by Delores E. Bius
THE BOX OF
ONBONS—
B
fat, little,
old-fashioned
BONBONS
candies with
rich, creamy centers. They
looked so inviting in the
tall-stemmed silver dishes in
the candy store window.
I didn’t need those extra
calories, and our budget didn’t
need any extra strain either.
The twins needed new gym
shoes. Ed had asked me to
watch the pennies even more
carefully than usual. The union
he belonged to might go out on
strike any day.
Why was I dawdling? I had to get
my grocery shopping finished early
if I was going to visit Aunt Bessie in
the hospital in the afternoon. Then
I remembered that Aunt Bessie had
mentioned once that bonbons were her
favorite candy. Perhaps I should take
her some. I studied my grocery list and
adjusted it so I could get the bonbons.
Aunt Bessie was not really a relative.
“Aunt” was a convenient title given our
elderly neighbor when we moved into
her neighborhood. The twins, now 10,
were then barely out of diapers. She
had become a daily visitor, popping in
and out at any hour of the day, some-
times with a bowl of homemade soup
or a plate of cookies. Just as often, she Bessie often enlightened me regarding Bessie consistently countered my
had a complaint to voice about the my faults in raising the twins, keeping witnessing efforts with a “bah humbug”
twins or the other neighbor children. house, and just about everything I did. attitude. She said she had never gone
They were too noisy while playing near She informed me that Joan, our to church and never would, pointing
her windows, or their ball landed in neighbor down the street, kept an out that in her opinion there were too
her yard, or their bikes strayed onto the impeccably clean and orderly house many hypocrites in the church.
edge of her lawn. and never had dirty dishes in her sink A month ago, Bessie had a heart
Many times I bit my lip when Bes- and that her children were the cleanest attack and was hospitalized. Once she
sie launched into one of her tirades. and best behaved in the neighborhood. was out of the intensive care unit, I
24 EVANGEL • FEB 2010
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