Three Alone

      Their rain-soaked coats dripped puddles on the floor, the drops falling as steadily as the rain that poured outside. The grey dreariness outside matched the mood inside the cabin and Jason Bolt watched his two younger brothers collapse quietly into chairs, their emotions spent.
     What now? he thought. Their father's funeral was over. What would become of them now? Jason poured the brandy and set them on the table by each of his brothers as he pondered the question. Jeremy ignored the drink—no, he turned away, rejecting it altogether. Joshua, understanding the need for a man to take a drink on such occasions, took a quick swallow and made a face. He didn't put it down, though. Instead, he took a slower, smaller drink and Jason could see him trying to put the pain aside.
     Stay together.
     It had been their father's last instruction to Jason. How could he keep his brothers together? he wondered. Joshua would probably be heading back to Olympia soon where he was studying with their father's friend, the banker, and where his girl friend lived.
     And what of Jeremy? He had held up well ever since the accident, even when it became clear that Jonathon Bolt would not recover. But Jeremy was young—he wouldn't be twelve until next month. Had he really understood his father was dying? Jason looked at Jeremy, wondering if the boy's grief would be as profound for their father as it had been for their mother. He's looking at me, expecting me to say something. But what? What can I tell him to make the pain go away? He's not even twelve years old...
     Jason tried to remember what it was like to be that age...nearly half a lifetime ago. His life had been very different from his brothers....
     
     "Scotland? We're going to the castle?" Jason couldn't believe the news. Jenny smiled at her son's excitement. She leaned over and offered her hands to Jeremy, encouraging the one-year old to stand.
     "What do you think ?" Jonathon Bolt asked five-year old Joshua.
     "Do we have to take a boat to get there?" he asked.
     Jonathon smiled. "Yes, indeed, son," he said. "A ship, not a boat. Halfway around the world." He watched his sons react, knowing that Jason would be thinking of the adventure and Joshua, ever-practical, would be more concerned with the logistics.
     "How long will it take to get there?" asked Joshua, trying to imagine how much space they would need to carry food for such a long voyage.
     "A long time!" Jenny replied. "But, we are not leaving for a quite a while. We need to wait for the next ship to come so that there will be room for all of us."
     
     It was nearly nine months later when they left for the homeland of their parents. The night before they left, Jonathon measured his sons by the fireplace and Jason carved their names and ages into the wood. "So that anyone that comes by this cabin will know that this was the home of Jason, Joshua and Jeremy Bolt." Most of their belongings were packed in the wagon; what was left did not matter.
     The journey from the cabin to the Sound took most of the morning. Jason and Joshua ran ahead and then back again as Jonathon led the horse pulling the wagon. Jenny carried her youngest son most of the way down, but as the ground grew flatter, she allowed Jason to hold Jeremy by the hand.
     
     "Thank you for taking care of our things, Matthew," Jenny said as Jonathon unloaded the black leather chair and carried it inside the Balter home. That chair had been a wedding gift from Jenny's family to Jonathon and initially, he did not want to pay the cost of having such a large item transported to the Pacific Northwest. He was too embarrassed to turn down the the gift from his in-laws and reluctantly paid the shipping cost. As much trouble as it had been, Jonathon had to agree that having such a fine bit of luxury made their wilderness home seem more civilized and now, Jenny wondered what Jonathon would miss more: his mountain or the chair?
     "I baked you some bread, Matthew," Jenny said, ignoring her husband as he lingered by his chair.
     "Right," said Matthew, taking the offered basket. He was never one for polite conversation and seemed at a loss for what to say now. He peered under the cloth covering the baked goods, recovered them and muttered "thanks."
     
     Then, finally they were on the ship, heading home to Scotland and Kilmaron. It had not been an easy decision to forsake all that they had struggled for in the new land. Over the fourteen years since leaving Scotland, excitement at settling the new country had given way to homesickness, which had eventually faded away into a curiosity about what family and friends were doing. That, too, gradually disappeared, until it was only upon a quiet moment of reflection that Jonathon or Jenny would remember something of their childhood homes and wonder if it were still there.
     It was only when their oldest son reached an age where he should have had many friends his age, that the Jonathon and Jenny wondered what kind of future he would have in this sparsely settled territory. He seemed content enough to run through the woods, swim in the lake and read his father's books, but Jenny worried about his future.
     "What will happen when we are gone? Who will he have?"
     Jonathon didn't see the problem at first. "He'll have his brothers and there are new people coming West every day."
     "But no women. There's no one for him to marry."
     "He's only a boy—plenty of time for young girls to grow up and fall in love with him."
     Jenny was right. The few white girls were either sent back East when they reached a certain age or ended up marrying trappers nearly twice their age.
     They could send Jason to Scotland to live with his grandfather and uncle in the castle at Kilmaron. He would be able to attend the same academy that three generations of Bolt men had attended.
     "But he's only a boy!", she objected and although Jonathon hugged her and tried to reassure her, he knew that if he sent his son away now, he would grow further apart from his family and probably never return to Seattle.
     They made the only decision that they could under the circumstances: they would all sail to Scotland and remain there while Jason attended school. They realized that there was a good chance that this could be a one-way trip, but felt that God had answered their prayers when the Donation Land Act was passed, giving them legal title to their land. Similar acts had been proposed—and at least one had passed, but this new one negated all previous land claims. Jonathon had dutifully taken his request for claim to the agent and tried to buy extra acreage so that he would own the entire mountain. At first the request for more land was denied; there was a maximum of 640 acres permitted per couple, so Jonathon requested title to all but the top third of the mountain. This was approved, and a few months later, he was able to buy the mountain peak as it was inaccessible to anyone without crossing the land already deeded to Jonathon and Jenny Bolt.
     Now that they had legal title to their land, they were free to leave it. Jonathon knew that he might never see his land again, but the title ensured a future for his sons.
     
     Jason remembered the sea voyage with a smile. For him, it was a great adventure. He was old enough to not require his parents' constant attention and not smart enough to stay out of trouble. The sailors encouraged him, and it was only a short matter of time before he smoked his first cigar, got drunk on rum and learned to swear as colorfully as any of them. As terrible as these offenses were, it seemed to him that his father yelled less at him for these transgressions than he did when Jason set out to climb to the top of the ratlines.
     "You'll make yourself sick enough that you won't want to drink nor smoke again. The language doesn't bother me, but I'll not have you risk your neck climbing up there!" Jonathon said, grabbing his son off of the ratlines. Jason never saw his father so enraged before—so angry that his hands trembled with the anger. This impressed him enough that he did not attempt to climb the rope ladders again, although he wondered why that act affected his father more strongly than the other misdeeds.
     
     In Scotland, the boys were surrounded by doting aunts and uncles. Jason and Joshua took turns staying at each relative's house, getting to know their cousins and enjoying all the attention. Jeremy, too small for such adventures, stayed with his mother sometimes at her family home or and other times at Kilmaron.
     Three months after they arrived, Jonathon took Jason thirty miles east to St. Andrews and enrolled him in school. This was a disaster.
     Up until now, Jason's education had been a casual part of his upbringing. Jenny taught him to read using first, a primer, then the Bible, and finally when he was fluent enough, he read his father's leather-bound Shakespeare volumes and the books by Sir Walter Scott and Thomas Jefferson. Jonathon taught him about the birds, insects and other animals, as well as the names of the trees and plants that grew on their mountain. As he grew older and had questions, Jonathon filled him in on astronomy, mathematics and anything else he asked about. Jason loved learning and never thought of education as anything but fun. When he tired of studying, he had all of the mountain to play on.
     It was a very different at St. Andrews. There was a uniform, there was homework and there were hazings of the new boys. Jason was able to fight and did not worry about being beaten up the way Silas Macphee had been, but the boys that caused the fights were protected by the older students who lied to protect them and Jason found himself being given demerits for fighting, starting fights and insubordination (for when he tried to say it had not been his fault).
     The courses were not of his choosing; Jason found he had no patience for reciting Latin declensions nor for doing advanced math. He found it hard to sit still at a desk and chair all day, and then have so much studying every evening that he had to sit for still longer. It seemed to him that the best part of the day was wasted in the classroom and so he started waking earlier each day to sneak out before breakfast and school.
     He grew more and more daring, occasionally missing his first class, and no longer really caring. Aside from Latin, his marks were much better than average and this infuriated the teachers all the more, because they tried to instill the philosophy that hard work would reap rewards. In Jason's case, his marks were higher when his mind wasn't dulled from sitting in the classroom all day.
     In less than four months, he was asked to leave the school as he could not conform to their rules. It should have been a disgrace, but to Jason, the relief outweighed any dishonor.
     
     Jonathon and Jenny were also unhappy. They were glad to see their families again, but they had grown used to living apart from everyone and found it hard adapting their lives around so many people. They longed for the freedom that they had on their mountain.
     After Jason's return to Kilmaron, his father resumed teaching him. His maternal grandfather took him on veterinary calls, teaching him about animal care, and Uncle Duncan gave him the "Three Musketeers" to read. Prior to coming to Scotland, Jason could not envision castles and knights and king's guard, but now, walking the halls of the Bolt castle and seeing real suits of armor in museums, he felt it was all very real. He would read the book aloud to Joshua and they would clamp their fists together yelling "all for one and one for all!" Little Jeremy would chime in, too, and Duncan would hold the toddler up so that he could reach his hand in as well. Jason remembered the way it felt to be close like that—you didn't need the words when the love was all around...
     
     He looked across the table at his brothers, suddenly brought back to the present moment. It was up to him. It was part of his father's wish that they stay together and Jason understood now what that meant.
     "Hey," he said, trying to muster as much cheer as possible. "Our father may be gone, but we are still a family. We are Bolts and we will stick together through thick and thin."
     His brothers looked at him hopefully, but he could see the doubt in their eyes—particularly Jeremy's. Jason extended a fist over the table and said, "do you remember, Joshua?" His brother started to shake his head and then, smiling at the long-forgotten moment from the past, reached forth his hand and placed it atop Jason's.
     Jeremy looked on, knowing what was expected of him, but not understanding why. Joshua encouraged him with a nod of his head to where his hand met Jason's. Slowly, Jeremy placed his hand on top of Jason's and the the grief that had clouded the room began to crumble away. Jason knew then, that things would work out. This special handshake would be the promise that they would stay together.

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