"C'mon Annie." Ed put his arm around his daughter and led her from the house. "Let's get your chores done."
Ed Reflects:
While Ed and Annie were going around the neighbourhood doing their chores, Ed's mind was on how he would start to tell his daughters of his past. Maybe he and their mom should have-- then his mind slipped back to WHY they had moved to the ranch; WHY Lillian was reluctant to talk of the past. WHY? -- It was after his mom had shown such disgust about Lily's handicap. It was this, and when he saw how broken Lillian was about his mother's attitude. It was then that he knew he had to make the move away from Granny's close scrutiny. And then the perfect opportunity arose: he was offered a transfer from the Calgary Mechanics Shop to a newly opened branch in Elk Lake. He accepted without a second thought. He remembered the relief that showed in Lillian's face when he told her.
Ed had gone on ahead to look for a place to move his family to. Never having been that far south in Alberta, he was in for a surprise when he saw the barren land surrounding the town. Renting a jeep, he decided he would scout out the area. "What an ideal place to raise a family!" he said, excitement mounting as he bumped across the prairies. Then, to his delight, he saw a "for sale" sign on a fence post--"small abandoned ranch for sale--giveaway price." He wrote down the phone number and hurried back to his hotel room. Before the day was out, he had put a down payment on the piece of land, twelve miles to the south of the small city.
"What have I done?" he said to himself, as he dropped into bed. Earlier in the day he had gone to his soon-to-be place of work. That was pleasing. But the so-called "ranch"--It wasn't really a ranch...How would he explain that to Lillian?
***
But now as he milked Thornton's cows, his mind was in a quandary. How should he begin to tell his girls his past? He knew that he would leave out a lot of the "dark years". There was no point in his telling them all the sordid details. But how should he begin?
Adelaide Reflects:
The children's waking from their naps kept Adelaide's hands busy, but her mind was on what mists from the past would be revealed this evening. She was eager to hear her dad's story. He had never talked of his childhood, not to her recollection, anyway. But she did have a lot of her own memories stored away in her head and in her heart. She remembered clearly about their move here to the "ranch." She recalled how happy she was. She was happy because her mom was happy. And she remembered the swing. The school was just across the road. It was the first thing she saw when they pulled up to house. Oh how she had enjoyed going across the street to the swing, where she would soar into the sky, leaving her school cares behind her, especially after they closed that school. She hadn't liked the new school.She hadn't liked the long bus ride into town. At her Calgary home, she had only a block to walk to get to school.
But oh how she recalled the tension in the house. Granny, although she had her own suite in the basement, was always there, scolding her, always nagging at her mother. "Lillian, why don't you do this?" And "Why don't you do that?" Then she'd look at me: "Adelaide, why don't you help your mom more?" Granny's words echoed in her mind now. She was eager to hear Dad's story.
Fresh hurt came to Adi right now, as she helped Lily into the special little scooter Dad had made for her. Lily's smile always melted the longing for a chat with her mother that would often invade Adi's heart. Every time she looked at Lily, it was as though her mother was speaking through Lily's smile, right into her lonely heart. Adi recalled well, even after ten years, the look of disgust that came to Granny's face whenever she looked at Lily. Lily, even as a tiny infant would smile whenever Granny looked at her--the same smile she gave to everyone. But even that angelic smile didn't soften Granny's heart. She would look away, with a grimace on her face, grumbling under her breath--but Adi heard her--"She should be put down!" Adi didn't know what that meant at the time, but she learned later.
It still burned inside Adi's heart, what Granny had said the day of her mother's funeral, that day when Adi had made an "abrupt landing" from childhood to adulthood: "Maybe you should consider putting her into a home...She'll be...too much...too much...tr--" Adi hadn't let her finish the sentence.
Fresh bitterness toward her Granny was trying to come again to the surface. But Adi had asked God to replace the bitterness with love and understanding. So, there on the spot, she confessed it again to God, asking Him to give her love. She HAD to have LOVE. Granny would be there in a week. Adi looked at her little sister just then, seeing her playing with Geordie and the babies. Lily looked up, giving Adi one of her angelic smiles, that always brought her mother closer to her heart, and replaced bitterness with LOVE. She was ready to hear Dad's story.
Annie Reflects:
Annie didn't remember any of the bad times with Granny. Granny had always been kind to her. And she had only scanty recollections of their move to the "ranch." At the age of four, anything new is exciting. She did remember, though, Granny's tears as she hugged her good bye that day. Why did she remember that? She didn't know. And she did remember that whenever Granny came to visit, she would go back with her for awhile. She remembered the train rides and the fun times she had with Granny. This all stopped when Annie started school. Oh yes, and Annie remembered that first year in school. She didn't have far to go. The school was just across the road then. But the next year the school was closed and she and Adi had to take the school bus into the city school. She and Adi hadn't been very happy about that. She recalled the fun times she and Adi had playing in the old school building and on the swing.
But back to Granny, and how she is: Granny always treated her SPECIAL. WHY, she didn't know. WHY Granny ignored Lily, she didn't understand either. Maybe tonight those mysteries would be solved. She was looking forward to having some of the mists from the past cleared up.
Lily's Reflections:
Lily had no reflections. She lived every day like the sun always shone, and always HAD shone. She had no resentment for anything. It wasn't IN her to feel malice, or jealousy, or--It was only IN her to feel LOVE. She loved everything and everybody around her. She was truly Adi and Annie's "SPECIAL ANGEL."
c 2010 - 2011 Helen Dowd
ADELAIDE SERIES:
Story 1 - An Abrupt Landing
Story 2 - Out of the Shadows
Story 3 - Heavenly Sunshine
Story 4 - Reflections
Story 5 - Mists From The Past -I
Story 6 - Mists From The Past -II
Story 7 - The Birthday Surprise
Story 8 - Dad's Big Surprise
Story 9 - Further Surprises
Story 10 -
Into The Light
Watch for further stories in the ADELAIDE SERIES at a later date. hmd