Painted Vessels

by Gina Renee Freitag

  Ada sat at the edge of the field next to a potted plant with flowering vines spilling over the sides. She held one of the vines in her arms and carefully wrapped it around her shoulders, admiring the soft petals. She wore a playful, childlike smile that conveyed peaceful happiness and a sense of security.

  “Eli, don’t forget about my plants; tend to them!”

  He looked toward the voice. A man several rows ahead had already turned back to his work after speaking. “Dad?” Eli took in a deep breath. Was that his father? He stood and was about to run to him but stopped. It couldn’t be; William Noble was dead. Eli continued to stare at the man’s back as he lifted the bag of dirt and moved farther down the row.

  Kneeling again, Eli tied up the next plant. How could he have mistaken that man for his father? He placed his hands in the warm dirt and noticed how full of life it felt. He spread it around the plant in front of him and looked toward the man again. He was facing away but seemed to sense the boy’s curious gaze.

  “Eli, my crops; will you tend them with me?”

  As the man started to turn, Eli felt a tickle on his hand. He looked down and saw the plant growing around his wrists and creeping up his arms. “I’m sorry. I got distracted,” he said as he glanced back up. The man was gone! Eli scanned the empty field. He heard a whisper behind him but close to his ear.

  “Eli…”

  His eyes fought against the dawn. Eli felt the steady rise and fall of Ada’s breathing and realized he had been dreaming. He rubbed his eyes and waited for his mind to move from dream to reality.

  “Eli,” Jed called again as he flicked the wall of the tent. “You and Ada need to get up. Worship is about to start.”

  Eli reached over and gently shook his new bride. “Okay, we’re getting up,” he said as he sat up and stretched. The couple quickly got ready for the day and stepped out of their tent. Ada shivered in the cold morning air.

  “You may want to grab a blanket,” Hattie called out to them. “It’s brisk this morning.”

  Almost before the woman had finished speaking, Ada twirled around and leapt back into the tent. When she reemerged, she was wrapped in one of their blankets. Cobra trotted up to her and danced around her feet as she skipped to the fire and sat in a chair next to Rosa. Eli detected a bounce in her step that had been missing for a long time. He sat in the empty chair to her left, and she reached for his hand.

  “No nightmares last night,” he observed with a smile.

  “None,” she said, grinning softly.

  The fire was warm, and everyone sat around it as they waited in peaceful anticipation. Breakfast was gradually heating on the edge of the fire. It smelled both sweet and savory. Myra sat on her mother’s lap, sucking her fingers and staring at Ada, who waved playfully. The toddler grinned around her fingers and giggled.

  Tony and Jed had musical instruments next to them. Eli didn’t know what they were; he had never seen anything like them before. The instruments were both shaped similar to a violin but were bigger and had more strings. Unlike a violin, there was a round hole in the center of each. Eli wondered what they sounded like. Jed picked his up and held it against himself. With the fingers of one hand, he pressed the strings along the instrument’s neck. With his other hand, he reached around it and began plucking at the strings over the hole. It had a deep, full-bodied sound; its warm tone had a solid ring. Eli enjoyed the whimsical rhythm it produced. Tony soon joined in, and the melody and harmony mingled together.

  The song sounded familiar, but it wasn’t until the group began to sing that Eli recognized the hymn. He had heard it played on a piano many times before, but this morning the song was livelier, and he couldn’t help tapping his foot to its quick pace. He glanced at Ada, who smiled back at him as she started to clap in time with the rest of the group. Together they sang the well-known lyrics of praise. Eli had previously thought of this hymn as being solemn and serious; but singing it now, with this faster tempo, gave it a joyous and hopeful mood.

  A majority of the songs that were sung that morning had an energy and a sense of celebration to them, even when they were slower. With each one, Eli sat taller, and his mind grew more alert. He wanted the singing to continue all morning, but soon Jed announced the last song. As he began to play, Tony didn’t join him right away, and everyone else was quiet. Rosa swayed with closed eyes as Jed’s rich, deep voice sang a hymn Eli had never heard before. The words caught his attention. They spoke of walking in a garden with Jesus and talking with Him. It described the Savior’s voice as being so sweet that all of creation couldn’t help but listen. The hymn was full of joy and beauty.

  Eli’s thoughts drifted to his dream. He longed to go back to the field and work harder. He wanted those wilted plants to spring up as healthy as the flowers in the song Jed was singing. Perhaps it was only a dream, but Eli was filled with a sense of importance in the job he had been given. Why didn’t he understand this before waking? “Yes, Lord! I will care for your crops,” he whispered. “Show me what I need to do.”

  Tony joined the song, slowly strumming the strings on his instrument, and everyone sang together as the chorus repeated two more times. Soon the music ended, and the worship time moved seamlessly into a prayer led by Ira. After praying, he opened his Bible and read aloud. His sermon focused on a verse about being adopted into God’s family. Ira didn’t stand and preach dryly to the group; he sat with them and leaned forward as he spoke. He used examples from their own lives to emphasize his topic. He didn’t mind when someone chimed in with a comment, an example, or even a joke. They laughed and nodded and shared with each other. The morning flew by. Eli never felt impatient for breakfast. He never wondered about the time or thought about rushing out to play ball with his friends, as he had done during so many church meetings in his past. He listened and understood everything Ira said.

  Before he knew it, the service was over, and breakfast was being passed around. The conversation, however, still lingered on Ira’s sermon. More examples were shared, and there was genuine and natural praise woven into the entire morning. As breakfast came to an end, Jed brought the discussion back to business.

  “Even though it’s Sunday, we should get back on the road. We need to get to Clackton soon.” Everyone agreed, and they talked over the details. The caravan worked efficiently together; they were soon cleaned, loaded, and hitched up. Eli and Ada rode with Jed and Rosa as the four vardos journeyed along the road. Cobra sat with his head on Eli’s lap.

  “Jed,” he said as he rubbed the dog’s ears, “what was that instrument you played this morning?”

  “That’s a guitar.”

  “Could you teach me how to play it?” Eli asked.

  “Sure,” he said, winking at Rosa. “It’ll take longer than a month, though. You’re gonna have to stick around for a while.”

  Eli peered at Ada, who was nodding. “Okay,” he whispered, returning her nod. He leaned against the wall of the vardo and closed his eyes. Sunshine fell on his face as the horses pulled them along. The day was going to be warm after all.

  ADA

  Ada sipped her tea and leaned back in one of the parlor chairs Grace had given them. Wrapped in a blanket, she gazed at the fire in the hearth, knowing it would be the last one until fall. As she watched the fire crackle, Ada thought about that morning’s church service. After experiencing three Sundays in East Haven, it was easy to notice the differences between the church meetings in town and the worship times with the caravan.

  East Haven’s services were quiet and contemplative. They were formal compared to the caravan’s energetic worship. Marcus Duncan spoke with just as much love, enthusiasm, and knowledge as Ira. But it seemed like most of the congregation wasn’t able to catch his excitement, and that surprised her.

  Ada appreciated many things about both styles of worship. This church reminded her of the one she had attended as a child, before her parents died. It gave her a warm, nostalgic feeling that kept her connected to her past, whereas the carav
an’s worship time filled her with joy and gave her hope that, despite every trial, the future still had potential. She longed to experience both styles together.

  “Ada, you seem far away,” Eli said as he sat on the sofa, watching her. She smiled and moved to sit with him. “That’s better,” he said, putting an arm around her. “But it isn’t what I meant. You may be here, but I think you’re also sitting around a fire with Jed and Rosa and the rest of them.”

  “I was,” she admitted as she rested her head on his shoulder. “It’ll take a while to adjust to this new life. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I understand. But I know we’re supposed to be here. I can’t explain it; I just need you to trust me.”

  “I do, Eli. I always have. I’m not sorry we’re here, though I will need time to get used to it.” Ada sat up and turned toward Eli. “Or maybe it’s the town who needs to get used to us! You shocked a few people this morning when you spoke up in the middle of the sermon.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Marcus asked a question. I simply answered it.”

  “I think everyone assumed it was rhetorical.”

  “Maybe, but he paused,” Eli pointed out. “I assumed he was waiting for an answer.”

  Ada sat up straight and employed her best imitation of Mrs. Russell’s offended voice. “That pause was for effect, young man! No one in East Haven ever speaks out in church. The very idea!”

  Eli started to laugh. “You do that well. Maybe you don’t need as much time as you think to fit in. Anyway, Marcus seemed to welcome my answer. He didn’t even notice all the gasps; he just rolled it right into his sermon as if he had planned for someone to speak up.”

  This time Ada laughed. “There really were a lot of gasps, weren’t there? I wonder what the town would think of our music. I miss that most of all.”

  “Well that I can help you with, Mrs. Gardner.” He winked at her and went to the corner of the room where his guitar rested against the wall. He put the strap over his shoulder and started to play as he walked back to the sofa. He didn’t sit down again but stood in the firelight, strumming a lively version of a hymn from earlier that morning.

  As he moved with the tempo, a grin grew on Ada’s face. She stood and clapped along with the song. An impish smile spread over Eli’s face as he watched her dance. He increased the tempo; she knew he was just playing around. He wanted to see if she could keep up with him. Well, two could play at that game! Her cheeks felt warm as she danced faster. She laughed and hooked her arm around his waist. As she spun him, he maintained his ability to form chords regardless of how animated their dance grew. She was impressed anew with how good a player he had become.

  Just as Ada couldn’t dance or spin or sing any faster, there was a knock at the door. She ran to their front entry. Eli followed, removing the guitar strap from his shoulder. Ada’s face was still flushed when she opened their door.

  Edith Taylor and her daughter Laura stood on the porch, each with a different expression. Laura, who was seventeen, smiled with wide, inquiring eyes. She peeked past the door, searching for the source of excitement within. Edith, on the other hand, looked displeased; her mouth was drawn into a frown.

  “Mrs. Taylor! Laura! How are you?” Ada said between breaths, surprised by their unexpected arrival.

  “Hello, Ada!” Laura replied. “The music, was that you?”

  “Laura!” her mother snapped. “Mrs. Gardner is a married woman, and you are not! Address her properly!”

  “Eli was playing his guitar,” Ada said, flashing a sympathetic smile at Laura. “I suppose we got a little carried away with our dancing. Won’t you please come in?” Laura stepped forward, but her mother grabbed her arm.

  “Thank you, I think not!” Edith said. “We are only here to invite you to the women’s Wednesday evening prayer meeting.”

  As she spoke, she peered sideways at Eli and her frown deepened. Even Laura seemed to grow cautious, though curious, as he stepped up to the door. Though the girl’s gasp was barely audible, her widening eyes were hard to miss. Most people in town had only seen a small bit of the tattoos around Eli’s wrists. But this afternoon, in the comfort of his home, he was dressed in a casual short-sleeved undershirt. The vines continued up his arms and even over his shoulders and down his back, though few people would ever see that.

  “Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Taylor. What time does it start?” Ada asked, drawing Edith’s attention away from Eli.

  “Six o’clock. We meet at the Johnsons’ home. But if you can’t make it—”

  “I can be there. Will you be there too, Laura?”

  “Oh no, not exactly,” she said, glancing timidly at her mother. “I watch the children. The men hold a meeting at the rectory that night as well.”

  “Laura is still a child herself,” Edith said. “Our meeting is for married women.”

  “I see,” Ada replied. “Thank you; I’m sure it will be interesting.”

  Edith raised her eyebrows. “Yes… Well, please do come. If you’re a true prayer warrior, you’ll find it invigorating and not merely interesting. Now, we really must be moving along. We have other visits to make.”

  “We do?” Laura said, as if this was the first she had heard of it. Her mother made a quick, sharp sound to hush the girl.

  “Good day, Ada.” Edith said, glancing at Eli once more before turning away. “Come, Laura!” she ordered, much like Jed had often done with Cobra. Laura obediently followed her mother down the steps, looking back to wave at the couple standing in the doorway. Ada closed the door and looked at Eli. He had a smirk on his face.

  “That was a reluctant invitation,” he said with a laugh.

  “Perhaps she thought I wouldn’t accept,” Ada said, baffled by the encounter. “Well, at least it will give me a chance to get to know the other women. Are you hungry? I can start supper, if you’d like.”

  Eli rubbed his stomach as he placed his guitar against the wall. “I think I’ll help,” he said with a grin and chased Ada into the kitchen.

  ELI

  Having arrived in Clackton late Sunday evening, the caravan set up camp and prepared a quick supper. After eating, the merchants soon drifted off to bed in anticipation of Monday’s early start. The oilcloth canopies were needed for the market, so the young couple couldn’t use them to make a tent as they had done the night before; instead, they slept in the vardo with Jed and Rosa. They folded the table away and set their mattress on the floor by the woodstove.

  In the morning, the tables, canopies, and merchandise were all transported to the town’s main street. The merchants were rarely able to locate the market on the same street as their camp, making the first and last days the most difficult to set up and tear down. If they had arrived in Clackton on Saturday as planned, they would have set up the tables and canopies right away and then rested and worshiped on Sunday. By Monday morning, setting out their merchandise would have been the only task remaining. To make up for lost time, they had to start the day earlier than normal. No one seemed to mind, which helped put the newlyweds at ease when they realized it was their arrival and wedding that had caused the disruption in the caravan’s routine.

  The merchants chose someone to remain at camp with the young couple each day, while the others shared the responsibility of selling for the one who had stayed behind. Rosa sat with them on Monday. She gave them clean fabric to wrap their arms until Jed could cover their markings with other tattoos. Even with their arms covered, Eli and Ada felt safer staying in the vardo and only came out for supper. When the merchants returned to camp on the first evening, Jed and Ira carried a large roll of oiled canvas between them. Floyd followed, hauling several lengths of wood in one of the caravan’s carts. He informed the young couple that he would stay with them for the rest of the week.

  On Tuesday, rather than sitting in the vardo with them, Floyd began to measure and cut the oilcloth. Occasionally, Eli would peek out the window to see what he was doing. He constructed a tent frame
with the wood, much larger than the one he and Tony had rigged up with the canopies on Saturday. Then, he began stitching the lengths of oilcloth together. It was a tedious process, and he was only able to sew two of the tent sides together before the light began to dim and the others returned.

  On Wednesday, he continued working. Eli ventured out of the vardo in the late morning, tugging at his sleeve and asking if he could help. Floyd gave him a leather hand guard to protect his palm and showed him how to stitch the heavy fabric. It was hard to push the needle through all the layers, but when Floyd confirmed that the tent was for him and Ada, Eli was glad to help.

  By Thursday, Ada was brave enough to sit with Cobra on the steps of the vardo. She listened to their conversation as they worked and soon joined in with a few witty comments of her own. The tent was finished late that afternoon, and when the rest of the group returned to camp, the men helped secure the canvas to its frame. Earlier, Floyd had cut a large piece of oilcloth to cover the ground and guard against the damp, dewy earth. He helped Eli spread it out as Ada peeked through the door to admire the finishing touches.

  While eating supper, everyone complimented Floyd on how well-made the tent was. Eli realized that the caravan members must have pooled their money together to buy the supplies. He glanced at the people around the fire, touched by their willingness to give freely to somebody they hardly knew. Why would they do that? His heart felt torn between doubt and gratitude—between fear and relief. He closed his eyes and wondered if he would ever feel truly safe again. When he opened his eyes, his gaze locked with Jed’s. He wondered how long the man had been watching him.