Virginia's Vocation

by Zina Abbott

  The two women did not say much as they proceeded towards the bank where Virginia had set up her account. Virginia’s brain still struggled to process the fact that she had been found out and by her landlady, no less.

  After arriving at the bank, Virginia opened the envelope and studied the draft. She smiled with satisfaction at the amount she had been paid for her most recent article. It would go far toward helping to pay her tuition in the coming year. Fortunately, she did not need the cash at the moment.

  Drusilla possessed enough sense of decorum she stood behind Virginia and did not make a point to look at the draft to see how much she was paid. The bank did not question the transaction.

  Virginia had learned from her experiences in Columbia that banks generally did not worry about money being deposited in their institutions. It was only when a person tried to make a large withdrawal that they suddenly became concerned about details. In fact, when she withdrew her money from the bank in Columbia in order to bring it up to Oberlin, Jefferson had found it necessary to step in and vouch that V. A. Wellington was a cousin and that Virginia did assist him with his business.

  As they left the bank, Drusilla turned to Virginia with a smile. “That was interesting. What do we do now until it is time for us to board the train for home?”

  “I'm sorry to disappoint you. Unless you want to do some sightseeing around town, there is nothing to do. Maybe we can find a shop that carries something interesting to read?”

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  Chapter 17

  ~o0o~

  Oberlin, Ohio – Summer, 1859

  V irginia discovered Oberlin to be a different place during the summer. It was a time when many of the students graduated and left Oberlin for good. James Oglethorpe graduated and moved out of the boardinghouse. Martin and Jonathon went home for the summer. She found mealtimes to be far calmer—perhaps a little bit less exciting—than they had been when the residents had been subjected to Martin's disrespectful and irreverent comments. Of the four young men, only Thomas stayed over the summer. He hired on as a gardener at the college to help with his expenses the following year.

  Virginia knew finances grew tight for her landlady this time of year. With three beds vacant, her monthly income dipped far below what she expected the rest of the year. However, she assured Virginia that she had already received applications from incoming students for the fall term. No young ladies, she had told Virginia. It also helped when Mrs. Mabry asked for a month off to visit family in Indiana. Virginia willingly offered to step in and cook for those who remained in residence.

  Virginia refused to take more money for her additional duties. She assured Drusilla her regular pay she had been receiving all along adequately covered it. As was often the case when she lived in Missouri, summer fare, especially for supper, tended to be lighter and with fewer dishes prepared in the oven or on top of a hot stove.

  As a bit of mild teasing, Virginia had asked her if both Martin and Jonathan returned, did Drusilla intend to place the two together in the same room again? Her response was, of course, she would. Jonathan seemed to get along with Martin quite well, and she would not risk losing a resident who objected to Martin’s behavior and refused to room with him.

  Virginia had been pleased with the grade she received for her classes. Surprisingly, she did better with the two classes taught by Mr. Wilson than she expected. Although he faulted her grammar and punctuation throughout the year, in the end, he awarded her outstanding grades in both the classes. She still wished to ask him about the discrepancies in his punctuation markdowns but decided against it. Considering she had signed up for the class he taught on early European literature, she dared not risk his ire. It might reflect poorly on her grade the next semester.

  Virginia chose not to go home for summer break—not when “home” now meant Salina. Realistically, Oberlin was now her home. Although she received frequent letters from both her brothers’ families—most of them written either by her two sisters-in-law or Jefferson—she did not consider their new farms her home.

  It was from a letter Jefferson wrote she learned the Kaw people traveled to their buffalo hunting grounds and crossed the Smoky Hill River next to his property shortly after the family arrived with their wagons full of their belongings. So far, her family suffered no difficulties with the hostile tribes that lived west of Salina. If that continued, perhaps she would visit someday.

  Shortly after Independence Day, Drusilla caught Virginia alone in the kitchen. She kept her voice low since they both knew that Mr. Wilson was reading in the residence parlor at the other end of the house.

  “Virginia, I don't recall seeing one of your articles lately. Have you submitted anything recently?”

  Virginia glanced towards the kitchen door leading to the dining room for assurance they were still alone. “No, not since the one on the Arkansas legislature last May.”

  “I see. I was just wondering if we need to make another train ride to...” When she saw Virginia hold her finger to her lips, Drusilla turned to again assure herself no one else was about. She lowered her voice even more and leaned towards Virginia. “Do you never check in between published articles to see if your publisher has sent you any correspondence? I know Mr. Wilson receives letters from various companies all the time.”

  “No, I never have done that. I usually wait until I see one of my articles published.” Virginia smiled at the disappointment in Drusilla's voice.

  “Oh. I have been rather restless lately. The heat, you know. I was looking for an excuse for the two of us to take a short trip somewhere.” Drusilla straightened and her face perked up with a smile as a thought occurred to her. “Perhaps you will accompany me on a trip to Elyria on one of the days that you work for me as a companion. I would love to visit that little café that serves that wonderful tea again. I remember when we returned there for lunch, they served the most delightful little sandwiches.”

  “What about Mr. Wilson and Thomas? There will be no one here to serve them supper.”

  “That is one of the wonderful things about this time of year, my dear. We can fix them a cold supper and leave it aside for them. They can pick up their meal and eat it whenever they wish. I will even make an exception that day and give them permission to enter the kitchen. We'll return later and clean up.”

  The next thing she knew, Virginia found herself scheming with her landlady for a day of vacation away from the boardinghouse.

  The day before Virginia and Drusilla had chosen for their excursion to Elyria, they announced their plans at the supper table.

  Thomas seemed to take the news with a shrug of indifference.

  Avery Wilson, on the other hand, responded with a frown as he looked between the two women. “You are taking the train to Elyria?”

  Without looking in Mr. Wilson's direction, Drusilla buttered her roll. “Yes. Miss Atwell and I decided to go on a short summer outing. Naturally, it would have been nice to have spent a few days up on Lake Erie. However, we would not wish to leave you gentlemen to fend for yourself in our absence for too long. We did decide you could manage to find your own evening meal in the kitchen as long as we have it prepared and set aside for you. With it staying light outside so late, we will be home before dark.”

  Avery, his forehead still wrinkled with consternation, studied the pair. “I would feel better about it if you had someone else to accompany you. This time of year, with so many travelers, those who are up to no good prey on decent citizens taking a holiday. They are more likely to target two women traveling alone. I would be honored to be able to come with you.”

  Both women answered in unison. “No!”

  Virginia’s face turned pink with embarrassment as she viewed the first startled, and then disgruntled, expression on Mr. Wilson's face. She feared they had insulted the man by their vigorous refusal. She hoped to somehow diffuse the situation. “I mean, no thank you, Mr. Wilson. We will be fine. As Mrs. Chilton said
earlier, it will be just us ladies.”

  Virginia watched with dismay as Mr. Wilson's frown deepened. “Perhaps I can meet you at the train station at the scheduled return time and see you home safely.”

  Before Virginia could open her mouth to respond, Drusilla answered for them both. “Why, thank you, Mr. Wilson. If that will not be an inconvenience, having you meet us at the train station would be greatly appreciated.”

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  Chapter 18

  ~o0o~

  T he following evening, as promised, Virginia looked out the coach window and saw Mr. Wilson standing on the platform waiting for them. As much as she felt her heart begin to race at the sight of him, her thoughts churned in turmoil. She knew she would not be able to enjoy his company on the walk back to the boarding house.

  There had been a letter waiting for her at the post office in Elyria. Dated over three weeks earlier, it did not include a draft for payment as most of her correspondence from Mr. Porter did. Instead, the letter was an invitation—command, actually—that she meet him at his office in St. Louis during the first week of August. His letter detailed instructions for her to notify him by telegram the day she expected to arrive in St Louis. He would then respond by return telegram with the time of her appointment. The letter offered no reason for their meeting other than he had a special assignment in mind. He believed that only she—meaning Mr. V. A. Wellington—was qualified to research and write the article he wished. Beyond that, the man gave her no indication regarding the subject matter.

  Virginia felt herself in a quandary. Mr. Porter believed her to be a man. He had been extremely considerate about publishing almost everything she had ever submitted to him, particularly in the past three years. If she did not extend him the courtesy of agreeing to appear in his office regarding the assignment, who knew if he would publish her work again?

  She read the letter in private during the few moments when Drusilla left the dining room to use the necessary. Knowing her friend would soon return, it had amounted to a quick skimming of the two pages Mr. Porter sent to her. By the time Drusilla returned, the letter was once again folded and tucked away inside her possibles bag.

  Drusilla asked about the letter. Virginia had leaned forward and told her it was involved. They would need to discuss it in full later once they were home and could be completely alone. In spite of Drusilla’s raised eyebrow, Virginia refused to say anything more about it. Instead, they talked about a variety of topics, none of which dealt with Virginia's letter. They visited several local shops. They returned to the station and waited to board the train for the trip back to Oberlin.

  When she and Drusilla joined Mr. Wilson on the train platform, Virginia did her best to act as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened other than she and her friend had enjoyed a nice outing. Mr. Wilson offered each lady an arm. The three of them spoke pleasantries as they walked home.

  Once Virginia returned to her room for the night, she thought about the evening. She realized that, as she walked home and visited with Avery Wilson, he seemed far more sociable than he ever appeared to be while sitting at the dining table in the boarding house. She had never seen him so relaxed. He seemed as though he found great enjoyment in the presence of both Drusilla and her. She wondered what she could do to encourage him to relax and become more sociable with everyone in the boardinghouse on a more consistent basis.

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  Chapter 19

  ~o0o~

  T he next day, Drusilla cornered Virginia after she had cleaned up breakfast dishes and suggested that we they step into the parlor for a few minutes. At Drusilla’s urging, she joined her on the settee where they could sit close to each other and speak softly without easily being overheard. Virginia handed her landlady the letter. Her fingers fidgeted in her lap while she impatiently waited for Drusilla to finish reading.

  Drusilla folded the letter and handed it back to Virginia. “Oh, my, Virginia. This is quite a quandary. I may have to take a minute to think about how to advise you.”

  “Drusilla, I don't know what I'm going to do. Yesterday, after I read through this, my first thought was that I need to meet with this man. It will mean revealing to him that one of his regular contributors is not a man, as he now believes. This morning, I did not feel so sure that was wise. Now, however, I feel that I must take the chance. I need to be able to get my work published. If he begins to reject my submissions because I refused to meet with him and take on this assignment, I'm not sure where I will find another publisher who will be as willing to consider my articles.”

  “I see.” Drusilla tapped her lips with her finger. “You may have a good point. Are you sure you are ready to reveal to this man that you are female?”

  Virginia's response came out in a horse whisper. “I don't know. It is a terrible chance I must take, no matter what I decide. My situation seemed to be working out so well. I felt confident that it would carry me through and allow me to earn the money I need to pay for my college tuition. Now, everything could fall apart on me, and then I'm not sure what I would do.”

  Drusilla patted her knee. “Worse comes to worse, you can always write for women’s issues. We need change so desperately. That does not solve this dilemma, however.” She paused and thought for several seconds. “If you should decide to meet with him, there will also be the issue of you traveling the distance from here to St. Louis. It would not be prudent, my dear, for you to attempt to make the journey alone. Unfortunately, there are enough unscrupulous people in this world, there is so much that could happen were you to attempt it.”

  Virginia closed her eyes and sighed. Not this again.

  Drusilla heaved a sigh of regret. “Unfortunately, I am not in a position to travel with you. I cannot be away from my boardinghouse that long, even with so few people in residence until the middle of August.”

  Virginia took in a deep breath to settle her emotions in an attempt to sound patient and reasonable. “Drusilla, I appreciate your concern about me traveling alone. I went through the same thing with Jefferson. He insisted I could not travel alone. I assured him I would be fine. I admit, while traveling here, I had a fairly large sum of money to bring with me—the money I earned over a three-year period with my writing. So, yes, in the end, I did appreciate him escorting me up here. However, I will not be traveling with a great sum of money to St. Louis. I will only be taking the funds I need for the trip there and back. Since I will only be gone a few days, it will not be that much.”

  “Even if you manage to hide your money well, Virginia, some of these scoundrels can be ruthless. They have been known to take everything of value a person has with them.”

  “I have no jewelry of value that anyone can try to steal.” Virginia paused as she reached her hand up and touched below her neck where she used to wear her mother's gold locket. She swallowed as tears started to form. “Truly, Drusilla, I will be fine traveling by myself. As much as I am not looking forward to this trip, I believe it is important that I go.”

  Virginia returned Drusilla’s stare, determined to have her own way. However, she suspected Drusilla felt the same way. Once again, she reminded herself that she was of age. It was her decision. She refused to allow her landlady to bully her into something she did not wish to accept.

  The front door opened to reveal Avery.

  The two women turned to him as he closed the door and turned to greet them.

  Virginia did not know what came over her, for she found herself staring at his face. It took her a few seconds to realize that he was doing the same thing—staring at her.

  At the same time, Drusilla’s head turned several times as she looked from one, to the other, and back. Drusilla broke the spell. “Come in, please, Mr. Wilson. I was just about to prepare Miss Atwell a cup of tea. We would be delighted if you would join us.”

  Before Virginia could object, Drusilla stood and w
alked out the room. As she passed Avery, she motioned for him to sit on a chair across from the settee.

  Alone in the room, the two stared at each other. Virginia considered what she could say to the man before her. For months, she found herself distracted from her school work and her article writing by thoughts of him. She dreamed of the subjects she could talk about with him. She dreamed about possible discussions between them regarding classical Greek literature. She dreamed of walking in the south yard as they viewed the beautiful flowers that appeared once the snow melted and the plants begin to bloom. Now she had her opportunity, she had no idea what to say.

  Avery spoke first. “Have you had a good day so far, Miss Atwell?”

  Virginia smiled at him. “Yes, I have. Mrs. Chilton and I have been enjoying each other's company while we have discussed how nice the weather this summer has been so far.”

  “Yes, it has been quite warm but very nice.”

  Small talk. Virginia had never been able to abide small talk. Yet, here with Mr. Wilson her mind refused to allow her to think of a meaningful topic she could discuss with him—something more meaningful than talking about the weather. Then again, she did not know what Avery Wilson thought about her. For all she knew, he barely tolerated her. After all, had he not expressed his disagreement with and disapproval of her article on the Lincoln and Douglas debates?

  She studied his face, which appeared to be more relaxed and congenial. Perhaps he did not disapprove of her as greatly as she feared. Although she still disbelieved Drusilla’s claim that Mr. Wilson had feelings for her, he did not appear to object to being in her presence.