The Whole Bargain
Chapter 2
"Small Changes"
The old house in the hollow by the lakeshore was feared by the little children of Cohasset and Deer River. It was seldom approached, as it was near few other houses. It was supposedly deserted, and sometimes the little children in the area had the hardest "double-dog" dare of being told to go knock on the windows. But, if anyone had looked hard, they would see a car go every week into GrandItasca Hospital, twenty minutes away in Grand Rapids.
Mary had boarded up the windows years ago because of it. She was too proud to let them see the utter decay of her house. Caroline, who had never married, was one of the only other people who ever saw inside it. Inside was a scanty smattering of furniture and rugs. There were no curtains and the rooms were musty.
Caroline was worried. Mary was growing too reclusive, too like her father. Mary was too proud to find any way of help. She wouldn't save herself even while she could. The trouble was, Caroline reflected, that wasn't going to be much longer. Divorce would soon be out of the question, once his condition worsened.
The old house was by a beautiful lake. It reflected the sky when it was calm, angry, hopeless, turning…any mood. That's what intrigued Mary. It was never in the same mood twice, like herself. So she never moved.
*~*~*~*~*~*
She hadn't realized how sad it was. Her poor old house where her father had killed himself, and where her dear brother had died, and where she had made her wish. The wish that changed everything. It was all here.
But it was so, so sad. It was crying out, wasn't it? It was saying "Help me, Mary, help me!" at the top of its lungs. It was slowly bending on its knees with the sagging roof.
So, one morning in early August, she decided to fix it. Off came the window boards, the mold on the roof, the chipped red paint, giving way to whitewashed boards, and all the old carpets and wallpapers. Mary had, of course, done a thorough job. It was her nature to do so.
It took almost all her savings, but she managed. She could do almost all the work herself, and had done. She did, however, have to call in a local plumber to fix the old rusted water pipes. Mary was sick of purifying lake water, as she was of trying to purify her life.
It looked almost sweet again, like an old dream or letter too much thought about or too much read. It was like stepping back into memory-land. There were old things done that buzzed around her like bees over a pollen grain. It was like she was a small child going to Cohasset Elementary again.
But it was home again.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"I can't do it Caroline." Her voice was firm.
"But, you have to do something to pay for fixing up the house. Really, there is no other way." Caroline insisted.
"I don't want him here, and that is final." Hard, like marble.
"Mary you're being unreasonable. You need this money." Caroline's voice was almost begging.
"I'll manage." Dignity must be upheld.
"No you won't. Mary you know you have next to no income." Do it, do it, do it….Caroline's voice radiated concern and insistence. Mary's face might have been made out of stone. She deemed no reply.
"How are you going to pay, Mary? You spent most of your savings, and now how are you going to pay for Richard's medical care? You know you will run out of money in a few years, and will have to sell all your land. Don't tell me that that plan hasn't crossed your mind, and that it hasn't made you shudder." Caroline knew her too well. And she was right.
"Fine Caroline, but remember I am only doing this for the money." Dignity must be saved, somehow.
"Any way is fine, so long as you give yourself this opportunity."
*~*~*~*~*~*
It was spring again. The turning of the seasons had been monotonous for her for the last eight years that she had almost ceased to notice them at all. It was just like changing the window hangings, that was all. Just a different picture to see out of the windows of her house.
Except now, just recently,
she had started to feel excited. It was going to change. The monotony could
cease. In this mood she decided to take a walk.
She left Richard at Caroline's, who was glad that Mary wanted to get out, even if she didn't know where Mary was going. (Mary had a sixth and seventh sense that told her that Caroline wouldn't approve if she told her she was just going on a walk, and that she would insist on her going somewhere in public if she did.)
Mary started out, not knowing where to traverse she started where a sign was pointing to a lake. Cedar Lake. It sounded very original around those parts and very pretty. The light from the sun fell through the bright young green leaves, making it as speckled as a toad's back.
Lovely similes! Mary was more of a metaphor girl, but it seemed like such a perfect time for some similes. How perfectly lovely!
The lake was as beautiful and lake-y as she had imagined it. That was the first thing is many years she could be pleasantly right about. It gave her new hope. Maybe she could still right her mistakes. She was only twenty-eight years old. There was time.
*~*~*~*~*~*
At the end of the path there was a house. It was big, square, gabled, and green trimmed. It was lovely, and homey. How deliciously homey! These people must be kindred spirits. They must!
She opened the door.
"Hello," she called into a very nice, neat, and trim white hall.
"Hello there. Can I help you?" It was an older man's voice, coming from upstairs.
"I was just wondering if I could stop here for a minute, and sit down. I've just taken a walk, and I pretty tired." Said she, without a thought to dignity. The man had a nice, kind voice.
Instead of a replying, the older man, and an older woman were coming down the stairs.
"Hello," the woman held out her hand, "My name is Margaret Boyd, and this is my husband Jim."
They both shook her hand.
"My name is Mary Moore. I live over in Cohasset. I was just taking a walk over by Cedar Lake, and I just needed a rest, and thank you for letting me stay…" Her voice trailed off.
"No problem, dear. We're just going to have some tea. Won't you join us?"
"I'd love some tea."
They were indeed kindred spirits. Mr. and Mrs. Jim and Margaret Boyd were as kindred-y and as lovely and as old-fashioned as their lake. Jim was old and withered, but with twinkling blue eyes, and a nice warm smile Mary immediately liked. Margaret was old, but looked timeless with her gray elfin locks and her sparkle. Her pine brown eyes seemed to radiate niceness.
They had drunken their tea, and talked "cabbages and kings" till Mary's heart fairly throbbed with the happiness of finding kindred spirits. The hospital staff wouldn't have recognized her as the proud and haughty Mrs. Richard Moore.
"Oh," she smiled into her pillow after getting Richard to sleep, "I hope that when David Ford comes he will be as nice and chummy as the Boyds!"
And that seemed a pleasant thought to drift off to the land of dreams with.
*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N I finally did it. You can all applaud now. Yay!
And I just had to have a modern-day Lost Margaret in there. Just cause the story of Lost Margaret intrigues me so much.
Review Response:
Irish Princess: Yay! I'm glad you like it! Being Anne or Faith would be cool. Especially Faith. I want a guy like Jem! Maybe Jem's looks and Walter's personality? I think that that would be the best guy you could get in the world! I hope you like this installment!
blue-fire40: Don't worry; I love the character of Own Ford too much to keep his modern day equivalent out of there for long!
She-Elf: I assume you are the one who leaves me the hilarious reviews on The Never Fading Rose. They always make me laugh very hard. Thanks, if you are. If you aren't that review made me laugh very hard too, and since I am out of 8th grade and now am in High School (which is scary, yet very easy) I think I might be able to get more time in for fanfiction. Oh, and I was wondering, are you Cara from the Avonlea Forum? Just cause if you are the reviewer from The Never Fading Rose your reviews always sound like Cara. Yeah. Thanks for reviewing!
stephanie: Thanks for reviewing and your helpful plot ideas. I'll defiantly try not to follow her life exactly, and hopefully I have started using more of my own ideas with this chapter.
So there you all are. Till next time! Please be dears and drop me a review! They make me so happy!
The Minnesotan
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