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Central Central National Bank Member FDIC goose Walwolves, Witches and Vampires Written by Joanne
Christensen, published by Lone Pine Publishing, the last piece of the puzzle.
The two women sat side by side and the small comfortable din, Their brows
knit in concentration. They were hunched forward over a card table, which was
brightly lit from each side by a pair of matching floor lambs. Finally,
the younger woman switched off the light beside her, sighed, and sank into
the pillowy back of the sofa. She rubbed her eyes gently with the middle
fingers of both hands. There's definitely a piece missing, she said, I
don't know where it could be. Mom. The older woman nodded and switched
off her lamp. She retrieved a cardboard box from the floor by her feet
and pointed at the richly detailed picture on its front. It's part of that
rose right there, she said. For three weeks, mother and daughter had
been working on an elaborate puzzle, with only a few pieces left to put
together. It had become disappointingly apparent that one piece was missing. They had
searched all over the floor, beneath the cushions, and even in the clothing
they had worn as they worked together. Each evening, the piece could not
be found. If your father were here, he would know exactly where to
look, said the mother. The daughter agreed. Her parents had built dozens
of puzzles together in the din It had been their favorite pastime. If there
was a crevice or corner or shadowy place in that room where a tiny bit
of cardboard could hide, father would know where it was. Unfortunately, the
man had been dead for several months and so was not there to help.
The mother and daughter decided to give up for the evening. They would search
again the next night, they agreed. When their eyes were fresh, The
two of them moved into the dining room, where they shared a light meal.
The mother then retired for the evening, and the daughter cleared the dishes
and wiped down the table. She looked in on the older woman before leaving.
Good night, mother, She said, sleep well and I'll be back
tomorrow night. She hardly needed to say it, for she had been there
every night since her father had passed. She she was a good daughter and
simply could not bear the thought of her mother sitting alone in the house consumed
with grief. The next evening, the daughter walked in the door of her
mother's house at the usual time. She did not know, however, received
her unusual greeting. Instead, she found her mother sitting at the dining room
table, wearing an expression so odd that the daughter had to ask her,
what was the matter? Go look at the puzzle, was all the older
woman would say. The daughter walked down the hall to the den and was
pleasantly surprised to see that the puzzle had been completed. You found the peace,
she exclaimed to her mother, who had followed her into the room.
Where was it? It was the strangest thing, said the mother. She
went on to explain that when she had been fixing her coffee that morning,
she had noticed something shiny in the middle of the dining room table. She
picked it up and realized immediately that it was the missing piece of the puzzle.
But we ate dinner at that table last night, said the daughter,
and I wiped every crumb off when we were finished. There's no way we
could have missed seeing it there, I know, the mother said mildly.
I know that very well. We didn't see the puzzle piece last night because
it wasn't there last night. Suddenly the daughter understood, Dad hurt us,
saidn't he? She ran her fingers lightly over the puzzle's glossy surface. He
hurt us, and he helped us. The mother simply smiled. I think
so, was all she said. It was a small gesture, but it
brought comfort and relief. From that point on, the mother's grief seemed to
lift somewhat, and the daughter knows longer fell compared to watch over her so
closely. After all, her father had not left her mother quite as alone
as she had once thought. The last piece of the puzzle proved that he
was still nearby and still looking out for them. Both