Second Chance

LHOP inspired fiction by Cheryl C. Malandrinos

Part 10

Mary and a group of students were on their way back from a picnic. They walked hand in hand, using the fence to guide them back to the school. Mary was at the front of the line and spoke with authority as the students stepped up the stairs and went through the front door.

"Quiet down please; other students may be working,"

The group dispersed once attendance was taken. Mary liked being in charge. It reminded her of how Mrs. Simms used to let her teach class in Walnut Grove when she was preparing for her teacher's exam. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

She shook the memories from her mind and went to find Adam. As she walked down the hallway, she listened for the sound of his voice. When she got there it sounded like class was almost over. Mary lingered outside the doorway. A few moments later, students filed out of the classroom. Mary waited for the din of footsteps to stop and then entered the room.

"Adam?" she called.

"Yes Mary."

"Everyone is back inside. I took attendance when we came in."

"Thanks Mary. You've been a big help to me these past few days."

Adam moved closer to her and took her hands in his. "Have you given any more thought to what we talked about?"

"That's all I've thought about."

"But you haven't decided yet, have you?"

"No…it's a big decision. I want to make the right choice."

"I hope you make the right choice too…the one that is best for you." Adam let go of her and walked towards the hallway.

"Adam…"

He turned around. "Yes?"

"Thank you… you know…for understanding."

"Sure," Adam replied and then turned to continue out of the classroom and down the hallway.

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As Mary sat in her room brushing her golden hair she thought about how quiet Adam had been at supper that night. And when he did speak, his voice was missing the laughter she was used to. Mary knew that she was the reason he was so out of sorts. While Adam said he understood, she knew it bothered him that Mary was taking so long to consider his proposal. She hadn't been completely honest with him; something she decided was best to fix right away.

Even though it was the middle of the night, Mary walked down the hallway to Adam's room. She knocked lightly on his door.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's me, Mary."

"A…hold on a second."

Mary could hear Adam fumbling around in his room. There was a shuffling of papers and the moving of chairs. After a moment or two Adam opened the door.

"I…a…I wasn't expecting anyone; especially at this hour," Adam explained

"I know. I'm sorry it's so late, but I need to talk to you right away."

Adam led her inside and closed the door. "You've decided?"

"No, but I need to tell you why it's taking so long."

"We've talked about this already.'

"Not really. When you asked me, I was thrilled. I wanted to say yes right away. But then I started thinking about my Ma and Pa and my sisters and how much I really miss them. And my thoughts wandered to Walnut Grove and all my friends there."

"Mary, we've been through this and I understand…" Adam interjected.

"Adam please; I…I haven't told you everything."

Adam heard Mary rubbing her hands together in nervousness. He reached out to grasp her hands in his. "What is it?" asked Adam tenderly.

"Can I…can we sit down?"

"Oh, sure." Adam pulled a chair away from the table for Mary and then sat down across from her.

"A while back I was engaged to a young man from Walnut Grove," Mary began. She heard Adam take a quick breath, but he didn't say anything, so she continued. "We were supposed to be married. We even found a spot to build our house…but then John received a letter about a college scholarship. So we agreed to wait and John moved to Chicago."

It was hard for Mary to relive these memories. While she thought of them often, she had never spoken about them to anyone. Mary's throat felt dry and her voice became raspy as she continued.

"We wrote to one another, but it wasn't until Pa got sent to Chicago for the Grange that I saw John again. He broke off our engagement."

"I'm sorry Mary, but you have to believe me when I say that won't…"

"That's not all," Mary interrupted. "Before I went blind, John came to see me. He had left his job in Chicago and returned to Walnut Grove. He…he says he still loves me."

Mary tried to imagine Adam's reaction.

"He asked me to marry him."

"What did you say?" Adam asked, his voice quivering.

"I told him I would think about it. He stopped by the house right before I left Walnut Grove. We had a fight. I haven't written him since I got here."

"I wish I had known," Adam replied in a troubled manner. "At least it all makes sense now."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner. But I never expected you…I never planned to…I didn't know that things were going to change so much between the two of us."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to write Ma and Pa and tell them I can come home in a month."

"Then what?"

"Then…I'm going to go home and talk to John."

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John had gone into town to pick up some ink and a sack of sugar for Grace. When he entered Oleson's Mercantile he was surprised how empty it was. He found Mr. Oleson in the store room packing up merchandise.

"Hello Mr. Oleson."

"Oh, hello John."

"What's going on?"

"With all the families leaving Walnut Grove, I have to pack all this stuff up and sell it to a wholesaler. I won't get half of what I paid for it."

"I'm so sorry Mr. Oleson. Do you happen to have some ink and a sack of sugar?"

"Sure John. Let me get that ready for you."

John said goodbye to Mr. Oleson and told him that he hoped things got better soon. He looked around at the once flourishing town and felt sad that so many of the businesses were closed. Now that the banker had left, the people of Walnut Grove knew it was just a matter of time before the town folded and they would be forced to move on.

"John!" Mrs. Foster yelled out to him from the window of the Post Office. "I've got something for you."

He walked over to the window. "It's a letter from Iowa," she explained.

"Really?" John said in disbelief. "Thanks Mrs. Foster."

John took the envelope and looked at it. It was postmarked from Iowa as Mrs. Foster had said. He decided to go out to the lake so he could read it in private. John sat down on a large rock next to an oak tree and opened the envelope. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before unfolding the pages.

"Dear John,

I'm sorry I haven't written until now. I've been very busy learning or should I say relearning how to do some of the things I found so simple before. It seems that I have been away from home forever. But I'm happy to say that I will be coming back to Walnut Grove in three weeks.

Once I'm home I would like for us to get together for a visit. I'm sorry that I was so angry with you the last time we spoke. I hope that you can forgive me.

Please say hello to your family for me. I hope to see you when I get home.

Sincerely,

Mary"

He wasn't quite sure what to make of Mary's letter. He thought it was a good sign that she wrote to him, but she hadn't mentioned reaching a decision yet. 'Perhaps she would prefer to do that in person' he thought. John made his way towards home hoping that he could talk to Grace about it.

Grace was outside taking clothes off the line when John reached the Edwards' farm. As soon as she saw him, she smiled. "I thought you had walked to Sleepy Eye for the sugar."

John shrugged his shoulders and tried to smile. "Ma, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure. Can we do it out here?"

"Yeah, we can work while we talk." John reached up and began taking clothes off the line and putting them in a basket. "I got a letter from Mary today."

"What did she say?"

"She apologized for not writing sooner, and for being so angry with me the last time I saw her."

"Anything else?"

"She's coming home."

"Oh, John that's wonderful news!"

"She wants to see me."

"Did she say what for?"

"No. What do you think it means Ma?"

"I don't know John. I think it's a good sign that she wrote to you and wants to see you…but I can't say for sure."

"I just wish she had said more in her letter. She'll be home in a couple of weeks, but I don't know if I can wait that long."

"You don't have much choice. Besides, worrying about it won't change anything. Now are you going to fold that shirt a fourth time or can it go in the basket now?" Grace chuckled.

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Charles and Caroline had been busy getting ready for their trip to Iowa. They had asked Isaiah and Grace to watch over Laura, Carrie and baby Grace while they were gone. It had been a good thing that Isaiah had found Charles and him some odd jobs over the past few weeks or Charles might not have been able to afford to take Caroline with him. They couldn't wait to see Mary again.

As they boarded the train they said goodbye to the girls and thanked Isaiah and Grace again for taking care of them. The train was crowded, but they would have stood in the car all the way to Iowa to go get Mary. They were like children at Christmas time.

After the long ride, Charles hired a coachman at the train station to take them to the Burton Hotel. The next morning they would make their way over to the blind school to see Mary. In her last letter, she mentioned there was something she wanted to talk to them about. The rest of the letter seemed cheery enough, so Charles and Caroline didn't think there was any reason for concern.