by Janine McCaw
Sharkey was grinning ear to ear as he slunk back to his own boat.
Frenchie went inside the galley and poured himself another cup of coffee, and came back up on deck. He had just sat comfortably in his chair when he saw Lucy walking by.
“Lucy!” he yelled.
She turned and looked at him.
“Lucy! Come ‘ere,” he yelled again.
She came down to the boat.
“Whatever is it Frenchie?” she asked.
He paused for a moment, his eyes shifting side to side.
“Okay Frenchie,” she said. “Spill it. I know you’re dying to tell me something.”
“Lucy, did I ever tell you de story ‘bout one legg’d Davey McClegg?”
Lucy started to laugh.
“No, I don’t believe I’ve heard that one.”
“Well, ye see, ‘es a buddy o’mine back est. I mean east. I’m tryin’ to learn to talk better for Maggie. Anyways...down on ‘is luck a bit Davey McLegg was. And one day ‘e gets de idea to try to rob one of dose trains dat carry de mail. ‘E tinks der is money on board and ‘es been ‘earin’ de stories about Jesse James, bang, bang, shoot ‘em up, you know. So ‘e works out a plan dat seems like a good idea, but ‘e forgets e’s got a wooden leg, and ‘es a stubborn man and ‘e wants to do it all ‘iself. But dat is a bad idea eh, cuz ‘e can’t ride a horse and ‘e can’t run away. So ‘e tries it. De robbery I mean, and de lawmen on de train shoot him bang, bang dead. At least dat’s what I ‘eard. Dey say dat if ’ed only ’ad some ’elp, ’e might ’a pulled it off. Might of bin a rich man. Sometimes ye need to trust people and tell dem yer plan and ‘ave a liddle ‘elp. Sometimes ye need yer friends.”
“Frenchie,” Lucy said slowly. “What are you getting at? You’re not asking me to help you rob a train are you? Because it seems to me that all of your friends wind up losing body parts.”
“So you’re not worried about de robbery part?”
“Frenchie!”
“Okay, den. No robberies. I do need yer ‘elp doh. I promise Lucy, no missin’ body parts. You ‘ave my word. Besides you’d be no good fer a story cuz I can’t rhyme anytin’ wid yer name. But come closer cuz I ‘ave a plan and I already got one odder ‘elper, so we’ll have an accomplice like. We might even need one more.”
Intrigued, Lucy came closer and Frenchie whispered in her ear.
She listened, slightly alarmed at first, but as Frenchie’s plan unfolded, she felt herself filling with excitement.
“Frenchie,” she said. “You tell your other helper that Juicy Lucy is in!”
Chapter Eighteen
Olivia held the dirty envelope she had pulled from the trash. It was unopened, addressed to her in her mother’s handwriting, and it had been thrown away. She sighed.
Tears started to run as she opened the letter.
Olivia,
It’s been so long since we’ve seen you; I can’t wait to see you when you come down for Emily’s wedding. She’s so excited she’s started sleepwalking again. You remember when she used to do that when you were younger, and you would have to go get her in the yard and bring her back to bed! It’s hard to believe my first batch of babies are all grown up. You haven’t met your new baby brother Daniel yet. He’s already walking and talking. He’s learned a few choice words from your father I’m afraid. And speaking of your father, don’t tell him I’ve told you this, but he is just giddy knowing that you’ll be home to see us soon. He always says he loves all his children equally, but between us women, I think he might just love you a teeny tiny bit more. Have a safe journey.
Love Mother.
Sobbing, Olivia took the letter and threw it back into the trash, carefully placing some garbage over it so Frank wouldn’t discover she had found it.
Something inside her at that moment finally gave way.
The last few months had been unbearable. Frank was working overtime almost every day at the mine, and she loved it. She loved it when he wasn’t around. He had asked her to quit the ladies group and she had done so, not because she wanted to, but because it pleased him and it was easier to please him than to argue with him. He wanted her to stop seeing Lucy, so she had told him she would. Lucy came by for a short visit once or twice a week anyway because Lucy didn’t care what Frank did or didn’t want. She would stop by in the afternoons when Frank worked the day shift and early in the evening when he was working nights so he wouldn’t find out. Olivia found herself envying Lucy’s freedom. She knew it was because her own marriage was failing. She just didn’t know how to go about changing it. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it had all started to go wrong, but it had been just around the time Frank got the promotion to foreman. While she didn’t actually see Frank spending much time with McMichael, she figured he must have been with him a lot at work and perhaps McMichael’s abruptness was rubbing off on him. Frank had seriousness about him she hadn’t seen before. When they were in their teens he had been so carefree. Who knows what the two were getting up to? Frank used to despise McMichael, but lately? She didn’t know; it sometimes seemed as if he were trying to emulate him. But why? All for this promise of a new job, this more important job McMichael kept dangling over Frank’s head. She would try to engage Frank in light-hearted conversations about work, but he would ignore her, or worse, tell her she couldn’t possibly understand.
He had become very controlling, she recognized. That, combined with Britannia’s isolation, often made her feel more like a family pet than a wife, only able to go out when the master lets it. She remembered fondly the days when she was a teenager, rebelling against everything, certainly not afraid of male authority. Frank had always been a part of her schemes and what fun they had together. She had snuck out of the house late at night more times than she could count on two hands. She would inevitably get caught, but she would stand up to her father. Her FATHER! They had some royal battles in their time, but it would always blow over. She would take the punishment, usually more chores, and use the time to daydream about her next great caper.
Her arguments with Frank however, were nothing like her jousts with her father. They would simmer on the boil, not cooling down for days or even occasionally weeks. On more than one occasion he had raised his fist to her, and she was afraid it was only a matter of time before a blow landed.
She remembered one occasion distinctly. The idea of the store had been in the back of her mind since Easter dinner. One night, when Frank seemed in a light-hearted mood, she brought up the subject again. At first he laughed. Where would they get the money? Where would they get the land? What would he do when McMichael fired him? He had a grand chuckle about it all. But when he realized that Olivia had good plausible answers for all these questions, his tempter raged to a level she had never seen before. She had gathered the courage to tell him that if he struck her, she would leave him, and he backed off. But he kept her on a very short leash from that point on. Since he was afraid she might leave and never return, the allowance he had always given her, her mad money as he would call it, was taken away. He would give her only enough money for the groceries and asked her to provide him with a receipt. Going to her sister’s wedding was out of the question he had told her, the excuse always being that there was no money, despite the hours of overtime he was putting in. He wagered she wouldn’t go alone, that would be too much to explain to her family. She was trapped.
So despite being a woman from a very fine home, despite being a very clever woman, despite being an educated woman and knowing what she knew she needed to do to make herself happy, she still couldn’t bring herself to actually do it. She loved him, she told herself. She had made a very serious wedding vow. Although she wanted to pull that letter from the middle of the trash can and put it on top so that he would know that she knew it had arrived, she left it there. She sat alone in the kitchen and cried.
There were two knocks on the door. She knew it was Lucy. Lucy always knocked twice, that was the pre-arranged signal, but she didn’t get up
to let her in. She didn’t want any company. She had however, left the door unlocked as everyone in the town did, and Lucy, who had seen a light on, let herself in anyway.
Olivia looked at her through tear stained eyes.
“I need to borrow some of your clothes,” Lucy said.
“What? Lucy, they won’t fit you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. They’re not for me. Sarah wants to try some new styles and she’s about your size. Stop crying okay?”
“And you need them right now? Right this minute?”
“Well, it’s either that or listen to her go on and on about needing to improve herself so she can get a man, and not knowing how to do it without some fancy magazines to look at. I swear I don’t know why the woman has suddenly adopted me, but she has.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me what’s wrong?”
“I know what’s wrong. The same thing that has been wrong for months. You want to go to the wedding and you think you can’t. So you’ve got yourself all worked up again.”
Lucy grabbed a paper bag from under the sink and went into Olivia’s closet and began to pull some dresses out.
“I think I’ll need another bag.”
“Lucy, I don’t know about this. Why are you taking my underwear? That’s a little personal.”
“I won’t let her wear it silly. I just want to show her she has options. Sarah needs to visualize. I need to let her know there are more than white cotton fillies out there. I’ve done laundry with you, I know you have some different coloured ones. Mine are a little too risqué for our impressionable Sarah. They’re silk. Akiko makes them for me. But these little pink ones, they’ll do just fine.”
Lucy turned to Olivia.
“I have tried to knock some sense into you woman, for the past two weeks. Just go. Do you hear me? Just go! I will take up a collection for the fare and Frenchie will take you down to Seattle and back. You’d be fine. I go down with him alone all the time. He’s not going to try anything; you’ll be in no danger. It’s your sisterly duty to go to the wedding. All the ladies feel just terrible about it and would love to help you out by helping with your expenses. They figure Frank’s not going to help with it.”
“They know about this? Lucy, how do they know about this?”
Olivia knew only too well how they knew about it.
“Well, they just know, that’s all. And they think it’s a shame. Your own flesh and blood and your husband won’t take you to the wedding. He could get the time off Olivia. Sarah says he has plenty of time off coming to him. In fact, she nagged McMichael about this and he offered Frank time off.”
“She nagged McMichael? He knows? Lucy, Frank will kill me. First I become a charity case for the ladies and then this? Are you trying to get me killed? He’ll be absolutely furious if he finds out.”
“In answer to your questions, yes, she nagged McMichael. That’s what Sarah does for a living. And he must enjoy it on some level or he’d fire her, which of course, he never does. He fires everyone else. Yes, McMichael knows. He told Sarah as he always does that she should mind her own business. Then later that day Frank was in the office and McMichael said that he appreciated the extra work Frank had been putting in, but that Frank was looking a little tired, and would he like a little time off this weekend? Frank said no. He said NO, Olivia! So then Sarah asked McMichael later what he was going to do about it, and he said he was going to take his own advice and mind his own business. And then Sarah said McMichael smiled, which she found rather peculiar. And since he was in such a great mood, Sarah said she asked him for some time off for herself and he gave it to her. He gave the time off to her. So you see Olivia, Frank will not find out from McMichael that McMichael knows, so there’s no need to worry about that. I’m just telling you what Sarah told me for your own good. Your eyes need to be opened. Next, the ladies do not consider you a charity case. You had been so kind to so many of them that they would like to do something a little special for you because they never see you anymore. That, Olivia, they all can see themselves, without my saying anything to them, thank you very much. They got to know you when we were collecting for the war and they miss you. Even Mrs. Schwindt says nice things about you. Can you honestly say you’ve ever heard her say nice things about anybody? Mary Alice wanted to make you a new dress for the wedding. Okay, I talked her out of it, but at least she offered. If you are embarrassed by their show of goodwill, then I won’t ask for their help. But lastly, and you listen girl, what bothers me the most is that there was an icy tone to your voice when you said Frank would kill you. So help me Hannah, if he lays as much as a finger you, and I find out about it, and find out about it I will, I swear I will kidnap you and take you back to Seattle myself. After I’ve rope tied him and strung him up on Mrs. Schwindt’s clothesline naked, hanging by his ears.”
Olivia laughed. She could see Lucy doing that.
“It’s okay Lucy. I’m just being over-dramatic as usual.”
“Ah, but Olivia, my dear friend. You are not the dramatic one. You are the very self-confident, smart, easy-going one whom everyone adores. Have you forgotten who you are?”
There was a silence between the two women.
Lucy said no more, leaving with the bags of clothes in hand.
Olivia sat back down and thought about Lucy’s last remark. It was true, she knew that. She was becoming someone else. Someone she didn’t like very much. People change, she thought. Frank had changed, that was for sure. She had changed. She had always been an extrovert, but had become rather shy when faced with the prospect of being the new person in town. Then the extrovert in her rose again, and she found herself doing more and seeing more, making friends and fitting in. Now, almost calculatedly, she was withdrawn again. Perhaps, she thought, she and Frank would change again and everything would be fine. After all, she still loved him, she told herself.
Chapter Nineteen
Sarah came out from the mine office and stood on the veranda. She glanced impatiently up and down the street.
“Oh where is Frenchie?” she asked herself.
Out from the cabin of the Northern Mary came Frenchie, who looked up towards the mining office.
Sarah waved her arms in a big circle, ensuring he noticed her. Everyone would notice her, he thought.
He waved back.
Lucy walked up to Sarah and handed her the bag of clothes.
“Here you go,” she said to her. “Where is everyone?”
“McMichael is up looking at the concentrator. It's broken down again. Can you believe it? He is so mad. I swear I saw steam coming out of his ears. He and Frank will be working on it for hours. Go! Quickly!”
Lucy ran back to Olivia’s house and this time, didn’t even bother knocking.
“Olivia! Come quick,” she said, barging through the door.
Olivia looked at her friend. She had never seen Lucy out of breath before. Something had to be terribly wrong.
“What’s happened?”
“It’s Frenchie. He’s out cold. I need your help.”
“Shouldn’t you get the doctor?”
“No, he’s probably drunk too much. Frenchie. Not the doctor. He was celebrating something, that’s for sure. I need your help giving him some smelling salts or something. Last time I gave him too many and his nose bled for days. Come quick Olivia, Maggie’s down there and she’s panicking and I don’t know what to do. You have to help me. Please!”
“Okay, okay,” Olivia said, grabbing her coat.
Lucy took her hand and the two of them ran down to the Northern Mary, where indeed, Maggie was waiting on deck. She didn’t seem too upset though, Olivia thought upon observation. Sarah was there too.
“He’s in the cabin, starting to come to,” Maggie said. “He’s a bit groggy though, if you two could check on him while you’re here, I’d appreciate it. He’s headed down to Vancouver this afternoon and I don’t know if that’s such a smart thing. Lordy, I can’t find Dr. Van Den Broek anywhere. It would probably b
e best if someone had a look at him, just to be sure. I’ll stay up here and see if I can see the doctor go by.”
Olivia and Lucy went into the cabin. Frenchie appeared to be fine. He got up under his own power and went outside leaving the ladies behind. Olivia noticed him secure the lock on the outside cabin door. He kissed Maggie before she turned and headed up the dock. It looked like a goodbye kiss. Olivia also noticed the two brown paper bags that were full of her clothes, the clothes Lucy had taken, were on the galley table.
“Lucy, what’s going on?” she asked hesitantly.
“Your friends have officially kidnapped you. You are going to Seattle. We are stopping in Vancouver tonight, and you will be in Seattle in time for the wedding this weekend.”
“But Frank will be furious!”
“Maggie will take care of that. She stayed ashore.”
“Maggie is in on this too?”
“We’re all in on this. Maggie, Frenchie, Sarah and me, and one other person who shall remain nameless.”
Olivia ran for the door.
“Oh, it’s locked,” Lucy said. “So you might as well just sit back and enjoy the scenery. Frenchie will unlock it when we’re well at sea. We will have a grand time, the four of us. Yes, Sarah is coming along too. It’s her first trip away from Britannia ever, and she’s very excited. I am amazed she kept this a secret. She needed time off too, you see, which is why she told McMichael about the wedding and that you had invited her along if Frank couldn’t come. She’s cunning, our Sarah. I’m beginning to see a whole new side of her.”
“But how will I pay for all this?” Olivia asked.
“Trust me, everything has been taken care of. Just don’t cry please,” Lucy said.
Oddly enough, Olivia didn’t feel like crying.
“What are those in the sink?” she asked.
“Crabs,” Lucy said. “I hope you’re hungry. I’m getting a little sick of them myself.”
Back at Britannia, McMichael was standing alone outside the assaying building. He had watched the whole caper go down, beginning with Sarah waving her arms in the air like a crazy woman.
