Free Like Gold Refined by Janette Oke

and that the stuffy woman would pick up her Cleopatra and head back to the city.
    “Well,” said Belinda when they were alone. “That didn’t go so well, did it?” She gave her shoulders a bit of a shake as though to remove the agitation of the afternoon.
    “No,” agreed Virginia, easing the Ford out from the parking area.
    “Rather like an iceberg, wasn’t she?”
    “Icebergs must be more warm and pleasant than that,” quipped Virginia.
    “Stiff as a barn fence rail,” continued Belinda.
    Virginia had never heard her mother use such expressions before. She cast a sideways glance at her to see if her ears were playing tricks. At the same moment Belinda turned to her. They looked at each other for a moment, then both burst into laughter.
    “Well,” Virginia offered when she could speak again, “at least we have had an experience.”
    “Mama and Papa would enjoy this,” added Belinda. “It’s a shame we can’t share it with them.”
    They stopped by Clara’s so Virginia could pick up her children and then drove on to the Simpson home. All the family was gathering for a time with Danny and Alvira. Even Rodney and Grace had arranged for three days with the family and were motoring home with their little ones. Belinda was beside herself. It had been some time since she’d had her entire family together. The nice weather meant the little cousins could play outside in the fenced yard. Grandpa Drew and Grandma Belinda had over the years added to the play equipment. Swings, a teeter-totter, a full sandbox, plus various smaller toys soon scattered across the yard, kept them all happy and busy. The fathers were stationed on the back porch to oversee the activity while the mothers busied themselves in the kitchen preparing the bountiful meal.
    Miss Groggins and Cleopatra offered no further interference. After reporting her change of plans by phone, the woman and cat took the afternoon train back to the city.
    Belinda expressed both relief and disappointment. The woman would not have been satisfactory, but now they would have to start the search all over again.
    Virginia felt nothing but thankfulness. She would not have wished to impose someone with such a sour disposition on her grandparents. They deserve much better than that , she thought as she looked over at them sitting side by side across the room, smiling at the joyful commotion.
    The evening was full of good-natured banter and chatter as the group filled one another in on what had been happening in their lives. And the remembering. So much remembering. Laughter and camaraderie and love spilled over and poured out on all present. Virginia found herself wishing she did not have to go home at day’s end. That she could just stay and soak it all in. That they could all stay. That things could remain like this. Family together. Love and laughter. The whole outside world shut away.
    But even as she wished it, Virginia knew that the dream was unrealistic. There was a world out there. Responsibilities for each one around the table. They were not children anymore. They were all adults. Adults with lives that called them away from this home where they had grown up. Away from this haven of safety and security. It was their job now to supply the same kind of haven for the children in their care. Virginia looked around at her little brood and prayed inwardly that they—each one of them—would have the same warm feelings about the home they would one day leave. Lord, may it ever be a nice place to come back to , she silently entreated.
    All too soon they were pushing back chairs and commenting about getting children home to their own beds. Little James already slept in his father’s arms, and Olivia, who had been determined to keep up with the older siblings and cousins, had finally succumbed, curled up against her grandfather.
    “Before you all go,” said a shaky voice, sounding squeaky with nervousness, “I’d like … I’d like to say something.”
    Virginia