I Know A Secret!

Good day to you all!

 "I know a secret. I know a secret. I know..." Jamie skipped through the house just asinging her song. She had been sworn to secrecy by her bestest buddy, pal and friend, Jasmine. "What secret are you skipping around about this afternoon?, asked her mother. "Oh nothing.", said Jamie. She went on through the house skipping and singing to herself. "I know a secret; I know a secret; I know..." Jamie knew that her mother was dying to know what a 9 year old could know that she considered secret enough to have her skipping through the house  with the knowledge of it.

"Jamie, come set the table!", called her mother. Jamie came back into the kitchen and noticed a frown of intense concentration on her mother's face. She didn't know if the frown was from the new casserole that she knew her Mom was trying or from wondering about the secret that she knew. She hoped it was the latter.

Jamie's mother said to her, "No need to set out salad plates today, but I do need you to set out Grandma's special dessert dishes. And stop skipping in the house.", her mother gently chided. Jamie stopped skipping and singing as her mind conjured up various desserts that her mom served when she used Grandma's special dessert plates. She knew that her mom had made 7 up cake last night and that they had that often enough that her mom never used the special dessert dishes just for that.  Jamie said, "Oo-oo, I hope it is ice cream!"
"That's for me to know and for you to find out.", said her mother. "You aren't the only one who can have a secret, you know." Jamie thought for a minute, then she said, "Are we having company for lunch?"
Her mother said, maybe and maybe not. That's for me to know."  Jamie thought some more, then she said, "I can't tell you my secret; I promised!" Her other said, "I know and I'm not asking you to."
Then Jamie's mother started singing, "I know a secret; I know a secret." She them tapered the song off to a hum and kept humming softly to herself.
Jamie said, "Okay! Okay. I will tell you, but you must promise not to tell anybody else, not even Dad. You promise?"
"Oh okay, if it means that much to you.", her mother said. "I promise."

Jamie then put on her most serious but deliciously "can you believe it face" and said, "Well, Jasmine called me and asked me to meet her at the children's gazebo in the park. I rushed down there and when I got there, Jasmine was already there. She was behind the ivy trellis on the backside of the gazebo. She was crying. I said to her, "Aw Jas, what's wrong?" Momma she started crying so hard that she was hiccuping and I started crying too."
"You started crying too?" asked her mother.
"Yeah, I did Mom because you know that Jasmine always says that crying is for babies. And I knew that something awful must have happened for her to give way to crying like that. I mean; that's just not Jaz.! So I asked her again what was wrong and after several tear wiping seconds, this is what she said. She told me that...

To be cont...

Doing What I Can, while I Can 
Alma