Continued from:
Story FIVE - Mists From The Past - I

"I was not allowed to go to Alvin's funeral. However, Grandma, in her tenderness, let me stay home from school for a whole week. I never liked school, but I did like books. Grandma had a huge library. She always knew where to find me if I disappeared for any length of time."

"Back to Alvin and Mother and Dad: Alvin's death struck such a blow to Mother that she had a total mental and physical breakdown. It was so severe that the doctors feared for her life. There was a specialist in Edmonton who had dealt with severe cases like hers. So they flew Mother to the Edmonton hospital--that is the ONE and ONLY time your Granny has ever been on a plane. I don't know how aware she was of being on it, but I know that after that, and to this day, TO FLY for her is something that she WILL NOT do.

"I wasn't allowed to go see Mother. She was in the Trauma Unit where children under the age of sixteen were not allowed to go. However, the one great thing was, Dad came to Grandma's to stay. Dad was quiet, not like his old self. And that's when I found out that he wasn't well. For two years Dad stayed with us at Grandma's, visiting Mother every day. Since Dad was partner in a Real Estate business, he had some income. Oh how I loved having Dad there.

"Eventually Mother had progressed enough to go home. But she would have to have a full-time nurse. Finances didn't make it possible for them to hire one, even though the government helped a little. As it happened, at the Calgary General there was a young student, Lillian, just beginning her training. Her home was in Saskatchewan, so she needed a place to stay. Perfect! Dad agreed to have her come stay at our place, where, in place of board and room, she would care for Mother, while carrying on with her training. She took mostly night duty at the hospital during this time, so that she could be with Mother in the day, catching sleep as she could. Mother was slowly progressing. Dad went on permanent disability so he could be with her when Lillian was sleeping, or on duty.

"Mother adored Lillian. She treated her like her own daughter. I think she felt compensated for the daughter she had lost.

"By this time I was sixteen, old enough to quit school. With Dad's permission I came home, registered for Mechanics school and began a two-year course. I had just finished Grade 11, a requirement for entering the course. Lillian and I were like ships passing in the night. As I was coming home from Mechanics school, she was leaving for her shift at the hospital, for her practical training. This we kept up for two years.

"Although Mom was improving in her physical health, her mental state was still in turmoil. And Dad was steadily going downhill. His pension, along with what he realized from the sale of his share in the business, provided enough to live reasonably comfortable. By this time I was earning a bit of money doing back-yard mechanics for friends and neighbours.

"I was as attentive to my parents as I could be, but I was reaching an age where I wanted a life of my own. Suddenly, it seemed, I turned 20. Suddenly, it seemed, I saw the world from adult eyes. I became aware of the 'Angel of Light' right in our own home. I looked at her. She looked at me. The heavens broke loose. We both realized that for the first time in our lives, we were in love! BUT, we were under the roof of my parents. I was their son. She was their employee. So we both had to be VERY cautious.

"Lillian and I had been brought up to honour and respect our parents, or elders, and we were both brought up to honour and respect God. I had given my heart to the Lord long ago, at the knees of a loving mother." Annie and Adi looked at each other, then quickly looked away. Edwin caught their look and took a hand of each of them in his.

"Oh yes! Your Granny was a loving mother in an earlier time. Alvin and I had let Jesus into our hearts at her knees. I remember Mother, with tears in her eyes, putting her hands on our heads. I was at her right knee and Alvin at her left. But I remember--oh how I remember--how she crossed her hands, putting her right hand on Alvin's head and her left on mine as she prayed with us, giving us a blessing, just as Joseph did with his two sons. I knew then that I was NOT her favourite son...No parent should have a favourite child, but I know Mother did. It bothered me at first, but I realized that Alvin needed a mother's love more than I did. I had Daddy.

"Okay, back to Lillian and me. I could feel Mother's eyes on us whenever we were in the same room. We had to be very guarded. Lillian was 21 and soon to graduate from nursing. I was 20, and taking my apprenticeship at the college. I had six months left before becoming a full-fledged mechanic. I could see how devoted Mother was to Lillian, and how diligent Lillian was, both to her duties toward Mother, and toward her nursing. And with Dad's deteriorating health I knew that Lillian HAD to stay. It was up to me to leave home. I decided that I would move out, to relieve the tension. I felt as if 'hawk-eyes' were on me constantly. I heard that there was a room available at the college. I'd saved enough money from my back-door mechanics to have a small bank account. So I moved to the dorm and lived there until I had finished my apprenticeship.

"Letters passed daily between the hospital and my apartment at the college. I purposely sent my letters to Lillian at the hospital. We never telephoned, and we never met. But by our letters we knew that we wanted to spend our lives together. I went to Dad. I told him that Lillian and I were planning on marrying. He grabbed my hand and said, 'God bless you, my son. But please look after your mother.' I promised him that I would. "Next day Dad told me that he'd had a long talk with Mother. She cried, more because she was afraid she'd loose Lillian, than that she'd lose me. Dad and I chuckled at that. We both knew Mother. So it was, after much discussion, we decided to marry, but live at home. I had a promise of a job in a small-operation mechanics shop. For me, recently having completed my apprenticeship, it was a promising start.

"We knew, living under my parents' roof would be no picnic. Lillian had no problem being accepted as a nurse at the Calgary General. But this plan was shattered when Dad took a turn for the worse and needed full time care. He learned that he had liver cancer. Mother wouldn't hear of Dad going into the hospital, not when we had a nurse, an excellent one, living under our roof.

"Now your mom and I would have to make another decision: Should we put off our marriage for a while? We knew that there would be a lot of tension, should we marry at this time.

"Well, even though we hadn't exactly prayed for a solution, God was looking after us. An opportunity came along just at the right time. I sat one evening, after supper was over, and picked up a newspaper, something I was not in the habit of doing. My eyes wandered to the 'want ads'. There, almost shouting at me, was the answer. The military camp in Edmonton was looking for recruits to train young men in mechanics. I applied and was immediately accepted.

"This was the door God had opened for us. Since my Grandma was there--now in a nursing home--I saw it as a chance to repay her for all her years of caring for me. I could live at the military base, cutting expenses, and I could visit Grandma, bringing some cheer into her life. She died four months later.

"For three years I was there. Your mom and I could do nothing but correspond. Then I received a summons to go home. Dad was dying and wanted to see me. He was in palliative care and wasn't expected to last much longer. I flew home immediately. I spent the last week of my beloved father's life, living in the palliative care unit." Edwin's voice choked again, and he stopped.

"Girls, he said, after drying his eyes, "maybe we should continue this tomorrow. It's after midnight."

"No!" the girls said in unison. Annie looked at Adi. "We're not tired. Tomorrow is Saturday. The children won't be here. And it is going to be a special day." Adi squeezed her little sister's hand.

"Okay! I'll try to bring my story to a quick conclusion...I knew I had to be there for Mother, so I resigned from my job in Edmonton. I was immediately hired back at my old job place.

"By now I was 27 and your mom was 28. We didn't delay our marriage any longer. It was time we started thinking of having a family. I built a suite in the basement of Mom's house for Lillian and me. It was a good arrangement. We were there for Mother, but not under her scrutiny.

"The bitterness that she held for years didn't let up. Oh what a saint your mother was for putting up with it!"

Adi and Annie, snuggled together on the sofa, were eager to hear the rest of the story.

Ed continued, "Your mom gave birth to twin boys a year later. But the Lord took them to live with Him--and my twin, Alvin. They were still-born. Your mom, saint that she was, accepted it as God's will. But it just made Granny even more bitter. It took your mom some time to get her body strong enough to again try for children."

Ed glanced over at the girls. Annie was asleep. Adi threw a comforter over her little sister and moved close to her dad. She wanted to hear the rest of the story. So Ed continued, adult-to-adult.

"When your mom learned she was pregnant again, she was happy, yet fearful. Another disappointment. She had a miscarriage. Two more attempts at having a family ended in two more miscarriages. We'd almost given up hope. Then you came along! Your mom and I were ecstatic. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect gift. We named you after your great-grandmother, Adelaide, as a thanks to her for her care of me all those years...I wish you could have met your Grandma. She was a saint, just like your mother."

"But Granny was disappointed because I wasn't a boy!" Adi couldn't hide the hurt in her voice. She'd heard that part from her granny more than once.

"True!" Ed said. "But it wasn't long until your sunny smiles brought a spark of light to your Granny's eyes. You were just like your mom. You filled our home with sunshine... "On with the story: Your mom had two more miscarriages." Ed stopped and took a sip of water."Then hallelujah! Along came our little Annie. It was Granny who suggested her name. 'She looks just like my little sister, Annie, who died at the age of four,' Granny said. From then on she treated Annie special.

"After Annie, we decided, no more children. We couldn't have been happier with our two girls. You, Adi, were like a little mother to Annie. You looked after her so well that Mom decided to leave you and Annie in Granny's care so she could go back to nursing. But that didn't last long. Your mom missed being at home with her little darlin's. And it was time for you to start school. So she quit her job and again became a full time mother. And God had a surprise for your mom. She was to have another baby! At 43! Beyond the safe age for having babies. Granny was disgusted when she heard the news. But your mom and I were ecstatic.

"When the baby was born, Granny took one look at the infant, grew pale, and almost fainted. I learned later that Lily reminded her of Alvin when he was born.

"It wasn't many days after Lily was born that we realized something was wrong. It didn't hamper our love for her, or the joy that God had given us another daughter. But when Granny learned that Lily had a disability--wasn't perfect--she would have nothing to do with her. That explains why she acts towards Lily as she does.

"When you and Annie saw your new little sister, you held hands and danced around the kitchen chanting: 'Little Angel. Our Little Angel. We prayed that Jesus would send us an angel and He did. Lily's our dear Little Angel.'

"So now, my dear Adi, I have cleared up the 'Mists from the Past'. Let's go to bed." With that Ed gave his daughter a hug and carried sleeping Annie up to her bed. "Tomorrow we can all start to work on making this the best Christmas ever, and together we can lead Granny into the light."

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