The Bishop's Daughter (36 page)

As Jim crawled out of bed and ambled across the room, his initial exuberance melted away with each step. When he reached the window, he pulled the curtain aside and peered out. The predawn darkness greeted him.

He gritted his teeth and crushed the end of the curtain between his fingers.
I’m determined to get my life straightened around, and I don’t need God or His grace to do it
.

“Good morning, boys and girls.”

“Good morning, Teacher.”

Leona scanned the room to see if any children were absent, then began the school day by reading James 1:5: “ ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.’ ”

I need that verse as much as the scholars do today, Lord
, she silently prayed.
Help me to know what to do in order to help Millie learn to read and write
.

When Leona had closed her Bible, the children rose, bowed their heads, and repeated the Lord’s Prayer in unison. After the prayer, they filed to the front of the room and stood in their assigned places according to age and size so they could sing a few songs in German and English.

Then the students returned to their seats, and it was time for class to begin. Grades five to eight exchanged arithmetic papers and checked them before handing them to Leona. Grades three and four gave their papers to an older child to check; and grades three to eight began their lesson by doing the assignment Leona had posted on the blackboard before school.

The children in the first and second grades took turns reading by page, but Leona worked individually with Millie, asking her to read out of her primer by sentences. Since the article Lettie had given Leona said that breaking words into smaller chunks had helped some children with dyslexia, she decided to try that approach first. However, after a few tries, she soon realized it wasn’t going to work for Millie.

“The letters are shakin’, Teacher,” the child complained. “And they’re movin’ around on the page.”

Next, Leona tried substituting a rhyming word for another word on the page, to see if Millie was listening, but that didn’t work, either.

Finally, she went to her desk and withdrew the piece of blue cellophane she’d brought from home and placed it over the top of the page Millie was trying to read. “What’s this say?” she asked, pointing to the word
dog
.

“D-O-G.” Millie smiled up at Leona. “Dog.”

With a mounting sense of excitement, Leona pointed to another word.

“C-A-T. Cat.”

“That’s right.” Leona patted the top of Millie’s head. “Now keep reading.”

Knowing she needed to work with some of the other pupils, Leona put her helper in charge of Millie and moved over to the other side of the room. She’d just reached Emanuel’s desk and was about to ask him a question when the front door opened, and Naomi stepped in.

Most parents usually notified her when they planned to stop by. Once in a while, though, a parent would make a surprise visit. Apparently, that was what Naomi had in mind, for she stepped up to Leona and said, “I came to see how my kinner are doing—especially Millie.”

Leona might have felt irritation because of the interruption, but under the circumstances, she thought Naomi’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect. “Come with me,” she said. She couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice. “I want to show you how well Millie’s doing and explain what I believe is going to help her learn to read and write easier.”

As Naomi stood beside the desk watching and listening to Millie read, Leona waited with anticipation to see how she would respond.

“What’s the blue piece of cellophane doing on Millie’s book?” Naomi asked, turning to Leona with a wrinkled forehead.

“A teacher friend of mine gave me an article on dyslexia,” Leona explained. “It lists several things that have helped with the problem.” She pointed to the cellophane. “Using a colored overlay has worked well for many children, but since I didn’t have any, I decided to try the cellophane. I figured if it worked, I’d order some of the overlays from the company mentioned in the magazine.”

Naomi pursed her lips. “I’m not sure I want Millie learning to read and write with fancy things you’ve read about. What’s wrong with her learning the old-fashioned way, like my other kinner have done?”

Before Leona could respond, Millie looked up at her mother and said, “I’m learnin’ to read, Mama.” She pointed to the page before her and grinned. “See here. . . Dog. Cat. Stop. Go.”

“Good, Millie.” Naomi squeezed her daughter’s arm; then she leaned close to Leona and whispered, “I’ll see what Caleb has to say about this; then we’ll let you know if we want you to order those fancy overlays or not.”

Leona’s only reply was a quick nod. As she moved back to Emanuel’s desk, she lifted a silent prayer.
Open Naomi’s heart to this new idea, Lord. And, please, since I can’t get more education, fill me with wisdom in knowing the best ways to teach my students
.

T
he walls in the one-room schoolhouse seemed to vibrate with excitement as the children prepared for this evening’s Christmas program they were putting on for their parents. Even Leona felt a sense of exhilaration while she scurried about the room, making sure everyone knew their parts and setting all the props in place.

Besides the fact that Christmas was such a happy time of the year, Leona was pleased with how well Millie had been doing these last few weeks. The child’s reading and writing skills had improved quite a bit, and she seemed more attentive and willing to learn. After speaking with Caleb and Naomi again, Leona had been given permission to order the colored plastic overlays. It seemed odd that such a simple thing as a change of color could make a difference in the words being read; but it had, and Leona was very pleased. She knew Millie’s parents were happy, because Naomi had even thanked her.

Now, if something could only be done to help Papa’s memory return, this would be the perfect Christmas
. She scanned the room to see who had come to the program. Some of the parents were seated in their children’s desks, many sat in chairs placed around the room, and a few stood against the back wall. Leona spotted her folks sitting in chairs beside her brother. Next to Arthur sat his wife, Doris, and their four youngest children, Mavis, Ephraim, Simeon, and Darion. Their other three children, Faith, Ruby, and Jolene, were all students in Leona’s class, and they stood near the front of the room with everyone else who had a part in the Christmas play.

She noticed Jimmy sitting in one of the school desks and was glad she’d thought to invite him. Even though she knew they could never have a permanent relationship, it was nice to have Jimmy as a
friend. From the looks of his smile, she knew he was glad he’d been invited.

Leona put a finger to her lips to quiet the excited scholars; then she smiled at the audience and stepped forward. “Thank you for coming to share this special evening with your kinner. We’d like to present the story of Jesus’ birth and share several recitations and songs.” Leona nodded at Josh Hoffmeir, who was dressed as an innkeeper. When he didn’t respond, she motioned with her hand.

Josh’s face turned crimson, but he quickly took his place behind the cardboard partition in front of Leona’s desk. B
ETHLEHEM
I
NN
had been written in bold letters on the front of it. Emanuel Lapp, dressed as Joseph, walked up to the cardboard inn while Leona’s niece Faith, who was dressed as Mary, stood off to one side.

Emanuel knocked on the edge of the cardboard, and Josh stepped out from behind the partition. “What can I do for you?”

“My wife and I have come to Bethlehem to pay our taxes, and we need a place to stay.”

Josh shook his head. “I have no empty rooms.”

“But Mary’s due to have a baby soon, and she needs—”

“Sorry. There’s nothin’ here.”

“Please, I implore you.”

The innkeeper shook his head.

“She can have my room!” a booming voice shouted from the back of the schoolhouse.

All heads turned, several people snickered, and heat flooded Leona’s face. With a look of determination, Papa shook his finger at Josh. “If Mary’s gonna have a baby, it wouldn’t be right to turn her away. You’re not a nice man!”

Leona glanced at her mother and felt relief when Mom took hold of Papa’s hand and whispered something in his ear. Papa hesitated but finally sat down.

Leona was glad her daed had come to see the program, but his childish outburst had been an embarrassment, not to mention another reminder that he wasn’t really her daed anymore.

She forced her lips to form a smile and signaled the children to continue with the play.
Why, God? Why did You allow Papa to lose his memory? And why won’t You make him well again?

Jimmy could see by the horrified look on Leona’s face that she’d been embarrassed when her dad shouted out his offer to give Mary his room. He wished he could shield Leona from further humiliation, but he knew that, like himself, Leona would have to come to grips with her pain. Besides, as much as he might wish it, she wasn’t his girlfriend, so he had no right to try and shield her from anything.

As the play ended and the program continued with songs and recitations, Jimmy’s thoughts switched gears. In a few more days, it would be Christmas, and he couldn’t help but wonder what Jim would do to celebrate the holidays without him.
Probably get drunk on Christmas and stay that way until the New Year is rung in
.
Even when I was living at home, he used the holidays as an excuse to celebrate with alcohol, and now that we are at odds with each other, his drinking problem has probably gotten worse
. He stared at his clenched fists resting on his knees and grimaced.
I do feel sorry for him, but I can’t reach him. My days of rescuing Jim Scott are over
.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a hunk of gingerbread to go along with your tea?” Lydia asked Leona as they sat in the living room, drinking the chamomile tea Lydia had fixed soon after her husband had gone upstairs to bed.

“Just the tea is fine for me,” Leona replied.

“There was a good turnout at the program tonight.”