“I can almost understand the ignorant attitude of the men, but I can’t understand why the women and girls act that way,” she told her father. “After all, the same thing that happened to me could just as easily happen to them.”
In truth, it often did. When Leona asked her father why they were being so cruel and heartless, he responded without hesitation.
“Don’t you worry about them, Leona. Believe me those girls aren’t motivated by any moral outrage, because they don’t have half your moral convictions. They’re just jealous of you for being so darn pretty, and for being so darn smart too.”
“Thanks, Papa. Do you really think so?”
“I know so. The girls in this part of town have always been jealous of you. Well, most of them anyway.”
“Really?” she asked modestly.
“Really! I don’t know how many times I’ve been told that by neighbors. So don’t let them get to you, dear; like I told you before: just keep a stiff upper lip.”
“I don’t understand why people have to be jealous, Papa. Why can’t they just be happy for people?”
“That’s something I’ve never understood either,” Murdock replied. “In one sense I can understand their jealousy, but in another I don’t understand it at all. Jealousy is one of the most unflattering traits that anyone can have, but unfortunately it’s the most prevalent one too. If anyone had a reason to be jealous it was your mother, because she never had much; and, yet, you never heard her complain or even begrudge anyone else for having more than she did. In fact, it was just the opposite. She was always happy to see others do well.”
A tear came to Murdock’s eye, and he hung his head and said: “I’m just sorry I couldn’t have given your mother more.”
Leona tried to console her father by hugging him and wiping away his tears. Then she spoke to him as forcefully as she could.
“We may not have been wealthy, Papa, but Mama never considered herself poor; quite the opposite. She would always tell me how lucky we were to have you, and that she was the luckiest person alive because she had such a wonderful family. She may have had to work hard, but she didn’t mind that in the least. Like you, she always said that hard work never killed anyone. It gave Mama tremendous satisfaction to know that the two of you were making a good home for us kids. And I know I’ll always be thankful that I had you and Mama for parents.”
“Thanks, Leona,” her father replied after regaining his composure. “It makes me feel good to hear you say that. We did the best we could, and you can be sure that I’ll try my darn’dest to be a good father to you from here on out. And you can count on me to help you take care of little Marcy until you have your own home. ‘Til then, we both have to ignore what people might say about you. Those people are just plain ignorant and aren’t worth worrying about anyway.”
—5—
So began Leona’s life as a mother and homemaker. It wasn’t the way she would have planned it, or wanted it to be. Her life was supposed to be somewhat normal, like her parent’s.
“Oh, I knew there would be heartaches, as well as happiness, but look at my situation now,” she thought. “Could it be any worse?”
Then she thought back on something her mother often said: “That’s the way it is, so you might as well make the best of it.”
And that’s what Leona was determined to do, come hell or high water.
As time went on, Leona settled into her new life with relative ease. Although cooking, cleaning and working in the family garden was hard work, she found ways to enjoy it by singing and talking to her newborn. She entertained the baby, and herself, by telling stories about Grandma Margaret and great-Grandma Eunice. Wherever Leona was, regardless of what she was doing, her baby was always right beside her, thanks to a carriage Murdock made for her. Even when she worked outside in the hot sun clearing weeds or picking vegetables, little Marcy was in the carriage protected from the sun by an adjustable umbrella that provided more than enough shade, without blocking cooling breezes.
As for her household duties, Leona’s new life as a mother wasn’t much different than any other women’s. Although she didn’t have a husband to care for, she had her father and brother who needed her help, maybe even more so than a husband. And, of course, she had her motherly duties, which were much more intensive. Caring for a baby was indeed challenging, but the experience she acquired by helping Margaret take care of Wally made that task much easier. And although her carefree days were now over, Leona still enjoyed her life at her family’s familiar home and in its peaceful, picturesque, country setting.
Leona hoped that whenever something got her down she would still have her dreams to help her through it. But at this moment in time she realized that her childhood days were gone for good, and she feared that entering adulthood meant her magical comet rides were likely a thing of the past. To her surprise she would soon learn that her last ride on Haley’s Comet was far from her last one. Indeed, Leona would have many more opportunities in her adult life—both good and bad—to enjoy her amazing Journey With the Comet.
Join Leona for more adventures in Journey With the Comet: The Journey Continues.
THE END
American English Phonetic List
Acadia — AH–CAID–DEE–AH
Arlene — ARE–LEEN
Bangor — BANE–GOAR
Berry — BER–REE
Campbell — CAMP–BELL
Carver — CAR–VER
Charlie — CHAR–LEE
Edie — EEE–DEE
Edith — EEE–DITH
Eunice — YOU–NISS
Fogg — FOG
Gifford — GIFF–FORD
Glenburn — GLEN–BURN
Haley — HAY–LEE
Halley — HAL–LEE
Hans — HARNS
Harry — HAIR–REE
Hutchinson — HUT–CHIN–SON
Jenny — JEN–NEE
Jensen — JEN–SEN
Jill — JILL
Kenduskeag — KEN–DUSK–KEGG
Leona — LEE–OH–NAH
Lillian — LILL–LEE–ANN
Maine — MAIN
Maggie — MAG–GEE
Margaret — MAR–GAR–RET
Mary — MARE–REE
Murdock — MER–DOCK
Murdy — MER–DEE
Orono — OR–RON–NO
Penobscot — PEN–NOB–SCOT
Terrill — TARE–RILL
Wallace — WALL–LESS
Wally — WALL–LEE
William — WILL–YAM
Biography
Dana Wayne Haley was born and raised in West Glenburn, Maine, and served in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1967. He graduated from the University of Maine with a BS/MS in electrical engineering in 1975, working in the Boston area until 1992 as a design engineer, lead electrical engineer, project engineer, and independent consultant specializing in infrared system design and development. He also served as the chief engineer responsible for development of a large screen projection TV in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Haley won the Honeywell Electro-Optics Operations Technical Achievement Award and the prestigious H. W. Sweatt Engineer-Scientist Award in 1981. He was also an online editor, journalist, and writer (1997-2000) for Maine RoundBALL Magazine before leaving to concentrate on researching and writing the novels Journey With the Comet—Beautiful Dreamer; Journey With the Comet—The Journey Continues; and The Omieja Project—Adventure on the Appalachian Trail.
He currently lives in Orono, Maine.
%); -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
Journey With the Comet Page 54
