The Piano comes to America/ part 8/ edit 2

The Piano comes to America-part 8/ edit 2

fiction
edward w Pritchard

family support in times of crisis


Sippie Sharp  a widowed woman, sat at the piano at the old family farm in Dover, Ohio and played the piano softly for her mourning grand daughter. The Grand daughter, Mrs. Rodrigez clutched the crumbled letter in her left hand and aggressively pushed her forehead against the music holder of the ancient piano. Mrs. Rodrigez was mourning for her husband Carlson Rodrigez had just died in World War 1.

In the kitchen other family members talked quietly as the women cooked. The men nervously paced throughout the house trying to make sense of the death of their kinsman.

After about 15 minutes Olive, Mrs. Rodrigez very carefully un-crumpled the letter and went over to the sofa and read the letter to her blind Father Tatum Jones.

Mr. Jones put his arm around his daughter's shoulder as she read: The grandmother  Sippie Sharp continued to play The Old Rugged Cross. Sippie Sharp had studied the piano as a girl and she played with feeling but carefully for she felt this was the most important song she had played in a long time.

Mrs. Rodrigez carefully read the letter to Mr. Jones:

The letter:
Mrs. Rodrigez,
We regret to inform you that your beloved husband Carlson Rodrigez died suddenly in a non-theater of war incident near Ypres France on October 18, 1917. On behalf of President Wilson please accept your Country's deepest sympathy and eternal gratitude.
Secretary of War

Mrs. Rodrigez stopped reading and stood next to her Grand Mother and began to sing picking up the second verse of the Old Rugged Cross a popular song written a few years ago.

The family quickly filled the small parlor as cousins brothers and uncles and Aunts joined in. Blind old Mr. Jones still had a powerful baritone voice which several times overpowered him drowning out
out other family members, several of  whom were crying softly as they sang.
End