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Maddie Throws A Party
by Nancy Jo Wilson Maddie put the finishing touches on a floral centerpiece. It had taken two days and three trips to the craft store, but it was perfect. The reds of the silk poinsettias were offset with the deep green of several types of fabric leaves. Hints of gold berries peeked out through the foliage on plastic holly branches. All of this was firmly set in a clay pot festooned with a gold trimmed red and white checked bow. Beautiful. Two brushed gold pillars bedecked with crimson candles sat on either side of the arrangement. She clapped her hands in delight and began to set the table. She was going for 'casually elegant,' imitating a picture she'd seen in Southern Living. This party for the deacons and their wives had consumed her thoughts for the last month. Gary, her husband, was tired of hearing about it. He didn't understand. She was the pastor's wife, she had to be the ultimate Proverbs 31 Woman- industrious, gracious, and perfectly groomed. A woman who baked her own bread, designed centerpieces and crocheted blankets for AIDS babies. This party had to be magnificent. She hummed along to Christmas music as she set out wooden chargers, painted red with gold trim, and white china plates. Next the silverware and glasses. The matching tumblers were a steal from a local consignment shop. She knew it was a sign when they had ten, the number of her guests. She stepped back almost tripping over Brandi, the cat, and surveyed her handiwork. "Maddie Thompson, you rock," she said. "Wait, something's missing." She eyed the table critically and began checking off a mental list, "chargers, plates, glasses, centerpiece placeholders. Can't forget those," she scolded. She'd bought them at a clearance sale and put them away. She'd been waiting a year and finally she could use them. She opened the bottom drawer of the buffet where she kept such things and dug around. "Hmm, they're not here," she mused. Checking her watch, she muttered "I'll have to look for them after I get the pie made." She redirected her thoughts and began gathering ingredients for her famous lemon pie. Music found its way to her mouth and she hummed Silent Night. Preparing the crust with butter and sugar, she popped it into the oven. She whipped together the filling and threw it into the fridge. "Okay, now placeholders. Maybe the spare bedroom closet." The closet proved fruitless and she was soon digging in the chest at the end of her bed. "Not here either, I could have sworn" her hand brushed a box buried under ancient drapes. "Aha," she exclaimed opening the box. "That's where that went," she said looking at the necklace she'd bought for her mother the year before. "But where are the placeholders?" Twenty minutes later found her in the attic. The garage had turned up nothing and now she was furiously opening boxes. An odd odor rose above the scent of mildew and old cardboard. "What's that smell? The pie crust! Oh no, " she cried stumbling down the steps. A whiff of burnt pastry greeted her when she opened the garage door. She ran wildly to the kitchen, just as the smoke detector started to wail. "Oh no," she screamed in a pitch rivaling the alarm's. Jerking open the oven door, Maddie pulled the charred mess out and threw it into the sink. She waved a dishtowel in front of the detector hoping to silence it. It continued to shriek. Finally, in desperation, she threw the towel over the device. Abruptly, the wailing died. She opened the windows and lit several scented candles to clear the reeking haze. Panic crept into the corners of her mind. "That's okay. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Now what? Well, I finish dinner. I'll have to call Gary and tell him to bring home a pie. They'll know it's not homemade." She tried to feel better. The rest of the afternoon went without a hitch. Thirty minutes before party time, she stepped out of the kitchen ready to freshen up. Her sudden appearance startled Brandi who was in the middle of the table, eating the centerpiece. The cat did a half-turn skid and dashed across the table. Plates and glasses flew in her wake as she jumped to the floor and disappeared into a bedroom. Maddie was speechless. Huge tears gushed down her cheeks as she assessed Brandi's damage. Three broken glasses, two chipped plates and the centerpiece the centerpiece was, oh the horror. Small bits of poinsettia littered the table, gold berries were scattered amid the broken glass, and the bow was hanging in shreds. Her carefully composed illusion lay in ruins. She sobbed, "I can't fix this. They'll be here soon and I don't know what to do. I look a wreck, the room's a wreck, everything's wrecked. I- I have to c-cancel," she stammered and then immediately cried harder. "I can't cancel this late. Miss Manners would never approve." Forcing herself into action, she cleaned up the mess and removed everything from the table. She covered it with an old patchwork quilt and put a blue ceramic bowl in the center. She grabbed several ornaments from the back of the tree and dumped them into the bowl. Taking out her everyday dishes, she reset the table. Gary walked in as she was finishing. "Entertain them while I change," she commanded before he could speak. After everyone was gone, the two of them cleared the table and did the dishes. "Maddie, this was fantastic. Everyone had a great time. The women could not stop talking about your centerpiece. You were beautiful as always. It was perfect," he said. "We should do this again next month." Maddie gave him a look that could peel wallpaper. "What?" he asked. "I thought you liked throwing parties." Nancy Jo Wilson is a homeschool mom of one. She lives with her family in Florida. She writes columns on homeschooling and Childlike Faith for www.seekgoddaily.com. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |