On Saturday, we went to see Miss Maggie.
"Ellie, what a surprise!" she said. For once, I think she meant it.
Mom and I marched in, singing, "Happy birthday to you..." I could hardly wait till the song was over to give Miss Maggie her present!
Miss Maggie carefully pulled back the tissue paper. When she finally saw the doll, her eyes filled up with tears.
"Ellie," she whispered, "where on Earth..."
"Is she close?" I asked. "Is she like the one that got broken?"
"She is exactly like my doll," Miss Maggie said, without once taking her eyes off the present. "But where did you ever find her and how did you ever afford her?"
Mom was looking at me like she wanted to know the same thing, so I told them both the whole story. When I got to the part about my dress, I asked Mom, "Are you mad?"
Mom squeezed my hand and her voice cracked when she told me, "No, sugar, I'm not mad."
A tear ran down Miss Maggie's face and she said, "Now I know how it is possible that this doll looks just like the one I held in my arms exactly eighty years ago today. Both dolls were gotten from pure love. And love wherever it comes from, always looks the same."
The cake was delicious, and Miss Maggie said it was her best birthday yet.
YOU ARE READING
The Never-Forgotten Doll
General FictionMiss Maggie, the best babysitter ever, tells Ellie, The story that follows, about the beautiful china doll Miss Maggie loved and lost long ago, fills Ellie with ideas. How better to show Miss Maggie how much she loves her than to find a way to get t...
