Jamesville Post Office
Jamesville, North Carolina
March 1946
The first purple martin sighting of the
year and the sweet fragrance of early-blooming azaleas meant that
spring had arrived in Martin County. The warm weather had come not
a day too soon as far as Walter was concerned. Maybe the change of
seasons was just what he needed to get his mind off Ingrid
Schultz.
With his car window down, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine, he pulled into Widow Edna Overholtz’s driveway to drop off her mail. It was his last stop of the day.
He turned around on the rural road and headed back to Jamesville, where he would stop by the post office and check his own mail before picking up the children at Eva Gray’s house.
Sorting through the usual assortment of bills, he noticed one of the envelopes had an unusual postmark.
The stamp bore a picture of His Royal Majesty, the King of England.
His curiosity piqued, he ripped it open first.
Captain Edward McCloud, Royal Navy
&
Baroness Juliana McCloud
Request the Honour of Your Presence
At Their Marriage
First Presbyterian Church
Ardentinny, Scotland
Saturday, April 13, 1946
Two o’clock In The Afternoon
Reception To Follow At Officer’s Club
HMS Armadillo
R.S.V.P.
Folded inside the invitation was a handwritten note on Juliana McCloud’s stationary.
March 6, 1946
Dear Capt. Brewer,
I know this would be a long and expensive trip for you to make, but I wanted to extend an invitation to you and a guest because it was your visit which is largely responsible for our reconciliation.
The letter you brought us written by the German officer made us both realize the eternal impact that our son, even in death, had on people. We were deeply moved. His prayers have been answered. Thank you.
Very truly yours,
Juliana McCloud.
Alone in the post office as the late-afternoon sun streamed through the front windows, Walter broke into a big smile.
The Lord does work in mysterious ways. I went to Europe for Ingrid Schultz, and it looks like the result is that the McClouds are getting remarried. Maybe it was all worth it after all!
He felt like doing a jig. First, he needed to pick up the kids. Then there was somewhere he needed to go.
Ellie looked out the door. She looked at her watch. It was 8 p.m.
Walter and all four kids were waiting on her steps. Seeing the whole crew show up on a weeknight was unusual. She opened the door.
“What a delightful surprise,” she said.
“I know it’s a school night, but I need to show you something,” Walter said.
“Come on in,” she said.
Ellie sent the kids upstairs and brought Walter into the kitchen, where she was in the middle of baking Jessie’s German chocolate cake recipe. He handed her the invitation and letter from Juliana.
“This is good news,” she said. “I don’t know these people, but I’m happy for them. I’m also happy for you. See, your trip paid off in ways you didn’t even expect!”
“You’re right,” he said. “And I didn’t expect to get invited to a wedding in Scotland.”
“Wait a minute.” Her stunning face suddenly looked puzzled. “I thought you said they were from London. I wonder why they’re getting married in Scotland.”
“I bet it has to do with their son. Juliana told me when I visited with her that his commando training was in Ardentinny. She even showed me a few letters he wrote her from there. Apparently, he had attended a Presbyterian church there.”
Satisfied with his explanation, she looked at him and smiled. “So . . . are you going to do it?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“Go to the wedding, of course. You’ve got an invitation. Why don’t you go?” she asked.
“To Scotland?”
“Of course, to Scotland,” she said.
He hesitated for a moment, his eyes on the floor. Then he looked at her. “Well, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
She grinned at him. “Then you are thinking about going. That would mean a lot to the McClouds. And you don’t have to say another word, because the answer is yes!” she said.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Yes! Of course, I’d love to keep the kids while you’re gone. In fact, by that week it might be warm enough for a trip to the beach. I’ll rent a cottage at Nags Head and take the six of them to the ocean. They’ll love it. In fact, I’ve just gotten a letter from Becky that she’ll be off for spring break. I think I’ll see if she’d like to come too. That’s a pretty good deal for a college girl, a free week at the beach in exchange for a little baby sitting assistance. She’ll jump at the chance. And then—”
“Ellie!”
It wasn’t like Walter to cut her off midsentence. He normally let her ramble until she ran out of gas. She looked surprised at the sudden interruption.
“I didn’t bring the kids over here on a school night to ask you to babysit,” he said.
“You didn’t?”
“No.” He paused for a moment. “I came to ask another favor.”
“Really? What is it?”
“I don’t want you to watch the kids, Ellie. I want you to come with me to the wedding.”
Her mouth dropped.
“Well, well. I get to witness something about as rare as a solar eclipse—Ellie Williams Brewer speechless.”
“Did I just hear you right?” she said, still half dazed and now half smiling. “Did you just compare me to a solar eclipse, or did you just ask me to go to Scotland with you?”
“Actually, I asked you to go to a wedding with me. The wedding, of course, just happens to be in Scotland. Now, if you go to the wedding with me, it would make sense to travel to Scotland with me. Unless, of course, you’d rather have the Williams Trust charter separate yachts. To me, that wouldn’t seem to be an efficient use of resources. But then, what do I know? I’m just the mailman.”
“And a very conservative mailman who is usually overly concerned with what people think.” She felt herself smiling. “Not that I particularly care, but if I go to Scotland with you, you know people will start talking. I thought that was a big concern of yours.”
“We’d do some damage control before we left. We can reserve separate cabins on the ship and get separate rooms wherever we stay. Then we’d announce our intentions of having separate quarters to all the little old ladies in the bridge club to try and minimize the gossip.”
“I don’t know, Walter. This separate quarters business sounds like an inefficient use of Williams Trust Fund resources.” She winked at him. “Anyway, if you think that story will stop the gossip, I’ve got some news for you.”
“I know it’s kind of lame, Ellie. But I’ll bet people have probably been talking about us for a while anyway. I mean, I bring the kids over to play all the time. The little old ladies probably imagine something’s going on over here anyway.”
“No!” she said facetiously. “Say it isn’t so!”
“Smart aleck!”
“I just think it’s kind of funny,” she said. “Watching you worry about gossip about you!” She chuckled.
“You know what? I’m not worried about it any more. We know our intentions are honorable. So, what we do in Scotland or over here, or anywhere else for that matter, is none of anybody’s business,” he said.
“I like the way you’re talking, baby,” she said.
“You haven’t called me ‘baby’ in years,” he said.
“About fifteen or sixteen by my count.”
“So what’s your answer, baby?” he said.
“Who would watch the kids?”
“Eva Gray’s already agreed to take all six. She’s sworn to secrecy,” he said.
“In that case, I can’t think of anything more fun than to stir up the gossip mill. Yes, I’d love to go with you to Scotland. And I promise to be good.”