So futile to have lived at all-and it might all have been so different.
An unknown 19 year old girl
At birth you join your family,
At death you join your family.
It's a family affair.
Kathrine's birth was a difficult one. Allie was forty-one and felt her age after carrying Kate for nine months. Her doctor fretted and fussed like the old man he was. Every time he examined Allie he found the baby in the breach position. Nothing he tried and nothing Allie did seemed to change the situation. When Allie arrived at the hospital they were ready for a C-section. Fortunately, for some reason, the fetus turned and Kate was born naturally.
The family was ecstatic while her doctor was concerned. Before she left the hospital her doctor sat down and talked to the both of them. "Four is a good number if you ask me. You have two of each which is good. Now, if you follow normal procedures the next one would come along in two to three years. That would put you at forty-three or forty-four." He paused there to let the numbers sink in. "I'm not sure that it is wise to go for another child." Another pause. "I'm not here to tell you how to run your family, but as your doctor I am expressing a strong concern for your health. Having a child is still an amazing miracle and has gotten better over the years. Risks are down and success is up. However, there comes a point to recognize that time is swinging against you."
Noah looked at Allie and then at the doctor, "Stop?" He questioned.
"Again, I have to look at it from a doctor's point of view. Past forty is pushing it to have a baby. You were successful this time. Maybe not so in the future. Mother Nature does not behave as predictably at past forty as she does say when Allie was in her teens or twenties. In the natural order of things…" The good doctor smiled and changed what he was going to say, "The natural order of life was interrupted by the war which meant you two started later. We roll with the punches and four is a good number." The good doctor paused to think before continuing, "I've given you my doctor's speech and now it is up to you to decide. If you want more children, I will, of course, do everything I can to assist. If you want to wait and think about it, then I would recommend breastfeeding for at least two years with this one. That's Mother Nature's natural form of birth control: as we have discussed in the past."
Good advice that fell on receptive ears that, somehow, did not listen too closely.
When Kate was born, Jane and Jeff were in elementary school while Davie was still at home. Davie soon became inquisitive as to what was making all that noise and took up so much of his mother's time. Kate's arrival had changed the dynamics of the family. More so for Davie than the other two.
Mother Nature has endowed girls with a natural nurturing instinct that boys don't have. This endowment is part of the division of labor between a male and female of the species. Young Davie looked at his baby sister and wondered. He continued to wonder for the next twelve years until he started high school. That was when he aligned his schedule with Lynn Glover so they could sit together and felt comfortable enough to ask her questions.
Being two years older meant Davie had the maturity Kate looked up to. If Davie went outside, Kate would follow. If Davie went inside, Kate would follow. If Davie sat down to play or draw Kate would snuggle beside her big brother. Davie was the security blanket every child needs when they are young. The problem was, Davie didn't understand all that adult stuff, all he felt was a tag-a-long tagging along when he wanted to be alone or with his mother. To Davie, his younger sister just got in the way!
Davie and Kate were sort of okay together until Noah took young Davie out fishing. Kate hated the idea of catching a fish. All she saw was an animal wiggling away wanting to get back into the water while Noah and Davie saw a meal. She would follow her father and brother down to the dock and watch them push off. They were gone for hours and hours. Davie loved his time with his father. It didn't matter of they were fishing or messing about on the river, Davie was happy. On the other hand, Kate hated being separated from her Davie, but she hated fishing even more. It was during these times she would moon about in her mother's art room. All Allie would did was smile and continued painting.
Allie adored her second daughter. She was the apple of her eye and marveled how much Kate looked and acted like her. It was as if Allie was looking at herself in miniature. Allie would watch Kate and remember doing the same thing, in the same way, at the same age. Allie was never impressed by biologists who spouted theories about genetics and heredity, but now that opinion was changing.
The bonding that started in hospital has never stopped. Being a girl Kate had privileges Davie never had. The first one, which still riles Noah, was allowing Kate to sleep in her parent's bed after the night feeding. Noah tried hard to put his foot down since Davie was fed in the children's room and then put back in his crib. It didn't work with Kate. Allie fed Kate, burped her, and then placed her between Noah and herself. No matter how hard he tried, Noah could never sleep soundly with Kate between him and his beautiful wife.
Jane, on the other hand, and being the oldest, discounted her younger sister as a non-entity and treated her as such.
When Kate was about three or four Allie slowed up painting and started making sun dresses for her second daughter. All Davie got were t-shirts until he was potty trained. Kate's dresses started off simple and then progressed as Allie's painting skills started to sneak in. The simple sun dresses took on a life of their own and became works of art in their own right. Allie tried to do the same for Davie, and failed. He was a boy and boy clothes do not have the same appeal as girls' clothes: except for one Halloween when Allie made Noah a special tie. Illegal copies of the tie were and are good sellers every October.
Allie and Kate had two years together which allowed the bonding to be sure. Allie didn't mind Kate wandering about while she painted. Kate was not like the boisterous Davie. Kate was more thoughtful, retrospective, if you can say that about a young child, and delicate. Allie enjoyed watching and being with her second daughter, Kate.
Then came the surprise. Allie was pregnant again: much to the chagrin of her doctor. Obviously his warnings fell on deaf ears. Only two years after Kate, John arrived. His pregnancy was classified as high risk and Allie went into the hospital at the six month point. This time there was no beating about the point. Dr. James Kildare explained the odds and they were not good. His strong recommendation was, if Allie survived, to have a hysterectomy to protect Allie's life. Noah and Allie decided that five was a good number and after John's birth Allie went under the knife to insure she had a future.
John was a welcome addition as it tipped the numbers towards the men of the family. Allie could see the glee in her husband's face when John was born. Of course there was no race or favoritism ever shown, however, there are certain things that cannot be hidden from one's spouse and one of those things is the look of pride.
Five children put more pressure on the two older ones as Allie moved certain responsibilities and chores onto their shoulders. At first they didn't mind, but once they saw this was the how things would be for the long haul they were not happy campers. Jane, being nine had the easiest way out and that was middle school. She became as active as possible, tried to join every club and even tried to join the cheerleading squad. By doing school activities and claiming piles of homework meant less time with the 'others.'
Jeff and Davie were stuck in elementary school and had to help out at home. Jeff was assigned to Kate and Davie was Allie's messenger boy between herself and the rest of the family. Kate wandered between her busy mother and woodworking father. Allie tried to keep painting but it was a struggle. She had a constant tiredness about her. Five children in nine years sounds nice to say but tough to do and, of course, the breast feeding, and, when on the road, finding a place to feed. On the other hand, five children gave Allie's paintings a certain je ne sais quoi quality she never had. Each child added something extra, something different that the others never did. Allie thought it was an ability so see things through a child's eye. Then she thought it was an appreciation of discovering things through the eye of a child. Then she thought it was a result of seeing her children's finger paintings translated into artwork. Noah used to say Allie's figurative art became more figurative, while her cubism became more cubistic, and her Surrealist paintings became more bizarre than anything Salvador Dalí ever did with a pocket watch.
The time constraints imposed by five children did slow Allie up, but allowed time for her eye to see things differently and her brushwork and color selection to increase in depth and quality. Her paintings were acknowledged as fine and the demand increased. Everything looked fine until young John's accident. From that point in time Allie's paintings radically changed. Allie dabbled in Southern Gothic Grotesque, Nouveau réalisme, and even into cartooning. Nothing worked. She went back to what she knew best and developed a deeper appreciation for life amongst old friends.
When Davie left Kate and the bus stop for the first time, Kate's face said it all. A deep feeling of despondency descended on the diminutive girl. She had no one to play with so slumped off to her empty bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed looking downward at the floor. Allie had failed to prepare Kate for being home alone. Seeing the problem Allie set to work pulling out the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. Allie called out and Kate came down and soon forgot all her worries as mother and daughter baked batch after batch of cookies. Once done and bagged they took off visiting friends and neighbors and dropping off a bag or two of cookies. Kate sparkled during the day and was still too busy to bother with her siblings when they returned from school and smelt the freshly baking cookies. As the saying goes, satisfaction is always chocolate chip cookie shaped.
It was Jane who first called Kate the caboose. It was a new word she had learned in school. Once they realized that Kate was indeed the caboose, that understanding was tinged with joy and sadness. Joy for the fact that the end is here, sad as it means this or that would never happen again once Kate passed a specific point in her life. Milestones in the lifetime of the family against which all the children are compared. Possibly the first milestone is the appearance of the first tooth. Maybe the next is taking the first step followed by when each child climbed the stairs. Fortunately Allie kept a journal. Every now and again, when she captured a few quiet moments she would sit in her nook and add a few more thoughts to her journal. Between Allie and Noah, Allie had the eye for familial detail and kept adding whenever those quiet moments came along. It was here that, through careful reading, it would be possible to see the children evolve along different lines into their different personalities, goals, desires and interests in the family.
When Kate entered elementary school the talks between Allie and Noah grew longer and longer. There was so much to talk about. Each child had to be mulled over as they were all so different and heading down, what seemed to be, diverging paths. The key family function took place every Sunday afternoon, right after church and the family meal. The entire family sat about the dining room table for their weekly coordination meeting. Four kids, busy parents meant potential conflicts of interests at every day of the upcoming week. A plan had to be hammered out so everyone knew what was going to happen before it happened. These meetings were noisy, boisterous and had to be directed with the skill and dexterity of Solomon wielding his sword.
Once completed, to some degree of agreement, Allie and Noah liked to take a stroll to review what had just happened. It was during these quiet moments that Allie became more self-conscious to the fact that child number one had loads of photos taken of her. Because of the sheer number of photos Jane seemed to stick out the most. The number of photos dwindled rapidly for child number two and three with the caboose having the fewest. Realizing that Kate had so few photographs forced Allie to reevaluate her desire to record the children through that medium. This meant getting up-to-date with a modern 35mm camera and start taking photos before it was too late.
Allie's formative photographic flings were with a Kodak Brownie followed by her father's Leica II camera. Since Allie liked the Leica she bought a new Leica IIIg. The new medium intrigued her because it was immediate: it captured the now, the moment, the split second. Allie soon became the bane of the Calhoun family as she was constantly practicing with the camera. Practice on inanimate objects is one thing; the family is something entirely different. The children dreaded her call for yet another group photograph of all the children. It got so bad that the older children got into the habit of moving the camera from one room to the other. They knew if their mother could not find the camera then no photos could be taken.
Allie soon felt Ilford film was superior to Kodak and always had several rolls in the deep freeze. Her favorite was Ilford HP4. Allie always felt color got in the way of taking good photographs and stayed with the B&W variety.
Even though her father owned and used a camera he never felt he was a true photographer as he did not have the patience to develop the negative and print the photograph. This gave him a way of always blaming the stupid chemist for the flaws of the end product. Allie knew better. Allie and Noah knew never to blame the tools being used, it is always the person using the tools that makes the mistakes.
Of all her subjects Allie liked it was Noah who was the most photographed. Noah had a wood working shop that had the right lighting, the right atmosphere, the right amount of dust in the air and a subject that was more interested in the wood he was working with than the photographer taking the photos. Allie loved how Noah could look at a piece of wood… the face of admiration mingled with concentration… with a finger touching the wood… and the texture of the wood itself. Then there were Noah's hands: accustomed to hard work with a texture all of their own. Allie went through innumerable photos of Noah in the wood shop so that in later years she would put on a complete exposition of Noah at work. The reviews were appreciative but not spectacular. Noah was happy with the average reviews as, he felt, one show on him was one too many.
Of all the children, Allie had the most fun with Kate and her sun dresses. Kate was young enough not to be self-conscious when posing while her mother snapped away. Kate liked all the attention she got and all the dresses her mother made. Allie liked the innocence and frivolity of youth. Their photographic escapades continued until Kate lost her first top front tooth. Somewhere along the way Kate became self-conscious and the photographs changed.
Because of the number of photos Allie was taking she changed from individual prints to ordering contact prints. With the aid of a good magnifying glass Allie continued to review and appraise her ever expanding collection of photographs. As much as Allie liked taking photographs her heart was still in paintings. There is something deeply gratifying in creating a painting that photography cannot compete with. It is as if you place something of your soul into the painting while with a photograph it's snap and done.
Once Jeff and Davie left on the bus to elementary school, Kate killed time until the school bus came by dropping off Jeff and Davie from school and then she wanted all the attention she could squeeze out of two elementary school boys… which wasn't much. Kate adored her big brothers while they loved her in a boy's way: at arm's length.
The minute Jeff entered junior school he became active in everything, just like his older sister. This left Allie and Noah to contend with Davie, Kate and young John at home virtually every evening. And then someone had to pick up one or two of the older kids from their extracurricular activities. Noah was mighty glad the Glover's were in a similar boat: so they helped each other out by picking up loose children from middle school.
Kate felt so grown up. For ever she had been watching her older siblings get on their various school buses taking them to places unknown. Now it was her time she firmly held on to Davie's hand and made sure they sat together. Kate loved her two older brothers but was scared of her older sister. Jane had no plans to bother with her baby sister and had a certain look, stare, she gave Kate which said, 'get lost little sister.' The look along with a host of fierce pinches left an indelible mark on Kate.
Soon Kate was the last one in elementary school Davie and Jeff was in middle school and Jane in high school. The spread and the challenges on Allie and Noah resulted in more long walks. The sticking point was the division of labor. Noah felt it would be best for Allie to concentrate on the girls while he worked with the boys. He felt strongly that Allie's superior schooling was best suited for Jane, being in high school, and Kate, being in kindergarten. Actually Noah was angling for Jane helping Kate with her reading and basic math: which never happened as Jane immersed herself in too many high school activities. With the boys Noah was successful. He could relate to their education level and homework demands. And he was happy outside messing about with the rough and tumble world that boys live in.
It was on a canoe trip that Noah and the boys took that caused a serious fracture between Noah and Allie. Noah and the boys were out on Bryces Creek exploring as they went. Noah in the back and the two boys hanging over the side seeing what was out there. Noah saw the gator slip down the bank and into the water. He noted it but kept on moving. The gator was only six or eight foot long: nothing to worry about. The boys were quiet as they were watching some snapping turtles out sunning themselves. When Noah sees the boys interested in something, he tries to stop paddling, to make less noise, so they could slip by. By slowing up the gator got a little closer.
The action suddenly erupted when a much smaller gator came in to the area. The larger and older gator thought the younger and smaller gator was fair game to eat. Bam! The two gators bellowed, fought and clawed at each other within feet of the canoe. The sudden action and waves were so close that Noah swore he could reach out and count every tooth in the larger gator. That joke was the last straw for Allie. She went ballistic! She stood toe to toe with Noah poking him in the chest reminding how stupid he was by putting her two boys in harm's way! The tirade continued for a full five minutes until Allie noticed the two boys standing there watching her tear into their father. Then Allie felt so ashamed of her performance. She knelt down and gave the boys a big hug and cried some more over them. As the saying goes, country life is full of country critters.
Another knack that Jane had was figuring out exactly when her parents were going out for the evening, then made sure she had other plans. How she managed it no one ever figured out. Noah and Allie enjoyed going out and usually had to ask if one of Harvey Wellington's grandchildren could come over and babysit. Harvey never had any problem getting someone to take up the offer as the Calhoun's paid well and always had ice cream in the fridge which was there specifically for the babysitter. Hot summers and only fans meant ice cream was a necessity of life. How the older kids managed to be busy when a babysitter was needed was a puzzle Noah and Allie never quite figured out.
Large or major art exhibits were a family challenge. Allie, of course, had to be there for the opening, while Noah did not. They tried to schedule the American and Canadian exhibits to start on a Saturday so Noah could fly up early on Saturday and home early on Sunday. That way there was minimal disruption to the family routine. The overseas exhibits were a different challenge. Allie hated spending time away from the family and did all she could to have the exhibits during the summer months so her mother could look after the family so Noah could be with Allie.
As much as they wanted to do more, there was only one family trip overseas. The Tate wanted to put on a selective exhibit of Allie's works to which Allie readily agreed, and offered to do two interviews, so long as the Tate footed the bill for a four week family vacation in London. The Tate hemmed and hawed but finally relented after Allie agreed to throw in a personally conducted tour of her paintings for certain wealthy benefactors of the Tate.
It was during the quiet moments on the porch, rocking, that Allie and Noah talked about their children. They spent hours discussing what was going on and how the immediate future looked. At four children they had to plan very carefully. Careers were constantly being juggled against homework, band and school plays. Somehow they muddled along as best as they could.
Time is what everyone has. How much time we have is one of life's little mysteries. The key objective is to cram in to the allocated time as much as possible. Oddly the younger you are the more you seem to be able to cram in. The older the children became, priorities changed and activities matured and mellowed. The subtle day-to-day family progression occurred without Noah realizing it until he was looking for someone to help him outside with the mowing. Jane was gone; Jeff was studying for some important exam; Davie was working hard on a project and Kate was at school for drama and band practice. As the saying goes, time waits for no one. Time, that old thief, had stolen the young and care free days away from the children. Now they were slowly maturing into the sure adults that every parent wants but at the expense, the sacrifice, of the young and happy-go-lucky child that once existed.
About the same time, Allie was slowly realizing Kate was not Jane. What worked for Jane, did not necessarily work for Kate. It was harder for Allie to appreciate the differences between the girls as it was for Noah to see the differences between the boys despite the boys closeness in age. The gap between the girls meant Allie carried too much baggage from Jane to Kate. Initially the transfer was easy, while Kate was small, then fell apart when Kate moved to middle school. A major conflict was Allie's insistence that Kate wear Jane's hand-me-downs. The girls were similar in build well into their early teenage years. Kate grew to despise Jane's old stuff and resented the constant comparison between Kate and Jane wearing the same dress. Being a single child left Allie at a disadvantage: and it showed in her dealings with her daughters.
As with the camera so with the cloths. Since all of Jane's old cloths were neatly stored up in the attic the girls became adept in locating and moving certain items that they knew would catch Allie's eye. The frilly dress: the tap shoes: the sun dress: the floppy hat. In and of themselves, the girls liked the various items. It was the constant comparison that became the bane of their young lives. The girls did not want to throw the items out, just to make sure their mother did not find them for several more years. To achieve their goal the girls hid the various items in other storage boxes that they knew Allie would never think of looking into. Their favorite place was way at the back of the attic. Over various boxes, behind several disassembled bed frames, and well below normal eye level. Once the various items were scattered Allie's venture into the attic dwindled despite the girls offer to help her search for this or that item.
It was May 1968, when Kate graduated from elementary school. Allie realized an era was over. Never ever to be repeated. No more Calhoun kids in elementary school. It hit Allie hard.
"Do you realize I'm fifty-two?" Allie posed to Noah one evening while they sat on the porch watching the rain fall nice and slowly.
"Then I'm fifty-five… a good age to be." Was Noah's nonchalant reply. His mind was on the upcoming weekend when he planned to take the boys out hunting.
"You don't look any older but I have given birth to the kids and look old." Allie replied in a wistful voice.
From past experience Noah immediately recognized the signs. The reference to age followed by the fact that giving birth to the children has been tough on Allie's trim figure and the fact she did not mention five as the total number of children. Noah snapped to attention and gave his wife his undivided attention while studying the dirt on his boot for a moment. With careful selection Noah replied with, "These have been the best years, the years we have been together. We have done good with the kids and I love you for bringing them into the world and raising them. I know they love you just as much as I love you.
"Raising the family has not been easy. You with your amazing painting while I'm busy on the wood. But we give them the time and encouragement they need and now look at them. Look at them grow and blossom. All because of your careful hand in their lives.
Noah paused for a moment and continued with, "You know I have often thought what life would had been like without you as my wife. All I could see was loneliness and sadness. I never could see the sun. Oh, yes the house would be finished, but you would not be inside with me. I would be rocking on the porch singing songs until the last sunset with no one to share the porch with. Alone and wondering why you never replied to any of my letters. That is not a pleasant thought. That is the change you brought into my life the day you drove back. You changed the darkness into sunshine and the children are the icing on the family cake."
"What if there were no children? Would you still love me?" was the quiet questions. Allie was in a reflective mode.
"With or without children you would be my wife. That would be the bedrock of our marriage. We would go paddling on the river with your paints and a picnic to keep us going. I would bring along an assortment of poetry books. Maybe even Shelly for a change. I would read while you would paint some marvelous scenic vista with ducks and swans. That's what I think our lives would have been like without the kids. Now, I guess we'll never know. That's what the kids did to us. All our careful plans had to be constantly changing to suit this or that with the kids." With a look of certainty, Noah said to his lovely wife, "It's been a very good life, with more good years to come."
"Oh Noah, you know all the right things to say. It's just that Kate is out of elementary school. Next year its middle school for her." She scrunched up her face and then said, "The kids are growing up so fast."
"I know what you mean; no sooner than a year comes that it is time for it to go. It's like what did we do with all that time? But if we kept a diary we could see where every day was spent and spent in good family activities and plenty of school."
Allie continued the topic with, "I know all that, but that is not what I'm thinking…"
"Then what are you thinking of?"
"I'm thinking how fast things have happened."
"Things happen at the normal rate of life. It just seems things are moving fast."
"They are." Allie said in earnest.
Seeing words were not doing all they were supposed to do, Noah scooted over to his wife and enveloped her in his arms and said, "This is all part of the grand plan of life, the plan of happiness. We are in the family period and it's our job is to make sure our kids have every opportunity to succeed. As far as I can see, we are doing pretty well."
"It's just that Kate is growing up too fast." Fussed Allie.
"Remember when it was only Jane? How we doted upon her and she clung to us. Now Kate has three others to help her grow up. Everything has changed and nothing has changed. Think of it as the family dynamics maturing, modifying or morphing into something enduring: never ending. That is how a family works."
"That's how a family works, but does it have to be that way?"
There was something in Allie's voice that told Noah that this better be an answer that satisfies rather than leaving Allie still searching. Noah jumped in with both feet. "We can't stop time or change it. What we can do is make time work for us by using it as best as we can. Spend time in the family, here at the house. Trying to teach the kids the morals of life. To give them what we think is best for them to succeed. Stuff school does not teach. We've done pretty good so far, with more work in the future. And when they are all moved out then we will enter the next phase of our marriage… together."
"Oh Noah, are you sure?"
"I'm as sure as I will ever be."
That evening Allie sat in her studio writing in her journal. There was much to write and as she wrote she thought about Kate. So she added a page dedicated to child number four and the fact that she had just graduated from kindergarten. As she wrote Allie thumbed through the photos she took at the graduation ceremony and had printed by the local chemist: he does a good job. The photos helped Allie write a little more intensely as the photos brought back the feelings she had. The feelings of pride for child number four and of intense sorrow as child number five would never walk across the kindergarten stage.
Noah never kept a diary or a journal; he never caught the vision of what a diary could do for his children. What he did keep was ledger of utility usage and of basic expenses on the house and property. Despite its basic usage, Noah could not resist the temptation of adding a note or two when each child called home. Noah continued this practice until the day he and his wife moved out of the house and into the nursing home. His last entry was, "Good bye old home and thanks for the memories!"
Kate entered High school in the fall of 1971. The politics of the day swirled around the ongoing Vietnam war and how President Nixon was handling it. Despite being only fourteen Kate felt the war was wrong and after school opened became active in the anti-Vietnam war movement. When Kate entered high school as a freshman, Davie was a newly minted sophomore. Even though Davie was in High School at the same time, his agenda was one of survival and secretly siding with the Vietcong against the unjust activities of school and the government. His thinking was, "If the Vietcong win, the war would end and no conscription into the army for me". Simple and oh so wrong. Governmental thinking was full scale escalation if the Vietcong started to win. And that would have resulted in more young men coming home in black body bags.
There were many evenings that Kate would visit Davie in his room and ask him about the war. She wanted to know all about it from the beginning after World War II down to the present. Davie was good, just not that good. That is why he kept calling on Jane for help. Being older, smarter and involved in the antiwar thing for years, Jane knew what she was talking about.
For some odd reason, Jane and Kate were more interested in the war than Jeff and Davie despite Jeff just missing the draft and Davie facing being called up to put his life on the line for a stupid and totally unnecessary war.
Kate did not like her English class as it was so stuffy and full of boring stories she had to read. Things changed one Wednesday when the high school had a visit from Dr. Martha Jones. Dr. Jones was doing a speaking tour of the south west. She was representing Médecins Sans Frontières a French organization whose mission was to help people. Her initial reception was frosty as the predominating white audience didn't take kindly to a black female on the stage while the black kids resented the fact that Dr. Jones was successful despite being female and black.
The minute Dr. Jones started to speak the mutterings died instantly because of her heavy London accent. Kate had never met a black person that did not have that southern black way of speaking. A black person with an English accent was, well, just different, and worth listening to.
Dr. Jones was a natural story teller. Her enthusiasm came through and the high school kids began to listen. She didn't delve into her personal background except to say growing up black in London wasn't much fun until she decided to do something. She chose to make a difference and that is why she wanted to be a doctor of medicine. Getting there was a big struggle through school, college and then getting into the Royal Hope Hospital in London, where she studied under the well-known internal specialist Dr. Stoker and chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt.
The stories came thick and fast. They were funny, witty, sad and even a bit scary. Dr. Jones knew how to keep her audience on the edge of their seats, Somewhere in the middle of her presentation she paused and asked a rhetorical question, "Do you know what kept me going through the long days of being a medical student? It's because of one doctor who made a difference in my life. He showed how important it is to always choose the right… no matter what the consequences. And that is hard, so hard to do. I almost lost my family by choosing the right. I have been shot at loads of times going in to help someone. You see, life isn't about easy choices, it's about standing up and making a difference. I did it through my education… that is why I'm here to show you being black from London isn't a problem unless you make it a problem. Like English. When I was your age I hated Shakespeare. I mean, who speaks like that today? Why did I have to sit there being bored to death every English class? That all changed once I got to know Shakespeare. Okay, yes, the language has changed, but not the message he is trying to give you. If you give Shakespeare a chance you will enjoy what he wrote."
Then Dr. Jones started to talk of traveling by saying, "Living in London means you never really see the stars. Too many lights, tall buildings and no one to explain what they are. During my travels I try and get out of the cities to look up and remember there is more to this universe than just this one small and very insignificant planet we call earth. I spent some time down at NASA talking about medicine in space. While in Houston I got to go up in one of those two seater training jets. We went so high above the clouds that it was like you could reach out a touch the stars. See! If I hadn't pushed myself, where would I be? A single mother struggling in west London? A drug addict? A dropout doing nothing with my life? See what I did? I made a difference in my life because I wanted something different, something better, something that only I could do. And I did it. And that is the story of Dr. Martha Jones."
During the subsequent Q&A a skinny boy asked a good question, "What about Si-Fi books? Aren't they better than Shakespeare? I mean they are modern?"
"Now that's a good question, " Dr. Jones said and then delved into a equally good response. "Si-Fi is to us today what Shakespeare was to the people back in his time. You read Si-Fi for fun, for enjoyment and escapism. Back then people would go to see Shakespeare's plays for the same reason of fun, enjoyment and escapism from their daily grind. Yes, they may not have all the gadgets of today, but people back then had exactly the same worries, joys, family issues we do today. Don't think us any better or worse than people back then, just as people making their way through life as best they could: just like us today."
Another boy asked, "You make it sound sort of glamorous, is it?"
In a more subdued voice Dr. Jones said, "Not really. You work long hours trying to help people and you don't have all the medicines to do the job. All your bandages are used up. Your operating theatre is a tent that doesn't keep out the dirt, dust and flies. You hold a innocent baby in your arms and watch it take its last breath before going all limp. No it's not much fun. Then every now and again you save a life and that makes it all worthwhile because you made a difference. But I tell you now, I have gone to bed crying too often because it is always the innocent that suffer and never the big man, the master, who is pulling the strings."
It was touted as the Spring 1972 bash. It was scheduled to start at four in the afternoon and ending about nine at night so that everyone could get home and the party put away. It was a party that Mr. Barton put on for his daughter, Alex, ever since she turned ten. She was now sixteen but not in Mr. Barton's eyes. During the morning Mr. Barton took a call and had to take off to attend to business. That was his big mistake. He let the plans for the party roll along, on auto pilot, hoping to be back in time. He was not.
The police were called by the neighbor about ten at night saying the party over at the Barton's place was getting noisier and noisier with more cars arriving by the minute. The local police were only too happy to help as Mr. Barton had been a consistent thorn in the mayor's side. Every time the mayor would propose to increase police officers salary Mr. Barton was the main opposition saying they were well enough compensated for what they do and they do very little in town since it is such a quiet town. After five years without a pay rise, the officers were sort of eager to see the insides of Mr. Barton's place.
Even before they arrived at the house the officers were calling for back-up from the surrounding areas. The feeling was they had to make a good show of upholding law and order.
With sirens blaring away, with lights flashing brightly, the local police arrived first blocking the driveways in and out of the estate. Then they went in. Because initial reports talked about an out-of-hand situation, with alcohol rolling down the driveway, and possible drug use, tear gas was used to disperse the kids from the house. Liberal amounts of tear gas were fired into the house with at least one canister into every upstairs room. The kids came streaming out of the house only to be cuffed and lined up for processing. The report said there were at least a hundred and twenty kids at the party with dozens of cars haphazardly parked along the driveway at Mr. Barton's place. The police swarmed over the entire estate rounding up anything that moved. The police were very through. Under-age drinking, drunkenness and possession of pot were the main charges. The day after the party, the local paper had headlines shouting, "Wild Party at Barton's gets Out of Hand."
With speed and a sure hand, New Bern law officers, supported by surrounding law officials, quickly brought to a satisfactory conclusion the out of control party going on at Mr. Barton's place last night.
Police reports indicate they were called about 10 o'clock by a concern neighbor to the fact that there was an out of control situation at the Barton's large and expensive mansion. Police officials fearing substantial damage was being done to the house sped to the house and took control of a very dangerous situation…
Of course Kate was at the party while Davie was not invited. Fortunately for her, Allie heard what was going on and managed to get there and pull Kate out before the police arrived. Kate was livid and failed to see her mother's point of view. All Noah did was sit with his arm about Kate and said nothing. Sometimes words are not worth saying.
On Monday the extent of the damage that had been inflicted on the Barton's house became clear. It seemed there were kids from out of town who had crashed the party and were hell bend on getting drunk as fast as they could. The Kinston kids, as they came to be known, were escorted back home by Kinston police officers after appearing at the New Bern court house.
Throughout the entire incident Noah kept quiet about it while Allie hit the roof. Noah remembered doing the same at the Barton's house when it was known at the Simpson's place many years ago when he and Josh Simpson were friends at New Bern High and Mr. Simpson was talked into holding the annual New Bern Halloween party at his place. The whole town showed up just to see how Mr. Simpson had fixed the place up after it had been empty and run down for so many years. Noah remembered hundreds coming. Mr. Simpson ran out of cookies, candy, sodas and then about half his personal belongings, he had lying about, disappeared. There were too many people milling about the house and only one police officer per shift back in those days and he was too busy with Miss. Annabel Adler to turn on his walki-talkie.
The rift between the righteous Kate and her stubborn parents started that night and never went away. Somewhere along her short road of life, Kate never learned the lesson of, 'honoring thy parents'. Despite all remonstrations, Kate ended her Freshman year of high school with a monstrous chip in her shoulder.
At the beginning of Kate's sophomore year in walked Gabriel Jones and Gabriel was no angel. He was the newly anointed quarterback of the high school football team. As a senior he carried all the hopes and aspirations of the entire school to do a whole lot better than the debacle of last year. Gabriel was a good football player and as such was given considerable latitude at school... so long as he delivered.
It was the September, 23, the football season had just started and Gabriel caught Kate in the main corridor at school and asked her to the game. She was smitten and he saw an easy conquest. Of course Kate knew about Gabriel, everyone knew about Gabriel as his reputation was long and strewn with girls who fell from his grace. Kate knew she was different and could change Gabriel.
Late Friday afternoon Gabriel drove over to the Calhoun house to pick up Kate. The minute Allie saw her daughter dance down the stairs and into Gabriel's Mustang convertible she knew there was trouble brewing. She could clearly see the nave of hearts getting trampled upon by the ace of spades, better known as the high school quarterback. It happened so fast, and Noah was out of the house, that Allie didn't know what to do before the kids were zooming down the road to the game.
When Noah got back home Allie did not tell him what she saw between their daughter and Gabriel Jones. She fervently hoped she would be proven wrong.
That Friday night New Bern won over their arch rivals Vanceboro High which called for a wild celebration. Cars circled the local Sonic drive through. Gabriel was parked in his favorite spot, at the back, in the shade, when he started to put the moves on Kate and was progressing very well. Initially Kate was happy with all the attention but now it was getting a bit too hot for her liking. Gabriel was having a problem with the word 'no'. At first Kate thought he was playing about. Then his moves were getting a little too far, too rough and he still did not grasp what the word 'no' really meant. With the heat rising Kate bolted from Gabriel's car to a safe location. Gabriel did not take the sudden rejection well and started yelling at her questioning her profession and lineage. Everyone was looking and noting the name of the latest in the long line that Gabriel had allowed to sit in his Mustang, hang on his arm and now paying the requisite price for fame and fortune.
Sonic let her use the phone to call home. Fortunately Noah took the call and headed into town to rescue his daughter. Kate slid into the old Ford pick-me-up and they drove home. Noah didn't ask any questions and Kate didn't offer any answers.
On Sunday night Noah and Jason's father took a ride to see Mr. Hannibal Jones, father of Gabriel Jones. The Jones's lived out of town on Gethsemane Church Road. It was a quiet area. Hannibal. Jones was sitting on the porch shelling peas: he wes expecting to see Noah… sooner or later.
"Hi Noah," Mr. Jones said in a shaky voice, "Nice to see you in these parts."
"Hi Hannibal, how's hunting going?" Hannibal was one of the best hog hunters in the area. His hog and venison sausages were the best for miles about. Some say it was the quality of the hogs while others said it was the Bourbon he always added that made the difference. Either way, his sausages were more meat than filling which made them sought after.
Hannibal's wife had left him with their three boys once she realized he was a farmer who was a darn good hog hunter first, last and always. She was after something more than skimping by and making sausages for the rest of her life. That's why she left him and the boys for Greenville, NC. Hannibal never complained, he knuckled down to a life of raising boys and chasing hogs.
"Too many hogs out there for one hunter," Hannibal chuckled showing his pearly white teeth.
"You'll manage."
"Just passing by or here for a visit?" Everyone knew the answer so there was no point giving it.
"Did you serve in the war?" asked Noah.
"You know I didn't," said a surprised Hannibal, "Once they saw me, they threw me back on the pile."
"You were lucky, we did," Noah said nodding to Jason's father. "Nasty work. Having to look at a man in the eye and shoot him dead or else get shot. Worse than dog eat dog, then again Nazi's were worse than dogs that did not deserve to live. So it was a privilege to shoot them dead one by one all the way across France and back home to Germany. One right after another. Nothing personal, just shoot or get shot. Then the bloody war ended before we killed any Russians. Should have gone on to Moscow to get rid of the Reds." There was a pause while Noah thought about those days. "We think," Noah nodding to Jason's father, "The job was half done, and there are a load of Russians out there to kill."
"Kill did you say," muttered Hannibal to no one in particular as he concentrated on the peas.
"One right after the other," Pretending to hold a rifle Noah continued, "Bang, and one drops. Bang, and another drops. Bang, and there goes another. Gets to the point you shoot at anything that moves. Don't care what it is. Just, bang and get rid of it." Noah dropped his arms and continued, "After a while it's gets easy as killing a rabbit. Bang, and then they drop." Noah let Hannibal think about that for a short while. "Old and young, they all go the same way." Noah paused, and then added, "The young find it harder as they see what they will miss in that split second before they get blown into the next world by me or him," Noah said nodding to his friend standing there, quietly.
"Guns?" queried Hannibal.
"Typical rifle and a side arm. Never used a side arm since I worked long range." Then simulating using a rifle again, Noah said, "Bang and they drop. Nice and easy like."
"How far did they run?" Hannibal asked quietly. He knew the score.
"In war no one runs. They have a duty to stand and fight. These days it is best to run as far as you can because a rifle can shoot a long way… especially on a moon filled night."
"Far, did you say?"
"Far and fast: I would say. Today would be a good time to go far and fast."
"Today?" Hannibal mumbled slowly.
"Best to end it fast and easy."
"I see that now." said Hannibal Jones to nobody in particular. He knew his son had a reputation with the ladies. He has heard the stories and seen the grim looks on people's faces about town. He knew his son could handle himself. And he knew when enough was enough.
After letting Hannibal think for a while, Noah closed with, "Best be off now, Hannibal. Thanks for the hospitality." Watching Hannibal stare off into the vast emptiness of the future Noah added, "See ourselves out." They left and as they walked back to the truck, Jason's father removed the round from the chamber of the German Luger he picked up in Germany then unscrewed the stubby silencer he added after the war. He liked the Luger, good German technology and untraceable since all the numbers had been carefully removed.
Gabriel Jones did not appear at New Bern high school on Monday or any other day after that. His father made damn sure he was gone. Hannibal Jones might not have served in the war but he did know about rifles and what they can do.
The high school coach was livid once he knew Gabriel was not coming back. He had no clue what could have possessed they boy to leave school without calling him. As the coach he could move mountains after last Friday's demolition of Vanceboro High. No one at school could deny him with such a promising team on hand. Rather than waste time on a looser, the coach got down to work on his back-up quarterback. They had a game to play on Friday and it would be a difficult one at the best of times: and these were not the best of times.
No matter what Kate did she could find no answers. Gabriel, her Gabriel, was gone and Hannibal successfully stonewalled. Slowly Gabriel faded away as her first true love even though nothing happened. In many ways Kate was glad nothing happened, but always wondered because Gabriel was known to be big and strong.
When Gabriel Jones disappeared Allie asked Hannibal if his son was doing okay. All Hannibal said was his son had moved away to finish off his education. He never said where and Allie never asked him. Allie was relieved that Gabriel Jones was alive… somewhere far away from New Bern. Things were like that in New Bern, NC.
The story of Kate and Gabriel was hot news for a while before getting pushed aside by how well the New Bern high school football team was doing. The backup quarterback was better than expected as he stepped out of the dwindling shadow Gabriel cast. They were the first New Bern team to go to district and then to state. Winning the state championship was something the whole town wanted. Shops, banks and local business closed so everyone could be in town for the parade down Main Street. Kate and Gabriel were forgotten while the new quarterback and his girl became front page news.
For a while Kate was cold news except for the same friends she had forever. They were her support group.
Shaking off the disappointments of life Kate slowly turned into the model daughter Allie had always wanted. Willing to help about the house. Taking control of all the farewell parties for her older siblings when they left for university. Did the Christmas letter, stuffed all the envelopes and made sure the Christmas cards were posted on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Allie loved having Kate at home so they could talk about girl things. Kate liked asking questions about the old days when her mother and father met. That was her favorite story. So romantic and oh so dramatic. Often times Kate would wonder about Lon but never pursued her question. Since she was the caboose, Noah grew a deeper appreciation for his family and cherished the moments that he spent with Kate down at DQ chatting over a Blizzard. It was nothing fancy, just time for a father to be alone with his fast growing daughter.
In 1972 Davie graduated from high school and left for university in the fall leaving Kate alone in the house for her remaining three years of high school. Kate was an average student doing average student things and attended an average number of high school football games.
On Friday, May 23, 1975, Kate graduated from high school. It was a day tinged with joy and sadness for Allie and Noah. They had successfully raised four children and had proudly seen each one walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. That evening there was a large graduation party down at the downtown O'Bannians hotel. By 10 o'clock the following morning Noah and Allie realized that Kate's bed had not been slept in.
It was time for Allie to do the mother routine of finding out which friend Kate has spent the night at. Allie started to call all the usual suspects: her cadre, her click of friends. Since it was still early it was the parents that answered the phone and then woke their respective daughters to get a somewhat blurred response. The girls had partied hard and were in no fit state to give clear answers. A blend of late night, dancing, drinking and flirting took its toll. Jane, Annabel, Jillian, Summer and finally Petra: none of them had the slightest notion of what happened to Kate. They all remember seeing Kate; talking to Kate; partying with Kate and then it was time to go home as the morning chorus was telling everyone it was time to say goodnight.
Allie was getting worried as no one know where Kate was. She went to the back door and yelled to Noah who was in his workshop, " Can't find Kate."
Noah poked his head out of his work shop door and said, "She's here." With that he looked back inside and then carefully closed the door behind him and walked over to the big house. It was always called the big house ever since Noah could remember as it was the big house where the plantation owner lived in days long by. "She came home early. Just walking down the driveway, shoes in hand and dancing to the music."
"What music? I didn't hear any."
"The music she was singing and dancing to. Just like a dancing queen. I had just got up and was half way to the docks when I saw her. She looked so pretty in the early morning so I quickly grabbed my guitar and followed her about the front in a sort of duet. We then we went down the river to watch the morning come along. It was sort of special as she talked like she never had before. I think our daughter is growing up right before our eyes. We sat in the kayak, sharing my breakfast taco's and juice. I got to say it was good being along like that. She fell asleep on the way back and I had to carry her to the couch in my work shop. I put a blanket on her and there she is."
"Not that dirty old blanket?"
Noah laughed gently, "How many do I have there? Of course it was the only one. Don't worry, Kate won't know which one it was. And I expect she won't stir for a long while. It has been a long night for her."
"At least I know where she is."
"Don't worry, she's safe," Noah said as he slipped his arm around his wife's waist. They took off on a stroll about their front and down to the water's edge. Allie loved these times alone with her husband. Times when there was no painting, no wood or kids to get in the way. Times to be alone and talk about something else. And Allie wanted to talk about something else that had been pressing on her.
Allie opened with, "You know it will soon be time when all the children have gone."
Noah smiled broadly and said, "I know: can't wait!"
"What would you do without them about?"
"More of the same. Work wood; spend time with you; do more painting exhibits and then go and visit all of the kids in rotation, then do it all over again."
"It's not that simple…"
"Why not? It is not much more different than what we do right now."
"Yes it is, lots more different."
"Really? You think so?"
"Yes I do."
Noah was surprised by his wife's response. There was something emphatic in her voice. He wasn't expecting it. He thought about this new idea while they walked along in the morning air. Allie knew she had struck a chord and walked along side in silence. It was a nice morning to do some serious thinking. Finally Noah had to ask, "In what way are you thinking of?"
Allie was ready because she had been thinking about losing all the children. Losing might be too strong a word… more along the line of the children growing up and moving on to develop their own life. A life that was new, exciting and fraught with all the difficulties of finding a spouse, raising a family of their own and making their own mistakes: just like their parents did. Then again that might sound like the truth, if you look at it a certain way. What was really playing on Allie was the hole that losing the children will leave. A hole so big and wide and deep that she was still wrestling with it ever since Jane took off to school and never really came back.
The hole had been growing with every child leaving and now the last one was on the brink of her last summer at home before leaving for the 'big school.' The fact that Davie was coming home for the summer did not count.
On the other hand Noah was thoroughly looking forward to moving all the kids out of the house and into the real world. He never could understand why the kids would wax eloquently of their home and home life while there was a world out there to explore. He honestly felt that their job of raising their children stopped at high school graduation. After many discussions, Allie convinced him that the real end was at graduation from university: so long as they were gainfully employed.
Their different perspectives was a direct result of their vastly different upbringing.
Allie replied, "In many different ways. I like listening to the children getting up in the morning so I can time breakfast. I like them asking if I know a new tongue-twister. I like them asking about my paintings and commenting on your woodwork. I like spending time with the girls in the kitchen cooking, laughing and making something for the whole family. I like listening to them talk about their latest and why they broke up. I guess I miss them being about to talk to."
Noah was remembering the time he chatted with Allie's father. Allie's father mentioned how lonely Allie's mother was ever since Allie moved out. Allie's mother was ready for her daughter being married, but married to someone who lived locally, not in New Bern. The extra distance was prohibitively long. That conversation was slowly coming back to him through a hazy memory. He was wondering if that conversation was applicable here.
Noah thought about what his wife had said. He could agree with her, but only to a point. Mothering them is important: but only to a point. Growing up is never fair or even. Growing up is full of difficulties and challenges. Growing up is something that has to be faced. Growing up was interesting when he talked to his boys. Maybe talked is the wrong word, Noah spent more time listening than talking. He found his boys full of new ideas, thoughts and notions. Stuff he never had the opportunity to do or learn. Growing up was vastly different for himself and his boys. The main difference being the depression. Since he could not disagree Noah nodded acknowledging what she said had merit.
"But I can't stop them growing up," Allie added. "Even though I knew it would happen, it happened so slowly that I never saw it coming. And now it's here, I'm not really ready for it." Allie turned to Noah and added, "You know what I mean?" Noah knew exactly what she meant as he missed his sports time with Jeff. Jeff could play ball for hours and hours and never get tired. Noah petered out after 30 minutes but never complained as it was valuable time with his son. As the ball went back and forth they would chat about things. Things Noah could not remember but were oh so important at that moment.
Davie was something different: very different. Noah could never click with Davie as he did with Jeff. Once Jeff hit high school, everything changed and all that sports time stopped as school became more important. Davie was not interested in sports, hunting or fishing. He seemed to be more of a boy that would rather stay at home, in his room, reading his si-fi fantasy books or more books on Bobby Fisher and his chess strategies. All things Noah could not understand or fathom why any boy would rather be inside than outside doing stuff.
Noah was slowly understanding there was something going on here. He was seeing the difference between the male and female of the species. They were looking at the same series of events and coming up with totally different results. Noah was seeing his lovely wife sending out a mixed message that she was not ready for the future. Even though there was nothing either of them could do, he could ease the inevitable. He was not sure how, he was sure he better think of something and soon.
Noah took the first step by slipping his hand in hers and giving Allie's hand a squeeze. She smiled.
As the continued to stroll Noah remembered what Kate had talked about while they were paddling out. His face sank. It was not what Allie would like to hear so he put it off until later.
Later came at dinner time when they were sitting about the table eating a chicken salad. The salad was mainly picked from their garden.
Quite innocently Kate looked at her father and asked, "Did you tell mother what we talked about this morning?"
Allie's ears tuned in to the easy tone in Kate's voice. Obviously Noah had dropped the ball somewhere along the way. With both Allie and Kate looking at him he knew it was time to face the music. "Ah, yes… I forgot…" Allie knew he was stalling so she gave him a hard stare. Noah saw it, plucked up courage and dove into Kate's topic.
"Last year Kate wanted to do some hands on green stuff. You know, learn how to save the world by living green. We talked about it and thought it was not a good idea. There was too much going on at that time." Allie remembered those discussions. They were a bit cold on Kate because she was not pulling her weight at school and it had been pointed out several times throughout the school year. So, a 'no' answer was not unexpected. Noah continued, "This year she has done very well and got involved in the Environmental club by being their treasurer and we hosted several show-and-tell meetings out here at the house. Remember?" Allie did: they were hectic and full of girls fawning over Noah as he took groups of them out on the river. "Then in the fall last year she found the Ford place down in Texas. A hot bed of green activity. Kate and Mrs. Ford corresponded so Kate here could understand what sort of program Mrs. Ford had. Remember?" Oh yes did Allie remember. They were hot discussions. The simple line was Kate wanted to go for a visit over Christmas and Allie said no because Kate was not pulling her weight at school with her grades. Allie could not understand why Kate was dragging her feet since this was her last and most important year at school. Christmas was a very cold affair with Noah running between Kate and Allie while the other kids somehow managed to miss the cold atmosphere altogether. Funny how family members experience the same family life so differently.
Football season was over early as New Bern High did not make the playoffs so Kate had time to knuckle down and do the work. Her fall semester was a surprise which rolled into a very promising spring semester.
All spring long Kate did not mention or correspond with Mrs. Ford of Texas. This reticence did not stop her friend Summer corresponding with Mrs. Ford for Kate. This way Kate was honest in her stance that she is doing nothing, absolutely nothing green.
To stay on her parents good side she accepted a place at the University of North Carolina at Raleigh. She chose education but was thinking of nursing. A degree in education would provide her with a steady, but not stellar, income. A nursing degree would provide a better income coupled with the ability to travel anywhere in the world and find a job. Living and growing up in New Bern was fine, except there was a big world out there she knew very little about. Kate wanted to see London, Paris, Rome, Athens and Jerusalem. By doing them in that order she would be heading south for winter. On the return leg it would be Constantinople, .Munich, Berlin, Stockholm and Oslo before heading home. At least that was the high level plan which she never shared with any of her friends as they were not interested in traveling outside the US of A.
Noah picked up the pace as he could see Allie was jumping ahead and was putting two and two together and arriving at the magical number of four. "Kate and I were talking about this summer. Kate has school lined up but did not land a good job this summer."
Allie knew that was true and also not really true. True Kate had not found a summer job but that was because she did not look that hard and she managed to get rejected from every pool company looking for lifeguards: a job Kate held every summer since she turned fourteen. True she found a part time, minimal wage, job at a local hamburger joint. It was also true she was spending more on gas going to and from work than earning which resulted in Noah supporting the hamburger joint every time Kate went to work. It was true Kate really wanted to work as a stacker at the local library but missed the application deadline date despite Allie giving her the blank form two months before it was due.
Allie wished her last daughter was more like her, quick, diligent and self-motivated.
"So, this morning Kate was wondering if I was interested in doing a road trip to Texas and have a look at Mrs. Ford and her set-up. If things looked good Kate could stay for the summer or come home if it looks hokey. I thought it was a good idea, but I wanted your thoughts."
Allie was expecting this. She hated being placed in a corner with a bad choice at every turn. If she said no, she was failing to recognize how well her daughter had done. If she said yes she would miss out on the last moments of being with her last daughter. If she stalled she was not stepping up to the plate and being decisive. What she wished was that Noah and he had talked about it to present a unified and agreed upon front. Since that didn't happen she had to punt. It was a short punt "Oh go and have a look!" Kate squeaked with surprise and happiness as she jumped up and threw herself at her mother. It was a joyful hug that Allie enjoyed as they were few and far between.
Kate blurted out, "Thank you mother, you're the best!" And then she began to cry. This meant so much to her, more than she could express.
"It's okay," Allie said. "Go with your father and have a look. If it looks good, and what you are looking for, then see if you can stay. If not, at least you went and had a look."
The next few days were busy with Kate saying buy to her friends while she plotted the best way to drive to Texas.
One evening Noah popped into Kate's room. She had maps, hotel information and an assortment of other items from the library all over the place. Noah looked for spare space to sit, there wasn't any. He checked that Allie was not close by and then said, "Do you have a stop in Dallas? I'd really like to spend an evening there before we reach Waco. Can you plan that in?"
"President Kennedy?"
Smiling he nodded and added, "This is my chance to stop and have a look."
"And you want me to come along?"
"Only if you want."
Kate cocked her head to one side, thought for a moment, and said, "Okay, why not. You've read every book in the county on the assignation. Maybe this is your time to solve the murder and put an end to the grassy nowle theory."
"You're an angel. I think it's best on the way out as I will have to be quick coming back. Your mother will be missing me."
"Okay Pop, I'll fix it. Say we get there late afternoon and leave the following late morning. That should give you plenty of time to wander about and see if Oswald could rattle off that number of bullets in the time everyone says he did."
Noah got serious and nodded. His main problem was the time interval from first to last round. To manually load a round, get on target and pull the trigger with deadly accuracy. He did not accept Oswald was that skilled.
Being out voted, Allie made the most of the next few days by spending them with Kate. They were days of joy and fun. Days to see her baby all grown up and heading out the door. Days of shopping for working not fancy clothes. Days of appreciating her daughter's unique personality. Days fondly remembered for years after until stolen away by Alzheimer's.
Rather than use their own automobiles, Noah chose to rent a car. This way they knew they would get there. Noah and Kate set off early one morning. Early for Kate, regular time for Noah.
The journey was one long chat. Noah would chat away while Kate listened. She enjoyed listening to her father talking about the family, especially how he and her mother met. It gave Kate a degree of comfort that she could be successful in finding someone to love and marry.
To be continued... so stay tuned!