It was spring when Germany invaded Paris, it was grumbled about and the paper scrunched up and thrown in anger at the news of it. It could go into the fire for all Ken cared. He had other things to worry about, war correspondence, his son seemed to be a touch more comfortable in his skin lately, and the friend that made more of an appearance.
A quiet whisper of 'it's okay, they won't get angry,' he heard as the boys played chess in the living room. Clearly, rules were still needed, though within the next weeks, there was a giggling bubbly girl in a Branksome uniform lounging on their sofa and playing with the curls of young Ford's hair.
"Dad, can I have fifty cents?" Rowena asks as she pulls on her sweater as she get ready for school.
"I just gave you your allowance," Ken reminds her.
"I know, but some of the girls at school want to go downtown and see the new exhibit at the ROM after school since it is early release day?" Rowena explains.
"You want to go to the museum?" Ken raises an eyebrow not quite believing her.
"They have a new mummy, we want to go see it," She explains.
"Very well," Ken says after a moment. "No boys, no cars, and don't wander around the university either," he adds on, digging into his pockets for loose change. "Though, how will your sister get home?" He adds on.
"She's almost seven? Can't she get home by herself by now? Mrs. Clarke is here," Rowena says whining. "Have Oliver pick her up if you don't want her walking home alone?"
"I have poetry club," Oliver chips in.
"Why don't you take her with you? I am sure that Clara would like to see the museum?" Ken tells her. "I mean you asked last minute?"
Rowena looks like she wants to object but slowly nods her head sighing.
"Good," Ken hands her some change and kisses the top of her hair.
Clara can tell Rowena is annoyed as she holds her sister's hand on the street car, but for Clara who hasn't been on public transportation, she intrigued by everything. Pulling on her sister's arms every time she tries to turn and look at something.
"I'm sorry I got stuck babysitting," Rowena tells her friends. "But it was bring her or not come at all."
"I need to pee," Clara announces and Rowena groans.
"You can go to the museum we're almost there so just hold it," she says groaning.
"There's a bizarre across the street as well," Flora says to Rowena. "We should check it out, we might find something fun to buy?"
"I already spent most of my allowance though," Nora says sighing. "This is our stop," she says looking around.
"Where are we?" Clara asks in awe of the building around her.
"That's the museum," Rowena tells her pointing across the street. "Now don't run off, and don't let go of my hand," she tells her. They paid admission and pulled that the little arm, that starred in awe of the museum that she had seen before.
"Slow Down Roe," Clara whines, wanting to take it all in, fingerprints on glass and her nose smooshed up as well. Animals, fossils, clothing, teapots...it was all something spectacular, why hadn't Mummy or Daddy ever brought them here?
The mummy was the least interesting thing to her little mind as the girls who could see better went crazy over it.
"Come on, let's check out the bizarre," Someone says as Clara stares through a doorway of something that made her mind go haywire.
"Come on Clara," Rowena tugs on her arm.
"But other there," Clara whines pointing to the other exhibit.
"It's boring, it's just rocks," someone tells her and Rowena tugs her once more and Clara is torn away from her spot. She is spitting at her sister mentally as they drag her through the bizarre and when she realizes that she is no longer attached to her sister she decides to go back to the museum, except pasties and cookies distract her.
Suddenly she is afraid, looking up around, not recognizing any of the faces. She was angry at her sister, but she didn't mean to lose her sister. She didn't mean to go off on her own, she just wanted to see the room of rocks for herself. It couldn't have been that far.
What did Jimmy always say? Find a policeman? Find an adult who looks trusting to get help.
"Clara, what are you doing here by yourself?" Clara turns to the voice that seems to know her. Connie, it was Connie who was dressed in a loose coat and a smart hat. Tears streak down her face.
"I…I got lost," Clara admits. "I was with Roe and she was looking through things in the market, I wanted to get a cookie but when I looked for her and couldn't find them?" Clara tells her
"Come one, I'm sure they are around," Connie says holding out her hand.
Clara sniffles and takes it.
They don't find Rowena or her friends, and after asking around if any girls were looking for a little girl they found out they went off looking but haven't been seen since.
"Come on, my office is down the way still, we can stop at the police station on the way maybe they went there," Connie tells her.
"Where does Jimmy work?" Clara says cheering up.
"No, he works at another, but they can call him as well," Connie tells her, nudging her alone. "Why did you leave your sister?"
"I didn't mean to, and it's not like she cares, Daddy made her take me this afternoon if she wanted to hang out with her friends," Clara tells her pouting.
"You still shouldn't have taken off," Connie tells her, directing her into the constabulary unit, and no one seemed to know if a bunch of young girls were looking for a little girl, but a few of them were out patrolling so they couldn't be sure.
Clara was starting to cry again when they made it to the children's aid office.
"Who is this?" Someone asks Connie.
"My very frightened, naughty little sister-in-law, which I know is something odd, to say, but she's Jimmy's little sister," Connie explains picking up the telephone and unbuttoning her coat. She didn't want Rowena to get into trouble, but if she went home looking, she needed to call the house. No one picks up though, her father-in-law must be at the office still, as well as her mother-in-law.
Rilla worked at the hospital? Maybe the girls went home thinking Clara might find it?
Connie sighed, her feet were already aching and her back.
"Are you fat because of the baby?" Clara asks looking at her protruding stomach.
Connie looks up and tries not to look at her co-workers.
"Maybe it's two of them? Like me and Cora?" Clara says chattering away.
"You know for the way you're showing with that…honeymoon baby," someone speaks up cautiously. "I would get a second opinion?"
"I'll keep that in mind," Connie says, "Though, I think if I keep from eating all the candy and fried chicken all the time, I would be less fat?" She explains further before picking up the phone again. "Women's hospital, please? Thank you—yes is Dr. Ford around it's an emergency."
"Why are you?" Clara begins, and Connie shushes her.
"Dr. Ford, speaking" Rilla's voice came through the telephone.
"It's Connie," She says. "Umm, you haven't seen Rowena or her friends have you?" She asks her mother-in-law.
"No? Why? Is something the matter?" Rilla asks voice raising and Connie sighs.
"I found Clara wandering around the Queen's Park—alone, how? According to her Rowena was supposed to be watching her and Clara wandered away and couldn't find her. I looked around with her, and then the police station, no one answered at the house, and I thought you being close by maybe Rowena would check to see if Clara found you?" Connie exclaims.
"Bring her to the hospital if you can, or I can pick her up," Rilla says through the line.
"I'll bring her, we're nearby," Connie says looking at her watch.
She explains the situation to her boss and takes Clara's hand and begins the walk down to the women's hospitals.
Rilla was at the front desk, waiting for them when they arrived. She bundled up Clara who hugged her.
"Rowena just called in hysterics, I sent her home and I called Ken about what happened so he knows as well," Rilla tells her and looks over Connie down to her feet. "I'll give you a lift back and you can have dinner with us. Jimmy won't be home until late tonight if his schedule is the same?"
"How do you?" Connie says but the older woman has known Jimmy's schedule for so long.
"You changed to sturdy shoes," Rilla points out. "I work around with expectant women, I know swollen ankles before I see them."
Connie laughs lightly. "They aren't that bad, but getting off of them would be lovely."
"Sit for a moment, I'll go pack my things and tell them I have to leave early today," Rilla tells her. "Stay with Connie and then well go home okay,"
For what Connie assumed would be a blow-up and a fight, Rowena seemed to be distraught and accepting of whatever punishment her parents dolled out to her that night for losing her sister in the middle of downtown. It was an hour after they arrived back in Rosedale, when she unbuttons her uniform jacket, wishing for something more comfortable to wear but she would manage for a few more hours.
"Here," Rilla says passing over a more comfortable dress. "I can only imagine what sort of a girdle you are wearing to appear less than you are?"
Connie sighs and shakes her head. "It's not that bad really, but thank you for the dress, this waistband is killing me."
She realizes, without Jimmy she's never had dinner alone with the Fords, not like this anyway. Rilla told her to sit and relax. The kids helped set the table and even helped the housekeeper, even Ken was frying up the fish like it was the most normal thing in the world, and whenever her mother-in-law tried to help, everyone shooed her away.
"I'm sure Jimmy told you of my not-so-great cooking skill?" Rilla explains as she sets a basket of bread on the table.
"In passing?" Connie answers after a moment. "I didn't think he was telling the truth though honestly. You can't be that bad?"
"Oh but she is," Oliver says grinning and Rilla swats at him playfully.
"It's not that I haven't tried, people have been also trying since I was old enough to light a stove or manage one, but it just never quite stuck?" Rilla says explaining. "I think Ken just wanted to eat meals on time and took over for his stomach, and then Mrs. Clarke came into the picture, and even she has tried to help me."
"You can make a fine sandwich and oatmeal," Mrs. Clarke says bringing over a bowl of boiled potatoes and winter vegetables.
"See," Rilla says sassing back her children as the doorbell rings.
"I'll get it," Ken says turning off the burner to the stove and putting the fish off to the side. He wipes his hands on a tea towel and goes for the door.
"Hello?" He asked, surprised to see a rather frightened teenager no older than Oliver he guessed though she was holding a fussy baby. "Can I help you?
"No, I'm looking at Jimmy Anderson?" A young girl asked in an English accent. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. But something was oddly familiar, something he couldn't put together in his mind. She was wearing an old blue coat and hat In her free hand was a stack of letters.
"He doesn't live here anymore?" Rilla said looking over the young lady on her doorstep, even more curious about the child she was carrying. Jimmy wouldn't…Jimmy was not that sort of young man. The accent wasn't Canadian though.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just go." The young girl says as she bounces the infant who fusses again.
"Come in from the cold, I'll telephone him, he moved out. " Rilla told the girl who wasn't dressed for an early Canadian spring. The girl had a familiar look to her which she couldn't quite place at the moment.
"How do you know Jimmy?" Rilla asked curiously. Half of her was either half ready to smack the man across his head, or the other half felt like she knew this young girl.
Connie was standing there in shock, unsure what was happening.
"I found these," she said holding a stack of letters. "It was where my brother lived."
"Willow?" Ken asked, remembering the familiar face of Adeline Anderson from photos Jimmy still had in his room for so long.
"You know who I am!" She exclaimed.
"Willow?" Rilla looked at her husband and then the young girl who looked young. Willow had to be closer to twenty, though with the name for a face, she suddenly saw all the similarities between the siblings who shared different mothers. "You are Willow Anderson?" She asked.
Willow nodded, holding a photo from an old letter from Jimmy from probably eight years ago. Rilla took it, and the old letter with their address on it.
"Connie?" Rilla asks meaning the pick up the telephone, but sees the young woman pale as a sheet. "Sit down for a moment."
"Is she all right?" Willow asks cautiously.
"She'll be fine," Rilla says. "She had a bit of a shock, I have a feeling you showing up as you did asking for her husband, with a baby in your arms wasn't something she ever thought might happen?"
"You're…my brother is married?"
"Come, let's make you some tea. You drink tea do you not?" Mrs. Clarke said to the girl. "Who is the little one? Is he or she yours?"
"Of course, and lord no!" She says quickly. "It's a bit of a story?"
"What do you mean a story?" Connie asks the social work part of her kicking in.
"Her mother didn't make it out of Paris," Willows amends herself. "It was leave her or take her and it felt like she was safer with me?"
"Of course," Rilla says nodding her head as if it made sense.
"You can't just…" Connie says in disbelief.
"Mommy did with Jimmy?" Clara says remembering the old story.
"War makes everything different," Rilla says calmly