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awalkinavonlea
Ann without an E
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Registered: 12-2006
Location: Seeking House o' Dreams
Posts: 64
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Re: A New Journey ~ Life After the War
Braden cleared his throat and folded his hands, an old habit that signaled he was in serious thought. He looked up for a moment only to catch his his wife's tense glare. They looked at each other for a moment before he turned his eyes away. He knew she hated the mines and was dead set against Michael working there. Of course, he shared her concern for the child. Once more Braden cleared his throat. He motioned for Michael to sit in the chair next to him.
"You do beat all, Mike," he began, "I couldn't be prouder of ya' and I know that your father would feel that same. You're of the trust-worthy, responsible sort and I hope that your cousins turn out to be just like you." Braden looked at him straight in the eye. "But the answer is no. You're not to go working in those mines. You're going to get as much schooling now when you can."
Michael's heart sank with disappointment. Wasn't he trying to do the responsible thing? Why were his relatives being so difficult? "But Uncle Braden!" he protested. It was not like him to back-talk, so it became clear that this would not be a simple coversation for them. "That's not fair!"
"Not fair? Do you think it'd be fair to your mother if something should happen to you? Do you think it'd be fair to your aunt and me, knowing that we let you go? Do you understand what I mean?"
Michael refused to accept his uncle's reasoning. "But nothing is going to happen to me! Frank Morris left school to work with his father, and he's my age. Bobby Fanning left too, and he's a year younger than I am. Why can't I be the one to decide? This isn't fair. "
Although Braden wanted to be patient, his patience began to wane. "I am being fair to you Michael. You want to talk about fair? Let me tell you, Perkins won't be thinking about what's fair for you. His sights are set on how to make the most profit for the company. That's his interest. Nothing else. He spins a real noble story to fill your head, but he doesn't tell you about how it really is working there, does he?" Braden wanted to describe just how bad those conditions were but thought better of it since Bridget was still in earshot. "If the mines are such a fine place, why doesn't he send his own son to work there if they're in such need of man-power? You're not going and that's final."
"But I'll be thirteen in a week..." Michael tried once more to argue his cause.
"And you'll be eighteen in a week and five years. Then you can decide what you're going to do. But until then the answer is NO."
Then, with that final sentence, the discussion was over. Michael returned to his room without saying a word. Crawling into bed he sulked over the decision. Why wouldn't they give him a chance?
Last edited by awalkinavonlea, 1/16/2007, 12:47 pm
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1/16/2007, 11:13 am
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awalkinavonlea
Ann without an E
Global user
Registered: 12-2006
Location: Seeking House o' Dreams
Posts: 64
Kindredness: 1 (+1/-0)
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Re: A New Journey ~ Life After the War
'It's Like the World Comes Crashing Down'
Michael stayed somewhat withdrawn for the rest of the week. The issue was no longer discussed but his pride was still wounded. His birthday now was only a day away. Yet it no longer carried for him the same shine that it had before. What did it matter if he was turning thirteen if he was still only going to be a kid?
He was walking Aonsu back from their evening ride when he ran across Earl Winston. His two children Freddy and Mae were walking alongside him, relaying stories they had heard from school. They were younger than Michael, more around Thom's age. Earl listened whole-heartedly, pitching in a word in here and there. Then the three of them spotted Michael. "Hi Mike!" the children called out. Michael smiled at them and began to tie Aonsu's reigns to the front rail.
Earl walked his children up the front steps. "Why don't you two go in and get ready for bed? I'll be in soon." The two went in after a quick wave good-bye to their neighbor.
"You've got a big day waiting for you tomorrow, don't you? Thirteen, isn't it?" Earl asked, leaning against the side of his house after the children had closed the door. "Yes, sir," he replied as he combed out the horse's mane.
The boy's answer was polite but he hoped that no more questions would follow. He wanted to be left alone to think quietly. He did not welcome conversation that evening.
While life at the mines was not easy, neighbors most often did their best to look out for each other. They knew best that burdens one must care are lighter when shared. So it was second nature for Earl to be concerned about his young neighbor's behavior. "Everything alright, Dennis?"
Normally Michael enjoyed it when people called him by his last name just as they did to Braden. It made him feel older like an adult. Now it just seemed to mock him.
"You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders," Earl went on to say. "Something happen at school?"
Michael shook his head.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but it might help." Earl waited a moment for the boy's response. When Michael said nothing, he stood up to return to join his own family. "Well, then, if you don't feel like talking, you know where to find me if you do..."
"I want to go to work with work with Uncle Braden." He hadn't planned on saying anything but suddenly Michael's words came rushing out like an avalanche. "He says he won't let me but I think that it should be my choice to make."
"What makes you want to work in the mines so bad?" Earl asked.
"Isn't that what a man's supposed to do? Earn an honest living, take care of his family?"
Earl nodded but said nothing. Michael continued to list the reasons for his arguement.
Last edited by awalkinavonlea, 1/16/2007, 8:29 pm
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1/16/2007, 2:06 pm
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awalkinavonlea
Ann without an E
Global user
Registered: 12-2006
Location: Seeking House o' Dreams
Posts: 64
Kindredness: 1 (+1/-0)
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Re: A New Journey ~ Life After the War
Michael paced back and forth in his state of jumbled emotions. This was an established habit of his mother's side of the family. Grandfather Daughtery had even been said to have worn bare spots in the parlor rug from having paced as a man in a trance when considering serious matters.
Whether it best to describe Michael as angry or frustrated or hurt or confused one could really not tell. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he was a little bit of all of this at once. "I don't understand. Why do people tell us that we need to act grown-up but when we try, they just tell us that we're too young? What's that supposed to accomplish?"
"The thing is, your uncle's trying to help you to grow-up. It's just that he doesn't want you to have to grow up too fast. A fellow doesn't become an adult overnight. It takes a long time, Mike, and it's best to take it one step at a time. Don't be bergrudging your folks because they don't want you working just yet. Trust me, they're doing the best thing for you."
"But I could handle the work!" Michael protested. "Why won't they even give me a chance?"
"I'm sure that you could handle it. You're strong and got good sense. That's not the issue. You've never seen the insides of those mines but your uncle has. I don't know any man who'd send his kid willingly to work there unless he had to. Somehow your uncle manages to keep food on the table without sending you young ones to work. You don't realize it now, but that's a good thing."
"But Mr. Perkins told us that plenty of fellows my age are already working, bringing in an extra paycheck."
Earl snorted in disgust at the mention of Perkins. "Your folks love you while Perkins doesn't know you from Adam." He lowered his voice in case anyone walking by would overhear. "It don't matter to Perkins what happens to any of us. He just sees us as a means of making a profit. If one of us dies they just go find another. They put a higher price on a mule than they do on us. Boys your age have been killed there before. The year before you all came to town there was a cave-in. It killed Albert Simson's oldest boy and he was no older than you are now. I'm telling you, don't trust Perkins because he's not looking out for you. He's just looking out for him. He'll work you just as hard as one of us but he'll pay you half. Something happen to you and it'd break your family's heart. It's no fair trade Mike."
He was right, and Michael understood this. There would be no further talk of the matter. This didn't mean that Michael felt completely at peace with the issue. The boy hated passing by those dark caves for they seemed to taunt him as bullies would. However, they would not dampen the thrill of his thirteenth birthday.
Dawn was breaking outside behind the window's muslin curtains. Michael opened his eyes in time to see the bedroom door close. He looked at the windowsill to find a box wrapped in brown parcel paper. The newly-turned teenager crept out of bed and read the scrap of paper that rested on top of the package.
Happy 13th Birthday, Mike. We're glad to have you here with us. Now go have fun. With best wishes, Aunt & Uncle.
Michael tore off the paper in excitement. The rustling woke Peter, forgetting his brother sleeping nearby, jumped up and asked, "Well, what is it?!" Of course, this awoke Thom Quinn and the two of them were standing by Michael's side at the window in an instant.
Last edited by awalkinavonlea, 1/27/2007, 11:41 pm
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1/27/2007, 1:43 pm
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awalkinavonlea
Ann without an E
Global user
Registered: 12-2006
Location: Seeking House o' Dreams
Posts: 64
Kindredness: 1 (+1/-0)
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Re: A New Journey ~ Life After the War
Inside of the box laid a wooden bat alongside a tough canvas ball. The boys jumped about the room, celebrating the gift. "Let's go have a game outside right now!" suggested Thom before they heard Bridget call them to breakfast. Since it was Saturday there'd be no school but chores still waited to be done. Quickly the boys raced through their plates of bacon and eggs while Bridget fed the smaller children. They wanted to lose no time in getting their tasks done so that they could go play.
"Happy birthday, dear," Bridget said as she cleared away Michael's plate from the table and replaced it with a parcel. "This one is from your ma." His cousins huddled around him to see what it was but their mother ushered them away.
The package contained a letter from Isobel, filled with love and birthday wishes. The lines gave praise for the reports Bridget had sent of how well he was doing in school. Even his little sister wrote a few sentences of her own for him. Then out from between the pages slipped a tintype photograph of her sitting beside Fiona. A tear ran down his face as he looked at the image. His heart ached to join them again.
Alannah had slipped past her brothers and, standing on her tiptoes, gazed at the photograph. "Pretty," she said as she pointed to the gentle-eyed lady. Michael said nothing but only nodded. The harsh years left her looking tired, but Isobel's sweet expression had not left her.
Last edited by awalkinavonlea, 2/5/2007, 9:28 pm
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1/30/2007, 9:59 pm
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awalkinavonlea
Ann without an E
Global user
Registered: 12-2006
Location: Seeking House o' Dreams
Posts: 64
Kindredness: 1 (+1/-0)
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Re: A New Journey ~ Life After the War
“Who’s that?” the little girl asked as she pointed to Fiona’s image. “That’s Fiona, my sister.” Michael answered. “You have a sister?” Allannah asked with surprise. He never talked about Ireland, at least not with the children. Sometimes Michael feared that his memories were fading away; his parents’ faces were no longer as clear to see when he closed his eyes. Fear would wash over him with an indescribable, cruel coldness-it scared him so badly- the possibility that he could lose all that he had left of them. When this happened he’d ask Braden for some quiet time to talk. They’d take a walk alone, Michael hanging onto every word of his uncle’s answers to his questions. Each story and description would weave together until the memories took on life once again and the fear left defeated.
“Yes, and she’s just a little bit bigger than you.” Fiona had been a baby when he left. She had been so tiny with a little downy blur of hair. Now she stood in the photograph, the average height of an eight year old, with two blonde braids tied up in pigtails. Her brown eyes were large and expressive, much like Isobel's.
Last edited by awalkinavonlea, 2/10/2007, 2:57 pm
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2/10/2007, 2:43 pm
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awalkinavonlea
Ann without an E
Global user
Registered: 12-2006
Location: Seeking House o' Dreams
Posts: 64
Kindredness: 1 (+1/-0)
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Re: A New Journey ~ Life After the War
Alannah scowled, unhappy upon learning that she had to share Michael, who she adored even more than her favorite brother Thom, with yet another relative. "How far away is Ireland?" she asked with a hint of annoyance.
"Too far away," he answered with a heavy heart. With a sigh he took one last look at the photograph before slipping it back careful with his mother's letter into the envelope it had come in. Had Alannah not been so relieved she would have felt sorry for him. Yet she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice anyone else's. She didn't want anyone to come and take her cousin away from her.
Bridget saw that the mood no longer fit the occasion. "Michael, what do you say if you and the boys go out and play for a bit?" she asked. "In the meantime, we'll put your mother's letter in the Bible for safe keeping?"
Truth be told, playing was the furthest thing from Michael's heart at the moment. Still, he didn't want to disappoint his aunt. With a forced smile he placed the letter in the worn leather Bible while Thom ran to get the bat and ball. The twins stayed behind with their mother while the older children ran out to play in the field. Bridget watched them from the window until the three were out of sight. She felt sad for Michael. Even as a married woman with a healthy brood of her own there were times when she longed for home. How terrible, she thought to herself, must it be for a child.
At least Michael had not noticed that there was no letter from McKenzie. He was very reliable to send the family notes, especially around Michael's birthday. They looked forward to his letters filled with stories that he'd covered or funny birthday lyrics. Mac had become a member of the family and Bridget hoped that his letter would get there before Michael could notice it missing.
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2/12/2007, 8:23 pm
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awalkinavonlea
Ann without an E
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Registered: 12-2006
Location: Seeking House o' Dreams
Posts: 64
Kindredness: 1 (+1/-0)
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Re: A New Journey ~ Life After the War
Meanwhile the boys went off running in the field. They had a great time practicing catch-and-throw far knowing that they were too far to worry about breaking windows. After some time Michael forgot his troubles as he watched the ball soar through the sky with--nearly--each hit of the bat. The bright blue sky with its warm sunshine shone over them until their stomachs began to growl. They decided to head home for lunch with plans of getting a team together Monday after school let out.
As they approached their house they saw noticed Earl coming back from the mines. The boys began to call out hello when they noticed the man walking oddly. Peter squinted hard behind his glasses at their staggering neighbor. “Is he…is he bleeding?” he asked in shock. “Thom, go get Ma!” Peter yelled out as he followed Michael, who had already begun running towards Winston.
Thom threw open the front door and called out to his mother, who had been washing dishes. She did not understand at first what he had said. “Thomas Quinn, you know better than to yell in the house,” she scolded, drying her hands on a dish towel as she came to the porch. “What on earth…!” she gasped when she saw Winston stumbling in the road. She ran to the Winstons’ home, pounding on the front door. “Nell, Nell!” she hollered. “Goodness Bridget, what’s the matter?” Nell asked bewilderedly. Then she turned her head and saw her injured husband. “Earl!” She ran past Bridget, almost losing her balance in the dust. “Thom, watch the little ones,” Bridget instructed as she dashed behind her neighbor. The young boy ushered all of the children to the Dennis’ kitchen. “What’s wrong with Daddy?” Douglas Winston demanded to know. “I’m not sure,” Thom told the five year old honestly. “But it’s going to be okay.” He hoped that he was right.
“Here, Mr. Winston, let us help you get home,” Michael said as he and Peter stood on either side of the man. Earl was coughing hoarsely and shaking his head. There was something that he was trying to say but could not get out. “It’s alright, sir. Just a little further,” Peter said. “Lean on my shoulder if you feel like you’re going to fall,” Michael suggested. Winston continued to attempted to speak. Obviously something terrible had happened. A terrifying suspense hung in the air, taunting that the worst had not yet arrived. The two boys helped him as he moved slowly towards his home. Nell came running, too shocked to cry the tears that were lodged in her heart. Bridget came and wrapped the dish towel in her hands around the gaping cut on his arm.
Last edited by awalkinavonlea, 2/13/2007, 8:59 pm
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2/13/2007, 8:12 pm
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awalkinavonlea
Ann without an E
Global user
Registered: 12-2006
Location: Seeking House o' Dreams
Posts: 64
Kindredness: 1 (+1/-0)
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Re: A New Journey ~ Life After the War
Peter stood in shock, the room surrounding him fading into the background, as he watched her face pale to an ashen color. He had never seen his mother like this. It scared him beyond words to see her so filled with fear but even worse, it made the terrible possibility that his father might not be coming home that much more real. Peter wished that he could close his eyes so that everything would go away. He wanted to go back to the care-free comfort of that morning when he knew his father would be home at the end of the day.
Michael felt sick to his stomach at the thought that Uncle Braden could be laying broken and buried under heavy and jagged rocks. His spirit leapt, prepared to run into the dark mine, find his uncle, and bring him home. Yet Michael found himself unable to move, as if he was frozen in a block of ice. He thought that he saw someone at the Winston’s door when heard his aunt repeat once more, “Where is my husband?”
“I’m right here, Bridge.”
Bridget turned towards the door with a gasp. There stood a figure covered with thick black dust. “How you faring there, Winston? Sorry about tracking dirt in, ladies,” he said as lopsided smile broke across his face.
“Braden!” Bridget whispered hoarsely, her breath knocked out of her by the shock and relief of her husband standing safely before her. She threw her arms around him and buried her face against his shoulder. “There, now,” he murmured soothingly, “did you really think that you’d be rid of me that easily? Naw.” He held her close to him and kissed her softly on her forehead. “Of course, now, I don’t blame you for being afraid. Why, there’s not a fellow near as good looking as me to be found in all the earth.” Bridget laughed for a second between broken sobs. In his usual Braden-fashion her husband was driving away lingering fear with good humor. He had been scared too-she could tell-she could see it in his eyes. His hands, gashed and cut from clearing jagged rock to save his coworkers, were still shaking. She breathed a sigh of relief as leaned against him, so thankful for his presence, grateful to the God who saved her man from the unspeakable.
Peter jumped towards his parents. “Dad!” he cried out as he ran to his father’s side. Michael stared happily at his uncle’s face. What would life be like without him? But the worst hadn’t come true. The world become real again. He started out following right behind his cousin but then he fell behind. There was something about the scene in front of him that stopped him with a jolt.
The three of them stood there huddled together, oblivious the world around them. For a moment Michael felt alone and awkwardly out of place, as if he suddenly did not belong. Father…Mother…Son. Where did he fit in?
Then Braden spoke, looking up from his family’s warm embrace. “I don’t know why you were worried, Bridge, with our boys Michael and Peter here.” He put a hand on Peter’s shoulder and smiled at Michael. “Isn’t that right, men?”
His kind, reassuring words brought Michael back to life. In an instant he was there, where a space had been made for him. Holding back tears of relief he hugged his uncle, who reasoned just how traumatic the whole event had been to him. “It’s alright, lad,” Braden whispered to him comfortingly. “It’s alright.”
The front door opened to reveal an anxious Thom Quinn peeking into the room. “Dad!” he exclaimed with relief when he saw his father, who had Braden sat down in a nearby chair, his aching muscles unable to hold his weight any longer. “Can we come in now?” he asked. Bridget looked at Nell, who nodded. Thom turned to the audience behind the door. “C’mon,” he called to them. One by one the wide-eyed children came in walking in, unsure whether to cheer or cry, watching their parents’ faces to know how to act. Then Braden winked and Earl made a funny face, sending out a peal of laughter from the children. They sat by their fathers’ feet and listened in wonder as the men described all that had happened.
Last edited by awalkinavonlea, 5/27/2007, 11:07 pm
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5/27/2007, 11:04 pm
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