"The Promise" by BJ Pearce

"The Promise"

by BJ Pearce

Uriah Williams would be five years old this Easter, and just the thought of a birthday party and an Easter egg hunt found him more excited every day. This year would be different. The festivities would be held at Grandpa's house, or as Uriah liked to call him "Pawdaddy." Pawdaddy Williams lived alone now. Grandma had "gone on" they said "to the pearly gates." Uriah didn't understand exactly what that meant, but that was okay, he guessed, because he seldom understood everything grownups talked about. All he knew was that Grandma's going was a sad thing. Uriah preferred to think of fun things, rather than sad. Sad things made his heart hurt. Uriah would much rather think about how many birthday presents he would be getting and how many Easter eggs he would find on Sunday.

All Saturday afternoon Uriah and his sister and mother had dyed eggs - purple ones, yellow, orange and green, all decorated by hand. It took Uriah hours to get all the dye removed and his fingertips were still tinted slightly scarlet. Their Easter baskets were all trimmed and ready. Their mom had bought bunnies and little silk sunflowers at the variety store and she had worked for hours to glue on all of the decorations. Uriah's mom always had loved Easter and made a really big deal out of it, just like her own mother had done.

"Pawdaddy needs for us to visit him this Easter," Uriah's mom had said. "You know, this will be Pawdaddy's first Easter without Grandma. It will cheer him up if we visit him tomorrow." That was fine with Uriah. He loved going to Pawdaddy's house; there was so much to do and see. And, after all, he didn't care where his birthday party was, just as long as there was a party.

"And the puppies!" Uriah giggled to himself. He had almost forgotten about the puppies. Pawdaddy's Scottish Terrier, Millie, had had pups almost five weeks ago, and Uriah could hardly contain his excitement when he thought about playing with them.

And finally, it was Sunday. Uriah thought church would never end, and that they would never get on their way to Pawdaddy's. But eventually, the preacher ended his sermon and the last hymns were sung soon enough to send Uriah happily on his way to Pawdaddy's house. The drive to the farm seemed to take forever. Uriah's head popped up and down constantly searching for any familiar surroundings that would indicate they were nearing their destination. Uriah was so glad to be going to Pawdaddy's that he hadn't even pinched his sister when she inched over on to his side of the car seat.

Ultimately, he felt the car begin to slow and saw the old bluebonnet road that went winding out to the farm. Uriah's mom began honking the horn, as they neared the house. Finally, Uriah saw Pawdaddy rise from the porch swing and gingerly make his way down the steps, while Millie raced toward the car followed, in no organized fashion, by six eager puppies. Pawdaddy's face broke into a wide grin when he saw Uriah waving wildly from the back seat of the car.

The breeze that drifted across the hill was sweet with the aroma of sassafras and the endless fields of bluebonnets. Nothing had changed since their last visit…except that Grandma wasn't there.

The afternoon was all Uriah could have hoped for. First and second cousins, aunts and uncles he hardly knew, were hugging and laughing and birthday presents were being heaped one after another in Uriah's lap. Hamburgers and hot dogs covered the grill; a heaping bowl of potato salad sat nestled in the middle of the picnic table, while peach cobbler and birthday cake waited temptingly on the dessert table. Uriah ate so much and played so hard he thought he would pop. He couldn't remember ever having had this much fun before. Now, all that remained was the Easter egg hunt.

The eggs had all been hidden by the parents in the field of bluebonnets that ran down the side of the hill. They wouldn't be easy to find, Uriah knew, but he had every confidence in his ability to find the most eggs and win the prize, which was a huge chocolate Easter bunny. Uriah's mouth began to water at just the thought of it.

"Maybe, you should spend a little time with Pawdaddy," his mother whispered in his ear, when he came running in to the house for another glass of lemonade. In his excitement of playing with the other children and opening his birthday presents, he had completely forgotten about old Pawdaddy.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"Over there at the end of the house cranking the ice cream," his mother replied. "I'm sure he could use a little help."

Uriah looked around and finally spotted where his grandfather sat surrounded by Millie and the puppies. He ran off to sit with the old man, sloshing lemonade down the front of his shirt, as he went.

"What kind is it?" he called out, as he neared.

"What?" Pawdaddy asked.

"The ice cream!" Uriah answered.

"Oh that!" Pawdaddy smiled. "Well, let's see. This one here is peach, made with some of Grandma's fresh, canned peaches, and the other one over there is your favorite Peppermint. Think that'll hold you for the day?" Good naturedly, he pushed the puppies away from trying to lick the ice cream that dribbled down the side of the freezer.

"Umm, umm, I can hardly wait," Uriah commented, while picking up one of the puppies. Uriah noticed something then. He could see Pawdaddy was smiling, but there was a sadness in his smile. It was not the same smile that Uriah had seen him wear last Easter.

"Is something wrong, Pawdaddy?" Uriah asked, almost hesitating.

Pawdaddy looked down at him, surrounded by the puppies that were now climbing all over him. "What do you mean, son?" he asked.

"You know!" Uriah answered, looking up at him quizzically. "You're not wearing the same smile you used to."

Pawdaddy knew at once what Uriah meant, but he did not answer. Instead, a faraway look filled his eyes and he glanced away, as if he was thinking about something else.

"Is it Grandma?" Uriah asked, in his own innocent way. "Are you missing Grandma today?"

"Today, and every day." Pawdaddy answered, putting his arm around Uriah's shoulders, and smiling down at him. "Thank you for asking."

"I miss her, too!" Uriah volunteered, in an effort to cheer up the old man. "But mama says we'll all see her again. That she's just gone on up to Heaven to get a place all set for the rest of us."

"And, I know that's true," Pawdaddy replied. "I can almost smell the pies she's baking and see her bustling around up there trying to boss everybody. One thing I know for sure," he said, "is that the Lord's sure gonna have his hands full trying to keep her from taking over the place!" Pawdaddy and Uriah both laughed out loud.

"Well, isn't it almost time to set off to hunting those eggs?" Pawdaddy asked. "Guess you've got your eye set on winning that chocolate bunny all for yourself!"

"Sure nuff!" Uriah said, licking his lips.

The rumble of thunder broke the silence of the afternoon and both Pawdaddy and Uriah looked upward to see a few dark clouds begin to gather. Lightning struck not far away and soon all the cousins and aunts and uncles began moving toward the safety of the house.

"Better get in and take this ice cream," Pawdaddy said. "Wouldn't want all of it to get diluted with rain water, now would we?" Uriah helped the old man get up from his chair and began rounding up the puppies. The air took on a new sweetness with the combination of spring showers and the energy of the approaching storm, and before they knew it, the wind had swept in a sea of steady raindrops.

All the relatives had retired to the parlor and were contenting themselves with card games and Trivial Pursuit. Uriah sat with Pawdaddy on the screened-in back porch watching the rain.

"It's going to ruin the Easter egg hunt," Uriah pouted, sitting with his chin resting in his hands, followed by a sigh of disappointment.

Pawdaddy looked down at him. "How can you say that? It's been a beautiful day so far and the day isn't even over."

"But the eggs, they'll be ruined," Uriah replied.

"Oh, no!" Pawdaddy exclaimed. "Why do you think God made egg shells?"

"Well, it's just that it's Easter and we always get to hunt eggs on this day every year." Uriah appeared disgusted with the turn of events.

"Son, son," Pawdaddy said to him, "you seem to have forgotten what the day is all about."

"You mean Grandma's going away?" he asked, puzzled at the old man's comment.

"Oh, no," he said "something even more important than Grandma's leaving us, though…" he said, shaking his head, "that has been a cross hard enough to bear."

Pawdaddy paused, looking away from Uriah and pointed toward the heavens, where the sun was just beginning to break through.

"Easter," he paused "is intended to be a feast to remind us of the Resurrection of Jesus. You see," he went on "…after Jesus was crucified and placed in the tomb, God raised him again after three days and gave him new life."

The old man's enthusiasm about the meaning of Easter soon spilled over to Uriah and he began to lose interest in the storm.

"The world," Pawdaddy went on "was never the same again after Jesus died. All of Man's sins were forgiven because Jesus took them upon himself for all of us. In other words, He gave us a second chance."

Uriah said nothing, but listened intently to the old man's words.

"Easter," he said, with reverence, "…is another of God's Promises, a Promise of better things to come…like that rainbow you see starting to form over there in the sky," he said, waving his arm in the direction of the heavens. "It is the Promise of everlasting life. Like the new life that Grandma is enjoying this very minute with God in heaven."

The old man placed his arm around the young boy's shoulders, while they sat quietly.

Finally, Uriah breathed a deep sigh before exclaiming: "Wow, I never thought of it like that, I guess. I mostly just remembered the Easter egg hunt, and the ice cream, and getting to see all my cousins." He bowed his head, as if he were ashamed.

The old man picked him up and placed him on his lap, pulling the boy as close to him as he could.

"That's all right," he soothed the boy. "We don't expect you to know and to understand everything. You're just a little boy and there are still many, many lessons you have yet to learn."

"Just remember," Pawdaddy said, tousling his hair, "Easter signals a new beginning of nature, of spring, of love. And, if you remember even a part of that, you will always know what Easter is about. It's about hope, and most important…it's about forgiveness."

The rain had stopped. Pawdaddy noticed it first. Uriah reclined contentedly in the old man's arms, bathed in the wisdom of his words.

"Go on along with you now!" Pawdaddy told him. "See there, God hasn't forgotten it's your birthday or that you were counting on winning that big ole chocolate bunny. He's gone and stopped the rain."

Uriah removed himself from his grandfather's lap reluctantly, then turned to ask, "Are you sure it'll be okay? I mean," he went on "…with this being such a special day and all?"

The elderly man smiled his "used to be smile" at the boy and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm certain it will be fine," he said, "Even God has a sense of humor. After all, he created Mankind, didn't He?"

The boy ambled over to where his Easter basket sat waiting and scooped it up. And, just as he started to push the screen door open to set about retrieving his Easter egg treasures, he paused and turned to where his grandfather sat.

"I will remember…" he said, his eyes misting over. "I will!"

"I know you will," the old man said quietly. "I counted on that. Because, after all, you are my promise of new life here on earth." The old man rose from his chair walking over to where the small boy stood and lovingly placed his arm around his shoulders. "It's just that sometimes, yes sometimes," he continued, "… we all need a little nudge in the right direction."

The End