The Purple Pearl (c) Ethel Hdiay Wicksey
The Purple Pearl
Tom Stone was a happy man. He had been married seven years to Jill, and they had five year old twins, Roy and Rose. He rushed home from work every night to sit on the floor and play games with the twins before supper. Tom was a successful businessman. He had worked hard and owned a jewelry store in a small town in Canada. He made enough money to provide a nice home for his family.
One day, Tom was invited to go to a jewel auction to buy precious jewels for his shop. They were going to auction off a rare purple pearl, from the 1700 set in a gold pendent with seven diamonds. When the pearl was held in the light, rainbow colours would intermingle with the purple. People had come from all over the world to bid on the rare purple pearl pendent.
Tom said goodbye to his wife and gave Roy and Rose, an extra big hug. He promised to bring them home a special gift.
Tom’s heart started to race, when he saw the purple pearl with the rainbows dancing through it. The more he looked at it, the more he wanted it. The thoughts about owning the rare purple pearl kept growing and growing.
He decided to mortgage everything he had and take out a loan so that he could buy the pearl. It was Monday and the auction would be Friday at noon. He cashed in his life insurance and all his certificates. He took a mortgage out on his house and business. The inheritance he had received when his father died was used. Friday morning finally arrived. Tom could hardly wait for the auction to begin.
“Do I hear $120,000 who will give me $190,000 I have $320,000 who will give me $530,000. Tom was the highest bidder and bought the rare purple pearl.
The security company came and moved the rare pearl to a bank vault. Tom had a special safe built at his jewelry store to protect the pearl from theft. A soft white velvet lined pedestal was built, to cradle the pearl.
Tom was so excited that he could not wait to get home to tell Jill. He could never figure out why Jill was not as excited as he was. So what if he had forgotten the gifts for Roy, and Rose! He would get them something another day.
Finally, the day came when the safe was finished. Tom arranged to have the guards bring the pearl from the bank to his new safe the next day. He could not sleep that night. All he could think about was the pearl and how he would be able to hold it and look at it. At ten o’clock, the Brink’s truck delivered the rare pearl to Tom’s store. He placed the beautiful Purple rainbow coloured pearl on the white velvet covered pedestal in his safe.
Each morning Tom would get up, before his family awoke, and go to work. Hours were wasted, looking at his pearl. He owed so much money that he had to work at two jobs and on weekends to pay the bills.
Little Roy and Rose never did get their gift. They never saw their father. Jill had to go to work to put food on the table. The twins had to be trotted off to the daycare each morning. Year after year went by. Jill went to all Roy’s baseball games and attended all Rose’s recitals. The twins went off to college. Jill was at home most of the time alone.
One morning two men broke into and robbed Tom’s jewelry store. The robbers panicked not expecting anyone to be in the store so early. They shot Tom as he walked through the safe doors.
When Tom woke up in the hospital after the operation, the doctor told Tom how lucky he was. If the bullet had hit him one half inch to the left, he would have bled to death.
His children came to see him at the hospital, but he did not recognize them. They were young adults now. He had a hard time talking to them. It was even worse when Jill came into the room. It seemed they had grown apart the past few years.
Tom had to take extra time recuperating, because he was in poor health from overworking and spending so much time obsessing over the pearl.
He started to study his daughter Rose as she moved about the house. She would come in when she thought he was sleeping and just sit and cry softly by his bed.
Tom thought to himself, “What have I done? I have wasted so many years. I have missed so much. Yes, the purple pearl is beautiful, but it will never compare to the beauty of my daughter’s tears.”
Jill would come into his room every day to change his bandages. She rubbed his back ever so gently with soothing creams to help him relax.
“Oh God, what have I done? The purple pearl is beautiful but it can never replace the loving touch of my wife,” Tom thought.
Roy came in and set up his lap top computer on the table for his father to use. He showed his father how to work it. He was so excited that he was just about late for class.
Tom was not sure how to run the computer, and pressed a lot of wrong buttons. When he hit one, a letter appeared on the screen.
Dear Dad.
Why don’t you love me any more? We used to have so much fun together. Remember the big fish you helped me catch when I was four. What did I do to cause you to stop loving me? It has been so hard for Rose and mom with you gone all the time.
Dad, why can’t you come home and be with your family?
I love you
Roy
The tears started to flow from Tom’s face. “What have I done? What have I done? Oh God, please forgive me. Help me change.”
The beauty of the purple pearl will never be able to replace the words, “I love you Dad.”
Tom got on the phone to his assistant that morning. He told him to arrange for an auction to sell the purple pearl. He promoted his assistant to manager of the store. He told him he would not be back to work for quite some time.
When Jill came in to give him a back rub that night he asked her to forgive him for what he had done. He asked her if she wanted to quit work and stay home. They agreed that they would need to do a lot of talking and get to know each other again.
When Rose came home, he asked her to forgive him. He told her that he wanted to get to know her. They talked and tears of sorrow and love mingled as father and daughter hugged for the first time in many years.
Tom never let Roy know he read the letter. He asked Roy to teach him how to use the computer. Roy spent many hours fixing up the mess his father made with the computer.
I will not tell you everything worked out. It will take years and a lot of prayer to heal this family. Tom will never be able to make up for the lost hours and everything he missed in his family’s life. God is so good. He spared Tom’s life and gave him a second chance to make things right with his family. The purple pearl sold at auction for more than Tom had paid for it. All the bills were paid and Tom used the profit to set up a trust, so orphans could go to camp.
© Ethel Hiday Wicksey
http://ethelswritings.yolasite.com/
