Woodcutter's Revival (18 page)

“Well, I noticed you have an aptitude for legal matters. You can see the big picture. You took the initiative in your investigation, and knew what to look for. With no legal training, you seem to understand justice and legal maneuvering. You also seem to be able to discern the truth and read when people are less than forthcoming toward you. I need to hire an investigator who would also be interested in being a legal clerk with the desire of apprenticing into the law profession. The money would not pay quite as well as construction work, at first but I could maybe find some expense money to offset that until you get enough experience and pass the bar.”

“When do I start?”

“How about tomorrow?”

Chapter Sixteen

R
aymond started attending church with Victoria the week after he proposed to her. She also suggested that he take instruction classes so he could “join the church.” Then, they would be of the same “faith.” Each Sunday morning, he found himself dreading the service a little more, but he could not place his trepidations on any specific factor. As a benefit, it was a few more hours that he got to spend with her each week and less solitary time on the weekend.

Raymond ate breakfast in the dining room and stopped by to walk Victoria to church. As they walked, he asked, “Do you enjoy going to church?”

“Yes, for the most part.”

“Isn't your dad going today?”

“He has some things to do at the office this morning. He is leaving for Wellspring this afternoon.”

“But he doesn't go other weeks either. Why does your dad usually not attend?”

“Oh, he attends regularly on Christmas and Easter.”

As they found their pews, Raymond noticed that about half of the women were there with the children or alone. Like Mr. Thomas, the other half of the men must have found something better to do on Sunday. Reverend Pharris liked to wear the long black traditional robe for service. He also chose two hymns before the message and used the same hymn each week for the “recessional” after the message. With announcements and an Old and New Testament scripture reading, he kept the entire service to within an hour. He did not want people getting bored with church.

As Reverend Pharris stood to give the message, he cleared his throat and gave a solemn look to the congregation. “There was once a man who went out in the morning to hire some workers for his vineyard. He went to the town square and retained all the men who were looking for work. He told the workers, they would work for a dollar a day. He went out about noon and did the same. He still needed more workers, so he went out again around mid-afternoon.

“The workers who were hired early in the day began discussing working conditions with workers who were hired later in the day. When those who were hired in the morning and at noon heard that the workers hired late in the day would be getting a dollar, they were getting excited. They reasoned to themselves, ‘If they worked two hours for one dollar, we should be getting about four dollars, or even two dollars for the day.'

“When the workers who were hired in the morning received their pay, they grumbled, ‘What, we worked the whole day for one dollar and you hired these people who only worked part of the day and received one dollar!'

“The employer answered and said, ‘Is it not my money to do with as I please? Are you envious because I am generous with my money?'

“So the moral of the story is primarily - don't grumble at work. Keep your earnings to yourself. Be good and honor authority. Follow the rules of the church and society. Secondly, God has appointed your boss over you. Respect and appreciate him and his generosity. God places each of us in our station in life. May God bless you throughout the week.”

They sang the closing song that they sang every week as Reverend Pharris made his way to the back of the church to greet the people as they filed out. On the way home Raymond felt empty and wondered why. He knew Victoria's cooking would cheer him up.

Mr. Thomas came home in time for lunch. Victoria asked Raymond why he was so quiet. He said, “I don't know. When I was growing up, I seemed to get more out of going to church. We sang songs that were a little livelier. The pastor taught from the Bible rather than relaying stories that were only loosely related to Scripture or a parable that Jesus had taught. It seems the pastor always gets around to ‘honoring your boss.'

At this Mr. Thomas blew up, “So you don't think you should respect your boss?”

“I didn't say that. I just think church ought to be about more spiritual substance. You don't even like to go to church.”

“I am the biggest contributor to support this church. My attendance is none of your business. The pastor helps people accept and adjust to their position in life.”

Victoria interjected, “Don't you two think you should take a breath and calm down?”

Raymond, who avoided confrontation at all costs, was wound up and could not control what he was saying. “Do you think we should attempt to improve our station in life? Should we not try to make the work place safer and more enjoyable for our employees?”

“You know reformers and socialists do not make good bosses!”

“I assure you, I am neither a socialist nor a reformer. I just think we should make life pleasant for others when we can.”

“I have had enough of this! You and your Progressive boyfriend can talk all you want, but I advise you: Don't bite the hand that feeds you!”

“Sir, you are talking about a social gospel - one that simply keeps the people under control and is used by the government and big business.”

Mr. Thomas got up and stormed out. Raymond and Victoria just sat and stared, looking stunned. “I am sorry. I didn't mean to set him off.”

“Raymond, if you plan to continue working for Father, you better show some respect.”

“I do respect him. Am I not allowed to have an opinion or state my beliefs?”

“Not when they conflict with Father's.”

Mr. Thomas went over to the depot. Winston was there, too. He was done at the mine, since he only hired on as a “consultant” to supervise the installation and implementation of the Ingersoll, or “Widow Maker,” as they called it. They were to meet Mr. Connor at the spur in Junction as he was there “advising” another mine owner.

Winston asked, “What are you so mad about?”

Mr. Thomas replied, “Oh, that future son-in-law of mine is starting to sound like a bleeding heart Progressive. Did you hear any talk in the mines, Winston? You have been there three weeks.”

“No, they were still careful around me. They were not quite sure I was just a temporary consultant to get the “Widow Maker” up and running. I do have a question, though. Why do you have shoring on ten feet at the start of number five, and about twenty feet in, it starts to go to five foot sections?”

“I don't know. I always insist on ten feet. I don't want to waste man power and material cutting twice as much shoring as is necessary.”

They engaged in small talk and passed the pocket flask for the two hour ride to Junction. Mr. Connor boarded and sat with them in the facing seats. “Connor, will you be able to get me those life insurance policies I requested?”

“Yes. A policy on you. One on Raymond. Both naming Victoria as the beneficiary. One on Victoria, naming you as the beneficiary. Now you know suicide rules these out. You're not thinking suicide are you?”

“Don't be ridiculous! There was no trouble with the one-hundred-thousand dollar amount? They are all legal?”

“Yes. We can get the papers signed and the checks written this week.”

Back at the house, Raymond became concerned. “Victoria, I am not sure what your dad might do. I love you and I want to marry you. Let's run off next weekend and elope.”

“Raymond, that is a crazy idea! You know I want Father's blessing and a church wedding with Reverend Pharris.”

“That might be, but you are the only person who can handle your dad. He might not like it at first, but I am sure he would not mind saving money rather than paying for an expensive ceremony.”

As Raymond talked, Victoria surprisingly found herself thinking it might not be a bad idea. She thought her father would come around and have to forgive her at some point. She remembered what Uncle Michael used to say, “Sometimes, it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

Knock, knock. “I wonder who that could be.”

As Victoria answered the door, there was a man outside, close to her father's age. He looked very ragged and was carrying a cane that looked more like a walking stick or a crutch. “Can I help you?”

“I sure hope so, Princess.”

Victoria brightened. There was only one person who would call her princess. “Uncle Michael, is that you? I didn‘t recognize you until I heard your voice. Come in!”

As Michael came in, he noticed Raymond. Victoria said, “Excuse my manners. This is my fiancé, Raymond. This is my Uncle Michael.”

“I am glad meet you.”

“Likewise.”

“Sit down, Uncle Michael. We have some catching-up to do.”

“I won't be comfortable sitting down until I do what I came to do.”

“What is that?”

“I have to make amends with your dad.”

“That won't be possible today. He left for Wellspring and will be gone all week. He left here in a huff.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, Raymond got into a disagreement with him.”

“Well, you knew that was inevitable.”

“Yes, but I thought Father would mellow with age. He seems to be getting more cantankerous. What brings you here?”

“Well, like I was saying, I need to make amends with your dad.”

“Uncle Michael, Father said you abandoned him after stealing a load of silver. I always said you probably had a good reason. After a while, I was not even allowed to mention your name.”

Victoria fixed Michael some dinner. Michael spent the afternoon telling his story about how he and Edward had their falling out. Victoria noticed how much different Michael's approach sounded compared to her father's version. Obviously, their perceptions of the fact differed, but Michael never sounded accusatory or judgmental. Father, on the other hand, had nothing good to say about Michael. She knew they could not both be right about something that was so different in their perspectives. Michael sounded more credible, since he had removed the emotion from his argument and even sounded forgiving.

Michael, in his nurturing manner, encouraged Victoria to be honest with her feelings. “Princess, your feelings are neither right nor wrong. They are just feelings. You have been suppressing your emotions so long, you need to let them out with people you can trust. Once you realize the depths of your feelings, you can decide what to do with them.”

Suddenly, Victoria realized she had been denying her deepest fears. She realized she had been living under the misguided assumption that she could change her father. She even wondered if her mom died because she had lived in a state of hopeless despair. With this revelation, Victoria, who was always rational, even to a fault, broke down and sobbed.

She was overjoyed to discover Michael was still alive. She was thankful for her new found love in Raymond, and yet conscious that she did not want to lean on Raymond as a crutch or as an escape from her present reality.

Victoria finally asked, “How do you plan to make amends with Father?”

“I am here to forgive your dad, and to ask for his forgiveness.”

“What do you need to be forgiven of?”

“I let my anger get the best of me. I was mad enough to kill him. That was why I fled. I figured I didn‘t need to be around people if I could get that mad.”

Toward evening the three realized they were getting hungry. All those emotions and crying had a cathartic and draining effect. Victoria decided she would put Michael up at the inn until tomorrow. She would then get one of the worker's cabins ready for him to stay as long as he wanted. They would deal with her father when he got home. Michael warned, “Of course, he is going to say I came in and stirred all this up.”

On Monday, Victoria got Michael situated. She told him she had an idea for a job he could do. The week at the mine seemed to go extremely well. Raymond noticed that without the threat of Mr. Thomas hanging over his head, he and the workers worked harder and felt lighter of spirit and livelier than usual. They also noticed that the absence of Winston made things seem to go better.

By Wednesday morning Victoria was an emotional train wreck. In the absence of her father, she realized that she was not under the usual stress that she experienced. He had been gone before, but she had always concerned herself with running the mines so she would receive his approval upon his return.