Off to Boarding School

Chapter 1:

A hard goodbye

It was the summer of 1907, and Rose; whom had not become fully accustomed to her corset and new clothes; was having difficulty swallowing the fact that she had to go to boarding school in a couple of weeks. "Rose, you'll make all sorts of new friends there. I would imagine some of them are not used to wearing their new underclothes either." Ruth said to Rose in a comforting tone. Ruth knew first hand what it was like to go to boarding school for the first time. She had been thirteen herself once, and remembered how her mother and father tried to comfort her. As the summer progressed, Rose found herself worked up into a state, and it got so bad, that at one point, Ruth had to administer discipline via cane. She hated to do it of course, but it had to be done. Luckily, for Rose the blows didn't leave a mark. By early July, Rose's uniform arrived, as did her stationary and new corsets. Samuel, whom tried his hardest to stay out of Rose's affairs tried to take his daughter's mind off of school by taking her to the park, like what Ruth had done when Rose was a little girl. In the park, Rose met one of her friends, a certain Allison Coburn. Allison, unlike Rose was not corseted and she was a wild child. To Samuel, it didn't matter if the child was tame or wild, they should all play together, and not be separated by class. Rose saw her friend and ran over to her, or at least tried to run, the corset prohibited any of that sort of activity.

"Oh Allison!" said Rose. "Rose! It is so good to see you! I was wondering if you'd ever come back to play with me." Rose and Allison went and sat on a nearby bench. "Allison, I'm going to boarding school in New York in a few weeks. I don't want to go, but I have to. My mother says I have to. My new corset is ripped, I got it for my birthday." Rose said. "Rose, I too have a corset and I'm going to school in New York, maybe we'll see each other there." Allison, whom sat next to Rose had countered. Rose would have rather just heard Allison tell her that she had a corset, but the next thing she knew, Allison had lifted up her dress, and showed Rose the baby pink corset. "How can you run in that?" Rose asked, quizzically. "Easy Rose, I just do it. Mama tells me I can't do it, but I do it anyway." Their conversation would have continued, but the sky had grown dark with clouds, and it threatened rain. "Come on Rose!" Samuel shouted. Just as they entered the gates into their front yard, it poured, something Samuel called a "drown pour" got both of them soaking wet. "Rose?" a voice called out from the front door. It was Ruth. Rose just stood there in the rain, knowing full well that she would get in trouble. The rain had completely soaked through her play dress, and it was making her underclothes itchy. Rose was expecting to be chewed out for this incident, however, Ruth remained calm. Sadie, one of the new maids and Ruth brought Rose up to her room. "Thank you Sadie, I think Rose and I can handle this." Ruth said in a friendly tone. Upon seeing the door close, Ruth turned to her daughter; and asked her "I suppose you had fun with your father?" she asked. "Yes mother I did. I saw Allison Coburn, she is also going to school in New York.

Ruth had removed to sodden dress, and the sodden underclothes as well. "Rose, the one thing that you must remember about corsets, is that you cannot get them too wet, or else they will shrink, and you will not be comfortable." Ruth, whom had removed the corset then noticed the rip, the same exact rip that Samuel had caused when he went on his little "adventure"( he had several more, but this time he moved onto Ruth's corsets) "Rose, do you know where this rip has come from?" Rose looked at the small tear along with her mother. "Rose, it almost looks like this is a stress tear, something must have given those eyelets a considerable strain, almost like a bigger person did this. I know it wasn't your father, because he hates corsets." Ruth put the wet corset onto the trunk to dry. On Rose's clock, the time was 5:30 PM; time for supper. Rose put on a loose dress and went downstairs to the dining room, where dinner was being served by Jesse the cook. That night's supper was roast beef. Rose, whom had spent all afternoon in the park was hungry enough to make a scene at the table by eating too fast, but her mother made sure that she didn't. "Samuel, I understand Allison Coburn was at the park?" Ruth asked over supper. "Yes, yes she was. Why do you ask?" Samuel replied. "I just asked that's all. Rose told me about her little visit with her. I assume Mr. Coburn was nearby?" Ruth had returned. "Why yes he was. We discussed business, and his daughter's behavior of course. Rose, did you notice anything different with Allison?" Samuel had asked. "Yes father, she was a tad bit subdued, she told me that it was her new clothes that have made her that way." Ruth looked at Samuel.

At 8:30, Rose went to bed. Ruth tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. The one thing that Rose could still count on, was going to bed so early. As Rose drifted to sleep, Ruth went back downstairs into the sitting room to sort out Rose's new wardrobe. "She'll be leaving in five days. She may even have to stay there on weekends. I worry about her having to do this, She will know nobody there, except for Allison; or maybe The Langdon's daughter, Emily; but that's about it." Samuel, whom had a glass of whiskey on the rocks, gave more input to Ruth's discussion; "Ruth, I do hope you know that it was your decision to send her. I do however, understand your nervousness. I will miss her too when she is gone." At around 9:45, Ruth retired to bed. As she was undressing for bed, she sat back at her desk, and began to write a letter. This letter, was to be sent to Victoria Langdon, a former school friend of Ruth. The letter asked if Rose would be permitted to stay at her home if going back was not an option. Ruth hoped that the letter would get to Victoria in time. "Sadie, would you please help me with my corset?" Ruth called. Sadie came into the room and helped Ruth unlace the corset. Ruth donned her nightclothes and crawled into bed. Samuel joined her a short time later.

It was four days before she was to depart, and Rose was not allowed to leave the house, the reason for this, was because Ruth was afraid that her new clothes might become torn. She was however, allowed to walk amongst the gardens and pools,in the back of her house. Rose felt a sense of calm when she did this, and as she sat on the wrought iron bench overlooking one of the gardens. Her large hat shielded her head and neck from the sun. "Hello Rose." She heard a voice from behind. It was her father. He motioned if he could sit. Rose let him. " I regret having to inform you, Rose, but I'm afraid I cannot be here when you depart." Rose's happiness turned into a low, stinging sadness. "You see, I've been called to Washington on official business. I'm leaving in a few minutes, I just thought I'd like to say goodbye to you." A tear formed in one of her eyes. "I'll miss you father. I just wish I didn't have to go." She began to get choked up. He moved his hand over her shoulder, lending a comforting hand. "Come now Rose, will you walk with me inside?" He asked. Rose got up, and walked inside the house with her father. "Rose, I'm sorry." was all he said. He picked up his suitcase, and walked out the door. Tears were streaming down his daughter's cheeks. "Goodbye father."was all she could muster. Ruth, saw this, and came to comfort her daughter.

Rose buried her face into Ruth's chest, and sobbed. Ruth, embraced her daughter in a simple way. Normally, Ruth prohibited this type of behavior, but since she realized that Rose and Samuel were very close, she allowed it. Rose walked up to her room, and sat on her bed. She was burning hot, so she unbuttoned her blouse, just to cool down. She picked up Sarah, her doll, and silently hugged it, realizing that she couldn't bring it with her on the train to New York. "Rose? Rose?" a voice called from downstairs, it was Ruth, looking for her daughter. "I'm up here mother!" she called back. Ruth walked up the stairs, and found Rose sitting on her bed. "Why don't you take a nap to get your mind off of this matter?" Ruth suggested. "Yes, mother." Rose said. "Will you send Sadie in?" Rose asked. Ruth called Sadie, and the young maid came in. "Can you please help my daughter get ready for her nap? I'm going out for a few hours." Sadie complied with Ruth's request, and soon, Rose was lying in her bed, looking out at the street below. She saw Ruth walk down the sidewalk, before she closed her eyes.

Rose was awakened by the sound of thunder, and the clock said that it was 7:30. She'd been asleep for three hours. Ruth was sitting on the bed, with a tray in her hands. "Rose, you must be hungry, here eat this soup." Ruth pleaded. "I'm not hungry. I don't want any soup tonight." Ruth took the tray away, letting out a sigh. "I just wish you'd eat something; anything." Rose got out of her bed, and walked downstairs. She saw Ruth sitting at the dining room table, a sullen look upon her face. "Mother?" Rose called out. "I'm in here." Ruth quietly said. Ruth sat at the table, with a bowl of soup in front of her; she ate quietly. "Rose? May I ask you something?" Ruth said. "Yes, mother, you may." "Thank you, Rose. I wanted to ask you if you will miss me while you're gone. I know I'll miss you terribly. I will think of you every day and night. Will you?" She pleaded. "Yes, mother. I will miss you terribly, and I will write you nearly every day. I just wish father was here to see me off." Rose added back. They both ate in relative silence. At 8:30, Ruth and Sadie escorted Rose to her room. Ruth tucked her daughter in, and went into her own room, where she changed into a loose fitting dress, much like the kind she used to wear when she was younger. She let her hair down, remembering how wonderful it felt to not have her hair pinned and brushed. She brushed her hair, and put a ribbon into it to prevent any real tangling. She picked up her white corset. How pathetically long it was, the damn thing went nearly down to her knees. She pulled the laces out of the back, feeling their wear. She laughed. She threw it into the corner after the laces were pulled out, giggling to herself all the while.

With just three days left to be with her daughter, Ruth offered, at breakfast to take Rose out for the day. Rose loved the idea. Ruth laced Rose into her corset, albeit not too tightly. "Rose, I'd like you to get used to walking with the corset on. It will not be easy, but it will not be difficult, all you do is take in shallow breaths, like this." Ruth said as she showed her daughter how to breath. Rose wore the best dress of all she thought. The dress was white with yellow, and around her neck, was her locket. Ruth put the finishing touches on her daughter's hair, and they walked downstairs, side by side. Ruth saw a taxi coming down the street, and she signaled to it. When they got into the cab, Ruth told the driver to head down towards Sansom Street. A few minutes later, they were there. When they got out of the cab, Rose asked "Where are we mother?" Ruth replied "we are at the social center of Philadelphia, I will show you several people of Philadelphia high society that you should meet. You see, there is Mr. Coburn, but who is that with him? That isn't Alicia." Ruth remarked. "Why hello, Mrs. Bukater. I see you are enjoying the nice weather today." He said in a happy tone. "Who is this with you? Is this the infamous Miss Rose? My daughter, Allison will not stop talking about you. You really are a good friend of hers." "Thank you" Rose said as she curtsied. They continued onwards. By the time they headed home, Rose was happy and tired at the same time. "Rose, you behaved yourself today, you were a good girl." To which Rose replied; "I know I was, how come you doubted me?" " I never once doubted you, Rose." Ruth replied. That night, Rose had a nightmare. The nightmare involved her parents being killed in a terrible tragedy. "Oh god Mama NO!" Rose shouted into the night. Ruth heard this, and rushed into her daughter's room. She felt Rose, and found she was soaking wet; she wet herself. She woke Rose up. Rose saw that it was her mother, and she hugged her.

The next two days wore quickly on. On the day she was to go to New York, Ruth brought Rose to the train station. "Well Rose, this is it. I guess this is our hard goodbye. I will miss you terribly." Ruth said. A tear streamed down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away with her handkerchief. "You be good now, and write to me. I won't forget you. Don't think I will. Your father will also never forget you either. I want you to think of me every day. You have your locket, I want you to look at it every day." Ruth continued. Rose stepped onto the train, watching her mother in the crowd. Suddenly, she felt the train lurch forward; her new adventure had just begun. She continued to look out the window as the train moved out of the station, her mother gradually disappearing. Where she was sitting on the train, she knew nobody; everyone looked so foreign to her. She wondered if Allison was on the train, but she had to stick to her instructions: don't get out of your seat until New York. Three hours later, Rose saw the skyline of New York City. There, she would be met by her escort, a certain Mrs. Abrams. "I wonder what mother is doing now?" She thought to herself. She arrived at the train station, and sure enough, Mrs. Abrams was there to greet her.