Chapter 40

Geesje

Holland, Michigan
1897

Arie comes with his carriage to drive Anneke and me to the train station. He’s going to miss her almost as much as I will. She is different from her mother in many, many ways, and yet having Anneke with us has brought back so many wonderful memories of Christina.

When we get to the station we go inside out of the hot sun and sit on a bench while we wait for the train to arrive. I don’t want Anneke to leave, but I know that she has to. Tears sting my eyes when I hear the faint sound of the train whistle in the distance. A few minutes later, the engine chugs noisily into the station and halts with a hiss of steam. “We’ll see each other again, Oma, won’t we?” she asks as we stand on the platform together.

“Of course we will.”

“You must come to Chicago for my wedding, if I decide to marry William. You, too, Uncle Arie. And Uncle Jakob and Aunt Joanna and Elizabeth and everyone else must come, too.”

“I would love to celebrate your wedding day with you,” I tell her. Although I can already imagine how dreadfully out of place I would feel. I have brought my notebook with my life’s story with me, and I pull it out of my bag now and hand it to Anneke. “I want you to have this, dear. Now I know why I felt so compelled to write all of my story, the good parts as well as the bad. It was for you, so you would know who you are and who the people were who lived and loved and trusted God before you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh yes. I’m very sure.” Anneke takes the notebook in both hands and hugs it to her chest as if I’ve given her something much more valuable than a dime store notebook. Her eyes fill with tears as the train whistle blows a warning. “No tears,” I say, acting braver than I feel. “I know for certain that we’ll see each other again.” I watch my precious granddaughter board the train. Then I remain on the platform, watching until the last car disappears and there is nothing more to see.

Arie puts his arm around my shoulder and gives me a hug. “Let’s go home, Mama,” he says. I nod, already knowing how empty my little house will feel without her.

My son Jakob comes that evening. He ties his carriage to my hitching post and sits down on my front porch with me for a few minutes. “So, Anneke returned to Chicago this morning?”

“Yes. I hated to see her go.”

“I can well imagine.” We sit in silence for a long moment before Jakob says, “With so much happening this summer, I wondered if you ever had a chance to finish the memoir you were writing about Holland’s history?”

“I did. I’ll go inside and get it.”

The final version of the story that I show Jakob is only a dozen pages long. He leafs through it and says, “I thought it would be longer than this.”

“Well, I explained why Mama and Papa decided to leave the Netherlands . . . described our journey here and the hardships of getting settled . . . What else is there to say?” I ask with a shrug. “Read it and see for yourself.”

In this new version, I don’t mention Hendrik or my many struggles to trust God. I don’t write about Maarten or how we worked to build a marriage together and found love in the end. When Jakob finishes reading a few minutes later, he looks up at me.

“This is wonderful, Moeder. I think the committee will be pleased with your contribution.”

“I’m so glad. And you will take it home and correct my English for me?”

“I’ll have Joanna look it over, but it really doesn’t need much. Your English is very good.”

“It should be after living in America for fifty years.” I can see that Jakob is about to leave, but I put my hand on his arm to stop him for just a moment longer. “I know I’ve told you this before, son, but I’m so very proud of you and what a fine dominie you’ve become. Your father was very proud of you, too.”

“I hope I’m even half the man of faith that Papa was.”

“Yes . . . Maarten was a true man of God. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss him.”

The twilight is fading into night as Jakob’s carriage disappears in the distance. I’m alone again—but I’m never really alone. My loving Father, who has been with me through countless joys and sorrows in my lifetime, still holds me tightly in His hand. Indeed, nothing can ever separate me from His love.