Yellow Flowers
* * * * * * * * * *
"Come on, everyone! Time for breakfast!" Caroline Ingalls called to her children. She settled baby Grace into her highchair as Carrie climbed down from the loft.
"Morning, Ma," she said.
"Good morning." Caroline glanced past her to the loft as her husband Charles came in the front door with a pail of fresh milk and asked the question she was thinking. "Where's Albert?"
Caroline's gentle eyes answered him without her even saying a word.
"Changed his mind, has he?" Charles asked.
"I don't know," she replied. "He hasn't even come down yet."
"Well, we knew this wasn't gonna be easy. He's gonna have to face all the young 'uns who gave a hard time, told lies about him. He needs some time."
"I know," Caroline said softly, leading her husband to the kitchen. "It's been a month since her death. I'm fine with Albert learning his lessons at home since he's always done so well. But when will he be ready to be around people again? I don't think it's helping him to be in the loft, alone with his thoughts."
"No, but he'll know when he's ready. Going back to town will bring him even more memories. Everywhere he goes he'll be reminded of Sylvia." Charles kept his voice low, but another one from the other room called, "Ma?"
Caroline turned to see Albert at the foot of the ladder. "Yes, Albert?"
"I'll be right home after school."
Caroline smiled at her son. "That's fine. Or if you'd like to stay and play ball you may."
Albert shrugged in response. "I don't think so." Then, with Carrie behind him, he left the house, schoolbooks in hand.
Charles came up alongside Caroline and said, "One thing at a time. He's a strong boy and he'll get through this."
* * * * * * * * * *
Outside, Albert slowly trailed Carrie towards town. At first, they'd walked side-by-side but then Albert had encouraged Carrie to go on ahead and play before school. She'd done so without hesitating. Things hadn't been the same between them in a long time, but Albert didn't know what to do and he really didn't feel like doing anything right then.
It seemed like a lifetime ago that Albert, Willie Oleson and two of their friends has met up and tried to spy on Sylvia Webb, a girl in their class. Her father had caught Albert and gotten a bad impression of him. So when Albert and Sylvia started spending time together, Sylvia lied to him and snuck away. Even then, everything had happened too fast for Albert to even realize it. Before he knew it, he was looking forward to those afternoons more and more. He'd daydream of Sylvia's beautiful eyes and warm, sincere smile. Her sweet laugh filled his dreams at night. Yes, it all had happened so fast and before he knew it, Albert had fallen in love. He knew Sylvia felt the same way too, and he had never been happier before in his life.
He was enjoying every day with Sylvia and even looking forward to the future when it had all been torn away from him. Sylvia had a secret that nobody besides her father knew about. On her way home one day, she'd been attacked. But even still, it was a surprise to everyone when, after fainting at school, Dr. Baker found Sylvia to be with child. It was a crushing discovery to Albert but in some ways it was just the beginning. Mr. Webb became even more overprotective and even though he'd already forbid Sylvia to see Albert, he accused him of the rape.
Mrs. Oleson, or "The Town Crier" as Albert liked to call her, got wind of the situation and did what she did best – spread rumors. It seemed like Albert's world was falling apart all around him – everyone was gossiping about him, he was doing poorly in school where he usually was at the top of the class and worst of all, Sylvia still wouldn't speak to him at the order of her father.
Poor Sylvia was lonely and isolated, finally breaking down and telling Albert the truth. He was still hurt, but just happy to be able to talk to her again, spend time with her and hold her in his arms. Before too long, her father found out and in a fury, drove Sylvia to run away. Albert had found her and promised to take her away from everything. Then, he'd made the mistake he'd regret for the rest of his life. Seeking help, he turned to the town blacksmith, Irv Hartwig, for whom he'd been working. Unbeknownst to anyone, Hartwig was the rapist and tried to take advantage of Sylvia again. Albert managed to stop him just as Charles and Mr. Webb arrived. But it was too late for Sylvia, who had fallen from a ladder in her attempt to escape.
Albert was there with her after Doc Baker said there was nothing he could do. He held her hand, caressed her cheek and kissed her one last time as they made plans for the future. Albert promised her any kind of wedding she wanted, and she talked of wearing a beautiful dress with yellow flowers in her hair. Then, peacefully, she passed on. Albert held her lifeless body and prayed that it was all just a dream – a horrible, terrible dream that he would wake up from after a few moments. But the reality was clear: Sylvia was gone and Albert had to face living the rest of his life without her.
He prayed a lot – in church, at home, at the big rock where he and Sylvia used to meet. At first, he prayed that he could be with Sylvia too. Then he prayed that Sylvia was happy and finally at peace. He begged God that she not be mad at him for lying to her when he told her she'd be okay and promised they'd still be married. Most of all, he prayed for strength to go on.
All too soon, Albert reached the schoolhouse. Just as he'd though, all the children turned and stared. His sister and the schoolteacher, Laura Wilder, came outside to ring the bell then, but hesitated to glance around when she heard the silence. At last her gaze rested upon Albert and she gave him a tiny smile before finally ringing the bell. As the children ran up the steps, Laura walked down them herself to greet Albert.
"Hi," she said, a little uncertainly. That was very unlike Laura because she usually said whatever was on her mind and she had a lot of energy. But, just like everyone else in her family, Laura was nervous around Albert. She had been the one who'd gone to Doctor Baker's with Albert when they first learned of Sylvia's being with child, and they'd hardly spoken since. That was hard for Laura because she and Albert had been so close growing up. And now, even though she was full grown and married, she still confided in him a lot and valued his opinions. The last month had seemed empty without him.
"How – how are you?" Laura found herself saying.
"Good," Albert said, as if rehearsed. Lord only knew how many times he'd been asked that question as of late.
"Ma said you were coming back today but I – I didn't know for sure. Have you been studying?"
Albert shifted the books in his arms. "Some. Trying."
"That's good," Laura smiled encouragingly. "I'm glad you're back."
"Me, too," he answered in a way that clearly said the opposite.
"Well, come on inside." Laura sounded happy but inside she was worrying about how having Albert back in school would be.
* * * * * * * * *
Caroline stared out the backdoor of Nellie's Restaurant, where she worked part time. It was the lunch hour and although she was busy, she could hardly keep her mind on her work. She'd even mixed up Mr. Smith's order and he, a regular customer, always ordered the same thing. He'd been understanding about it but Caroline barely noticed. Her thoughts were filled with Albert and finally, she'd gone to the backdoor, hoping to catch a glimpse of him playing ball or sitting on the steps with Laura. But so far, she hadn't seen him.
"Ahem."
Caroline turned at the sound of a woman clearing her throat. There stood Harriet Oleson herself.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Oleson." Even she was amazed at her ability to remain calm towards this woman, who was the source of the rumors about Albert. It hadn't always been the case, as Caroline had given Harriet a piece of her mind back when the rumors began. She had since controlled her feelings but couldn't help the chill that swept over her whenever she was in Harriet's presence.
"Caroline, I'm surprised at you. Here you are, staring outside when there's work to be done."
"I was all caught up on the orders," Caroline replied, closing the door.
"Well, even so, if we all daydreamed while we worked, we would all mix up orders."
So much for Mr. Smith being understanding, Caroline thought.
"Could you imagine what would happen if I didn't keep my mind on things when I was cooking?" Harriet continued.
The same thing that happens on whatever rare occurrence you do cook – disaster, Caroline thought to herself. But she said out loud, "You don't do the cooking here – your husband does."
Harriet changed the subject as Caroline feared she would. "I saw Albert walking to school today. Isn't it just wonderful that he's going back?"
"Yes. Yes, it is." Caroline closed her eyes briefly, already anticipating where this conversation was headed.
"Not many people could get over what he's been through – especially at such a young age. Losing his girlfriend and his child…" she drifted off.
Caroline picked up a knife and began slicing bread. "Don't tell me you still believe your rumors."
Harriet cleared her throat again (something she was infamous for). "Caroline, you don't have to put up a front for me, we're old friends. You have every right to be embarrassed, but you don't have to be ashamed.
Dropping the knife with a thud, Caroline met Harriet face-to-face. "You're right, Mrs. Oleson, I don't have anything to be ashamed of and I'm not embarrassed either. I'm proud of my boy for being strong enough to walk back into a place that your son made miserable for him. All the vicious lies he told he heard from you." Raising her pointer finger, Caroline finished with, "I'm a very forgiving person, Mrs. Oleson, but this is going to take a long time." Then, taking her dignity with her, Caroline marched out of the restaurant.
* * * * * * * *
It was almost three o'clock. Albert was surprised that he made it through the day as well as he had. The school work had been a good distraction for him and he easily picked up where he left off. The one thing that wasn't going well was his seating arrangement. A new boy he didn't know was in his seat, forcing Albert to sit next to a new girl. This should have been a good thing, because he would be able to sit next to someone who didn't know about his past, but not this girl. She kept looking over at Albert and smiling. At first, he'd smiled back to be polite, but by the end of the day it had gotten annoying.
When Laura kept him after school to ask how his first day back was, Albert asked her about it. "Who's the new girl?"
"Belinda Stevens," she answered. "Her family moved here only about two weeks ago. Why do you ask?"
"I don't know." Albert shrugged. "All day she kept smiling at me."
"Maybe she was just being friendly."
"Nah," Albert said. "It was…too friendly."
"Maybe she likes you." Laura hid a smile. She'd noticed Belinda too, but was worried Albert wouldn't be interested. And she was right.
"Well, no matter," Albert replied. "I'm going home."
Laura watched him leave the schoolhouse. He's so young, she thought. Albert was only fourteen and had suffered what would probably be the biggest heartache of his life. Laura wondered if he'd ever get through his pain and learn to love again.
To be Continued
