Running Home
By William A Sanderson
Copyright © 2011 William A. Sanderson
Smashwords Edition
Copyright Notices
Copyright (c) 2011, William A. Sanderson, all rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover photograph, Sunset at French Village, copyright (c) 2008, Dennis Jarvis, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. The cover may be copied, distributed, transmitted or modified under the same terms provided that the work is attributed to the copyright holder, Dennis Jarvis, and that any work resulting from the modification, alteration or transformation is license for use under the same or similar license.
Bible quotations are from the New International Version (NIV ®) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica used under the fair use provisions described by Biblica.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at http://www.Smashwords.com where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.
Dedication
To my mother Doria, who taught me to read in self-defence when I was four and who always had a box full of romance novels available for me to read when I ran out of books.
Thanks, Mom.
This one is for you.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Jerry Ernst had just put supper in front of his daughter Michelle when the doorbell rang. Mightily annoyed, he stomped down the hall to the front door to give whoever was calling at suppertime a piece of his mind. He pulled open the door with an angry movement and stood stock still with his mouth gaping.
"Âllo, Jerry. May I come in?" said a soft voice with a Lebanese accent.
A worried looking Miriam Nadif stood in front of him, a vision from his past. He had not thought about her in years, not since they congratulated each other the day before graduation with their only hug and said their wistful goodbyes knowing that they would not see each other again. But here she was, on his doorstep in Hubbards, asking to come in. After a moment, he smiled and said, "Yes. Come in."
She smiled in relief at Jerry’s invitation then stepped into the front hall and put down her pack. "Thank you. It is very good to see you again."
Jerry stood back to take a good long look at her. "It's wonderful to see you, too." Then a small distant voice said "Oops," and Jerry was running off to the kitchen.
Miriam removed her shoes, hung up her jacket on the old fashioned wrought iron hook then followed Jerry down the hall to the kitchen. A little girl with wispy reddish-blonde hair was grabbing a spoon from Jerry's hand. She put the spoon into her bowl and took a small amount of macaroni and cheese, which she ate with a flourish.
Jerry looked up at Miriam and explained, "My daughter, Michelle," then continued, "Are you hungry? There's probably enough for you as well."
Miriam nodded and said "Yes, please. I haven't had macaroni and cheese since McMaster."
Jerry took a bowl and cutlery from the dishwasher and set them in front of Miriam. "Serve yourself, please" Miriam took a small serving and then Jerry took the rest for himself.
In the relative silence of eating, Jerry took a good look at Miriam. She had grown even more beautiful in the six years since graduation. She was a small woman, barely five feet tall with a slender but well formed figure. The remaining baby fat from her university days had disappeared leaving smooth olive skin over a woman's face. Her luminous dark eyes with the brown that was almost black were as he had remembered them, but there was something much more guarded about her.
She looked different. After a moment of puzzling about it he realized it was her hair. She wasn’t wearing her customary hijab. He had never seen more than a few wisps of dark hair under the headscarves she always wore at university except for a brief time at her baptism.
Her hair was glorious. It was black and glistening as a raven's wing and was arranged in a loose braid that fell down the middle of her back. With her piercing eyes, aquiline nose and barely contained energy, she reminded him of a hawk.
Miriam studied Jerry in return. He was still blonde and tall, but he looked careworn. He had lost weight since his university days which made him look angular and raw-boned. His face had lost its boyish charm but he still had the long straight nose and blue eyes that she remembered. He was more handsome, more ruggedly masculine, than she remembered. Her heart clenched as his face softened to deal with his daughter's needs.
"My name is Mitchie. What's yours?" piped up Michelle.
"My name is Miriam," she replied in her accented English.
"You have pretty hair," said Mitchie.
"So do you."
"What brings you here, Miriam?" asked Jerry. "It's not like Hubbards is on the way to anywhere."
"It's a long story, Jerry. Can we talk about it later?" asked Miriam glancing at Michelle.
"Okay." Jerry was now very curious.
"Are you expecting Mrs. Ernst home soon?" asked Miriam.
"No, but that's a story that will have to wait as well." Jerry gave a sad look as he spoke. It was Miriam's turn to be curious.
"I see." responded Miriam neutrally. "This is a lovely part of the world. I caught glimpses of the ocean on the bus here from Halifax. I see why you wanted to return."
Jerry just smiled. Miriam continued, "I would like to know something, though. Why are all of the houses painted in such bright colours?"
Jerry chuckled. "Every visitor asks the same question. It's so we can tell our houses apart when the fog comes in. Today was beautifully sunny, but when the fog comes in, all the colours get muted. It can get pretty bad here in Hubbards, even though we're a distance from the open ocean."
"More please, Daddy." Mitchie demanded. Jerry slid some of the macaroni from his plate onto hers. "Need ketchup."
"What's the magic word?"
"Pleeeeeze." Jerry squeezed a small amount onto Michelle's plate.
Miriam watched Jerry with his daughter and keenly felt the loss of her father again. His death in the car accident as he was returning from a meeting with the wholesalers in Beirut transferred guardianship of her and her sisters to his brother. She'd known that her father Tariq was a very forward thinker who valued his daughters and listened to their opinions but it wasn't until she went to live with her Uncle Walid that she realized how special her father was.
He had owned a grocery in a small hill town in Lebanon fifteen kilometers from the Golan Heights and with many years of almost peace he'd had dreams of creating a small chain of grocery stores such as he had seen in Hamilton, Ontario when he visited his sister. Without any sons or good prospective sons-in-law, he finally accepted that one of his daughters would have to learn how to help with the business.
So Miriam had been sent to McMaster University in Hamilton to live with her aunt and uncle while studying business. She returned home and helped her father set up a second store in a nearby Nabatieh. For years he had tried to find a good husband for her that would accept her as she was: bright, confident and Western educated. There were no takers in the Hezbollah controlled areas, maybe in Beirut, maybe in Saida, but not in Manzieh or Nabatieh.
Uncle Walid was not a businessman. Within six months, the new store in Nabatieh had to be sold for pennies and the old family grocery in Manzieh was failing. Her uncle did not allow his women to interfere in his business so she was forced to stay in her uncle's house doing the bookkeeping while the business failed and he grew resentful of having to support his nieces. If only her father had lived.
Miriam shook off her morose thoughts and smiled at Michelle. "How old are you, Michelle?"
Michelle held up four fingers that were liberally coated with cheese sauce. "I'm four. How old are you?"
"I'm twenty-eight, the same as your father."
"Oh." said Michelle, returning to her food.
"How's your aunt and uncle?" asked Jerry.
"They fared well the last time I heard from them." replied Miriam. She had not contacted them since she arrived in Canada. She trusted that her aunt would be able to keep a secret from anyone but her husband, but if her aunt told her Uncle Mahmoud she was in Canada, he would eventually tell Walid where she was hiding.
"All done, Daddy." Michelle held up two tiny hands coated in cheese sauce and ketchup. Jerry got a washcloth, wet it in the sink and cleaned her hands and face. Then she climbed down from her chair and went zooming off into the living room. Jerry finished the food on his plate then started to clear the table. Miriam stood up to help as the sound of the Wiggles theme song came blaring from the front of the house. Jerry called down the hall. "Not so loud, Mitchie. Please turn it down." The volume decreased almost immediately.
Jerry started to empty the clean dishes from the dishwasher. "So, Miriam, why are you here?"
Miriam looked very small and contained. "Because I'm running away from my Uncle Walid. He wants to marry me to a very bad very violent man because he's tired of supporting me."
Jerry turned to Miriam looking puzzled. "But why here?"
"Many reasons. Because you were the best friend I had at McMaster. Because you live in a place far away, in a peaceful country. Because I knew that you wouldn't turn me away or send me back to my uncle. But now I see that you are married and have your own life. Your wife would not want me to stay - I would get in the way." Miriam hugged herself and looked down.
"There is no wife to get in the way Miriam, she abandoned us when Michelle was a newborn." Jerry looked over at Miriam. "Halifax was too small for her and there was no way she would ever move here to Hubbards with us. But you are right about one thing, I wouldn't turn you away. Please stay, at least for tonight." Jerry looked stoic then smiled. "Would you like some tea or coffee?"
"Tea would be nice." There was a knock on the side door.
"Jeremiah, it's Rose, are you home?" Jerry thought it must be something serious for her to use his Christian name like that. Or even knock for that matter.
Jerry called out. "It's open, Aunt Rose. We're just having tea, do you want some?"
"Love some.” A large plump woman with greying blonde hair and a squarish face stepped into the kitchen and flipped her duck boots into the boot tray. She had a pleasant expression but her eyes were alight with curiosity.
Jerry busied himself fishing the teapot from the cupboard and setting the kettle on the stove. "Aunt Rose, I'd like you to meet my good friend Miriam Nadif. Miriam, this is Rose Carson, my mother’s baby sister.” He turned back to Rose. “Miriam was a classmate at McMaster and thought she'd drop by once she got to Halifax. We were in a couple of stats classes together and then she came out to the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship meetings."
Miriam held out her hand. "Pleased to meet you."
"It's good to meet you, too. Jerry doesn't get many visitors down this way."
"It's lovely here."
"We like it." Rose paused as if she wanted to say something.
"So are you here for something or just being nosy, Rose?" Jerry sounded neutral.
"Well, I did want to talk about taking Mitchie to Halifax with us next Thursday when we go shopping. I know you'll have a pile of marking to do by then. But I also got a call from Gert down to the corner store and she said that there was someone asking after you."
"And Gert told you that it was a lovely young woman and how it was 'about time I divorced that no-good-for-nothing witch I'm saddled with'."
Miriam looked uncomfortable, but Aunt Rose just ploughed ahead. "Well, dear, you know how Gert is. Never afraid to speak her mind."
"Just because she's scared off every man who ever got within five feet of her..."
"Now, don't you start either. She’s just a bit outspoken, that’s all."
"She's been on me since we were in Grade 5 together. I asked her out once in high school and it was a disaster."
"She's still fond of you. She knows you're not for her, but she still hopes."
"Aunt Rose, there's a guest present."
"I'm sorry, my dear," Rose apologized to Miriam, "We do go on. Actually what I came for was to offer Miriam a room if she's going to stay over."
"I've got plenty of room." Jerry looked stubborn.
"And so you do, dear, so you do. But if you think that I'm the only one Gert spoke to you'd be mistaken. I know you don't care about tongues wagging but it's not fair to Miriam if she's going to be here longer than the one night. And I don't know who'd be telling her, but there's a couple of people 'round here who'd love to let Annabelle know."
Miriam, who knew all about conservative small towns, understood immediately what Rose was getting at and said "That's very generous, I'd love to stay. But I should let you know that I don't know how long I will be here. I'd like to explain why I'm here to both of you. Can we sit?"
The three of them moved to the kitchen table. Michelle came running in. "Daddy, it's the Captain Feathersword song. Where's my feather?" Jerry went into the living room and found the long purple feather in the cushions of the sofa then restarted the song at the beginning before coming back into the kitchen. While he was out, Rose said "All that devotion and she's not even his own daughter."
Miriam looked puzzled. "Not his?"
"I'll let him explain it to you later," Rose said as Jerry rejoined them.
"Explain what?" asked Jerry.
"Mitchie and Annabelle."
"Oh, that." Jerry looked sad again. "So what's your story, Miriam?"
Miriam took a deep breath. She'd told part of this to the Israeli border guards, but she'd not told anyone else. "I'm running away from my uncle and the man he betrothed me to. After my father died two years ago, all of his possessions went to my Uncle Walid, including the guardianship for me and my sisters. He is a devout and strict Muslim man, much stricter than he needs to be. I had helped my father grow the business but Father could never find me a husband who would let me stay involved with the business, so I had gotten used to the idea that I would never be married.”
“As you know, Jerry, my mother died when I was fourteen giving birth to my youngest sister Sara, so I took over running the house for my father while I was still going to school. One of his aunts moved in to take care of Sara and Micheline while Elena and I were at school, but, at eighty, Aunt Nadia couldn't look after the whole house. Most of the neighbours in our town thought he was crazy to give his girls a good education, but he knew that the world was changing. Mother was a nurse, one of the few women in town who had a degree and he relied on her knowledge and support with everything in his life. So we were all supposed to get a good education. Elena took over running the house when I went to Mac, then when I came home she went to Beirut to nursing school.” Jerry nodded, remembering Miriam's worries about her sisters while she was at Mac. Rose nodded.
“After my father died in the car crash two years ago, his brother, Uncle Walid, inherited everything. He made me stay home with the women, although he did let me keep the books. He knows nothing about business. He made so many mistakes. He lost enough money in the first year that he had to sell the house and the new store and he's put the old store up for sale, too." Her voice got very angry. She took a breath to calm herself and continued.
"He was not doing well with his trucking company either and he had me and my three sisters to care for. If he had let me manage the grocery business we'd have been well off, but he needed quick money to pay off some personal debts. So he took the cash we needed to keep the store going and our suppliers finally stopped giving us credit. About three months ago he started arranging for all of us to be married off quickly so he wouldn't have to support us. Sara is fourteen and Micheline is just seventeen, both of them got offers almost immediately."
"A fourteen year old? That's awfully young to be marrying." Rose looked shocked.
"The Qu'ran allows Muslim men to marry girls as young as nine. The government has tried to stop the practice but Hezbollah supporters feel that if the Qu'ran permits it then the law is wrong. Hezbollah is very strong in that part of Lebanon. I couldn't do anything to stop either marriage, but at least I know the men they married are halfway decent. They aren't too old and they both have jobs. Elena, my next younger sister, had already been promised. She got married six weeks ago, which was four months ahead of the original time. Her Emile was supposed to be finished his residency before they married.”
"They didn't know what to do with me, though. I was too old and it was suspected that I had been corrupted by my time in Canada. Uncle Mahmoud wouldn't sponsor me to emigrate because he's just as strict as Walid. The only way he could afford to keep me was if I worked, but he doesn't believe that women should work outside the home and most of the Muslim men in Canada who are looking for arranged marriages don’t want a Western educated wife.”
“Eventually, Walid found someone to take me. Walid probably paid him, although Rafiq owed him a favour or two. Rafiq Mahmoud is a freedom fighter he says, a leader in Hezbollah. I suppose he wanted me because he wanted to prove that his ways are superior and that he would enjoy changing my mind. My aunt did not let me out of her sight after uncle Walid promised me to Rafiq, except when she let Rafiq be alone with me one time.”
“Rafiq told me that Western ideas were corrupt and that I would never go out of the house unless he was with me. That I would have to be veiled at all times outside the house or when visitors came because I was too beautiful not to tempt other men. That he would enjoy giving me a dozen babies. I tried to argue with him. When he tried to kiss me I hit him. He beat me so badly I couldn't walk for two days and I couldn't sleep for all the bruises. When I showed them to my aunt, she said it served me right for talking back to my future husband. My uncle just ignored the bruises because then he'd have to admit that he'd left me alone with Rafiq and didn’t provide me with any protection.”
"The breaking point was when my cousins were packing up my things to send to Rafiq's house." Miriam looked directly at Jerry. "They found my Bible."
"You never told them?" Jerry sounded a bit surprised.
"My father knew and my sisters suspected, but the local imam orders apostates to be tortured until they recant, or just have them killed, so they never told anyone hoping that I would recant voluntarily, which I will never do. But I wasn't strong enough to be a martyr, so I hid my conversion." Jerry and Rose looked very thoughtful as they listened intently.
"I heard my aunt and uncle arguing about what to do with me and I knew that if I did not escape that night I would be killed or tortured. Uncle Walid sent for Rafiq so they could decide whether to stone me or make me recant, but he wasn't expected until the next day. They locked me in my room to wait for him so he could decide what to do with me. I had two boxes with my university books and some other things in the back of the closet. Under the books I had hidden all of my jeans and long-sleeved T-shirts and my McMaster leather jacket. I got my passport and the company credit card that Uncle Walid didn't know existed from where I'd hidden them and put them into my wallet. I changed into my Western clothes and covered them up with a long coat. I packed up my backpack and crawled out the window as soon as I couldn't hear anyone moving. It was a very small window, but I am a very small person." Miriam got a fierce look on her face.
"Then I walked over the hills until dawn and hid in a hollow under some bushes until dark. I left my hijab and overcoat behind. The following night I walked the last four kilometres to the Israeli border and told them that I was a Christian convert fleeing from a planned stoning. They gave me some water and questioned me for a long time before allowing me into the country on a tourist visa. The bruises Rafiq gave me helped to convince them. Even then, if I hadn't mentioned that I intended to go to relatives in Canada, they may not have let me in. I was able to make a series of cash advances on the credit card over the next couple of weeks until it was refused and I cut it up. The Canadian Embassy was very good about arranging for my tourist visa and then I came here. Jerry was my best friend at McMaster. And I thought that Hubbards would be small enough that I could find him easily or find where he’d moved."
Rose took Miriam's hand and said "You poor dear. Well, at least you got here safe."
"Yes, but now I don't know what to do." Miriam seemed to collapse inward.
Jerry spoke up. "You've got friends here. We'll figure something out."
A loud soprano voice from the living room shouted "Daddy, I'm thirsty. Can I have some milk?"
Jerry responded "Come into the kitchen and ask nicely."
Michelle thumped down the hall at full speed and skidded to a stop in front of the table. "May I have a glass of milk, pleeeze?" she said with a thousand watt smile.
Rose said "I'll get it for you, Mitchie," as she rose from the table.
Jerry said quietly to Miriam "It must have been awful."
Miriam started to cry softly. Jerry patted Miriam's shoulder awkwardly. "I've been trying not to think about it too much. But to see you again and to feel like I can tell someone, it's like coming home. I haven't felt at home anywhere since my father died." Mitchie crawled up on the empty chair next to Miriam and started to pat her other shoulder. "It's okay, Mirimun."
Rose gathered herself and said, "Well we can't solve everything tonight but you're welcome to stay with me as long as you need to. Jerry, you need to put Mitchie to bed. Why don't I get Miriam settled over to my house and we'll be by tomorrow morning before you have to head off to work."
Miriam looked at Jerry, gave Mitchie a hug then squeezed Jerry's hand. "Thank you." Then she gathered up her pack and followed Rose to the house two doors down.
Rose put Miriam in a small bedroom on the upper floor that looked out over the back yard and into the tree covered hills. The westering sun was making the tips of the trees glow red in the sunset. The room was furnished with a single bed and had leftover mementos that obviously belonged to a girl. Rose had said that the room used to be her daughter Madeline's room, but she was married now.
Miriam opened the window. The sounds of birds settling in for the night and the soft hush of the waves on the nearby shore combined with the occasional traffic noise from the highway over the hill. In the distance she could hear rhythmic metallic clanking noises and the sounds of gulls arguing.
There were leftover clothes in the dresser, which Rose said she was welcome to have, if anything fit. Miriam moved the items in the top two drawers down to the bottom two and put her meagre belongings into the dresser. She still had a couple of thousand American dollars left, but that wasn't going to last long.
One of the leftovers was a size 14 flannel nightgown with a Pocahontas print. A girl's nightgown, but it fit and Hubbards in June was cool for her. She crawled into bed and fell asleep quickly after saying her prayers.
After Michelle was asleep, Jerry fixed himself a snack and settled down with a stack of badly written lab notes from the chemistry unit he was teaching. A couple of the students had the discipline to keep good notes, but most of the kids were too aware of the coming summer break to pay much attention. He didn't blame them, summer was the time to have fun with friends and earn money helping out with all of the tourist business. The university crowd were all back, helping with the shoulder season trade, but there would be hordes of people from the Boston states and central Canada coming for vacation in a few weeks.
He started to work through the pile, the last assignment for the Grade 12 class before Tuesday's exam, in a mechanical fashion. More than half of his mind was on Miriam. He had no idea that she'd thought of him as her best friend. He'd never allowed himself more than brief fantasies, knowing that she was destined to return to Lebanon and he would probably never hear from her again. But here she was, more beautiful than he remembered and in need of help.
A little voice told him that women who needed help were his downfall, always. Gert flirted with him constantly which he could ignore but she knew that if she put on her damsel in distress look good old Jerry would be there to help out. And there was Annabelle. And here was Miriam from a world away, in real trouble, looking lost and sad. How could he not help?
It was all he could do this evening to not sit Miriam on his lap and hug her until the world was right again. She would fit perfectly on his lap with her head just resting on his shoulder. He wondered what her lips would feel like then remembered that he was still a married man, technically. This was no way for a Christian man to be thinking. He grabbed another set of lab notes and his red pencil. And then another, but the image of Miriam's luminous dark eyes looking relieved and hopeful kept returning to his mind.
He eventually got everything marked but it was almost midnight before he finished. He sat on the edge of the bed praying his usual evening devotions. He said a special prayer for Michelle and one for Miriam. He fell into bed exhausted, thinking that it could be a very interesting summer.
Chapter Two
Jerry was woken abruptly by a thirty-five pound bundle of enthusiasm bouncing on his bladder. Jerry moved her to one side and said in a resigned tone, "Good morning, princess."
"I'm hungry, Daddy." Michelle was bouncing on the bed.
"You'll have to wait until I go to the bathroom."
Michelle trailed Jerry into the bathroom. He gently pushed her out the door then relieved himself and washed up. He looked in the mirror at the dark circles under his eyes. At least it's Friday, he thought. Last day of regular classes. Now I only have five exams to supervise and mark.
He pulled on some sweatpants and went down to the kitchen. 5:20. Ugh. He looked out the window. It was foggy but brightening quickly. It was going to be a beautiful day. He looked down to see Michelle bouncing next to him.
"What do you want, sweetie?"
"Peanut butter sandwich and milk." She paused as Jerry looked at her and waited. "Please?" Michelle put her entire being into her smile.
Jerry fixed up the sandwich and milk and put it on the table in front of his daughter. She sat down and began eating her sandwich in the serious manner of young children. She wouldn't be doing anything else for a few minutes, so Jerry made coffee and fried up a couple of eggs for himself.
After breakfast, Michelle asked for a story, so they settled into the story chair in the living room and read The Cat in the Hat together. Jerry didn't actually need the book anymore - 'The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play...' - but Michelle wanted to see all the pictures as Jerry was running his finger under the words. After the story, Mitchie grabbed her feather sword and went pirate hunting while Jerry retreated to the kitchen for a refill of his coffee.
He was transcribing marks into the record book at quarter past seven when Rose and Miriam came in. Miriam looked rested and relaxed, much better than she had looked the day before. The lively curiosity that had attracted him to her in the first place seemed to be back. She was wearing a pink sweater that looked familiar, maybe one of cousin Maddy's from school. It made Miriam look young enough to pass for one of the students in his Grade 10 class, if you didn't look at her eyes.
"I thought I'd come a little earlier today so you could take your time in the shower for a change," said Rose. “And Miriam was up already.” Rose had a twinkle in her eye.
"That's very kind, Aunt Rose. There's fresh coffee. Help yourself. Good morning, Miriam." Jerry smiled.
Miriam smiled back. It included her eyes and made Jerry feel like he could take on the world. "Good morning to you, Jerry. Did you sleep well?"
"Not really. Today is the last day of classes at school and I stayed up late to finish marking the last assignment. And then Mitchie jumped on me to wake me up at five."
Mitchie zoomed into the kitchen still battling pirates. "Auntie Rose!" she yelled. Then, spotting Miriam, she moved behind Rose's leg and peered around it before saying shyly, "Good morning, Mireemum."
"Is Mitchie short for something else?" asked Miriam.
"Michelle" said Jerry.
"Yes, I remember, now." Turning to the shy little girl hiding behind her great aunt, Miriam asked, "May I call you Michelle?" saying the name in the French fashion lingering on the last syllable.
"It sounds nice when you say it like that," said Mitchie. "Much nicer than when Daddy calls me 'Michelle Elizabeth'". Michelle mimicked her father's stern tone.
The adults all laughed and Michelle looked pleased that she'd said something funny. Jerry finished his list and put everything into a battered messenger bag. Then he kissed Michelle and went upstairs to shower.
Miriam looked around her. She hadn't really registered what the house looked like yesterday in her relief at finding Jerry and being made welcome. This was a very different place from her aunt and uncle's place in Hamilton. The house in Hamilton was very modern with an attached garage in front on a lot not much bigger than the house itself. The kitchen there was only big enough for two people to work in and only if they were used to each other.
This kitchen, though, was huge. There were windows on two sides with six doors. Two doors led outside, one to the side porch and one to a patio and the half-acre back yard. Three of the other four were open, one to a formal looking dining room, one to a well-stocked pantry and the third to the front hall. Presumably, the closed door led to a cellar or basement.
The kitchen table was a long rectangle in the center of the room with fourteen mismatched chairs around it. There were two chains above the table fastened to the pressed tin ceiling overhead. Hurricane lanterns that had seen recent use hung from the chains.
The kitchen sink and counters were against the long wall with windows that looked out on the patio. There was an electric stove tucked into the right side of the twenty foot long counter near the door to the patio. Cupboards filled the entire space above the counter from eye level to the twelve foot ceiling.
There was a functioning wood stove against the inside wall between the cellar door and the side porch door with a small pile of firewood stacked neatly in a box nearby.
The walls were painted dark green up to the chair rail and a colour that was halfway between ivory and pastel yellow above that. "This is a wonderful kitchen. My sisters and I could make such a feast." Then Miriam looked wistful.
Rose noticed Miriam looking around and said, "It's too much house for Jerry, but it's all his. He bought it from his mother after she moved into town. Lunenberg, not Halifax," she added quickly, then realized that Miriam probably didn't know the difference or care. "She tried to give him a deal, but he'd only take a discount equal to his share."
Miriam looked puzzled. Rose continued, "He has three brothers and a sister, but they all moved away to find work. Jerry was the one who loved it here, so when his Mom decided to move, he offered her market price. She said she'd only take eighty percent from him. The rest of them were okay with it, fortunately."
"Why doesn't she live here?" asked Miriam, who was used to a crowded house with many generations living together.
"Dorothy is my oldest sister and Jerry's her youngest by several years. She's only sixty-eight, but her health isn't too good. She can only take Michelle in small doses where I love to be around her. She makes me feel young and my three haven't given me any grandchildren yet. I keep hoping, but so far it's only grand-nieces and nephews. On top of that, I think Dotty's still mad at Annabelle for tricking Jerry into marrying her and she can't be around Mitchie for long without thinking about it and getting mad, which isn't at all fair to Mitchie."
At that point, Jerry came back with a freshly dressed Michelle who immediately zoomed off into the dining room. A moment later she was running back into the kitchen from the hall and zoomed back into the dining room. Jerry grabbed another cup of coffee and sat down at the end of the kitchen table nearest the dining room. Miriam and Rose flanked him.
"Will you be okay today?" Jerry asked Miriam.
"Yes, I'm sure I will be."
Rose chipped in. "The weather report says that it's going to be sunny and warm, so I thought I'd walk down to the beach with Mitchie, maybe bring a picnic. Miriam is welcome to come along."
"I'd like that."
"Well, then, I'll be off." Absently Jerry took Miriam's hand and asked again "You're sure you're okay?" then realized he was holding her hand and blushed.
She felt a tingle start in her hand and travel to her chest. "I'm sure I'll be okay. It should be fun exploring the beach with Michelle and Rose." She gripped his hand tighter and said "Thank you for everything."
Jerry reluctantly released Miriam's hand under the satisfied gaze of Aunt Rose. "You're welcome." Jerry stood up and called "Mitchie. I'm leaving for work." A small missile in pink zoomed into the kitchen for a hug. "You be good for Aunt Rose and Miriam. Promise?"
"I promise." Jerry didn't really think she understood, but he picked her up and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, squirt."
"I love you too, Daddy." Michelle zoomed off.
He turned to his aunt. "Rose, I know you're dying to tell Miriam about Annabelle and Mitchie. You can go ahead. You're about the only one I trust to tell it right. Even I don't get it right all the time 'cause I leave things out. If you're going to walk to the beach together, there's going to be gossip, so Miriam should be prepared for some of it.” He shouldered his messenger bag. “I should be home around four. Anything you want me to get at the Sobeys?"
"Maybe some chicken. Jack was thinking about firing up the barbeque tonight. And if you could pick up some beer for Jack, maybe some Keith's or Moosehead, that would be good too."
"Will do." Jerry spared the time for another long admiring look at Miriam and let his face show what he was thinking. Without conscious thought he retrieved her hand. "See you tonight."
"Au revoir, Jerry." She decided to meet his look directly and show her thanks with a smile that reached her eyes. Jerry reluctantly released her hands and went out the side door to the car.
"Mitchie!" Rose called. "Have you had breakfast?"
"Yep. A peanut butter sandwich."
"Do you want another one?"
"Cookie please. And milk."
"I suppose." Rose got out the oatmeal cookies and milk. The three of them sat companionably while Michelle ate quickly.
"We should get some things for the beach." Rose got up and rinsed the milk glass.
"The beach? Yay, yay." Mitchie ran off to her room. Miriam followed Rose upstairs.
The front hall went from the kitchen to the light blue main entrance. There was a door to the formal parlour with light green wallpaper that connected to the matching dining room on one side and an archway on the right leading to a pastel yellow living room with a television, a sofa and mismatched easy chairs on the other. There were patched cracks in the plaster, but everything was freshly painted and tidy.
The stairs wrapped around a closet and ended at a large central landing. Miriam could count six bedrooms, a large bathroom, a linen closet and a narrow door that Rose said led to the attic. Michelle had a smaller bedroom at the front of the house and was digging into her dresser for a swimsuit, scattering all of the other clothes on the floor. Miriam started picking up the debris and folding it before putting it on the bed to put away later. She smiled nostalgically. Before Miriam left for university her sister Sara had been just like this.
Rose found some beach towels in the linen closet and a mesh bag to carry everything. From Michelle's bedroom window, there was a glint of sunshine on the waves through the trees.
If it was just the two of them, Rose and Miriam could have walked the almost two kilometres to the public beach between Dauphinee's Lake and St. Margaret's Bay in about twenty-five minutes. But Michelle needed to pick up pretty rocks and examine them, go ick at the bugs under the rocks and pick flowers for the two grown ups.
The walk down the shore road to the beach was very calming to Miriam. There was an occasional car, but it was not busy. Not like Tel Aviv or Hamilton. There were dozens of boats moored at the head of the bay where the river emptied into it. This was the source of the rhythmic clanking she'd heard as she was falling asleep, the sound of cables hitting the tall metal masts of the yachts as the waves gently rocked them. It all looked so peaceful here.
Rose pointed out various things along the way. The yacht club across the estuary, the tourist cottages, the homes belonging to the local folk and the new families. They passed a motel and a couple of bed and breakfast places, then took a shortcut through a campground half filled with travel trailers to get to the beach. They climbed over a big sand dune dividing the bay from a brackish lake with ducks floating on it and found a place to spread out the blanket. It was low tide, so Rose encouraged Michelle to collect shells and splash in the cool June water.
"She has much energy, does Michelle." said Miriam.
"Oh that she does, girl. That she does."
"And Jerry loves her completely."
"Yes he does."
"So how is Michelle not his? She is his life."
Rose sighed deeply. "Well, he asked me to tell you so I'll give you what I know. After McMaster, he got accepted to Queen's in Kingston for his education degree. He figured that the only jobs around here that paid anything were government jobs of one kind or another, so he decided on teaching. He's very good at it from what I hear from the cousins and the kids all respect him even if he is pretty strict.”
"So, from what he tells me, one September night there was a big party at the house he shared with six other guys. He had too much to drink and passed out. First and only time, he says, and I believe him. When he woke up the next morning, this girl, Annabelle VanReimsdyk, was sleeping next to him wearing only a tee shirt, one of his. As you know, he's too good a Christian to feel right about that, but apparently Annabelle just gave him a kiss and then got dressed in front of him and left. His roommates teased him for weeks about it because Annabelle had a reputation of being free with her favours. Jerry doesn't remember anything after his sixth beer and was feeling really guilty about it.
"About two months later, Annabelle knocks on his door and tells him she's pregnant and it's his. Well, you know how responsible Jerry is, he offered to marry her right away and two weeks later they were man and wife. He took a part-time job so that he could support her while he continued his studies. He found out later that she was still sleeping around with her old boyfriends while he was at work. They came down for Christmas that year and she treated him and the rest of us like servants. Dotty was so mad she could spit but she was willing to put up with Annabelle's nonsense because she was pregnant with Jerry’s child." Rose looked out to make sure she knew where Mitchie was. “At least that's what we thought at the time.”
"Well, Mitchie came along, right on schedule in May and she's the wrong blood type – not his and not hers. So it's not possible that it was Jerry who got Annabelle pregnant. But it’s his name on the birth certificate as the father and he was already so in love with Michelle that he didn't much care. He also thought things were looking up between him and Annabelle.” Rose snorted and located Michelle again and waved.
“Just after Mitchie was born, Jerry got a job with the Halifax County school board. Annabelle came down the once with him, during the apartment hunting, but that was it. Jerry still didn't know about Annabelle's behaviour. He was still trying hard to make things work with her because he'd bonded with Mitchie. To be fair to Annabelle, on a good day she's decent company but there weren't that many good days while she visited us. Jerry said the last two months of the pregnancy were mostly good between them.”
“Anyway, as they were packing up the place in Kingston, Jerry went out to run some errands, but he got done early and came back to find her in bed with someone else. They had a huge fight. The following morning, Jerry woke up to find that Annabelle had taken the car and all her clothes. Mitchie was still in her crib. Annabelle left a goodbye note for Jerry, but no forwarding address or anything. Fortunately, they didn't have a joint bank account, so Jerry still had some money and he had a job to go to.
"He rented a truck and moved down here to Hubbards after he found someone to take the Halifax apartment. Jerry's dad, Steve, died of cancer shortly before Mitchie was born so Dotty was still in the middle of her grief when Jerry shows up with a three month old daughter in tow hurting from losing both his dad and his wife. Well, Dotty could never warm up to Mitchie, so I took care of her while Jerry was at work. Dotty hung on here until her mourning year was finished and then she sold the house to Jerry and moved into Lunenberg." Rose waved to Mitchie, who came running over with a bucket full of treasure.
Rose and Miriam listened to Michelle patiently explain that these were the best pirate treasure, but now she had to go digging for the real treasure chest. She ran up the dune and started digging when she got near the top.
Rose continued the story. "Annabelle comes down once a year in the summer to see Mitchie and make everyone's life miserable. There are a couple of guys that she parties with when she's here. They never liked Jerry because he's such a Boy Scout. I'm sure it's one of them who lets her know what's going on." Rose looked like she was finished. Both of them sat quietly for a while, watching Michelle throwing sand in every direction with her tiny shovel.
"He looks so tired. So much in pain. Not like the happy Jerry I knew at Mac." Miriam looked at Michelle happily digging in the sand and sighed. "But Michelle is so precious. I'm sure he'd do it all again as long as he had her."
"She's precious because she knows she is loved."
"I think that's what my father gave me." Miriam hugged her knees. "I miss him so much."
"I think he did a good job with you. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did."
"It doesn't feel like it."
Michelle called from up the hill. "Help, Mireeyum. I think I finded something."
"What have you discovered, Michelle?"
Michelle put one hand on her hip and pointed with the shovel in her other hand at the hole. "Treasure, of course," she said in a tone that suggested that grown ups didn't know anything. Miriam smiled then started to giggle and got up to help.
Miriam knelt down and started to dig around the object that Michelle had uncovered. It was a block of wood with a metal ring on one end and pointed on the other. There was a bit of white nylon rope tied to the ring. The wood had weathered to a dull grey color, but there were white and red paint flecks in the creases of the grain.
"That's an old style marker float for a lobster trap." said Rose who had ambled up to see what they were doing. "There's always driftwood and other treasures washing up on the beach. Right, Mitchie?"
"Yes, Auntie Rose. Lotsa treasure. See?" Michelle showed Rose her treasure bucket filled with shells and pretty rocks then put the float into it. Then she ran down to the lake to look for ducklings. Miriam gathered up some things and followed along. Rose looked at her watch and said "Time for more sunscreen, Mitchie."
Michelle ran back up the dune and stood as still as she was able while Rose put another coat of lotion on Michelle's exposed pink skin. "No splashing in the water for a bit. You know the rules."
"Yes, Auntie."
Miriam looked at Michelle and wondered what it would be like to have children of her own. If her father had insisted on her marrying at seventeen when he got the only offer for her, she'd probably have three or four by now. She stood at the top of the dune, looking out over St. Margaret's Bay with the sea breeze in her face. This is a good place, she thought. The sea and the sun and the cool breezes. And people who care about you... that last thought brought back memories of Lebanon. Who there still cared for her? Her sisters, yes. Maybe some of the cousins. Maybe. Thoughts of Jerry brought a smile to her face as she basked in the warmth of the sun.
Last day of classes was an absolute waste of time. Jerry handed back the marked assignments and then just let everyone study quietly. If anyone had questions, about chemistry, he'd be happy to answer. A couple of the kids from Hubbards hinted that they'd heard about Mr. Ernst's visitor from away and he did not want to answer questions about that, even if they were his cousins. He'd already given the exam questions to the office to be printed, so he didn't have much to do. Like most of his students, he spent most of the day looking out the window at the sunshine and waiting for the bell to ring. But often he found his thoughts drifting toward home, towards Miriam.
He'd thought about what needed doing. She needed to find a good immigration lawyer if she wanted to stay. She might even have a good case for being a refugee. But he thought more about the feel of her small hands in his and how he wanted to find out what it would feel like to hold the rest of her.
Annabelle intruded into the daydream. There had been no passion in their marriage and rarely any physical contact. She would always have a good excuse, or at least one that he'd accept. She was nauseous from the pregnancy. She was too sore. She was too big. She couldn't stand being touched. She had just had a baby and needed time to recover. She did kiss him and tease him once in a while, but it rarely went any further.
The August night before she left, during the big fight, she gave him a catalogue of all of the dozens of men she'd slept with during their brief marriage. Some of them he had thought of as friends. But he didn't excite her; he was too clumsy, too naive, and too stupid. The baby needed a good father that’s all. She didn't even use Michelle's name. Like Mitchie was a toy she was tired of.
Now Miriam was here and she called him her best friend and smiled at him like he was special. But Annabelle had done that too, when she needed something. We will just have to see what happens. But Miriam smiled at me and held my hand...and she is so beautiful.
Chapter Three
There was a note on the kitchen table when Jerry got home letting him know that everyone was at Rose's house. He put most of the groceries away then put the chicken and some salad makings into a bag before picking up the twelve pack of Keith's and walking over to Rose's.
Jan Schwartz was sitting on her porch as he passed. "Afternoon, Mrs. Schwartz."
"Afternoon, Jerry. I met your friend from away this afternoon. She seems very nice."
"She was in Halifax and decided to look me up. It's good to see someone from university."
"Well, you should drop by for tea some time."
"Thanks for the invitation. We will." Jerry continued down the road to Rose and Jack's place.
Mitchie came barrelling down the steps and grabbed him around the legs. "Daddy! Hug?"
"Hey, squirt. Let me rearrange this stuff first." He transferred the beer to the hand with the grocery bag and picked Michelle up with the other, then walked onto the porch to greet Rose and Miriam who were sitting on the old wicker chairs that he’d sat on when he was Michelle’s age.
Miriam rose and said "Let me help you with that," and took the groceries and beer from him.
Rose said, "Just put it on the kitchen table. I'll be in in a minute." Michelle gave Jerry a big squeeze around the neck and then started to squirm, so Jerry put her down.
Michelle spotted the cat in a sunny spot on the porch and ran over to pet him. He got up and quickly ran off with a little blonde girl in hot pursuit.
"She never learns. Percy just isn't going to sit still to be petted. Well, maybe for Jack... How was your day?" asked Jerry.
"Mitchie was delightful. I think she was showing off a bit for Miriam. I don't know how long that's going to last."
"And Miriam?"
"She looked relaxed for most of the day. Sometimes when she looked at Mitchie it was obvious she was thinking of her dad and her sisters, but mostly it was a good day for her."
"You told her about Annabelle?"
"I did. She couldn't understand how Annabelle could abandon her own child. She did say that she thought if you had to do it over you wouldn't change a thing because she couldn't imagine that you could ever do without Mitchie." Rose gathered up the tea mugs and took them into the kitchen.
Miriam looked at Rose and said "I'm not used to being a guest. Can I help with something? Maybe the salad?"
"Sure, that would be great." Rose fished a salad bowl and cutting board out of the cupboard and handed them to Miriam. Miriam laid a knife from the block next to the cutting board and began to wash the tomatoes.
"Jerry, would you put the beer in the fridge, please." As he moved over to the fridge, Rose continued "I got a couple of calls today. Father John called and asked me to remind you that you promised to help set up and that you're reading on Sunday. I know it’s in Acts somewhere, but I couldn't find a pencil so you'll have to call him back. He wanted to know if you were going to bring your friend."
"I'd assumed that Miriam would come with us. Are you coming to church with us on Sunday?"
"That would be wonderful, truly wonderful. I was hoping to go with you.” Miriam looked like she was ready to dance. “I have only been to church twice since I went back to Lebanon, both times in Damascus on a buying trip with Father to Syria, where I have no nosy relatives to report me to the imam. It would give me much comfort. I thought about going in Tel Aviv, but with the bruises I was not in the best shape to attend a church. I very much miss having a Christian community. I often arranged for the Orthodox priest to be visiting a Christian farmer when I was on a buying trip so I could take communion. We would pray together or do a Bible study, but it wasn't the same as being able to worship openly." Miriam's enthusiasm took Jerry off guard. She stopped gushing and looked pensive. "I'll need to get church clothes - a dress and proper shoes."
Jerry grinned. "We can go into Halifax tomorrow. Mitchie loves to go shopping."
"Thank you. Maybe I'll get something properly Canadian to wear, that has short sleeves and shows my ankles. A couple of the smaller girls in IVCF at Mac got me to try on their party dresses when I visited them, but even the ones they thought were modest I thought were pretty revealing."
"We'll be able to find something for you, I'm sure. So who else called, Rose?" Rose had a twinkle in her eye as she was watching the two of them interact.
"Well, your mum called and asked about your new girlfriend." Rose waited until she could see Jerry starting to blush and Miriam start to look shy. "I told her it wasn't like that, that Miriam was just an old friend from university. She wants to meet her to see for herself. She's coming over for Sunday dinner and is expecting both of you to be here."
Jerry sighed. "I guess I have my weekend all planned then. Was there anyone else?"
"Well, the usual. Your Aunt Ethel called and hinted that she'd like to know more about your friend. Gert Boutilier called to fish for some information about why Miriam is here. And I had to hang up on old Mrs. Conrad. She asked if it was true that some foreign tinker girl was in town causing trouble for decent white folks."
Jerry rolled his eyes. "She'd have us back as colonials under the British Empire if she had her way. Fortunately, there aren't many that hold her opinions any more. I thought it was ironic when Professor Subramanian and his family bought the waterfront place next to hers. I'll take them over her any day."
"Me, too. Well, I hung up on her. I told her Miriam was our guest and that she should keep her prejudices to herself. Although, Miriam, she's likely to be at church on Sunday. She'll probably be polite once she sees that you're a Christian." Rose gave an apologetic smile. "Maybe. Everyone else will be okay, though." Rose paused, “Although she does get on very well with old Mrs. Sobers from Barbados. Maybe she’ll be better once she knows you.”
Download this book for your ebook reader.
(Pages 1-29 show above.)