Theresa sat a large plate of buttermilk pancakes upon the table, then took her seat opposite her husband. When everyone was seated, Jeremiah asked J.J. to give the blessing on the food. J.J. obediently bowed his head and offered a blessing.
"We thank you for this food Amen." J.J. quickly mumbled a prayer, then reached for the plate of pancakes before him.
Mary Louise and Lucinda kept their heads bowed and their eyes closed, knowing that J.J. wasn't going to get away with saying such a blessing. Theresa shot her son a disapproving look. She was determined that her children were going to be raised up properly while under her roof. While Jeremiah found most of the shenanigans his son pulled amusing, this time wasn't one of them. It was his belief that his own childhood would have been easier and his family closer if only his parents had prayed together. His parents only attended church on special occasions, although they made him attend every Sunday.
Jeremiah looked at his son with evident disapproval on his face. "Jeremiah I understand that you are hungry, but I don't think that we should begin eating until you have said a better blessing over the meal."
J.J. nodded solemnly. He lowered his sandy brown head and in a slower voice offered up another prayer. This time when he raised his head and reached for the plate of pancakes, he was met with the approving looks from his parents. As they began eating, Jeremiah waited for the twins to respond to the question he had posed to them earlier. When neither of them did, he repeated the question.
"I was-,"Mary Louise began.
"I wanted-," Lucinda began.
Both girls stopped and looked at each other across the table in surprise. Then both burst out laughing, and were joined by their parents and brother.
"How about I redirect the question and ask only one of you at a time?" Jeremiah suggested. Each of his daughters nodded their acceptance.
"Lucinda, what would you like to do for your birthday?"
"I was actually going to ask you and Mama a question. I wanted to know if we could have a party and invite some of our friends from school. A boy-girl party?" Lucinda asked.
Mary Louise's eyes swung up to meet her sister's across the table in surprise. She had been sure that Lucinda was going to suggest a quiet party at home with just the family or something like that. Lucinda was shyer than she was and didn't like to be around a lot of people.
Jeremiah and Theresa exchanged knowing looks. They had seen the look of surprise that had crossed Mary Louise's face at Lucinda's question. So they knew that she had had no idea what Lucinda was going to ask them. Just the same, they wanted to be sure that Lucinda was asking for the party because it was the way she wanted to celebrate her birthday too, and not only because she wanted to please Mary Louise.
"Are you sure that's what you want to do Lucinda?" Theresa asked her.
"I do, really. On Sunday, Mabel Watson was telling our group of girls about one she had attended with her cousin. It sounded like so much fun! Please Papa?" Lucinda exclaimed, hey eyes lighting up as she talked.
Again Theresa and Jeremiah's eyes met across the table. There was a strange expression on Jeremiah's face. Theresa smiled knowingly at the look that had come over her husband's face. It was hard for Jeremiah to accept the fact that his little girls were growing up. She was sure that he had been expecting Lucinda to make her standard request to have a family celebration as she normally did, and instead was blind-sided by her unusual request. Both Lucinda and Mary Louise watched their parents with hopeful looks on their faces.
Theresa broke the silence. "They are going to be fifteen, Jeremiah." she prodded gently.
A hesitant smile played across Jeremiah's face. "I reckon if your Ma thinks it's all right for you girls to have a boy-girl party, then it's all right with me. Looks like you girls have a lot of plans to be making."
Mary Louise and Lucinda both jumped up from the table and rushed to give their pa a hug. Jeremiah's expression relaxed as he returned the girls hugs and hoped that they wouldn't decide to grow up faster than he was able to handle it. First boy-girl parties, then marriage. He shook his head at his own foolish thoughts. He was sure that when the time came for him to let them go, he was sure that the Lord would guide him through it.
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