Washing dishes would never be a favoured task. However, Anna did find something comforting about it. Like her mother, she enjoyed most household chores.
Anna stared out the window at her two beautiful daughters, saucy Amber and gentle Crystal. They played with their cute little dog, Chocolate, a fine Cocker/Springer spaniel cross. His coat glowed a rich dark brown.
Because of his small size he didn’t make a good watch dog like his predecessor, Wolfie, who had died of old age. But the girls adored him.
Anna smiled as a robin flew past her window. Robins, with their red breasts, were beautiful birds. As beautiful as the meadowlark Anna had painted for Maisy.
Numerous birds nested on the farm because Anna and Daniel had planted and conscientiously watered numerous trees around their house. Anna also tended a large vegetable garden, and even a few rosebushes.
Along with gardening, Anna cared for her children and cooked and cleaned. She’d become a very busy person and felt as if she fulfilled her destiny through the work. She was contented.
Each evening, Anna said a gentle, personal, silent prayer of thanks to a God other than True Religionist. She was especially thankful for her healthy, happy children. There’d been no post-partum depression for her. She enjoyed motherhood even more than she’d imagined.
Five-year old Amber, her eldest, resembled Daniel. She had his cleft chin and hazel eyes. Anna knew she would grow into a beautiful woman.
When she’d been born, Anna had been certain Amber’s blue eyes would turn to hazel. She’d been right. Her child had been aptly named. In a certain light, those eyes glowed like a piece of amber.
From the cries of delight emanating into the house, Anna discerned her eldest child had jumped off the roof of the chicken coop into strategically placed straw bales. It pleased Anna her daughter enjoyed herself. She just hoped Amber’s gymnastics wouldn’t stop the hens from laying. So far, it hadn’t.
Three year old Crystal had sat contentedly playing with her toes for hours when she was an infant. Even now she remained quieter and less active than her sister.
However, like her sister, Crystal looked like her name. She bore a resemblance to a rare jewel. She had long, pale blonde hair, blue eyes and a delicate frame. She had inherited her mother’s love of drawing.
Except for the occasional fight, the two girls played well together. Anna wished her parents could meet Amber and Crystal. Mum and Dad would adore them.
Anna constantly thought about her parents. They never aged or changed in her mind from the day she left them.
She still missed England itself. Now the war had ended London would be filled with fine shops and beautiful flowers. Far more beautiful than anything she could cultivate on a farm near dry, windy Lethbridge.
Nonetheless, Canada had become home because it housed her husband and children.
Anna heard the faint, haunting sound of a train whistle and sighed with pleasure. The train had brought her to Daniel. She had forgotten how dirty the train had been. Or how she’d arrived to find the station platform empty.
The sound lingered in the crisp September air. September was beautiful in southern Alberta with crisp, cool mornings and evenings; and hot, sunny days. And, blissfully, at that time of year, little of the roaring wind.
Unfortunately, the month of golden leaves did contribute to an abundance of flies. They inevitably made their way into the house. The house was fitted with a screen door, but neither Crystal nor Amber, nor even Daniel could be moved to close it. So Anna swatted flies. The flyswatter was almost as necessary as the refrigerator or stove.
Nonetheless, Anna adored the fall season even though a harsh, cold winter would certainly follow. She knew the beauty of September would give her the strength to endure the upcoming winter season.
Anna had just finished sweeping the floor when Amber and Crystal came in, followed by Chocolate. Chocolate was allowed in the house, although Wolfie had not.
Both girls wore matching sleeveless, pink frocks trimmed with white lace, and white socks with brown oxfords. Daniel insisted on sensible shoes. Each child’s hair was tied with a pink ribbon.
Both Amber and Crystal liked dressing up. Only Amber also liked daredevil activities like standing on the teeter totter. She fell and hurt herself on more than one occasion, though it hadn’t ended her need for excitement.
Crystal carried a confection of dirt and water covered in wildflowers. It was yet another mud pie. Anna hoped her daughter wouldn’t drop it all over her clean floor.
“We tried to give it to the king, Chocolate. We are the royal bakers for His Majesty. He seems to like his other food more.” Amber’s soft, childish voice sounded perplexed.
Anna laughed. Her children had vivid imaginations.
She bent down to pick up the cake. “Thank you, girls. It’s lovely. I’ll leave it on the windowsill to dry. You can play with it whenever you like. I don’t think it’s proper food for Chocolate.” As she spoke, she patted Chocolate on the head. He responded by licking Anna’s hand.
“Why don’t you pick me some more bouquets of dandelions? You know how much I like them.” Anna, of course, didn’t really want a vase full of dandelions or another mud pie. However, she graciously accepted them as proof of her children’s love.
“We will, Mommy,” said Crystal, her eyes wide with excitement.
However, Amber had other thoughts. “Mom, when the crop comes in, Dad says we’ll be rich. Can I have a bicycle? My friend, Tammy, has a bicycle. She has great fun.”
“If it’s okay with Dad, then it’s okay with me. However, you’ll have to let Crystal ride it too.”
Crystal’s wide-set blue eyes grew wide in anticipation and Anna hoped she wouldn’t fear the bicycle. Crystal was a cautious child.
Amber simultaneously jumped and clapped her hands. “I can’t wait. I’m so happy.”
* * *
Anna grabbed the woven picnic basket containing the lunch she’d prepared earlier that morning, and went outside. Daniel couldn’t leave the back pasture, he needed to prevent water from leaking onto the crop. The combine would arrive later today. She’d take the lunch out to him.
She immediately found her children. They picked dandelions, just as she’d told them to. Anna thought they looked like little angels as they bent toward their task.
Crystal particularly, at that moment, looked like something out of a painting. Her hair shone golden in the sunshine. She screamed with joy. “This one’s so pretty. Mommy will love it.” However, Crystal looked less angelic when Anna noticed yellow stains on her soft, white hands.
“Come girls, I’ve made us a lunch of egg salad sandwiches with my own baked bread. We’ll also have apples, and there’ll be biscuits for dessert. We’re going to take the lunch out to Dad. I’ve made enough for all of us so we can have a picnic.” Anna spoke as commandingly as possible. Both her children hated to be interrupted when intent on a task. A trait inherited from Daniel.
Amber and Crystal both looked up in expectation. “You can bring the flowers with you and show them to your father.”
Amber said, “Oh goodie, a picnic. I can’t wait. I like egg salad sandwiches. Can’t we have one now?”
“No, we’re going to eat with Dad. So come along. The faster you move, the sooner you’ll be able to eat.” Anna clapped her hands. She was relieved when her daughters stopped picking and proceeded to follow her.
The trio moved slowly across the field of grass, avoiding cow paddies in the process. The time passed quickly for Anna listening to the girls’ constant chatter.
Chocolate sniffed individual blades of grass as he followed. Anna knew dogs had an incredible sense of smell.
Amber, in a voice filled with excitement, said, “I want a pink bicycle with a basket on the front to put stuff in.”
Before Anna could reply, Amber said, “Mom, why are dandelions called weeds?”
Crystal interrupted the conversation. “Why can’t Chocolate sleep with us? I’ve never seen a fl
ea on him.”
Anna answered all their questions as quickly and succinctly as possible. She loved their incessant conversation.
Soon, in another year, Amber would be starting school. Days such as this with the three of them together would pass. She wasn’t one of those mothers who couldn’t wait for her children to start school. She could honestly say she thoroughly enjoyed her children’s company.
Finally, they reached the long, narrow, fence-lined lane separating the top pasture from the bottom pasture. Anna loved this path. It reminded her of lanes in England. The soil underneath her feet felt hard and worn.
Anna had once tried to paint the scene she now enjoyed. However, she hadn’t been able to do it justice. Maybe in better light it might be possible. Like today’s. The sky was an intense shade of blue.
The trees showed a touch of frost, beginning to glow with colour. The result was incredibly beautiful, almost as lovely as England.
Anna marveled at the seeming contentment of the cows as they chewed their cuds and flicked their tails across their backs. She had no fear of these cows like she had the rambunctious Dolly on her in-laws farm many years ago. She’d come to love these animals. It horrified her whenever Daniel suggested they sell one of them.
Suddenly, a large, brown rabbit ran across their path. Chocolate let out a quick bark and excitedly gave chase. He ran as fast as his four short legs would take him. But at no time did the rabbit have any need for fear.
Anna and the girls laughed at their pet’s antics.
Chocolate often made them laugh. Whenever they came home he chased all the birds, including those in the air, out of the yard. It was all in splendid preparation for their arrival. He also buried bones all over the pasture and caught garter snakes and salamanders.
They left the lane and entered a grove of trees. The girls spotted Daniel and broke into a run.
“Daddy, Daddy, we came with lunch. We’re having egg salad. We picked dandelions for Mom, but we’ll give them to you.”
Daniel put down his shovel and scooped his daughters into his arms. “It’s good to see you. I feel a bit lonely out here by myself. And it couldn’t be better timing. I’d just begun to think about lunch.”
He looked into Anna’s eyes. “And Mommy, I missed her too.” Daniel reached past the girls and pulled Anna into his arms. The dandelions scattered at their feet while Anna raised her face for Daniel’s kiss.
Stepping back, Anna looked around for a level piece of pasture and then set down a red and white checkered, plastic tablecloth. She placed a thermos of tea on the tablecloth. “I’ve brought lots. We’re going to have lunch together.”
Daniel motioned toward the ground. “Girls, come sit down. This looks like the best kind of picnic and I’m glad you brought lots of food. I’ll be combining all afternoon and into the evening so I won’t eat supper until very late.”
Fortunately, no ants appeared. Anna noticed Crystal gave most of her sandwich to Chocolate. She decided not to say anything. The day was too perfect for any sort of conflict.
Anna shifted position, careful to avoid a thistle. They looked pretty, but touching them brought discomfort at best. Bleeding at worst.
Daniel was also happy. “It’s a wonderful day. The crops are swollen with ripeness and the combine’s coming this afternoon. It’s much more efficient than Prince and Duchess and faster too.” Anna knew what Daniel said was true, but she sometimes missed the horses.
Daniel leaned over so he could kiss Anna on the cheek. “You know, Mrs. Armstrong, I’m a happy man. I have you and the children and I’m doing work I like. Life doesn’t get any better than this..”
Anna met his gaze. The previous night Daniel had experienced a nightmare so bad she awoke to find he had pinned her arms to the bed. She’d had to scream to rouse him. Amazingly, the children didn’t stir. Thank God they were both sound sleepers. Thank God it was now daylight. Perhaps living a life he loved would help him overcome the emotional scars left by the war.
* * *
They finished the picnic and Anna and the girls gathered up the remains. Basket on her arm, she kissed Daniel farewell before taking the girls back to the house. It was a pleasant stroll, despite their slow pace.
Anna viewed her home anew and noticed the many changes they’d made over the years. They’d added a small bedroom complete with twin beds for the girls, and electricity. A Godsend. Anna hated kerosene lamps. She remembered how excited she’d been when the power pole went up in the yard. Her kitchen now contained an electric range. How she loved it after years of fighting with the ancient coal stove. She loved the refrigerator that replaced the icebox even more.
They’d also installed a telephone. It dominated one wall. They were the sixth member of a party line; their signal consisted of one long ring and five short. Anna had learned to be careful of what she said over the telephone. ”Listening in” by others on the party line was a popular activity.
In response, Anna and Maisy developed a sort of code to describe George, Grace, Peter and Lottie. They laughed about it and made up more codes on the rye whiskey and laughter-fueled evenings they spent playing cards.
Anna hoped they’d be able to add a veranda onto the house this year. It was a realistic plan because the crop appeared bountiful. Anna couldn’t wait to sit outside on the veranda come spring with a coffee and a magazine.
* * *
Anna heard the sound of a car in the driveway. It was probably George’s new, maroon Cadillac. He bought a new car each year.
Amber and Crystal shrieked with delight and ran outside. They quite predictably failed to shut the door.
Anna’s ears had not misled her. She came out the door to greet the impeccably dressed Grace and George. They both exited the automobile, revealing as they did so the swank, black interior of their car.
They greeted Anna stiffly, but hugged their grandchildren, and gave each of them a large dime chocolate bar.
Grace’s eyes lost all their coldness as she gazed at her granddaughters. She might have been looking at Nancy, the woman both Grace and George preferred over Anna.
Anna’s smile was genuine as she addressed George, the least formidable of the pair, “My goodness, this is so kind of you. Thank you so much. What do you say, girls?”
“Thank you,” said Amber, her face covered in chocolate.
After some hesitation, Crystal also said, “Thank you. Hey, this is the same colour as our dog.” Her face looked clean but a streak of brown marred her pretty dress.
All three adults laughed.
“That’s why he’s called Chocolate, dummy,” said Amber.
Suddenly, the happy moment passed. Grace’s eyes grew cold as snow. “Well, we’ve got to be getting home. We just wanted to see the girls.”
Her back remained rigid as she walked toward the car.
George followed his wife, then turned back and smiled. “We’re expecting you for supper on Sunday. We’ll be having roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. We didn’t see you last week.” George referred, of course, to Anna’s proclamation they only visit George and Grace once every fortnight.
Anna forced a smile. “Yes, of course. We’ll be there. Thank you for the invitation.”
Sometimes, she almost felt sorry for Grace and George, for they quite clearly adored Amber and Crystal, their only granddaughters. Jim and Peter had only sired boys.
However, Anna knew Grace would revert to her miserable coldness if given the slightest opportunity. She loved her granddaughters but would never accept their mother.
Anna sighed with relief when George and Grace reached their car. The Cadillac sprayed gravel as it left the yard.
* * *
Daniel’s face glowed with happiness as he climbed into the cab of the shiny, new, red combine. To Daniel, right now, it was the most wonderful thing he’d ever seen.
The crop was perfect. The heads of wheat were so swollen the grain lay almost flat on the ground. There had been just the right amount of rain, just the
right amount of sunshine.
With this bumper crop, he and Anna would be able to afford some luxuries. One of these included a trip to England. A plan Daniel had kept to himself because he wanted to surprise Anna. If the wheat prices would just hold, it could all come true.
Daniel had only advanced down the first row of the main field when a cold wind blew from out of seemingly nowhere. Within seconds thunder roared overhead followed by an almost immediate flash of lightning. Horribly, impossibly, hailstones thudded on the bent wheat heads and pinged off the combine. At first only small stones stung his back. He carried on, determined to finish the job. “Please stop the hail. Please God.”
The prayer went unanswered. Within seconds the hailstones became larger, more ferocious. Daniel took cover under the combine, bruised and battered by the ferocity of the sudden storm. The crash and clang of the hail striking the metal became the sounds of the anti-tank shells bombarding his Firefly.
Shells pierced the tank and he cowered. The men in his keeping, all lay dead. His heart pounded. His brain was almost numb with shock.
He had to get out. Now! They called the Sherman a Ronson. Like the lighter, it lit every time. And took only three seconds to burn. He scrambled to the hatch.
He clung to the undercarriage of the combine only vaguely aware of what he held, while his gaze turned inward.
Free of the tank, he crawled through the carnage, guns thundering, bombs flashing, blinding him. He heard again the bellow of his tank bursting into flames. Desperation drove him on. A trench, he’d fallen into a trench. He bit his lip so hard it bled. The trench full of dead men. He burrowed in among them, frantic to hide from the Germans he heard approaching. Cold, wet, fear, exhaustion. Then the welcome sound of Canadian soldiers bringing him struggling to his knees to call for help.
Till The Wind Blows Silent Page 13