Amy's Story
Chapter 4:
Ten days later, Reverend Whitman and his sister Amy were invited to Gull Cottage for lunch and to meet the men and personnel of the Schooner Bay Home for Invalid and Indigent Seamen. Carolyn had carefully prepared her charges for the luncheon and they were waiting eagerly to meet Miss Whitman.
At precisely 12:30 they arrived at Gull Cottage and Carolyn and Martha were on hand to greet them warmly. The Reverend first introduced Mrs. Muir to his sister and Amy very politely answered "How do you do?" and then bobbed from the knees while bowing her head in an imitation of a curtsey. Next, Martha was introduced, and the greeting was repeated.
The men of the home were waiting in the parlor for their own introductions and as Martha took their guests' coats, Carolyn escorted them into the front room. Amy was several inches shorter than she was, as she had expected. Her round face was framed by bright gold hair, just barely laced here and there with a thread of gray. Her blue eyes surmounted cheeks made rosy by the cold weather and her mouth seemed to be unable to do anything but smile. She was stout-seeming without much of a waist in evidence and her hands were small and her fingers stubby. Yet her happy demeanor and the infectious joy she exuded attracted the small group to her.
As the oldest and first residence of the Home, Nate Douglas stood to greet Amy and her brother. He introduced the other men as well and wished her well as a new citizen of Schooner Bay. She went around and extended her hand to everyone, gracing them with her little curtsey-bob as she went along.
Amy stopped when she saw Red. She began to giggle and pointed to his reddish-gray hair. "Look at your funny color hair! I've never seen hair that color. Why does it look like that?"
"That's cause that's my color hair. Your hair is yellow; that's yours. I don't think your hair is funny. Why do you think mine is?" said Red. It was clear that Amy was fascinated by Red although it wasn't clear that he liked her, much less found her equally fascinating. He was the youngest of the men but even so, he was almost 20 years her senior.
Martha had returned from hanging up their guests' coats and immediately felt a bit of discomfort from the others in the room. Stepping forward in her maternal manner she beckoned everyone forward. "Why don't we all go into the dining room and sit down. Lunch is ready."
Amy sat next to her brother but across the table from Red. Mrs. Muir and Martha brought out the bowls of food and pitchers of water and a large pot of tea. When seated, Mrs. Muir turned to the Reverend Whitman and said, " Reverend, why don't you lead grace?"
Reverend Whitman bowed his head and quietly said," Dear Lord, please bless our food and drink today and bless this good company that shares it in fellowship ."
Everyone at the table murmured their "Amens " and Nate stood and offered the Reverend and his sister one of the bowls of food. "Please take and enjoy it. Martha is a fantastic cook."
The Reverent nodded in agreement. "Mrs. Whitman and I always enjoy sharing a meal with everyone in Gull Cottage." He looked over at Amy with a stern look. She smiled and shook her head. "I know, I know. Eat like a lady. Don't gulp your food."
Carolyn could see that Martha and the seamen wanted to chuckle at her but held their laughter so that they would not embarrass Amy. Soon everyone was engaged in enjoying the excellent luncheon, and from the smells in the kitchen it was clear that dessert was going to be one of Martha's famous cherry pies. When most of the people at the table had finished with the entree, Red, Joe and Peter gathered the plates to bring to the sink. Martha and Carolyn brought in the pie and fresh plates along with a bowl of freshly whipped sweet cream.
Red took his usual tiny slice of the pie which Amy immediately noticed. "Why are you having such a small piece of pie?" she asked.
He responded, "I'm not allowed to eat too many sweets. I have something called diabetes. Do you know what that is?"
Amy shook her head "no".
Mrs. Muir leaned forward and gave a simple explanation. Amy looked at Red with sorrow and concern on her face. "That's awful. I would hate not to be able to eat sweets. I love them!"
"Well, it's something I have gotten used to. If I don't behave, Mrs. Muir says I'm going to get very, very sick and I don't want that. I like living here at Gull Cottage. Everyone is very good here and no one makes fun of me."
"I like living with my brother too " said Amy. "Nobody makes fun of me in their house like they did at my sister Barbara's house."
Red nodded his head. "Sometimes people can be very nasty and bad to others. I served on some ships where they beat me if I didn't do things the right way, right from the start. I learn slow , but I can learn."
"Me too, " said Amy." I can read," she stated proudly. "Can you?"
"Yes, I can read. I like to read the papers , but the best part are the funnies when they have them. They don't always have them. Then it's not as much fun. Sometimes one of the other men will read to me and that makes it faster and easier for me to understand the story." He seemed to be warming to Amy, and quite quickly, too.
The others at the table looked at each other. Joe elbowed Sam while Socks did his best not to snigger. Nate looked over at the women at each end of the table and smiled indulgently. Mrs. Muir smiled sweetly, thinking that there might be a nice little innocent romance brewing between Amy and Red.
By two p.m. Reverend Whitman and his sister were saying their goodbyes. It had been a very nice afternoon and the residents of Gull Cottage proffered their invitation for Amy and her family to spend Thanksgiving dinner with them in a few weeks. Amy, for her part, was thrilled to be asked to visit again and made sure to especially thank Red for his hospitality. Carolyn was even more sure after watching Amy say her goodbyes, that the young woman had quickly developed a small crush on their youngest seaman.
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It was only a few days later that the engagement party of A.A. Cooper , the younger, and Phyllida Grover took place at the large Grover estate outside of town. Carolyn wore her best winter outfit; a Navy-blue merino wool dress with the skirt pulled back to a small-ish bustle with a cream silk underskirt with small blue flowers splashed all over it. At the stand-up collar and at the cuffs just below her elbows, there was a small bit of ecru lace. When she had left the Seaman's Home, she thought she looked very elegant. Arriving at the mansion, however she was surprised to see the women in evening dress and most of the men in formal clothes.
Reverend and Mrs. Whitman were there with Amy. After greeting Mr. and Mrs. Cooper and Mr. and Mrs. Grover, Carolyn walked over to the Whitmans. "I didn't expect to see Amy here," she said.
Mrs. Whitman answered, " We didn't feel comfortable leaving Amy home alone yet . She promised to be on her best behavior, and we will probably leave early." Carolyn had hoped to be able to return to Gull Cottage with the Whitmans in their carriage, but she did not want to leave the party early. There were a lot of people that she wanted to speak with. She noticed Amy looking around the room at the other young adults. They were clearly ignoring her, avoiding eye contact, and staying away from her general direction. Carolyn herself didn't know many of them, other than to greet them at Sunday services but she found herself becoming annoyed at their inhospitable manner. She turned to Reverend Whitman to voice her displeasure, but he shook his head. "I think I have the topic for next week's sermon. Don't worry yourself about it."
Soon, music started from the corner of the room. Carolyn wished she had a partner to dance with even if she was not dressed in a dancing costume. She chatted with a few people before she noticed a tall stranger standing next to Mr. Grover. This new gentleman, who she had never seen before, was dressed in a formal army colonel's uniform with his ceremonial sword hanging from his belt. His hair was blonde, curly, and wavy, as if he had just stepped in from a breezy day on the parade ground. He was clean shaven and had a long face , but what caught Carolyn's attention immediately, was his aquamarine blue eyes. She had never seen him before, but she knew those eyes somehow. She was drawn to him inexorably and walked across the room hoping that Mr. Grover would introduce them.
Colonel Porter was the widower of Mr. Grover's sister. He bowed over Carolyn's hand and then kissed it. "It is my pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Muir." He had a Boston accent but spoke with refinement. "Would it be too forward of me to ask you to dance ?" he asked.
Carolyn felt herself blushing. The man was handsome and the more she looked at his eyes more she felt that they had met somewhere before. Even though she was not dressed in a ball gown, she took his hand and responded, "I would love to dance ".
They stepped into the middle of the room surrounded by the other dancing couples. Colonel Porter held out his hands to begin to waltz gently to the music. He leaned over to whisper in her ear . " You are quite correct, dear lady. We have met before ." The accent had changed to an English one and looking up into his face Carolyn saw the figure of Captain Gregg. "I could not resist. I am making use of Colonel Porter tonight. I hope he does not mind. At the very least he will have a wonderful evening with the most beautiful woman in the room."
Carolyn's mouth hung open. "You can really do this? You can really touch me like this?"
"Yes ,my dear. I know I should not do this, but I could not help myself. In this manner we can spend an evening together. I will even borrow Mr. Grover's landau and drive you back home. I don't know if this will ever happen again. And I mean to make the most of it. I hope you do not object."
She could only nod her head. It was almost too much to take in. She too had dreamed of being able to touch his hand but here she was in his arms dancing. "But I see you as Captain Gregg. Do the others see you this way as well?"
"No, my dear lady. Only you have that honor. To everyone else I am Mr. Grover's brother- in- law. They are none the wiser."
It seemed like they danced together for hours on end. But all too soon it was time to leave the Grover mansion and head home. Mr. Grover had no objection to Colonel Porter/ Captain Gregg borrowing the family's landau to return Mrs. Muir to her home. A servant hitched the horse to the carriage and brought it to the front door for them. As the man held the reins, Carolyn stepped up into the carriage to be joined seconds later by the Captain. They started down the road at a slow trot to extend the evening as long as they possibly could, but all too soon they were at the front gate of Gull Cottage. Daniel looked over at Carolyn and raised a hand to caress her cheek. "My dearest," he said as he looked deeply into her eyes and moved closer and closer still. "Please, may I ..." She did not give him the chance to finish his question but leaned forward and put her arms around his neck as their lips met for what they hoped and dreamed would not be the last time. All too soon they had to separate and Daniel Gregg, once again wearing another's face escorted her to the door of Gull Cottage. " I will not visit you this evening my dear Madam," as he leaned down to kiss her once more. "It would be too difficult for me to be near you especially while you were sleeping. But I will speak with you in the morning. Sleep well my darling ."
Carolyn felt tears forming in her eyes as she wished him a good night as well.