John shook his head. “You’ve got to stop worrying about me, Philip. I don’t need to be worried about. I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with me coming in to help you get these papers out when there’s an emergency like there was this week. This kind of thing, being this far behind I mean, and having to work hard to make it up, only happens once a week if it happens at all. If you think about it, the past two weeks have been just you and me putting the paper together. I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”
Philip thought about it. John was right. They had been working hard, both of them, and had been successful every time they were behind. They were on target each time, even if it was at the eleventh hour.
“I agree with you,” Philip said. “I’m just worried. If things don’t change soon, I’ll be in the red and I don’t think it will get better from there.”
“You aren’t going to get anywhere by cowing to my pa. You know he will always try to get the limelight. You know he wants to have all the attention. Did I hear him say you had no talent for writing?”
Philip nodded. The cold wood of the door was creeping through to his body so he pushed himself from the door and went to his desk. He scanned the surface of the desk, his eyes roaming over the various pieces of paper, newspaper and magazines he’d been looking through. He waved his hand at them all. “I want to be as successful as these… the ones that aren’t my paper to begin with.” He shuffled the papers around and picked one up, scanning it. “What do they have that I don’t have?”
John came over to him to look at the papers too. He picked a different one up and scanned it. “I don’t know. I’m not the writer in this duo. You’ve got that covered and you can’t go believing my pa. You’ve got a ton of talent. You’re the one who does the major editing of what we get submitted. I do what I can but you’re the best at that.”
“Thanks for the compliment,” Philip snorted. “I appreciate it. You’re a good friend.”
John clapped a hand on his shoulder. “This good friend wants to take you out for a good breakfast. You’ve been aggravated for days. It’s time for you to relax for a while. Maybe we should go fishing.”
Philip stared at John with amused eyes, dropping the paper and letting it drift to the top of the desk. “You’re right. We haven’t been in a long time! But right now? I’m sure we’ve both got things to do.”
John shook his head. “No, my friend. We need to relax. Fishing is the best way to do that. Come on; let’s grab our poles and get out to the lake.”
Philip nodded, barely able to hold in his excitement. He hadn’t felt excited about the prospect of going fishing for probably as long as it had been since the last time he went. And that trip had been with John, too.
The two of them left the building together, going through the rooms one last time to make sure there were no paperboys left inside. Philip locked the door behind him and the two men headed to their horses, mounting and going down the street side by side. Philip would have to stop at his cottage to grab his gear. Since he’d gone with John so often in the years past, he was certain his friend had a pole and tackle box at his house.
He was right and the two men cheerfully carried on to the fishing hole where they used to go. The trail had become a bit overgrown since they’d last been down it. They found themselves pushing long branches out of the way, stomping a new trail in the tall grass.
Fifteen minutes later, Philip was sitting back against a rock, his line out in the water, his pole high up in the air.
“Next time I’ll get the boat,” John said in a calm voice. Philip looked over at him and stared at his friend’s relaxed profile. John was staring out over the water as if the harder he stared, the sooner he would catch a fish.
When Philip had hired John to work at the printing press five years ago, one of the reasons he’d done so was because they had a lot in common. John was six years younger than Philip but they’d been friends since John was 10 and Philip was 16. He’d always known John felt lonely because of his father.
Hanover hadn’t been mayor then but he was just as demanding and controlling, pushing his weight around wherever he went. It kept a lot of parents from letting John befriend their similarly aged children, both male and female.
Philip wasn’t intimidated by Hanover. His father wasn’t either. Philip’s father was not a weak man. He was strong and bullish. He’d known all his life that the other kids called him Old Man Jenkins and he’d never seen a reason to defend the man. Brian Jenkins was big and could be mean. He and the mayor were probably alike in more ways than anyone cared to admit.
So, Philip had developed a soft spot for the younger John and had acted as best man at John’s wedding to his wife, Emma.
“How’s Emma doing?” Philip asked, an image of John’s pretty young pregnant wife going through his mind. “She about ready to have that baby?”
John turned a brilliant smile in his friend’s direction. It made Philip happy to see it and he already knew whatever John said, it would be positive.
“She is doing great!” he exclaimed, his excitement as obvious in his voice as it was on his face. “We are ready for the baby. We have the crib and clothes and nappies and all those things babies need. At least, that’s what Emma says.”
“It’s your first child, though,” Philip said in an amused voice. “How does she know what will be needed?”
John raised one eyebrow and snorted, chuckling immediately afterward. “Are you joking with me? You know full well Emma has a bunch of little brothers and sisters. She was taking care of babies when she was 12 years old. She knows what’s needed. Her mom had newborns for Emma to help with till my wife was all of sixteen years old.”
“And that’s when she saw you,” Philip filled in the gap, grinning. “And she forgot all about taking care of her little brothers and sisters. She wanted to take care of a man.”
John laughed. “My wife doesn’t take care of me. I take care of her now.”
Philip made a huffing sound. “From what I’ve seen of your relationship, you take care of each other. And I think that’s how it should be. I think you both have to be strong to get anywhere in life together.”
John nodded. “I gave up thinking about myself only the day I met her. All I wanted to do was make her happy.”
“And here you are, making her happy. Good job, John. You’ve been real blessed.”
“Ain’t it?” John replied, moving his eyes back out to the water. “Hey, I think you’ve got a bite. Look at your line.”
Philip moved his eyes to the line and gripped the rod tight. He pulled back on it, turning the reel to pull the line in.
“You can do it!” John exclaimed excitedly. “You can get it. Pull! Pull it in!”
“I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’!” Philip laughed as he pulled back, walking backwards at the same time. John was more excited than he was. “I thought I came out here to relax!” he yelled as the fish on the end of his line jumped out of the water.
“Here it comes!” John was moving back and forth in the sand, kicking it up in his eagerness to see the big fish.
Philip struggled with the fish a little longer until it came up out of the water, dangling at the end of his line. He got it all the way to shore and twisted the hook from its mouth. Philip had a chain for the caught fish so he could keep them in the water so they’d stay as fresh as possible. He switched the twisting, jumping fish from the hook and onto the other one.
Then he tied the chain around a small tree limb hanging over the water. He dropped the fish back down and watched it twitching for a moment.
He turned his head to look at John. “You and Emma need dinner tonight?”
John raised his eyebrows. He was standing directly next to his friend, having watched with wide eyes as Philip switched the fish over.
“It’s a doozy, Phil, but no. You need that more than I do, I’d say.”
“You tryin’ to say I’m poor?” Philip asked in a teasing voice.
John laughe
d. “Hey, you’re the one who says he’s one foot away from the poorhouse.”
Philip laughed with him. “You’re right. I’ll take it home and cook it up myself.”
Chapter 6
Mary watched as the children filed out from the school. She was standing at the door, saying goodbye to them all, and keeping an eye on the little ones coming down the short staircase. The older ones generally helped the babies who weren’t tall enough to easily ascend and descend the steps.
“See you tomorrow, Annie,” she said, smiling at one of her older students.
“See you tomorrow, Miss Ross,” Annie replied, giving her teacher a brilliant smile.
Mary’s heart jumped a bit and her stomach turned when she saw another student approaching. Matthew Jacobs was a good student when he attended school. But he was often gone and if she asked him to work on anything at home, it seemed he never did. She didn’t know if it was because of a sudden lack of interest or if there was something going on at home.
She’d decided the day before, after Matthew had missed three days in a row, that she would ask him if everything was all right. If he had lost interest in the lessons, she would try to make them more interesting. She didn’t even know if he would tell her anything, especially if it was a problem at home.
She knew Matthew wanted to learn. She’d seen that from the moment he became her student.
Mary stepped in front of him as he came closer so he would know she wanted to talk to him.
“Matthew,” she said in her kindest voice, without sounding patronizing to the 16-year-old. He wasn’t a baby to be coddled. He was almost a man and needed to be treated that way. “Will you talk to me for a moment?”
Matthew looked at her with surprise on his thin face. Although he looked a little tired and maybe just a bit malnourished, he had strong muscles and an intelligent mind. “Sure, Miss Ross. What’s wrong?”
She pulled him to the side so they were away from the other students who were leaving. There were only a few left, so she was glad Matthew had waited a bit before leaving. Generally, he sidled along at a leisurely pace, obviously in no hurry to go home.
“You’ve been absent a lot lately, Matthew. And when you’re not absent, you’re late. I’ve let you leave a few times early, too…”
“I bring a note from ma for that,” Matthew cut in, defensively.
Mary nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help you get to school? I want you to stay here and finish up so you can move forward in life. Wouldn’t you be the only person in your house to graduate?”
Matthew sighed, sounding regretful. “Yeah, I would be. Look, I’m sorry, Miss Ross. If it was up to me, I’d be here. But ma and pa… especially pa, they don’t think I need to be here.”
The words of the mayor ran through her mind. Why did these adults think children didn’t need to learn? Did they ever plan to leave their farms to their children? If they did, didn’t they think it would help for those children to know how to read, write and do arithmetic?
“Oh no. That’s very disheartening. I’m sorry.”
“If I don’t work on the farm, they want me to go to work. I’d like to go to college and continue my education. But I’m sure I won’t be able to do that. Even if I got into a college, I can’t pay for it, and I can’t get there. I’d have nowhere to stay.”
Mary felt deep sympathy for Matthew. She sighed in a resigned way. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Matthew shrugged, looking her in the eye. “I can’t think of anything you could do. My ma and pa… well, they like you. They just don’t think school is necessary when we need more money and work is needed on the farm.” He turned his head and scanned the room with his eyes. “I want to come. But look around. I’m the oldest one here.”
Mary nodded. “You only have two years left. I can help you apply for some of the schools. You might be able to get a scholarship. I can help you but you’ve got to keep coming. I don’t want you to buck against your parents. So, I’ll have a talk with them and…”
“You might not want to do that, Miss Ross. I don’t know how they’d take that.”
Mary wished there was something she could think of to encourage the parents in Glenwood to let their children come to school. If it had been any other boy, she might not have done it. Some of the students needed to be with their parents and really wouldn’t have gotten far in their schooling anyway.
But Matthew was a brilliant boy and had a lot of potential. She hated to think it would be wasted when he could do so much with his life.
“What do you want to do when you grow up? I mean, when you are older?” Mary corrected herself when it looked like Matthew was a little offended by the first question.
He looked away from her and shrugged. “I don’t know.” He pushed his hands deeper into his trousers, slumping his shoulders.
“Stand up straight, young man,” Mary said, sternly but affectionately. “You should not come down on yourself for this. You have a sharp mind and you can get out of Glenwood if you want. Are you saying you’ve never considered any job or career you’d like to have?”
She was glad to see him contemplating the question. After a few moments, he answered with another shrug. “I guess not. I mean, I’ve always been interested in science and invention. I have some drawings at home of things I know would help around the farm. I’ve seen the way my pa struggles sometimes.”
Mary grinned. “You’re an inventor? Why, that’s wonderful, Matthew! I think that’s just wonderful. I know you’d be very good at that. You have some of the most beautiful handwriting I’ve ever seen and your spelling is perfect. You’ve got a brain. You should use it.”
Matthew looked a little sheepish and embarrassed. “You really think so?” He looked doubtful.
“Do not doubt yourself, Matthew. The more you come to school, the more you will learn and can use for the future you want. Please tell me you’ll try. And yes, I’m going to talk to your parents. I’m sure I can ease them up a little. Maybe we can compromise and you can at least come to school three or four days a week. I won’t mind you coming in late from now on, but I hope you’ll try to get here on time. If you come in late, you can stay later and I’ll catch you up on anything you’ve missed.”
Matthew tilted his head to the side, giving her a confused look. “You’d do that for me? Don’t you have anything to do after school?”
Mary grinned. “I don’t mind. I’m sure it won’t happen all the time. I think I can sacrifice a little time after school to help you out. It won’t be every day.”
Matthew was quiet for a brief time. Mary let him think.
“Well,” he said finally. “Okay. Go ahead and talk to them. You want me to be there? I should probably be there.”
Mary shook her head, excited by the prospect. “I think it might be better if you aren’t. If they don’t like what I’m saying, they might turn it around on you and make you feel bad for wanting to come to school.” She hurried to add, “I don’t want you to think I’m insulting your parents in any way. I’m sure they are only doing what they think is best for you and your family. But I don’t think they know just how smart you are and that maybe being a farmer isn’t what you should do with your life. Or what you want to do.”
Matthew nodded. He pressed his lips together before pulling a breath and saying, “I’m glad you talked to me, Miss Ross. I hope my parents will listen to you.”
“I hope they do too, Matthew.” She patted him on the arm. “You can go on home now. I’ll stop by this Saturday. Will you be there?”
“No, I have to come into town and find work on Saturday. Pa says we need the money.”
“All right, then. I’ll stop by around 10 in the morning. Can you tell your parents that I plan to, and if they are busy, to let me know tomorrow when you come to school?”
His Rainbow After the Rain Page 4