第40章给曾祖母的玩具娃娃(1)
第三篇 LhTime
爱穿越时光
ADrandmother
杰奎琳·希奇JaeHickey
Whenmygrandfatherdied,my83-year-oldgrandmother,oncefulloflife,slowlybegantofade。omanageahomeofherown,shemovedinwithmymother,whereshewasvisitedoftenbyothermemberse,lovingfamily(twhtgrand,22great-grawrahoughshestillhadhergooddays,itwasoftenhardtoarouseheri。
OnechillyDecemberafternoonthreeyearsago,mydaughterMeaga,alinginfvisitwith“GG,”asthefamilycalled。her,wheicedthatMeaganwasgherfavoritedoll。
“I,too,hadaspecialdollwhenIwasalittlegirl,”shetoldawide-eyedMeagan,“IgotitomaswhenIwasabe。IlivedinanoldfarmhouseihMom,Dadandmyfoursisters,agiftIopeChristmaswasthemostbeautifuldollyou’deverwanttosee。”
“Shehadae,hand-paintedporfadherlongbroulledbackinkbow。Hereyeswereblueasbluecouldbe,andtheyopenedandclosed。Iremembershehadabodyofkidskin,andherarmsahejoints。”
GG’svoicedroppedlow,takingonanalmostreverenttone。“Mydollwasdressedinadaintypinkgowhfieciallyrememberetticoat。Itwasfirimmedsofdelicateladthetinybuttoswerereal。Gettingsuedollwaslikeamiracleforalittlefarmgirllikeme—myparentsmusthavehadtosauchtoaffordit。ButhoyIwasthatm!”
GG’seyesfilledandhervoiotionassherecalledthatChristmasoflongago。“Iplayedwithmydollallm。Shewassuchabeautifuldoll。。。AhappehercalledustothediningroomforChristmasdinnerandIlaidmynewdolldently,oable。ButasIwenttojointhefamilyatthetable,Iheardaloudcrash。”
“Ihardlyhadtoturnroureciousdoll。Ijustk。Anditwas。Herlacepetticoathadhungdowablejustenoughformybabysistertoreadpullonit。WhenIraninfromthediningroom,therelaymybeautifuldollonthefloor,herfacesmashedintoadozenpiestillseemymtoputmypoordollytain。Butit’tbedone。Shewasgoneforever。”
AfewyearslaterGG’sbabysisterwasalsogooldMeagan,avionia。earsinhereyesspilledover—tears,Ikonlyforalostdollandalostsister,butforalosttime。
Subduedfortherestofthevisit,Meaganwasheethansheexclaimed,“Mom,Ihaveagreatidea!Let’sgetGGanewdollforChristmas,olylikethedollthatgotbroken。Theshethinksaboutit。”
&filledwithprideasIlisteomypassioledaughter。Butefindadolltomatories?
&here’sawill,astheysay,there’saway。WhenItoldmybestfriends,Lizandyproblem,Lizputmeintouchwithaloakerwhomadedollheads,haofaceramicthatcloselyresembledtheoldporherIissionedadollheadiyleofthree-quartersofaturyago—makiospecify“bigblueeyesthatopenedandclosed,”andha。FromadollsupplyhouseIbrownwigandakidskinbody,andMeaganandIshoppedforfabridribbontoduplicatetheoutfitGGhadsolovinglydescribed。Liz,whohadsomeexperiehahot-glueguoputthedolltogether,adaysbeforeChristmasracedby,Chrishelpedmemakethedoll’soutfit,pleteettidwhileLiz,dIsearchedfordoll“bootswithrealbuttoeandillustratedthestoryofthelostdoll。