Sabbath's 2 Darlings- The 12: Book Two

6. A Lot Going On In This Town

A storm on Wednesday kept the children from school. Trees lost their branches in the woods and posed a hazard to travelers. Mr. Smith was the one to make the announcement to his neighbors. It often went this way in winter too. Snow piled up would prevent the children from getting to school safely and besides this the classroom was so cold they could see their breath inside and even the teacher shivered as he gave lessons despite being dressed in his best coat.

As the rain came down Providence stood in the doorway looking out across the yard while Ottaline sat at the kitchen table working on her sampler. It was a picture of Noah's ark with lions and elephants out front and a rainbow above the ark with the bedtime prayer Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.

"Don't you want to finish your mitten, Rovy?" Ottaline said from the table.

"Winter is far away," Providence said.

Ottaline smiled and shook her head. "Rovy?" She asked pausing with her work for a moment. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Providence leaned against the door jamb and stuck out her foot. "I want to build my own boat and sail the oceans," she said. "I'd like an adventure like that."

Ottaline laughed. "But that's no way to make a living."

"But it is living," Providence said. "I suppose it would make more sense if I said I wanted to be a domestic servant like mother."

Ottaline swallowed a lump in her throat. "I think I want to teach ballet," she said. "I want there to be a ballet school for colored girls so any one of them who wants to can come and dance." She leaned back in her chair but no matter how much she wanted to daydream about dancing her mother snuck into her mind. "Do you ever see much of the Gentry family, Rovy?"

Providence shrugged. "Mrs. Gentry is not very kind. I try to avoid them. Why?"

Ottaline sat up straight and returned to her sampler. "Nothing , it's just Daddy said Mother used to work for them."

Providence approached her at the table. "You're not thinking of asking them about her are you?" They'll just cane you and chase you off. Everyone knows they are unkind. All they care about are their things. Jemima McCarthy told me how they beat her brother's knuckles with a rod to make him confess to stealing but that boy never stole. To this day he can't use his fingers right unloading them trains at the station."

Ottaline turned her head to the door at the sound of thunder. She knew better than to have dealings with the families on their hilltop paradises but now that Providence mentioned the McCarthy family her mind had another idea.

"I know that look," Providence said. "You're up to something." She returned to the doorway and looked out at the rain. "Just remember what trouble your detective games get you into."

Ottaline just smiled and focused on her sampler. She wished she could tell Providence this time was not just another game.

/

Lightning flashed around the house turning every window blue behind their lace curtains. Mr. Sabbath walked the dining room table making sure everything was in the right place one last time. He could smell Jude's cigarette as the youngest brother stood in the hall staring up at the electric lights.

"Crazy when you think about it," he suddenly said making Mr. Sabbath stop in his tracks as he came out the dining room.

"Sir?"

"Who in their right mind would invite electricity into their house?" Jude said. "Is it any different than serving tea to a thunderstorm?"

Mr. Sabbath pivoted. "Progress can always be questioned," he said. "There are those who think a horse and buggy are just as efficient at the automobile."