“My bedroom is upstairs in front. It has the only bed in the house. Where are your things?”
“At the railroad station.”
“I’ll have them brought here.”
They embraced and engaged in a long kiss.
Joyce’s eyes filled with tears.
“What’s wrong?” Nathan asked.
She kept her arms firmly around his neck and whispered in his ear. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for that kiss? Believe me. These are tears of joy…pure joy.”
He kissed her again.
“Think it’s our turn to have some peace in our lives?” Joyce asked.
“I’ll pray that’s the case.”
She held him tightly.
“Joyce, will you marry me?”
“Yes…but soon.”
“If I send a telegram to my folks today, we can plan on a wedding in a few weeks.”
“Send it.”
* * *
One day later a reply to his telegram arrived.
“My mom wants to take the train out here in a few days to help set things up for the wedding.”
“Another mother-in-law. Don’t know if I can take that.”
“If she becomes a problem, I’ll put her on the train back to Seattle. Your choice and I’ll back you.”
“If it becomes a headache…”
“It won’t happen. Besides, you and I need some time alone.”
“Who’ll watch Naomi?”
“My mom.”
“Are you certain? Naomi doesn’t need hysteria with new relatives.”
* * *
“Naomi and Joyce, I’m so happy to meet you,” Myra said.
“Please have a seat, Mrs. Kaplan,” Joyce said.
“Actually, I was hoping to do some shopping. Does Naomi know where a butcher and green grocer are?”
“I do,” Naomi said.
“Would you mind accompanying me if it’s alright with your mother?”
“Sure.”
Joyce nodded.
They headed out the door with Myra asking Naomi about school.
* * *
“They’ve been gone over three-hours,” Joyce said, twisting on a chair in the parlor.
“I promise. Naomi will be fine.”
An hour later they heard Myra and Naomi’s laughter. They walked through the front door laden with numerous purchases.
“Your daughter was an immense help,” Myra said.
“Mom, I showed Mrs. Kaplan how we pick potatoes, garlic and cabbages. Then I helped her pick out two lengths of cloth so we can make a dress for me.”
“Let’s put the food away,” Myra said.
“Don’t forget,” Naomi said as they disappeared into the kitchen. “You’re going to teach me to cook cold cannon.”
“I don’t believe my ears,” Joyce said. “Naomi volunteering to cook?”
“By the way,” Myra said as she returned from the kitchen. “Celeste and Shifra plus Daire and Angela will be out in two days. They’ll help me with your wedding dress.” She opened her design book. “If you like, we can look through these and gather ideas for your own design.”
Naomi’s eyes widened as she and her mother paged through the book. “Mom, these are…”
“Gorgeous,” Joyce said.
Myra asked, “Will you be having bridesmaids?”
“At least Naomi.”
Myra opened a second book and handed it to Naomi. “These are bridesmaid dresses.”
“For me?”
“Once your mother settles on a design, we’ll make a dress for you that coordinates with hers.”
* * *
Rabbi Moshe Rifkin, with Dov and other friends and relatives, arrived in Spokane Friday morning before the Sunday wedding.
Shifra introduced Naomi to her brothers and other cousins.
During the ceremony, Rabbi Rifkin said, “These two exhibit strength of character which we should all emulate. Once they decide on the proper course of action, they proceed with utmost determination…even with the knowledge the decision may cause them pain.” He put a hand on each of their shoulders. “I know how much they mean to each other. Therefore it gives me immense pleasure to pronounce them husband and wife.”
Once all were seated for dinner, Nathan stood and waited until the crowd quieted. “I wish each of us would raise a glass to a man who rescued a two-year-old boy from a burning steamboat then returned to rescue others. He died in that attempt. Sadly, we never learned his name. L’chaim.”
“Grandma,” Naomi asked Myra. “Some of the kids at school say a girl can’t be a doctor so how did Aunt Abbey do it?”
“Hard work and determination.”
David added, “You ignore people who say things can’t be done.”
“Why?” Shifra asked.
“They’re usually run over by people doing them.”
Naomi and Shifra, sitting next to each other, exchanged glances and laughed.
“I heard you bandaged someone’s arm,” Myra said to Naomi.
“Mrs. Olson. She fell off a ladder.”
“See this scar?”
“That’s a big one.”
“When your father and Aunt Abbey watched a doctor sew and bandage my arm they decided to become doctors.”
David turned to Nathan and spoke in a quiet voice. “Is she bright enough?”
Also in a quiet voice, Nathan said, “Without doubt. She talks of becoming a doctor but her love of science may take her in other directions.” Nathan continued in full voice. “Naomi is intelligent like William and has Abbey’s mental strength and drive.”
“I love astronomy and math,” Naomi said.
“I love looking through a microscope,” Shifra said then giggled. “You like big and I like small.”
Naomi nodded.
In full voice, Nathan said to David, “When Naomi wanted to know how big the moon is, I did the same trigonometry exercises you did with William and me. We started with a talk about right triangles, measured furniture, then the house, and finally a mountain.”
“Tangent is my favorite because you can measure so many things,” Naomi said. “We drew graphs with the sine function using radians and it looked like a wave.” She turned to Shifra. “I found it weird because it never got bigger than one and minus one.”
Shifra stared at her lap for a while. “I can’t quite picture that. You need to show me.”
“Love to,” Naomi said.
Naomi turned to Myra. “Grandma, can you help me write to Aunt Abbey? I have some questions for her.”
Chapter Thirty-Six: Jonah
During a springtime Sunday dinner at William and Celeste’s home, his mother asked twelve-year-old Jonah, “I was putting away your shirts when I found a box with money in your dresser drawer. Where did it come from?”
“Our business.”
“What business?” Celeste asked.
“Our candy business. I’ve been running it since school started.”
William said, “Tell us about it.”
“Zadie gave me three-cents for sweeping out his office the day before school started. I took it to the general store and bought three pieces of candy. I sold them at school for two-cents each. Next day, I bought twice as much candy and sold it. I just kept doing that. My business grew so I asked Ethan and Noah to help. When we started to sell the same amount of candy every day, we stopped by the Czech bakery and bought some of Mrs. Kurkova’s fruit Kolaches. We paid three-cents for each one and sell them for five-cents.”
“How much money do you have?”
Noah chimed in. “Not counting the cost of inventory, we have sixteen-dollars and eighty-seven-cents.”
“Cost of inventory?” William said with raised eyebrows.
Ethan said, “Zadie showed us how to do …”
“Bookkeeping,” Jonah said. “It’s how we can keep track of our income and expenses.”
“Your business better not be getting in the way of your school work.”
“No,” Jonah said. “Zadie said we need to have good English skills to write business letters and proposals plus good arithmetic skills to do bookkeeping and finance.”
Celeste smiled at her industrious sons.
William eyed the boys in a questioning manner. “I was at a schoolboard meeting earlier this week. We reviewed bids for the new roof for the school house. The lowest bid was submitted by Jenz Kaplan. No one knew who that was.”
The boy’s eyes widened as they glanced at each other. Jonah leaned toward his father. “The lowest?”
Ethan asked, “Did we win?”
William peered over his glasses. “Who is Jenz Kaplan?”
Noah said, “My business partners and me. Jonah, Ethan, Noah, and Zadie.”
William slapped his forehead and turned to Celeste. “Why am I not surprised my father is behind this.”
Jonah added, “Zadie agreed to sell us lumber at two-percent-over-cost. I had to calculate that for every board foot we needed. Noah negotiated, with Zadie’s help, prices for all the other materials and labor. Ethan checked the dimensions of the drawings to see that we have the right amount and type of lumber.”
“And what else are you doing?”
Jonah enthused, “We have to keep our bookkeeping balanced to make sure it’s correct and prove its correct to Zadie.”
“Who’s going to supervise the carpenters?” their father asked.
Noah replied, “We all are.”
“But really Zadie,” Ethan said. The other boys nodded agreement
“My children,” Celeste said, “the businessmen.”
Jonah added, “Zadie said, we’re trip and manure’s.”
“Entrepreneurs,” William corrected. “And this is the end of these shenanigans.”
“Why?” Jonah asked.
“Your job is school. Not working for your Grandfather or running your own business.”
“But our grades are okay.”
“I suspect they could be much better. Jonah, you especially could be getting more schoolwork done without this distraction.”
“I love business stuff,” Jonah pleaded.
“None the less, you’ll have to find a new love because your first priority is your schoolwork.”
* * *
“I have another letter from Aunt Abbey,” Naomi said. She opened it, read a few lines then leaped in the air and shouted. “She’s visiting Seattle but will stop here first!”
Her younger brother Joshua asked, “Mom, can I call her Aunt Abbey?”
Joyce replied, “We’ll all meet her and yes, you call her Aunt.”
Naomi continued reading the letter.
“She’s bringing Uncle Benjamin, Shayna and Daniel.”
“Wow! More cousins!” Joshua exclaimed.
Joyce asked, “When are they arriving?”
“In two weeks.”
* * *
“Joyce,” Nathan said, “now that Naomi and Josh are in bed. I want to talk about a patient. Tod Swenson came home from the war missing his right arm and left hand. He grew up on a farm and thinks he’s useless. His wife threatened to leave him and take their children before he agreed to see me. I’ve talked to him once and insisted he bring his wife to the next meeting. I want you to be there when I meet with them.”
“I’ve already dealt with a crippled casualty of the war.”
“Perhaps then, you’ll have insight into getting him involved in life again and helping his wife.”
“What can I possibly say to his wife?”
“What emotions did you go through when Ruben came home?”
“Well…” Joyce was deep in thought for a while before responding. “I felt like a victim of the war. I know it’s selfish but I resented the imposition his injury had on my life.”
“If his wife has the same reaction, it might help her feel better knowing you experienced the same thoughts.”
Joyce became pensive again. “Not thoughts.” She shook her head. “Feelings. Mr. Swenson’s wife has to understand her…and his…feelings. It’s the only thing that worked for me. Abbey endured horror through the entire war. Perhaps she’ll share some insight with me.”
* * *
“Mom,” Naomi said as she and her mother walked to the library, “Did you learn stuff from Aunt Abbey?”
“She’s given me a list of books to read plus I have to engage in self-reflection. That’s not always fun.”
“Like what?”
Joyce thought for a moment. “Last year, one of your friends teased you. You erupted and called her a string of vile words.”
“She started it.”
“How do you think she felt?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said she cried and ran home.” Joyce stopped walking and turned her daughter to face her. “Naomi, how did she feel?”
Naomi’s smile disappeared and she stared at the ground. “Sad.”
“Only sad?”
“And humiliated.”
“You used your powerful vocabulary to sadden and humiliate a longtime friend.”
Naomi twisted her foot in the dirt. “I was cruel.”
“Now you’re going to write her a letter expressing your feelings and apologize.”
She nodded. They walked in silence for a while then Naomi asked, “Is that how Aunt Abbey is helping you? With your feelings?”
“Yes. I still have a lot of resentment toward Ruben.”
“Like what?”
“Things that are difficult to talk to a daughter about but Aunt Abbey is helping me.”
“What will writing a letter do besides make me sad as I relive what happened?”
“It will help you come to grips with your cruel actions. Help you learn self-control and, by understanding the pain you caused your friend, so you will avoid doing that again.”
* * *
William sat down with Jonah just prior to his high school graduation. “Did you use the kit of medical supplies I gave you during your hunting trip?,” William asked Jonah.
He nodded. “One of my friends, sliced his palm open when sharpening his knife.”
“What did you do?”
“Cleaned the wound site, put in twelve-stitches and a proper bandage.”
“So you put my lessons to good use.”
“I also put your angry tone to good use; balling-him-out for not controlling the knife while sharpening.”
“Good thing you were there.”
“I’m keeping that kit near me on any hunt or cross-country trip. His hand bled like a river until I closed it.”
“How was the hunt itself?”
“We shot two deer. We divided the meat among the four of us. I cleaned the deer the way Grandmother Kim taught us when she took us hunting when I was twelve.”
William took a deep breath. “Your brothers are going to college after summer break but you avoid talking about your future.”
“I know what I want to do but you won’t like it.”
“Does it involve college?”
Jonah avoided looking at his father. “No.”
“How will you earn a living?”
“Last summer I helped Zadie put together a deal to ship construction lumber to three ports down the coast. My commission on that deal, most of which I gave to Mom because I still live at home, will pay for one of my brothers first year of college. I live for buying, selling and deal making. That’s what I’m going to do.”
“Does Zadie know?”
“He’s waiting for me to talk to you and Mom before he offers me a permanent position.”
“Of all my children, you’re the only one with the where-with-all to take my place in my medical practice.”
“I know but I have no desire to do that. When you need to expand the hospital or the University, I’m working hard to ensure I’ll be one of the individuals who will finance that expansion.”
“Without sufficient doctors with the requisite skills, it will be a useless structure.” William paused to let his words s
ink in. “Jonah, when you put your mind to it, you’re one of the hardest workers I know…and you’re capable of learning anything.”
“Zadie makes sure I work hard. Every summer he assigns me new and more difficult projects.”
William put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I don’t like this.” He leaned towards Jonah, lifted his son’s hands, and pleaded, “You even the have the dexterity which can perform delicate surgery like me. You have a responsibility to use the gifts God gave you.”
Jonah pulled his hands away. “I only want to buy and sell.”
“And I only wanted to become an engineer but finally realized how much good I could do as a doctor.”
“It’s different now.”
William sighed. “I’m certain children of every generation say that to their parents. Go talk to your mother. If she asks, tell her how I feel.” Wearing a pained expression William leaned back in his chair then rubbed his chin. “If you take the job with my father, you have one week to pack your things and move into your own place.”
“But Dad…”
“Perhaps living on you own and paying your own way will convince you of the need for college.”
III
PART THREE
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Riding in Boxcars
A freight train pulled out of the Missoula Montana railyard just before sunlight began to warm an icy cold winter night. A tall, barrel chested man ran alongside, his every exhalation condensing into a cloud. He threw his bag through the half-open door of a freight car and hoisted himself inside. The frontend of the car was filled with crates stacked to the ceiling and the other was occupied by a girl, dressed in waist overalls and a heavy parka. She looked to be in her mid-teens. The teen pulled her hood forward but gave furtive glances in the direction of the new arrival. He put his bag into the corner of the back wall and laid down. Within minutes the swaying of the car plus the rhythm of the steam locomotive’s sounds put him to sleep.
The Pioneer: A Journey to the Pacific Page 21
