William got home before the ladies. He emptied his pockets, extracted his tithe for Sunday from his pay packet, and put the remainder of his $18 weekly wages on the desk for safekeeping, along with the mail. There was a letter for Ruby he set aside. He was pleased for some quiet time alone to read and putter. So far, there was no tension between the sisters to disturb his peace, and Julia seemed genuinely happy to see Ruby. That being said, he was not able to relax as well with someone else in his home. He had the uncanny feeling that Ruby was sometimes observing them and that was uncomfortable. The house was hot, so he cracked the windows on the north, shaded side of the house, and turned on the attic fan he installed to cool the structure. He started to feel the air move in the house as the fan drew it up through the windows and exhausted it near the roof. The bill for the electric power, which he had specially wired into the house according to his specifications, was going to cost him dearly this month.
He ran his open cases over in his mind, but then set those thoughts aside. He decided to descend into the basement to tinker with the thermostat arrangement he wanted to install with the attic fan. He wondered: If I can couple that with a mechanism for raising the windows automatically for suction, and calculate the surface area of open window, volume of the house and capacity of the fan to pull air…the contraption could get the house cooled automatically…..
William was still down there when Julia and Ruby came home. Julia was laughing at something Ruby said. Good, he thought, still on pleasant terms.
He came up the stairs as Julia handed Ruby her letter, and said. "How could you possibly get mail here already? You have only been here 3 days!"
"When you lead a peripatetic life, you learn to improvise and adapt." She turned. "William! Good evening. Julia tells me your case went well." said Ruby.
"Yes. Satisfactory, I think. Father Clements will be conducting a private funeral tomorrow. I did not realize the family went to the same church as I. Ladies, did you have a nice evening out?" He came over and kissed Julia and helped her with her things.
"Yes we did," responded his wife. "We spent some time considering Mina, of course. Have you gotten any information back on her parents and family?"
"No. But it is early yet. I expect tomorrow or Monday perhaps." He gestured around the room. "Did you notice that the house is cooler than it is outside?"
He could not help himself, thought Julia with love and pride. But indeed, the air movement was refreshing, so she let Ruby praise him for it.
Because it was late, they made their good-nights and went upstairs.
"How is the girl faring?" asked William as they lay in bed. He stroked her arm gently with the back of his fingers as the fan whirred.
"It is a delicate situation. Her attachment to the dog is obvious—it was a dog that rescued her from the wreckage after all. She does not speak now because of the powerful emotional consequences of what happened to her. To have her relive them would be cruel, but she has to work through them to heal. I will show you some of her drawings. I think she may be drawing actual places she has seen in her travels with her parents. She seems to possess a remarkable kind of recall. Eventually, I think she will draw about the accident as a way to relieve herself of the burden of the memory….
"So far she seems content to stay at the asylum, but it is not a permanent solution. She must be reunited with her family." Julia adjusted her body next to his. "I will be home by 4 tomorrow. Ruby agreed to visit with Mina for supper and the evening before coming back here. She telegrammed mutual friends seeking more information about Karl and Sara's situation. I think Ruby is so intent in part because their life-style mirrored hers. No permanent address, no community ties, no one to notice you are missing. I shudder to think what would have happened to Mina if Ruby has not intervened…."
"Indeed. We will work on it together, for Ruby and Mina's sake," he offered, and leaned in to kiss her. "Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. The paper says that Sunday evening might bring rain."