The Reflecting Pool and

The Reflecting Pool

My grandmother returned to her uncle's plantation home for a final visit before her marriage.  Her mother died in childbirth which led to her being raised in a convent while her dad worked as an engineer on the railroad.  He died on his way to see her engagement ring when his train hit a stretch of bad track.  Her uncle was all the family she had left.
The outside of the plantation home was nothing but painted plywood, the home having been burned by the Yankees after the civil war.  Because they had been treated as sharecroppers, the negroes stayed and continued to work their share of the crops.  The sharecroppers houses out front remained undamaged and were a couple of acres in front of the main house.  Out back, though, the old trees and reflecting pool remained.


My grandmother used to play here with her assigned "servant" whom she merely considered a friend.  As she sat reflecting on those days, a servant about her age approached.  It was Simone, her old friend from her childhood.




My grandmother jumped up and embraced Simone.




"How are you doing, Simone?  It has been forever since I've seen you!"




"I'm doing just fine, Miss Delhomme.  I heard you done got engaged!"




"What's this 'Miss Delhomme' nonsense?  It's Lorraine just lime before.  Yes, I met a man.  His name is Albert Hamilton Tribe.  He performs on the radio in the Rice Hotel in Houston.  He's so dreamy!  He finally popped the question!  See the ring?  Isn't it beautiful?"




Yes, it's beautiful, Miss Lorainne!  I'd better keep the 'Miss' so the master of the house doesn't think I'm being disrespectful to our guests.  What brings you back to Louisiana, Miss Lorraine?"




"Well, as you know, my father died and I just needed the company of some family.  I'm an orphan now, you know."




"Yes, I know.  I'm sorry, Miss Lorrraine.  Let me give you a hug."




They embraced once again and my grandmother started crying on her shoulder.




"There, there, Miss Lorraine.  We're still here for you and you know that your uncle loves you dearly.  Besides, you'll soon be Mrs. Tribe and you'll have a man to look after you."




"Yes, I know.  It's just hard losing my father.  We were so close even though he rarely got to come home.  It's a shame about all of those hobos who died in the wreck.  My dad wasn't supposed to let them ride but he could never turn down a poor person who needed a hand.  My step-mother took all of the money from the train company.  She was always so jealous of me.  Dad had to sneak away to come visit me at the convent."




"It's sad, Miss Lorraine.  She sure weren't mother material.  As much as you hated that convent, you were probably better off than being raised by THAT selfish witch.  I feel for you."




"So, is Uncle Curtis still treating you alright?  Have you married yet?"




"Your Uncle Curtis is treating me just fine.  Things were tight last year because of the bad crops but he saw that we were fed and taken care of.  I sure do miss the extra desert you used to sneak me when you were here when we were young though."




"Haha!  I'll order double again tonight and you'll have your extra dessert."




"Oh, thank you, Miss Lorraine.  It will be just like old times.  Hehe"




"Just like old times.  Now, if you don't mind, could you leave me here alone for awhile?  I have a lot of things to think about at this old reflecting pool."




"Sure thing, Miss Lorraine.  Just ring this bell if you need me.  I'll be sitting in the shack over there catching up on my knitting."




Simone reached in her pocket and pulled out a small, ornate silver bell with an ornate handle and handed it to my grandmother. My grandmother took the bell and put it into her pocket.




"Thank you, Simone."




"My pleasure, Miss Lorraine."




My grandmother turned back to the reflecting pool as Simone walked to the shack.  She stared at the Japanese Carp swimming and floating around the pond and started thinking about her childhood.  She thought about the harp that her real mother owned... and her stepmother despised... and remembered how much she wished that her mother had lived so she could grow up listening to the harp being played as she grew up.  She thought about how much she hated the convent and the cruel nuns who raised her but how much more special that made it she her dad came home to visit.  She thought about how much she missed him and wept awhile.  Her thoughts then turned to her future.  She would soon be married and having children.  She would no longer be mistreated by the Sisters in the convent.  She would leave the church and become a Methodist like her husband.  It was both exciting and scary at the same time.




Ah, the reflecting pool.  She remembered listening to the workers working the fields and singing hymns.  She remembered the feasts after harvest.  She remembered everyone sitting with the workers and eating watermelon on hot days.  It would soon be time to return to her apartment in Houston and get on with the business of planning the wedding.  For now though, she had family and the reflecting pool.