Julia's Last Hope (20 page)
Mr. and Mrs. Blakeney left on the morning train. According to Hettie, Miss Priscilla carried on “something awful.” Miss Constance took their leaving in stride, though she didn’t look happy about the situation.
“Whatever will I do without Mama?” wailed Miss Priscilla.
“I will be here,” said Miss Constance.
“But you always have your nose in a book,” accused Miss Priscilla.
“Perhaps you would do well do stick your nose in one occasionally,” said Miss Constance without sympathy. And Miss Priscilla cried more loudly.
The community gathered for a potluck dinner on the Harrigan lawn to say farewell to the Adams family. Mrs. Adams wept as she bid her friends goodbye.
“I will miss you all so much,” she sniffed.
“You must write,” said Julia. “We will want to know all about your new home—Victor’s job. The church you find. We are going to miss you too.”
The neighbors helped load the Adams’ belongings onto the outgoing train, and the family climbed aboard. Mrs. Adams clutched her small valise and the hand of one child. Mr. Adams carried the bulging suitcase and gripped the hand of the second child. And then the train was hissing and straining, ready to be off. Mr. and Mrs. Adams waved through the window to those who had been part of their lives for so many years.
With Mr. and Mrs. Blakeney gone, the Harrigan household soon settled into a new routine.
Miss Priscilla kept more and more to her room, and Miss Constance continued to insist upon waiting on her. As Miss Priscilla became more recluse, Miss Constance became more friendly. She even came to the kitchen when it wasn’t time to pick up a tray for her sister. At Julia’s invitation, she also joined them for tea. On one of those occasions she had begged them all, “Please don’t call me Miss. Just call me Constance.”
“I like her,” Julia remarked later to Hettie and the girls. “We must be especially kind to her. I have a feeling she has not had an easy life. Though she has never indicated…” Julia let her remaining thoughts go unspoken and turned her attention to the other sister.
“We must watch out for Miss Priscilla too. It would be unthinkable for us to let her lie in her room and fade away if she is ill. I wish we saw more of her so we might judge her condition a bit more accurately.” Julia decided to find some reason to call on Miss Priscilla often enough to keep an eye on the situation.
When Julia made her first visit she found Miss Priscilla sitting up in bed, nibbling cookies, and filing her nails.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” asked Julia politely.
The young woman sighed, “Just make the weeks go faster.”
“I’m afraid I can do little about time,” Julia smiled. “Though I have found that keeping oneself occupied makes time
seem
to pass more quickly.”
Miss Priscilla scowled. “And how is one to be ‘occupied’ in this forsaken town?”
“Well, there are some nice paths to walk. There are little shops along Main Street. We still have one mercantile in town. And handwork can be interesting.”
Miss Priscilla rolled her eyes.
Later in the day, however, Julia saw the young woman go for a walk down a forest path.
“But we don’t even know Grandfather!” Felicity wailed.
“I know,” said Julia, tears in her eyes. “But he is a very gentle man. You will learn to love him just as I do.”
“Couldn’t you come with us, Mama?” pleaded Jennifer. “It’s been ages since you have seen him.”
“No,” replied Julia. “Perhaps someday, but not just now.”
“Do you think they will take us at that school?”
“I am sure they will. You are both good students—and fine young ladies.”
“But what about—our dresses?” asked Jennifer, looking down at her ill-fitting, unstylish gown.
“We have money for shopping,” replied Julia.
“What do you think, Papa?” asked Jennifer, turning her eyes to John.
“I think your mama is right. You deserve a good education—your grandfather has been yearning to get acquainted with you. He lives all alone in that big house. This seems like a perfect opportunity.”
“But what about Christmas?” whispered Jennifer.
“It—it will be difficult for us. But by then you will have made friends—and will be feeling at home with Papa. And we do have the mail. We can send our gifts,” said Julia, trying hard not to let her true feelings show.
“Well—it is exciting,” declared Felicity. “I mean, we have never been East—never been out of our town much. Are you sure we’ll know how to act?” She giggled at the thought of making some ridiculous social error.
“You are your mother’s daughter,” John assured her. “You would not be more of a lady had you been raised in a palace.” John meant every word. He had no fear that his daughters would embarrass themselves with bad manners.
Felicity knew he was right. Their mother had taught them to behave properly. The idea was becoming less frightening and more appealing.
“Oh, Jen—let’s!” she cried suddenly, and threw her arms around her twin.
Jennifer allowed a slow, crooked smile to curve her lips. “All right, let’s,” she finally agreed, and the girls rushed to embrace their mother and father.
A letter came for John from Mr. Small. He was pleased that John had at last agreed to seek employment with him again. “I have work for you as soon as you are available,” he wrote. “Just let me know the date of your arrival and the accommodation needed. If you need an advance for moving expenses, I will forward it immediately.”
Mr. Small apparently assumed the whole family would be moving.
The news relieved John’s tension somewhat, but he knew the solution was only temporary. He still needed to figure out a way to reunite his family.
Julia kept her mind off the coming separation by keeping herself busy. There was much to do to get the girls ready, and she had only a few days in which to do it.
John purchased the train tickets and got the luggage ready. Julia surveyed her closet and chose four gowns she could alter to fit her daughters. It left her short—it had been some time since she had been shopping for herself—but she had no place to go anyway, and the gowns were much too fancy to wear in the kitchen.
Julia sewed for two days, taking only a few hours for sleep. She remodeled, patched, made over, and made do. She had little to work with, but when she finished the girls had suitable garments to wear on the train. After that it would be up to Papa.
Julia had wired him, and his return message revealed that his excitement more than matched that of the girls.
In her previous letters, Julia had written nothing about their hardships.
It would only worry him,
she told herself.
And he would surely send money—and that would nearly kill John.
Julia had told him the mill had moved. And he knew Julia was hoping to keep her lovely home by sharing it with guests, and was indeed striving to make their entire town attractive to tourists. But Julia provided no further details.
As Julia worked anxiously to prepare her daughters for a time with their grandfather, her tears often fell on the material. She hoped with all her heart that the three would fall in love. She hoped her father understood her great love for him as she sent to him her most precious possessions. She hoped too that her girls would see in him all of the goodness, kindness, and wisdom she had always found. Julia prayed and prayed as she stitched. Her papa, whom she loved dearly, had not yet made his peace with God.
The time is getting short,
Julia often reminded herself as she had reminded him in the past. But whenever she wrote to him of her concern, his return letters responded to every part of her letter except the paragraphs about his spiritual condition.
Perhaps Jennifer…
Julia thought.
She shared her faith with Millicent. Perhaps she will be able to explain her faith to her grandfather—in her own simple way.
The thought made Julia pray even more diligently.
The day of the girls’ departure came all too quickly for Julia. Felicity had thrown all fear and concern to the wind about five minutes after hearing of the plan. Jennifer accepted the idea more slowly. But by departure time, she too felt only excitement.
“You will write often?” Julia said as both a question and a statement. The girls had lost track of how many times she had reminded them.
“We promise,” they replied in chorus.
“And to me too?” John added. He would be leaving the next day for the lumber camp.
“We promise,” the girls repeated.
“I will miss you so,” Julia said, her voice catching in her throat.
“We will miss you both too,” they assured, but their attention had already turned to the train. They were eager to get aboard. The girls took turns embracing their mother and father.
“One more kiss,” said Julia, kissing the two soft cheeks, “and one for each of you to give Grandfather from me.”
And then in a flurry the girls were gone. It all happened too quickly for Julia. One minute she was holding her two daughters; the next minute the train was chugging away, leaving her empty and alone. She watched the white handkerchiefs waving from the windows until they were out of sight.
Then she turned to John and let the tears flow freely. He held her tightly, wishing with all his heart that he didn’t have to leave the next day.
Julia soon straightened and looked into his eyes.
“We have done the right thing?” She worded it as a statement, but she pronounced it as a question.
John patted her shoulder. “We
have
done the right thing,” he declared, and Julia found comfort in his reply.
