Olivia's Mine Page 5

  As they passed through Puget Sound, just passed Port Townsend, Frenchie had heard a cry in the night. There, on the starboard side of the boat, was an overturned fishing vessel, with two men clinging to it for their lives. It was a wonder the two ships had not collided.

  Frenchie instructed his First Mate to take care of the boat while he tied himself to the guardrails and began the rescue attempt. To his surprise, his own passenger, the same William Bower, instantly did the same thing, and together they were able to pull the freezing men from the water. Bower bundled the men up and helped carry them below deck. They knew the men needed to be hospitalized, that they might not make it through the night, but it was too dangerous at sea to take them to Victoria, the closest centre with the right kind of medical care. Even though it meant that Bower would be a day behind for his important meeting, they decided to take refuge in Oak Harbour and transport the men over to the island the next day when the seas cleared.

  It turned out that two other men had been lost from the fishing boat that night. How long they had suffered no one knew. Hypothermia had probably taken the fight of life from their bodies. No, the Captain and crew and one particular passenger of the Northern Mary were very indebted to their makers that they had been able to save two lives that night, two lives besides their own.

  It was when Frenchie learned that this man Bower, was headed to meet McMichael, that he began to wish they had headed straight for Canada and not been delayed. For even in his early twenties, McMichael had been a force to reckon with. But when Bower finally arrived, there were no harsh words from McMichael. Bower apologized for the delay, told McMichael the story, and McMichael took Frenchie, his first mate and Bower out for dinner. The first and only time it ever happened. They had talked for hours about the railroad, how it had been promised to British Columbia as part of the province joining into Confederation, and how the scandal of misappropriated election funds had delayed its becoming a reality until the “last spike” had been laid at Craigellachie, British Columbia, November 7’th, 1885. This man Bower, he knew all about the railroads, Frenchie remembered that much. And then the talk had turned to the mine, where McMichael was the foreman at the time, and Frenchie and his first mate had been politely, but decidedly, dismissed.

  No, Frenchie did not forget that man’s face. But that had been many years ago.

  As fate would have it, it was raining as they headed north this Sunday morning, up Howe Sound to the Beach. Captain George Vancouver had named Howe Sound in honour of Admiral the Rt. Honourable Richard Scrope, the Earl Howe. Earl Howe had won many battles for the British Royal Navy, his most famous one coming in 1794, where he defeated a much larger and faster French fleet, capturing seven of their ships in the process. It was a fairly sheltered sound, being cushioned to the east by the lands of the Sunshine Coast.

  Lucy had opted to stay inside and tend to the baby. Melissa had managed to pick up a runny nose despite Frenchie’s constant tender loving care.

  Olivia sat down beside her.

  “She’s beautiful, Lucy.”

  “She is, isn’t she?”

  The baby had been born with a full head of hair of the same nature as her mother’s, the curls cascading over her forehead.

  “I had a tough time with her,” Lucy shared. “Robbie had been an easy birth, but Melissa had turned inside me. I lost a lot of blood, and the doctor didn’t think I was going to make it through the delivery.”

  She paused for a moment and looked at her daughter. A tiny hand reached up and grabbed a strand of her mother’s hair. She sneezed, and Lucy carefully wiped her tiny nose with her handkerchief. Olivia smiled. Such a tiny little sound. The baby made a face, but hardly squirmed.

  “Robbie used to laugh like crazy when heard himself sneeze at this age…” she paused for a moment.

  “The doctor told me that I probably shouldn’t have more children, so I treasure these two with my life. I come from a small family, it’s just me and my parents, so I just wanted to have a house full of children. But I need to be content with the two I have been blessed with.”

  Olivia truly didn’t know what to say to the woman. After all, she had just met her, and she herself would not have been comfortable divulging such secrets to little more than a stranger. Perhaps, she thought, Lucy felt some sort of kindred spirit with her. Lucy had made the statement rather matter of factly, as if her life were an open book.

  The boat hit the dock with a thud. Olivia grabbed a nearby rail to hold on.

  “Sorry ‘bout dat”, came a call from on deck. “We’re here ladies.”

  Olivia stepped back on deck. It was a dreary day at Britannia. The rain was making it difficult to see very far. She could see groups of little cottages, interspersed up the hillside like little individual communities. Further up the hill there appeared to be some dormitories, and she could make out the sign of the red cross on the larger building to the west, marking the hospital.

  “Welcome to Britannia,” Lucy said, as she bundled herself and her children in the blanket to protect against the rain. Robbie had noticed his father coming down the dock and ran towards him.

  “Daddy!” he cried out.

  “That’s my Marty,” Lucy said. “Marty, come here, come meet Olivia.”

  Olivia glanced around but could see no sign of Frank.

  “Pleased to meet you Olivia,” Marty smiled. He was a good-looking man, a little shorter and more barrel-chested than Frank, with an easy-going air about him.

  Marty glanced around and noticed that Frank was not in sight.

  “I don’t know where he is,” Marty offered. “You’re all he’s been talking about all day. I saw Howser, one of the guys, at the door a few minutes ago when I was coming down the hill, and Howser, well, he’s a handful. I suspect Frank will be here any minute now.”

  The kind words did little to comfort Olivia. She was miles from home, away from her family, and there was no one there but relative strangers to greet her. She began to fight back the tears.

  And they she heard him. The whole town heard him. He came running down the road, (more of a fast limp really, with his sore leg), waving his hands and yelling her name.

  “Liv! Liv, I’m here!”

  He took her in his arms and she smiled the most beautiful smile in the world.

  “I’m sorry I was late. Welcome to your home, baby,” he whispered. “Welcome to Britannia Beach. How was the trip?”

  “Fine,” Olivia said. “Everyone was really nice.”

  Frank could feel her shiver in his arms.

  “You’re wet, and you’re cold, Liv, come on, let’s get to the house where I can warm you up.”

  Olivia gave her husband a squeeze.

  Frank turned and waved to Frenchie and his first mate.

  “Thanks for taking care of my precious cargo Frenchie,” he said.

  “Our pleasure,” the Captain replied.

  Chapter Six

  “So how was the trip?” Marty asked Lucy, once they were back in the house and the kids were settled down for naps.

  “Oh, you know, the same as usual. Mom and dad held the kids all weekend. Spoiled them rotten. Mom got Robbie a huge sack of candy. Thankfully he didn’t eat it all. She said she’d save it for his next visit, and Robbie told her he’d be back tomorrow and to take good care of it. So good luck tomorrow when we have to tell him he can’t go. We’re going to have to take him down to the general store and get him some candy, you know that. They send their love, and dad said if you could get some time off, he’d like to enter the salmon derby with you and his buddy Roger again this summer. So I told him you would, because you will, right? He was thrilled. Says he’s got a new lure to show you that will do the trick. I had a nice time. I actually got a bit of a rest. What did you do?”

  “I worked some overtime, which is good, considering apparently I’m taking some time off the 4’th of July holiday to go fishing with your dad. You keep forgetting it’s not a holiday up here. The holiday here is on the first
of July. Don’t worry, I’ve already got three days booked off. I told McMichael I’d work the Canadian holiday if I could take a few days around the American one, and he was happy. Harry said he would cover me the other days.”

  She laughed.

  “And,” Marty said apprehensively, not wanting to change the mood, but knowing he must, “how are you feeling? What did the doctor say?”

  Lucy’s smile vanished. She sat on the bed.

  “He said that she’s not hearing properly.”

  Lucy started to cry. Marty stepped forward and held her close.

  “You know how she doesn’t react to sounds? How she doesn’t seem to hear big noises around her? Oh, I know she reacts to us when she sees us, but remember the time Robbie’s balloon popped right beside her and she didn’t even flinch? He said it wasn’t normal. He said she’s going to have to have more tests when she gets a bit older, to tell how much of a hearing loss she has. She’s a little too young to tell for certain right now. He thinks it might have been because of the mumps you came down with just before, you know…” her voice trailed off.

  “Oh God, Lucy. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault Marty, I know that, I didn’t mean that,” she whispered. But her voice held for Marty, a note of disbelief. “I just don’t know how we’re going to cope up here if she is deaf. Maybe we will have to move earlier than we planned. To get her some help. There aren’t any other deaf children here. We’ll need to get her into a special school.”

  “We’ll do whatever you want to do,” Marty offered, trying to console her.

  “I want…I want them to be healthy beautiful children.”

  “They are healthy, beautiful children Lucy,” he said softly, trying to comfort her.

  “What are we going to tell everyone? Even my parents noticed how quiet she was, for heaven’s sake. I haven’t said anything to them yet. It’s only a matter of time before everyone will know.”

  “Lucy,” Marty’s voice became firm. “She is a wonderful baby girl. She has a hearing problem, that’s all. I don’t mean to make light of it, but it’s no one’s business but this family’s. Who cares what other people say? Who cares what other people think. Your parents will love her no matter what. They’re great people. We will cope. Be strong, Lucy. This isn’t like you at all.”

  “That’s because for once in my life I feel totally helpless.”

  Marty didn’t know how to take that comment.

  “You’re not alone in this Lucy. You have me, you know. The pain and the joy, I feel all of those things too.”

  Lucy took a deep breath.

  “I know, I’m sorry Marty. I’m just not dealing with all this very well. I can’t really say it’s a shock because we suspected it. But still, when you have your worst fears confirmed, it’s a bit hard to shake the feeling of despair.”

  “I knew I should have gone with you.”

  “No, I wanted some time alone, to think about things.”

  “Things like what?” Marty asked nervously.

  “Oh heavens no, Marty. We are fine. I love you. No, I didn’t mean that. I just meant, you know, people always expect me to be a certain way. Even you, you just said it. “It’s not like you, Lucy.” Well, Lucy needed to be someone else for a while. I needed some quiet time. I left the kids with the folks one night and went for a long, long walk. I needed to sort this out for myself, alone, without having to be “happy Lucy.” I thought about a lot of things. I though about how lucky we really are, all of us. We have a nice life, and we have each other. And I thought about how she wasn’t the only person in the world with this problem, and how doctors were learning more about the condition every day. The doctor told me many deaf people grow to lead normal, healthy, productive lives. I thought about how we’d all have to learn sign language so we can communicate with her, and how we could make it a game for Robbie, you know, tell him it was a secret language only a few people could understand. I had a good cry. A couple of good cries. Then I pulled myself together and went back to mom and dad’s and pretended, at least for the time being, that nothing was wrong. So you see, deep down, I know you are right, and this will pass. It’s just a little difficult, that’s all.”

  “Still, I wish I could have shared some of that load with you. That’s a lot for one person to take on by yourself, and she is my daughter as well. But I do appreciate that you want to spare everyone else some pain. You know your mom and dad will find out eventually, and knowing your mom, she’s probably already got it figured out. I’ll talk to them about it when I go down for the derby. Let me take care of that burden for you, okay?”

  She nodded.

  He brought her a handkerchief so she could take care of her tears.

  She wiped her nose.

  “Lordy,” she said, “it’s running more than Melissa’s.”

  Marty laughed. The tension had been broken, at least for the time being.

  “Tell you what, why don’t you go to the wedding with Frank and Liv tonight and enjoy yourself. I’ll watch the kids, give you a break. There’s not a baby-sitter to be had tonight. I tried to find one. So one of us will have to go, and one of us will have to stay. Did you like Liv?”

  “Yes, she seems really nice. She likes to be called Olivia though.”

  “Well then, it’s settled. Go get your party dress out. The bright pink one you love so much. You don’t get enough occasions to wear it. Olivia won’t know any people there, other than you and Frank, so she’d probably really appreciate you introducing her around. Just take it easy when you do okay? No calling McMichael’s nanny the ‘ferocious frauline’, all right?”

  Lucy smiled. “But redheads should never wear pink. And I don’t call her that. Well, not within ear shot anyway.”

  “Like that has ever stopped you before. And you know what I mean. Go easy on the locals. But do her a favour and let Olivia know who’s related to whom. Have a good time. Have a few dances for me tonight.”

  “But what about you? Are you sure?”

  “I’ll have my own dances at home here with the kids tonight, and just be thankful that I have all of you. It’ll be my special time with them. I did miss them, you know.”

  “Marty, you are a wonderful man. I love you. Thank you,” she said, giving him an inviting kiss.

  “Don’t you need to get ready?” he asked.

  “I think the bride’s the only one that really has to be on time,” she said.

  Chapter Seven

  Frank and Olivia stood outside her new home.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I want it to be a surprise.”

  “It already is a surprise,” Liv said. “You are supposed to carry me over the threshold of our first home, don’t you know anything?”

  “Well, I can’t do that if my hands are over your eyes.”

  “Exactly,” she said.

  “Okay babe. You’re the boss,” Frank said and picked up his bride.

  “I’ll cover my own eyes,” Liv said, and did so.

  He carried her into the house.

  “A woman who knows how to compromise,” Frank laughed “I knew I had a good one.”

  Frank put her down and took a deep breath. Liv uncovered her eyes. She had imagined what the house would look like, in her deepest, darkest moments of uncertainty. But she was quite pleasantly surprised after all. It wasn’t the Bower homestead, to be certain, but it was compact and tidy, rather cute actually. She noticed the engagement photo right away.

  “Oh Frank…I love it!” she said.

  “Really?”

  The sincerity in her voice was actually a shock to Frank.

  “Yes, show me more. Show me the kitchen, show me the bedroom…”

  “Uh, Liv, this is the kitchen. It’s a kitchen/living room combined. See turn around, there’s the oven.”

  She laughed. “I’m only teasing you. It’s fine, it’s wonderful.”

  She threw her arms around Frank and gave him a tender kiss.


  “I would like to see the bedroom though.”

  She tugged at his shirt. The tug was felt from his heart down through his loins.

  “Do I need to carry you over that threshold too?” he asked, pointing at the bedroom door.

  “It depends if you want to be lucky or not…” she smiled.

  “Why argue with tradition?” he said, gathering her up in his arms once more.

  “Do we have time?” Liv asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be at the wedding event of the century?”

  “Oh, we have time,” Frank assured her. “I think the groom is the only one who has to be on time. And just what has Lucy been telling you about the people in this town?”

  “She says, they’re always late.”

  “Then so be it.”

  He took his lady into the bedroom and lay her on the bed he had carefully strewn with soft pillows.

  “Have you missed me?” he asked.

  “You have no idea how much,” Olivia whispered in his ear, her breath heated with the passion she felt. “And you?”

  She lay on top of him. He took her soft hand, with the long, slender fingers, and started leading them on a journey that started with a kiss on his lips, and carried down his body, entwining in his chest hairs, skimming over his navel, and resting between his legs.

  “Isn’t it rather obvious?” he asked her.

  The nights had been long since they had been apart, even for this short while. How she wanted to be beside him, walking with him, telling him her deepest secrets and fears in an honesty only man and wife can share. He had been her first and only lover, and his body was a safe haven for her. The wedding night had not been their first night together, that had happened several years before while they were both young and curious. It had been an awkward journey of discovery, with desire overtaking fear as they moved closer to that first sweet release.