it had a lot of sentimental value, like it was priceless to the family.
    “But, won’t your dad see it?” I asked.
    “I’ll just hide it inside the blouse until afterward, and when we are with the other girls I’ll show it off. Fasten it,please,” she directed, turning her back to me. “No problem, I’ve done it before.” I wasn’t sure I believed her.
    As I fastened the clasp, I totally had a bad feeling about her wearing the necklace. “Olivia, I don’t…,” I started, but Olivia just turned around, admiring herself in the mirror. Then she tucked the necklace inside the collar of the blouse.
    “My mom was a teacher,” she said, her face growing sad. “She was quite a bit younger than Dad and very pretty…tall like you and me. He was so sad when she died. Really hasn’t been himself since. That’s why he gets kind of grumpy sometimes.” She paused for a second. “He’s getting better, though. He took me shopping last week, and we had ice cream. It was lovely,” she added with a smile.
    With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I followed Olivia out of the room and went looking for Grandma Ruby. “Whoa, Grandma, you rock!” I whistled. “You look absolutely fab!” She was wearing a light brown crocheted vest over a cream cotton shirt with matching crocheted sleeves, a striped skirt in different complementing shades of brown, and brown pumps. I had never seen that outfit. Tall is good for showing off clothes.
    “Really,” I added, “you are positively RADIANT.” Now that was all Kelley, exactly as she would have said it. I suddenly felt homesick for my sister Kelley. She’s mildly autistic, and she’s always completely honest. It seems like she knows just what to say to make you feel really happy or sad. Kelley definitely took some getting used to, but she was priceless!
    Grandma Ruby gave me one of her You can’t trick me looks, but I could see that she was pleased. She reached up to fix the dark brown hat that was perched on her head, tilting it a little to the side so it looked super fashionable. “Do you like my hat?” she asked with a teasing look on her face.
    I was tempted to reply, “No, I do not like your hat. Goodbye!” It was an old joke between us from the P. D. Eastman book Go, Dog. Go! But I couldn’t. That hat was perfect on her silver hair drawn back into a sleek bun.
    When we came out onto the veranda, Cousin Cecil was there waiting. He looked at us and nodded. I could tell he was pleased with the way we all looked, even if he didn’t say so. I grabbed Olivia’s hand and give it a squeeze as Selvin drove up.
    “Mama!” he cried, when he saw all of us. We three smiled. It’s nice to know that you’re looking good.
    The road to town seemed deserted except for those going to church. There were three churches in the area, Olivia explained, but she thought hers was the best. As we passed the churchgoers I realized that they really were all