THE CHIPPEWA FALLS DAWSONS
Chapter Sixteen
Rose waited at the train station; it seemed
like her mother’s train would never arrive. Rose was excited. She couldn’t wait
to see her mother again. Now they would have time to heal their broken
relationship. I hope Mother knows how hard farm life can be, Rose
thought. The sound of a far-off train whistle made Rose look down the track.
She could just barely see a train coming. Rose stood back and waited for the
train to pull to a stop.
Rose ran up to her mother as she got off of
the train. Ruth didn’t even look down at Rose for running. She reached out and
gave her daughter a big hug. They had really missed each other. Then, Jack came
up and tapped Rose on the shoulder. "Oh!" Rose said, and turned
around, letting go of her mother.
"I’m done," Jack said, laughing,
and then he looked at Mrs. DeWitt Bukater. "Hello, ma’am. Welcome to
Chippewa Falls." Jack wasn’t quite sure why he was being so formal with his
mother-in-law. After all, they were family now.
"Jack, don’t be so formal now. You’re
part of the family. Or should I say I’m hoping to be part of your family,"
Ruth said, with complete sincerity in her voice.
Mother really is going to try, Rose thought. Rose reached out and squeezed Ruth’s
hand. "Shall we get your bags? Did Elaine come with you? Is she getting
the bags? Our wagon is right over here."
"Rose, slow down. Yes, Jack could help
with the bags. I notice he’s already gone to fetch them. Yes, Elaine came with
me. She’s getting the bags, and let’s get in the wagon. We don’t want to hold
anyone up."
"Yes, Mother," Rose said, still
bursting with things that she wanted to say to her mother. Rose had never been
able to talk to her mother before, and it seemed like a dam had burst and she
wanted to tell her everything that had happened since she left New York.
Thinking back on what happened after she and Jack got married, Rose thought
that there were some things that her mother didn’t need to know.
Jack came up with three cases on a dolly, and
wheeled it so he could put them in the back of the wagon. He arranged them like
seats, so that no one would have to sit on the bottom of the wagon. Elaine came
up behind Jack and helped him load them. Jack was surprised, because when Rose
had told him that her mother was bringing a maid, Jack had assumed it would be
someone Ruth’s age. But Elaine was maybe twenty, or if she was older than him,
it wasn’t by much. Elaine was actually a nice-looking girl. Mrs. Leary was planning
on having them sleep in the attic.
Jack got Katrina, and then they headed out to
the farm. Rose and Ruth sat in the back, and they sat with their heads
together, talking the whole time. Jack had to sit up front with Katrina next to
him, and Elaine on the other side of her. No one on the bench was talking. It
was a long ride back for Jack, not having Rose snuggled up next to him.
When they arrived at the farm, everyone came
out to help the two new ones to settle in. Michael came out of the house and
walked up to help his sister-in-law down. Only, when he saw Elaine, he stopped
in his tracks. She is absolutely beautiful, he thought. He was staring
at her so hard, he didn’t notice that she was looking back at him. When he did,
he started to blush. He looked away and went and got some of the supplies that
Katrina had bought. He brought them in the house, and put them on the table. He
went back outside, and stood on the porch, trying to look at Elaine without
anyone noticing. When he saw Jack looking at him, he decided to act like he had
not noticed Elaine.
Jack pulled Rose aside, and playfully kissed
her, right in front of everybody. He leaned in and whispered in her ear,
"Did you see Michael staring at your mother’s maid?"
Rose glanced over at Michael. "No."
"I think it may get interesting around
here."
"Oh, I hope so. Then Mother and I will
have lots to talk about."
"Rose! Is that all you can think
about?" Jack asked, laughing.
"That and how my new husband makes me
feel," Rose said, with a mischievous look on her face. They kissed again,
and then went to help Ruth settle in.