A Bit of Regina's History

The neighbors filled the small home. They'd brought casseroles and plates of food, jars of preserves and even half a wheel of cheese. It didn't matter. Regina knew it would never last long enough, would never be enough to keep them through the winter. Now that her beloved Gran was dead, her Pappy was all she had left. And she was his only living family.

The burial service had been short. No one wanted to stand too long in the drizzle and cold wind. Tall, gangly Regina would have stood there all day if she could only have heard her Gran's voice one last time. Gran had been her rock, her comfort after her parents had died of smallpox two years earlier. Pappy always blamed their sickness on the trip they'd taken to New Orleans. "A damnable town, full of sinners and liquor mongers. Don't know why they had to go."

Gran would always shush him, especially when Regina was around and listening. Gran had never wanted her only living grandchild to have anything other than a positive image of her parents. Gran had loved her son with a love that would have forgiven him anything, but Pappy had never been the forgiving sort. Pappy hadn't thought the raven-haired girl his boy had married was nowhere near good enough for his family. After all, her folk were just Kentucky Hill people and generally regarded as uneducated hicks.

His granddaughter was another story. The night Regina was born, Pappy had lit off some fireworks he'd bought from a passing peddler. Most of the sparklers had fizzled dismally, but a few had shot into the heavens and exploded with a starburst of light and beauty. In her grandfather's eyes, Regina was the most beautiful, most intelligent child ever. It was a wonderfully accepting and loving place to visit.

Until Regina's parents had died suddenly within two weeks of one another. Gran had been at their home, a scant half mile away, caring for the patients. The doctor from the next town had warned her that the patients had smallpox and she and Regina were likely to be infected too if they didn't leave. She sent Regina off to stay with her grandfather but Gran refused to leave her beloved son and his sick wife. Gran, a neighbor lady and even occasionally the doctor cared for Darnell and Joanna until the disease claimed them. Then, tired and bone-weary, Gran returned to her own home and began the job of raising her granddaughter, something she'd never planned on.

'And now Gran is gone,' Regina thought, tears welling in her brown eyes. 'I miss her so much.'