Dearest William,
The war is officially over!! Sadly, President Roosevelt, who was in his fourth term, did not live long enough to see it to its conclusion. He died in April. Harry Truman is now president.
Business here continues to prosper. Randall did what he said he would do—he changed the company name. Harrison is working with Randall now. He didn’t finish college. When I tried to talk him into going back he said “Mother, after what I’ve seen, I’ve all the education I need.” He then kissed me on the cheek and dismissed me. In an eerie way, he reminded me of Randall.
Garret is such a happy little baby, and I see him frequently. I suspect Randall said something to Vera. I believe he noticed how Vera preferred turning the care of the boys to a nanny (now that they have one again) instead of letting them spend time with me. I believe he intervened on my behalf.
Sonny is in school, so I see him rarely. But I spend a great deal of time with Garret.
Now that this war is over, and our son is doing better, I am much happier. I still miss you though, every single day.
Forever yours, Mary Ellen - January 1946
My dearest William,
Remember when Randall told us of his dream, to build a city in the southwest? I think he was serious. He’s taken several business trips this year, to California, Arizona and Nevada, scouting for available land. He took Harrison along on the last trip.
Vera is horrified he will actually do it, because that means leaving Chicago and her family and friends. I know this, because she brought up the subject not long ago, trying to find out how I feel about it. When I told her it sounded exciting, she broke into tears. It was the wedding all over again.
The boys are doing well, yet I continue to worry about Sonny. I think I am the only one who finds his behavior disingenuous. He is exceedingly polite, and quite charms all the adults he meets, yet I can practically hear the wheels turning in his manipulating little brain.
Garrett is simply a rough and tumble little boy who loves hugs and getting into mischief. Something about him reminds me of you.
Forever yours, Mary Ellen - January 1947
Dearest William,
It looks like we’re moving. Not immediately, maybe in a year or two. There are lots to do before we can actually make the move.
He’s purchased a 26 square mile parcel of barren land. The closest town is a little mountain community called Clement Falls. It is about thirty minutes away or so, at a much higher elevation. There are a number of lakes in the area, and some great fishing.
Randall tells me he is going to name his new town “Coulson.” I think that’s why he wanted to change the name of the company.
I’m actually looking forward to it—I need a change of climate. I’ve been so tired lately, and have been getting headaches. Perhaps I am just weary of the city and need some fresh air and sunshine. From what I understand, the area receives a lot of sunshine and no snow. Although, they do get snow up at Clement Falls.
The boys are doing well. Sonny never gets in trouble at school, so perhaps I was over concerned about the kitten incident and imagine character flaws that weren’t there. Vera definitely favors Sonny over Garret. I don’t understand it. Garret is such a loveable child.
Our son seems to be happy, but he is always working and spends little time with his family.
I wish you were here for us.
Forever yours, Mary Ellen - January 1948
Dearest William,
We are scheduled to move to Coulson in June of this year. Yes, it is officially named Coulson. How strange that sounds to me, a town that shares my name. Randall is happier than I’ve ever seen him. He is also more determined.
A happy Randall is not necessarily one who is easy to be around. I imagine you understand that better than most.
He is building me the house he promised. If the drawings are accurate, it will outshine the Coulson estate in Philadelphia. A three-story structure, the architecture does not quite fit the area I think. I gently pointed it out to Randall in the beginning, but he got quite annoyed with me, so I quickly backed off. With Randall, some battles are simply not worth fighting.
Plus, I haven’t the energy to fight. I suspect the thought of such a great move is exhausting me before I even start.
He is giving me my library, so at last your books will come out of storage. I’m excited about that. Randall has put me in charge of decorating the house, so I am keeping busy these days working with a decorator and picking out furniture. I must confess, I am enjoying it.
We are planning to sell both townhouses, but not until the move is complete. Harrison and his family will be living with us. There will be plenty of room—the house is enormous. I am not sure how Vera feels about moving in with her in-laws. But knowing her parents, I don’t believe staying in Chicago and living with them is an option.
The boys continue to thrive. I think this move will be good for them.
Forever yours, Mary Ellen - January 1949
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Happy Birthday Mother,” Harrison greeted as Mary Ellen made her way down the staircase.
“Thank you, darling. Where is everyone?” She stepped onto the landing and took Harrison’s arm as he escorted her to the sunroom to enjoy her morning coffee. After the library it was her favorite room in the new house.
“Vera is still upstairs asleep. I don’t expect her down for another hour or so. The boys are with the nanny having breakfast in the kitchen. Dad is downtown, meeting with several of the shop owners.”
“I still can’t believe he’s already filled the entire strip mall. It actually looks like a real little town.”
“Not according to Vera.” Harrison chuckled. “She’s quite horrified we only have one grocery store.”
“I didn’t know Vera went to the grocery store.” Mary Ellen smiled, feeling only a twinge of guilt for her catty remark.
“Oh, mother.” Harrison chuckled again. He then got serious and said, “This has been difficult for her. She’s never pretended to be a country girl. It’s foreign territory for her.”
“I know dear. I do understand, honestly.” Mary Ellen thought back to when she had been dragged from the country to the city, forced to marry and bed a man she barely knew. At least Vera chose the man she wanted, she thought.
“And you Harrison, how do you feel about your father insisting you come with us?”
“I confess, I would have preferred to stay in Chicago. But I’m getting used to it. I tell myself I need to look at it like an adventure.” They’d reached the morning room and each took a seat at the small table where a pitcher of hot coffee waited. Harrison poured them each a cup.
“I’m glad you feel that way. Seeing this as an adventure, I mean.” She took a sip of her coffee.
“You did a beautiful job with this house, Mother, yet I’m not sure what father intends to do with the third floor and all those rooms.”
“Turn it into a hotel perhaps?” she asked with a smile.
“When the plans were being drawn, and I saw what he intended, I asked him why he didn’t do something smaller. Something like the townhouses.”
“What did he say?”
“He said it would show the world he was serious about the project. As it turned out it is the one thing Vera likes about the move.”
“So she doesn’t mind living under the same roof as her in-laws?”
“Between you and me, I think it makes her feel – well, like a princess. She lives up in the royal castle and can look down on her subjects.”
“Not a very flattering description of your wife, dear.”
“Well, I did say it was just between you and me.” Harrison winked at his mother.
“Last night your father said ten of the building sites in this area have already sold. They were priced very high. I imagine that was also a factor.”
“True. I never thought he would get the price he was asking. It’s my understanding they’ll all be vacation homes,” Harrison
told her.
“Well, looks like your father is actually going to make this thing work.”
“The plant should be operational within a month, and that will increase the full time population.”
Yes but not the type of people your wife wants to associate with, Mary Ellen thought to herself.
“Mother, are you feeling okay? You look a little tired. Didn’t you sleep well last night?”
“Remember dear, I am forty-nine today.” She chuckled.
“You are still beautiful Mother, and no one would ever guess your age.”
She reached over and patted her son’s hand. “You are sweet, dear.”
“Grandma!” Garret charged into the room, running straight for Mary Ellen. She barely had time to set her coffee cup on the table before he reached her. Leaping onto her lap he gave her a welcoming hug. Mary Ellen snuggled the small boy while peppering him with kisses. He quickly settled on her lap.
“Where is your brother?” Harrison asked.
“Dunno.” Garret shrugged. Mary Ellen hugged her youngest grandson and kissed him again. One of the household staff entered the room carrying a tray of breakfast for Harrison and Mary Ellen.
“Your grandmother’s breakfast is here. Get down, and let her eat,” Harrison told his son. Garret gave a little pouting frown but climbed down. Mary Ellen ruffled his hair as he scampered off.
“So what are your plans for the morning, Mother?”
“Nothing too exciting, maybe finish my book.”
“Well rest up, we’ve an exciting evening planned for your birthday. I know the boys are looking forward to the fireworks.”
“I must be special. They always have fireworks on my birthday.”
Harrison reached across the table and patted her hand. “You are Mother, you are.”
• • • •
After breakfast, Mary Ellen went to the library alone. Instead of reading, as she told Harrison she intended to do, she sat on the small upholstered sofa, massaging her temples. She had another headache; there would be no reading this morning.
Leaning back on the sofa, her gaze wandered along the book lined walls. It was an impressive room, even nicer than William’s private library in Philadelphia.
“You would love this, William,” she said aloud to the empty room. She glanced up into a shelf in the far corner and smiled. Tucked behind several Greek classics was a hidden compartment where she stored the diary Randall had given her, along with some of William’s family photographs. I’ll have lots to write come New Year, she thought.
A stabbing pain in her right temple made her wince. Feeling a bit nauseous, she kicked off her shoes and curled up onto the sofa in a fetal position while hugging a throw pillow. She closed her eyes.
“Mary Ellen—it’s time to go now.”
She didn’t open her eyes immediately. The headache is gone, she thought. I must have slept a while, I haven’t felt this rested in months.
“Mary Ellen, come love. Time to go.”
She looked up toward the sound of the voice.
“William?” she whispered. William stood before Mary Ellen, looking down at her with a supremely peaceful expression on his face. For some reason she wasn’t surprised to see him. He extended his right hand toward her and she took it and stood up.
“Is it our time now?” she asked. A warm blanket of love engulfed her.
“Yes, love. They are all waiting to see you.”
“Mama, Ed, Papa?”
“Yes Mary Ellen, let’s go now.” In the distance, a golden light beckoned her. With William at her side, she started toward it, then she paused and looked back a moment.
“What about them?”
“They aren’t ready yet Mary Ellen. Their story has yet to be told.”
She smiled, gave William a little nod and looked back toward the light. Together Mary Ellen and William continued on their journey.
Return to Coulson
in Anna J. McIntyre’s
Coulson’s Crucible
Prologue
He’d finally stopped crying, but she knew he would start again. He always did. Vera made her way up the rear staircase of Coulson House carrying her three month old son, who slept soundly in her arms. Someone might see her if she used the main staircase.
No one went to the third floor, except for the household staff to periodically clean the unused rooms. Speculation varied as to why her father-in-law built such an impressive estate. Some said it was for his wife, Mary Ellen, while others insisted it was to show the world he was committed to his project–developing the resort community he founded that bore his name.
Her mother-in-law, Mary Ellen Coulson, had decorated the mansion. Just months after moving into the impressive estate, Mary Ellen died in its library on the first floor. She was just forty-nine.
Vera wanted to go outside, breathe in the fresh air. Walking into one of the rooms on the third floor, she paid little notice to the ornate furnishings and impressive artworks. Instead she walked through the room to the French doors leading to the balcony.
It was breezy outside. Vera held the sleeping bundle tighter. She didn’t want to wake Russell. Closing her eyes, Vera breathed in the crisp December air, escaping for a moment the prison that was her life. If she could just be free, fly far away from her pain, her sadness. Without thought, she climbed onto the wide banister surrounding the balcony and looked down. It took considerable effort to maintain balance, especially while holding the sleeping babe.
“Mother!” Vera’s eight-year old son, Garret shouted as he raced through the doorway onto the balcony. His sudden and unexpected appearance caused Vera to lose her balance for a brief moment, but she reached out with her free hand and grabbed the outside of the building to steady herself.
“Please Mother, get down, you could fall!” Garret begged. Vera looked down at her son and smiled.
“Don’t be silly, Garret, I can fly. Come.” She reached her hand out to him. “Join me and I’ll show you.”
“No, please, get down!” Garret began to cry.
“Here, you’ll see,” Vera said calmly.
Turning away from Garret, she stood precariously atop the banister. Closing her eyes, she prepared to take flight when a gust of air hit the front of her body, sending her sprawling backward onto the balcony floor. The fall woke Russell, who began to cry, but he remained secure in his mother’s arms. Garret ran from the balcony.
The abrupt fall knocked the air from Vera’s fragile body. Colliding against the balcony floor was painful, yet nothing appeared to be broken. Attempting to catch her breath, she held tight onto the squirming baby. Opening her eyes, Vera looked into the face of Mary Ellen Coulson. Transfixed by the apparition, Vera’s eyes widened. The next moment, Mary Ellen was gone.
Coulson’s Crucible at Amazon
Other books by Anna J. McIntyre
THE COULSON SERIES
Coulson’s Wife
Coulson’s Crucible
Coulson’s Lessons
Coulson’s Secret
Coulson’s Reckoning (Coming in 2014)
THE SENSUAL ROMANCE SERIES
After Sundown
Sugar Rush
While Snowbound
For updates on future released by
Anna J. McInytre, sign up for her eMail Newsletter.
Coulson's Wife (The Coulson Series) Page 18
