A Little Piece of Home Chapter Two


Jeremy left the card game. It was just the beginning of a long trip home, and he hesitated to lose all his money in the first night's poker game. Besides, that man Wade was getting on his nerves, and the smoke from his cheap cigar gave him a headache. He came back out on deck to catch some fresh air before retiring for the night. Only a moment later, the young man Charley followed him outside.

"Hey Jeremy," he called, waving as he came toward him. "You forgot these." In Charley's outstretched hand were the postcards Jeremy bought for Candy.

"Oh, thanks," Jeremy said as he took them. For just a moment, Charley clutched the cards before letting Jeremy take them.

"Say, I don't suppose you'd be interested in selling those, would you? I'd pay you twice what they cost you." The young sailor looked at Jeremy with pleading eyes. "It's just that, well, it's been a long time since I was home, and well, I always think about it more this time of year. Christmas and all."

Jeremy thought for just a moment. These postcards hadn't been at all what he'd hoped to bring back to Candy. He'd wanted something so much more, something as special as she was. But there just hadn't been time. And as meager as the stereoptican cards were, he knew Candy would love them, being so far from home. And so would this young man.

"Tell you what," said Jeremy, taking one from the bundle. "Here you go! Merry Christmas!"

Charley was obviously touched. He tooke the card and stared at it a long time. "Thanks, Jeremy. This means a lot to me."

Jeremy simply smiled in answer. Charley took the stairs below, looking at the card and passing his hand over it gently as he walked away.

***

Jason Bolt was annoyed. But then, in matters concerning Aaron Stempel, he was accustomed to feeling annoyed. Try as he might, he just couldn't figure him out. Just about the time he figured Aaron to be the greediest, most underhanded man he'd ever met, he'd see another side of Aaron. And just about the time he'd start thinking of Aaron as a friend, Stempel would pull another fast one.

Another fast one was what had Jason storming toward Aaron's house that morning. They were suppose to be meeting over the milling rates for the Bolt Brother's latest contract. But when Jason got to the mill, no Stempel. Jason figured this was just another chance for Aaron to have Jason coming at his beck and call. But Christmas was only days away, and if Stempel didn't give him a price and start milling soon, Bolt Brothers might lose that contract.

"Stempel!" hollered Bolt as he pounded on the front door. "Stempel!" Jason was just about to pound on the door again, when suddenly it was opened from within by an unseen hand.

"Get in here, Bolt!"

Jason heard Aaron's voice, but there was no one in the doorway. He stepped through the threshhold. "Stempel?"

As suddenly as it had opened, the door swung closed behind Jason, and he swung around. He gasped, and then exploded. "HAA HA HA HA! HAA HA HA HA!"

"Bolt.." Aaron was pleading.

"HAAAAA HA HA HA! HAAAA! HA HA HA!" Jason couldn't stop himself!

"Bolt, I'm warning you!" Aaron was angry.

Jason tried to stop, but it was just too difficult. Standing before him was the most bedraggled, disheveled, and generally disreputaable Santa Claus he'd ever seen. The suit Lottie sent for Aaron was two sizes too big, and Stempel hadn't yet provided any stuffing. So the baggy red suit drooped from every corner of his frame. The matching red hat hung limply down the back, and the wig and beard Lottie provided sat askew, so that most of Aaron's coal black hair were clearly visible. And the expression on Aaron's face was considerably less than jolly.

***

"Well, um, it's certainly..." Candy was searching for just the right word to use with Biddie. "It's a lovely little tree!" Then she winced at her choice of words.

"Welllll," said Biddie, "it was too tall, you see, so I asked Corky and Joshua to trim it, but then the branches at the bottom needed to be trimmed, and the next time it was crooked and wouldn't stand up, so I asked them to trim it again, and wellll...,"

"And before you know it, you were left with this." The brides' Christmas tree, all three feet of it, stood before them, perched atop a sidetable.

"Well," said Biddie, perking up. "At least they'll be plenty of room underneath it for that present Corky's giving me."

"Oh, Biddie," said Candy, "after what you must have put him through last night, I wouldn't count on it!"

***

"Ho ho ho," Aaron said flatly.

"No, no! That's all wrong, Aaron. Put your heart into it!"

"HO HO HO." This time Aaron was only louder, not more jolly.

Jason came to Aaron, put his arm on his shoulder and leaned toward him. Something in him sincerely wanted to help Aaron. "Come on, now, Aaron. You don't sound happy! Now, just, just think of something, anything that would make you happy. Isn't there something that would make you truly happy?"

"Yes," answered Aaron.

"Well, what's that?"

"The thought of the chance to see YOU publicly humiliated." And with that thought, Aaron broke into a broad grin.

Jason laughed. "Alright, Aaron, if that will help, use it!"

Aaron was still dubious.

"Oh, Jason, what was I THINKING? I let Lottie trick me into this."

"Now, Aaron. You'll do just fine." Jason patted him on the shoulder. "I've got to get back to the camp. Just keep practicing those Ho Ho Ho's. And who knows, Aaron? Maybe some of this generosity of spirit will rub off on you!" he said, closing the door behind him.

***

"Mornin', Jeremy," Charley smiled.

Jeremy nodded his greeting as he drank a swallow of his morning coffee. Charley noticed that a good portion of Jeremy's breakfast was largely left untouched. He grinned knowingly.

"Food not so great, huh?" Charley said and sat down across from the young man that had shown him such kindness the evening before.

Jeremy chuckled slightly. "Guess I'm spoiled by my wife's cookin'!"

"Been married long?" Charley asked between bites of egg and biscuit.

"No, newlyweds really..." Jeremy explained and felt himself blush a little.

"I see. Well, you must miss her a great deal then!"

"Yeah, I do...lookin' forward to getting' home soon..."

"Probably getting anxious, wondering if you'll make it back in time for Christmas, would you say?"

"Knowin' her, yes!" Jeremy laughed. "I just wish I could have gotten her somethin' really special for Christmas." Jeremy frowned.

"I bet she'll like the cards from New Bedford. You did say she is from there, didn't you?"

"Yeah, that's where I met her, too."

"New Bedford? You've been there, too?" Charley said with surprise.

"Yeah, my brothers and I went there a couple of years ago to f-find women," Jeremy's eyes sparkled as he continued to explain. "Not many women in Seattle at that time, and the other logger's were g-getting' tired of it. So we went b-back east to find women to come to Seattle-to start over."

"I see," Charley answered intrigued, "and that's how you met your wife?"

"Yeah, she's kinda a leader. I really don't know if she hadn't come, if any of the other girls would've either."

"She means a great deal to you, I can see."

"She means everything to me....Don't know where I'd be without her, don't even want to think about it. Hey, I know, when we stop in Seattle, you can meet her!"

"Well, that would be nice..." Charley answered politely. He didn't know how to tell the young man that once they hit port, he would be far to busy for socializing. Jeremy had been kind to him, and the postcard he had given him of New Bedford was a simple gift he would always treasure. No, he didn't want to be rude, so he decided he would meet the young man's wife briefly and then bid them good-bye.

"Yeah," Jeremy continued. "Candy would love to meet you - you bein' from New Bedford and all..."

Jeremy looked up surprised and alarmed when Charley suddenly dropped his cup of hot coffee.

***

"You're full of smiles today, Candy," commented Lottie.

"Jeremy should be home soon," she smiled.

"I know you've missed him a lot." Lottie sat down beside of Candy and poured them each a cup of coffee.

Candy breathed in deeply and smiled thinking of Jeremy. She was happier with him than she ever could have imagined possible. And she did miss him terribly.

"I hope no more business trips for a long time! Maybe I should talk to his oldest brother about it!"

"Oh, I don't think that would go over in the right way with Jeremy!" Lottie chuckled.

"No, I don't suppose it would," she answered. She picked up her napkin and wiped the corners of her mouth. "Well, I should be going, I want to start getting some baking done before Jeremy does get back."

"I'll see you later then," answered Lottie as she observed her young friend leave her saloon.

Shortly after Candy left, Molly and Christopher came running into the saloon. They ran over to the bar and leaned against it, waiting for Lottie to notice them.

"You just missed Candy," said Lottie.

"We know," the children chorused. Molly continued, "We saw her leave."

"We wanted to talk to you without Candy knowing," chimed in Christopher.

Lottie put down her dishrag and leaned over the counter to look at them. "What's up, kids?"

"We need some ideas for a Christmas present for Candy and Jeremy," said Molly.

The saloonkeeper looked at them thoughtfully and said, "What have you been thinking of?"

The children looked at each other and made a face. Christopher answered for both of them, "Not much—we only have fifty-seven cents."

"Well, what would you like to give her, if it didn't matter how much money you had?"

Christopher tried hard to come up with something. Somehow he didn't think Candy would like a new fishing pole, or a pen-knife, the things on his own Christmas list. Girls liked such dumb stuff, anyway.

But Molly knew right away. "Something to remind her of home. She gets awful lonesome for home, sometimes."

Lottie smiled and said, "Let's give this some thought."

***

Sam and Wade joined Jeremy at the breakfast table.

"Where'd Charley go?"

Jeremy wasn't quite sure the best way to answer. He could just imagine the razzing that Charley would get if the other sailors heard that he'd managed to spill a hot cup of coffee on himself.

"Not sure...but I think he'll be back."

"So, Jeremy," said Sam patting him on the back and sitting down next to him, "tell us what kind of fun a guy can have in Seattle."

"Yeah, tell us," said Wade as he sat across from them.

Jeremy smiled - Seattle didn't have much that would please these two, he was sure. "Well, let's see, there's the new town hall - there's a social there every Saturday, and lectures there every so often. And upstairs in the town hall, is the town library."

"What about bars?"

"We have one. It's called Lottie's."

"Just one?" The sailors seemed visibly disappointed.

"What about women?" asked Wade, with a sly glint in his eye.

"Um...., we don't have any of those sort of women." Fancy ladies were a fact of life in most towns Jeremy knew. He was proud that Seattle wasn't that sort of town, and figured it was important to let these men know right away what they could - or could not expect.

Sam and Wade looked visibly disappointed.


Joshua, Corky, Butch and Dean were helping the brides decorate the parlor in their new home. The dormitory, once home to one hundred brides from New Bedford, was now the new Seattle Town Hall (and library). A large Victorian-style house had been built not far from the dorm to house the twenty-four remaining single women. The unmarried brides were very content with their new quarters - rather than all the beds being crammed into one large room, the new house had twelve large bedrooms. Aaron Stempel paid for and owned the brides' new home. His largesse was not without a planned personal gain, however, since he planned for the building to eventually become a hotel and boarding house.

"Corky," asked Biddie as sweetly as she could, "can you and Joshua hang some of these spruce boughs up there?" She pointed to the tin chandelier that hung in the foyer. "I want this to look as much like a New England Christmas as possible!"

"I didn't realize New Bedford was full of forests..." Corky muttered to himself as he went to find a stepladder.

***

"All right, you go see if Mrs. Perkins needs help watching Ben, Jr. I'll go get the eggs."

Molly nodded to her brother. The two children liked Lottie's suggestion to make Christmas cookies for Candy and Jeremy. The walnut butter cookies were the kind their mother always made for Christmas, and were Candy's favorites, they remembered. Molly and Christopher liked the chocolate better, but if these would make Candy happy, that was all they needed to know.

There was still the problem of not having much money. Lottie suggested some odd jobs they could do in exchange for the ingredients.

***

Christopher ran over to the Clarks, grinning to himself. Gathering Lottie's order of eggs was a much easier task than watching a toddler, he figured. Molly headed over to the Perkins' house where she would be watching Ben Jr. in exchange for sugar and flour.

"This many eggs?" Christopher looked at Bob Clark in amazement. "I can't believe Aunt Lottie wants this many eggs!"

"Well, Master Pruitt, she has to feed a lot of hungry men. Just how many people go to breakfast there every day, do you reckon?" Bob Clark looked amused at Christopher's reaction. He'd already stacked the one crate of eggs into a pull-cart.

"I dunno...a lot, I guess."

"A whole lot! And each of those men likes to have six eggs with their breakfast. And they eat it with a whole lot of bread, which is made with eggs, too."

"Golly! I never thought about it before."

"Well, come with me into the henhouse - we need to fill up this other crate with eggs before you head back to town."

Christopher followed Mr. Clark into the henhouse. The sounds of the squawking chickens didn't bother him since he'd grown up near a farm in New Bedford, but it had always bothered him to have to snatch the eggs out of the nests.

"My girl, Betsy, usually helps me with the hens. If you don't want to reach in and grab the eggs, you can do what she does," said the farmer.

"What's that?" asked Christopher, hopefully, although he was pretty sure Betsy didn't get to wait outside while her father did all the work.

"Stick on that apron over there. You can hold up the sides and I'll put the eggs in it."

Christopher made a face, "but that's a girl's thing to wear!"

"Well, if you think you can hold the eggs and carry them back to the crate?"

"I'll try. I'd rather do that than wear an apron."

***

Molly enjoyed playing with Ben, Jr., but now it was time for his nap. "C'mon, baby," she coaxed. Ben toddled after her into his parents' room was. On the floor against the wall across from his parents' bed, stood a small bed barely a foot high.

"Naptime, baby," Molly said, patting the bed.

"Nooo!!!" said Ben, Jr. realizing that this was not a game, after all. "No, no, no!" He twirled about and ran back into the other room.

Molly sighed and ran after him.


***

"Oops!" said Christopher as a chicken ran past. He dropped the half-dozen eggs he'd been holding. The eggs landed with a splat on the floor of the henhouse and cracked, oozing all around.

He looked back at the farmer, who was laughing. "Christopher! Take some of that sawdust over there and toss it on your mess, so we both don't slip on it."

Christopher complied, hoping that the farmer wouldn't ask him to don the apron now.

***

Little Ben was enjoying the game. This person that was watching him was not like his mother. Not little like him, but in-between. Up until now, she had been fun, but now she was started acting like his mother, making him do things he didn't want to do. So, he started a new game of chase. He didn't understand why the big person wasn't smiling now. Maybe if he did something else? He ran to his mother's sewing basket and knocked it over—buttons and spools rolled everywhere.

Uh-oh! That big girl didn't like that either. Ben ran quickly into his parents' room and slammed the door shut.

***

Christopher swept the rest of the sawdust mess out of the henhouse as Mr. Clark loaded the second crate of eggs into the cart.

"Be careful with that cart - and be sure to stick to the road!" The farmer warned the boy. Christopher grabbed the handle of the cart and started tugging it back toward Lottie's.

***

Molly opened the door to the bedroom in time to see little Ben standing on his parents' bed throwing the pillows at her. One of them hit the door just as it opened and bounced off, knocking a picture off of the wall.
"Oh, no!" exclaimed Molly. She bent down to pick up the picture and the broken glass fragments. She was mentally calculating how much it would be to replace the piece of glass.
Ben Jr. could see that the big girl was not happy. She looked as if she might start crying. He fell on his stomach and pushed down off of the bed and toddled over to her. She didn't seem to notice, so he gave her a hug.

***

The wind was blowing hard and Jeremy pulled his jacket up close around his neck.

"Aren't you cold?" Sam asked as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat.

"Not that cold." Jeremy said with a smile. "I'm a logger, I work outdoors all year."

Suddenly the wind gusted and a jib on the mainsail snapped causing the sail to fall free from the mast. "Damn!" Wade exclaimed as the two men hurried to repair the sail.

The first mate started barking orders at the crew. He yelled at Yancy to go get the captain from below decks; although with the way the ship had lurched in response to the broken jib, the captain was most likely on his way up, already.

With part of the sail flapping in the wind Jeremy felt the ship rock awkwardly. He turned around to see Charley racing to help. Charley was busy tucking his shirt into a pair of clean trousers as he ran.

Jeremy was suddenly alone on deck, and in the way of the action. He headed back down below decks to wait things out.




Molly and Christopher had nearly all the ingredients they needed for their cookies. Emily Perkins had told Molly not to mind the broken glass, that little kids sometimes did these things. "I think he must take after my husband", she'd said. "Ben's mother used to tell me about what a wild little boy he was!" Molly giggled at that. It was hard to imagine Ben Perkins as a mischevious child.

As Molly and Emily cleaned up the things from the overturned sewing basket, Emily came across some ribbons.

"Would you like these, Molly?" she offered. "I was saving these in case I had a daughter some day. I don't think that's going to happen."

Molly accepted her gift, thinking that she could use the ribbons to tie up the cloth sacks she planned to put the Christmas cookies in.

***

Biddie had agreed to help the children make the treats and so all the ingredients would be stored at the new Bride's home.

"How come your tree is so small, Aunt Biddie?" Christoper asked. "Jeremy always gets us a big one."

"Oh, well," Biddie chuckled, "We just wanted lots of room for presents."

The children's eyes lit up, "Oh" they said together.

The two children still needed walnuts, so they decided to go see if they could find some. There was a stand of walnuts trees behind the mill and they hurried to see if there were any that the squirrels hadn't gotten.

Biddie greeted the two at the door when they returned. She could tell by the expression on their faces that there were no walnuts left. "Oh my, the squirrels got them all."

"Every last one." Christopher said sadly.

"Well." Biddie said consoling the children, "I have some walnuts I was saving for a pie, you can have them for your cookies."

They rushed to hug her, nearly knocking her over in the process, "Thank you!"

Biddie giggled, "You're very welcome. Now get home, Candy will be looking for you. And remember, we are baking those cookies here tomorrow."

"Thank, you Aunt Biddie." Molly replied as she and her brother hurried in the direction of their home.

***

What began as a torn mainsail had turned into a major repair. The captain told the crew they'd lose time making the repairs. That would put the Excalibur into port on Christmas Eve, a full day later than any of them had hoped. Jeremy was anxious to get home, and he knew the delays would worry Candy as well.

Jeremy tried to stay out of the way of the work crews by staying below deck. His thoughts were on Candy and on the first Christmas he'd hoped for with his new family, as he thumbed through the cards he had for her. "Not much of a Christmas," he thought to himself.

Suddenly there was knock on Jeremy's cabin door. It was Charley. He looked anxious.

"Something wrong?" Jeremy asked his new friend. Charley just shook his head and walked passed Jeremy, entering the cabin without invitation. Charley had a lot on his mind.

"Are the repairs going okay?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Charley answered absently.

"Aren't you helping them?" Jeremy couldn't understand Charley's sudden appearance when there was so much to be done.

"No! They've got all the hands they need." he snapped. Charley didn't want to talk about the ship, he had more important issues he wanted to discuss.

"Jeremy, I need to talk to you. Now."

Jeremy stepped back, surprised. "Sure, Charley."

"I'm sorry. This is important. Your wife. You said her name is Candy."

"Yeah, so?"

"My sister? The one I lost track of? The one who traveled west? Her name is Candy."

Jeremy was silent. Could this be Candy's brother? The one she barely brings herself to talk about. He tried to recall the conversation from last night, did Charley say that he had other brothers and sisters. "What are the names of your other brothers and sisters?"

Charley understood why Jeremy was asking, he too suspected that Candy was his sister. "Well, there's Adam, and the two youngest, they were babies when I left, Molly and Christopher."

Jeremy was stunned, "Charley, I think you're my wife's brother."

Charley leaned against the door and put his hand over his heart. He looked down, overcome for a moment with emotion, "This is so incredible. I've been looking for Candy for a while, and to find her, it's just so hard to believe."

"I'm sure she's going to feel the same way."

He looked over at Jeremy, he had so many questions, "Molly and Christoper, does she know where they are?"

Jeremy smiled, "Molly and Christoper are living with us. She's.... well, we're raising them."

"And Adam?"

"I b-believe he's living in West Virginia."

"I lost track of him when he went to war. It's a relief to know he's safe."

Jeremy felt a chill, he wasn't sure if it was the wind howling outside or the fact that he would be bringing his wife the brother she thought she would never see again. "Lets go inside, I could use a cup of coffee."

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