To My Dearest Robert | Glory

Welcome To Boston

It was not long after rumors of a civil war between the North and the South emerged, there had always been tensions, but it was during this time that America was on the brink of a war. It was a cold January night in 1861 when William and Josephine sat in his study discussing the events of a war. The two agreed they no longer wanted to be in central Massachusetts and on that night the Taylors agreed to move to West Roxbury, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. The couple feared their twenty-year-old daughter would not take the news well but to their surprise, she was delighted to be moving near the city that she adored very much.

    For the Taylor's, it did not take long for them to find a large home in West Roxbury that would suit their needs. The beautiful home was surrounded by large gardens and trees, Josephine knew her daughter would adore the home and insisted to William that it was the perfect place. It was very different than what the family was living in now, for they had land all around their house and while this home did have land that went miles behind the house, it was the closest Abigail had ever been to neighbors but Josephine saw it as an opportunity for her young bachelorette daughter.

    Abigail did not have the same intentions of the move as her parents, she was not intending on moving to find a husband, instead, she intended to be closer to the city of Boston and the ocean. Abigail loved visiting Boston with her father when he was a senator, she loved how close it was to the ocean. It was at the beginning of February when the Taylors began their move to West Roxbury, Boston, Clara helped Abigail pack her things into large chests including her books and dresses.

    Abigail sat in front of her bookshelf carefully organizing her books into the chest to be taken to her new home, Clara was on the other side of the room taking a dress from Abigail's closet, admiring it, and then carefully placing it into a chest. Clara held a light blue dress for longer than she had done with the rest, Abigail watched as Clara traced the bedding with her finger until she began to place it in the chest, 'Clara can I see that one' Abigail said making Clara regret staring at it for so long.

    Abigail got up from her spot in front of her bookshelf and accepted the dress as Clara handed it to her, 'It is a beautiful dress' said Clara 'Indeed it is' Abigail said walking over to her mirror. She held the dress up to her shoulders in front of the mirror imagining she was wearing it until she called Clara over to stand in front of the mirror while Abigail moved to the side. Clara looked at herself in the mirror, she was beautiful and dressed in a light pink dress made by her mother from fabric Josephine had gotten her. After a few seconds Abigail stood behind Clara and held the dress to her shoulders, Clara gazed at herself in the mirror imagining she was wearing the blue gown, 'Clara I think that this looks much better on you than it ever did on me' said Abigail handing the dress the Clara. She held the dress in her hands for a second wanting to accept Abigail's gift but she knew she could not. Clara began to shake her head as she looked up at Abigail, 'I'm sorry, I can't accept this, someone like me can't have a dress like this' Clara says not yet letting go of the dress. Abigail frowns at Clara's words because as much as Josephine, William and Mary treated the girls equally, much of the rest of the world didn't, even in the North, the title of free did not mean equal.

    Abigail took a few seconds to get her thoughts together, then she placed her hand on Clara's shoulder, 'That's not true Clara, you can, and in Boston, you will' Abigail tells Clara pushing the dress towards her. Clara smiles and stares down at the dress and back at Abigail, 'I think we can take a break from packing for a few minutes, go on try it own' Abigail tells Clara pointed her to the closet, 'Abigail I don't know' says Clara, but Abigail smiles and Clara goes to the closet to try the dress on.

    When Clara comes out with the dress on Abigail's smile says exactly what she is trying to say, 'Oh Clara, you look gorgeous, you will fit in well in Boston.' Clara smiles looking at herself in the mirror. There's a knock at Abigail's door and Josephine enters the room asking if the girls were almost done packing, but she stops mid-sentence when she sees Clara in the dress. Clara starts to get worried again and was preparing herself to start apologizing to Josephine, but there was no need because Josephine's smile was bigger than Abigails, 'Well you are just a sight for sore eyes Clara, if Mary wasn't out I think you would bring a tear to her eye' Josephine tells Clara.