Walter basically pulled his children away from the manse, needing to get away before he said or did something that would only cause more trouble, and it appeared that Una had enough of that on her own. His mind reeled as he was overcome with anger, loss, and guilt. He was so caught up in trying to determine what it was that he was feeling, and basically, to push it away, that he didn't notice Hope trying to pull away from his grasp. Finally, she did get away from his firm hold.
"Daddy, I don't want to go home yet. I haven't got to talk to Una yet!" she pled.
Walter turned around to face his obstinate and stubborn daughter. "Hope, Miss Una seems to have a lot going on right now. I don't think that she has time to play today." He could see the obvious disappointment in his daughter's face.
He kneeled down and took Hope into his arms. "Besides, I have to leave tomorrow for a long business trip, and I would like to spend the evening with your brother and you."
"Where are you going, Daddy?" the little girl asked, her mind taken away from Una.
"He's going home to Oklahoma, and he's leaving us here," Tenny told his sister.
Hope looked to her father for verification. Walter nodded his head. "There is a great deal of grown-up business to take care of, and the two of you are starting school soon."
"You're not going miss our first day of school?" she asked, unable to believe that she wouldn't have a parent with her on such an important day.
"No, I'm afraid that I cannot be here. If there was any way that I could put this off, I would. Your Grandmother, Aunt Faith, and Aunt Rilla will make sure that everything will be okay for the two of you. You know that I hate to leave you. I would take you with me if school wasn't going to start before I return. I can't do without my Hope and Tenny for very long," Walter admitted to his children.
Hope thought about everything her father told her for a moment and guessed that everything would be fine. She didn't want to go back to Oklahoma anyway. It reminded her too much of something that she couldn't have. "You're leaving tomorrow?"
"Yes, I am," Walter answered. "So, what do you two want to do this evening? Does a walk to the lighthouse seem fun?"
Both children's faces lit up and this idea. "Can I be a pirate, Daddy?" Tenny asked.
"Only if I can too," Walter told him.
"Can we collect sea-shells and make wishes to the man in the moon?" Hope asked.
"We can do anything we want."
They did do whatever they wanted, within reason. Tenny was a pirate searching for buried treasure. Hope collected sea-shells and danced in the surf. When they were tired, the three of them lay down and made wishes to the man in the moon.
"I wish for a dog like Boomer to sleep at the foot of my bed and play with," Tenny wished.
"I wish for Daddy to come home soon because I will miss him so very much," Hope wished.
"I wish for long, health, happy futures for my children, Walter wished.
They each had silent wishes that they didn't say aloud because they were more important than the others and might have made one of the others sad. Tenny wished also that his Daddy wouldn't be sad like he had been all day, but happy like he had been the day before. Hope wished for a mother with whom to share her secrets. Walter wished for a sign to help him straighten out his feelings about everything.
Hmm... Where should I go from here? Actually, I just needed to fix a typo in the last sentence that I noticed. I'm learning how to use the new version of Quikedit. Once again, things are soon to change, and though we may have to stay down in the valley a bit longer and possible visit it occasionally after, things will soon brighten up. It just will not be in the instant gratification that most are hoping for. What kind of write would I be if that was so? As said earlier, some old and familiar faces will be returning. One of these will play a significant role in many lives, especially Walter. This person will also be the one who will give small Anne Ford her nickname.