His Rainbow After the Rain

by Grace Clemens

  “Well, since you felt we needed them so badly, you can adjust the curriculum accordingly. I already have too much on my mind to be doing that too. And don’t bring any of them up until you have the new lessons written out.”

  “But Mrs. Edwards, that would take me all night and probably all of tomorrow, too.”

  “If that is what it takes,” Mrs. Edwards responded, firmly.

  Shock and anger made Mary ball up her fists but she hid them behind her back so only Sarah could see them. “But tomorrow is Saturday and the beginning of the weekend!”

  “Just see that you get it done.” Mrs. Edwards turned and stomped to the steps and then up them, sounding like an elephant.

  Mary and Sarah looked at each other, shaking their heads.

  “She’s in a terrible mood,” Sarah said, keeping her voice low.

  Mary nodded. “I know. But you probably would be, too, if you had that horrible man breathing down your neck before lunch.”

  Sarah raised her eyebrows, nodding too. “I concur. Well, let’s go through these books. I’ll help you with your curriculum if I can. Just tell me what to do. It will be good practice if I decide to become a schoolteacher someday.”

  Mary laughed with her friend, knowing Sarah would never be a schoolteacher. It wasn’t one of her goals in life. She had no aspirations of becoming one and had put no effort into working toward it.

  But she appreciated the offer and got out her pens and paper to write a list of things Sarah could do for her, like sorting through the books by age range and subject.

  The two women worked and chatted until noon, when they took a lunch. The sun was bright overhead, beaming down on them cheerfully. As they passed the printing shop where the local newspaper was printed, she glanced in. There were two men inside. They were standing together, facing each other in deep discussion. One of them was much taller, dressed slightly better and had the face and body of a sculpture in an art museum.

  Mary knew who he was. He was the son of a hard man with no concern for the female gender, and as far as she knew the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree.

  His name was Philip Jenkins. He was talking to John Hanover, the son of the mayor. It was a little surprising to see Philip was dressed more smartly than the son of the mayor but that’s how it was. Philip didn’t look happy and they were going back and forth, cutting each other off.

  She was only in front of the window for about four steps but it was enough to quickly catch Philip’s eye while he was mid-sentence.

  She wasn’t surprised when his eyes immediately darted back to the man in front of him and he didn’t miss a word.

  They were past the window but the image of him lingered in her mind. Maybe she should stop in and speak with him. She had some ideas to improve the newspaper, add some articles that leaned more toward women’s issues.

  Chapter 2

  They reached the small restaurant on the corner of the street a few minutes later. Mary had tried to spend the walk talking about pleasant things, but Mrs. Edwards’ bad attitude was on her mind. It wasn’t just today that the older woman was grumpy.

  She was like that more often than not. Mary had tended to many smaller children that were in Mrs. Edwards’ care over the last few years because the woman seemed to have very little compassion for the small ones.

  Mary wasn’t in charge so couldn’t say that perhaps the woman shouldn’t be teaching the small children. So she just kept an eye out to make sure they were treated with the compassion and love they deserved.

  Once they were seated in the restaurant and the girl took their lunch order, she sighed and looked at Sarah, shaking her head. “I hate to complain, but Mrs. Edwards is just about to make me pull out my last hair.”

  Sarah lifted her eyebrows and leaned forward slightly, her arms crossed on the table between them. “I thought you said she’d eased up a little. Is she still cross with the children?”

  “She really hasn’t gotten that much better. But it’s not just that. I feel like when she looks at me, something about me makes her upset. I do my job the way I’m supposed to. I’m just glad to be able to support myself.” She held in a giggle as she looked directly at her friend and said, “Some of us have to work for a living. Don’t have rich parents.”

  Sarah scrunched up her face, ending it with a grin, sticking out her tongue. “Oh you. You know I’ll help you out however I can.”

  Mary nodded, grinning too and letting out her giggle. “You know I’m teasing you. And yes, I know you’d help me.”

  Sarah reached forward with one hand and rested it on the table in front of her, tapping one finger. Her eyes were directly on Mary’s. “You’ve done a lot more than I ever have, honey. You’ve lived a life I can’t understand. After your parents left you early in your life, you’ve really worked your way up. I was so proud of you when you finished all the requirements for your teaching license. You and Mrs. Edwards take care of quite a few children for a town with almost four thousand people.”

  “Well, I don’t think the pressure is good for Mrs. Edwards anymore. Maybe she’s getting too old to take care of small children.”

  “Do you think she would be any better with the older ones?” Sarah sounded skeptical.

  Mary thought about it for a second. Her friend was probably right. The older children demanded respect while the little ones didn’t know any better. She shook her head. “I guess not. It wasn’t easy for me when ma and pa died.”

  Sarah looked sympathetic, pulling her hand back and replacing it where it had been. “I know. And so soon after moving here from the East Coast. I’m sure it was a punch in the gut for you.”

  Mary watched the serving girl as she came toward them, a large round tray in her hands that supported two plates and two glasses. She sat back in anticipation of their food being placed in front of them. As the girl placed the plates and glasses down, she thought about the term “punch in the gut”. She had never been in a physical fight in her 20 years and never expected to be in one.

  Regardless, the term still seemed appropriate for the situation. While her parents’ deaths had been devastating enough, there was that extra tragedy, that extra circumstance that made Mary’s life even harder. She was only fifteen when they died, six months after moving to Glenwood.

  Sarah was her friend even then but she was thirteen and had little control. Still, Sarah was smart as a whip and asked her father to help Mary, giving her a place to stay, giving her some work in the house to make a little money, feeding her and helping her get the books she needed for her teaching certificate. She’d studied hard and made it where she was on her own, using her own skills and intelligence.

  She’d been blessed with a benefactor. Other than that, she’d done it all on her own.

  And she was proud that by the time she was seventeen, she was able to make enough money on her own to move out into a big room in a nice boarding house.

  Having Sarah as close as a sister had helped her through many depressing times. She watched as Sarah said a quick prayer and then dug into her beef stew. She sopped up some of the juice with a biscuit and looked up at Mary just as she put it in her mouth.

  She froze in place for a moment or two before slowly taking a bite. She made a show of chewing with her lips together and a smile growing on her face.

  Her friend’s actions made Mary laugh and shake her head. “You are such a card, Sarah.”

  She took a bite of the ham and cheese sandwich she’d ordered, enjoying the taste in her mouth, glad that she was able to buy her own lunch. Sarah didn’t often pay for her but it was always embarrassing when she had to ask. It had been a long time since she’d had to do that.

  That was a relief.

  “I just want to thank you,” Mary said in between bites. “How thankful I am to have you in my life. You are such a blessing to me. You and your father. I’ve never felt worthless or useless. You taught me a lot in my life.”

  Sarah tilted her head to the side, her blond hair bru
shing against her shoulder. “You’ve taught me a lot, too. You’re two years older than me. Like I said before, you’ve done a lot more in your life than I have and going through those things with you opened my eyes to a lot of things a girl like me might not have experienced otherwise.”

  Mary was nearly done with her sandwich. She took a few sips of her iced tea. It was a good lunch on a good day. Despite the mayor’s arrival, his surly attitude and Mrs. Edwards’ grumpiness.

  “You’re a woman,” she chided her friend, softly. “You should refer to yourself as one.”

  Sarah chuckled. “Yes, Miss Teacher.”

  Mary blushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to treat you like one of my students.”

  Sarah just laughed. “Now I’m teasing you. I just want you to know how much I appreciate you, too. It was nice for you to say that to me. But I’ve always thought of you as a sister; well, since I was twelve or thirteen I have. I looked up to you and cared for you the same way you cared for me. I’m glad for it. You are the blessing! I was an only child until you came along.”

  “And you don’t even have to share your vast fortune with a sibling because I’m not a real sister!” Mary exclaimed jokingly.

  “And yet, I would anyway!” Sarah returned.

  Mary was satisfied as she finished off her Coca-Cola and sandwich. She sat back and looked through the window, waiting for Sarah to finish.

  There were plenty of people walking around the business area of Glenwood. The tailor shop was directly across the street with the barber shop next to it. A few doors down was the printing shop. She decided then and there she was going to stop in there. She wanted to talk to Philip Jenkins in person.

  “I think I’m going to stop in at Jenkins Printing and talk to them about the content of their newspaper.”

  Sarah looked up at her surprised. “You’re going to do what? Why would he listen to you?”

  Mary shrugged. “He might not. He probably won’t. But there’s no reason not to try. If the opportunity is there, I’ll take it. And the opportunity is always there. I might as well try.”

  “What are you going to talk to him about?”

  “Remember when we were talking about how terrible the newspaper is when it comes to women’s issues? There’s rarely anything that interests me in the newspaper. I’d like to read it, too.”

  “You would, you bookworm,” Sarah said, lightly.

  Ignoring the teasing, Mary continued, “I think there should be more articles geared toward the females on this planet. I think it’s only fair. We are fighting for many rights in this country that we can’t have. We can’t vote for the president or for anything local. If I had my way, Hanover wouldn’t be the mayor. Someone who’s capable and able to get along with everyone should be. Someone with not just male parts, but a moral compass and a compassionate heart too.”

  Sarah was nodding. “I agree with you. But do you really want to put yourself out there for something that seems so impossible to achieve?”

  Mary tilted her head, eyeing her friend. “Don’t I seem like the type of woman who would?”

  “Oh, most certainly. You will put yourself in the spotlight for the women of this country, I have no doubt. I am just making sure you are sure. Give it some thought before you just run off willy-nilly, stirring the pot with the Jenkins. You know how Old Man Jenkins is.”

  Mary thought about Philip’s father and couldn’t help chuckling with amusement. “He’s not a very nice man, is he?”

  Sarah shook her head. “The funny thing is, he never has been and we were calling him Old Man Jenkins when he was only about 35 years old.”

  Mary let out a soft laugh. “He’s not even fifty yet. But the kids in my class call him Old Man Jenkins. It’s kind of funny if you think about it.”

  Sarah chortled, snorting just a little. “It certainly is.”

  Chapter 3

  Philip was frustrated. He was getting more and more upset as time went on. John was sitting by the printing press, running a cloth over several of the parts, cleaning them. Usually, Philip had Sam here to help. The apprentice had been more and more unreliable in the last few weeks and Philip was practically at the end of his rope.

  “John!” he barked. “How much work is left on that press?”

  John stood up and went to him, holding a cloth in his hand. Philip could tell it wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation.

  “There is a lot of work left on the press, Philip. I’m only one man. You know I can’t do anything about it. I can’t force Sam to come in and I can’t work any faster than I am without possibly damaging some of the parts.”

  “We still have to set up the paper for tomorrow morning and print out enough copies to be distributed in town. If we don’t step it up, we won’t have any paper to put out and we’ll lose money and customers. We have to be reliable! We aren’t being reliable!”

  John stood in front of him, looking up defiantly. “Philip, I’m your friend,” he said in a low, stern voice. “I will ask you to respect me and not talk to me in that tone of voice.”

  Irritation slid through Philip. What John was saying was true. But he was irritated. It wasn’t that John could have made Sam come in. It was simply the fact that he hadn’t come in and now, even with Philip’s help, they would really be cutting it close getting the paper out the next morning. As it was, they would probably have to stay in the shop till the early hours of the morning.

  “This isn’t acceptable, John. You know it and I know it. We can’t-”

  “You won’t get any extra help out of me if you don’t respect me. Think about our friendship, Philip, before you keep up this attitude. I’ve done nothing-”

  “I didn’t say you’d done something wrong,” Philip said, his voice rising slightly. He lifted his eyes and glanced out the window at two women passing by. He caught the eyes of Mary Ross, the 20-year-old schoolteacher who had, for some reason, thought it was a good idea to become a teacher and work with that old hag, Mrs. Edwards.

  Philip’s thoughts usually weren’t so sour. But with Sam not showing up for the fourth time in two weeks, without so much as sending a message that he would be late or not coming in through his brother, who was an apprentice at the tailor shop, like he’d done a few times before, they were too far behind. Every time Sam didn’t come in, their work doubled. He would have to replace him.

  This time he felt he had no choice.

  John shook his head. Philip frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I don’t have to be here either, Philip,” John said through clenched teeth. “You know I don’t need the money.”

  “Is that supposed to be some kind of crack?” Philip asked, annoyance making his chest tight.

  John shook his head, waving the cloth in his hand as he turned away. “I’m going back to work. This is a waste of both our times. Why don’t you come and help and let’s just get this done? I know you’re irritated, Philip, but don’t damage our friendship with this. It’s better for us to work together than to fight against each other. Divided we fall, and all that.”

  Philip could hear the disgust in his employee’s voice. John was right. He needed to put aside the irritation and instead take it out on Sam, who he planned to promptly fire the next time he saw him. Sam was the cause of this particular problem.

  Philip grumbled to himself as he went to the printing press and sat down on one of the stools. He grabbed a cloth and picked up a part to rub it clean.

  The two men worked in silence for nearly an hour before the door opened, and in walked Sam. Philip and John were both on their feet immediately, but John more to keep Philip from doing what it was clear he wanted to do.