The Last Letter (46 page)

Jeanie had been impulsive in love. Once in her life, back when she eloped with Frank G. Arthur. Perhaps had she not had the year in Darlington Township, Dakota Territory, she might have retained some of that impetuousness. But with the loss of so much materially and emotionally on that land of gritty, inhospitable sandy plains, she had nothing left to give to impulse.

She loved Templeton, in a quiet, calm way she’d never felt for Frank, yet she couldn’t risk anything for Templeton. Besides, legally she was still married. It would be some feat to secure a divorce, certainly not an endeavor manageable in one short month.

Jeanie told herself that if after he settled his ailing family, if he returned to join her back in Yankton or perhaps Des Moines she would consider keeping his company. But she would not allow him to show up to claim her like l60 acres of land, to be used up and plowed over, like Frank had seen fit to do.

What was left of the Arthur family deserted the prairie in early summer of 1888. They went to Yankton where they met with relative prosperity as Jeanie sewed for a prominent widow, offering the lady of the house decorating and homemaking advice much to her delight. The widow also employed Tommy and Katherine and allowed them all to stay on their third floor, including baby Yale, who was quiet, almost too quiet. Jeanie often wondered if Ruthie’s use of opium with Frank left the baby “not right.”

Templeton had a room in the Regency Hotel as he delayed his trip to Boston to fight a bout with pneumonia. Jeanie and the kids saw him at the library as he grew stronger and Jeanie quietly hoped he might never make his trip to Boston.

She felt periodic flurries of contentment at having steady work in a good woman’s home with intermittent contact with Mr. Templeton. But that was short-lived. Templeton was finally putting together his supplies to leave as Jeanie’s employer died just months after the Arthur’s arrival. She and the children were left destitute as the widow had been the only one in the small town capable of hiring the entire family. It was just days after the widow died that the Arthurs were told to evacuate the home. A week later they had run out of money and the only choice left to Jeanie, in order to save her family, was to board Tommy and Katherine out to strangers.

Amputating limbs wouldn’t have been more painful, but there was no other choice for Jeanie. With thoughts of James never far from mind, she could only trust that putting each child into what seemed like respectable homes to earn their keep was the best thing to do for her family until Jeanie could construct a plan to bring them all back together. Jeanie figured it would only be a month of separation. Just a month to find another city, maybe even Des Moines, where they could all live together while Jeanie worked and the children attended school. That was the plan and for Jeanie that should have been enough to make it happen.

Jeanie vowed to make her children’s lives good. She took a private oath not to sully Frank’s reputation in the eyes of her children. She knew how damaging it was to discover one’s father was weak and lacked integrity. She would protect them from the knowledge that their father had chosen Ruthie and her unborn baby over them. Even if it meant a few weeks of discomfort, a short time apart, Jeanie thought in the end it would be best for them to strike out on their own.

That last time she saw Templeton at the hotel she had almost given in. Their explosive argument had slammed into heavy silence, the quiet daring each to make the next move.

Had Templeton stood in front of her one more second, begging her to join him in Boston, Jeanie thought she might have weakened enough to leave with him. But she couldn’t get rid of the certainty that had
he
looked deeper into her soul, to where the truth of what she felt for him lived,
he
would have not been able to leave her. She could not gamble on another man. Not ever. Not after choosing so poorly the first time. A man would have to gamble on her. And as Templeton left that day, she knew in the thinning marrow of her bones that he had declined the bet.

Her future had been mapped and she had no choice but to follow its path.

1888
Yankton

Katherine squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the argument she was overhearing. She was hidden away, under the bed in the hotel room. Her mother and Templeton shouted over one another. Finally over his pneumonia, he was on his way to Boston. He seemed so excited with the news, to return to his maternal home.

But Katherine’s mother was not pleased. From under the bed, Katherine watched Jeanie’s feet pace across the floor, stopping at the window then turning, traipsing back to Mr. Templeton. Their boots nose to nose.

“I will not allow myself to be treated like cattle, not
ever
again. My heart is through resting on the love of another as there is no lasting trust in the world except that which lives between mother and child.”

“I can provide. I want you in Boston. Or wait for me here. I will return.” Templeton said.

“I’ve heard that song and dance, Mr. Templeton. And all I’ve got to show for the exercise is bloodied, blistered feet. Frank is gone, but that does not mean I’m free to leave.”

Silence fell. Katherine edged under the bed, moving to where she could see what was taking up all the quiet.

Katherine could hear her pulse in her ears. She began to sweat as she dug her fingers into the braided rug under her body. What was Templeton suggesting? They had a father to provide for them. One who Jeanie had promised would return. She had told them, he was only grieving for his first-born, their wonderful James, that Frank would return. But, Katherine could hear the cold strength in Jeanie’s words. Heavy gloom fell over Katherine and she began to shudder, afraid her mother would discover her hiding spot.

As Jeanie and Templeton stood face to face, Katherine felt the realization that her father would never return, settle in. It didn’t matter that she didn’t fully grasp this discussion between her mother and Templeton, what mattered was that she knew from the depths of her being that her father was not coming back and they were on their own.

“I promise to return,” Templeton said.

I want my father to return!
Katherine thought.

Katherine watched Jeanie’s feet shift to the opposite wall then move across the floor.

“Time will be the judge of that,” Jeanie said, barely above a whisper. “I am loyal to my children. We are safer here than anywhere and I won’t simply gallivant around the country to please a man. I will stay right here and craft the life that was meant for me. I will make this work.”

Katherine almost crawled from under the bed to comfort her mother, but as the conversation went on, her mind had turned off, knowing one thing—her mother swore she would take care of her children. She couldn’t listen to any more talk. She covered her ears and tried to convince herself that her mother would not let any harm come to them. That her mother, the Jeanie she’d known and loved for her entire life, was much too strong to let anything else come between them.

Katherine stood outside the hotel, her clothing wrapped in a blanket, sitting at her feet. Tommy paced back and forth, muttering Bible verses and Jeanie cooed at baby Yale, trying to get her to smile.

Katherine’s mouth felt dry like dirt without enough saliva to moisten the grainy earthy sensation. Her stomach ached. She wrapped herself up in her arms.

“Please, Mama, we’ll be good, we’ll do anything to earn money, anything, but please don’t send me with strangers. I can’t do it. I need you, I need you. Please, Mama.”

“Just read the Word,” Tommy said as he paced by. “The Lord is here for you if you let Him into your empty soul.”

Jeanie smacked the back of Tommy’s head as he paced by. “That’s enough young man. That kind of talk is hurtful not helpful.”

“As though boarding us out is helpful?” Katherine’s mouth was wide and misshapen with her pain. “You will kill me Mama. Please, you are strong, there is nothing you can’t do, I know you don’t want to do this. I know how much you love your children. I know you want us with you.” Katherine had heard her mother swear she loved her children more than anything in the world. Hadn’t she said that to Templeton?

Jeanie pulled Katherine into her side, kissing the top of her head. “That is all true. It will only be for two weeks. I promise. Until I can find a benefactor to take us all. You’re right. I’m strong. Don’t ever forget that. I will do right by you. I promise. But more important than that is that
you
are strong. There is nothing you can’t do. You are indomitable. You are Katherine the Great. Simply follow the woman of the house’s rules and you’ll do well and within no time, a flash of time, I’ll be on your doorstep, bringing us back together. Tommy will be two doors down from you.”

“Where will you and Yale be?” Katherine sobbed. She coughed in between sobs, staring up into her mother’s upturned face.

“I don’t know that yet, but we’ll be okay. I promise.” Katherine saw her mother’s eyes fill with tears as she looked up and looked beyond them. Katherine turned her head then latched onto her mother’s waist at the sight of a proper, but stern, pinched woman coming their way. She was attended by a burly man with wiry hair that shot out from under his hat and a glint in his eye when he made eye contact with Katherine that made her turn and vomit.

“She’s not a sickly child is she?” the woman said once she reached them.

“Oh, no, no, just a little nervous is all. She’s well schooled, mannerly, strong, has common sense.”

Katherine wiped her mouth and re-latched onto her mother’s side. Jeanie looked down at her. “Now Katherine, it’s time for you to go, be grown up. You can do this.”

Jeanie tried to pry Katherine’s hands away, but Katherine gripped harder, ripping some of her buttons off her blouse, begging her mother to stop. Spit flew from Katherine’s mouth as she thought at that moment, she felt what her mother had when James had died, that a piece of her was being torn away.

Katherine thought for sure her mother would see how much she loved her and needed her, that she would break down and stop this transaction from occurring. She knew how much her mother loved her children, how she ached for James, how she’d do anything to keep them together.

The woman tried to pry Katherine from her savoir.

“Her finger?” The woman yanked her hand away from Katherine as though on fire. “Is she malformed in other ways? Retarded?”

“Yes!” Katherine screeched. “I’m malformed in every way. You must find another girl who suits your needs. I cannot possibly attend you properly with a hand like this!” Katherine shoved her hand into the woman’s face. The woman drew back, causing her hat to fly off. She ran for it as the wind took it away.

Katherine grasped her mother around the waist, her fingers laced together like vice-grips, hoping the woman might be disgusted with her.

“She’ll do just fine. She’s more than pleasing to the eye everywhere else.” The master of the house stood over Jeanie and Katherine. Katherine saw fear take her mother’s expression and she knew Jeanie would never let her go. Never.

“If you harm one hair on her body,” Jeanie said through gritted teeth. “I will kill you with my own hands.” Jeanie nodded. The man grimaced. Katherine felt a flicker of relief. Her mother would keep them together. Always.

So, Katherine couldn’t form coherent thoughts when her mother nodded at the master of the home to which Katherine would be employed, satisfied she wouldn’t be harmed. Katherine’s heart folded in on itself, her blood racing through her head, blocking out the words the adults were saying, making her dizzy. Katherine would not go. She held her mother so tight her nails dug into her own skin, little knives making it perfectly clear what was happening.

The man gripped Katherine’s wrists, tearing her off her mother. Katherine pulled backward, digging her heels into the dirt. Finally he simply lifted her like a sack of feed and flung her over his shoulder, carrying her away. Katherine lifted her torso off the man’s shoulder, reaching out for her mother, screaming.

The chilling screams finally caused Tommy to stop pacing and praying. Everyone in hearing distance stopped. They watched, mouths dropped open as Katherine’s world was ripped apart. And the one person who could have stopped it stood there and did nothing. Katherine saw her mother’s face, quivering, as she bowed her head into her hands and her cries met Katherine’s over the muddy street. Katherine was sure, seeing her mother’s pain, that she would rescue her after just hours. She would just have to survive for the shortest time as Jeanie Arthur was not the type to let a child go.