Journey of Honor A love story (26 page)

Giselle took another bite and asked daintily, “I am confused. You found something that makes you feel ridiculous, Mose? What does this mean?”

Shaking his head and laughing, Mose said, “Oh, it’s nothing, Miss Giselle. I just really like your Great Salt Lake town is all.”

“Don’t you believe him, Elle.” Trace smiled at her. “From that look on his face, I’d say he’s either robbed the Mormon bank or met a pretty girl.”

She perked right up. “You met a girl, Mose? Here in Zion? What is she like?”

His grin split from ear to ear. “I met a girl and she is prettier than a new red wagon. You’ll have to come and meet her.”

Trace chuckled. “You’re right. You’re disgusting.”

Giselle shook her head. “I don’t think you’re disgusting, Mose. I think you’re
engelachtig
when you’re in love. But what is this goofy? What does it mean?” They tried to explain it to her and she looked thoughtfully at Mose for a second and then said, “Yes, I think you are right. You look this goofy.” They all laughed as Trace and Giselle finished their breakfast.

Mose went off again somewhere while Trace took Giselle and her package of money to Brigham Young. They found him in an office in the heart of the thriving community and his face lit up when he saw Giselle. Trace thought he’d never met anyone so dynamic when he shook his hand heartily as she introduced him. He turned back to her. “Where are Josiah and Petja, Sister VanKomen?”

Her face fell as she had to tell him what had happened and he was genuinely saddened by her tale. He placed a huge and calloused hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry to hear about your grandparents, Sister. They were most wonderful people. I’m sorry that you’ve lost them. Where are you staying then if they are gone, now that you’re in town?”

She made a dainty grimace. “I don’t know for sure. We just got in late last night and I haven’t gotten that far. I wanted to bring the money to you before we did anything else. Here it is and here is the list of what money is for what property. Most of it belonged to the Church itself.”

“Yes, thank you for a job well done. Go to Bishop Syndergaard. He was your bishop back in the States, wasn’t he?” She nodded. “Go to him and he will find you a place.” He turned to Trace. “Now am I to understand that you are part of the teamster train that came in a week or two ago? Are you the man they were waiting for?”

“Yes, I believe I am. Why?”

Brigham pulled out a pocket watch and glanced at it. “I regret that I have a meeting right now that I’m already late for. Is there any way I could trouble you for some time to discuss a few things later this afternoon? Say two o’clock, maybe?”

“Certainly.” Trace nodded. “Back here again?”

“Thank you, young man. Now if you will excuse me.” He patted Giselle on the shoulder as he went out. “Once again, thank you, Sister, for all you’ve done, and I’m sorry for your loss.” He bustled out and Trace felt like the air was sucked right out of the room when he went. What a powerful personality this man had.

They went out into the hall and looked at each other and Trace asked, “Where to now, Sister?”

She smiled at him a little sadly. “To Bishop Syndergaard’s, I guess.” She looked down. ”And we need to find out how to go about having our marriage annulled.” She looked up at him. “When are you leaving? Do you know yet?”

He shook his head as he watched her eyes. “I haven’t even talked to Mose or John about it. As soon as possible, I suppose. Where is this bishop’s place?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I forgot to ask. Someone will know, I’m sure.”

They asked some people in the outer office and then Trace took her to a home near the general store and they did indeed, find the man she was seeking. He welcomed her right in with a smile that nearly consumed his face and a veritable bear hug. He shook Trace’s hand with vigor and slapped him on the back as he turned to go after promising he’d bring the rest of Giselle’s things by later.

The look Giselle gave him felt like it cut Trace’s heart right out, but he didn’t know what else to do other than just turn and walk away. This had been the plan for over four months and he was already committed to leaving, but it was killing him. And from the looks of Giselle, she wasn’t any happier about it than he was.

*****

When Bishop Syndergaard’s door shut firmly behind Trace, Giselle couldn’t help the tears that began to slide down her cheeks. Embarrassed, she wiped at them stubbornly, but she couldn’t stop them no matter how hard she tried. The kindly, old bishop led her into the parlor and seated her on the sofa and asked gently,“Who was that young man, Sister VanKomen?”

Haltingly, she told him the whole story, from that first night with Filson down to telling Trace good bye just now. Hesitantly, she finished, “I’ll be fine, Bishop. It’s just going to take some time to get my heart over him is all. I’m sorry for being so emotional. I must be tired.”

Gently, the bishop asked her, “If you love each other, why do you need to get over him?”

“Oh, Bishop. It’s not that simple. Annulling this marriage was the plan all along. And he has to leave and he’s not a member and… And… And I don’t even know what.”

“Sister VanKomen. Or actually Sister Grayson, do you not understand that true and honest love like you two have is rare and sweet and precious? Our Father in Heaven wants you to be happy. If this man isn’t a member yet, that doesn’t mean that you have to get away from him. He’s a good man. That’s very apparent.

“Your Father in Heaven would much rather that you stay married to the good man you are in love with than that you leave him to marry another you feel nothing for. That’s a recipe for disaster. For everyone involved. And trust me; this plural marriage business is hard enough without trying to go into it without love.” He paused and continued. “Do you think your husband will someday join the Church?”

She shook her head and the tears welled again. “He believes. At least I think he does. But he can’t abide that the Blacks can’t be given the priesthood. And the plural marriage doctrine is very troubling to him as well. I think if he was going to join, he would have already asked.”

Bishop Syndergaard turned and walked to the window and back and then said, “Sister Grayson. You must make your own decisions, based on your own good judgment and prayer, but as your bishop, I think for you to walk away from this young man would be a mistake. You both obviously love each other. Is there any way you can try to work things out?”

Hope flitted across her face. “I don’t know. I assumed you would want me to get away from him because he isn’t a member. We haven’t even talked about it.”

“Well, my dear, marriage is vitally important to our Heavenly Father’s plan, and strong ones are few and far between. When you are so in love with the husband you have, see what can be done to keep him, don’t you think? Just don’t give up hope that someday he’ll want to be baptized. He seemed like a good man who would want to embrace truth.”

Giselle stood up and hugged him. “Oh, thank you, Bishop! I don’t know if it will work, but I’d love to be able to be with him!”

*****

After dropping Giselle at her bishop’s, on the way back to the boardinghouse, Trace tried to lighten up his attitude, but this all felt completely wrong. He shouldn’t be planning to walk away from this girl. Somehow they could work out the kinks and find a way to stay together, couldn’t they?

On the boardwalk ahead of him he saw some of the other teamsters who had been on the trip with them. They stopped him and asked how soon they were going to get away, and he assured them that John Sykes probably had a plan to talk to him. Trace knew he should find him as well, even though his heart wasn’t in it. They might as well get going. The weather wasn’t going to be getting any nicer if they waited. Finally reaching the boardinghouse, he turned in the door and went up the stairs to their rooms with a heavy heart.

Mose found him there an hour later, stretched out on the bed with a scowl. “So this is where you got to. I’ve been looking for you.” He sat in the chair next to the window and quietly asked, “You’re not really planning to go on to California and leave her are you?”

Trace made a disgusted sound. “Do I have any other options, Mose? This was the plan all along. I’ve committed to going and she’s been trying to get here for almost two years. I’m not even a member of her Church. I’m sure all those nice, old men who have welcomed her would be thrilled about that.”

Mose went to tip back in the chair and Trace groused, “You’re gonna break the chair, you big lout. Did you see your girl?”

Mose chuckled. “My, but aren’t we a touch irritable this morning? I have a couple of pieces of information that you might be interested in. One is that Brigham Young approached John and asked him to sell the goods right here in Salt Lake City instead of moving on to California. He actually offered better prices than if we kept going.”

Trace sat up on the bed and asked, “What did John tell him?”

“That he had to talk it over with you first. Apparently Brigham Young was waiting for some money to be brought in from the States, and it finally arrived today. Know anything about that?”

“Yeah. Josiah was bringing it. I didn’t know anything about it until Giselle almost died. One day when she was so weak she asked me, if no one else made it, if I’d bring it to him.”

“Well, it sounds like you brought the money to buy your own goods then. That is, unless you can’t stand the thought of staying here with Giselle, and insist on leaving to travel over more snowy mountains.”

“Oh, knock it off. It’s bad enough without you hassling me. What else do you have to tell me?”

“Lucretia Tapp is in town. She came in on the stage a couple of weeks ago, but her father sent a teamster train out here to sell as well. They actually planned to sell it here, but they didn’t know about the Mormon health code. They brought wagon loads of tobacco and coffee and alcohol. No one’s buying and she’s not very happy about that.”

“Have you talked to her?”

“She did actually speak to me. Just enough to ask where you were. It seems you’re the real reason for her being here. She’d been told you’d be coming through.”

“Oh, that’s just great! Have you got any more such wonderful little tidbits of news? Or is that the last of it?”

Mose hesitated. “Well… just a little more. I’m joining their Church.”

Trace got up to pace the floor and said, “No, Mose. There are some things about their Church that you don’t understand. I seriously considered joining as well until Giselle told me a couple of things about it that are awful. They are racist. Blacks can’t hold their priesthood. And not only that, but they really are involved in polygamy.” He turned to look Mose in the eye. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you. It looked good. It really did. It felt good and right until those.”

Mose met his gaze. “I already know about those things, Trace. And I don’t understand them, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is Christ’s Church, headed by Him. They sound awful, I’ll admit, but I asked if it was right.” He paused. “I’m joining, Trace. I don’t understand it all, but I’m going to trust God to take care of the things that don’t seem right. I have to go with my gut here.”

Trace just looked at him, questioning, and then sighed. “You’re right, and I know it. I just hate the whole idea that the color of someone’s skin would matter to God. I can’t believe that. The God that I pray to is fair and honest. And the plural wives practice makes me sick.”

Gently Mose replied, “Abraham did it. And a bunch of the others of the Bible. It’s weird, but not unheard of. And remember there were times when only the tribe of Levi got the priesthood. For me, it just has to come down to faith. Once I knew I was being told yes, I’ve just had to trust.”

Trace went to the wash basin and splashed water on his face. “You stay here and trust. I have to go find out how to have a marriage annulled in this town.” He sounded totally bitter and he didn’t even care.

Mose caught his arm at the door. “What are you doing, man? I just told you we can sell and stay here. You love that girl. Don’t leave her!”

He shrugged out of Mose’s grip. “I don’t want to leave her, Mose. But that’s been the plan. And we don’t even know if we are staying for sure. She already has plans to move on with her life here. Some old idiot geezer wants her for his second wife.”

“If he wants Giselle, he doesn’t sound like an idiot to me. She’s a grand girl. That’s why you’re going to stay married to her and live happily ever after.”

Trace looked up at his friend. “You make it all sound doable, Mose, but I’m not sure it really is.”

Mose put a big finger into Trace’s chest. “One thing’s for sure, Trace. She’s worth fighting for with everything you’ve got. Don’t you give up on that girl. If you left here, you’d smash her heart into tiny pieces. And that girl’s got a lot of heart. A whole lot of heart.”

Trace just looked up at him until Mose nodded at the bed. “Get your boots on. Let’s go talk to John. What, do I have to hold your hand through this? I have another hand I want to hold now, you know. I don’t want any part of California right now and neither do you.”

They talked to John who was all for selling to the Mormons and staying put for the winter, except that a couple of the wilder teamsters wanted nothing to do with those blankety blank Mormons. John and Trace and Mose decided that they’d sell here and let the others do as they pleased.

With that decided, Trace took Mose with him to meet back with Brigham Young. Somehow Brigham had found out that Trace was a skilled doctor, and he wanted to find out what it would take to talk him into staying there in the valley on a permanent basis. Trace explained that he still had another year in Pennsylvania to truly be where he wanted to be as far as education. President Young offered to help pay for that education, and had several other options to try to talk him into staying there and practicing. Trace didn’t commit to anything, but he had a head full of ideas when he went in search of Giselle that afternoon.

Back at Bishop Syndergaard’s, they told him she had gone with his wife to the general store and Trace headed there next. She wasn’t there and he asked the proprietor if he had seen a pretty, young Dutch woman named Giselle. There was an older couple there and the man turned to Trace with a scowl and asked, “Who would be asking about Sister Giselle?” His wife looked livid at the question and Trace had to wonder if this was one of the men who wanted Giselle for his second wife.