Forgetting Tabitha: An Orphan Train Rider (30 page)

Chapter 26 Edmund

I would go to Gert with today’s wonderful news! Mary had received her graduation papers and we were planning a surprise party in her honor. Her teacher agreed to a written exam and Mary not only passed but aced the test. Preparations had begun, Edna and Sarah were working on the menu and Gert and I were to work on the invitations and entertainment.

The store wasn’t opened and it was a quarter past ten, peculiar indeed. I jiggled the door handle but it was locked. I went around back to peer in the windows and everything looked in place. I sat outside the store for a while and panic set in, call it a sixth sense. Never before had Gert failed to open her shop and surely if she had to go somewhere she would have asked one of the women to fill in. Things were out of place. I jiggled the handle once more, ran to the hardware store and borrowed a screwdriver, came back to the shop and took the handle right off, reaching my hand inside to undo the lock. I noted a trail of blood on the floor; the pattern was unusual so I followed it in a circle and towards the back steps. Taking the stairs two at a time I found Gert, lying in a pool of blood, dead.

I ran outside and grabbed a boy who was walking past the shop and told him to run for help immediately.

I went back to Gert, holding her in my lap, cradling her and rocking her back and forth. Why? God Why?

I saw the paper under her bed and waited for someone else to come and fetch it. Candy was the first to arrive. She checked Gert’s pulse, stifled a sob and reached for towels to sop up the pool of blood.

“Your mother is on her way.” Candy said, not knowing what else to do. She sat with me, tears flowing freely, neglecting the puddles of blood, lost in her own train of thought.

“Edmund?” my mother called out frantically.

Candy went to the stairs and guided her up. She was met with a gruesome sight, for now I was covered in blood too.

“What happened, are you okay? Oh my God.” She ran to me, dropping to her knees to see where my blood was coming from. I had never heard her take the Lord’s name in vain before.

Candy explained it wasn’t from me, she turned Gert’s wrists to show Sarah what happened and the two women sat stunned.

The men of the family came; Mary came and heaved at the sight before her. Everyone tried to pull me from Gert, but it was Mary that finally succeeded. Together we lay on Gert’s bed, while the men took the body and cleaned the mess. Mary rubbed my back and head as she did so many years ago on the train, telling me it would be all right.

The women found the note and read it aloud. My suspicions were right. It had to be the deputy. He would pay, of that I was sure.

Chapter 27 Wedding

“Let’s postpone the wedding.” I had been thinking about this and now that we were seated together for supper I stated my feelings on the matter. “It’s just too soon after Gert’s death, Edmund is in mourning and I don’t feel right about a celebration right now.” I placed my hands on my expanding belly, thinking of Edmund. His grief was palpable; he had lost weight and was gaunt. We were all surprised to hear the truth about Gert and her past digressions, but chose to remember her for the joy she brought to each of us. Edmund’s connection to her remained a mystery for now.

“Darling, I know, but the baby will be here soon and you want to be married before her arrival.” Edna was convinced I was carrying a girl.

“I agree with Edna, a little celebration is exactly what this family needs.” Pap said sternly.

“What if the judge marries us in a civil ceremony? Then we can have a reception later, after the baby is born?” Edna and Pap had to agree this was a good idea.

“I have dreamed of your wedding day,” Edna said, “you walking down the aisle to meet your groom, Pap giving you away at the altar, I have dreamed of it so often I know the flowers that make up your bouquet.” Edna sniffed.

“I have too, Edna, but I just feel my celebration can wait, Edmund’s feelings are far more important to me right now. He isn’t the same; he doesn’t talk, hasn’t come to visit me, and spends all his time alone. I worry about him.”

“We all do, Mary.” Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

The following morning I felt contractions, they were far too soon, and the doctor said it was premature labor brought on by Gert’s death and my concerns over graduating, which were now appeased, thankfully.

Candy had graciously taken over the store while we figured out what to do with it. She preferred it to farm work, and had a knack for merchandising.

I was put on bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy and as a result we decided unanimously that the wedding ceremony was to take place in my bedroom, with the judge presiding. The reception would follow after the holidays.

Edna insisted on flowers, and a new quilt for the bedroom. She fussed and cleaned profusely laundering the curtains and fluffing the pillows as well as snatching each and every dust bunny that gathered in corners or lurked under my bed. The day of the wedding came and I was honored to wear Edna’s ivory silk wedding gown, the lustrous fabric was like a second skin, the dresses neckline and sleeves having been embellished with salt water pearl beads by her own mother’s hand. The bottom half of the gown did not show so hemming it was not necessary. I allowed Edna the pleasure of fussing with my hair. She braided it around my head and gave me a halo made from baby’s breath.

To my surprise Scotty purchased his first suit along with new rings for the both of us. They were simple gold bands with our initials and the word
forever
engraved on the inside. I would wear Candy’s ring as well and they fit beautifully together.

Before the judge performed our ceremony we had a moment of silence for Gert, may she be at peace now and forever more. We had no readings, and no music, just spoken promises and our family, along with the Wrights beside us as our witnesses. I was delighted to see Edmund enter the room before we said our “I do’s” he smiled at me and stood against my dresser wiping at his tears with a handkerchief embroidered with a navy blue E.

He and I had spent the bulk of our lives together; he was my true family and came to be by my side although it was painful for him.

The judge carried on with the service, “Do you, Mary, take Matthew Scotty Wright to be your lawful husband, in sickness and in health until death do you part?”

“I do.” I was propped up in bed, staring into Scott’s eyes, holding his firm hands in my own. He never knew his last name, so we took on the name of Wright to honor the farmer who was exceedingly kind to Scott.

“And do you, Mathew Scotty Wright take Mary to be your wife in sickness and in health until death do you part?”

“I do.” We placed our rings on each other’s fingers.

“Then you may kiss your bride.” Scott leaned in and kissed me with every ounce of his soul, my family and his clapping and cheering us on.

Everyone hugged us and wished us well. Even the baby kicked and made a fuss at all the commotion.

The day’s business however was not complete. We had the judge write up official adoption papers for Sonya and while the family was altogether he performed a simple adoption ceremony, Sonya was now under our care and part of our blessed, growing family.

When we lay in bed that night, we thanked God in our prayers for bringing us together all those years ago under the stoop in the Five Points, then we made sweet love and kissed goodnight.

Life went on peacefully. We were married now with one child to look after already and one soon to enter the world. I stayed at Edna’s until the baby’s arrival because it was easier for her to care for me in her home while I was on bed rest. Sonya never left my side unless it was to help Edna in the kitchen where she was becoming quite the culinary wiz, or to help Candy in the
Heaven Scents
shop. The name of the store was not lost on any of us. I was anxious to get settled into my farmhouse and put my touches on it, but happy to have Edna’s care in the meantime.

The men worked tirelessly at the farm, increasing the head of cattle significantly and raising a third barn for them. We had over one hundred acres, plenty of land for the cattle to roam and grow fat for slaughter. Additionally, Scotty saddled the horses and rode them through the fields, trails, and streams to check the property and exercise the animals. Pauli was nervous around the large animals but Candy was fearless and took to
Savannah
, our newest mare riding her every morning before heading into town to the shop.

Candy grew to love the Heaven Scents business and made the decision to keep it open if that was okay with all of us. We agreed Gert would want it that way and handed all rights to the property to her.

Bart was arrested for the brutal beating of Gert and was also questioned in the murder of the animals at the Wrights farm although he denied that. He was sentenced to death by hanging.

The judge asked Edmund to clerk for him, and he did so for a time. They had developed a nice relationship over the years, the judge becoming a mentor to him propagating his ideas of law school. But he was so forlorn after Gert’s death and confided in me that being in Binghamton was too hard for him. He intended to leave once the baby was born.

He talked of heading west, not to pan for gold but to sell merchandise to those who were. He had devised a well thought out plan; he would purchase Levi’s jeans, pots and pans, cradles and sieves, along with bedrolls, tents, and food in bulk. He would set up shop in San Francisco and sell his product for double his cost. He would send word to Samuel when he needed more and by then he would have a store address where merchandise could be shipped. I didn’t want to see him go; it would be the first time we were truly apart. My heart broke at the thought and I worried about his lungs, but I also knew he couldn’t stay. He loved Gert, that much was obvious and whenever he walked the streets of our town or closed his eyes, her image haunted him.

The day after Thanksgiving I had a great deal of indigestion followed by labor pains that came strong and fast. The women called the midwife who came at once, after an internal exam she said I had dilated five centimeters. The men waited anxiously for news of the baby in our parlor. I cried out in pain and was covered in a slick layer of sweat, when the time came to push; Edna held my hand giving me courage. Our daughter fought her way into the world on November
twenty-eighth. Hers was an easy birth and I was grateful to have had Edna and Sarah by my side through it all, witnessing the miracle of life.

My daughter’s tiny face peered up at ours questioningly, taking us in and smiling ever so briefly. She had a full head of black hair, like her father. I placed her to my breast and she latched on perfectly and suckled away.

“What should we call her?” Scotty asked overwhelmed and searching my face for clues. “How about Tabitha?” he wondered out loud.

“No, I think it’s time.” I cleared my throat and wiped my eyes dry before continuing, “It’s time for forgetting Tabitha.” I hadn’t been called by my birth name in nearly ten years; it held a special yet painful, place in my heart. It always brought my father and mother to my mind, as well as the farm in West Chester, my animals, and all the people I met in the city, even the Canters, called me Tabitha. It is who I was; Tabitha Colleen Salt.

“I was thinking of something different.” I gazed at my newborn, into the depths of her heart and soul and wanted only one thing.

“Well, then out with it.” Scotty waited without much patience to hear my thoughts.

“I was thinking of Lilith Gertrude. We can call her Lilly which means
new beginning
.” My daughter had a whole world in front of her, and while I was sure it would not be without strife, it would be full of love from doting parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and of course her big sister, Sonya.

Epilogue

Symbolic of my journey is the locket I wear daily around my neck. The confines within engendering the sorrows and joys traversed in my seventy years. I finger the grooves thoughtfully honoring the memory of the woman who gave me life, my mama. I kiss the piece of jewelry and allow the evening’s gentle breeze to bathe my skin while I rock on the porch with my great-grandson. The air has a cool dewy quality signaling a storm, so I beckon to Lilly.

“Time to get the laundry in off the line, Lilly,” I called quietly into the kitchen careful not to unsettle the baby.

At forty-nine, Lilly basked in the glow of all her triumphs. She was a school teacher, a mother, wife and now a grandmother. She sat at the worn kitchen table grading papers as I once had, with pen in hand and a look of determination spread wide across her face. She put down her marking tool and grabbed the sturdy basket I wove so long ago for such a purpose, hustling outside to undo the clothespins and bring in the laundry before it got drenched.

In Lilly I fostered a love for reading, as a child she absorbed books like I did, and together we discussed our favorite characters animatedly. She joined the literary society and even authored short stories of her own. Lilly filled my shoes when I left my position as head teacher of the elementary school, and she also took over the library that I started in the early 70s, it was the first library with circulating books in our city and one of my proudest accomplishments. Lilly met a wonderful man whose daughter she taught over the years. When he became widowed they fell into a natural love. We embraced our first granddaughter and welcomed the baby they had together the following year. Baby Beatrice was a joy to behold, adding to the joie de vivre for life Lilly already had. Motherhood suited Lilly; she was not easily flustered, took things in stride and laughed loudly and often. I couldn’t have asked for more in a daughter.