Linda's Story

Sewing And Birthday Presents

A pair of curious blue eyes peeked over the edge of the table, and small delicately painted pink nails appeared on the smooth surface. Rosita Mancini smiled as she pulled the needle through the fabric. "Hello, Linda."

Six year old Linda took a seat, "Hi."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothin'."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, nothin'."

Rosita smiled, knowing the answer to Linda's unasked question, "would you like to do something?"

She nodded, and got on her knees, effectively scooting closer to the table. She gazed at the pink fabric, wondering how Nonna Rosita made such pretty clothes from squares of fabric. "Uh huh."

"Would that something happen to be sewing?"

"Uh huh."

Rosita smiled, "wash up first. I can see the chocolate on your fingers."

Linda jumped down and ran to the kitchen to wash her hands. She knocked the soap bottle into the sink, and dropped the sponge lying on the sink's edge onto the floor. After cleaning up her small mess, she dried her her hands, and threw the hand towel onto the counter.

Rosita laughed when her granddaughter ran back in, her braids flying behind her, and plunked back down in the chair.

"I'm ready, Nonna!" She exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement.

Rosita knew she wouldn't do a good job. She knew the hems would be crooked, the stitches would be big and sloppy, and Linda would probably end up poking herself more than once. "Here you go, sweetie. You can see these two pieces together."

She watched with awe as her grandmother threaded the needle, and started the sewing by connecting the pieces together. Linda took the two pieces of scrap fabric, and placed them in front of her. She picked up the needle with care, "what if I poke myself?"

"Don't worry if you poke yourself. I've being sewing since I was your age, and I still poke myself."

"But it'll hurt."

"Only for a few seconds."

Linda nodded, "I'll try not to do that."

Rosita smiled, and started stitching the pink fabric again. She wasn't going to tell her granddaughter what the fabric would become- it was a surprise for Linda.

**********

There was always that one present birthday girls had their eyes on. All the other presents were exciting and piqued curiosity, but that one present in the corner was the most important one. That one was the one she wanted to open first, before every other one. But before presents, there was dinner.

Linda wouldn't know the thrill of picking her birthday meal until she met a nice young man named Jamie, almost ten years into the future. For now, though, a beautiful pork chop sat on her plate, next to fried apples, rice, and beans. She sat between her two older siblings, and across from her Grandma. She was the second one done- Jimmy was the first- and she had to physically sit on her hands to keep herself from tearing into her presents.

Linda watched everyone as they are their dinners. Her father was the last to finish, and as he pushed his plate away from the edge of the table, he asked his youngest daughter what she wanted to do.

"What do you think, Linda? Should we do chores?"

"No!" She started to giggle. Her Dad did this routine every time a birthday came around, and at every Christmas.

"Should we feed the chickens?"

"We don't have any chickens, Daddy!" She laughed out loud this time, starting to squirm in her seat.

"Should we go see the elephants?" Jimmy played around, and smiled widely when his baby sister's eyes widened. She was seven and he was nine, so he still thought she was a dweeb, but he always liked making her smile.

"Can we, Mama? Can we? Can we?"

"Not tonight, Linda."

She pouted, temporarily forgetting about her other presents until her father asked his question.

"Should we open presents?"

Her eyes lit up again, and her tiny hands rapidly clapped together. "Presents! Presents! Presents!"

"Wendy, would you help clear the table please?" Marni- Linda's mother- asked her oldest child.

"Yes, ma'am." Wendy was fourteen, and therefore 'a young lady'. She never failed to point this out to her younger siblings.

Another good thing about birthdays, Linda thought, was that she didn't have to do the dishes. Not that she was allowed to do that much anyways- she was only seven after all! She picked up the birthday hat on the table and put it on top of her brown locks. Mama and Wendy better hurry up!

Rosita and Tony placed her presents on the table in front of her, and she immediately picked up the one she wanted. She shook it- it didn't make a sound. She prodded it without ripping the paper- it was soft. She put it down when Wendy and Marni came back into the room.

One by one, Linda unwrapped the presents. She got toys, clothes, hair ties and headbands, nail polish that only Wendy or Grandma or Mama could apply to her nails, shiny black church shoes, and a stuffed elephant. Finally, she got to the present she wanted most.

"It's from Nonna!" She explained, reading the tag on the present. "What is it?"

"You have to open it to find out."

She ripped the bow off, ignoring Wendy picking it up off the floor. She knew her sister would save it to tie in her hair. The purple paper was ripped away to reveal pink folded fabric- the same pink of that fabric Nonna was sewing a few weeks back. She picked it up, "a dress!"

Linda slid off the chair with the dress in her hands and held it up to her body. It was sleeveless- sleeveless!- and fell a little bit above her knees. "It's so pretty! Thank you, Nonna!" She ran to her grandma and hugged her tightly. Then she hugged everyone else, and sat back down. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome"s and "happy birthday"s were heard around the table.

Wendy and Jimmy cleaned up the wrapping paper and bows, and Tony disappeared into the kitchen. He came back with the birthday cake, all seven candles lit, and placed it in front of Linda. She sat through the Happy Birthday song, and made a wish before blowing out the candles. It was a very happy birthday indeed!