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RON

By Las Chance

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Las Chance
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4670-6074-5

Chapter One

The house was quiet there was no other person up, but Madeline Greenshaw and she had gotten up early to have some alone time. She wanted to reminisce over her old family picture album. She had been keeping it hidden out of sight for the last twenty two years, but today called for taking it out of its longtime hiding place at the top of the closet behind her old hat box.

She had to pull her old heavy wooden stool into the closet in order to reach it. Now she was sipping her cup of hot tea and looking through the pages that marked away many years of her life.

The very first page brought a little smile to her aging lips. "Oh, so young we were way back then."

She and her late husband Taylor Greenshaw had married as soon as he had graduated from college. She was only seventeen then and he was twenty two. They waited five years before they started their family. They and their parents all wanted Taylor to be well established in his real estate business before they started to add any little ones to their household.

"There I am smiling and laughing so big while Taylor took my picture. I must have been seven or eight months along by then. How time does fly."

The next picture was of three tiny babies wrapped snugly in their little blue blankets with their little stocking hats pulled down over their tiny sweet ears.

"I remember Daddy taking that picture as if it were yesterday. No one ever expected us to have three babies maybe two, but never three."

Then she turned to the next page. "Oh we had just gotten home from the hospital there. Taylor was beside himself. He must have given out five boxes of cigars. They, don't do that anymore, so I just wonder what it is they do give out when babies are born?" Madeline shook her head and wondered.

The next few pages were of the babies' first Christmas and their second Christmas. "Robert was always the leader and of course the other two were more than willing to follow their older brother. They almost pulled the Christmas tree over before poor Taylor got this picture made, as I remember. They all three had their tiny little sweet hands on it ready to pull it right over."

Then she turned a little farther into the old book. "They sure were always handsome boys." By this time she was smiling ear to ear as she looked at the old picture of her three sons' graduation picture from high school. Then it was on to their college pictures. Each picture held so many wonderful memories for her.

They were not boys anymore. They were fifty seven years old now. Three men, three fathers and there was still not one wife between the three of them. However today they were going to be giving away their three daughters in marriage. Yes their three beautiful daughters.

Madeline stopped there and closed her book. It was getting late. Before long the house would be buzzing with so many people. Everyone, of them will be wanting, something and everyone of them wanting it right now and most likely wanting it all from her.

Madeline took the time to put away the old picture album in her nightstand drawer. She did not want anyone to see it before the right time. Then there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"It's me Grandma, Pearl. I came to get you. Gladys has our breakfast ready and she said if we don't get to the table soon she was going to eat it all herself."

"Well in that case I will come right now. I know she doesn't need to be eating another whole meal by herself."

Madeline closed the drawer to her nightstand and opened her bedroom door. Her granddaughter Pearl was already gone. She laughed to herself and thought about all the years she and Gladys had spent together in this old house raising her three granddaughters.

"I'm on my way Gladys. Don't start eating my breakfast." She called out as she came down the stairs.

All three of her granddaughters were already at the table ready for their grandmother to say grace. She had said it at this same table and in this same dining room for over twenty two years.

"Grandmother you look tired. Didn't you sleep well last night?" Ruby asked.

"Yes sweetheart I slept, but I woke up very early this morning." Madeline didn't want to say why she awoke so early. She would just let them decide that for themselves.

"Now Grandmother we are the ones getting married today and we are the ones who had reasons to wake up early not you."

"That's right Grandmother. You have nothing to worry about today, where on the other hand we have everything to worry about." Emerald was the oldest of the three and she acted as if she were the other two's mother sometimes.

"Grandmother we are the brides and all you have to do today is smile and be sweet just like you are always." Pearl said. She was the youngest of the three. They all stopped talking and started eating the meal, but the three girls mostly picked at their food. They were too excited about today to care anything about eating breakfast.

"Now that you all have decided what I should and should not do today I guess it's time for me to tell you three what you should be doing at this very minute." Madeline looked over at each of her granddaughters and wondered how the day was going to end.

"What's that Grandmother?" Pearl asked.

"You all three should be in your bathrooms right now getting yourselves a nice long warm bubble bath. The hair dressers will be here in one hour and you don't have a minute to waste. Now, scat you hear me!" Madeline just hoped her three granddaughters were feeling as happy later as they were feeling now.

After the girls had left the table Gladys came into the dining room with her cup of hot coffee and sat down in the chair nearest to Madeline.

"Well today is the big day." She said in her country voice.

"Yes it is Gladys. I hope it all goes well." Madeline took another sip of her tea.

"Are your sons going to tell them the truth today?" Gladys asked.

Madeline turned fast in her seat to look over at Gladys. "What truth are you talking about Gladys?" She asked.

"Don't give me that look. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I may be slow in some things, but not in all things. I figured it out years ago even before their mother died." Gladys had a sad look on her face from just remembering Georgia and knowing how much of her daughters' lives she had missed.

"You mean you have always known?" Madeline asked. She could feel the pure life draining out of her.

"Yes, but I never said anything to anyone because I knew there had to be a real good reason for all the secrecy. After all who would I tell, you?" Gladys asked and then she took another sip of her coffee.

"I guess you saw enough over the years to know." Madeline said while thinking how hard they had all worked at keeping this secret and then she wondered just how many other people had guessed their secret over the years. "Well Gladys in about four hours all hell could be hitting the fan. All three of my sons are coming out early today so they can tell their daughters, the truth at last." Madeline had such a worried look on her face now. Gladys felt so sorry for them all.

"Yes, but you don't need to worry about all of that right now." Gladys started to leave the table. "I have a lot of work to do this morning before everything starts happening around here and you need to get yourself ready for the hair dresser." Gladys knew Madeline had spent almost a good...