Chase the Wind (26 page)

Marcus looked at her with a delicious grin on his face. “I think
I’m in love,” he commented. Jamie tugged on his sister’s braid, and
she elbowed his side.

“We’d better go to supper before we get into any more trouble,”
she said as she got up from the bed.

“We?” Marcus asked as he followed her out of the room. “I’m staying far away from you, believe me.” Jamie laughed as he heard
their voices trailing off down the hall.

Jenny and Marcus took their seats at their respective tables and joined the rest of the children in the wait for Father Clarence to appear and bless the meal that was laid before them. Logan was
sitting at his place, his nose swollen and his eyes ringed with black and blue circles. Joe was quiet for once. Apparently, Logan was not in the mood for Joe’s snickering commentary. Marcus gave the two
bullies a self satisfied grin and looked over at Jenny with a wink. Jenny just stared the two down, then turned her attention to Mary, who was seated across from her. The little girl seemed thrilled at
the attention that Jenny gave her, and Jenny decided that she would take it upon herself to look out for her. The priest finally appeared,
and quickly blessed the meal, but he still looked agitated.

Jenny knew she had not escaped when they gathered for chapel
that evening. Father Clarence promptly began speaking on the
wages of sin, and how sinners will be punished some day. He even
quoted the scripture on vengeance, shaking his fist at the heavens. Marcus rolled his eyes at this, but Logan and Joe seemed to enjoy
the passage, Logan staring down his swollen nose at Jenny as the
priest expounded on the verse. Jenny let her mind drift back to the services she had attended with her family at the little white church
in Council Bluffs and the loving fellowship that had existed among
the congregation. She watched Mary, who was seated in front of
her, struggle to stay awake as the priest went on past the nine
o’clock hour when they were supposed to be dismissed to get ready for bed. Soon many of the smaller children were asleep, their heads
tilted back, mouths open. Even Joe was snoring, the other boys
giggling at the sounds he was making. The priest kept looking right
at Jenny as he went on with his sermon, and she knew that he was making her the target of the other children, who anxiously wanted to leave and seek their beds. He finally closed the service, having
exhausted his voice and the ears of the nuns, who had not dared
even to move in the presence of his anger. The children shuffled
sleepily from their pews, grumpy with each other and the nuns.

Jenny scooped Mary up, laying the child’s curly head against her
right shoulder so she wouldn’t have to bear her weight on her broken arm. She helped Mary change into her nightgown, pulled
the covers up under her chin, and turned to find Sister Mary
Frances waiting to talk to her. She followed the nun to a small
courtyard within the walls of the mission. There was a birdbath in the middle, circled with flowers that looked purple in the shadows
cast by the half moon visible over head. Jenny was surprised at this
oasis of color in the otherwise drab world of the mission. Once
again, the nun showed Jenny a bench, then stood before her as she
had that first day in the orchard.

“Do you think it was wise to defy Father Clarence today?” the
sister asked after taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

“He expected me to bend over his desk and take a beating. I
think I was wise to decline that offer.”

“We have rules here, and he expects everyone to obey them.”

“He didn’t even ask me my side of the story, just told me to bend
over and take my lickin’. My dad would kill anyone who laid a
hand on me like that.”

“Jenny, your dad is no longer here.”

“I know.” Jenny put her head down in her hands. Sister Mary Frances laid her hand on the girl’s shoulders as the sobs began to rack her body. The nun sat down beside her and pulled her over so that her head was lying in her lap. She began to stroke her
temple, smoothing the wayward strands that had escaped from the
braid trailing down her back to her hips. The sobs soon gave way
to a long sigh. “Every time I think I’m done crying, I start up again,”
Jenny said into the habit beneath her.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you can go a life
time and never finish crying for someone or something.”

Jenny raised herself to a sitting position and looked at the nun as she wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. “Did you
lose someone you were close to?” she asked.

Sister Mary Frances looked at her in surprise. “Yes, I did,” she
said after a while, a soft smile curving her lovely face. “I still grieve
and pray every day.” They sat in silence for a while, each lost in her own memories. Then Sister Mary Frances broke the silence.

“We still need to talk about you and Father Clarence.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I won’t just bend over so he can
beat me, especially when I don’t deserve it.” Jenny jumped up from
the bench and began pacing around the courtyard. “My dad taught me right from wrong, and how to stand up for myself when I’ve been wronged. No one has ever laid a hand on me that I didn’t deserve, and I don’t deserve anything from him.” Jenny came to a stop and looked up at the half moon that was still shining above them. “Why is he here anyway? I can’t imagine that he would ask
to run an orphanage.”

“It is not our place to question the wisdom of those who are in
charge of such matters.”

Jenny grinned at the nun, her teeth flashing white in the dark
ness. “You’ve wondered the same thing yourself, haven’t you?” Sis
ter Mary Frances crossed her arms, her hands disappearing into the sleeves of her habit. Jenny put her hands on her hips and looked at the nun, who sat piously on the bench before her. “I
know you have, you can’t help it. You’re not like the others. They’re scared of him, doing their best to stay out of his way and not make
him mad, but you’re different.”

“I think it’s time you went to bed. We have another busy day before us.” Jenny dropped a quick kiss on the surprised nun’s fore
head. “Let’s not discuss this with anyone else,” the nun added.

“Okay, but I know Jamie has you figured out. Marcus too.”

“Jenny.” The nun stopped short at the door. “Let’s make it our
secret?”

“Who would I tell?”

Sister Mary Frances smiled as Jenny disappeared into the mission. For the first time in a long while, she felt as if she was not
alone.

Chapter Fourteen

The next day passed in the same way as the one before. Jenny managed to avoid Father Clarence, and battle lines were drawn in
the classroom, with Jenny and Marcus on one side, Logan and Joe on the other. Jenny and Marcus knew that when Jamie joined them
the tide would turn in their favor, and Marcus looked forward to
that day with great anticipation, glad that his torture would be
finally over. Jenny was amused to find Mary following her as she made the rounds during the short recess allowed them after lunch. Marcus pretended to have hurt feelings, but he was actually very happy that Mary was getting some attention. When school let out
for the day, Jenny hurried to the infirmary, anxious to get Jamie
outside for a change. It was a beautiful day, almost summery, and she knew it would do him good to get outside in the fresh air. He
was reading when she came into his room and seemed very glad
for the company, even asking where Marcus was when he saw she
was alone.

“Let’s go for a walk,” she said as he stretched on the bed, his muscles cramped from lying around all day. “You’re getting lazy.”

“Walk where?”

“Outside. There’s an orchard. It’s really nice.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” he said nervously, looking
towards the window.

“When will you be ready? Tomorrow, next week, next month? Come on, Jamie, let’s go outside. Everyone is busy with chores, no
one will see you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Would I lie to you?”

Jamie looked down at the face of his sister, who was trying her best to look innocent. “Yes, you would, if it would get you what
you wanted.”

“Jamie, I promise, to the best of my knowledge there is no one
waiting outside these walls to look at you. Now, will you please go
outside with me and walk around so you can get better? I miss
you.”

Jamie went over to the window and surveyed the area. In the
distance he could see children working in a garden, and a little girl
with curly brown hair handing laundry to a nun who was hanging it on a line. He could barely see the corner of a barn, and he was
curious to know what kind of livestock was inside. The thought of
an orchard sounded nice, too, although what he really longed for was the sight of the plains rolling out before him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt the sun on his face, or the wind
in his hair, and all he had to do was walk with his sister out through
the door. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do in his life.

Sister Mary Frances appeared at the door with a hat in her hand.
“I thought you might need this. It will help shield your eyes from
the sun,” she explained as she handed the hat to Jamie.

He turned it in his hands, looking it over as if it were hiding
some great secret. She didn’t have to add that it would also shield his face from prying eyes, if any were about, and he was grateful
for the offer. He pushed his hair back from his eyes and set the hat
firmly on his head, cocking it a bit to the left and forward.

Jenny stood contemplating him for a minute, then held out her hand with a smile. “Let me show you around,” she said as he took her hand. She led him past Sister Mary Frances and out into the halls of the mission. He tried to stop when he saw a nun coming towards them, but Jenny tugged on his hand and they passed the
sister, who walked by with her eyes down, as if she never saw them.
Jenny led him out into the bright sunshine, and on across the yard,
never stopping until they reached the shelter of the orchard. He
dropped her hand when they reached the bench and stood looking
up at the limbs full of buds, swaying gently in the breeze.

“I told you it was nice out here,” Jenny said. Jamie leaned back
against the trunk of a tree and let the breeze wash over him.

“I feel like a baby,” he finally said.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just weak. I feel like I can hardly walk
back.”

“You need to build your strength up.”

Jamie stretched his arm out in front of him, made a fist, and
began to flex his arm, watching the muscles move under his shirt.

“You still look the same. You haven’t lost anything,” Jenny as
sured him; then she waved her bandaged arm under his nose.
“This, however, will probably look like a twig by the time I get out
of these splints.”

“You want to arm wrestle?” His grin flashed at her.

“Ha ha,” she said, returning a grin of her own. “Come on, I want
to show you something.” She led him to the edge of the orchard where the rise fell away and tapered down to the town in the dis
tance.

“Nice view,” he agreed with her. “I wish Grandmother was still
there.”

“Yes, that would be nice.” They stood for a while looking at the town, while the breeze scattered spent blossoms above them. Jamie
put his arm around his sister’s shoulders and soon was leaning on
her.

“Let’s go back and sit down for a while,” she finally suggested
when his weight became more than she could stand.

“Yeah, I don’t want to go in yet.” Jenny led him back to the
bench where she had first talked to Sister Mary Frances, and he
wearily sat down.

“We have to try a little more each day.”

“Yeah.” He leaned back against the armrest and stretched his legs out before him. Jenny sat down on the ground in front of the bench
and busied herself with the spent blossoms littering the ground
under the trees. She heard footsteps and looked up to see Mary
coming towards them at a run. She glanced at Jamie, but he had
his eyes closed. Mary was soon standing before her, out of breath
from her run. Jenny saw that Jamie’s eyes were open beneath the
shadow of the brim of his hat, but he kept his breathing even as if
he were asleep.