Journey With the Comet

by Dana Wayne Haley

  The day after her mother died, Leona needed to talk to someone about how she felt, but it was much too difficult talking to anyone in her family. So, after returning from the funeral parlor, she hiked to Charlie Berry’s cabin late that afternoon in hopes he could help her make sense of what had happened. When the old man saw her at his door, he said:

  “Come on in, Leona. I’m so sorry about your mom. She was as nice as they come and I’m gonna miss her. How are you making it?”

  “The best I can, Mr. Berry. But it’s hard.”

  “I know, child. But give it time. They say that time heals all wounds. From my experience it does to some extent, but it doesn’t remove all the scars. Still, eventually the real bad pain goes away. It may not seem like it right now, but it will.”

  “I hope so. I don’t think I could live with this much pain for the rest of my life.”

  “I know what you mean, dear. I never thought I’d get over my loss either, but somehow I managed to. I suppose it’s knowing that our loved ones are in a better place now and that someday we’ll be there too.”

  Charlie decided to change the subject.

  “I suppose you’ll be going back to school soon, Leona. Studying hard and doing homework will help keep your mind occupied, and that’s the best thing for you right now.”

  “I can’t go back, Mr. Berry. I need to help out around the house. Someone needs to cook, clean and see to the garden, now that my mother is gone. And I promised her on her deathbed that I would take good care of Papa and Wally.”

  “I wish you would reconsider going back to school, Leona, but I suppose keeping busy at home will be just as therapeutic. And I’m glad you feel the need to pitch in and help your family the way you do. It’s wonderful that you’re so close to them. I’m sure they’ll help you make it through the tough times ahead too.”

  Even though Charlie Berry understood the way Leona felt, not everyone agreed with her decision. Ann pleaded with Leona to return to school, but the headstrong girl would not even consider it. Even her sisters begged her to go back, but again she said no.

  “Mama asked me to look after Papa and Wally,” she told her sisters.

  “But I’m sure Mama didn’t mean for you to drop out of school to do that,” Lillian said.

  “Maybe not. But I remember what she told me when Grandma Eunice died: ‘We have to take comfort in each other and look after the ones who are left behind.’ And that’s what I intend to do. With you living in Bangor and Arlene working, it’s left to me to help around the house. Besides, I couldn’t concentrate on my studies if I went back to school now anyway.”

  Leona finally convinced everyone that she should stay home and take care of her brother and father. She knew that she could never totally replace her mother in their hearts, but at least she could make their lives more tolerable and ease their pain a little, and by doing that also ease her own pain. When it finally hit Leona that she would likely never be going back to high school, she became even more depressed because she feared losing out on her dreams forever. In addition to her more allusive dreams of traveling throughout the world, and of becoming a professional dancer, Leona had more realistic dreams of attending college at her state university to become an astronomer, thanks to Miss Hutchinson’s alluring description of the Universe, including Halley’s Comet which last visited the Earth the year she was born.

  In Leona’s mind her childhood dreams were now things of the past. Life’s dreams were now replaced by life’s reality. She had often heard the saying life isn’t fair, but she always thought that only the more skeptical people said that. Now, with her innocent mother’s unnecessary suffering and eventual death, Leona had more than enough evidence of that statement’s truth. It would be hard for anyone to understand the logic of that process, but to a 15-year-old whose life was on the verge of budding and who adored her mother the way Leona did, it was just too unfair and just too much for the young girl to grasp.

  —6—

  The day of Margaret’s funeral was the hardest for Leona. But just when things looked bleakest, she had another dream. Not the life kind, but the kind that sleep brings. In this dream Leona was riding Haley’s Comet and searching out all the most intriguing places she had dreamed of as a child. After being satisfied with that endeavor she turned her attention to locating her home in Glenburn. There she saw her father sitting in his rocker, staring at a picture of his wife he kept on a shelf above the fireplace. His eyes were red and a tear ran down his cheek. The previously happy girl started to choke up and then she heard a voice coming from behind her.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. You don’t have to worry about me any longer. And your father will be okay before long too.”

  Recognizing the familiar, soothing voice, Leona turned to see her mother kneeling beside her beautiful flower garden. Eunice was standing beside her.

  “Mama! Is it really you?” Leona yelled, while running toward her mother.”

  “Yes, dear. Grandma Eunice and I were just swapping stories,” Margaret answered as she stood up to greet her daughter. “And she told me all about your comet: Haley’s Comet. It’s really beautiful. And, to think, all this time I thought it was just a figment of your imagination.”

  Leona ran to her mother’s arms and hugged her tight, not wanting to let go. Off to her left she noticed Jill lying on soft, green grass under a large maple tree, laughing while reading a book. Leona smiled when she saw its cover: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain. She had loaned it to Jill two months before her friend died.

  “I’m glad she’s finally getting a chance to read it,” Leona thought.

  “Well, what do you say we go sit on the porch swing and chat for a while,” Margaret said.

  “Okay, Mama,” her daughter replied. But as they turned in that direction there was no house and, thus, no porch swing to sit on.

  “Well, I guess we’re gonna hav’ta use your place, Mother,” Margaret said to Eunice.

  “No, wait just a second, Mama,” Leona said. Then she looked in the direction of her parent’s home, or where it should have been, and in a few seconds a large colorful mist appeared.

  “I think I’m getting the hang of this,” she said to her mother.

  Just then the colorful mist faded and the Haley home appeared, porch swing and all. But to Leona’s delight, it didn’t stop there. All the familiar trees and bushes that surround her earthly house also appeared, until the Haley property was now wholly present on Leona’s comet, looking just as it did in West Glenburn.

  “That’s better, Leona,” Eunice said. “Now let’s go sit on the swing and sling some bull.”

  “Jill! Quick, come here!” Leona called out. “Mama and Grandma are gonna tell stories.”

  —7—

  The teenagers listened to Margaret and Eunice tell outrageously funny stories for a good hour.

  “Well, I guess it’s time to cook supper, Mother. I hope my old bones are up to it,” Margaret joked.

  Upon hearing that, Leona suddenly remembered that her mother had been ill and asked her a question.

  “How are you feeling, Mama? Are you still in pain?”

  “No, sweetheart, I was just joshing before. There’s no pain here on Haley’s Comet, only contentment and happiness. And someday you’ll be able to live here with me to experience it for yourself. Until then, I’m gonna miss you. But I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”

  “Not too close, I hope,” Leona joked.

  “Oh no,” Margaret laughed, “I’ll be sure to be discrete, until you come back here for good anyway; then all bets are off. In the meantime, take good care of your father and Wally, like you promised. Okay?”

  “I will, Mama. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “I know, dear. And you don’t have to worry about me either, because there is no such thing as worry or depression for any of
us on this comet. At least, not for the ones who have a one-way ticket, like Jill, your grandmother, and I. Someday you’ll have one too, but I suspect it’ll be a whiles before you pick up yours.”

  “Mama, do you remember the first time I wished on a star?” Leona asked.

  “I sure do, dear. We were at Chapin Park and, as I recall, you were 5 years old.”

  “That’s right,” Leona said. “And remember I asked if a wish on a star would come true; well, now I know they don’t.”

  “How do you know that, Leona?”

  “Because I wished that you and Papa would live forever and it didn’t come true.”

  “Don’t be so sure, dear. Don’t be so sure.”

  At first Leona had a blank stare on her face and a few seconds later it was replaced by a small, contented smile.

  “Anyway, Leona, before you go I just want you to know that I love you and that I’ll be looking out for you. Just know that your life will be filled with many challenges and that I want you to make the best of whatever comes your way. In the end though, everything will be fine.”

  “What kind of challenges?” Leona asked.

  But Margaret’s answer didn’t come before Leona awoke from her dream. She lie in her bed savoring the time she had just spent with her mother, before realizing that it was just a dream and that Margaret was no longer of this Earth. Still, Leona felt a calming serenity, knowing that her mother was finally free of pain and enjoying her ride on Haley’s Comet.

  Chapter 53

  The Romance

  Leona had always wanted to do something special with her life, but now it appeared that opportunity had been taken away from her, just as her mother had been. Since Lillian was living in Bangor, and Arlene and Murdock were working long hours, she had no one to keep her company during the day. Even 11-year-old Wally was nowhere to be found during the summer. He was either hanging out with his friends or spending time fishing on the banks of the Kenduskeag where he could be alone with his thoughts. Thus, Leona had only a few options to keep her mind occupied in the months after her mother’s death, and she treasured the ones she had.

  After finishing her morning chores, Leona would have lunch with her father before he had to go back to work. Then, in the afternoon she was free to visit with her old friend Charlie Berry. They often played Cribbage and talked about everything under the Sun, but more times than not they enjoyed talking about the things going around it.

  Charlie felt terrible about Leona’s situation and one day, while she was visiting, he said so.

  “It’s too bad things haven’t worked out better for you, Leona. I know you can’t continue your studies right now, but I hope you don’t give up on your dream.”

  “Thanks, Charlie, but that’s life. Papa always said that ‘sometimes life isn’t fair.’ Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t.”

  “You’re wise beyond years, Leona. But like I said: hang in there and don’t give up hope. Many people have to drop out of high school and go back at a later date; and just as many end up going to college when they’re much older. I’ve had students who were in their 30s and 40s; and believe it or not I even had one student in her 60s, so never give up on your dream, Leona. Maybe something good will happen and you’ll be able to go to college after all.”

  “Maybe,” she said. “But it’s not likely. There’s one good thing about my situation though.”

  “What’s that?” Charlie asked.

  “I get to spend more time here at your cabin with you, listening to your tall tales. It’s almost as entertaining as it was listening to my Mama and Grandma spin their yarns. If you learn to stretch the truth just a little bit more, it will be.”

  Charlie laughed and said: “I’ll work on it.”

  —1—

  When Leona couldn’t visit Charlie, the teenager spent hour-upon-hour at the Bangor Opera House, losing herself in the fantasy worlds that its movies offered. She pretended that it was her up there on the big screen dancing with the leading man. She particularly liked it when in 1927 The Jazz Singer was released and she could actually hear the actors talking and singing. She enjoyed it so much that she really looked forward to catching the trolley to Bangor, just to take in a matinee on days that ticket prices were reduced. However, evening movies were totally out of the question, not just because of the higher prices, but because Leona preferred to spend nights with her father; though on occasion she would go to a dance while her father stayed home with Wally.

  It was at one of those dances in early 1930 where Leona, now nearly twenty, bumped into Daniel O’Leary, the young man she once dated in high school. It was not long after she and Ann arrived at the Kenduskeag Dance Hall, one chilly night in mid-April, that Leona noticed her former boyfriend chatting amiably with a very pretty girl. Soon thereafter she saw the two of them dancing, and whispered in Ann’s ear.

  “He’s even cuter than I remember.”

  “Why don’t you cut in?” she suggested.

  “No, that would be impolite. It looks as if they really like each other and I wouldn’t want to come between them.”

  Leona watched her former boyfriend closely and soon realized that he was the best dancer there. After the music stopped, Dan looked around the dancehall and saw Leona.

  “Hi, Dan,” Leona said as he walked toward her.

  “Hi, Leona. Wow! You sure look great.”

  “Thanks,” she answered.

  With maturity Leona’s baby fat had long since disappeared and her womanly features had taken root. In fact, she was now a very beautiful young woman thanks in part to features inherited from her native-American ancestors. She had a statuesque nose, a long thin face, and, thanks to working in the family garden, moderately dark skin indigenous to native Americans, something that had somehow bypassed Margaret.

  “I’ve been watching you dance, Dan, and I see you’ve taken lessons since I last saw you,” Leona said. “You dance real good now.”

  “Gee, thanks. Would you like to dance with me?”

  “What about your girlfriend?” she asked.

  “Oh, she’s not my girl,” he replied. “I don’t even know her. She just asked me to have a dance with her. Actually, I came to the dance alone.”

  “Then I’d be happy to dance with you,” Leona said, knowing that she was more than just happy.

  She couldn’t help but see the smile on Ann’s face as Dan led her to the dance floor. Leona quickly found out just how much better Dan’s dancing had gotten and how much he liked to dance; and he learned the same about her.

  “Wow, Leona! You can really jitterbug,” Dan said. “I’ve never danced with anyone who could do the Charleston the way you can.”

  “Thanks, Dan. You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “We make a good couple,” he said. “You know, there’s going to be a dance contest at nine. Will you be my partner?”

  “I’d love to. What do we get if we win?”

  “The prize is five dollars.”

  “That much!” Leona exclaimed.

  When nine o’clock came the two were one of eleven couples that took the floor. Every minute or so the disk jockey would tap the least talented couple on the shoulder to indicate that it was time for them to sit down, leaving the remaining couples in the competition. After ten minutes had passed, Leona and Dan were still on the floor, and there were only three couples remaining.

  “Come on, Leona, you can do it,” Ann called out, seeing that she and Dan were still going strong.

  It wasn’t too long thereafter that both Leona and Dan were showing signs of fatigue from well over ten minutes of strenuous dancing. Ann worried as the DJ made his way onto the floor to eliminate one more couple. After he did, Ann’s best friend and her former boyfriend were still dancing away. Now there were only two couples left and it was obvious that Leona and Dan were the crowd favorites. Seeing
that, the DJ made one last trip to the floor and selected them as winners of the fifteen-minute dance contest.

  “Here’s your five dollars,” he said. “You two certainly earned it. Now let’s give them a nice hand.” he said.

  “I told you you could do it,” Ann yelled as the exhausted couple made their way back toward her to the sound of raucous applause. Leona and Dan sat in the corner of the dancehall and returned the favor by watching Ann dance, after eagerly accepting an offer from a boy she had been eyeing that evening.

  “I didn’t see you at Bangor High after your freshman year, Leona,” Dan said. “Someone told me you moved away.”

  “Oh, I wondered why you never came out to see me. I assumed you found someone else. Anyway, my Mom got sick and I had to take care of her. That’s why I never went back to high school.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad, Leona; how is your mother now?”

  “She passed away a few months after I dropped out of school.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. How are you handling it?”

  “I’m fine now,” Leona answered.

  “What have you been doing since your mother’s death?” Dan asked.

  “I’ve been taking care of Papa and Wally.”

  “How old is your brother now?”

  “He’s fifteen.”

  “What are your sisters doing?”

  “Arlene’s working in Bangor as a secretary. Lillian is married and has two boys. She lives on Stillwater Avenue in Bangor, just around the corner from our old home on Palm Street. So, what have you been up to, Dan?”

  “Not much,” he replied. “I went into the Army for a couple of years after high school and now I’m a freshman at the University of Maine.”

  “That’s great. What are you majoring in?”

  “Business.”

  “Sounds interesting,” Leona said politely, while thinking that it sounded really boring to her.