The Dawn of a Dream (6 page)

The lawyer continued. “I’ll prepare the papers for your signature. They will be ready by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thank you.” Luellen stood, trembling. She needed to get outside before she collapsed.

Papa rose and slid his arm around her waist. “We’ll be here around three o’clock.”

Once on the board sidewalk, Luellen leaned against him and took in gulps of air.

“Relax,” Papa said. “If you faint out here on the street, you’ll really give folks gossip fodder.” He chuckled.

“I’ve caused you so much trouble and embarrassment. Can you ever forgive me?”

He turned her toward him and took both of her hands. “There’s nothing to forgive. We’ve all done things we wish we could undo, but life doesn’t work that way. Someday we’ll see how this has brought good to all of us.”

Luellen doubted it, but she kissed his cheek and walked in the direction of Bryant House while Papa crossed Jefferson Street and headed back to his office. As she passed the town square, her pace slowed. They couldn’t have spent more than thirty minutes with Mr. Stebbins. If she hurried, she could take one more step toward Allenwood before returning to work.

She turned east and strode toward Clark Street.

On her way home after work, Luellen wondered what her mother’s reaction would be to the morning’s events. Now she needed to tell both of them about the mission she’d completed before returning to the hotel. Conscious of the turmoil she’d brought to her parents’ lives, she wavered. Perhaps the visit to the lawyer was enough for one day. Ahead, fading sunset painted their house with a golden brush, touching Mama and Papa as they rested in their after-supper chairs on the veranda.

The papers in Luellen’s reticule whispered their promise of a new life. Her stomach fluttered with a mixture of anticipation and fear.

She climbed the steps, meeting Mama’s welcoming smile with one of her own, and settled into a chair facing them.

“You’re late this evening,” Papa said.

“I stayed longer to make up for being away this morning.”

“You weren’t gone that long. It’s past seven thirty now—much more than an extra hour.”

Luellen removed pasteboard squares from her reticule. “I went to the train depot before returning to the hotel. These are my tickets to Allenwood.”

He scanned them and whistled. “Pretty steep price.”

Luellen nodded. The flutter in her stomach was back. “I didn’t expect the fare to cost so much. I won’t be able to come home very often.” She darted a glance at her mother, expecting to see tears.

Instead, Mama asked, “When are you leaving?” in a matter-of-fact voice.

“September 7. It’s a Monday.”

“So your mind is made up.”

“Absolutely.” Luellen wished she felt as certain on the inside as she sounded on the outside. She took her mother’s hand. “I’m sorry, Mama. If I don’t do this now, I’m afraid I never will.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’ve thought about your plans all day. I understand your determination.”

“You do?”

Mama leaned forward. “I remember how I felt when I wanted to leave your uncle Matthew’s house and find my own cabin. You were too young to understand then, but my brother opposed my leaving. Even after Uncle Arthur found me that little place north of town, Matt kept after me to come back and live with them. Worrying about Franklin, trying to take care of you children, and fighting my brother all at the same time was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.”

“But she did it,” Papa said. “I’d never seen anyone like her. She won my heart without even trying.”

Mama flashed him a smile and turned back to Luellen. “After I recalled all that, I realized I was doing the same thing to you by wanting you to stay here with us.” She shook her head. “It was wrong then, and it would be wrong now. Go to Allenwood. You have my blessing.”

Luellen exhaled and leaned back in her chair. Of all the reactions Mama might have chosen, this was one she hadn’t anticipated. Love for her mother brought sudden tears to her eyes. “I remember that cabin. We weren’t there long. After that we lived in Mr. Pitt’s house. I guess I never thought about how you felt—you were just Mama, busy all the time.”

“I’m still Mama.” She grinned. “We have less than two weeks to get your things together before you leave.” Standing, she looked at Papa. “Did Mr. Stebbins say how long they’d wait to hear back from Brendan?”

He shook his head. “We’ll find out tomorrow.”

Brendan
.
His unseen presence threatened to unravel her plans. Papa was right—the Normal School wouldn’t waste a teaching certificate on a married woman.

Smoke from the locomotive rose in the distance. The tracks next to the platform hummed with the vibration of the approaching train. Luellen looked down to be sure her trunk waited at her side.

Papa laughed. “It hasn’t moved since you checked last time.”

After years of dreaming, the moment had arrived. Nervous perspiration moistened her palms. What if she couldn’t find a place to live? She’d finished her formal schooling four years ago—could she study at Normal School level? She sucked in a deep breath and held it until her lungs ached. Most frightening of all, what if Brendan responded to her suit and delayed the decree? Representing herself as Luellen McGarvie before her divorce was granted could get her dismissed from school. Her heart pounded at the thought.

The locomotive roared into the station, bell clanging, steam pouring from beneath the engine. The cars clashed together as the train stopped. A worker hopped down from the baggage car and approached them. “This your trunk, miss?”

Luellen nodded.

He hefted it onto his shoulder and dropped it in the car, then walked to the next passengers to collect their luggage.

Luellen kissed her parents. Good-byes had already been said, over and over. There was nothing left to do but board the train. Chin uplifted, she entered the passenger carriage. She didn’t look back.

Weary, dusty, and stiff-limbed, Luellen stepped onto the train platform in Allenwood. Setting sun threw orange light over the bustling depot. While she waited for her trunk, Luellen studied her surroundings. Three omnibuses waited for passengers. Looking beyond them into town, she saw a large shopping district bounded by wooden sidewalks and the gabled roofs of homes spread as far as she could see.

A freight wagon rumbled past. In spite of herself, Luellen turned, following the driver with her eyes. An older man in a slouch hat. Not Brendan.

“Miss?”

She jumped when one of the omnibus drivers spoke. “Do you require transportation?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you going?”

“Allenwood Normal School.” She studied the crumpled paper in her hand. “But now I need to find Mrs. Hawks’s boardinghouse.”

The driver touched the brim of his cap. “Miz Hawks’s place is on College Avenue—not far from the school. It’s on my route.” He pointed at the first of the three omnibuses. “Please seat yourself.”

“Thank you. My trunk is over there. Could you fetch it for me?”

“Be happy to. As soon as I have a few more passengers, we’ll be on our way.”

She settled in one of the empty seats below the driver’s bench. Another woman sat alone at the back, and an older man who reminded her of Uncle Arthur sat near the middle. She heard a thud overhead and assumed the driver had dropped her trunk next to the other baggage stowed between iron rails on the roof. Luellen stared straight ahead, trying to look like she rode public transportation every day. The men and women who passed by on the street paid no attention to the buses or the departing train. In Beldon Grove, this much activity would have drawn a crowd.

She’d had a skimpy meal earlier at a relay station, and now her stomach grumbled with hunger. Maybe there’d be a late supper available at the boardinghouse.

After a half dozen more people boarded the bus, the driver took his seat outside and shook the reins over the horses’ backs. They rumbled through the center of town, passing more shops than Luellen had ever seen in one place before. One side of the street was lined with a dry goods store, a butcher shop, a boot maker, and a bookstore. The other side boasted a hotel, a jeweler, a barber, a dressmaker, and a milliner. The bus stopped in front of the hotel and most of the passengers disembarked. Once the driver carried their luggage inside, he climbed back onto his seat and drove past more businesses into a residential area.

“This here’s College Avenue,” he called down. “The Normal School is at the corner of College and Chestnut—about a half mile on.” He slowed the wagon and stopped in front of a modest frame house. “Miz Hawks’s place.” The omnibus jounced as he climbed off his perch outside and opened the rear door. “This is your stop, miss,” he said to the woman sitting in the back.

Glad for a companion, Luellen turned and smiled at her. “Did you just arrive in Allenwood too?”

“Yes.” Her fair skin looked flushed. When she stood, her dress snagged on the arm of the seat. Luellen heard cloth tear as she jerked it free. “Drat these hoops anyway!” The woman stomped down the steps and stood tapping her foot while the driver climbed back up to retrieve the baggage.

Luellen descended and stood beside her. “I hope your dress isn’t too badly torn.”

“No. I can mend it.” She turned round blue eyes on Luellen. “My mama insisted I dress properly for the trip.” She glanced at Luellen’s skirt and put her fingers to her lips. “Oh! I’m sorry! I don’t mean to imply you’re not—”

“Don’t apologize. I despise hoops and won’t wear them. My mama gave up a long time ago.”

The other woman, who looked to be not more than sixteen, extended a lace-gloved hand. “I’m Liberty Belle Brownlee. Isn’t that the most dreadful name? Please call me Belle.”

“I’m happy to make your acquaintance, Belle. I’m Luellen . . . McGarvie.”

Luellen heard a tap on her door the next morning and opened it to see Belle standing in the hallway. She slipped into the room and brushed her hand across the skirt of her green calico print dress. “Look, no hoops. You won’t write my mama and tell her, will you?”

“I’ll keep your secret.” Luellen smiled and turned back to the mirror to slip a silk net over the coil of braids at the back of her head. “After breakfast, would you like to accompany me to the Normal School? I need to make residence arrangements as soon as possible. At two dollars a night here, I’ll run through my savings in no time.”

“The very thing I planned to do myself.” Belle faced Luellen, excitement sparkling in her eyes. “I’m so pleased we met. I want to be a teacher in the worst way, but must confess to being frightened at leaving home.”

Looking at her, Luellen felt older than her years. “You’re fortunate to obtain your schooling while you’re still so young.”

“Twenty-one’s not young. Most girls my age are married.”

At Luellen’s surprised expression, she continued, “It’s this round face of mine. People treat me like a child. I worry that I won’t be able to enforce discipline when we do our practice teaching—that’s a big part of the training here.”

Luellen’s stomach tightened. “Right now, I’m worried about all of it. The course listing mentions zoology and botany—they weren’t taught in my school.”

Belle tilted her head. “Do you understand algebra?”

“A little.”

“We’ll help each other. If we register together, perhaps they’ll allow us to share a room.” The brown curls at the back of her neck bounced as she opened the door and preceded Luellen down the stairs to breakfast.