Angela's Hope (Wildflowers)

by Banicki, Leah

  The girls enjoyed their morning in the sun and Corinne took Angela all around Grant's Grove. The trees were small but Angela was impressed by the amount of trees they had planted. It would be magnificent with the almond blossoms when the trees grew larger. Angela could see it in her mind. Corinne explained that next year they wanted to begin an olive grove. There was so much to do and Angela could see a bright future for the new Grant couple.

  “We have need for more orchards than we can grow but we are starting. We will be trying to make contact with other growers to buy their harvests. We are not sure if the almonds can survive the climate here. We have a few ideas. Clive is very helpful and we talk to other farmers for input. Just telling Clive of having of the potential for olive oil and almond oils in a few years has helped spread the word among the other growers. We already have orders and the trees are still infants.” Corinne said as she rode.

  “I do not think infants is the proper term, Cori.” Angela teased.

  “Oh hush, they are my little infants and don’t you say another word. I sing to them often and call them my little babies. They like it.” Corinne said and nodded emphatically. She was not to be discouraged.

  The land spread out and the mountain views were a healing balm to Angela’s rumpled spirit. The weariness was easing out of her as the day progressed.

  * * * * *

  Lunch was a hurried and loud affair with harvesters in from the edges of the field. Some piled into Corinne's kitchen and snacked on the loaves of bread and cold chicken. There were homemade pickles and pies loaded up. The ones that couldn’t fit inside huddled outside, picnic tables were carried around from the back of the cabin. The men carried the food as Corinne passed it to them, the tables outside were loaded down.

  "Cori, I am so impressed at how well your cooking has improved." Angela praised her friend.

  "Oh, I can take no credit. Chelsea Grant brought the bread and chicken last night, I pay Chelsea to keep me supplied on harvest days. Marie made the pies and the amazing briny pickles and she stubbornly refuses to be paid. But somehow a few bushels of fruit just find their way to her front stoop, frequently.” Cori's laughter tripped through the room. “Today is abnormal for me, usually I am busier, and I want to make sure you are rested. Tomorrow I am back in my greenhouse planning and plotting for my lab. I have so much to get done before the snow flies. I must have everything in working order.” Corinne took a few plates that needed refilling.

  “Oh my, you are a busy gal.” Angela saw more men approaching. There was a need for more tables.

  Corinne pointed to a few men who had arrived about more tables that were near the greenhouse. It was a few hundred yards away but the men were happy to do it.

  “We all are thinking of how to improve this process for next year.” Corinne went back inside for more food as the tables arrived.

  “Harvest time is not the only thing to worry about too. I have lists upon lists. It is rewarding work though.” Corinne said.

  “I remember that Lucas went to school for agriculture, right?” Angela asked. She was drawing from a memory from sitting near the campfire on the trail.

  “He gets excited about irrigation and soil, I get excited about my next shipment of seeds and lab equipment.” Corinne smiled. Angela and Corinne stood talking and watched the men eat their lunch.

  “I would love to see your lab soon. I am certain it will be full of wonders.” Angela was pleased to see Corinne’s excitement.

  “Still waiting for some supplies to arrive from London, there are always new methods and breakthroughs in science and discovery in the plant world. I am so proud to be a part of it.” Cori’s face was beaming.

  She could not see Corinne slaving away in a kitchen if herbs or her medicinal oils had a pull on her. Even in Boston under her Aunt's iron rule Corinne had to be dragged away from the Boston greenhouses nearly every day. Corinne had her strengths and she would stick to them, it was the way it should be.

  “Will you be ok on your own tomorrow if I need to be away?” Corinne looked worried for a minute.

  “I will be just fine, I have to go through my bags and mends some dresses. I may even fit in a nap or two if my body calls for it.” Angela smiled.

  Angela was already planning on visiting with Marie soon, to see if she needed help with her pies tomorrow. It would keep her from being a nuisance or underfoot.

  * * * * *

  "Seeing my Angela girl safe and sound is like a song from heaven." Clive's jovial voice broke through the crowd talking and eating. Everyone grew quiet for a moment then a few cheers and jeers for Clive sounded out. His tall lean body walked in the room and always caused a stir. He was just that kind of character. His dark hair now more peppered with white since Angela saw him last year. She remembered a shave and a haircut that Corinne and her had given to him on the trail. It was one of the better memories for Angela of her first attempt of the Oregon Trail.

  "I have been waiting to get to hug you proper Mr. Quackenbush." Angela jumped from the table when he got closer and planted a bear hug around his shoulders. She held on for more than a few moments and he let her. He didn't mind the affection and he had a special place in his heart for both young ladies he met last year on the trail. His eyes could see Angie moved toward him well, he would be watching her for any remaining injury as all of them would be that cared for her. Angela had a caretaker spirit and she hadn't had too many people trying to take care of her in her younger days. He knew of several folks that would gladly help in the protection of this girl- almost woman.

  "Girl you smell like a breath of spring. I can tell you’ve been socializin’ with Cori Grant and all her flowerizin’ of everything. Her supreme mission is making everyone smell like a tulip, or perhaps a romp in a flower meadow." He winked at Corinne and picked up Angela for an extra squeeze before he set her down. Angela loved how Clive had his voices, sometimes he sounded like he was from the south, other times he could sound like the educated city man. Clive was a rare breed.

  "I came to announce that Corinne had a shipment arrive at the store today from California. I saw cargo from Russia, China and Australia. Also the town Doctor wanted to have a chat with ya as well. My other reason is obvious as I came to get another peek at my girl, Red. I will not be satisfied to leave unless I get at least three healthy blushes from ya girl. It does my heart good to see that kind of color on a fair cheeked maiden, I may be past my sixtieth year but it does remind me so of my first fair bride. She had a darker red than you but her face was nigh as fair." Clive held his hat to his heart and dramatically closed his eyes. He had a flair for speeches.

  "I will do my best to give you as many blushes as you need Clive. I have missed your charms. You do me good, too. I hope to talk with you soon about getting mail off to California. I will try to locate my brother." Angela welcomed Clive over to the table with a gesture and they all enjoyed talking with the great man. His sense of humor, his patience and experience made him a rare find. He was a true gift to anyone who knew him.

  * * * * *

  "Oregon City has grown so fast Angie. It seems a new business goes up every week. We now have an Apothecary, a Doctor and a gentleman named Gomer Hines is starting up a newspaper. The town constable is trying to get a paid sheriff position as an option passed by the town council. All in all it's a growing town. I don't love the politics or the politicians, as I have had a few run-ins with town councilmen. They have played me false over a spurned romance but that has calmed some. I haven’t filled you in on the young Sidney Prince who fell desperately in love with me on the trail." Corinne made a few faces and made Angie laughed as they traveled along the main road.

  "Sidney was a sweet young lad who turned sour when I tried to refuse his advances.” Corinne was a fast talker when she was excited. Angela was trying to pay close attention to learn everyone’s name that she didn’t already know.

  “Sidney?” Angela said with a question in her voice.

  “Yes, he joined the wagon trai
n after Andrew…” Corinne faltered a moment.

  “Keep going.” Angela urged. She knew Corinne was going to feel awkward about talking about Andrew. Angela had many a mile to let Andrew’s mistakes go. She was fine for today. She wanted to focus on the future.

  Corinne continued, “Well Sidney had a boyish crush. And I was not interested. He had the town council deny Lucas's right to get a land claim. I was willing to marry Lucas and leave town if we needed to but it all worked out in the end when Andrew’s parents deeded their land to us.” Cori saw the shadow pass over Angie's face. She should have written a letter about Andrew’s parents to Angela, she felt a fool for bringing up the issue now. Angie didn’t need to hear about anything to do with Andrew ever, after what he had done. She explained quickly how Andrew’s parents helped Lucas and her with acquiring the land by gifting it to her before they moved off to California. Corinne apologized for reminding her of Andrew.

  "You did nothing wrong Cori, dear. Your first husband, Andrew, was a part of your life, a rather unpleasant part, I might add. His parents had no idea what he had done and the foolish way he got me injured. The fact that something good came from them is a sweet reminder how God works out the good. I have forgiven him and accepted that we have all moved on." Angie's speech sounded completely levelheaded and adult. Though her voice only faltered a little.

  Not everything is as easy as words make them to be. Corinne had a smile and a few misty tears threatening to fall.

  “I had the Sparks taking good care of me, and now you and I are together again, and my journey west was not halted forever. You have found true love with Lucas and that makes my heart happy. Your dream is coming true. I may actually find my brother and get to share a few memories with him, too. I think we have both come a long way." Angie smiled and looked around and her heart was in her throat. Her thoughts dwelled on the memories of the night she fell into a ravine, her body a broken mangled mess. That night was like a dark tent hovering over her, threatening to snuff out her light forever.

  She shook off the memory and looked at the Willamette River that was nearby. Jammed with logs and working men on a few rafts and men with longs sticks that had an amazing talent for balancing. They pushed the logs along to the mills ahead, the big hulking buildings on the river’s edge.

  The town was busily working on this fall weekday, getting everything done. The talk of the town this time of year was about the mountain snows. When would they start? When would they get snowed in? When would the gap fill in and leave them all without land routes for certain supplies? Butting off routes to families and trappers who dared to live outside the comfort of even a small town. On their own, surviving off the land had its peace and quiet, but animals, accidents and sickness had no limit in this rough land.

  Corinne and Angie stopped by Clive's office to take a peek at her cargo. The wagon would be there shortly, Cori and Angie made it to town a lot quicker than Lucas could in the wagon. Corinne felt a small twinge of guilt for leaving her husband to drive the wagon without her, but she wanted to have as much time with Angie today as possible. She felt an odd kinship with Angela that surpassed a common friendship or acquaintance. They were family now. If Angie was a year younger she would have begged her father to adopt her, but at seventeen Angie would probably feel a bit silly being adopted. She survived the Oregon Trail and she was of marriageable age. Corinne's secret wish for them to truly be sisters was just not meant to be. Lucas and Russell Grant had no more brothers that needed marrying off.

  Silly me. Cori thought to herself. Still having impossible wishes.

  The cargo at Clive’s store was piled behind the building in the loading zone. Corinne had an overwhelming urge to break open the crates on the spot but Clive had just done the inventory of each one earlier in the day and taken great care to repack and close each crate. She wasn't about to make more work for him and his son, the clerk.

  Clive paced around the dock waiting for his son, J.Q. to fill him in on a few store needs. Cori and Angie waited patiently for him to conduct his business and enjoyed the warm fall air.

  For September it still felt like summer. Though the talk of mountain snows was a topic on everyone’s lips. People do love to speculate on weather. It was part of the human journey, in life the wind will blow, the rain and snow must fall.

  Several minutes passed and Lucas appeared with the wagon and a sturdy hand from Cori's father's ranch. Corinne couldn’t remember the lad's name but she gave a friendly nod as he headed in her direction. He knew she was in charge in this moment. He didn’t seem to be bothered taking orders from a woman.

  "If you can get the biggest crates along the edges and then get the smaller crates packed tightly in the middle perhaps we can eliminate as much breakage and jostling as possible." He grinned and nodded sincerely.

  "I have some old quilts to pack between them that will help, Cori. Just get them back to me next time you are in town. We will reuse them for your fragile orders. You and your tiny glass bottles, chile’." Clive chimed in. His mustache twitched in the corners of his mouth as he teased. He was very proud of his Cori. Her smarts and skills made everyone proud.

  “Angie, I was hoping to have a chat with you. I have been thinking about your plan to find your brother and I have a few thoughts on the matter." Clive waved her and Corinne inside as the men began their loading. Corinne ran over and planted a kiss on Lucas’s cheek to thank him properly for all his hard work. He rewarded her by grabbing her off the dock and with a spin kissed her on the mouth and then plopped her back on the dock where she had been. Her blush stained her cheeks and she wordlessly followed Clive and Angie inside the Hudson Bay store.

  "I am glad to see you both like each other." Angie laughed nervously. She was happy for her friend, just getting used to the displays of affection would take a little time. Angie was certain she blushed more than Cori did.

  "We do, I felt a bit guilty by not riding with him in the wagon. But he is so understanding, I have my Angie back." Cori gave Angie a sideways hug as they neared Clive’s office.

  "I have spoken at length about your brother with Corinne, Angie, and have a few ideas to toss at ya." Clive held out chairs for Cori and Angie and then plopped down himself. The dark wood table that filled a corner of the room had a few papers on it but there was still a little open space. Clive clasped his weathered hands together in front of him.

  "I hear your brother is in California, most likely place will be in San Francisco. I have a Hudson Bay store there that is managed by my grandson, Gabe and his wife. They are just newly married and have a ’young un on the way." He smiled warmly at the thought. "I can forward some information about your brother Sean and see if he cannot pass the word along that you are looking, but I have another thought too." Clive took a moment and looked Angie in the eyes.

  "What would you think of going to San Francisco and working at the store under my son's protection?” Clive started. He watched her face show a little bit of surprise but no fear. “You have a great way about you and…you would get paid for the work and you can talk to every customer that comes through. It would give you a great chance to ask questions and be closer to the area where your brother was last seen. I will be in California territory every month or so for business. We can keep tabs and if you want to take a break and come back here you can with no pressure. I just have a feeling that people will see you and try and help you more if you are there. Cori said there was a drawing of him, I know a few people who are good at scribbling and drawin’ that could make up a few posters for you." Clive finished, his eyebrow up and hoping he hadn’t upset her.

  "California…"Angie said softly. Her own mind had wondered if she would end up there. Her heart sped up a bit at the thought. He was there. Perhaps she should be too. "I will pray on it Clive. Is there a certain time of year that would be better for me to go?" Angie suddenly looked younger than her sixteen years. She was a girl confused and still a bit weary from her last adventure.

  "There is no
rush my child’." Clive took her hand. "California will wait for you."

  Chapter 8

  The wagon was loaded down with all the crates from Clive’s mercantile. Corinne led Angela through town to the post office where Corinne had letters. The postmaster allowed her to retrieve her father’s mail as well. Angela was quiet and Corinne let her dwell on her own thoughts.

  Corinne had to fight her own feelings about Angela potentially leaving. A certain selfish emotion rose up inside of her. How can she leave when I only just got her back? Corinne would try to act like an adult but she had a desire to grab Angela possessively and yell out, mine!

  Corinne stepped into the town doctor’s office and was greeted by Persephone Williams, the Doctor’s wife.

  “Hello Persephone, you are looking lovely today. I heard Doc Tyler was wanting to speak with me.” Corinne grinned and enjoyed the friendly smile of the doctor’s wife. Her navy dress was snug across the middle promising the town would have a new member soon.

  “He stepped away awhile ago, there was another accident at the lumber mill. I am hoping it’s not too serious. He mentioned to me that he wanted to know about some of your suppliers. He has heard you know your way around getting your hands on some hard to reach medicines. He would be grateful to share your connections.” Persephone ran a hand through her dark blond hair that was loose in the back. Corinne could see a pin was nearly falling out.

  “Let me, dear.” Corinne reached up and secured the wispy hair and the pin. Persephone’s hair was again neat and tidy and no one would know the wiser.

  Persephone giggled nervously, she wasn’t a silly woman but she did have a charming giggle when she was jumpy.

  “The doctor had an order for more oils from you too.” Persephone said after she recovered from her embarrassment.

  “I am glad to help. I am heading to the apothecary to see what Mr. Higgins has to offer.” Corinne said and waved, Angela waved wordlessly and followed behind her friend.