Box Set: The ArringtonTrilogy (52 page)

Some of my answers came right away. Outside,
I kept to the shadows of the late afternoon to observe what was all
around. I was relieved to see Edward embrace Heath. Heath’s smile
lit up my heavy heart. Daddy was on his way up to the tower; he had
left Momma to rest. I saw no sign of Ayden or Opal until I crept by
the windows of their house. I covered my mouth with my hand so they
couldn’t hear me as I tried to catch my breath. Opal was tenderly
wiping streaks of blood from Ayden’s back. He winced with every
touch of the cloth. I had never witnessed the aftermath of a
whipping; I could never have imagined that a leather belt strap
could cause such deep, bloody welts. As I peered through the window
I saw something in Ayden’s eyes that told me all could be forgiven.
In his eyes were shame and remorse. Ayden had learned a valuable
lesson, and with good judgment, would stay far from his dark
side.

I was ever so grateful when Heath and Ayden
slowly began to welcome back their brotherhood and embrace
forgiveness. Heath returned to the wise, caring friend he once was,
and Ayden, instead of holding animosity for Heath, looked up to him
and allowed his heart to be opened. Ayden began to admire the
attributes that made Heath so special, and I saw Ayden slowly
wanting to become more like his older brother.

Ayden made things right, and with great
reluctance, Miss Weatherbee returned to the school. Ayden had to
address the school board, hat in hand, and admit to his
fabrications, confessing that he had set his brother and Miss
Weatherbee up so that Heath would be humiliated and punished, and
the teacher branded with a scarlet letter and sent away so there
would no longer be a teacher for the school. Then he would not have
to worry about school anymore.

Besides the physical punishment Ayden had to
endure, he was also assigned hours and hours of extra school work,
and for the entire winter, he was to feed the pot belly schoolhouse
stove with wood throughout the day, even in the wee hours of dawn.
Ayden was told to row himself to school, and Heath would follow
later, but Heath wouldn’t have it. He didn’t want his brother alone
on the sea. So he woke at four in the morning with Ayden and rowed
the five miles all the way to the mainland.

Momma was the only one who didn’t rebound
from the unpleasant incident. Since the day Ayden was harshly
whipped, she had remained in bed, though instead of always
sleeping, she often quietly cried. Most often, when she was ill,
she didn’t cry, only slept, like the beautiful girl in Sleeping
Beauty. Even Daddy, who could eventually wake her from her strange
need to sleep, could not get her out of bed. Every morning, after
his long hours in the lighthouse, he came to Momma, climbed into
bed, and held her for hours. She clung to him each time as if it
were going to be the last, like a little girl in his loving
embrace. Daddy did all he could to get her out of her dreadful
frame of mind; he tried everything to get her to stop crying.

Opal, exhausted herself from the baby that
was beginning to take over her body, came by every day to try and
get Momma to eat. Momma nibbled on food sometimes. This went on for
weeks and weeks.

As the end of fall approached, Momma didn’t
change. Though it was her favorite time of year, the time to bake
apple pies by the dozens, she remained locked away in her room. For
days, I went without seeing her. Daddy told me to stay away. I did
the best I could to manage around the house and teach myself. I
spent hours reading, and when Heath noticed how my education was
being neglected, went to Daddy.

Heath intercepted Daddy on his way to the oil
house. I stayed back and let Heath speak to Daddy alone on my
behalf. I watched their facial expressions and hand gestures
closely. Daddy was giving Heath his undivided attention. Heath was
now only a half-inch shorter than him, and they stood eye-to-eye
talking. Once Daddy turned and looked towards our house, probably
after Heath mentioned how ill Momma was and that there was no way
she could tutor me any longer. I wanted Heath to convince Daddy to
allow me to attend school with them, to take the boat ride over to
the mainland each morning.

Just the thought of getting a public
education excited me. However, I knew how Daddy felt about it, and
I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Momma and Daddy had always been
so adamant that Momma would give me all of my schooling. Would he
realize that Momma could no longer do it?

They talked for a long time, going back and
forth on their own points. Heath was persistent; he wasn’t ready go
give up, but I knew how strong-willed Daddy was. I wasn’t sure what
the outcome was until Daddy walked off. Heath turned around with an
enormous grin on his face. I was going to go to a real school!

“Thank you, thank you, Heath,” I said, with
much joy. “Thank you for convincing Daddy.”

“It wasn’t easy, but he knew it was the right
thing to do.”

“Did he say I can go tomorrow?”

“First thing. You have to be up with Ayden
and me,” he warned.

I wasn’t afraid to get up that early. I
wasn’t sure I would even be able to get to sleep knowing I was
finally going to school. Inside, I contained my happiness. I knew
Daddy wasn’t happy about it and had agreed only because it was
absolutely necessary.

Daddy and I boarded one of the two boats and
rowed to the mainland one hour after Heath and Ayden. Daddy had to
get me registered with Miss Weatherbee. I had picked out my
prettiest ribbon to tie my hair back with and wore my seashell
necklace and bracelet. Momma wasn’t awake to see me go. I didn’t
think Daddy told her. Daddy had a somber expression on his face
while he rowed and kept his eyes on the lighthouse. Dawn had just
approached as we stepped foot in the village. Along with a few
scattered children, we made our way up to the small, white,
clapboard-sided school house.

The bell rang the signal that indicated
school was about to start. My stomach began to twist up with
nervousness and anticipation. I was sure, because I had Heath and
Ayden there, all would go well. I wanted the other children to like
me; I hoped I could make even more friends.

Daddy took hold of my hand, and without word,
we passed the young boy who was ringing the bell. Inside, we walked
up the center row and approached Miss Weatherbee’s desk. Ayden sat
alone to the left, while Heath was in the last row, beside a boy
who looked to be about the same age. Heath gave me a wink, and I
smiled in return.

“Miss Weatherbee, this is my daughter,
Lillian Arrington,” Daddy announced as we stopped before her small,
wooden desk. Miss Weatherbee was only fifteen, but she looked much
older—almost as old as Momma. Her hair was honey gold and tied back
in a tight bun. She was slim, her features refined. She asked Daddy
for the full spelling of my name and wrote it down in a ledger
book. Then she looked up at me. Her eyes were soft gray, and her
lips a pale rose color.

“Welcome to your first day of school, Miss
Arrington. Please take a seat on the opposite row, beside Ayden
Dalton.”

I could feel all the students’ eyes on me as
I immediately did as she asked and sat on the large wooden bench
next to a girl I assumed was near my age. Daddy thanked her, threw
me a quick nod, and went on his way. Daddy obviously felt awkward
bringing me to school. It went against what he and Momma had always
agreed to, and it troubled him.

After Daddy left, I began to relax a little.
There were ten students—six boys and four girls. The youngest
students sat in the front row, in front of Miss Weatherbee’s desk.
There was a large blackboard behind her and one off to the side.
Already there were assignments for the different grades listed on
the board, and Miss Weatherbee instructed the class to begin. I
wasn’t sure which grade I was in, so I called out to her. She was
writing when I interrupted. All the kids giggled under their
breath, except for Ayden and Heath.

“Miss Arrington, if you need something or
have a question, please raise your hand and wait until I call on
you.” Her voice was surprisingly stern. Miss Weatherbee kept her
gaze on me, waiting for me to raise my hand. Nervously, I put my
arm up.

“Now, what is it?”

“What grade am I in, Miss Weatherbee?” I
asked with a slightly jittery voice.

Again, the children giggled.

“Silence,” she commanded, smacking her ruler
on the text book on her desk. I would never have guessed such a
sweet-looking lady could have such an imposing tone.

The room immediately grew silent.

“Miss Arrington, you’re in the sixth
grade.”

I glanced at Ayden for comfort, but he was
staring straight ahead, and I could only see Heath out of the
corner of my eye. For a moment, I began to panic; I didn’t like
being laughed at. I was disturbed by the way Miss Weatherbee
shouted at the class. The knot in my stomach grew larger and began
to make me queasy. The room grew hot, and suddenly I couldn’t catch
my breath. Then, without warning, I violently heaved my breakfast
up all over the floor in front of me. The girl beside me jumped
away as I heaved one more time, then I began to cry. Miss
Weatherbee shot up and called for someone to get the bucket and
pail. The children were repulsed and began to tease me. I was so
humiliated that I ran out crying. I ran out of the school and down
a long, grassy knoll until I came to the tree-lined road. There I
stopped and buried my face against a thick maple tree and sobbed
uncontrollable. My dress was soiled and had a nasty smell. The
first chance I had to go to school, and I had to ruin it for
myself. I didn’t think I would be so nervous. I could have never
anticipated throwing up. Heath rushed out to me with a cloth soaked
with well water.

“You can use this to clean up,” he said. I
didn’t look at him.

“Lillian, it’s okay. We understand. It
happens,” he said in a soft, caring voice.

“I can’t go back in there; I just can’t,” I
moaned.

Heath didn’t say anything. Instead, he began
to wipe my dress for me.

“I can do that,” I said, snatching the cloth
away.

“I’m sorry.”

I was the one who was sorry. I should have
never let him talk Daddy into allowing me to attend school.

“Just go back to school. Tell Miss Weatherbee
that I will not be returning. I will wait for you boys by the
harbor,” I said, lifting my head and wiping the tears from my
flushed face.

Heath’s eyes grew dark and his face serious.
“You’re going to wipe your dress off, Lillian Arrington, then get
back to class. You’re not going to miss your chance at an education
just because you made a mess. You are better than that.”

“No, Heath; I’m not,” I said, choking back my
tears.

“Do you think I would be best friends with a
quitter? You didn’t quit on me, and I certainly won’t quit on you.”
Heath took the towel and wiped off my dress. I stood quietly while
he cleaned me as best he could. Then he smiled, and his eyes
brightened. “That’s better. Now come.” He took hold of my hand and
led me back to school.

I cringed when I walked through the door. I
waited to hear the laughter and the whispering, taunting, and
teasing; however, no one said an unkind word or made an unkind
gesture. Miss Weatherbee stood, welcomed me back, and began her
lesson as if nothing had ever happened.

I took out my chalk and slate and kept my
eyes from meeting anyone’s. I spent the morning recovering from my
emotional turmoil by concentrating on my work, making sure I got
everything correct. When Miss Weatherbee came to check my work, she
was pleased. Then I caught a glimpse of Heath smiling with great
satisfaction. Not long after, it was time for lunch and recess.
Opal had packed my lunch along with the boys’. We each had our own
serving of deviled ham and soda crackers. We found a comfortable
spot to dig into our pails under a maple tree with leaves in peak
autumn colors.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you,
Lillian,” Ayden said, sitting next to me.

“It was so embarrassing,” I mumbled.

“Well, it’s over now,” Heath said.

Then Ayden began to give me the names of the
school children. “The two youngest are Marvin and Mary. They’re
twins. Over there is Eleanor.” She was the brown-haired girl that
sat next to me. He pointed out and named the group of girls near
her. “Clara, Betty, and Eloise.” The boy beside Heath on the school
bench was William. He was already sixteen, but ranked on the
third-grade level. “He’s not book-smart,” Ayden informed me. “So
Miss Weatherbee never calls on him. He’s lucky.”

“He is not lucky, Ayden. It is unfortunate,”
Heath chimed in.

We had an hour to eat and play. I wanted to
stay away from the others because of my dress. It still had a
slightly foul odor. Ayden ate quickly then went to join the boys in
a game of marbles. The girls were playing hopscotch. I had never
played that before. Heath saw my interest and suggested I go
over.

“No, I don’t want to, Heath. This is fine,
sitting here with you. Besides, I have a new book I want to
read.”

The day was rather warm, and not a cloud
floated in the sky. It was nice to be off the island. Heath also
took out a book, but when I looked over the top of my book at him,
he wasn’t reading. He was watching the girls. One particular girl,
Clara, was the prettiest. She had long, silvery-blond hair and
large, cornflower blue eyes. She stood out from the other girls;
her figure was more like a mature woman’s, even more than Miss
Weatherbee’s. Heath seemed captivated by Clara. I had never seen
him look at anyone the way he looked at her. Instantly I was
jealous, but I didn’t want Heath to see.

“How is your book, Heath?” I asked. His face
turned red, and he quickly shifted his eyes from Clara to his book
then mumbled, “Good. My book is good.”