Revenge of Cornelius Read Online Free Page A

your
picture's over if you want."
    Rosie looked back at her grandfather.
He could tell she was wondering if he would be disappointed if she
left.
    "Go ahead. We have a full two weeks to
watch TV together," Michael assured her.
    "Okay, Pops!" She scooted up and
kissed him on the cheek. Mom and I won't be long. Would we,
Mom?"
    "No sweetheart. We won't be
long."
    "Okay then. I'll put on my shoes and
make sure my hair is fixed nicely."
    "Good girl," Mira said as Rosie
skipped out of the room. "What on earth have you done to her,
Dad?"
    Michael arched his brows. "Me? I
haven't done a thing."
    "That child doesn't wanna spend a good
minute apart from you when she's here. It's crazy, you
know?"
    Michael only smiled.
    "Nana! Mom and I are going for a
walk!" Rosie exclaimed while darting past Wade's old room. Sara had
been putting away the folded clothes.
    "So, you're really going there? Aren't
you?" Sara appeared at the bedroom door, moments later. She was
looking at Mira intently.
    A tad confused, Michael glanced at
them both.
    "I told you I was, Mom. You thought I
was kidding?"
    "Going where?" Michael had to
know.
    "Mira's going over to the Ferguson
house," Sara filled him in.
    "What on earth for?" Michael sat up,
grimacing from the slight pain he suddenly felt in his back. "Don't
people live there now— a politician and his family?"
    "Dad, I'm only going to be neighborly
and introduce myself," Mira said.
    "And you're taking Rosie with you."
Sara's voice held a tinge of disdain.
    "Why not? We could both do with the
walk and Rosie loves meeting people," Mira returned.
    "I still don't think you should
intrude. Don't you agree, Michael?"
    Michael attempted to lie down again.
"She says she's just going to hail. I don't see any harm in that,"
he replied.
    "See, Mom. There's no harm in that."
Mira smiled as her mother turned away from the door.
     
    As Mira led the way toward the end of
the street, Rosie skipped happily along. She was wearing a pink
skirt that stopped just above the knees and a matching blouse.
Those beloved candy curls of hers bounced up and down and around
her face, glistening in the sun.
    "May I have a mango?" she asked as
they approached the edge of the Ferguson property.
    Mira stared up at the tall mango tree
just ahead whose branches were stretched long and wide. The tree
was stacked with fruit and as much as she wanted to please her
daughter, Mira knew she was no climber. How she wished right then
that Wade was there—the designated climber.
    She scanned the ground that was
visited by a variety of multi-colored leaves and dry limbs of all
sizes which had dropped from the various trees. She was hoping to
find something long enough to reach the mangos. Then several feet
over to her left, she found the perfect branch. Though it had
withered to a noticeable degree, Mira deemed it strong enough to
propel a mango from its stem. Stretching up onto her toes, the edge
of the branch barely touched the mangos, but with one hard swing
forward in union with a slight leap, one of them fell helplessly to
the ground and Rosie hurried over to pick it up.
    "Mom, you've got it!
Thanks!"
    Mira dropped the branch. "You're
welcome, honey."
    She looked over to the edge of the
asphalt driveway that led to the house she had deliberately avoided
over the years. The house still could not be seen from the road and
as Mira moved in that direction, it was apparent that the Benjamins
had not altered much of the yard. It looked pretty much the way it
did all those years ago except for the long, curvy driveway which
led up to the house. The house! It was magnificent! Mira held
Rosie's hand as they walked the property.
    "Mom, why are we here?" Rosie
asked.
    "We’re just going to pay some nice
people a visit," Mira replied, utterly entranced by the huge
makeover the house had undertaken—which once had broken windows on
every side, peeling paint all over and missing doors. It had been
delightfully transformed into a rose-colored,