When the alarm went off at three, I was sure it was the hotel fire alarm. I started to jump out of bed, only to discover that my whole body was frozen up. There was nothing I could move that didn’t hurt my ribs. We agreed that I would take first shower while Elise started packing, and I stood under the hottest water I could stand for as long as I could stand, until I could finally raise my arms. This was going to be a long day.
Fortunately, since I was staying on, I didn’t have to pack. I got dressed, and was really proud that I could tie my own shoes. I was glad Elise was in the bathroom and not around to see the faces I made whenever I bent over. By the time she was out of the bathroom and dressed, I was able to walk about the suite like everything was normal.
Anton came up at four and started taking bags down to the car. I made a motion as if to help him with a bag, but he waved me off insisting that this was his job. I didn’t argue much. Elise was methodical, folding and packing carefully, and didn’t have much to say while she worked. She had her last bag ready to go just before five, and we headed down to the car.
The fathers were waiting for us at the back door like they had been standing and watching for days. I hoped that wasn’t true, but I wasn’t sure. We pulled up in the alley as they had requested, and were barely out of the car when a huge moving van pulled into the alley behind us. Three young men jumped out and headed straight for the residence.
“Uncle Claude made a phone call,” was the only explanation I got from Elise. When they saw all the extra help arriving, I thought the two fathers were going to start jumping around the back porch like children. Elise took a large grocery bag from Anton, and made everyone go into the kitchen and have a croissant breakfast before we began loading boxes. The way the fathers put away the bread and butter, I wasn’t sure when they had eaten last. It was also pleasant to spend one final meal in the kitchen they had shared for so many years.
Once the food was gone, the boys started loading boxes. There must have been a hundred of them. I have no idea what the fathers would have done had we just shown up with a car as planned, and for that matter I had no idea what they were going to do with all this in St. Louis. But at least for now there were no fights over what stayed and what went – everything went.
Elise and I stood and talked with the fathers while the young men loaded the van and Anton prowled the grounds. As before, they were pleased to be with Elise, and walked around as quickly as they could to show her this item or that and tell her stories about their half century in the building. I began to wonder what Elise’s trip to St. Louis would be like. It seemed like these men had a lot to say, and she was going to hear all of it. Fortunately, Elise didn’t seem to mind. She asked an occasional question, laughed when the time was right, and showed she cared. That kept the priests busy for the hour it took the boys to load the van.
Then the moment came when I was most nervous. The house was empty, as was the cathedral, and it was time to leave. I wondered if the fathers would break down at this point, but it went smoothly. Each father had a small case that they insisted on carrying personally, and Elise walked with them to the car. She let Father Jacques open her car door for her, then she got in, they got into the back seat, and Anton got behind the wheel. I thought for a minute Elise had forgotten about me, but as soon as the fathers were settled, she got back out of the car, gave me long kiss, and talked for a few minutes about how much she loved me. We held each other for a very long time, I told her I loved her, and then she was off, with the moving van following close behind.
I stood in the alley behind the residence and watched them disappear into the darkness. It was barely six o’clock. What did I do with the rest of my day? Nothing that I am very proud of. Mostly I just moped around. I drank some, I slept some, I sat around the hotel room like a lost puppy. I thought over and over of Elise riding off into the darkness. It would be nearly a month before I would see here again. This wasn’t one of my better days.
Chapter 14
Philadelphia
The Canadian Civil War Volume 2- The Huguenots Arrive Page 14