Blessed Page 2

  Her parents were sitting in the breakfast nook, each of them reading a section of the Deseret News with cups of orange juice in front of them. When they heard her come down the stairs, they both looked up from their papers and beamed smiles at her that made her heart soar. The sun rising over the snow covered Rockies outside the floor-to-ceiling bay windows behind them made her wish that she had a camera to capture the perfect little moment in time.

  “Morning mom!” she chimed as she leaned down to kiss the woman’s cheek before sitting next to her father.

  “Happy Birthday sweetheart.” her father greeted her as she sat down. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, another ritual that had survived her childhood and teenage years.

  “I just can’t believe you’re already twenty one!” her mother bemoaned, tearing up like she had every other year since her first birthday. “It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital!”

  Ardra poured herself a glass of orange juice from the carafe in the middle of the table as her mom went on about how fast she had grown up. “I just wish that I could rewind the clock and do it all over again.” was her closing statement before her father managed to divert the conversation from the past to the present.

  “Have you decided where you want to go shopping for your birthday yet, Ardra?”

  “Probably just down to the Gateway.” Ardra shrugged, “They have all the stores I like, so we can go wander the mall and get it all done in one outing.”

  This sent her mother off on a new tangent, “You know, Ardra, they just put in an Urban Outfitters there! They have a lot of cute clothes that are exactly your style! I’ve been simply dying to go in there and look around, but I figured it would be more fun if we went together! I must admit I cheated a little and looked at their online catalogue. I may even get myself some clothes while we’re there! I could use a little more spunk in my wardrobe. Times are changing so fast and I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t paid much attention!”

  Ardra couldn’t bring herself to tell her mother that the store had been there since the summer and that she already owned several shirts from there. Instead, she plastered a smile to her face and played into the conversation, “Really? What kind of clothes do they have? It’s been so long since I’ve gone shopping that I’m not even sure I know what fashions are in this winter!”

  Her father knew better and sent her a wink and went along with it, “Anne, I’m sure you two can find the time to bore me to death with your fashion gossip while we’re shopping. How about we have breakfast for now and leave all of this girl talk for the mall?”

  “Of course honey!” She kissed her husband on the cheek as she rose and walked to the oven to pull out several plates of food that were being kept warm in there. “I just can’t wait to finally spend some time with you Ardra! Your father and I have been so busy with work and you with school that I feel like I don’t even know you anymore! It’ll be nice to get some quality time in!”

  She set the plates down on table and went back to get empty plates and silverware. Her father blessed the food and after they said amen, Ardra piled her plate with three waffles, four strips of bacon, and two sausage links. She grabbed a napkin from the holder next to the orange juice and placed her muffin on it beside her plate. She tried not to dwell on the number of hours at the gym that the meal would cost her.

  “Oh, Frank, I saw Brother Anderson at the grocery store yesterday. Can you believe that Sister Anderson is pregnant again? They are so blessed! This will be their fifth!”

  “I don’t know if ‘blessed’ is the word I would use for having five kids.” He teased. “The Lord works in mysterious ways I suppose.”

  Having only one child was rare in a Mormon family, but there had been a complication during the pregnancy and Ardra turned out to be the first and last child that the Cooper family would have. It had caused a lot of emotional problems throughout Ardra’s childhood with Anne, but they had been overcome when Anne started teaching Primary at church every Sunday. She took the responsibility of teaching the children the ways of the Lord very seriously and cried the day that Ardra accepted her calling and joined her in her mission.

  Knowing that it was best to change the subject, Ardra asked, “Is grandma Cooper coming into town for Christmas this year?”

  “I certainly hope so! She didn’t make it up for Thanksgiving because of that crazy blizzard! The poor woman had to spend a big family holiday all by herself.” She let loose a sigh for emphasis. “Your grandma Smith will be here tomorrow for sure though. I have to pick her up from the airport at two. I’m so very excited to see her! She sounds like she’s having so much fun in Miami every time I call her.”

  Both of her grandmothers were widowers and each had taken a very different path after their husbands had passed away. Her grandma Smith decided to move to Miami and become a sort of live in missionary, while her grandma Cooper had left the church and moved to Mesquite where she promptly joined a bowling league and became a Bingo addict. Both women were quite eccentric and the more her parents complained about what they were doing, the more they did exactly what made their children complain.

  It made for a very strange family dynamic come time for the holidays, but it had been that way for years and there was never a dull moment.

  After breakfast, Ardra settled herself in the living room with the latest Richard Paul Evans book while her parents got ready for the day. As she read, she let her mind wander to the things she wanted to buy and tried to keep it away from the amount of food that her body was struggling to digest. She made a mental list of things she needed: A heavy jacket, a new hoodie, some long sleeved shirts, new jeans, new shoes, new books and maybe a snow board.

  The small box that fell into her lap derailed her train of thought and she glanced around to locate the source of the tiny package. Her father stepped around the arm of the couch with a smile on his face.

  “It’s just a small pre-shopping gift to remind you that your birthday isn’t the only time of year that I think about you. I bought that while your mom and I were in Cancun this summer.”

  She smiled at him as she fought back the tears that were surely gleaming in her eyes. She tossed her book on the floor and jumped up to plant a kiss on his cheek and gave him a giant hug. “I love you, daddy!”

  He smiled and pulled her arms from around his neck and sat next to her on the couch.

  “Open it.” He nodded towards the box that had been abandoned on the floor with her book. The excitement in his voice piqued her interest and she all but pounced on the tiny box.

  She unwrapped it with all the grace of a mountain lion. As the lid flipped open, she couldn’t stop herself from gasping at the beauty of the contents.

  A handcrafted necklace made of gold rested on a spongy velvet pad inside. A gold pendant the size of a silver dollar hung from a thin chain. Deep, intricate lines carved into the surface wove themselves over and under one another forming a tight knot with no discernable beginning or end. It was clear, even to Ardra’s untrained eye, that the design had been painstakingly planned and laid out by the hands of a master artisan. Four glimmering diamonds sparkled at the cardinal points around the outside of the masterpiece.

  “You gonna put it on?”

  She had been mesmerized by the beauty of it and had forgotten that there was more to receiving a gift than staring at it. She reverently removed the necklace from the box and handed it to him. “Will you put it on for me?” she asked. Gratitude and love pushed its way out of her in waves and filled the entire room.

  As he clasped the chain around her neck, a feeling of complete perfection came over her. She loved her parents, she loved her friends and she loved her life. At that moment, it felt like nothing could go wrong.

  She stared at herself in the mirror across the room, slowly drifting closer to it, eyes glued to the piece of art adorning her chest. Never mind that it looked ridiculous with the pink t-shirt, this piece of jewelry seemed to be ma
de especially for her. Tingling warmth spread through her chest and tears sprang to her eyes. She spun to face her father and threw her arms around his neck once again, all but singing his praises as she thanked him over and over again.

  “What’s all the ruckus down here?” her mother’s voice called from the top of the stairs.

  Anne froze as she walked into the room and saw the pendant.

  “Frank, that is beautiful! Where did you get it?” she asked as she walked over to get a better look.

  “I picked it up while we were on our cruise this summer. I saw it and thought of her. I knew she simply had to have it.”

  Ardra imagined the look on her mother’s face was identical to the one that was stuck to hers when she had first opened the box–somewhere between amazement and worship. You could almost see the stars in her eyes as she reached out to caress the smooth gold.

  “This really was made just for you honey.” She almost dreamily pulled her hand away in slow motion. “It’s beautiful.” She stole one last glance as Frank slipped her coat over her shoulders.

  “I need to change really fast before we go!”Ardra all but shouted before spinning on her heel and running up the stairs.

  She put on the black v-neck she had planned on wearing that evening and slid a light jacket on over it. The necklace deserved much more than the t-shirt could provide.

  She glanced in the mirror to make sure that her new prize was displayed properly. The morning light shining through her bedroom window glinted off of the smooth metal and bounced off of every facet of each diamond, causing them to shine with colorful brilliance. It almost brought her to tears.

  She tore her eyes away from the gleaming medallion and ran back downstairs and through the front door, locking it behind her. She climbed into the backseat of her parents’ Lexus and they pulled out of the driveway to begin their day of shopping. Ardra caressed the necklace absently while her father drove and her mother rambled on and on about how much fun they were going to have. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see how the day could possibly get any better.

  Anne spoke non-stop for the whole two and a half miles from their driveway to the mall. As they pulled into the underground parking garage at the southern end of the mall, Anne changed the topic from gossip to architecture, “You know, I have yet to figure out why they call this the ‘Summer Garage’, the darn thing is open all year around! Here it is, the first day of winter and we’re parking in the Summer Garage!”

  Frank explained this mystery to her as he pulled the parking ticket from the machine and proceeded down the ramp, “The mall was built during the 2002 Winter Olympics, honey. The whole mall has an Olympic theme. Summer and Winter garages, summer and winter games. Each parking level of the garage also has a different picture on the pillars to help people remember where they park. The fountain at the north end of the mall is in the shape of the Winter Olympic Snowflake from that year, and one of the water shows that they put on there is to the Opening Ceremonies song from that year as well.”

  Ardra’s mother thought seriously about the new information provided to her and, satisfied with the explanation, proclaimed, “Well that makes much more sense than only having the garage open for half the year! I never thought about that I guess!” Anne continued to put the pieces together in her head as Frank searched for a parking spot close to the elevators. Ardra couldn’t help but smile at the dynamic that her parents had. Even after twenty two years of marriage, they still taught each other new things every day. Anne was usually educating Frank on the intricacies of female gossip circles, and Frank was almost always explaining such manly mysteries as architecture and carpentry.

  She supposed it explained why she was so well rounded when it came to small talk at parties. She could join just about any conversation, from politics to fashion; she knew how to hold her own. It was one more thing she needed to remember to thank them for when she could get a word in edgewise.

  As the elevator opened up into the small lobby of the office tower above the garage, Ardra bolted for the double glass doors, anxious to get out into the open air. The faster she could get across the plaza to American Eagle and distract her mother with shopping, the better.

  In the sixty seconds that it took for her parents to catch up to her, she made sure to find something to hold up in the mirror as they walked through the doors. It was guaranteed that her mother would stop talking about whatever happened to be spewing from her mouth and analyze the potential purchase. The first thing that caught her eye was a bright orange t-shirt. She grabbed one in her size and found a mirror right as her parents walked through the doors.

  As planned, her mother spotted her immediately and headed straight over. She started going on about how orange complimented her skin tone so well and made her look like she was glowing. She may have still been rambling but at least it was a topic Ardra enjoyed.

  She fidgeted with the hems of a few other tops and feigned interest in the cut of a few pair of jeans for the sake of letting her mother express her excitement over their shopping trip but couldn’t manage get into the whole fiasco for some reason. Usually she was just as excited as her mother for their shopping trip but this year something felt off. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what it was.

  The awkwardness that she felt for the situation had her fighting the urge to bite her fingernails, the only habit she’d ever had, and she flicked the nail of her middle finger against the nail of her thumb. Her parents had hounded her about chewing her nails for years before she had been able to kick the habit after dozens of hair brained schemes and failed attempts.

  A clear top coat applied every morning had finally been the weapon that helped her break the chain. There was nothing quite like the flavor of paint to turn you off to putting something in your mouth.

  They proceeded to make the rounds through several stores; Anne constantly handing Ardra a new article of clothing and Frank constantly pulling out his wallet. By the time they reached the north end of the mall, even her father had bought a few things for himself. They stopped in to have lunch at a restaurant across from Barnes and Noble before heading back to the south end of the mall and loading their things in the car.

  After giving their parking ticket and validations to the poor sap in the glass box, they exited the garage and headed back up the hill towards home. Ardra was exhausted and Anne showed no sign of letting up. If she could make it home, she could use the excuse of having a headache to find some peace and quiet to rest before her party that night. A few short minutes later, she was dropping bags of clothes on the floor of her bedroom and collapsing onto her bed.

  Half a dozen deep breaths later, she was pulled into a dreamless sleep.

  What felt like moments later, her mother was at her bedside, gently shaking her awake.

  “Ardra.”

  Shake. Shake.

  “Ardra, Piper is here. Wake up. Your guests are starting to arrive.”

  The thick fog that seemed to fill her head slowly started to clear. She glanced at the alarm clock on her night stand and saw that it was six thirty in the evening.

  “Oh my gosh!” she jumped up and started tearing through the bags that littered her bedroom floor. She found the dress that she had bought to wear instead of the v-neck that she had just slept in for six hours. “Tell her I’ll be right down!”

  She closed the door behind her mother and changed into the dress with lightning speed. She picked up the shoes she had found at Express and slipped them on while running a brush through her long blond hair. She ran across the hall to splash some cold water on her face and rub the sleep from her emerald green eyes. A little bit of powder to take away the shine and she was good to go.

  She bounced down the stairs and breezed into the kitchen right as Anne was telling Piper that she’d go find out what was keeping her.

  “There’s the birthday girl!” Piper squealed as she ran across the kitchen to give her a hug. “And look at this!”

  She finge
red the necklace that lay against Ardra’s chest.

  “Someone has made out like a bandit already!”

  Piper turned and headed for a bar stool, perched atop it at the end of the counter and picked at one of the several cheese and cracker trays that were within her reach.

  “So! How was the annual Cooper Family Shopping Spree? How many salaries did your dad pay this year?”

  Ardra laughed at the candid conversation that was routine for her pre-party prep time with her best friend. Over the past eleven years it had become a ritual on both of their birthdays for the other to show up an hour early and catch up with the birthday girl on the events of her day. Piper was slightly disappointed to learn that the shopping trip was mostly uneventful and that Ardra had come home and slept for hours.

  “Well, for someone who has been conscious for less than fifteen minutes, you look fierce tonight! The dress, the shoes, the hair, and that necklace! You make a pretty picture!”

  At the word picture, a loud gasp came from the living room where her mother was undoubtedly perched at the window waiting to graciously sweep Ardra’s party guests into her home and lead them to the kitchen. Moments later, Anne disappeared up the stairs and was back in the kitchen before it even clicked in Ardra’s head what was going on.

  Her mother was an avid scrap booker. The day someone found Anne Cooper more than thirty seconds from a camera would be the day that Ardra could be found wearing clothes from WalMart. Piper and Ardra never passed up the opportunity to be in front of a camera, so while Anne snapped away with the digital point and shoot, they posed and smiled like idiots.

  After taking enough pictures to fill an entire scrapbook, Anne finally relinquished the camera and returned to her perch at the window as the first of the guests began to arrive. By eight thirty, the kitchen and living room were full and people were starting to migrate to the enclosed deck off the back of the house. Anne, Piper, and Ardra constantly made the rounds to not only keep an eye on everyone and make sure that nobody ran out of fruit punch, but also to make sure that everyone was having fun.