Night and Day ~ Part Four

Jo, Nick and Franz were sitting on a blanket laid out near the wagon, and Jo and Franz were discussing his lesson plans for the day.

Nick sighed and rolled his eyes at them. 'I never had a formal education like they had, and I got along just fine,' he thought to himself as he picked a blade of grass from the ground and let it go, watching it float away on the cool spring breeze.

Jo saw the restless expression on Nick's face, and knew just what he was thinking. "Nick, I know you aren't too fond of 'learnin from books', but there are so many interesting things in them."

She opened one of the students' biology books to a page with pictures of leaves and animals from tropical climates, one of which was a ferocious-looking tiger. Pointing to the picture of the tiger, Jo smiled and almost started laughing, "You know what that is, don't you?"

Nick couldn't help but laugh at her little joke. He gave her a playful nudge, which she returned with a wink.

Franz looked at both of them with a confused, yet understanding expression. A few months earlier, he would have wondered what they could possibly see in each other, but now he knew more about relationships and how people can be the best of friends even if they are completely different.

After a while, Franz saw Isabelle and Melinda come riding up to the group. Isabelle pulled off to the side of the road, and Melinda reluctantly followed as they got off their horses and headed towards the group that was sitting on the blanket.

Jo saw the red-haired lady with Isabelle and wondered who this woman was and why she looked so upset. Isabelle introduced her as Miss Melinda O'Neil, at which point the woman ran her fingers through her hair and looked up at the group with her green eyes that were still a little puffy from her crying.

"So wonderful to meet you, Miss O'Neil. Isabelle has told us so much about you - only good things of course," she added with a smile, "please, sit down and join us!"

Jo extended her hand, which Melinda took as she and Isabelle sat down on the blanket, Isabelle next to Franz, of course, and Melinda next to Jo.

Nick tipped his hat and extended his hand to Melinda, "Nice ta meet ya."

Melinda looked up at Nick and saw the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen. They were so much like Anthony's eyes - simple, yet charming.

She paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "So wonderful to meet the both of you. Isabelle had told me so much about your school. You must be very proud of your accomplishments."

Jo, Nick and Franz smiled at each other and the group began a lively conversation. After talking for a while, the hurtful expression on Melinda's face was soon gone. Melinda had found kindred spirits in Jo and Nick, for they each seemed to know the pain of losing a loved one.

Meanwhile, the children were down by the creek looking about for their next specimen, an insect. Of course, Nan was thrilled at the prospect of finding something new to add to her collection, but Bess was not quite so enthusiastic, that is until she saw a butterfly. It was a beautiful blue butterfly sitting on a flower by the creek, and she was just about to catch it with her cupped hands when Nan came up behind her.

"Hey, Bess, look what I found!" Nan shouted, causing the beautiful butterfly to flitter away to the other side of the creek.
Bess turned to Nan and frowned. "Look what you did! I could have caught that butterfly if you hadn't scared it away!"

"That's nothin," Nan replied, "what I've got is much better than some dumb ol' butterfly."
At that, she carefully opened her hands to reveal a dull brown moth with two spots on its wings.
Bess frowned again and sighed, "How is that dull-looking creature better than my butterfly?"

"Well, for one thing it's got camouflage. I read in one of my books that these spots on its wings look like the eyes of an owl, so birds won't eat it cuz they're scared."

"I guess it's okay, then," Bess said, sighing regretfully as she glanced across the creek looking for her butterfly.

After a few more minutes, Franz called the children back up to the wagon, and all of the children greeted Isabelle and her friend warmly. After the greetings were over, the children sat down on the blankets to prepare for the lesson that Franz had planned.

Isabelle and Melinda then left and went back to the hotel, where they spent the rest of the day baking, talking and sewing. Of course, Isabelle pricked her fingers on the needle many times, after which she angrilly threw her sewing into the basket and spent the rest of the day gazing out the window and twisting braids into her hair while she daydreamed.

Later that night, Isabelle lay in her bed and gazed out the window at the moon, which shone through the sheer linen curtains that waved in the cool spring breeze. As she lay there, she pondered the events of the day. It had certainly been a wonderful day, she thought as she remembered her surprise rendezvous with Franz that morning. She and Franz were so different from each other - he was an educated gentleman and she was a simple, often outspoken, hotel maid. True, they had a few things in common, but the similarities were few and far between; vastly outnumbered by their differences.

Suddenly, Isabelle heard a soft knocking on her door.

"Come in," Isabelle called out as Melinda peeked through the door carrying a small candlestick that softly illuminated the room.

Melinda walked quietly towards Isabelle's bed, then set the candlestick on the table and embraced her friend.

"Thank you so much for being such a wonderful friend," Melinda sighed as she wiped a happy tear from the corner of her eye. "I never had any brothers or sisters, but you - you are like a sister to me, the little sister I never had! I so much enjoy our talks and the time we spend together!"

"I'm glad we're friends too," Isabelle replied, "You have helped me in so many ways since I arrived in Concord. You patiently taught me how to dance, you are teaching me to cook," she started to laugh at this comment, remembering the fiasco in the kitchen that afternoon when Isabelle created a great could of flour and turned both ladies into powdery ghosts.

"And most importantly," she continued, "you are helping me to become more ladylike and proper, which I know must be a difficult task for you since I cling do strongly to the boyish way of life I led in Boston with my brothers."

"Well, I guess I should be going," Melinda said as she picked up her candlestick. She then softly kissed Isabelle on the forehead, and quietly walked out of the room, waving good-night.

Just as Melinda left the room, Isabelle realized something. It seemed that the closest, dearest friends - Jo and Nick, Nan and Bess, herself and Franz, Melinda and her beloved Anthony, even Melinda and herself, were held close tighter than any bond could, despite the fact that they were so different from each other. Maybe it was because these people learned things from each other that helped them to become better people than they were before, even though the two people in each pair were as different as night and day.

The End
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