Chapter 2

The Glen St. Mary's folk and her surrounding districts where very much surprised by the Una they saw in the weeks after she had decided to leave off for Redmond. This wasn't the Una of yore, before the war, but a new Una- one with a very determined look in her eyes and there was something else in there too- hope.

Now, not all thought that Una ought to look quite so cheerful, especially when she was leaving her family and her home. Miss Rosetta Ellis thought that it was positively disgraceful for Una to be so happy about leaving and told her so. "Una, my dear. You oughtn't look so happy about leaving. My own sister left home against my advice, poor Charlotte may she rest in peace, and I won't say that it didn't end well on all accounts, but you never know what is going to happen to you when you are away. Think how your family was must feel, with you leaving them." She chided- minister's children were apt to think that they could own the world if you didn't put them back in their place every once in a while.

Una laughed and sighed, "I suppose that's so for some Miss Rosetta, but I have to go away to find my self again and Nova Scotia is right close to the island, it isn't as if I were going to the States." She bade Miss Ellis a good day and went on her way. There was plenty of packing and planning for her to do if she were going to leave in three weeks time.

Miss Rosetta shook her head after her. What ever did Una Meredith mean by saying that she had lost herself and had to leave to go find herself again? Poor Miss Ellis spent many nights awake at 3 o'clock pondering what she had meant.

Truth be told, if Una knew, I doubt that she would have cared too much if Miss Rosetta understood her or not, her mind was too overcrowded with thoughts of her nearing departure and what life would be like for her elsewhere. She was determined to make it a success- it just had to work.

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But the day Una set off was all wrong; she was having what Mrs. Blythe was wont to call a Jonah Day. First she couldn't find her smalled valise; Bruce had hidden it in hopes that she might be persuaded to remain. Finally, after some searching and prodding, Bruce revealed that he had buried in Methodist cemetery. Una, not fully appreciating the public scandal that she was making--quite worse than the time they all sat singing "Polly Wolly Doodle", headed over to dead Hezekiah Pollock's tombstone and dug up her valise. Shaking the dust from her heels, she prayed that that would be all the excitement that she would have for the day.

Unfortunately, it was not. A jumbling ticket agent mixed up Una's ticket's with another passenger's and when she got to Nova Scotia, she was obliged to sit talking to the deputy for over an hour trying to explain that she was not impersonating John MacIntosh and would gladly pair her fare over again if they would be kind enough to let her go because she did not care to miss the train to Kingsport. The deputy, having a toothache himself, was not inclined to believe Una because she matched a description in the post office for an embezzler. He only let her go after the real John MacIntosh was caught for trying to impersonate Una Meredith. Perhaps if Una had been less of a timid person, she would have found the whole episode rather amusing, but she was a timid person and not even her determination could make her feel better after being questioned for over an hour by an overbearing deputy.

When Una finally made it to Kingsport, she took a big sigh of relief, surely now that she was her, her trouble would be over, would it not? But, as she sat in the little ladies waiting room for two hours she realized that no one was coming for her. Her father had told her that Mrs. Bailey would be waiting for her when she arrived but it seemed to Una that she had been forgotten. Why she was forgotten, she didn't know, unless something terrible had happened to Mrs. Bailey. Una's troubled mind raced with a thousand different questions and she struggled not to cry.

This was simply too much. How she long to be back home, back by the Tree Lover's in Rainbow Valley, back in Charlottetown, back anywhere where she would see a familiar face. All her determination had fell from her and she felt like an exposed nerve. She would go back home and be contended to live in manse for the rest of her days. Perhaps they had been monotonous but at least she knew what was coming in then. This was not meant to be.

Perhaps if Una had not looked up at that very moment, she might have gone back to Glen. St. Mary's like a scared little child and she might have lived a rather unhappy life because of it, but she did look up at that very moment and she saw Irene Howard staring down at her. Now Una had never particularly fancied Irene and it certainly can't be said that many people did. But to have Irene here! Now! When she was so tired and confused. This. was. too. much.

"Una, darling," Irene said in her saccharine rich voice, " Have you been crying, you poor little dear." Irene sat down by Una, "Why don't you tell me what the trouble is. I've just been out shopping for my wedding trousseau, you know, I'm going to marry Bernard Sloane. That'll make my very nearly sisters with Di Wright and she's just thrilled about it, but I'm sure you know that. "

Una tried very hard not to snort for she knew that Diana Wright was hardly happy that Irene was marrying her husband's sister-in-law's sister's brother-in-law. It meant no kinship to Diana or any of the other Blythes, but Irene felt that it had been and had been rather pushy as of late because of it. "I haven't been crying, Irene." Una said softly.

"Now, come on and fess up, Una darling, you don't have to put on a brave front for me, after all, we're almost family."

Una shivered involuntarily and felt her determination and strength return to her. She would not quail before Irene Howard! If she did, and confessed what her heart was really feeling, she felt sure that Irene would spread it around what a poor mess little Una Meredith was without anyone to stand beside her.

"Nothing is bothering me, Irene." Una said as she stood up, "I was merely resting before I walked down Mrs. Laura Bailey, I'm going to stay with her while I go to Redmond, but I doubt that you need to be told that." Una picked up her smallest valise. The conductor had kept back her heavier bags and told her she could get when her people came to fetch. She knew that he'd keep them for her awhile longer. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go now. Mrs. Bailey must have been detained and I don't care to wait here any longer." And with that, Una was off, walking along the streets of Kingsport. She had not sunk so low that she needed Irene Howard to comfort her! No Sir!

Irene looked after Una for a moment- what a snippet she had become, Irene thought, just wait until it got around that Una Meredith had been rude- to her!