art 1: Chapter 49: 1888: Red Deer, Alberta
Nate's First Friend
That next Monday, the beginning of the fourth week of school, as Nate was stuttering through his reading, a knock at the school door interrupted the lesson.
Everyone went silent, because no one ever dared to interrupt a lesson of Ms. Fletcher's. Jeremy stood to answer the door.
"Sorry, to interrupt, but I overslept, and me Ma will have me head if I miss any more school," a young boy with a thick Irish accent said behind a yawn.
Jeremy looked back at Ms. Fletcher. She gave a slight nod to allow the boy in.
The boy walked slowly to the front of the classroom.
"Mr. McSweeney, I don't abide by tardiness," Ms. Fletcher lectured at the small boy.
"Ma don't either. But we've only just gotten here, from Dingle, Ireland. It's in Kerry County, Ireland…" the boy was explaining.
"Mr. McSweeney!" Ms. Fletcher glared at him to be quiet.
But the boy just went on.
"I know being late is bad and all, but I don't know if ya know that Ireland is halfway around the world! In Ireland it's bedtime," the boy spouted off. "Just thought ya ought to know."
Ms. Fletcher glared at him. The boy finally stopped talking.
"Take your seat," she pointed.
The boy sat with his age group.
"Mr. Grant, if you will continue," Ms. Fletcher said.
Everyone's attention was now focused on him.
Nate stuttered through his sentences even worse than normal.
"Nn…nnn…nnn…nervous Nn…nnn…Nate," Bobby whispered under his breath. His friends all smirked (no one would dare laugh in Ms. Fletcher's room).
The McSweeney boy turned a glare at them.
"Ya leave him alone," he said loud enough for the entire class to hear.
Everyone turned their attention to the boys.
Bobby gave him an eyebrow. The boy turned to Nate.
"I have a cousin. His name is Luke. He used ta stutter a storm. Auntie and Uncle had to hire someone to help. But he speaks very clearly now. And I'm sure yer issue is just because some people are being rude," the boy said kindly with his brown eyes showing Nate his support.
Ms. Fletcher glared at the boy again.
There weren't any more interruptions before lunch. Nate had taken to reading a book while he was outside and had pulled it out and propped it against his lunch pail while he ate.
The McSweeney boy found him and sat with him.
"Yer name is Nate, right?" the boy said as he unloaded his lunch.
Nate nodded.
"Before you get too comfortable, though, the other boys won't like you sitting with me," Nate said as a warning as he gestured over his shoulder.
The boy looked at the astonished faces of the school boys.
"Seems to me that yer the one who needs a friend the most. Luke and I always tried to find the person who needed a friend the most," the boy said with a smile.
Nate looked at him in shock.
"They'll start in on you," he added.
"I don't mind. Me name's Thomas, Thomas McSweeney," the boy said with a dimpled smile.
Nate smiled back.
"Nate Grant," Nate said.
"Is Nate short for anything?" Thomas asked as he took a bite of his sandwich.
"Nathan," Nate replied. "Do you go by Thom?"
Thomas shook his head emphatically.
"I've always only ever been a Thomas," he replied.
The boys chewed their food for a minute.
"What book are ya reading?" Thomas asked.
Nate blushed as he showed it to Thomas. It was the book of Irish fairy tales in Irish.
"You speak Irish?" Thomas asked in Irish.
Nate nodded.
"I knew yer special," Thomas beamed at him.
Nate blushed.
Thomas asked questions about Ms. Fletcher and the school house during the rest of their lunch. When the boy's lunch was over, and the girl's lunch started, Colleen was the first outside to see if the new boy had tried to be Nate's friend. She was happily surprised to see them both dashing to put their things away to go inside. She beamed at them as she ran up to them and took over their table.
"Hi!" Colleen waved at them.
"Hi," Thomas smiled back.
Jeremy was looking back at them in a rush. They were about to be late. Thomas and Nate joined the end of the boys returning inside.
"The girls seem to think yer alright," Thomas pointed out.
Nate shook his head.
"Colleen's my sister," Nate whispered.
"Yer sister's name is Colleen?" Thomas asked.
Nate just nodded.
"Well, if I had met her first I would've known yer Irish," Thomas said with a wink.
Nate actually laughed once.
They went about the rest of the school day as normal as possible with a new boy who had gone out of his way to be kind to the Grant boy.
At the end of the day, Thomas waited for Nate to stand up before he stood up and joined him in getting their things collected. Colleen and the Clarke sisters were impressed by the new boy.
"You're from Ireland?" Colleen asked.
"Born and raised. Me Da is a farmer. Ma and I travel a lot, though, or we did," Thomas responded.
"What's your name?" Becky asked.
"Thomas," he replied.
"How old are you?" Elle asked.
"Six," Thomas answered.
"I'm Colleen, Nate's sister. These are my friends, Elle and Becky Clarke," Colleen introduced them.
They all waved at each other.
"Do you live in town?" Elle asked.
"No, it's a bit of a ways outside of town. Me Da has been working on clearing fields in order to plant them next year," Thomas said.
Colleen and Nate looked at each other.
"Where is it?" Colleen asked eagerly.
The group had been slowly walking down the steps.
"Thomas, let's go," his mother yelled across the school yard and gave him a look about wasting her time.
"See ya, tomorrow," Thomas said as he waved goodbye.
Ophelia watched in surprise that Nate waved back.
"We have a new student, Mama," Colleen stated.
"I see that," Ophelia said.
"Can we have him over for dinner sometime? I want to get to know him, and Ms. Fletcher's lessons don't exactly encourage talking between boys and girls," Colleen asked.
"I'm okay with it, but we need to ask your father first," Ophelia replied.
Colleen and Nate both deflated at that, knowing that Archie wasn't around much.
The Grants enjoyed their walk back to their yard.
Colleen and Nate completed their homework, and Archie actually came home on time.
"Daddy, there's a new boy in town, and I think he's trying to be Nate's friend. Can we have him over to get to know him?" Colleen asked as Archie had sat down at the dinner table after his chores were done.
Archie was visibly surprised by all of that statement and looked at Ophelia. She just rose an eyebrow at him.
"Sure, I don't see why not," Archie agreed. "When are ya thinking of having them over?"
"Thursday would be best because we don't go to Auntie Edith's and Uncle James' house," Colleen thought out loud.
Ophelia nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like a plan," Archie said.
Colleen beamed, but then thought of a potential problem, "Daddy, if they come, you HAVE to show up."
Archie felt the barb of her words.
"I will be here," Archie said.
"On time," Colleen emphasized.
"I will be here on time," Archie added.
Colleen smiled and they went about their normal night time routine.
After the children were asleep, Ophelia found Archie sitting on the back porch with one arm stroking Sirius' fur absentmindedly. He was looking up at the stars.
"I had no idea Nate was still having trouble. Why didn't ya say anything?" Archie asked as Ophelia leaned against the post.
"To be perfectly honest, I'm tired of trying to explain why you should be choosing us over your addiction. I realize that you are struggling, and not all of this getting you started again is on you, but you also need to make the choice to try and be better. I don't know how to help you. I can't make you be present," Ophelia said with weariness.
Archie flinched as he heard the hurt in her voice.
"Archie, I love you and your children adore you, but I don't know how much of this we can take," Ophelia said matter-of-factly, but Archie knew her well enough to know that she was hurting. "I'm going to bed." Ophelia turned away from the pole and walked back inside.
Archie looked down at Sirius, who was also giving him a critical look.
"I know," Archie agreed. "I just don't know how to stop."
Archie rubbed his face tiredly.
The next morning, the Grants all walked the children to school. Sirius was following Nate and Colleen down the road. They waved at James who was sitting in General in their normal spot. He smiled back. The McSweeneyswere already in the school yard and both parents were there.
"Good morning!" Thomas said from beside his parents. "Ya have a dog! May I?"
Sirius went up to Thomas. Thomas started scratching Sirius in all of Sirius favorite places.
"Yer dog is quite nice! Ma, Da, can I?" Thomas started to ask.
Both of his parents gave him a severe look of "no."
"We only have Sirius because he saved Nate. He was a Mountie dog in the fort before he was ours," Colleen said as she scratched Sirius' head fondly. Sirius grinned a happy doggy grin.
"What did he save ya from?" Thomas asked as he turned to Nate.
"Kidnappers," Nate said.
"The first time," Elle added as they approached.
"First time?" Thomas asked.
"It's a long story," Colleen said.
"We're waiting for school to start," Thomas pointed out.
"We don't have that kind of time," Colleen added.
Thomas smiled.
"Well, I look forward to hearing the long story," Thomas said.
"Mr. and Mrs. McSweeney?" Ophelia approached the couple who had watched, but hadn't said a thing.
The both looked up.
"My name is Ophelia Grant, and this is my husband Archie. We would like to invite you to our house for dinner on Thursday to welcome you all, and to get to know each other better," Ophelia said politely.
The couple looked at each other and without cracking a smile or saying a word, they nodded back.
"Great, does 7 work?" Ophelia asked.
They nodded.
"We live off the west road. It's a small, but newly fixed house, with a barn," Archie said with a smile.
The woman gave a long look at her husband.
"We'll be there," the man said with an accent thicker than his son's.
Ms. Fletcher finally rang the bell to start the school day. The McSweeneys left in their wagon, while Ophelia returned to their home. Archie gestured to James. James gave him a look but walked with him.
Archie struggled with how to get his problem articulated. Thankfully, James was patient.
"I only found out yesterday that Nate was still having issues…and Colleen seems to think I'm likely to not show up to things…and I'm having a hard time with both of those things," Archie admitted softly.
"What, exactly, do you need from me, Archie?" James asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't even know. But after talking to Ophelia last night, I get the feeling that she's just about ready to take the kids and give up on us…and….I think losing them in this way hurts worse somehow," Archie admitted.
James watched as the fear of losing his family to separation truly broke the man's heart.
"Archie, you need to make the choice to stop. No one else can do it for you," James unknowingly restated what Ophelia had said.
Archie nodded.
"I have been able to stop…but it's the not restarting that gives me issues," Archie said. "Do you know of anyone like me who's been able to stop completely?
"With gambling? I'm afraid not. There aren't official programs or clean homes like with drugs and alcohol. But I also feel like that shouldn't stop you from trying. I will tell you, that with every person I've seen struggle with something, it is making small goals and meeting them that gives each person confidence to continue. Small goals, small steps. At least, at first," James replied.
Archie took the advice seriously.
"Thanks," Archie waved in goodbye as Archie walked to his work.
James waved back and continued on his patrol.
That Thursday after school, the Grants were in a rush to get everything ready for their guests. The house was cleaner than normal, and everyone was helping with making things nice. The McSweeneys approached in their wagon from behind their land. They heard Thomas before the others.
"Look! They have Fae protectors!" Thomas said excitedly as he pointed out that particular feature of the Grant yard. "and their house is pointed in the right direction!"
Mrs. McSweeney gave both her boy and husband a look.
The Grants were all standing on the porch and waving at them with a smile.
"Welcome," Archie said with a wide smile as the wagon stopped.
Mr. McSweeney pulled the break. Archie helped Thomas, then Mrs. McSweeney, as Mr. McSweeney stepped down and walked around.
"Thank ya for inviting us. "Me name is Eoan, this is me wife, Mildred, and our boy Thomas," Mr. McSweeney said in a deep voice with a thick accent.
The McSweeneys all stepped forward. Mr. McSweeney was tall and broad shouldered. He was tan from being outside all day. He had auburn hair with blue eyes. Mrs. McSweeney was standing erect and had thick wavy brown hair, with deep brown eyes, and places for dimples if she ever smiled. Thomas took after his mother, thick wavy brown hair, deep brown eyes, and definitely a set of very deep dimples on prominent display.
"Me name is Archie, me wife Ophelia, and our two children, Colleen and Nate," Archie introduced.
The Grants all waved. Colleen was bouncing on the balls of her feet ready to play.
"Can we show Thomas the yard?" Colleen couldn't help contain her enthusiasm.
The Grants looked at the McSweeneys to see if they were okay with that.
Then the children were released from anymore awkward small talk and ran off into the back yard, where Colleen was showing Thomas their play space. Sirius chased after them.
"Please, come inside," Ophelia invited them into their living room.
The couple followed behind silently.
The two couples then went through a list of small talk questions. It became quite clear that the McSweeneys were very quiet, which made them wonder where Thomas got his verboseness from, because Nate and Colleen had said that it was hard for him to be quiet, and even now they could hear Colleen and Thomas both chattering away at each other.
Archie took Mr. McSweeney outside to show off his barn and chat away from his wife.
"Red Deer is quite far from Dingle," Archie commented.
The man nodded.
"What brought ya so far?" Archie asked in curiosity as they walked the edge of the yard.
"I'm sure ya understand the need to move from Ireland?" the man gave Archie a look.
"Sure, yeah…but me reasons were the fact that me Da and me brother were horrible people, and I needed to get away," Archie said. "And I didn't land in Red Deer. I didn't even know it existed until Ophelia picked it."
The man took a long pause.
"Me wife and her sister had quite the fight. They were best friends. And now they don't talk. As talkative as Thomas is, his only real friend was his cousin, Luke. And it was definitely the same with Luke. That side of the family are world travelers. They always are coming and going, and while Luke and Thomas can make acquaintances easily enough, they don't stay in one place long enough to become friends, especially over time and distance. I've always been a farmer, but with the issues with planting in Ireland we knew we needed to move. Mildred wanted to find a place with room to grow, but nowhere her stubborn sister and her family would deign ever go to visit. I came here over summer to search for such a place. In fact, I was going to say 'no,' but when I was looking at the land a young boy was thrown off of a frightened horse," the man said.
"That was you?" Archie asked in surprise.
Mr. McSweeney nodded.
"I heard ya speaking Irish to yer son. And then I saw how ya set up yer land like the people of Ireland do, and I'm quite certain we're the first to notice it, I knew that Thomas would need at least a little piece of home, especially since he lost his only friend," Mr. McSweeney explained.
Archie looked surprised at the story, but nodded.
"I hope ya can handle snow. Winter here is harsh," Archie gave his advice.
Mr. McSweeney didn't smile or laugh, but his amusement was shown by the twinkle in his eyes.
"Taking the boys away from each other seems extreme. Any chance they will reconcile?" Archie asked as he watched Thomas playing tag in the yard.
Mr. McSweeney shook his head.
"If there had been, we wouldn't have moved so far. But both Mildred and her sister recognized how poorly the boys were doing without their playmate, and have agreed to let them and ONLY them write to each other," the man said with crossed arms.
Archie gave him a look.
"How does that work?" Archie asked.
"No idea, but that is how we're doing it," the man said stiffly.
"Dinner is ready," Ophelia said as she opened the back door. There was a series of pounding feet, and handwashing before entering the house, and the two families sat down for dinner.
"Daddy, may I say the prayer?" Colleen asked after they had all settled.
Archie nodded. They all bent their heads and clasped hands.
"Dear Lord, thank you for bringing the McSweeneys to Red Deer. Nate needed a friend. Thomas is a good friend. I hope they are friends for a long, long time! Thank you for providing us food, shelter, and family. God bless everyone!" Colleen said.
"Amen!" the group chorused.
Thomas had beamed at the friend compliment. When the prayer was over, Thomas and Nate looked at each other, and their family realized that they were watching the beginning of a deep and lasting friendship.
"Since we're neighbors and all, if you ever want us to take Thomas to school or watch him after school, we would be more than happy to have him," Ophelia said at the end of their dinner.
"Well, except Wednesdays and Fridays," Colleen popped up.
The McSweeneys looked at her in curiosity.
"Those are the days we spend with Auntie Edith. And she can't be around other people unless they can wash and change in their home," Colleen explained.
"Huh?" Thomas asked, trying to wrap his head around that comment.
"It's a long story. But Colleen is right, we spend time with her on those days after school, but that doesn't mean we can't help on other days," Ophelia said as she looked at the couple.
"Is it part of the long story about Nate and the kidnappers?" Thomas asked.
The McSweeneys went wide eyed at that.
"Uh, yes actually, it is," Archie nodded with a smile to Thomas.
"We might take ya up on that actually. We're not quite unpacked yet," Mr. McSweeney said. The families agreed that this would start next Monday.
The next afternoon, James was waiting outside the school house with a surprise for each Grant child. He was standing in the back, holding General's and Galileo's reins. They were both saddled, but it was Nate that noticed the difference in them first. He smiled widely.
"That's a BIG horse!" Thomas said as he came up behind Nate and saw General for the first time.
"Do you want to meet him?" Nate asked.
"Yeah, of course," Thomas said.
The girls were shaking their head at the boy's enthusiasm. They were still leery of the giant pulled out his lunch pail and dug for the carrots he always saved from his lunch.
"Take these, carrots are his favorite," Nate said as he handed them over.
"Is this why ya save yer carrots?" Thomas asked. Nate just nodded in return.
The boys walked to where James and General were standing.
"Hi, Uncle James. This is Thomas McSweeney. He's new," Nate introduced them.
James was impressed with the fact that Thomas wasn't at all phased with his massive horse, and that Nate had bothered to introduce him first.
"Hello, Thomas. My name is Major Normandeau," James said with a smile.
"Is the fort named after ya?" Thomas asked as he looked in that direction.
James blushed.
"Yes, it is," he replied.
"What did ya do to get it named after ya?" Thomas asked.
James felt that Thomas was going to be the type of person who would ask all the awkward questions.
"I'm not really sure myself," James admitted. "But I also know that Nate didn't bring you here to meet me."
James looked over at General.
Nate nodded.
"Thomas, this is General. He's Uncle James' horse. General, this is Thomas," Nate said as he held out his hand with a carrot that General immediately nibbled on. Nate started scratching his ears and stroking his nose.
"Hey, General! Yer a fine horse," Thomas complimented as he stuck out his hand for
General to nibble some carrots.
General, as always, preened at the comment.
"Don't compliment him. It goes straight to his head," James said as he gave his horse a small glare. General took offense and glared back.
"But he has to be, in order to be a soldier's horse," Thomas said as she stroked General's nose. "They aren't afraid of anything."
James nodded in agreement.
"He is highly intelligent and highly trained," James admitted as he looked fondly at his horse.
Nate smiled up at him.
"Is that why you put my saddle on him?" Nate asked.
James looked down at Nate.
"Nate, you notice everything, which makes surprising you very hard," James said with a smile and a lot of pride. "But yes, Aunt Edith and I talked with your parents, and we all decided that your father and I would teach you and Colleen at the same time. And since your family only has one horse…"
Nate was beaming.
"I get to learn to ride General!" he said happily as Colleen approached.
She shook her head at him.
"You had better hold on really tight when you fall," Colleen said as stood next to James.
She was stroking Galileo's nose.
Nate, James, and Thomas were all waiting for her to notice her surprise.
"Yer sister is a bit of a ditz," Thomas commented.
Colleen took offense to that and let him know with a stomp of her foot and crossing her arms.
"I am not, Thomas McSweeney!" she yelled as she strode towards him with her finger raised. "I'm not ditzy! I just, UNCLE JAMES!"
Colleen had noticed the saddle with her name engraved on it when she had turned her head to get her hair out of her face.
James was laughing at her.
"You just have the attention span of a squirrel," James teased as he finished her sentence.
James couldn't say anything more, because Colleen had embraced him in a 'Colleen hug,' and he couldn't breathe properly.
"I love it, thank you!" Colleen said as she looked at her personalized saddle.
"You're welcome," James said as he patted her head.
"See you on Monday, Thomas," Colleen said as they walked away.
Thomas looked at Colleen in astonishment. He had thought she was going to hurt him with her obvious anger, but now she was happy and waving goodbye.
"You'll get used to it," Nate whispered as he followed his sister.
"See ya Monday, Nate," Thomas waved as he turned to find his mother. They both went on their ways.
Later that evening after Archie came into the fort after work, Nate, Colleen, Archie, James, General, and Galileo were all outside in the Normandeau yard. Nate and Colleen were wearing riding clothes and waiting impatiently.
"Alright, with teaching both Nate and Colleen at the same time, and having not approved of Regina's idea of giving Nate a grown horse, we've had to improvise who is riding whom. Nate and General there are rules to follow during these training sessions," James said as he paced in front of them.
James waited a few breaths. Then he approached General's nose and looked the horse deep into the eyes.
"Rule #1: you don't ride without a qualified adult present until your legs are long enough to hit his sides in the right spots. Rule #2: you follow each instruction that your instructor gives, without question. Rule #3: you don't go into a cantor, run, or gallop while Nate is alone on your back, until he has become more proficient. Rule #4 you don't so much as flinch at a loud noise or a startling object," James' last two rules were said directly to General. They were staring at each other. "Got it?"
General gave him a look back that said James was being stupid demanding such a thing.
"Let's get started then," James said.
Archie and James went about giving Colleen the same instruction Nate had gotten over the summer. Then they put the step next to Galileo in order for her to practice mounting. When she was settled, Nate got put into his saddle and the back of General and was handed the reins.
Archie and James directed them around the yard. Nate was doing everything very well. Colleen was a bit stiff and it showed in her movement. They rode the horses into the barn, so that they could show Colleen how to take care of one properly. Once Archie had her saddle off and put to the side, as they were brushing Galileo, there was a loud bang that shook through the fort.
Galileo jumped in surprise. General, who was still holding Nate, only twitched an ear.
"What are they doing, Uncle James?" Colleen asked.
"Battle exercises. They're using a lot of gunpowder to make noise, to train both Mounties and soldiers how to react to loud things during a fight. No ammunition is being used, though, so no one will get hurt," James said as he helped calm Galileo down.
Once the horses were settled, they walked to the cleaning rooms, and inside where everyone in the house was happy and celebrating that Nate finally had a good friend.
Colleen was doing more of the describing of Thomas than Nate was, but Nate just added his nods to her description.
"Have you officially met little Thomas?" Edith asked her husband after the Grants went home.
"Briefly this afternoon," James said.
"And?"
"Thomas is a good boy. Nate brought him to be introduced to General," James said.
"Oh, he's not afraid of General?" Edith asked.
"Not at all. Those three are going to cause trouble once Nate can ride him properly," James admitted.
Edith just laughed hard.
Hello! I hope this brought more smiles and heartwarming moments despite the fact that Kathryn is still missing. In how I understand Archie's addiction, I feel like it is something he has highs and lows with, so he will be going up and down in the story. Thanks for the positive feedback!