American Rebirth

by Norma Jean Lutz

  “What’s the difference between a sewing machine and a kiss?” she wrote in her note. Then at the very bottom, she wrote in smaller script: “One sews seams nice, and the other seems so nice.” The riddle made her smile. She could only hope it did the same for Mr. Finney and that her thoughts toward him were making his life a little easier.

  On occasion when shopping with Berdeen, she would see Mr. Finney about town. She always looked at him and smiled, but he looked away and never acknowledged her. Seeing his sadness made her pray even harder for the war to be over soon.

  Saturday, April 23—the day of Charles and Alison’s wedding—dawned cloudy. However, by the time the Brannons were in the carriage on the way to the Harvey home, the clouds began to break up and the sun was peeping through.

  Verly and Elise had talked about the wedding all week at school. They could hardly wait. It would be such fun to have a festive occasion. Elise was to be among the attendants, and Verly had been asked to serve refreshments.

  Verly was at the front door when they arrived. Grabbing Elise’s arm, she pulled her aside. “You’ll never guess what. Mama has given me this entire day off. She said I’ve worked so hard, she promises we’ll not pick up a piece of sewing until Monday morning.”

  “What good news! That’ll make this day even more special for you.” That thought gave Elise an idea. “Say! Why not ask your mama if you can come home with us and spend the night? We’ll have time to finish the play!”

  Verly’s eyes brightened. “Let’s ask right now. Mama’s upstairs helping with Alison’s dress.”

  Elise followed as Verly led through the crowded parlor to the stairs and up to the room where Alison was getting ready. As she went, Verly said, “I’ve helped a little bit with Alison’s dress. It’s lovely, Elise. She told me it belonged to her mother, who died when she was just a little girl. But Alison’s mother was so tall that we had to alter the dress a great deal.”

  “I know she appreciates all your help.”

  “She does. She’s thanked all of us. Your aunt Ella is more like a mother to her than a mother-in-law.”

  “That sounds like Aunt Ella. Full of love.”

  The two girls slipped into the crowded room. What a joy it was to see everyone smiling and laughing as they helped Alison adjust her gauzy veil. Verly caught her mother’s attention and motioned her to the door.

  “Hello, Elise,” Mrs. Boyd said. “When did you arrive?”

  “We just got here.”

  “Is the parlor full yet?”

  “Full to overflowing,” Elise assured her. “What fine work you did on Alison’s dress. It fits her perfectly.”

  “Your aunt Ella did most of the work, and of course Verly helped, as well.” Mrs. Boyd put her arm about Verly’s shoulder. “Verly’s my strong right hand. I don’t know what I’d do without her help.”

  “Mama,” Verly said, “since you’ve given me this day off, may I spend it at Elise’s house? And stay the night, as well?” she added.

  “Of course you may. That would make a nice time off for you.”

  The two girls looked at one another and smiled. What fun they’d have on this beautiful spring weekend.

  Soon the music started, and it was time to line up and march down the stairway into the parlor. Verly and Mrs. Boyd went down to find a place to sit among the other guests.

  As Elise walked carefully down the stairs with a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers in her hand, she felt older somehow as a member of the wedding party. It was an honor to have been asked by Alison and Charles.

  After the ceremony and after refreshments had been served to the guests, Alison changed into a tailored blue-worsted traveling dress, and the couple left in Mr. Horstman’s carriage.

  The railroad executive, who’d become rather wealthy as a result of the war, had presented the couple with train tickets to Columbus, where they would stay the weekend until Charles would have to report back to work.

  Elise and Verly stood on the front porch with the other guests waving good-bye to the happy couple. Wistfully, Verly said to Elise, “I wonder if I will ever see Alexander’s wedding day.”

  “Have you received a letter yet?”

  Verly shook her head. “Nothing. And it’s so frightening. I’ve heard that many of our soldiers are captured and put in prison camps.” “Verly, you can’t let yourself dwell on the worst.” “I know, but I can’t help it.”

  Elise put her arm about her friend. “I wish I could help somehow.” Verly smiled—a weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. “You have helped me, Elise. Just by being my good friend.”

  CHAPTER 7

  The Play

  Elise and Verly worked on their play all Saturday evening. The play, which they’d titled, “A Pig in a Poke,” was filled with funny lines. By Sunday afternoon, the playroom was littered with sheets of paper where they’d copied the pages over and over again.

  They discussed whom they would ask to take which parts and when they might schedule the play. Looking at the calendar, Elise suddenly had a great idea. “My birthday!” she said. “What about your birthday?”

  “It’s in May. May 21. I’ll tell Mama I don’t want a party. Instead, we’ll invite people to come to our play.”

  “You’d rather give a play than have a birthday party?”

  “I sure would! Come, Verly,” Elise said as she headed out of the playroom, “let’s tell Mama our plan. It’s time for the secret to be told.”

  Mama was pleased with their plan. They explained how they wanted to present it outdoors on a Saturday evening and ask as many people as possible.

  “Samuel can help set up boards on crates to make your benches,” Mama suggested.

  “And we’ll use blankets on the clothesline for our curtains,” Verly said.

  “You should hear Verly talk like a backwoodsman,” Elise told Mama. “She’s going to teach our troupe how to do it. It’ll keep everyone laughing.” Elise could hardly believe how well her plan was developing.

  Chancy came running to the house late one afternoon. “Mrs. Brannon, come quickly. It’s time! Allegro is having her foal.”

  Mama and Elise hurried out to the stable. As they did, the church bells began to toll. As usual, Elise felt knots forming in her midsection. While the bells sounded out news, one never knew if it meant good news or bad. Mama paused for a moment and looked at Elise with concern in her eyes, then hurried on her way to the stable.

  Though Mama had worked with many mares during foaling time, she could see right off that Samuel was needed. Even Chancy deferred to Samuel’s special ways with a horse in dire need.

  “You ride into town,” Mama said to Chancy, “and tell Samuel to come home quickly. If Mr. Brannon can’t get away from his work, put Samuel on behind you and bring him back.”

  “Yes’m,” Chancy said. And he was gone.

  Meanwhile, Mama and Elise continued to work with Allegro, walking her back and forth and talking to her, rubbing her down and keeping her calm.

  Elise saw the look of relief in Mama’s dark eyes when she heard the carriage driving up the lane. When they saw Samuel and Papa enter the dim stable, Elise knew immediately that something was wrong. Mama did, too.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Another horrible massacre in Virginia,” Papa said. “A place called the Wilderness. We can talk about it later.”

  Samuel was there, and that made all the difference. None of them could have explained what he did differently with horses than any of the rest of them, but no one denied he had a special way with the animals. Papa helped, too, of course. When Allegro finally lay down in her stall, Samuel and Papa got right to work. The foal was coming out all wrong and had to be gently turned. Before midnight, the little colt had slipped out onto the clean hay. Though she was weary, Allegro began licking and cleaning the long-legged chestnut foal. Suddenly, he stood on wobbly legs, falling a couple times before making his way to where he could find nourishment.

  Elise marveled at the m
iracle of a birth and what hope it gave, in spite of the news of all the tragic deaths from the war.

  After supper, Papa told of the news from the Wilderness campaign, where more than eighteen thousand men had lost their lives. “They were fighting in a heavily wooded area,” Papa explained. He had three different newspapers spread before him where he’d read the different accounts. “The artillery and cannons caused the woods to catch fire. Sounds of the wounded screaming as they burned to death filled the night air,” he read.

  Mama gasped as he told the details. Peter had tears running down his cheeks. Samuel chewed his lip. Elise could take no more. She couldn’t stand the thought of wounded men being burned with no one to help them. She ran from the table out the back door, across the porch, and stopped in the yard, where she promptly lost her supper. Soon Mama was by her side, gathering her in her arms and wiping her face with a cool, damp cloth.

  “I’m sorry,” Elise whispered.

  “Don’t be sorry, my darling. It makes all of us sick!”

  Later as they prayed together, Peter had the idea to name their new colt Chancellor, after the town of Chancellorsville, which was close to the Wilderness and had also been the site of a brutal battle exactly a year earlier. They all agreed with Peter’s choice. Then they grew quiet as Papa prayed.

  The next few weeks flew by as the girls chose their actors and actresses and assigned play parts. Verly seemed happier than Elise had ever seen her. Cast members were asked to memorize lines before the first rehearsal. Even Chancy was asked to take a part. In spite of his shyness, he agreed to play the part of an old peddler who plays a trick on the family.

  The rehearsals were great fun. Verly patiently taught the backwoods characters to mispronounce all their words. Their attempts at mimicking the Squirrel Hunters’ speech prompted plenty of laughter. At times they laughed so hard, they could barely practice the lines.

  Elise’s twin cousins, Alan and Alicia, played the erstwhile parents, while Peter and the Kilgour sisters played the mischievous children. Samuel would be the parson who drops in at the most inopportune times.

  Mama helped not only by serving refreshments at rehearsals, but also by penning the invitations. At one point she asked Elise, “What will be the price of admission? Should they pay something to see the show?”

  Elise thought a minute. “Two things. One will be something for use at the military hospital, and the second is a riddle. Everyone must bring a riddle!”

  Mama chuckled. “Just as I thought you’d say.” And she went back to her work.

  Costumes were another fun part. Everyone rummaged through trunks of clothes in their attics to find old castoffs that would do.

  The yard was level between the house and the stables and paddocks. From there the land went up into the wooded hills behind the stable and sloped down over a ridge on the far side of the house and yard. The spot made a perfect stage.

  Berdeen created a curtain with hooks that clipped over the clothesline so it would slide easily. Elise assigned Berdeen the job of stagehand to open and close the curtain at the right moments.

  On the morning of the performance, Elise hardly had time to think of her own birthday. There was too much to do. Mrs. Boyd and Verly walked up from the boardinghouse early in the day to lend a hand. Refreshments would be served afterward, so plenty of help was needed in the kitchen.

  As the guests arrived that evening, Mama and Papa took the “tickets.” By the time everyone had arrived, there were baskets of items for the convalescing soldiers—everything from combs to stationery. And there were enough riddles to last Elise for a very long time.

  Elise kept watch as guests came into the yard and took their seats. She was looking for one certain person. She’d left a note for Mr. Finney, inviting him to come and see the play. The note told where she lived and what time to come. But as she stood before her audience to announce the opening of the first act, he’d not arrived.

  Elise sat on the front row with a script in her lap, ready to prompt any actors who forgot their lines. But she wasn’t needed. Not only did her troupe remember their lines, but they hammed it up more than they ever had during rehearsals. Laughter rang out through the warm night air and filled the clearing. Even Mr. Horstman—who was usually very solemn—burst out with loud guffaws. The sounds of laughter made Elise happy all the way down to her toes!

  As Berdeen closed the curtain after the last act, the people gave a standing ovation. Elise could hardly believe it. Then Papa came to the front and put his arm around Elise and made her stand. Putting his hand up to silence the crowd, he first of all thanked everyone for coming and helping to make Elise’s play a success. Then he said, “Many of you don’t know that this is Elise’s birthday. Rather than have a party, she wanted to present this play for all of you.”

  Elise felt her face burning as the crowd began clapping. Papa again put his hand up. As he did, Berdeen and Mama came out the back door carrying a cake with candles on it.

  “Three cheers for Elise,” Samuel called out.

  “Hip, hip, hooray!” the crowd yelled. “Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!” Then they burst into singing, “For she’s a jolly good fellow.”

  Elise blew out her eleven candles, after which Mama and Berdeen set up the refreshment table on the back porch, where guests could file by and load up their plates. And Elise was allowed to be the first one through the line!

  As Elise took her plate back to a bench to sit down, Papa’s cousin, Ruby Brannon, came over and sat down beside her. Elise had always admired Ruby, who had worked tirelessly at the hospital ever since the war began. Papa and Aunt Ella often told the story of how Ruby had fallen deeply in love as a young girl, but when her betrothed died in California, she threw herself into helping others through nursing. Ruby was short with rather plain features, but somehow she was very beautiful.

  “Elise,” Ruby said softly, “what a noble and generous thing you’ve done here tonight. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much.”

  “Thank you, Cousin Ruby.” Elise couldn’t avoid blushing a little at the kind words from this fine lady. “That’s what I wanted,” she added. “To give everyone a bit of God’s medicine—laughter.”

  Ruby smiled gently. “Would you consider gathering up your troupe and presenting A Pig in a Poke on the hospital grounds for the soldiers? I believe there are many brave men who would gain great benefit from ‘God’s medicine’ as you call it.”

  At first, Elise wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never been to the hospital. Although Mama volunteered there often, Elise could never bring herself to view so much suffering. She truly didn’t know how Ruby had done it all these years. “I’m not sure I could do it, Ruby,” she said, shaking her head. “I got sick when Papa read a report about the Wilderness Campaign.”

  “The first thing that happens when you’re among them,” Ruby assured her, “is that you completely forget yourself. They are all so courageous. But you don’t have to answer now. You think about it, talk to the others, and then let me know.” Ruby stood to her feet. “I’ll go through that refreshment line now before the food’s all gone.”

  Elise studied Ruby’s straight back and proud head held high as she strode across the grass. Suddenly, Elise realized how much her cousin had sacrificed, not to mention what the soldiers themselves had given up. How could she have possibly hesitated? She jumped up. “Ruby! Ruby!” she called out, running toward her.

  Ruby stopped and whirled around, causing Elise to nearly stumble into her. “I know right now, Ruby. I don’t have to think about it. I do want to put on the play for the soldiers at the hospital.” Elise took a breath. “And I thank you so kindly for the invitation.”

  “I’ll get word to the doctors in charge,” Ruby told her, “and let you know a date.”

  School was out, and the welcome month of June warmed the countryside, bringing carefree summer days. Allegro and Chancellor were free to roam in the pasture just down the hill from the stable. Elise neve
r tired of watching the frisky colt kick up his heels, flick his little whip of a tail, and run about. His antics made her laugh. He was already used to Elise’s presence. When she went into the pasture and called Allegro, Chancellor came along right beside her. Elise could already tell he was going to be a good horse.

  Now that Peter was nine, he worked at the office with Papa several days a week. While Samuel was given more responsible clerking duties, Peter now swept floors and ran errands. Elise might have been lonely had it not been for the upcoming play presentation. What time she wasn’t helping Berdeen about the house, she was revising sections of the play. The thought still plagued her that she might get sick right in the middle of everything! How mortified she’d be if that happened. It took time for Ruby to clear all the red tape with those in official positions at the hospital. Finally they received word from Ruby. They were scheduled for a Sunday afternoon late in June. Now Elise was more nervous than ever.

  They rehearsed with much more seriousness now. All the players seemed to sense how important their mission would be. They were more ready to listen to Elise’s directions as they went through their lines.

  Cousin Alan, along with Papa and Samuel, went to the hospital grounds the day before the performance to rig up a rope for the curtains between two trees. They also arranged plank seats in rows across the grass. Ruby told Elise that some of the men would be too weak to be brought outside.

  “We plan to bring out as many as possible. Others will be brought near the windows.” Ruby smiled as she added, “Be sure to have your players speak loud enough to be heard up on the third floor.”

  That made Elise more nervous than ever. Chancy’s voice was pretty soft. The night before the presentation, she could hardly sleep. She thought of the note she’d left for Mr. Finney. He hadn’t come to the first presentation, but perhaps he would come to this one.