Later that afternoon, Janell answered the door to find a tall, bespectacled broomstick of a woman standing at the threshold. From the top of her tightly coiffed gray hair to the large carpetbag at her feet, she seemed the epitome of stiff propriety.
Janell realized at once that this must be Aunt Rowena. She also realized she didn’t know the woman’s last name.
She opened the door wider. “You must be Mr. Chandler’s aunt. Please, come in.”
The woman frowned down at Janell. “And who might you be?”
Did she think she was some kind of interloper? But Janell kept her smile firmly in place. “My name is Janell Whitman, and I’m the town’s schoolteacher. I’m keeping an eye on the children while Mr. Chandler is at the sawmill.”
“I see.” The woman’s demeanor remained stiff, her expression suspicious. “If you’re the schoolteacher, why aren’t you in your classroom?”
“Someone is filling in for me today. Please, do come in where you can be more comfortable and I’ll answer all your questions.”
The woman nodded, then turned and waved to a man sitting in a wagon parked in front of the house. “Thanks for the ride, Tom.” Her voice had a warmth to it that it had lacked before. “I’ll telegraph you when I’m ready for my ride home.”
The man waved back then gave the reins a shake, setting his wagon in motion. The woman turned back, her stern countenance back in place. She finally stepped past Janell and into the house.
Janell picked up the carpetbag and followed her inside. For some reason she’d been expecting Mr. Chandler’s aunt to be a plump, motherly woman, full of smiles and fluttery motions.
This woman seemed to have none of those qualities.
Janell silently chided herself. Mr. Chandler’s aunt, who looked to be in her late fifties, had traveled a long distance in a farm wagon to help. No doubt she was weary from the trip. She would surely show a more pleasant face to the children when she met them.
With a smile, she set the carpetbag down and clasped her hands in front of her. “I would deliver this to your room, but as you are to share with Chloe and the children are currently napping in there, I’ll just set it here for now.”
Then she straightened. “As for your earlier questions, I can understand your confusion, but there is a reason I’m the one here to help today and not someone else from the community.”
“And that would be?”
“I assume you know about Chloe’s affliction?”
The woman’s expression softened and she gave a heavy nod. “Hank informed me.”
“As it happens, my own sister lost her hearing as the result of the measles, so I have some experience that could be helpful.”
The woman’s demeanor warmed and she gave Janell a more genuine smile. “Then it seems my nephew is lucky that you’re available to be here. My apologies if my hesitation made you uncomfortable.”
“No need for apologies. You’re just looking out for your family.” Janell returned the woman’s smile. “It was good of you to come here to help Mr. Chandler and the children as well.”
The woman let out a couple of sneezes and then smiled apologetically as she pulled out a handkerchief. “Must be dust from the road. Is there a place where I can freshen up?”
“Of course. Since Alex is on the extra bed in Chloe’s room, perhaps you can use his room for now.”
“That would be most welcome.”
With a wave of the hand, Janell led her down the hall. A moment later, she pushed open the door. “Here we are.” She stepped back so the woman could pass. “While Chloe and Alex are napping, I would be glad to share my thoughts on them and their needs with you. But first, may I offer you something to eat?”
“I’d like that.”
Janell smiled at her show of interest. “Take whatever time you need. When you’re ready, the kitchen is—”
“I know where it is. I’ve been here before.”
“Of course.” Janell stepped away from the door. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you should need me.” As she moved toward the kitchen she heard another, louder sneeze. Was the woman coming down with a cold or something worse? That was the last thing poor Mr. Chandler needed right now.
Janell grabbed a clean bowl and moved to the stove. She’d serve Mr. Chandler’s aunt an extra large bowl of the soup she’d made for lunch—maybe that would help her feel better.
Just as Janell set the bowl of the soup on the table, Mr. Chandler’s aunt joined her. She pulled out the woman’s chair and waved her into it. “What should I call you?” she asked diffidently.
“My name is Rowena Collins.”
Janell took the seat across from her. “You asked about the children and I’ll be glad to tell you what I know of them. I only just met them two days ago myself, but I’ve already grown quite fond of them. Alex is eight and is a bright boy who is very concerned for his sister. He’s grieving but wasn’t physically injured since he was not at home when the accident occurred.”
Mrs. Collins nodded as she dipped her spoon into her soup. “But I’m sure this has affected him emotionally.”
Janell was relieved to hear Mrs. Collins understood that Alex would need watching as well. “Chloe is ten years old and very scared and confused by what’s happened to her.”
The woman glanced down at her soup as if looking for answers there. “I’ve never dealt with anyone who was totally deaf before.”
Janell detected a note of anxiety in the woman’s voice. “I was very scared when my sister went through this. I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to reach her and that she would be permanently locked into her own lonely world.”
Mrs. Collins sneezed again and gave her a probing look. “How old were the two of you at the time?”
The woman’s sneezing seemed to be getting worse instead of better. “Lizzie was seventeen. I had just turned twenty.”
“So young.” She shook her head with a sympathetic tsk. “And how is your sister now?”
“Lizzie is doing well. She now has a husband and two children and from all reports leads a very full life.” She was so proud of how far her little sister had come. “But it wasn’t an easy road for her.”
“Or for you, either, I suspect.”
Janell traced a circle on the table with her index finger. “Our whole family went through a great deal of training to help us come to terms with what Lizzie was facing—things like learning sign language and how to speak so that she might read our lips.”
“Then Chloe is lucky to have you here.”
“Thank you, but Chloe will need all of us to help her through this.”
Mrs. Collins nodded. “I will do my part—doing what I can to keep everyone well fed and comfortable while I’m here.”
“They will need that, of course, but I was speaking of something else.”
The woman gave her a wary look. “Such as?”
“Mr. Chandler has agreed to let me teach him and the children how to sign.” She straightened. “I would be glad to also include you in the lessons.”
The woman dropped her gaze to her bowl. “Perhaps I should stick to doing the cooking and housekeeping. I’m not sure how good I’d be at learning such a thing. Besides, I’m only planning to be here for a few weeks. Hardly enough time to learn something so complex.”
Janell was disappointed by Mrs. Collins’s response. She tried another tack. “The more people who learn to communicate with Chloe, the less shut out she will feel.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” More stirring. “We shall see how it goes.”
Janell reached across and touched the woman’s hand. “Thank you, ma’am. I’m certain Chloe will appreciate your efforts, regardless of the outcome.”
“Since you haven’t had a chance to teach them that sign language yet, how have you been communicating with the child?”
Janell stood and fetched the slate where she’d left it on the counter. “I write whatever I wish to communicate to her on this slate.”
The woman’s eyes brightened. “Now, that seems like a very sensible solution. I can certainly work with that.”
“It’s also important that when you’re speaking, your head is turned so that she can see your lips move and that you enunciate your words clearly.”
“She can read lips?”
“Not yet. But that’s something I intend to help her learn.”
* * *
Janell tapped on the bedchamber door. Alex’s “come in” let her know they were awake.
She stepped inside to see Alex playing with Smudge and Chloe reading a book.
She’d have to speak to Mr. Chandler about subscribing to Abigail’s library in town on Chloe’s behalf.
But that was for later. “Your great-aunt Rowena has arrived. Come along so you can meet her.” She wrote an abbreviated version of her words on the slate and turned it so Chloe could read it.
“Is she going to live here now?”
Alex’s question gave Janell pause. How much had Mr. Chandler told them? “I believe she’ll be staying for a while, but I’m not certain how long.”
Alex’s expression fell. “Does that mean you’re not going to stay with us anymore?”
Alex’s concern touched her. Strange how close she felt to these two children in such a short period of time. “Perhaps not as much as before, but I will still come by to work with you on learning sign language and such.” She realized she was going to miss spending so much time here as well.
Alex didn’t look totally reassured. She understood how difficult it was for him to cope with loss of any kind right now and she wished she could make things easier for him—for both of them. “And of course, you’ll be with me most of the day once you start school.”
Enough on that topic for now. She waved them forward. “Come along. Great-Aunt Rowena is waiting to meet you.”
They obediently got out of bed and followed her. If their feet dragged a bit, she decided it would be best to just ignore it.
“Children, this is your great-aunt Rowena.”
Rather than returning their greetings, Mrs. Collins stared in horror at Chloe’s feet as she let out three violent sneezes in rapid succession. “No wonder I’ve been sneezing.” Her voice was thick with congestion. “Hank didn’t tell me there was going to be a cat in the house.”
Uh-oh. “Is that a problem?”
The woman took a step back. “I can’t be around cats without sneezing.”
“Oh, dear.” This was definitely going to be a problem.
Mrs. Collins let out another sneeze as she grabbed the knob on the outside kitchen door. “Excuse me. I need to get some fresh air.”
What did they do now? Janell grabbed the slate and quickly wrote Smudge makes your aunt sneeze. Please put him in your room. She showed it to Chloe and the girl lifted her cat and held it protectively against her chest, staring at Janell defiantly.
“Smudge lives here,” Chloe said out loud.
At least the girl was speaking more. Janell erased the slate and wrote Just for now, while we figure things out.
She hoped Mr. Chandler had a solution for this, because she certainly didn’t.
The poor man was certainly going through a rock slide worth of challenges right now.
Would he be able to bear up under one more? And what could she possibly do to help?