Hearts Aglow

by Tracie Peterson

  “I know it’s a surprise to you. I’ve always been the wild one around these parts. Folks would probably laugh out loud iffen they knew what I was ponderin’. But . . . well . . . it just keeps comin’ back to mind.”

  Euphanel carefully considered her words. “You should always stand ready to answer God’s call. If He is of a mind to make you a preacher – then that’s what you should be.”

  “But what about the book learnin’? I ain’t got a good education.

  That was never of interest to me. But now, what with Deborah teachin’ me to read better, I guess I’m startin’ to wish I’d gone to school more.”

  “It’s never too late to learn, is it?”

  He shrugged. “Can’t hardly see myself sittin’ in the Perkinsville School.”

  She smiled. “No, maybe not, but you could learn at home, and there are numerous schools elsewhere or tutors that could be hired.”

  “But what about the company and Pa’s dream for us boys to share it?”

  Euphanel could easily remember the times Rutger had talked of just such a thing over the dinner table or after devotions. His vision for Vandermark Logging had definitely included his boys. But she also knew her husband would not have wanted any of his children staying with a job they felt was wrong for them.

  “I believe your father would have wanted you to do what you felt was right. If God is directing you into the ministry, your father would have been the last one to stand in your way.”

  “I kind of thought that, too, but I figured it might be wishful thinkin’.” He smiled. “You know how I like to do that.”

  She started to get to her feet, and Rob jumped up quickly to assist her. “Thank you, Son.” She dusted the dirt off her skirt and straightened. “Your father . . . and I . . . would be proud to have a preacher in the family. We’d be even prouder to know that our son was willing to put aside his own plans and desires and follow God’s voice. Never think otherwise.”

  Saturday evening, Euphanel headed to the church to meet with those who wanted to sing. She’d been a little uncomfortable when Arjan announced he would drive her into town and join the ensemble, but since Deborah and Lizzie couldn’t come, it was a reasonable alternative. Even if the girls had come, Euphanel was certain Arjan would have insisted on accompanying them. It would be dark by the time they concluded, and he would never hear of them journeying home alone.

  So she swallowed her fears and made small talk as Arjan drove.

  Sissy joined them, although she sat in the back of the wagon and left Euphanel and Arjan to sit on the wagon seat together. Euphanel was startlingly aware of his presence – the warmth of his body next to hers, the scent of his cologne. Goodness, but she didn’t even remember that he had cologne to wear.

  “I’m lookin’ forward to this evenin’,” he told her. “I have the company of the best gals in the county, and while I won’t promise to be all that good at singing, you’ll have my undivided attention.”

  His words were still buzzing through her head as she stood in the center of the gathered singers. To her right were the sopranos or trebles, and opposite them were the basses. The altos were to their right and the tenors opposite them. This was the traditional setting, although Euphanel had, on rare occasion, seen it done otherwise. The trebles and altos were almost solely comprised of women, although a couple of young boys sat beside their mothers and would probably take on their part for the time being. These were the largest of the four groups, but Euphanel had been surprised to see at least twenty men show up to join them.

  There were even a few blacks who’d felt brave enough to come, although they sat together and a bit apart from the others. Sissy sat in the alto section with some of her friends on either side. There were also two men who sat in the bass section with their gazes cast at the floor.

  Euphanel raised her hand to quiet the group. “I’m so glad we’ve had this wonderful turnout. I want to start by explaining a few things and telling you my thoughts. I think that sacred-harp music is one of the finest ways to draw a community together.

  “I arranged to obtain some books for us to use. This will help a great deal for those of you who are unfamiliar with the shape-note singing that we’ll do.”

  Euphanel went to the first of two wooden boxes. “If a couple of you gentlemen would do the honors of passing the books around, I’ll continue to explain.”

  Arjan and Mr. Greeley got to their feet and began to hand out the hymnals, while Euphanel took up her own copy. Walking back to the center, she shifted her gaze now to the tenors.

  “This is the traditional setting for shape-note singing. As some of you probably know, there is no real leader to this group. We take turns announcing what hymn we wish to sing and then leading that song with an open hand. The first time through, we will sing the fa-sol-la’s instead of the words.”

  She opened to one of the pages in the book. “You can see, when you get your hymnals, that on page three, it shows you exactly what is meant by that. Now, I know that some of you can’t read, but we’ll help one another, and you’ll soon be able to understand exactly why this type of music is perfect for you.

  “In shape-note singing, we use the fa-sol-la-fa-sol-la-mi-fa scale. If you look at the notes on the page, you’ll see where the term ‘shape-note’ comes from.”

  She waited until the last of the hymnals were given out before continuing. “Each of the notes is a stemmed eighth, quarter, or half note, as well as a whole note. But instead of the circle of the note being positioned on the staff, there are various shapes relevant to the fa-sol-la scale. You will see for example that the fa is a triangle, the sol is oval like a regular note, the la is a rectangle, and the mi is a diamond.” She looked up and smiled. “Any questions?”

  When no one asked anything, Euphanel glanced around the group. “Let’s see a show of hands if you’ve done this before.”

  Most everyone raised their hand. A few scattered here and there, however, including the blacks, were unfamiliar. Euphanel smiled. “I’m so glad to have the experience of this group. However, bear with me. For those who are not familiar, we will endeavor to make this easy.”

  She refocused on the hymnal. “Shapes and notes are designations of scale rather than a particular note or pitch. The leader will set the fa, hopefully at a comfortable pitch for everyone, but once that is set, then you will just join in with your harmony note. As that is established, we will begin to sing through the song. This will familiarize everyone with the tune, and hopefully allow you to read the music quickly and easily.”

  “Now, turn to page six. We’ll start with something we all know. The title here is ‘New Britain,’ but many of you know it as ‘Amazing Grace.’ I will begin by making this quite simple. I happen to sing treble, but for this purpose will give you the tenor’s part right now, as it sounds familiar and is the main melody of the tune. I’ll do the first few bars in shape-note – and then in the words.”

  She cleared her throat and started to sing. “Sol fa la fa la sol fa la sol, Sol fa la fa la sol la sol. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” She stopped and looked up to see most of the people nodding. “It’s that simple – really.”

  One of the women raised her hand. “Why not just sing the words? Why worry about all the shape-notes?”

  Euphanel smiled. “It’s a simple way of teaching folks to read music and harmonize. If you can read the shape-notes, you don’t worry about stumbling around for the right key or even version of the song. You can see by the shape-notes where your scale is taking you. That’s why we get the leader to give one note and the rest join in finding their particular notes. This is important for the harmony, because it’s all done without any musical instruments.”

  The woman seemed to understand and nodded. She looked back to the book, and Euphanel could see she was trying hard to silently mouth her own part. She turned toward the basses and found Arjan beaming her a smile. Her knees trembled slightly.

  “Let’s
get started.”

  CHAPTER 13

  MAY 1886

  “Lizzie, you are positively glowing,” Euphanel declared. She bent to pull a ham from the oven, but continued talking to her daughterin-law. “I suppose it’s because that baby has grown to be such a big one.”

  “It’s probably the heat,” Deborah said with a grin.

  “It has been unreasonably hot,” Lizzie countered.

  The temperatures were already making it necessary to use the summer kitchen, and there was no hope that things might cool off and give them an easier season.

  Christopher was beyond doubt now that she was expecting twins, and today Lizzie planned to share the news with the family. First she would go and tell G.W. in private, and then she would announce it to the rest of the family at supper. That was, if her mother-in-law didn’t guess that something was afoot.

  “Why don’t you go on back in the house and rest?” Euphanel told her. “We’ve nearly got supper ready. Deborah and I can bring this in. You go ahead and check on Sissy for me.”

  Lizzie nodded. It would give her a good excuse to see G.W.

  “I’ll do that. Seems Sissy is doing so much better. Each day she’s more like her old self.”

  Euphanel nodded. “Indeed. I know she’s still bearing a great sorrow, but her heart seems renewed almost daily. She’s a good example of taking life day by day.”

  “You’ll send Deborah for me if you need my help, won’t you?” she asked as she headed toward the brick archway that led outside.

  “We’ll be just fine. You go ahead,” Euphanel replied.

  Lizzie labored under the growing weight of the twins as she made her way back to the house. Dr. Clayton had told her it wasn’t at all unusual for women to give birth early when carrying more than one baby. He also told her that he wanted her to rest in bed for the final weeks. That concerned her somewhat. There was a lot of work to do around the house, and while they were all situated now in their new rooms, Lizzie still had things she wanted to do before the babies came.

  Inside the house was only moderately cooler. How she longed for the heat to quell and the rains to come. There had been some rumors of storms building off the coast, but they hadn’t had so much as a drop of rain in what seemed forever, and everyone longed for relief.

  Making her way to the office, Lizzie paused outside the door and put her hand to her mouth to suppress a smile. She had wanted to tell G.W. about Dr. Clayton’s suspicions, but she knew it had been wise to wait. Lately G.W. had been rather cantankerous. He was still limping badly enough to use a cane, and it was evident that he’d never again be able to climb up the huge longleaf pines. Lizzie hoped this news might take his mind off his problems and give him something new to think about.

  “May I come in?” she asked from the open door.

  G.W. looked up and nodded. He scratched his closely trimmed bearded chin and leaned back in the chair. “I’d be glad for the company.” He got to his feet and hobbled to where she stood. Offering her his arm, he led her to the chair opposite his. “So to what do I owe this pleasure?”

  “I have something to tell you,” she said matter-of-factly. Taking her seat rather awkwardly, Lizzie tried to find a comfortable position. It was a moot effort, however, and she finally gave up and grew still.

  G.W. wore a rather curious expression. “You look tired,” she said to divert his focus. “I think you’ve been working too hard.”

  “Hardly.This work is nothing compared to the real work I used to do,” G.W. replied. He came to stand before her and sat on the edge of the desk. “Now tell me what you want me to know.”

  She grinned. “Perhaps I should make you guess.”

  He shook his head, but smiled. “When it comes to you ladies, I wouldn’t even venture one. Are you feeling all right?”

  Lizzie nodded. “I feel quite well. Overburdened with this added weight, but well.”

  “My boy giving you a difficult time, is he?”

  She laughed and tried again to shift into a more comfortable position. “You’re so sure it’s a boy?”

  “Absolutely. We need more men around here.”

  “Then why not add two instead of one?” she asked casually.

  He nodded. “In time, I’d be happy with a dozen boys. I suppose we could have a daughter or two for you.”

  “What if we have two boys right away?”

  He looked confused. “Whatever the Good Lord decides is fine by me.”

  Lizzie took pity on him. “G.W., we’re going to have twins. Dr.

  Clayton has thought this for some time now, but today he told me for sure.”

  G.W. stared at her with a blank expression. She couldn’t help but giggle. He was positively struck speechless – a rarity for her husband.

  “Apparently twins often come early,” she continued, trying to sound nonchalant. “Dr. Clayton has ordered me to spend the rest of my confinement time in bed. I’m afraid my useful days are at an end for a while.”

  Still he said nothing. Perhaps G.W. was not pleased. She’d never considered the fact that he might not be happy with twins.

  “I’m sorry if this is disturbing news.”

  He shook his head and got to his feet. Practically lifting her from the chair, G.W. engulfed her in his arms and held her as close as the pregnancy would allow. “I’m not disturbed,” he whispered against her ear. “I’m beyond words.”

  For several minutes, all he did was hold her. Lizzie relished the moment and sighed as she put her head against his chest. It was an awkward position, to be sure, but she longed for the tenderness of his embrace and prayed that it might go on.

  G.W. seemed to feel the same and continued to hold her until one, or perhaps both, of the twins gave a mighty kick. He pulled back rather startled. “Was that . . . ?”

  “The babies,” she replied, not waiting for him to finish. She gently took hold of his hand and drew it to her belly. The activity continued, as did G.W.’s awed smile. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt them kick, but it was the first time he knew there were two of them.

  He looked at her and shook his head. “I don’t know what to say. I felt so blessed that we were going to have a child, and now to know there are two . . . well, I guess I feel doubly blessed.”

  “I know. Me too.”

  “Do the others know?”

  She shook her head. “Only Deborah. She was with me at the doctor’s the first time he suspected. I told him I didn’t want to say anything to anyone until he felt confident of it being twins. I figured I would announce it this evening at supper. Better yet, maybe you should be the one to share the news.”

  “I think I’d like that,” G.W. replied. “It’ll be right fine to share something good.”

  Deborah waited for the dessert to come, knowing that Lizzie had planned to announce her news at that time. She could hardly sit still for all of her excitement. Twins had never been born in Perkinsville, and once the news was out, folks would be sure to come calling. Twins were usually seen as a good omen, and with so many superstitious people in the area, Deborah had no doubt they would want to touch Lizzie’s belly for luck.

  “I have something to tell everyone,” G.W. began.

  Quickly, Deborah turned her gaze to the plate, lest she give away the news. She was tickled to hear her brother make the announcement. It would do him good; lately he’d been rather distant and quiet.

  “Well, do tell,” Mother said, putting aside her fork. “What is it that you want to share?”

  Deborah looked up and found all eyes turned to G.W. Lizzie looked as though she might burst into song at any moment.

  “Lizzie found out today that she’s gonna have to be in bed for a time.”

  Mother frowned. “Is there a problem?”

  G.W. shook his head. “Not unless you consider two grandbabies, instead of one, a problem.”

  Deborah clapped her hands at the stunned expressions around the table. “Isn’t it grand news?”

  Mother was the
first to recover. “It’s amazing news. Twins?”

  Lizzie nodded. “Dr. Clayton has wondered for a time, but now he’s sure. He said twins are likely to come early, so he wants me to spend these final weeks in bed.”

  Sissy, who sat beside Mother near the head of the table, leaned forward. “I was sure ’bout two babies a long time ago. Seems a doctor should’a knowed, too.”

  Deborah laughed. “I expected that you or Mother would figure it out before Lizzie made her announcement.”

  “We did discuss the possibilities,” Mother admitted, “but I figured we’d know in time. Besides that, G.W. was a big baby, and I think I looked very nearly as large in my last months. Oh, this is grand news!”

  G.W. smiled and put his arm around Lizzie’s shoulder. “It’s a double blessing from the Lord.”

  “To be sure,” Uncle Arjan said, nodding. “Children are a gift from the Lord. The Good Book says so.”

  Rob nodded. “It does, at that. Guess you’ll get your quiver full a little faster, havin’ two at a time.” He smiled. “Leave it to you to do things in a big way.”

  “Well, the first thing we need to do is double our efforts at making baby clothes and diapers,” Mother said. “Of course, once word gets around, I know the women in this community will be coming forward with gifts and any of their extras.”

  “And lying about in bed will provide me ample time to sew,” Lizzie said. She looked to Sissy. “Maybe you can teach me how to do that lovely smocking you put on the baby gown you made.”

  “I shore ’nuf can. Be my pleasure. You and me ain’t much help otherwise.”

  “You neither one need to worry,” Mother declared. “Deborah and I can manage just fine.”

  “And if we need an extra hand,” Rob added, “I’m sure Mara would be right here.”

  Mother nodded. “So you see, it’s all worked out.”

  Deborah thought of the time she’d been spending with Christopher helping on his rounds. The men at the mill had been hostile to her presence the first few times, but now they seemed to take her in stride, and a few actually seemed to welcome her company. Of course, they weren’t willing for her to actually do much in the way of tending them. Other times, the women in the area seemed to accept her help without too much protest. As long as Christopher was there, they appeared to tolerate her quite well.