One by one, Kellie lifted the items: an oval photograph of her great-grandmother, a carefully wrapped gravy bowl, and several chipped and worn figurines.
Just after Kellie lifted the large tray, her hand hit upon another item wrapped in newspaper. Funny, but this one didn’t ring a bell. She examined the newspaper for clues. The stories appeared to be from another era, but not her grandmother’s time. More like. . .
More like my time.
Quite gingerly, she lifted back the layers of paper. Kellie couldn’t help but gasp as the small pink piggy bank revealed itself. She clutched it to her chest and a lump rose in her throat. All of the memories came back at once. She’d taken the piggy bank, stuffed full of coins, and hidden it away so that she wouldn’t be tempted to spend the money. She’d tucked it away in a safe place, knowing she might need it in the future.
This is the future.
With the tray in one hand and the piggy bank in the other, she practically sprinted back into the kitchen. She approached her mother with tears in her eyes.
“Thanks so much, Honey.” Her mother reached to take the tray, then gave her an odd look. “W. . .what’s happened? Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” Kellie held out the piggy bank and bounced up and down with excitement.
Her mother clamped a hand over her mouth and shook her head, clearly not believing her eyes. “Oh my. Kellie, I don’t believe it.”
“I’m not sure I do either.” Kellie clutched the fragile little pig in her hands and smiled. “But there’s got to be some reason why the Lord dropped it in my lap, don’t you think?”
“I suppose you’ll have to ask Him.”
At that very moment, Nathan walked into the kitchen, mouth stuffed full of cheese and crackers. “Ask who? What?”
Kellie just smiled and held up the piggy bank.
“What’s that?” He popped another cracker in his mouth.
“My old piggy bank,” she responded. “At least, it used to be mine. Years ago.” She beamed with delight. “I put a lot of time and effort into saving for the future with this little guy.”
“Really?” Nathan’s eyes lit up. “So, you’re saying there’s quite a nest egg in there?”
She nodded. “Well, quite a little nest egg for an eight-year-old. That’s how old I was when I lost him.”
Nathan’s eyes grew large. “And you just found it now?”
“I did.” She grinned. “Just now.”
“Wow.” He drew near and looked at her intently. “So, what are you going to do with all that money?”
“That’s a good question.” Kellie stared at the little bank with renewed interest. “I worked for years to fill him up.”
She had invested all of her excess change—had even done without some of the luxuries her sister had enjoyed, all for the future.
This is the future.
The words rang out in her spirit once again and Kellie knew immediately what she must do. She reached into a nearby drawer and pulled out a hammer. With one fell swoop, she split the little piggy in two. Coins scattered across the kitchen counter, and a few even rolled off onto the floor. She scooped every last one up into her hands and squealed with delight.
The noise drew her father and Logan in from the next room. Her entire family stood in shocked silence, watching her every move.
“Kellie?” Nathan stared at her in amazement. “What in the world are you doing?”
She looked up into her husband’s concerned eyes and laughed. “I’m going to invest in something we can all use—here and now.”
“And what would that be?” He took her in his arms and planted happy kisses on her forehead.
She looked up with the most serious face she could muster. “I figure there’s a good twenty dollars here.”
“Right. So. . ..?”
“So,” she looked up at him, joy spilling over. “Twenty dollars might not take us to Europe. I’m not sure it would even put enough gas in our tank to get to Houston. But it’s probably just about the right amount to take us all out for banana splits.”
“What?” Her mother looked stunned. “You don’t mean now, do you? We have people coming over in a couple of hours.”
Kellie looked at her watch. “In that amount of time, we could swallow down enough ice cream to give us all stomach aches.” She scraped the coins into her purse with the rest of her family looking on.
“But. . .It’s chilly outside. Who eats ice cream when it’s chilly out?” Her mother tried to argue, but Kellie put up a hand and stopped her mid-stream.
“I do.”
They all continued to stare and Kellie erupted in laughter. No doubt they thought she’d lost her mind. But she didn’t care. She’d been set free, liberated.
“I won’t take no for an answer,” she said. “And don’t you worry about getting back on time. I’m the Queen of Quick, remember?”
Her mother nodded, forehead etched with wrinkles. “I. . . I remember.”
“Well then, what’s keeping us? Let’s shake this place!”
The room came alive with activity as everyone darted this way and that to collect their belongings. Her father took the baby, and her mother scurried off into the master bedroom to retrieve a warm sweater.
Kellie grabbed her purse, now heavy with coins, and looked up into Nathan’s sparkling eyes. He nodded his approval and together they sprinted toward the car.
Thank you for reading Texas Weddings.
If you enjoy Texas-based love stories, consider reading Hurricane, a novel about the Galveston hurricane of 1900 by author Janice Thompson.
Check out Janice’s Amazon Author Page
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Janice Thompson, Texas Weddings 3 & 4
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