by Barbara Goss
Laura came out wearing a lilac-colored dress that accentuated the color of her hair. She hopped up on the seat next to him and smiled, and it went from his eyes to his heart and made him feel warm all over.
The minister agreed to see Laura. Once she settled herself on a seat in his office, Jesse told her he’d be back in an hour for her.
Reverend McCarty welcomed her. “Before I ask why you are here to see me, I’ll tell you what I already know about you: you are the novice nun, kidnapped from a train, and are a houseguest of the Collins family. Now… what can I do for you, dear?”
Laura then filled him in on her upbringing in the orphanage and her willingness to become a nun, preferably to work with orphans or the poor. She relayed to him her doubts about taking her final vows since ordered to go west.
McCarty nodded. “Understandable.”
“Now, I find myself free for the first time in my life. My habit became ruined, and I have to wear Cassie’s clothes, which I’ve come to appreciate. I love being part of a family. I love the pretty dresses, and I love not wearing a wimple.” She hesitated before blurting, “And I love Jesse Collins even though I made a promise to God. I feel guilty, and I don’t know what to do. This guilt that I’m letting God down is like a black cloud hanging over this wonderful new life. I feel like I shouldn’t be enjoying any of it.”
McCarty made a steeple out of his fingers as he thought about all she’d confessed. “I completely understand how you feel. Still, there are other ways you can serve God. Taking a vow as a nun is a good thing to do... for some, not for everyone. Most people have had a sample of day-to-day life in a secular world before making that choice. You never had a sample of family life or any life outside of an institution. I would have told you to sample life before committing yourself.
“As it stands, you love this new life, and Jesse… who, by the way, is a very good choice. I can’t help but think because God loves you, as the Bible tells us, He wants you to be happy even if it means breaking the promise. However, I don’t really think you are breaking a promise. You haven’t taken your final vow, which is the real promise. Novice is just that, a pre-vow commitment, a trial period, so to speak.
“Laura, did you ever hear of the Orphan Train Project?”
She shook her head.
“Cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia, to name a few, have many homeless children, and it’s becoming difficult financially to care for them all. They send orphans weekly to the West. If you truly want to serve God and help orphans, I can put you in touch with the organization here in Hays and you can help find homes for these orphans. People in Hays need children to help clear their newly obtained land; some can’t have children of their own. Most families who settle here have room for one more at their table, and the child would learn how to work and live in a family unit. We need people like you to help find that for these children. What do you think?”
Laura’s eyes lit up. “I’d love doing it. So you say trains come here from the East with children weekly?”
“Just about. Sometimes it comes more than weekly and sometimes less. We are notified when they will arrive, and we start looking for homes. Not all of them disembark here. We find as many families as we can and then take that many children off the train. The train then continues to the next stop. In some cities, they line up all the children like cattle and let the families pick and choose, but we take a more sensitive approach, and we try not to split up families. At least not split them at a distance. A sister and brother may go with different families, but both stay right here in Hays. It would be one of your duties to coordinate the children with the families.”
She thought about her next words. “And if I did this, I could still live free, perhaps marry?”
“Certainly.”
Jesse knew the minute Laura hopped up next to him on the wagon for their ride home that something had changed in her. She scooted closer to him and put her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder. He was about to remark on it, then thought better of it. He’d just enjoy her closeness all the way home.
When Jesse stopped the wagon in front of the barn, he turned to Laura. “Do you want to talk about your conversation with the reverend? You don’t have to.”
“After you take care of the horses, I would be only too happy to tell you everything. Meet me at the elder tree. There is something I must do first.”
Jesse nodded.
Laura ran into the house, said a quick greeting to Meg and Cassie who were elbow deep in some type of dough, and ran up to her room. She knelt in prayer. She then took her rosary and cross from the drawer and kissed them. She said her "Hail Marys” and then ran down to the elder tree.
Jesse sat beneath the elder tree awaiting her. Laura squeezed in beside him.
“So talking to Reverend McCarty went well I take it from your smile.” Not to mention her curling up to him in the wagon.
She inched closer to him. Jesse rolled his eyes. This must be good, he thought.
“The kind Reverend made me realize I could serve God without becoming a nun. He said becoming a nun is honorable, but it isn’t for everyone-- especially someone who has never experienced family life.”
“Go on,” prompted Jesse.
“You know I love it here, and I love your family. I hope it would be all right if I stayed a while longer. You see, Reverend McCarty told me there is a welfare program that loads orphans onto a train and delivers them from large cities in the East to cities in the West. Pioneers who need extra help or who can’t have children often welcome them, and he is going to arrange it so that I can help find homes for these orphans. I’d be serving God and satisfying my strong desire to help other orphans.”
“Then,” Jesse said, “you would forget about going to Texas or Boston and taking the final vows?”
“Yes.”
Jesse smiled broadly. “Dare I ask, what this means for us?”
“If we love each other, there is no reason why we can’t be together.”
Jesse sighed with relief. “Do you have any idea how much I love you, Laura?”
“I actually do.” She blinked up at him.
“Now, my prayers have been answered,” admitted Jesse. He put his arm around her. “I want you with me for the rest of my life.” Laura looked up at him with wide curious eyes. “In case you are wondering that was a sloppy marriage proposal.”
Laura opened her mouth to respond, but Jesse silenced her with his finger. “This is the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life. I need to do it right. Stand up, Laura.”
She stood.
Jesse knelt before her and took her hand in his. “Will you marry me?”
“I’m taking a huge jump from a nun to an orphan coordinator to marriage… but I also want to be with you for the rest of my life. I can’t even imagine living at all without you. When I thought the bandit would kill you, I knew I couldn’t live without you.”
“So is that a ‘yes’?”
Laura laughed. “A definite yes.”
“Yes!” Jesse shouted. “She said yes!” He stood, took her into his arms and kissed her long and passionately. He held her close. “Let’s do it soon.”
Laura nodded. “Very soon.”
“C’mon, we have to tell Ma and Cassie; they’ll be ecstatic.” He pulled her along toward the house. They laughed, kissed, ran, and laughed-kissed, and ran until they got to the house.
Meg pulled a pie from the oven as they entered. “Just in time—cherry pie!”
“We have something better,” he said, with a sly smile on his face. “He gently pushed Laura in front of him and stood with his arms around her waist. “I’d like you both to meet the soon-to -be Mrs. Jesse Collins.”
Cassie screamed and jumped up and down and Meg smiled from ear to ear, and wiped a tear from her eyes. “Thank you, Jesus!” she cried. “Miracles still do happen.” She went over to Laura and embraced her. “You’ve felt like a daughter from the first day, and now you really wi
ll be.”
“Thank you, Cassie and Meg,” Laura said.
“Oh no! No more ‘Meg’. It’s Ma now, you hear?”
“Yes, Ma,” she said.
Meg straightened. “Now, you know I’m dividing my six hundred acres; so each of you gets two hundred. Bert prefers Texas. So, after you are married you can start a place of your own but still are near enough for me to visit and spoil my grandchildren.”
“Ma, we have a wedding to plan. Do you two know when it will be?” Cassie asked.
“How soon can you arrange one?” Jesse asked.
“Give us a month,” Meg said.
The Collins home became alive with wedding plans, a dress to make, and plans for a big dinner after the ceremony. Nothing could be more exciting than planning a wedding and party afterwards out in the prairies of Kansas. Meg and Cassie were in their glory. Weddings in Hays became the social event of the year and everyone came, no invitations were needed. Everyone showed up and either brought a gift or a dish to pass.
Laura, however, still contemplated whether to act on the newspaper ad. She felt as though she now had all the family she needed, but it continued to nag her that someone would spend so much money looking, possibly, for her?
At church on Sunday, Meg and Cassie spread the word about the upcoming wedding. Reverend McCarty said he would be honored to perform the ceremony. He wrote the date in his book.
Jesse became uneasy about Elizabeth Healy’s reaction. As a spoiled rich girl used to getting whatever she wanted, he wasn’t sure how she’d react; but he hoped she would congratulate and be happy for them. She wasn’t in church this week, so he’d have to wonder about her reaction. Jesse overheard Mrs. Healy mention to the minister that Elizabeth and her father were on a business trip. So many in the congregation congratulated them. Jesse couldn’t recall ever feeling this elated or proud. The beautiful, sweet strawberry blonde would soon be his forever. In just one month, he’d be the happiest man on earth.
On their way home, Laura curled up to Jesse with her arm wrapped around his. “Jesse,” she said, “I haven’t forgotten the newspaper ad. Maybe we should investigate it further.”
“I will do it gladly, as long as it doesn’t change our plans, because I’m just counting the days,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.
“Nothing could change that. I just wonder who would spend so much money looking for someone. It’s just too mysterious not to check out.”
“I will start the process tomorrow.”
As promised, Jesse rode out first thing in the morning to seek out Charles Miller and start the process of discovering who sought a Laura MacDonald.
Meg, Cassie and Laura sat at the kitchen table making a list of what foods to serve at the wedding supper when they heard a wagon barreling down the path.
“Jesse must have forgotten something,” Cassie said. She went out on the porch and then came back in quickly. “We have visitors. Not sure who, because they are riding in a closed buggy.”
“Good gracious,” Meg said. “A closed buggy, here to see us?”
All three stood on the porch awaiting someone to get out of the buggy. “Mr. Healy?” whispered Cassie. Then Cassie grimaced. “And his daughter.”
“But who is the man in black?” asked Meg.
Cassie shrugged.
Meg stepped down from the porch and greeted them cordially. “Mr. Healy, Elizabeth, welcome.” She looked at the stranger curiously.
Mr. Healy spoke first. “This is Father Amico, from Kansas City. He’d like a word with Laura MacDonald.”
Laura’s face paled to see a priest. “I’m Laura.” She stepped down from the porch.
The priest, dressed in a black robe with a white circular collar, offered his hand. “Is there a place where we may speak in private?”
“Of course,” Laura said. “Come in, please.” She led him to the living room. The others waited outside.
Laura sat nervously on the sofa, and the priest sat in the chair.
“Sister Mary Clare, I believe?”
She nodded.
“I contacted your church in Boston…”
“Wait!” she interrupted. “You contacted them?”
“Yes. You see; Mr. Healy came to see me. He reported he’d found the nun who had been kidnapped from the train and wanted to know if the church had been looking for you?”
“And were they?”
“They didn’t know where to start. They waited for word from you. They thought if you survived the kidnapping you’d find a way to contact them. When you didn’t, they thought the worst.”
“I see,” Laura said. “Mr. Healy… how interesting.”
“They’ve sent me to bring you back to the convent in Boston.”
“Do I have a choice?” she asked. “I’ve become fond of my new family. I have decided to stay and work with orphans here.”
“Where are your habit and wimple?” he asked with a frown.
“They were ruined in the kidnapping.”
“That doesn’t make you less a nun, Sister.”
Tears sprang to Laura’s eyes. “But I don’t wish to go back. I want to stay here. I don’t wish to take my final vows.”
“I have my orders from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Should you have any doubts about taking your final vows it needs to be addressed to them, personally. If you have any possessions you’d like to gather, we will be leaving now. Your train leaves in an hour. I’ll see you safely aboard.”
Laura took her Bible, rosary and cross. As she left by the front door, Meg and Cassie stopped her.
“Where are you going?” Cassie yelled, and grabbed her arm to pull her back.
“I have to go back to Boston. It’s an official order from the Archdiocese.”
“Stay here, at least until Jesse gets home,” Meg ordered.
“Seeing Jesse will just make it harder, Ma.” Laura hugged Meg and Cassie. “I will be back. I just need to let the Archdiocese know in person that I’m leaving the order. Tell Jesse I love him, and I will be back as soon as possible.”
Meg and Cassie sadly watched the buggy drive away with Laura. They feared Jesse’s reaction.
8
About an hour later, Jesse came home whistling. He walked into the kitchen and yanked his mother’s apron strings. “What’s for dinner, Ma?”
Meg turned around with an expression that gave Jesse chills. “What’s wrong?”
Taking out her handkerchief and wiping her eyes, she said, “Laura’s gone.”
“What?” “What do you mean gone?” he yelled.
“Calm down, Jesse,” Cassie said. “She asked us to tell you she loves you, and she will be back.”
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” Jesse hit his fist on the table.
“Joe Healy brought in a priest from Kansas City to take her back. He said he was just trying to help,” Meg explained.
“Just like that? Right away, she had to go? How is she traveling?” He pounded the table again.
“Train. Healy told us it would leave in an hour, which was over an hour ago.” Meg wiped her eyes again.
“Healy? Out of town on business, huh? Was the snob daughter of his with him?”
Cassie and Meg both nodded.
“I’m going to bring her back now,” he said. “Cassie saddle Bandit. Our horses need to rest, and I’m going to do some fast riding.”
Jesse rode like the wind to the train station and ran inside hoping to see Laura awaiting a train. But the station appeared empty. He went to the counter and asked about the train to Boston.
“It left an hour and ten minutes ago, sir,” replied a man with thick glasses.
“When is the next train to Boston?” Jesse sounded frantic.
“We have one leaving here tomorrow morning at ten a.m.”
Jesse threw down a few bills. “I’ll take one ticket.”
Laura missed Jesse already. She missed the family supper, but most of all, Jesse. She knew that going to Bosto
n and resigning in person was the proper protocol. She could think of only one problem. It had never occurred to her when she left, owed to the stressfulness of the situation, that she didn’t have any money for a return trip.
As the train sped along the tracks, all Laura could think of was how each length of track took her farther away from Jesse and the Collins family.
Jesse packed a bag for his trip to Boston. He had some personal business to take care of first. He went downstairs and asked Meg, “What’s the name of the place they are taking Laura?”
“Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston,” she answered.
“Write it down for me, I’m going to pay a visit to the Healy’s and thank them personally for their ‘help.’”
“Calm down first, Jesse,” Meg warned. “If you end up in jail, you won’t do our Laura any good.”
Jesse loved hearing her say, “Our Laura.” She surely had become theirs.
“I will not resort to violence, I assure you. Although I feel like doing some, I do have some self-restraint— not much, but some. I know exactly who caused this.”
Jesse knocked on the door of Healy’s large palatial home. A servant led him into a room he felt was comparable to Buckingham Palace. He took a seat on an overly decorative and not very comfortable sofa. He could hear a lot of whisperings while he waited. Evidently, they knew he’d not be pleased. He hadn’t asked to see Joe Healy but Elizabeth. He knew Joe simply did what he’d done for twenty years—pampered his baby girl.
Finally, Elizabeth entered royally, as if it had been rehearsed. She wore a dress fit for a ball instead of an evening at home with her parents.
“Why, Jesse! How pleasant of you to stop by,” she purred, smiling widely.
“Hello, Liz,” he said with a fake smile. “Have a seat next to me won’t you?”