Chapter Two

May 29th, 1922
Miles City, Montana

Dinner was served rather late that evening at the Dawson's, a normal habit that sprung up during the children's summer vacation. Rose had baked a small chicken, covered in cloves of garlic, rosemary, and surrounded in a bed of cooked green beans. She watched in dismay as Charlie picked around the greens. Valentina talked about the Miles City Junior Orchestra for much of dinner and her parent's watched lovingly as her eyes lit up about her speculation surrounding the pieces they would perform come August. Rose agreed to watch a practice of Valentina's audition after dinner. As dinner wound down the family thanked Rose for preparing it.

"Hey, Charlie!" Jack called as his chair screeched over the tile floor. Charlie was just about out the door of the kitchen and skirted to a stop upon hearing his name, "Why don't you and I do the dishes tonight? Let your mom and Tina go work on her audition, hm?"

He could see Charlie practically droop at the request. Jack knew he was eager to get back to his trains. He had been gifted an immense stock pile of things for his train collection for his last birthday and was in the middle of a massive scene creation in the center of his room. Getting to his bed during tuck-in time was like performing in the Olympics. Charlie complied, coming back into the kitchen. Rose flashed Jack a look for good luck and left with Valentina, her arm around her shoulder as her daughter continued raving about the upcoming performance.

"I'll get the water warming up and the rags soapy. You get the dishes," Jack instructed. He watched as his small wiry son rounded the table, collecting many dishes in his arms. Precariously, he balanced as much as he could and delivered it to the counter for Jack, "Scrape any food into the trash, too," Jack told him while giving a rag a squeeze. Once Charlie had completed that task, Jack pulled the step stool out from beneath the wash basin and Charlie came to stand beside him at his shoulders. Jack handed him a rag, "Alright, let's get started."

The Dawson man began clearing the dinner plates through the deep washin basin filled with soapy water. The only thing to be heard was the clattering of dishes and scrapes of silverware. Jack lowered his eyes to his son, watching as he wrapped his soapy rag around a fork. Jack pursed his lips for a moment and took a deep breath.

"You probably know why you're doing the dishes tonight, huh?" Jack said, looking out the window at the full moon breaking over the mountain tops.

"I rode my bike past the school," Charlie lifted his eyes to his father, "I saw the sign about the parent-teacher meetings."

Jack dunked a tea cup into the foamy water, "Your grades weren't so great, bud."

"I don't see why some letters on a piece of paper are a big deal," Charlie shrugged, "None of it seems very useful."

"But it is useful, Charlie," Jack told him, setting a spoon in the dish rack, "You should try to be soaking up as much information as you can. It helps you understand the world. It gives you your basic navigation. You need to know maps and topography, you need to know complex language and the basic elements."

"The only cool thing we got to do all year was one time, during a science lesson, we used a potato to make a light bulb glow," Charlie grinned, looking at his reflection in the dark window, "I hope that comes in handy one day."

"So, do you like science?" Jack asked.

Charlie shrugged, "I dunno. It's cool when things fizz and burn and blow up, I guess. We never did any of that at school, though," Charlie's face lit up, "I saw it in a Nickelodean one time. An entire barn just went up in smoke!"

"Well... it's a start," Jack said slowly, images of burning forests crossing his mind, "You know, there's an engineering club at the library doing a day-pogram this summer. Why don't you go and try it out? You might convince some of the other kids to do a controlled explosion."

Charlie scrunched his nose up at the idea, his blond bangs falling messily across his brow, "No, those aren't really kids I'd hang out with."

"How could you say that when you haven't even met them?" Jack furrowed his brow at his son, "I think you should at least try it. Who knows, you might learn more about science and actually like it."

"Come on, Dad, you can't make me give my summer up for that," Charlie said, looking up at him nearly pleadingly.

"Well, if not that, what about the art camp at the park?"

"No," Charlie replied quickly, shaking his head, "Not that either."

"What will you do all summer, Charlie?" Jack asked, "You can't spend every day hoping entertainment will fall into your lap. You need things to do every day. Why don't you at least go with Valentina to some of her clubs?"

"I have plenty to do," Charlie told his father dismissively, "I'm sure I'll latch onto whatever Ross, Ivan, and Kenneth are planning to do this summer. I saw lots of minnows at the fishing hole back in March. Surely there will be plenty to catch down there this summer."

"Charlie, what do you think you want to do in the future?" Jack asked and his son paused for a moment, a juice glass dangling into the suddy water.

"I don't know. I don't have to worry about that right now."

"But you'll have to eventually."

Charlie gnawed on his lip for a moment, "But right now, I don't."

Jack sighed, lowering his eyes back to his task.

...

Upstairs, Rose seated herself in Valentina's desk chair and waited patiently with a huge grin on her face as her daughter grabbed her instrument, positioned herself, and double checked her sheet music. Rose had been hearing the song nearly every day for the past two and a half weeks, but it was miraculous to her how much Valentina had refined it over those fourteen days. It had become solid, carooning out of her trumpet like second nature. Valentina glanced to her mother for a moment before she shifted her weight back and forth and lifted her trumpet. There was a short delay before Valentina pressed the ivory keys down and belted out the first measure.

Rose watched, absolutely immersed, in Valentina's performance. She lowered her chin to the back of the chair, her heart full of so much pride and adoration for Valentina. The girl swung back and forth as she played, her fingers moving knowingly. If people didn't know better, they could have been listening to a professional from the stages of Brooklyn, New York. In the next moment, however, Valentina's notes staggered. She obviously caught herself off guard and realized soon the error had been in her fingers, on a note she had had difficulties jumping to in the past. Valentina's music floundered into silence and she lowered her instrument, seemingly perplexed for a moment. Rose straightened up in her seat, observing her daughter.

In the next few beats, Valentina broke down into a full on sob. She disregarded her trumpet across her bed, pressing her hands to her face to shield her ugly cries. Rose was to her feet in an instant, coming to Valentina's side and coaxing her to sit beside her on the edge of the bed. Valentina sobbed as Rose wrapped her arms around her.

"Sweetheart, it's alright... sh, sh, sh," Rose whispered, stroking her hand along Valentina's curly hair that was freed from their normal constricted braids, "Hey, come on... catch a breath for me, please. Deep breath, Valentina, through your nose."

Valentina followed her mother's orders, unevenly inhaling, her breath still sputtering from her lips in whimpers. She rubbed furiously at her wet eyes. Rose tenderly ran her thumb along her tear stained cheek, "Baby, it's alright. It was one note. Don't let that warrant any tears."

"That's the note, Momma!" Valentina wailed, "The one that will kill my audition!"

"Valentina, one missed note of the lot of them won't sink you," Rose told her, setting her hand on her shoulder, "Everyone makes mistakes. It doesn't define who you are."

"Momma, I only have forty-five seconds to make an impression," Valentina told her tensely, her cheeks flushed, "There is no room for missed notes."

"Sweetheart, I think you should take a break from the piece for a day or so," Rose replied, gently massaging her wiry shoulder, "There's such a thing as over-preparing. You can come back with fresh eyes later."

"When I slack, there's someone working harder. I really don't have time to take a break like that, Momma," Valentina stood now and approached the music stand, "I just need to practice more. My fingers have to cooperate."

Rose watched with pursed lips, her heart aching for Valentina. Her need to be a perfectionist, her constant desire to be an over achiever, sometimes came at great costs to Valentina. She was easily overrun, overwhelmed, and exhausted. She would sacrafice her own comfort, her empty stomach, if it meant she could squeeze one more thing onto the list of things to complete. Rose thought about how distinctly different both her children were. Between Valentina's high strung nature and Charlie's recent aimlessness, Rose worried if she could be creative enough to come up with two entirely different solutions before it became hapless.

...

That night, Rose laid in bed propped up with her hands laced over her stomach. She was sunken beneath their large floral quilt. She watched as Jack finished brushing his teeth and took his pain medication. He dabbed his face with the towel on the counter and grabbed his cane, rounding the bed. He seated himself and sighed, rubbing at his knee for a moment.

"Jack, I'm concerned," Rose said, staring straight ahead at the wardrobe on the opposite wall.

Jack paused from massaging his knee and looked towards the window in front of him, "I think we still got a chance to get through to Charlie," He told her, glancing over his shoulder.

"No, this is about Valentina," Rose replied, sitting up now on her hand, "Jack, I'm worried about her perfectionist nature. She's too hard on herself. It's not healthy."

"Well," Jack said as he swung his legs onto the bed and folded the quilt over himself, "why do you think she tries so hard?"

"I wish I knew," Rose sighed, pressing a hand to her cheek, "The smallest things cause her anxiety. Her need to have everything absolutely perfect will drive her insane, Jack. And it's so difficult. How do you parent one child to tone back on trying to over achieve while under the same roof parent a different child to scale up his achievements?"

"You definitely won't find any answers in parenting books," Jack told her. He reached over to his side table and turned the lamp off, "We just have to take it day by day. Just look for the moments they need support. Between you and I, I think we got it."

"I hope so..." Rose replied, turning her lamp off and plunging the room into darkness. She shifted on the creaky bed beside Jack, their faces resting only inches apart, "I love you."

"I love you, too," He whispered, his voice husky with sleep.

...

June 7th, 1922
Miles City, Montana

Nearly a week into summer vacation, Valentina was out the gate with things to keep her busy. Monday and Tuesday's after lunch, Valentina would attend an Ancient Rome history club hosted at the library. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, Valentina's jazz quartet met for practice. Valentina was usually late for dinner on these days. Wednesday and Saturday evenings, Valentina was off with friends attending jazz concerts. Sunday was the only day Rose had Valentina home all day long. As Rose watched Valentina zipping between the kitchen for a quick bite, to her music stand for a quick practice, to her writing desk to prep for upcoming events with her clubs, she also watched as Charlie spent hours in his rooms with his model trains, laid on the couch, or went for aimless bike rides that had him returning and complaining of the boring state of Miles City.

Rose made herself a mug of tea while she was on a break from writing her musings for the Miles City Tribune, a job she had taken on during the Great War. As she stirred her sugar cubes into her steaming drink, she approached the window behind the dining table that overlooked the backyard. She spied Charlie laying on his back with his arms and legs splayed out into the grass. There was a forgotten ball resting beside his head. He was simply staring at the sky.

Rose pursed her lips for a moment before she opened the screen door and stepped out into the shade of the back balcony. Still, she observed Charlie for the slightest moment more before she called out to him, "Charlie! Come here, will you?"

The boy was slow to his feet and she watched as he walked at his own pace through the yard, uncaring of blades of grass stuck to his trousers, shirt, and hair. Rose maternally combed through his hair with her finger once he was within arms length. It was still amazing to her how much he looked like a young Jack with different colored eyes.

"Charlie, what are you doing?" Rose asked, sipping her tea.

"I dunno..." Charlie shrugged, "Just layin' there..."

"Well, what are you going to do today?" Rose prodded, lowering her mug from her lips and arching her eyebrows, "What if I gave you some money for the cinema?"

"There's nothin' good out," Charlie shook his head, "I've already seen the one about the German Shephard, Rin Tin Tin."

"What if you and your sister got some ice cream and went for a nice walk?"

"Is Valentina even home?" Charlie asked, furrowing his dark eyebrows.

"Yes, she got home about an hour ago," Rose grinned, "Come on, let's go talk to her."

Rose pressed her hand gently to her son's shoulder and guided him inside. Her heels clunked on the wooden stairs as she followed Charlie up the staircase and down the hall. They came to Valentina's doorway to find her polishing the bell of her trumpet while trying to study her sheet music.

"Tina," Rose said, rapping her knuckle against the open door, "I think you and Charlie should get out for a bit. I'll give you money for ice cream. How does that sound? It's such a beautiful day outside. You two could sit on the patio, maybe head to the park for a walk. What do you say?"

"Uh, well..." Valentina's braid fell over her shoulder, "I haven't really gotten to practice today, Momma. We were having a Quiz Bowl at history club today, so I spent the morning reading. I really should practice."

"Well, I say you take a break," Rose told her. She entered the room and set her mug on Valentina's desk, spying her plentiful notes about Roman culture. Rose put her hands on her hips and turned to Valentina, "When's the last time you and your brother did something?"

"We ate breakfast together this morning," Valentina shrugged.

"When's the last time you two went out and played together?" Rose sighed. She went to Valentina's yellow and white striped curtains and gingerly pulled them back, allowing the sun to bleed into the room. She then turned back to her daughter and scooped up her music stand, replacing it against the wall at the foot of her bed, "I say put the trumpet down and get out today," Rose said, setting the music sheet on Valentina's desk. She paused, looking over her shoulder at her children before throwing in, "Please."

"Well... maybe for a little while," Valentina finally said, sliding off the side of her bed and replacing her trumpet in its case, "But I have to practice after dinner."

"Sure, for a little while," Rose agreed, pleased with herself. She walked down the hallway to her bedroom and reached for her purse sitting on the chest at the foot of their bed. Valentina and Charlie appeared in her doorway while she fished through her purse. She grinned to herself at the thought of her children getting some quality time together this afternoon. Rose decided to spoil them a bit and turned towards them, extending a ten dollar bill out.

"Ten dollars?" Valentina was surprised as she took it into her hands, "Momma, are you sure?"

"Of course," Rose replied, looking between the children, "You can get the fully loaded banana split or get twice as many scoops of ice cream as you usually do. Your pick!"

"Wow, cool!" Charlie grinned, snagging the bill into his hands to get a good look at it. He stared intently at the stoic face of Alexander Hamilton, not having a clue as to who it was. But he didn't care. He had ten dollars to eat to his hearts content. He already envisioned himself as King of the Ice Cream Parlor, "Let's go, Tina!"

Rose listened to her children's feet bound down the stairs and barrell out the door. She grinned as she approached the open window in her bedroom overlooking the front yard. She watched as Valentina and Charlie skipped over to their bikes that were constantly disregarded in the yard. They clambered onto their bikes and quickly zoomed out from the property, turning onto the wide road leading towards downtown. She watched as Valentina's braids finally disappeared out of sight.

That's a win for mom, Rose thought triumphantly, grabbing her mug and heading back to the kitchen.

...

Not too long later, Rose heard the front door open from where she was in the kitchen. She glanced to the clock on the wall above the kitchen sink, slicing a knife through a sandwich diagonally, Right on time, as usual, Rose grinned to herself, setting the ham and cheese sandwich with mustard, lettuce, and tomatos on a plate, serving some potato crisps with it as well. Jack came through the kitchen archway. He leaned his cane against the island and rounded the counter, pecking Rose on the cheeks. She grinned, holding his plate and a glass of lemonade out to him.

"Thank you," Jack said, taking it to a stool at the island. Rose grabbed her own sandwich and seated herself beside him. They ate in a silence for a few moments, which grabbed Jack's attention. Slowly, he looked around, as if expecting something to pop out at him, "It's so quiet. I don't hear trains or trumpets... no one is arguing... Are you getting them to take naps?"

Rose giggled at the thought and grinned at Jack, "Actually, I coaxed Valentina and Charlie to hang out at the ice cream parlor with a ten dollar bill."

"Ah, bribery," Jack smirked, popping a crisp into his mouth, "Momma's best friend."

"Well, if it works," Rose shrugged, setting her sandwich on the plate, "It's nice to have the chance of a quiet lunch with you, anyway."

Jack smiled and reached out, gently resting his hand over the top of Rose's. He gazed into the green eyes that he grew to adore more and more every day. Her sweet angelic face that greeted him every morning. There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't consider being madly in love with that woman. His wife, the mother of his children; she was everything to him. He arched his eyebrows in the next moment, giving her a mischevious look.

"You gave 'em a ten dollar bill, huh?" Jack pressed a hand to his chin, "That'll get them both a mountain of ice cream. I say we have time to gi upstairs and really enjoy our lunch break, whaddya say?" He grinned at her, flashing her a look that just about made her melt. Even after nearly a decade together, that man still knew how to make her swoon. Rose felt her cheeks radiate.

"Yes, please," Rose smiled, hopping from her stool. She grabbed his cane and handed it to Jack. The moment he balanced on his feet, their lips were drawn to each other like magnets. Feverishly kissing each other, their lips never parted as they backed out of the kitchen and stumbled up the stairs, all the while fumbling with each others buttons. The house was not quiet for long.