Till The Wind Blows Silent

by Bernice Bohnet

  * * *

  The hail lessened and turned to rain. Daniel dragged himself upright, leaning on the combine and gasping for breath. He wiped rain from his eyes and cursed at the devastation before him. The heavy beads of wheat were bent, broken and shattered as far as he could see. ”Why God? Why?” he whispered between numb lips.

  He kicked himself for not having hail insurance, it had seemed an unnecessary expense at the time. Without the money from the crop he couldn’t pay the mortgage. He fought back bitterness, his parents would say it was punishment for not attending church, honouring God as he should. Anna would no doubt say God was just testing them. “Testing us, punishing us…cursed is what I am…cursed.” There would be no money for home improvements, or a car, and no trip to England for Anna.

  The hail storm would be sure to put a strain on his relationship with Anna. When he found a job in Lethbridge, Anna would have to do some of the farm chores. She had enough to do already. Fortunately, Anna didn’t need luxury, but she and the girls did require a certain amount of money to live.

  Daniel wondered how many others had been hailed out. Probably not Peter. Everything he touched turned to gold, just like Midas.

  * * *

  Daniel searched for a job. He tried speaking to other farmers. He devoured the want ads in the newspaper. He dropped into businesses around town. He grew busier than ever before. Searching for a job exhausted him.

  Yet, he found nothing. The weeks and months went by, and soon November came. Still Daniel had no job. He felt as trapped as he had in the tank.

  George surprised Daniel and Anna with a visit one particularly cold, blustery day. Anna stirred soup from a ham bone. It was the cheapest food she could find at the grocery store. Daniel perused the want ads.

  Daniel happily admitted his father, ignoring the tension that existed whenever George and Anna occupied the same room. “Dad, it’s good to see you. Come on in.” He reached out and shook his father’s cold, calloused hand. He motioned to a chair, but George remained standing.

  George was alone, which was odd. Grace cherished trips into town. This obviously wasn’t a pleasure visit. His face was dusty and he still wore gum boots and a red plaid shirt under his overalls.

  “Girls, Grampa’s here,” Anna called the girls from their play in the bedroom.

  The two beautiful children ran out, their little dog followed. “Grampa, Grampa,” cried Crystal.

  George’s face lit up as he held out his arms to Crystal and then Amber for a hug. Chocolate jumped up and rested his paws on George’s knees, an indication he wished to be petted. George absentmindedly complied.

  Suddenly, his joy faded. His voice grew stern. “Actually, this isn’t a pleasure visit. I need to have a word with you, Daniel.”

  Anna said, “Girls, take Chocolate and go play in your room.” Her tone was commanding and the children automatically obeyed. Fortunately, neither child said anything about chocolate bars. However, they looked disappointed as they filed out of the room.

  Anna played the hostess. “Can I get you some tea? It’ll only take a moment to get the kettle boiling. I’ve got real cream from our cow for it.”

  “No, thank you,” said George.

  Surprisingly, George remained standing. Daniel said, “Have a chair, Dad.” He pointed to the best seat in their home, a comfortable brown rocking chair.

  George slowly lowered himself into it. He’d recently developed arthritis in his knees. Once seated, he folded his hands together, an uncharacteristic gesture. He didn’t look at all relaxed.

  In contrast to the scene in the living room, laughter emanated from the bedroom where the girls played.

  Daniel caught a gleam of satisfaction in his father’s eyes. “I’ll come right to the point. They’re hiring dock workers in Vancouver. There’s good pay and free transportation and accommodation provided. You’d have to stay at least six months but you’ll make enough to cover your mortgage and then some.”

  Daniel clenched his jaw. His father wouldn’t offer any financial support, although he could well afford to do so.

  Nonetheless, this new development came as a jolt. Daniel stalled for time to think. “Dad, how did you hear about this?”

  “You know Edwin Waters. Well, he’s got family out there. It’s probably heavy work, but you’ve never been afraid of heavy work.” George leaned forward in his chair, earnest now.

  Daniel nodded his acceptance, although he didn’t know how much his shoulder could take. “The thing is, it’s going to be hard to leave all this.” He gestured toward the window. He believed his father would realize he meant the trees, garden, and fields. That was something George could understand.

  However, George shut his mouth tight, in a gesture similar to his wife and said nothing more. Daniel refused to come any closer to asking for help. He would have to accept his fate. The unspoken words lay between father and son. This wouldn’t be happening if he’d married Nancy Smyth, instead of Anna.

  From the back pocket of his overalls, George produced an application form. His hands shook as he handed it to his son. However, his voice never wavered. “Just fill this out and sign it. According to Edwin, you’re as good as hired.”

  Daniel swallowed his pride; at least it was a job. “Thank you, Dad. I won’t forget this.” The irony of the statement choked him.

  George got up quickly, avoiding Daniel’s gaze. “I’ll be going now.” He stomped out of the house.

  Daniel didn’t immediately say anything to Anna as he contemplated the situation. He must leave his beautiful land and even more beautiful wife and children and take up residence in Vancouver for at least the next six months. Possibly longer.

  Finally, he spoke. “Anna, what do you think? What should I do? I hate the thought of leaving you and the children, and you’re going to be stuck with way too much work to do. We’ll both be lonelier than either of us can imagine. Yet, damn it. I can’t think of any other solution. I’m sorry.”

  Anna sighed and she looked as if she’d aged ten years. “You’re right. There’s no other choice. I’ll manage.” She forced a smile. “And we’ll write to each other at least once a week. It won’t be as bad as you think.”

  He’d never been to Vancouver and he knew no one there. But the job was his for the asking. He must take it.

  Chapter 10

  The day began better than yesterday. The worst since Daniel left. It had begun with the laundry, a task Anna normally enjoyed. However, cold weather made it almost impossible.

  Amber and Crystal had been inside all day and constantly underfoot. Anna worked around them as she went through the intricacies of heating water and applying soap, then rinsing and finally putting all the clothes and sheets through the wringer. Anna kept an eye on Crystal, worried she might get her small arm caught in the wringer. The small house had filled with an almost suffocating humidity.

  Anna struggled to put the sweaters, dresses, stockings and underwear out in bitter, early January temperatures. Her wet fingers almost froze as she tried to pin the garments to the clothesline.

  Worse still, the wet clothes froze. Anna brought them inside where they ceased to seem like mere clothes and almost took on personalities.

  The girls had shrieked with laughter and played with the life-like garments while Anna strung lines across the kitchen to hang them. In their excitement, the girls managed to tear and ruin some of the garments. Anna bit her lip. There was no money to replace what was lost.

  Amber and Crystal developed head colds. Anna, with great difficulty, forced them to lie down in their bedroom. She tried steaming them with a kettle containing recently boiled water. It didn’t seem to help either child, it just made them irritable.

  They developed hacking, persistent coughs. Anna had a sore throat and felt weak.

  Anna knew her daughters’ suffered from more than head colds. Amber and Crystal both missed Daniel and constantly asked, “Where is Daddy? Isn’t he coming back?” And the worst question of all. “Doesn’t
he love us anymore?”

  With tear stained eyes and a voice thick with emotion Anna reached out to her children and pulled them close. She crowded them both onto her lap. “Your father loves you very, very much but he had to go away because we need the money he’s earning.” She had kissed each child on the cheek.

  Amber quite predictably asked what they needed money for. “We need money to live. It gives us almost everything we need. Our clothes, our home, and much of our food. I’m sorry but it will be a long time before Dad is back. It will be months. Many, many sleeps. But he’ll be back. I promise you.”

  Amber said nothing more, but looked at her mother with sad eyes. Finally, she started to play with some wooden blocks.

  It wouldn’t be long until Amber or Crystal, or both of them, asked when Daniel would return.

  The house chores were only part of Anna’s problems. She also had the pigs, chickens and cattle to attend to, an exhausting job. Last night, when Anna went out to check on the cattle, she found one cow in labour. It was immediately apparent the birth wasn’t going well.

  Anna stayed with the cow, Spot, a gentle black animal with a white mark on her forehead. Anna, surrounded by bales of hay and the scent of manure, almost felt like a true farmer. Until she realized she didn’t know how to help the poor, bawling cow.

  She wanted to call in a veterinarian, but there was no money for that. Daniel regularly sent money and it helped, but they had accrued many debts while Daniel looked for work.

  If the cow and calf both died, she would have to live with the consequences. And she had no idea how to dispose of the dead bodies. And that was only part of it. She actually loved Spot and would miss her if she died.

  Fortunately, the calf, a large bull with a white spot on his forehead; finally arrived, and both the cow and calf lived.

  Anna’s elation was short lived. She didn’t get to bed until four o’clock in the morning. She had to be up by six to do the milking.

  Yet she’d survived and today appeared to be a little better.

  Daniel also struggled. He wrote how he hated life in the barracks and was shunned because his nightmares kept his bunkmates awake. He was terrified he’d be fired.

  He related how the foreman, a tall, lanky, red-haired man, put his hand on Daniel’s good shoulder and told him he understood his predicament. He could stay. All the other men received ear plugs. After that, Daniel was accepted.

  Anna lived for Daniel’s letters. She felt his presence beside her whenever she read one of them. She always replied immediately and made her letters as cheerful as she could. She described how Jim helped with the chores and even drove her into town once a week. She also told him Peter and Lottie had been over.

  She didn’t tell him that when Peter and Jim had first come to repair the fencing, Anna had expressed her thanks with a simple, “I wish I had some way to repay you.” The day had been crisp and clear. Anna had almost been blinded by the sun shining on the snow.

  “That’s not necessary,” Jim had said with his characteristic grin.

  “I can think of a way,” said Peter and he’d reached out to his sister-in-law and held her close. He’d even kissed her neck. His arms were strong as iron and she had to admit a part of her wanted to respond to him she was so lonely.

  Anna shoved him away and moved a couple of feet away from him so he couldn’t grab her again. “Peter, I don’t want you to come over unless you bring Lottie and the boys. I could never be unfaithful to Daniel. Leave me alone.”

  Anna was surprised when the next day Peter actually showed up with Lottie and their youngest boy, Sam, a handsome boy who resembled his father. Sam’s older brother, Kyle, was in school.

  Surprisingly, Anna and Lottie actually developed a friendship. It wasn’t as deep a friendship as with Maisy. But it became a satisfying relationship. Because of it, Anna felt a little less lonely.

  To Anna’s surprise, one day while they sipped tea, Lottie confided in her. “I was jealous of you because I know Peter finds you attractive. I wish I could be pretty. I feel so inadequate beside you and Maisy. I can’t help but like you because you are so nice.” Beads of liquid had formed on Lottie’s thin lips. Her close-set eyes brimmed with emotion.

  “My goodness, Lottie. You surprise me. First of all, I don’t think I’m at all pretty. My face is too thin. In fact, my whole body is too thin and angular. And my nose is too long.”

  Amber and Crystal, followed by Sam and Chocolate, raced into the house and demanded water. Anna got them some from a pitcher in the refrigerator. Then she told them to “scram.” She wanted to continue her conversation with Lottie.

  “But a great looking guy like Daniel loves me and wanted to marry me. It’s what we are inside that counts, not how we look. I think everyone is at least a little bit pretty, including you.”

  Anna paused for a moment and eyed Lottie appraisingly. “I think you’d be even prettier if you wore your hair down.”

  Anna tentatively reached out her hand and gently touched Lottie’s hair. “May I loosen it?”

  Lottie held her breath but she nodded her acceptance. So Anna freed Lottie’s fine, soft hair. It fell in waves around Lottie’s plain face.

  Anna smiled. “Yes, you’re definitely pretty. I’ll go get a mirror.”

  Lottie almost purred with pleasure when she saw the result. “Oh Anna, you are a true friend. I’m going to have Peter drive me over even when he doesn’t work on your farm.”

  Tears of joy entered Anna’s eyes. She reached out to clasp Lottie’s free hand. The key to friendship contained empathy and a bit of ingenuity. “Thank you so much. I appreciate your friendship. It’s difficult having Daniel gone.”

  It was an understatement. Despite Lottie, despite Maisy, despite Jim and Peter, Anna found herself desperately lonely.

  She told herself to be strong. In order to do so she developed a strategy. She forced herself to live one day at a time. To not think about the past and certainly not the future. Only the present.

  When she got through a day, she marked it off on the calendar and looked only to the next day. She tried not to plan nor worry.

  * * *

  Yes, today seemed better. She’d managed to finish the laundry. She would do the ironing tomorrow. It was a relatively simple task.

  A Chinook had blown in and the girls could finally play outside. The plentiful sunshine seemed to help their colds. Anna’s own throat no longer felt sore. Anna swelled with gentle pride. She’d survived.

  * * *

  By mid-morning Anna began to think that, with luck, she might have time for a cup of tea. Since the girls played outside, she had a few precious moments to herself. Only Chocolate remained. He’d be no bother.

  However, before making it, she decided to lie down on the bed for just a moment and rest her weary eyes. She went into the bedroom and immediately dropped down onto the bed with all her clothes on, even her slippers. She fell instantly to sleep. She was exhausted by the events of last night.

  Too soon she was awakened by an insistent banging on her door. This surprised her because Jim and Peter usually telephoned before they came over. Perhaps the caller represented one of those religious sects who advertised their faith. If so, she wouldn’t buy one of their pamphlets. She didn’t have money for things she didn’t want.

  It wouldn’t be Amber and Crystal. They’d just charge in like they always did. Would the caller scare the girls? Or maybe even hurt them? She’d better get to the door. Pronto.

  A curious Anna, still groggy with sleep, answered the door. The sun filled her with light and warmth. She squinted into the strangest pair of orbs she’d ever seen. The right eye was blue. The left brown. They belonged to a tall, lanky man with narrow shoulders. In that sense, she was reminded of Charles.

  He wore shabby, ill-fitting clothes. Anna felt sorry for the stranger. She remembered her own lack of new clothing during the war years. Anna tried to peer around the man. She could see no sign of Amber and Crystal. Oh God. Keep them
safe.

  He shifted nervously. “My name is Willy Jones. Glad to make your acquaintance.” He offered his bony, dusty hand and Anna shook it as gingerly as she could. Her pity rose higher. He was thin. Too thin. He needed a good meal.

  “A man in town told me you might be looking for a hired man, considering your husband being gone and all. I walked all the way out here lookin’ for work. That’s all I want from you, M’am.” His voice was hoarse.

  Willy looked like the kind who’d stay for a while, do a mostly adequate job and then leave. Exactly the kind of person she needed. However, she couldn’t hire him. “I’m sorry. It’s impossible. I barely have enough money to feed myself and my children. I also can’t offer you a place to sleep in the house.” She didn’t say it would be very bad for her reputation to have him staying without a chaperone. But it was certainly the case.

  Willy’s plain face fell. Anna suppressed a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry. I simply can’t help you.” She decided to offer him something to eat as soon as she found the girls. God, where were they?

  Willy’s face darkened and twisted as he shouted, “You bitch, you hopeless, ugly bitch.” He grabbed the collar of Anna’s dress and with one ferocious tug, ripped it down the front. Anna trembled in horror at the noise of the tearing fabric and the violence of his assault. She screamed and made an attempt to cover herself with her hands.

  Chocolate began to bark and growl and nip at Willy’s heels. Anna felt some hope. Maybe the little dog’s attack would frighten Willy off.

  “You miserable excuse for a dog.” Willy’s boot connected with Chocolate’s rear and sent him sprawling into the kitchen. The loyal little dog yelped in pain but continued to bark. Carefully watching Willy’s boots as he did so. If only Wolfie could be reincarnated.

  Anna, her heart pounding and with adrenalin surging through her veins, ran into the bedroom. She hoped she could get the door closed before Willy entered the room.