Finding Grace: A Novel (10 page)

Grace turned around to face forward,
unnerved by him. Victoria's rudeness she could tolerate, because
she’d never really valued the opinions of other women, be they
familiar or unfamiliar to her. But there was something about the
rudeness of men that got under her skin. Self-importance ran
through their veins, it seemed to her, and this Henry fellow wasn't
doing much to change her mind about that.

What a snob that man
is
, she thought to herself.
Mister, when you get me to my brother, I’ll be
done with you, and you’ll be done with me. Then we can act like we
never met.

Rather than wasting further time in thinking
of him, she looked out the window, seeing the cityscape as it went
by. It was all so new, so exciting. It only grew more fascinating
as they moved with the flow of pedestrians and drivers. The streets
were crowded with cars and trucks. Horns honked, engines puttered.
Smoke belched from tailpipes. There was even the occasional
clip-clop of horses hooves, brought on by horse-drawn wagons, which
were a welcome sight to her eyes. But all traffic, be it live or
motorized, had to dodge the hulking streetcar as it went, plodding
through the middle of the street like a ship on the sea, sending
pedestrians and vehicles scattering in its wake.

As they went along, the city heights soon
gave way to small brick residences with neatly trimmed little lawns
and hedges, lined up along white paved sidewalks and cobblestone
streets. It was all so pretty to look at…like something in a
picture book. Her stomach began to knot with anticipation as she
imagined reuniting with Jack and Alice. Looking down at her hands,
she realized they were shaking a little. Taking a deep breath, she
willed herself to be calm. And before she quite knew it, the short
journey had come to an end.

Henry and Victoria stepped down from the
streetcar. Grace quickly followed a few steps behind them, though
neither one looked back. She wondered how far they would go along,
but she didn't have much time to think about it. They turned up a
walkway towards one of the little houses. Victoria quickly went
inside, while Henry stopped at the mailbox. Grace stood a few feet
away, looking at the house across the street.

Jack's
house
, she realized.

She reached into her bag for her envelope,
reading the address again…wanting to be sure that she had really
gotten this far on her own…that it really was her brother's house
she was about to cross over to. It was beautiful to look at, with
its flower-filled window boxes and manicured lawn. But it didn’t
seem possible that she was really here. She stood rooted to her
spot on the sidewalk...until she suddenly heard Henry's voice, sly
and sarcastic.

"You won’t get anywhere just standing
still."

She turned to look at him, but he had his
mail in hand, already heading for his front door. She curled her
lip in distaste, muttering…and almost wishing he would hear.

"Well thank you so much for your help.” Then
she added, in a slightly lower voice. "Grouchy bastard."

For a moment, she compared
him to Fitzwilliam Darcy, the seemingly cold and snobbish hero
from
Pride and Prejudice
. But then she took it back. Darcy was one of her favorite
characters, a man who really wasn’t the cold-hearted beast he
appeared to be. She wouldn't give Henry such a distinction, and she
was glad to see him disappear into his house.

On one point, however, she agreed with him.
She wasn't getting anywhere just standing on the curb. She took a
deep breath, looked both ways, and crossed the street.

* * * * *

She stood at the door, her heart beating
wildly. After a moment of hesitation, she knocked the little brass
ring. She stood for several moments, nervously shifting her weight
from one foot to the other. Then the door slowly opened…and before
her stood Alice.

Alice
. Her beloved sister-in-law. Once her cherished friend and
teacher. She was just the same. Statuesque, with jade-green eyes
and a soft, pale complexion. Her hair was shorter now, styled in a
wavy bob. But it was just as flaming red as it had ever been. Alice
stared at her for a long moment, as if she were looking at someone
she thought she knew, but wasn’t altogether sure.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

For a moment Grace was troubled. Then, she
seemed to remember how she looked. The trousers she was wearing…the
hat on her head. Quickly she took it off. Her long braid fell down
against her shoulder. She took off the glasses and asked, "Don't
you know me?"

A stunned look came to Alice’s face…and then
it was replaced by a great, loving smile. Grace felt arms going
around her, warm and tight, as Alice squealed with glee.

"Gracie! Is it really you?" She grinned,
merriment twinkling in her eye. "Well of course it's you. There for
a minute I wasn’t sure. But now that you’ve got those silly glasses
and that hat off, I’d know that face anywhere. Come on in the
house, will you?"

She didn't wait for her to follow. She took
her by the hand, pulling her in. The moment the door was closed,
questions tumbled forth.

"What are you doing here? Did Jack know you
were coming?"

Grace shook her head. "No, he didn't know.
Nobody knows I'm here." She paused a moment, shifting her eyes. "I
ran away from home."

Alice's mouth fell open in shock. But she
smiled. "Did you really? My word, Gracie. You came all this way by
yourself?"

Grace nodded, and Alice shook her head,
smiling with an expression full of wonder.

"I don't know what to say," she replied. "I
feel like I'm in the middle of some crazy dream or something."

There was a moment of awkward silence, as if
neither of them knew what to say to the other. Then they both
giggled.

"I feel so silly," Grace said. "I've known
you since I was a little girl, but I feel like I'm standing here
with someone I just met."

Alice let out another giggle, taking her by
the hand.

“
We can fix that situation
right now.”

Grace smiled as she was led through the
handsome woodworked foyer, past a finely furnished living room and
a set of carpeted stairs, and into the kitchen.

"I was just about to start supper, but now
you can keep me company while I do it. And while I slave away over
a stove, you and I can do

some catching up."

Grace smiled, nodding. "That's fine by me,
as long as you let me help. I won't just sit by like a clove on a
baked ham, thank you very much.”

She looked around at the bright, airy
kitchen…admiring the white painted walls and smooth, polished wood
floor. She put her bag down in a chair, searching the room with
enchanted eyes. Her voice was soft.

“
Oh Alice, what a pretty
place.” Slowly, she ran her fingers over the granite countertop,
marveling at its smoothness. She felt silly for doing it, but she
couldn’t help opening the doors to the hanging cabinets, swinging
them back and forth. “It must be just grand to have all this space
for things, right here at your fingertips. Not like the one old
cupboard at home.”

Still in awe, she moved to a bay window that
looked out on the back yard. It was a small property. But it had a
neatly trimmed lawn, a little row of yellow flowers along the back
fence, and a little vegetable garden. She smiled at its
quaintness.

"Your yard is as cute as a bug's ear. Jack
must be glad there’s not much to tend to."

Alice nodded. She stood at the stove over a
simmering pot, chopping vegetables and dropping them in.

"After working at the Dearborn Station all
day, managing his crew, he doesn't have the time or the energy to
go out and work like an old mule. He works Monday through Friday,
eight to five. It's a marvelous thing. Not like back home, when
everyone is up at the first crack of dawn. Jack doesn’t spend the
whole day buried in the coal mine, or working in the fields like an
animal."

As the memory of such things still stung
fresh in her mind, Grace’s smile faded. She hung her head a little.
It wasn’t her intention to bring a mood of gloom. But Alice seemed
to sense the change of feeling in the room.

"I'm sorry if that came out sounding wrong.”
Her voice was gentle…apologetic. "I don't want to sound like I'm
putting down everybody back home. I love my people, and I'm proud
of where I'm from. But it's so sad to me that being born there is
like being born a caged bird. You’re confined to this little space.
You can't spread your wings and take off, when you know there is
this great big world out there, just waiting to be explored. All
you can do is flutter your wings in frustration."

Grace smiled…a familiar sense of fascination
coming over her. It was the same fascination she'd experienced as a
child, listening to Alice as she taught her lessons. She had always
spoken with such passion…such beauty. But more intriguing, perhaps,
was how Alice hardly noticed her own mannerisms and way of
speaking. She didn't speak with the intention of impressing anyone.
But all the same, that was just what she did.

Not wanting to lapse into pure sentiment,
she walked over to the stove where Alice stood. Looking about, she
found herself captivated once again by the simple things around the
kitchen…things that, to anyone else, might have seemed menial. But
to her, they were all objects of immense fascination. She looked at
the stove. A familiar thing…and yet, so different.

"I never saw a stove like this before. Where
do you put the wood or the coal for the fire?"

Alice shook her head. "You don’t need either
one. It runs on gas that's piped through the ground. No chopping
wood. No soot, no cinders. No carrying buckets of stinking, dirty
coal and messing up the nice clean floor. And if you think that's
wonderful, come look at this." She turned, moving a few steps to
the refrigerator. She opened the door. "Isn't this just the bees
knees? Jack just bought it for us a few months ago. Before that, we
used to have an icebox, and there was a pan under it that used to
overflow all the time if you didn't empty it. We used to come home
and there would be water all over the place. Thank goodness for
modern technology."

Grace’s mouth was slightly agape.

"I would have been happy with the icebox.
The only cooling we had back home was the root cellar or the cold
shed down at the creek. Or the snow in the winter. Remember? And
here's a little bit of winter right here, whenever you want it. If
that don't beat all. There's even a little light in there, so you
can see what you're looking at. That's as handy as a pocket on a
shirt."

Alice smiled. "That it is," she said. "But
I've always wondered. Does the light stay on or go off when you
close the door?"

They looked at each other, both pondering
one of life's little mysteries.

After they closed the door they went back to
the cooking. They talked of many things. Of how Grace had come to
be there…and of Charlie. When his name was mentioned, Grace’s tone
took on a sad and bitter note. When the tale was done, Alice shook
her head, sighing in amazement.

"My word," she said. “Wait until Jack hears
about all this. And when he hears about Charlie, he might just flip
his lid.”

They sat at the table now, each of them
quiet for several moments. Then, Alice’s expression became
soft…almost guilty. "Don’t be mad at me for saying this, but…I feel
a little sorry for Charlie."

Grace’s eyes widened. Was this a betrayal?
It certainly felt that way. But Alice was quick to offer comfort,
and an explanation.

"Don’t take offense. I’m not saying that he
should have talked to you the way he did. Men have a primal fear of
the word 'no', and Charlie was acting just like any man would. You
know that’s how they are when they don’t get what they want. But on
the other hand, you have to remember what it was like for Charlie
as a little boy. His father rejected him, like a baby chick being
kicked out of the nest too soon. That had to have traumatized him
something terrible. And when you turned down his proposal, it was
like he was being rejected all over again."

She didn't want to hear this explanation,
even coming from Alice. Her pride was still shaken, her feelings
still hurt, even after the short passage of time. Deep down, she
knew Alice spoke with wisdom. She always had. But she didn't reply
to the statement. She just sat quietly, and they both seemed to
sense that a change of subject was needed.

“
Are you still teaching
three days a week at the University? I know you wrote to me about
it.”

Alice nodded. “I am, and I love it. Right
now we’re on summer break. Your brother hates it, though. He always
has.” She sighed, leaning her head in her hand. “You know, I love
Jack more than life itself. He’s so wonderful…so smart. And he
likes to think of himself as a “modern man.” But he still has some
of those old ideals in his head. Do you know, the first fight we
had as a married couple was because he told me not to work? But I
no sooner got through to him with that before he was making other
demands…telling me I should quit as soon as we had children.” She
paused for a moment, sighing. “Well we’ve been married for six
years. And as you can see and hear, there are no little feet
pitter-pattering around.”

She sighed again. For a moment, Grace
thought they would now fall into a sad spell at the mention of
children. After all, Alice and Jack had been married for quite some
time and still had no babies, even though they wanted them badly.
She looked at her sister-in-law, expecting to see a frown. But
instead there was a little smirk on her face. She was
intrigued.