by Janette Oke
"Mamma;' she said. "Mamma, why you cry?"
Aunt Lou's face changed immediately and reached out to gather Sarah to her. She began to laugh softly. "It's all right, sweetheart," she assured Sarah. "Mamma is crying for joy. I'm fine. Really. It's all right."
Then Aunt Lou turned to me. "Mrs. Foggelson will be so happy. I told her I'd pray that Camellia would forgive her for what she had to do"
Had to do? The words echoed and reechoed in my mind. But I didn't ask questions-at least not then.
Then Aunt Lou put a hand on my arm and, looking at me with tears starting again, pleaded, "Oh, Josh! We've got to pray like we have never prayed before. We've got to pray that this time together might be a time when Camellia and Mrs. Foggelson will realize how much they need God in their lives"
"Well;' I began, then abandoned all caution and rushed on, "that's the rest of the good news. Camellia has already realized that:"
Aunt Lou's eyes got big and she searched my face to see if I had really said what she understood me to say.
"You mean-?" she began. I nodded and then I gave a whoop and reached out for Aunt Lou and we laughed and cried and praised together.
"I've gotta go," I said to Aunt Lou finally. "I really didn't have time for a trip to town today, but I just couldn't wait to tell you:'
"Oh, Josh;" she said, "I'm so glad you came. That is the most exciting thing that has happened since-since Jonathan;' she ended with emphasis, and turned to her little son.
Jonathan sucked his fist noisily, reminding his mother that he was still unfed. Aunt Lou kissed his forehead and murmured something to him.
I heard a deep sigh from the chair beside me and looked down into the forlorn face of little Sarah. She sighed again, gave her little shoulders a shrug and turned her small palms up.
"Nonny sweets;' she said. "Nonny" was Sarah's own word. As far as we could figure out, she meant "not any" or "none" when she used it.
Both Aunt Lou and I laughed.
"Here;' I said, fishing in my pocket. "Here's a penny for your piggy bank:"
Her face immediately lit up and she took the penny from me, scooted down from her chair and called as she ran toward her room, "Tanks you, Unca Dosh."
We heard the penny clink as it joined the others in her bank. I grinned as I shook my head.
"That's an awful little beggar you're raising there, Lou;' I said.
"Me?" responded Lou. "Me? Seems to me her begging has something to do with three men in her life:"
I shrugged my shoulders, turned my palms upward, "Nonny sweets:" I grinned and left.
CHAPTER 15
Homecoming
I suffered terribly waiting for the twenty-first. I kept trying to imagine what it was going to be like to see Camellia again. I wondered what the new Camellia would be like. She was a believer now. She would undoubtedly have a new softness, a new understanding, a new gentleness to her.
On the other hand, I hoped she hadn't changed too much. I would have been terribly disappointed if she had put her beautiful coppery hair into some kind of a tight bun or something. And I couldn't imagine her in strict, plain dresses either. Somehow they just wouldn't suit Camellia.
And Willie-it seemed like such a long time since I had seen him. He was bound to have changed. I thought I had grown away from Willie; that after my first awful months of missing him so, I had finally learned how to get along without him. But now that he was due home, all the old memories of our friendship returned, and I missed him more than I ever had.
A glance in my mirror told me that I had changed over the years, too. I tried to think back to how I had looked at eighteen and I couldn't really remember. I knew I had filled out since then. The clothes I had worn as a teenager just hung in my closet, waiting for someone to sort through them and discard them. But somehow it felt comfortable to have them still hanging there day after day, month after month, even though I knew I would never be able to wear them again.
I looked at my muscular arms. Shoveling the grain on the wagon and shoveling the fertilizer off had made me quite well developed, not the skinny teen I had been.
I rubbed the outline of my jaw. At seventeen I had shaved a few times, but not really because I had needed to. It made me feel rather grown-up to pull the razor over my face. But now I had to shave, and to my surprise it hadn't turned out to be nearly as much fun as I had dreamed it to be.
But apart from growing up and filling out and needing to shave rather than just wanting to, it seemed that there really hadn t been that much change in me. I was still the same farm boy that I had always been. And now Willie would be cityfied and book-learned.
I thought of other changes. We had all been a lot younger in more than years when we had last seen one another-kids, still thinking that life had only good things in store for us, I guess. Willie had his dream of being a missionary, and looked like he was about to realize that dream. Camellia had high hopes of becoming someone important in the field of Interior Design; for some reason I had never been told, her dream had gone sour. She had quit and taken a somewhat mundane job.
And I was still "treading water" as far as what I was to do with my life. After I finished straightening out the farm and getting Grandpa and Uncle Charlie cared for, that is. It was taking much longer than I had first thought, but things around the farm were slowly improving.
The only problem was, Grandpa and Uncle Charlie weren't improving. Grandpa was no longer a young man. Slightly stooped, he grumbled some when he went to climb anything and he grunted when he leaned over. I knew Grandpa had neither the strength nor the desire to run the farm again.
And Uncle Charlie really worried me. Week by week it was more difficult for him to handle the household chores, things like the hot pots and peeling the vegetables. More and more Grandpa was needed to help him in the house. For now I could handle the chores and most of the farm duties myself, but what would happen after God had directed me into my life work?
It weighed heavily on my mind. But Uncle Nat had told me time and again that God would make things clear to me one step at a time. When it was time for me to pursue my life's calling, God would have someone else to care for Grandpa and Uncle Charlie.
Still, I couldn't help but speculate just how God might do that. He could arrange for hired help. But that was so costly. Unless the farm really did much better on the new program, I didn't see how that plan would work. He could have one of the neighbors sharecrop the farm. The Turleys were our closest neighbors, and they were really struggling after the setback of the hard winter when they lost most of their stock. They wouldn't likely be able to afford it.
Or He could direct Grandpa to sell the farm. That thought really bothered me. I knew that after having put so much time and energy into making the farm more productive, I would have a tough time watching someone else take over-especially if that someone let it go back to the way I had found it! I'd have to do a lot of praying to be able to accept the sale of the farm.
But as much as I pondered the questions about the farm, even that failed to occupy my thoughts in the days prior to December twenty-first. Most of my thinking was of my two school friends and how we would feel about each other after so many years and so many changes.
I couldn't, of course, expect Camellia to come back home and consider me her beau. I mean, I had called it all off when she didn't believe as I did. Now it would take some time and some getting reacquainted to get things back to where they had been.
I was prepared for that. In my mind I began to list all of the things that young fellas do when they court. Flowers were hard to come by this time of year, but candy was readily available. A fancy necklace or a bracelet might be nice. I might even be able to find one that would match the ring I planned to buy later on.
One thing troubled me. I didn't know how long Camellia expected the courting to take. Would she expect me to come calling for a number of months, or could we take a shortcut since we had once been sorta sweethearts? I decided that I would just have
to play that part by ear.
But the wait seemed forever.
I checked out the time of that train. Three times, in fact, I had checked just to be sure. I shaved especially carefully that morning and shined my Sunday shoes and pressed my shirt. Uncle Charlie had already ironed it, but he couldn't do the job that he used to do.
After getting myself dressed I fussed and polished and smoothed and patted and all the time I kept an eye on the clock. I caught Grandpa and Uncle Charlie exchanging grins and winks now and then, but I paid no mind to them.
I had intended to ride Chester; then I thought that maybe Camellia would be anxious for a chat. We could go for a little drive if I had the sleigh, so I harnessed up the team instead. I threw in a warm blanket so Camellia could bundle up and keep warm, then finally headed off for town.
I was still early, but I couldn't bear to wait another minute. Besides, I had to stop at the store to pick out a box of candy. I had looked a couple of times before but hadn't been able to make up my mind.
When I reached the store I tied the team and went back to the candy counter. The girl behind the glassed-in goodies looked at me with a friendly smile on her face. She was new in the store, but I recognized her as one of the Tilley girls. We had gone to school in town together but she was younger, so I hadn't paid much attention to her. I didn't know if she expected me to greet her now or not. I said "Howdy," but I kept it very impersonal.
I still didn't know which candy to buy, and after trying to sort it out in my thinking for some time I finally blurted out, "If a fella brought you candy, what would you like best?"
She smiled rather coyly and picked out a large box of assorted flavors.
"That one?"
She nodded.
"I'll take it," I said and started to count out the money.
"Could you wrap it nicely for me please?" I asked, and she nodded and went into a back room. When she returned and handed me the package, I could see she had done a good job with the wrapping. I smiled and thanked her, took the package, and left.
It wasn't far enough from the store to the station to justify driving the team. Besides, some horses spooked at the train as it whistled and chugged its way into town. I didn't want to have my mind worried with skittery horses.
I kept checking the watch that Aunt Lou and Uncle Nat had given me for my twenty-first birthday. At one point I was sure it must have stopped, but when I put it to my ear it was still ticking.
"I'll just explode if it's late;' I said to myself, kicking a small pile of frozen snow near the walk. I was immediately sorry. The snow splattered all over the toe of my boot, and I had to get down and wipe it off with my handkerchief. I hoped that the handkerchief wouldn't be needed any further. It sure wouldn't do to pull it out in public all smeared up like it was now.
My impatience reminded me of the childhood game Willie had referred to in his letter, and I smiled at the memory. We loved to watch the reaction of people in trying circumstances; only we had never realized that waiting for a late train was so trying.
I had been vaguely aware that the platform was crowded, but I hadn't really looked to see if I knew anyone. In fact, I hadn't really paid much attention at all until I heard a shout, "It's coming!" and then I saw Willie's folks lined up on the platform just down from me. Most of the other folks I knew, too, at least by sight. I spotted Mary Turley and I smiled to myself. Willie might insist that they were "just friends;' but didn't her presence verify my suspicions?
That's nice, I thought to myself. Mary would make a wonderful missionary's wife. She's kind and caring, even attractive in her own way.
The train blew its whistle then and I forgot all about the crowd of people. I forgot all about Willie's family and even Mary Turley. All I could think about was Camellia. My throat got dry and my eyes moist and my knees felt so weak I felt that I might go down in a heap.
I saw Willie first. He looked about twice as big as I had remembered him. He had on a new coat. I unreasonably thought it strange to see Willie in clothes I hadn't seen before. He looked taller and broader and much more grown-up. But his smile was the same. He yelled, "Hi, Josh!" my direction; then he saw his folks and he turned from me and wrapped his mother in his arms.
I searched over the tops of heads to watch for Camellia to appear on the train steps. I was beginning to fear something had happened and she had changed her mind. Folks seemed to have stopped coming from the train, and then Willie broke from his folks and dashed back up the steps again and when he returned he was carrying a large suitcase and an armful of parcels. Just behind, looking even more beautiful than I had remembered, was Camellia.
Her coppery hair was still wisping about her face, but in a much more grown-up style than the flowing waves of her girlhood. Her coat was a soft green color and it accented her creamy cheeks and her beautiful eyes. For a moment my breath caught in my throat, and I couldn't move or speak. Her eyes sorted through the crowd that was left; then she looked directly at me and cried, "Josh!"
Somehow I managed to get my feet going, and I moved myself forward toward Willie and Camellia. Willie grabbed me first and as we hugged one another, I remember thinking that he was likely making an awful mess of the box of candy I held in my hands.
Then he let go of me and I was standing there facing Camellia. She laughed softly and reached up to my shoulder.
"You've grown, Josh;' she said in a teasing voice. I just nodded dumbly.
Then she pushed herself up on her tiptoes and with one hand on the back of my head to tip it forward, she kissed me right on the cheek. I wanted to reach out and pull her to me and kiss her again, but I couldn't move. She moved back rather quickly and looked at me again.
"I gave Willie permission to tell you the good news, but I want to fill in all the details myself. I know you've prayed for me for a long time, josh-and I thank you. But I still need your prayers. It isn't going to be easy to see Mamma:"
I nodded again. I still hadn't managed to speak a word to Camellia.
I wrote Mamma that I was coming, but I asked her not to meet the train;' Camellia went on. "I have a feeling that our meeting might be a bit emotional:"
I just nodded again.
I promised her that I would go directly to her:'
I swallowed and nodded the third time. Her plans were reasonable enough.
And then she laughed again and her beautiful hair swirled as she flipped her head. "We have so much to talk about," she said. "Can you come over about three-thirty? I'm just dying to tell you everything" She stopped and looked at me again. `And to hear how things have been going with you;' she concluded.
Willie and Mary were chatting excitedly beside us, but I didn't hear a word they said. I was too filled with the sight of Camellia.
I finally found my voice. "Three-thirty," I promised, then remembered the box of candy that I still held in my hand. I thrust it forward. The bow was lopsided and the paper a bit crumpled, but I guess Camellia understood.
"Welcome home;' I managed.
"It's so good to be home;' she said softly, and her eyes were misty with unshed tears.
Before I could say anything more, Camellia and Willie were moving away. Camellia was being greeted by his family, and I knew that she and all of her belongings would be loaded in the waiting sleigh and driven off to see her mother.
I berated myself for not having the foresight to bring the team right to the station. I could have been the one taking Camellia home.
But three-thirty really wasn't that long to wait. And I had some shopping to do. Now the fancy jewelry not only seemed like a good idea, but a must. I hurried off down the street to give myself plenty of time. I couldn't remember being so excited or so happy in all my life.
CHAPTER 16
The "Call"
It took me quite a while to find the piece of jewelry that was just right for Camellia. There wasn't a necklace or bracelet in town with a ring to match, so I had to settle for something else. I finally found a chain with a cameo so
delicate that it looked like it had been made just for her. It still wasn't as pretty as the wearer would be, but nothing could hope to compete with Camellia.
I had the clerk wrap it prettily, and I carefully tucked it into the inside pocket of my coat. I didn't want to take any chances on this special package getting messed up.
I finished my shopping shortly before three-thirty; feeling generous and a bit lightheaded, I decided to go buy Sarah some peppermint patties. Pocketing the candy, I headed for Aunt Lou's.
Sarah came running to meet me. "Hi, Unca Dosh;' she called, then stopped and with great concentration started over. It was obvious that someone had been schooling her. "Unca-le-J-dosh," she managed, quite proud of herself for including the proper consonants. I picked her up and kissed her, congratulating her profusely for her accomplishment. She grinned, obviously pleased with the effect of her speech.
"You come to see us?" she asked.
"No, not really. I'm going to see another-lady." I blushed even as I spoke the words.
"But you're here;' she corrected me.
"Not for long. I'm going to leave again"
"Why?" she asked, looking about to cry.
"Because;' I answered gleefully, and even young Sarah should have caught the excitement that I felt.
"Mamma's in the bedroom feeding my brudder," she informed me.
"Well, I didn't come to see Mamma either;' I answered.
"Why?" she asked again.
"Because;' I said, drawing out the small bag of peppermint patties, "because I've been to the store:"
She squealed when she saw the bag, knowing it was for her.
Aunt Lou called from the bedroom, "I'll be right out, josh"
"Don't hurry," I called back. "I can't stay. I just dropped by with something for Sarah:'
"You're heading home?"
I couldn't keep the excitement from my voice. "No, I'm on my way over to Camellia's. She wanted to see her ma alone first"
Aunt Lou was silent for a minute; then her voice came back softly to me.
