Home Fires

by Susan Cameron

  She stopped when she thought she heard voices. Listening, she identified men’s voices, the higher pitch of children’s and the sound of Mike’s familiar deep bark. Then at the edge of the woods she saw three men pushing a snow-bound sleigh, while a fourth man guided the horse through the high drifts. Annie tried climb the snow bank edging the plowed road, but she sank up to her knees and stumbled back. Mike jumped through the drifts to greet her, almost knocking her over in his excitement.

  The men looked over when they saw Annie’s lamp, and she heard Georgie call out, “Mummy!” Jack, Georgie and Bobby climbed through the high snow drifts, ecstatic to see her.

  When they finally reached her, Bobby breathlessly explained, “We were so cold that we all huddled under the blankets. We thought the horse knew the way home, but I guess he got confused. He pulled us through the bush and got stuck.”

  Jack added, “We tried really hard to push the sleigh and pull the horse but we weren’t strong enough. Eddie lives close by so he ran home to get help. Mike found us and we told him to go home. We were hoping he would get you!”

  The men soon freed the frightened horse and pushed the sleigh back onto the road. Everyone climbed up onto the sleigh and, within a half-hour, Annie and the children were home. The boys piled into the house in a rush to get warm and Mike followed them inside.

  “Oh, all right, Mike. You deserve to stay inside tonight. Jim’s going to frown on me pampering you but you were a hero tonight. Good boy!”

  She undressed her sleeping baby and placed him in his cradle, and she added more wood to the fire. Within minutes of undressing, Georgie was crying from the pain in his hands and feet. There were tears in Jack and Bobby’s eyes too as they planted themselves beside the stove. Their fingers and toes were deathly white. She remembered how Jim would immerse his hands in a pail of warm water when he came in after working in the cold, so she filled buckets, pans and bowls. She placed three chairs by the stove and arranged the containers of warm water for the boys. All three boys cried from the pain as their blood slowly started to circulate again. As poor as we were back in South Shields, I never had to worry about my children freezing to death. This northern winter is brutal!

  The boys soon recovered and by the next day had bounced back to their spirited selves. Annie, however, felt increasingly despondent over the winter, in the long days alone with just a baby for company. Jim worked so many hours that she never saw him in daylight. He left the house when it was still black out and returned late in the evening after dark.

  Then, in March, chicken pox swept through the school. For weeks, Annie was house-bound with her boys as they passed the illness from one to another. Luckily, Hal was somehow spared. Annie told herself that if she had to endure a fourth child with chicken pox, she would have run away from home. She wasn’t sure if she meant it or not.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Annie looked out the kitchen window. The sky was pale blue and cloudless. It was a fresh April afternoon and the days were slowly lengthening with the promise of spring. She was cutting vegetables for dinner when she heard the door open, and was surprised to see Jim home early from work. One look at his face told her that something was terribly wrong.

  Before she could say a word, Jim reached into his pocket and wordlessly handed her a telegram. Annie quickly opened the envelope and read.

  Regret to inform Father passed away Sunday stop Memorial service when you come stop Best regards to Annie and boys stop love Mother

  “I can’t believe it,” She held her hand to her mouth. “What a terrible shock. I’m so sorry, Jim.”

  Jim sat down in a kitchen chair, put his elbows on the table and sunk his face into his hands. After a minute, he looked up at Annie with red-rimmed eyes.

  “I was sorting mail and I could hear the clack of the telegraph machine with a message coming through, never dreaming it was for me. The station master handed me this envelope, saying that he was sorry for my troubles. I sat down on a bench and it was a couple of minutes before I could even open it.”

  Annie slowly sank to a chair and said, “You’ve got to go back to England.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that the whole walk home. How can I manage to get to South Shields? It’s impossible. We just don’t have the money.” She began to protest, but he said. “Dinna fash, Annie. To tell the truth, I shudder to even think about getting on another ship!”

  Annie rose from her chair and went to Jim, holding his head to her chest and stroking his hair. Tears welled in her eyes; she had loved Jim’s father almost as much as she had loved her own. She knew how important it was for Jim to go to his family. She also knew that they could not afford a trip to England. But she was determined that they would find a way.

  Before long, Annie had a plan. “We’ll borrow from the money saved to pay Alfie back. We haven’t mailed it to him yet, and I know he’d understand if we were a little late. It’s the only way we can get you home for that memorial.”

  Jim reluctantly agreed and the next day he bought his passage to England. He was fortunate to be able to arrange his travel quickly, and within two days he was gone.

  In the whirlwind of the news and Jim’s departure, Annie was overwhelmed with loneliness and grief, especially in the evenings when the children were asleep.

  After Bobby, Jack and Georgie left for school in the mornings, she was busy with the never-ending chores in the house. Mike had taken on the duty of escorting the boys to school, and met them there when the bell rang for dismissal.

  Hal, who had become an active crawler, needed constant attention. One morning he almost pulled a pot of boiling water over himself, and then he dumped the entire flour bin, covering the floor around him in thick white powder. Annie angrily picked him up and placed him roughly on her bed.

  “I’ve had enough, Harold Kidd! Don’t you dare move!” she shouted.

  The little boy sobbed but stayed where he was as Annie cleaned up the mess. She soon felt ashamed of her angry reaction, and she heard him crying pitifully. She went to the bed, picked him up and took him to the rocking chair. She wiped his tears with her apron and held him closely as she rocked him.

  “Ah, Hal don’t cry. Mummy loves you.”

  He cuddled closely to her and sucked his thumb. Poor fellow’s just being a normal curious little boy. She reminded herself how fortunate she was, thinking of Marie with only one child. If I were only to have had one child, it would have been Maggie - and now she’s gone. She kissed the top of Hal’s blond head as remorseful tears spilled down her face.

  That afternoon when the children returned from school, Bobby handed her a letter that the station master had dropped off at the school. She looked at the return address and discovered that the letter was from her brother George. Without reading it, she placed it above a cupboard and fed the children their dinner. She wanted to save the letter to read that night when the children were asleep. Her nights were the loneliest and she would find some comfort in reading George’s news. She had even started to allow Mike to come inside in the evening for company.

  Finally, when the house was quiet and Annie had made herself a pot of tea, she brought George’s letter to the table. She saw from the date that it had taken three weeks to reach her. She was thrilled to read that George was coming to Canada, and that he planned to come to New Ontario to look for work in the gold mines. The letter had taken so long to reach her that he might already have arrived!

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  On the fourth day after Jim left, there was a knock on the door and a familiar masculine voice called out Annie’s name. She opened the door, and there, standing in her doorway, were her brothers George and Alfie. She squealed and ran to hug the two big men, then stepped back to look at them. Alfie was wearing a good quality suit with a vest, a high white collar and a tie. His dark hair was cut short at the sides and back but was stylishly long at the top. He looks like gentry, Annie thought, and you only saw the prosthetic hand if you knew to look. By contrast
, George was dressed more casually. He had a wide masculine jaw, a straight nose and light blue eyes. When he smiled, a dimple appeared beside his mouth. His light brown hair was longish and not as meticulously styled as his brother’s, but he was easily the more handsome man.

  “I got the telegram from Jim about his father and his trip to England. George happened to be visiting me before he headed north, so we both decided to come see you.”

  “Seeing you both makes me so happy!” Annie said. “Come in, come in.”

  Alfie playfully punched George’s shoulder as they came into the house. “George wants to make enough money to go back home and get married.”

  “They say there are plenty of jobs in the gold mines,” Annie said. The brothers’ surprise appearance made her almost giddy. “I have an idea. Why don’t we all take the train to Gold Creek tomorrow for a little holiday? I’ll let the boys skip a school day. They love train rides and, frankly, I need a change of scenery.”

  The next day, they walked to the railway station and Alfie bought everyone’s tickets to Gold Creek. Annie had not ventured that far from Jackpine Junction yet, so it was an adventure for all of them. As the train pulled away, she looked out the windows and noticed how scarred the land was beside the tracks. Unsightly stumps remained where once there had been virgin forest, and many fallen trees had been left to rot. Every few miles she got a glimpse of struggling farms and homesteads. Some farms had larger areas cleared by fire, as evidenced by the charred remains.

  The train ride was relatively short, and as they got closer to their destination, they passed more houses. They saw several dormitories and cottages that appeared to have been cheaply and hastily erected to house the employees of the mines. The housing seemed to reflect the transience of the workforce. Annie was pleasantly surprised, though, when they got off the train at the Gold Creek station. There were cement sidewalks on most of the streets and electrical wires threaded through the town. She saw many more homes and large bunkhouses, a hotel and a hospital. While George left to walk to the mine site and apply for a job, Alfie, Annie and the children walked to the hotel. Alfie treated Annie and the children to lunch in the dining room.

  While they were finishing their meal, Annie looked up as her youngest brother entered the hotel dining room and made his way among the tables. Annie noticed how other women in the room looked at George, and she smiled. He is quite handsome. I wonder if my Georgie will look like him when he’s grown. George appeared unaware of any admiring female eyes following his movements; Annie knew that his heart belonged to Elizabeth, back in South Shields.

  “Well, they hired me on as a fireman!” George announced. “They said that my timing was perfect as they had to replace a fireman who just moved back home to Scotland. I start tomorrow!”

  Annie and Alfie congratulated George on his good fortune. Annie was quietly relieved, as she hated to think of him working underground in the mines. George smiled and held up a scrap of paper. “They’ve given me a voucher to stay at the hotel for a couple of days until there is room for me in the bunkhouse. Here, Alfie, I’ve also got some coupons for some liquor. You’d better take them. I’m a slow learner when it comes to the hard stuff! I’ll stick to beer and stay sober.”

  Annie smoothed the skirt of her good navy wool outfit. It was wonderful to be out with her brothers. She had been starved for adult company and she hated for the day to end. She looked around the hotel room filled with people and was reminded of how small her world had become in her little cabin.

  Hal was squirming in Bobby’s arms and she could tell the other children had reached their limit of company manners, Georgie swinging his legs back and forth under the table, Jack fidgeting. Her brother George pulled over a chair and sat down beside Annie. He rifled through his canvas bag and pulled out a small parcel and a letter.

  “This is for you, Annie. Mother wanted you to have a little gift.”

  Annie tucked the letter into her handbag. She unwrapped the small package and found two bars of her favourite lilac soap. She laughed and reminded Alfie of their time at Mrs. Murray’s boarding house.

  “That was such a luxury to have a long soak in a hot tub with limitless hot water. Whenever I get feeling sorry for myself, I remember how wonderful I felt that night.”

  “Well,” said Alfie, “why don’t you take advantage of George’s hotel room and treat yourself to a long hot bath? George and I can take our nephews for a walk, and we can watch the cranes and other heavy equipment.”

  “That would be so selfish of me, but also wonderful,” Annie said. “You don’t realize what a handful little Hal is. I could keep him with me, I know the older boys would love to spend time with their uncles.”

  “Nonsense!” said George. “I don’t think little Hal will outfox us. We’ll watch him, Annie. You deserve a little time to pamper yourself.”

  It didn’t take much more coaxing to convince Annie, and she soon found herself immersed in a hot tub. She soaked for half an hour, emptied the tub, and then refilled it with more hot water. She soaked so long that her fingers wrinkled. Only reluctantly did she get out, carefully rewrapping her precious bar of soap and placing it in her handbag. She towel-dried her hair, braided it, and pinned it up. After she had dressed, she descended the stairway to the hotel dining room.

  Annie chose a table close to the fireplace, bought a newspaper and ordered a pot of tea while she waited for her brothers and the children to return. It felt quite odd to be sitting alone at a dining table in the hotel. She couldn’t recall another time in her life when she hadn’t been surrounded by family or her children. It was strange to be so unencumbered by responsibility. She felt a little guilty to find pleasure in this gift of freedom.

  What a strange woman I am, she thought. I feel sorry for myself when I’m alone, and then here I am, happy to be by myself!

  Annie had just started to read the newspaper when her pot of tea arrived. But it does feel lovely to be pampered.

  When Alfie, George and the children came back, the boys were eager to tell Annie about their day. “Mummy,” said Georgie, “there was a huge crane and it was lifting big machines, and there was a big bulldozer making a new road. I’m going to drive bulldozers and cranes when I grow up!”

  Jack added, “Uncle George bought us toffee and Hal dropped his on the road and almost put it in his mouth!”

  Annie looked at her youngest child, in Alfie’s arms. Hal’s shirt was smeared with dirt and his lips were covered with sticky goo. He looked at his mother and whimpered, pointing to a new scrape on his hand.

  George guffawed. “You didn’t utter a peep when you fell. I thought you were a big boy.”

  Hal laughed as he looked at his uncles, and Annie joined him.

  They soon had to catch the train back to Jackpine Junction. As they left George at the hotel, he promised to visit them often. Annie and the boys hugged him goodbye and little Hal gave him a sticky kiss.

  Alfie would be leaving her soon as well, but rather than wallow in that sad thought, she told herself to enjoy every minute they had left.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  After only travelling a few miles, the train came to a full stop. Alfie got up to ask the conductor why.

  When he returned to his seat he looked perplexed. “He says there’s a moose on the railway track, but the engineer was able to stop us before we hit it.”

  After a few minutes the train slowly began moving again. From their window, they saw a huge bull moose with enormous antlers saunter into the bush. Not much later, Annie called everyone’s attention to the opposite window, where they could see a large black bear with her two cubs up in a tree, not far from the train tracks.

  When Annie sat down again, Hal climbed up on her lap, stuck his thumb in his mouth and promptly fell asleep. The other boys sat glued to the windows so they wouldn’t miss any other sights, but exhausted from the day’s events, they were soon lulled to sleep by the movement of the train. Even Bobby, who fought to stay awake with the
adults, fell asleep.

  Alfie was quiet for a long time. Finally, in a deeply concerned voice, he asked his sister, “Is it a common event to see moose and bears around you?”

  “That was the first live moose that I’ve seen. I saw a huge dead one on a neighbour’s sleigh last year. I’ve seen a few bears but they seem to be timid creatures. The children and I saw a bear while we were picking blueberries once. I thought it was a big shaggy dog and I chased it away by making a lot of noise banging my pot!” Annie laughed at the memory, but sobered when she saw her brother’s worried expression.

  “I do feel safe, Alfie. Mike is a good guard dog and I am always cautious. But I’m grateful to you and George for being such caring brothers.”

  Back again at Jackpine Junction, Alfie carried Georgie in his arms as they walked home from the station. When they arrived, Annie placed Hal in his crib while Alfie and Bobby got a fire going to make supper. Annie prepared a simple meal of reheated stew and toasted slices of day-old bread. She had bought a cake at the bakery in Gold Creek for their pudding. After they had eaten their dinner, she sent the boys to bed.

  Knowing that Alfie had to get back to Toronto the next day, Annie suggested that they play a game of cards. She treasured every minute of adult company – especially Alfie’s - and wasn’t sure when she’d see her brother again. They stayed up until after midnight, playing cards, reminiscing and laughing.

  “I didn’t want to steal George’s thunder, but I’ve met a wonderful girl myself. Her name’s Catherine. I plan to marry her if she’ll have me.”