"Return to Paradise Trail" PART SEVEN
The sun was just barely setting over the horizon as Charlotte gazed over the dissipating activity of the St. Louis streets from her second floor hotel room that Sam had reserved for her. She quietly stood at the window with one hand gently holding back the lace curtains for her to survey the commotion below. A small smile slowly drifted across her soft complexion before she let the curtain fall into place, darkening the room while she turned to look over the few pieces of furniture and decorations here and there. She then crossed the short space to the bed and her carpetbag with thoughts of the past few months raging through her mind like one of those new-fangled locomotive trains the newspapers seemed to be raving about. Many believed that they would one day replace travel by covered wagon across the country; yet Charlotte wasn't so sure about that.
Opening the rather dilapidated piece of luggage at its well-worn top, Charlotte drew out her journal and brushed the trail dust off the top of it before settling onto the bed and reclining against the familiar feathered pillows she had missed these past weeks. Leaning over to retrieve the quill pen from the inkwell on the nightstand, she opened the yellowed pages to the first empty one and set the ink down to record another day of her life.
Day forty-five: We arrived in St. Louis at almost noon today all in good spirits. Everyone is in good health and despite the small amount of pain that seizes my shoulder every once in a while, I am enjoying my time in the city thus far. I can't say it enough…I am so thankful for my new friends. Molly has been the best friend a young woman could ever have. How she can smile and serve others despite everything she has to face alongside her husband is beyond me. I was honored to explore the city most of the afternoon by her side while the men tended to the rest of the wagon train and other errands as we arrived in the city. With some coaxing from Molly, I finally was able to let myself purchase a few things that I will confess I have been needing for a long time now.
Charlotte paused and glanced up at the small pile of goods, snuggly packaged in brown paper on the soft bed before her. She smiled a bit, remembering a few of the adventures that had accompanied those purchases.
Both Molly and I purchased one new dress each for ourselves. I did protest at first, saying that it wasn't really a need. We could sew our own clothing after all. Molly quickly put me in my place. Her insistence was followed by a comment from the store owner that sisters should have beautiful clothes that complement each other. Molly and I did commenced to laughing over the exchange at that point before letting the confused storekeeper wrap up the items for us. Yet I must admit I took it as quite the nice gesture to have been mistaken as Molly's sister. It must be because we both have blonde hair. Molly is only a few years older than I am. And I never did have a sister. So I'll cherish the comment for as long as I live. Sam then walked in the store moments later, unable to figure out what had humored us so much. Despite the moment of laughter, inwardly I couldn't help but remember the first time we were in a store together and I saw him for the first time under much more dangerous conditions. As I watched the smile slowly ease onto his face today as he looked toward us, trying to let us know our rooms at the hotel were ready, I think I felt some of what Molly had spoken of in regards to her John when he had returned from that hunting trip he had left on. I don't think I could ever go a day without Sam Brazos in my life. I suppose I have taken for granted having him there every day for a month and a half. I won't be doing that any longer. A gift has been handed to me that I do not take lightly. Love. I never thought it could ever happen to someone like me. But it has. And I will treat it with only the highest regard it deserves.
Charlotte jerked from her reverie of words as a knock sounded on her room's door. She quickly closed her journal but yanked it back open for fear the ink was still wet. She sighed quickly and uttered a brief delay as she gathered herself off of the bed and placed the book and pen on the nightstand. She rushed over to the mirror and examined her hair and face. Although she could tell she looked tired, Charlotte would not delay.
"Come in!" She finally called as she ducked away from the mirror, smoothing over her hair with the palm of her hand before turning to face the opening door.
Sam only opened the door about a body's width as he eased inside. He kept his hand on the handle as he surveyed Charlotte with a smile. "Molly wanted me to check in on you. Make sure you're settling in okay."
Charlotte felt her muscles relax, questioning why she was so tense beforehand. She quickly pulled herself from such thoughts to address Sam's comments. "I—I'm alright. Do you have a room in the hotel too?"
Sam shook his head. "No. I'm going to stay and camp out with the wagons outside of the city where we will keep them for the few days we'll be here. No use spending any money on another room."
Charlotte nodded although she wanted to protest. He deserved a few domestic comforts as much as she or any of the other families on the wagon train did. It would be a long while before they saw a city like St. Louis again.
Sam cleared his throat, removed his hat, and glanced to the floor before lifting his eyes warily to Charlotte. "I also came to ask something else."
Charlotte's eyes glistened just a bit as she stayed silent, urging Sam to go on with a bit of twinkle in her eye.
"I was wonderin' if you'd care to join me for dinner tonight. Formally. I know we've shared a lot of meals around the camp fires over the past month. But I was hoping it could be just—just you and me for once." Sam's eyes locked with hers, notwithstanding a bit of promise in them as the lamp light seemed to reflect his hope that she'd concede.
Charlotte didn't hesitate, immediately nodding briefly. She stopped and smiled instead. "I'd like that."
"Great!" Sam turned to leave with a broad grin, placing his hat on his head as he halted quickly and turned back with an undetectable snap of his fingers as he remembered something. "Oh, um, I'll come get you at seven o'clock. Is that okay?"
"Of course." Charlotte couldn't help but smile as Sam nervously fumbled his way out of the room and into the hall, forgetting to shut the door upon his absence.
Charlotte stepped forward and closed the door, briefly setting her back to it as it shut and lifting her head as she smiled again. Lowering her head back to look at the room, she stifled her smile, feeling herself sink back into her thoughts. After a few seconds of reflection, Charlotte realized seven o'clock would come before she knew it. Deciding a bath was the first order of business, she set to work first unpacking her brand new dress she had purchased earlier that day for tonight. It was a special occasion after all she concluded, laying it out with a smile as she admired each little fringe and detail. She was glad that Molly had convinced her to get it after all.
##
Charlotte knew as those first raindrops started to fall that something was wrong. Sam was already twenty minutes late, and she couldn't stand her hunger much longer. Even as she gazed over herself in the mirror one last time to be sure that everything was in place as it should be, she could hear a rising commotion on the street. Voices echoed and drifted to her window, muffled, yet clear as ever in their meaning. Something had gone array.
As she watched through the opaque torrents that chimed against the glass with a fury, Charlotte could not hide the longing in her eyes…the fear that something bad had happened. Then came a sudden knock against her door. She spun around instantly and clasped her back against the window, holding herself there with her hands against the wall as all went silent again. She continued breathing rather hard with a hand lifted to her heart as she realized just how much the city's commotion was not what she was used to at all. In fact, if this was normal, she could do without it. It made her far too startled at the littlest of things.
"Charlotte?"
Charlotte clasped her eyes tightly and let a sigh pass from her lips as she raised a brief gaze of relief to the ceiling before pushing herself off of the wall and shaking off the nervous tension with a smile as she neared the door, opening it. "Molly." Her smile was as big as the city and she had grown to expect the same response from Molly. But no smile came from her in return. "What's the matter, Molly? Is everything alright?"
Molly took note of the edge of fear in Charlotte's eyes, wishing she didn't have be the one to deliver such news. "I'm afraid Sam isn't going to be able to take you to dinner tonight, Charlotte."
Feeling a lump forming in her throat, Charlotte tried ridding herself from it as she swallowed hard. "Is Sam…hurt?"
"No no, nothing like that." Molly immediately moved forward and placed her hand on Charlotte's, giving it a soft squeeze. "It's just, he wanted me to come tell you that he couldn't come."
Charlotte relaxed inside, thankful that Sam was alright. "Then why the long face?" She tried smiling to assure Molly of her relief. She then stepped aside, returning the soft squeeze as she motioned for Molly to come in the room.
Molly attempted a smile in vain, immediately crossing to the window and looking towards the falling rain with a bit of disdain in her voice. "Sam and John just received some news. It seems St. Louis got a lot more rain before we came today. All the rivers are swollen. They aren't allowing anyone through them. There's even fears that some of the city could flood." Molly turned to Charlotte who had sat down on the bed to listen. "Sam is trying to figure out what we should do next. We were supposed to cross one of those rivers to continue our journey. But that won't be happening for weeks. And if some of the city floods, it could be months before the ferries even think about opening up again."
Charlotte could sense the magnitude of Molly's words now. Dinner didn't seem as important now as their future seemed to hang in the balance. "So…we're stuck here?"
Molly nodded, unable to speak as she looked back over the street through the blinding torrent.
As Charlotte propped her elbow on the bedpost, biting the edge of her fingernails while she stared headlong at the open doorway, the past forty-five days seemed to replay through her mind. Every struggle. Every joy. Every pain. Every victory. Every sorrow. Somehow she wouldn't change one thing about it all. If she was stuck in St. Louis for the next few months, at least she had a new family surrounding her to support her as she supported them…unlike the way her life had fared back home.
"Well," Charlotte stood and crossed to where Molly was, sharing the view. "The Lord has seen us this far. I don't see why a longer stay in a strange city would be any harder for him to see us through."
"You're right," Molly turned with a smile to look Charlotte in the eyes, briefly letting an exhale pass over her lips. "You are such a blessing to me, Charlotte Wilson. God must have known I needed a sister in my life. For he brought me you." Drawing Charlotte into an embrace, the two women shared a light laugh followed by a few tears. Not many. Just enough to moisten the dirt-stained and journey-trodden faces of two women who had faced the toughest journey of their lives so far and still had far to travel.
##
John Mason stood beside his wife Molly, his eyes filled with a touch of despair as the aftermath of last night's storm shone down around them in the form of a bright array of sunlight. All the wagon train families huddled together in a cluster just on the outskirts of St. Louis where some of the men had camped overnight to guard their many wagons. An eerie silence lingered among them while their thoughts raged as to what news had caused Brother Mason to call an emergency meeting. Surely nothing disparaging had happened. They all were alive and well. There was no sickness. No one held anger for anyone else. All seemed perfectly well.
Yet Charlotte knew why John had called the meeting. Even as she stood by Sam Brazos, a proudness filling her heart at the mere sight of the man, she couldn't help but grieve for the families surrounding her as they all faced their leader. What smiles remained would not be there for long. She only hoped her own sadness had not shown or alerted the others to anything that was array. As the final family arrived to complete their circle, John Mason raised his head and looked to his wife with a squeeze of her hand. She nodded a bit to him. Almost as if she was giving him the courage to speak that only a wife could give. Charlotte briefly glanced at Sam also. His eyes were fastened on Mason while he waited to hear him speak. His lack of emotion caused her to only imagine what he was feeling inside. Failure? Discouragement? Anger at what he couldn't control?
"I've called you all together here on a matter of most pressing interest. In fact, it effects all of us. When we all first set out on this journey back in Pennsylvania, I assured you all that this trip would not be without its hardships. And the Lord has already seen us through a share of trials. He has seen fit to see us this far. We owe him nothing less than thanks for bringing us to this place. Yet we have also come to yet another trial." John paused, bowing his head as if he hoped the words would somehow speak themselves. He then raised his head. A confident air surrounded him as he inhaled. "We all will be staying here in St. Louis for the foreseeable future." Light groans and mumblings drifted through the crowd. "Last night's rain was not the first St. Louis has had this week. They have had rain every day for at least a week I've been told. The river is swollen. No ferries are allowed to run. And what's more, the city is in danger of flooding also. Even nearby valleys have already experience flash floods."
Sam Brazos glanced to Charlotte as he stepped up and next to John, turning to face the crowd. "Believe me when I say this decision didn't come easy. There is another route we could take. But it is dangerous. And I don't want to risk the lives of you or your women and children. If we stay until the flooding is through, there's a chance we can take the ferry across the river and follow another trail to Paradise Valley."
Charlotte could tell this wasn't easy for Sam. But she trusted him and knew it was the right thing to do.
"How long must we stay?" Mr. Grisham was the first to speak up.
"We don't know for sure." John looked to Mr. Grisham with the eyes of a caring leader. "But hopefully not for long."
Mr. Grisham nodded, accepting this with as much strength as he could show with a glance towards his wife and daughter who looked back to him for love and strength despite this setback. Both John and Molly took notice of this. And in the midst of it all, Charlotte could see the hand of leadership through the couple. They truly loved these people with their whole heart and wanted to care for them as sheep in a flock.
Both John and Sam continued issuing important information to the families while Charlotte could feel herself drifting from their voices, her focus wavering as their words seemed to jumble in her head. She had already heard most of this during breakfast, and it was almost heartbreaking to listen again. As she let her gaze move away from John, Molly, and Sam, it seemed to land upon a shadowing figure who seemed to be listening to every word spoken as she clasped her hands around the first column that held up a nearby building in the distance. Charlotte could tell little about the person from a distance save the fact that she was a woman. Her blonde hair reflected the sunlight as the wind brushed it against her shoulders, and her glinting silk skirt breezed in the winds as she watched the crowd of people gathered beyond.
Charlotte was tempted to shield her face from the sun and get a better look at the curious stranger. Yet she decided against it for fear the woman would think her too inquisitive. Instead she turned back to Sam, a proud smile teasing her expression as she watched him step into a difficult moment of leadership as the wagon train's master.