The city was well laid out, and because they lived in an old fire hall, he had no trouble finding Ernie and Ada’s home. An old bell, that had previously been used to alert the firemen, was still hanging outside beside the door to the upstairs apartment. It had lost its clapper, so Bert hunted around the block until he found an old, rusty spike that he could bang back and forth inside the bell as loud and noisily as he could. He kept up the racket until the neighbours began coming out on their porches to see what was happening. When he heard Ernie come clumping down the stairs inside the building, he ignored the neighbours, and hollered, “Fire, fire, Ernie, grab the hoses and let’s go!”
Ernie opened the door, “Bertie! You silly old cock!” After they laughed and hugged each other, Ernie, keeping a straight face said, “We wondered when you would come to your senses and move out here. Good to see you, but I am frightfully sorry Bertie, we were just sitting down to tea. Can you come back tomorrow?”
“Ho, ho, Ada shall have something to say about that,” Bert replied as he pushed past Ernie and ran up the stairs. Ada was a fairly large woman, but Bert picked her up and swung her around. “Well, Vousey,” (her maiden and nickname.) “Whatcha you got in the pot?”
Ada’s face went red, but she wasn’t displeased. “Stop your nonsense, Bert, and speak properly, or you shan’t have a morsel,” she answered, trying to sound stern. Then they sat down to a favourite English meal of bubble and squeak.
For patriotic reasons, Ernie and Ada planned on returning to England to see if they could help with the war effort, but until they left, they had plenty of room for Bert in the fire hall, so they insisted he stay with them. Bert said he would stay for a while, but he intended to keep going west and settle in Vancouver. He looked forward to being near the ocean again. Ernie had acquired some machinery and was using the fire hall as his place of business—doing a little machining and mechanical work along with his inventions.
Just as Bert had predicted, Ernie had managed to build himself a moving camera like the ones used to make the news reels for the theatres. None of his friends had such a thing, so he was thought to be quite a genius. He was still determined to invent a more efficient machine for harvesting hay and spent a good deal of his time working on that. He and Ada were devout Christians and fundamentalists. Therefore, they lived their lives in accordance with the scriptures. Their faith gave them much happiness and they were a pleasant couple to spend time with. They were members of the Baptist Church in Calgary and Ernie was a lay preacher while Ada taught Sunday school and led the choir.
Bert didn’t take his religion as seriously as his brother, but he enjoyed being in the choir and attended church regularly with them. A week after he arrived, he found work as a mechanic in a nearby garage and began paying Ernie for his room and board. His room faced the house across the street, and one Sunday morning, he happened to glance out the window where he saw a young lady attempting to wash a car.
He had noticed the car parked outside the house before, but never saw anyone in it, or near it. It was one of Ford’s latest models of touring cars and Bert also thought it a shame that the owner wasn’t keeping it clean. Now he was pleased to see the girl, armed with a bucket of steaming hot water and a large sponge, washing it. Then he realized she was doing it the wrong way. It was late in September and although the sun was shining, it was still cold, and the girl was wearing a man’s woollen hat with earflaps and a heavy jacket.
Good Lord! He thought, she is starting at the bottom and working her way up. Poor little thing will freeze to death before she’s done. He left his room, ran past Ada who was reading her bible, and not taking time to use the stairs, slid down the fireman’s pole, then outside and over to the car.
“I say, you do not clean a car that way! You start from the top and work your way down and you need a hose to wash the soap off. Where did you learn to wash cars, in the kitchen sink?”
Nell’s hands were so cold she was about to quit, but her brother-in-law, John Field, had said he would teach her how to drive if she would wash his car. This was the day he was coming home, so she had to have it done, but now this know-it-all was trying to tell her she was doing it wrong. She had seen him coming and going to work from her window and he was so handsome she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She had been dying to meet him, but definitely not when she was wearing one of John’s old logger’s caps pulled down on her head. She was so embarrassed, it made her angry, and taking hold of the wet soapy sponge, she threw it at him, hitting him in the chest.
“If you know so much about it, you wash it,” she yelled as she ran toward the house. Once inside, she slumped against the door and mumbled, “I’m such an idiot.” Her sister Jean heard her come in and called out,
“Nell, Jessie has just made some tea. Come and have some, you must be freezing. Did you finish the car already?”
Nell said she would love a cup of hot tea and that she would finish the car later. I’ll wait and hope he’s not watching, she thought.
“You shouldn’t be out in that cold, Nell. Mother sent you out here hoping your lungs would improve and here you are out there getting chilled to the bone! You know John, he was just joking when he said you had to clean the car. He intends to teach you to drive no matter what you do or don’t do. He will be home tonight, and I think he intends to go up to the school and pick up Reginald for the weekend. I would rather he spend his weekends here than up in that camp with those ill-mannered men John has working for him. Their language is abhorrent.”
“I’m so looking forward to seeing that country, Jean. Are we still going back with John? Maybe we can do a little riding while we’re there?” Nell asked as she came into the kitchen.
“I suppose so. John would like us to stay. He has promised that if I go up north with him and stay for a while, he’ll come to the charity ball on Wednesday at Government House. You could come too if you wish.”
“Thank you, Jean, but I have nothing to wear.” Jean offered to buy her a gown, but Nell was too proud to accept. John Field owned a logging company up in the Peace River district and was a wealthy man. He and Jean had one son, Reginald (Rex) who spent most of his childhood in private schools. Jean enjoyed the life of an aristocrat, but she also had a social conscience and worked diligently for various charities. John, on the other hand, was a diamond in the rough. He preferred mackinaws to tuxedos and barrooms to cocktail parties. They had little in common and Nell, who loved them both, worried about their future.
After Nell had her tea, she prepared a lesson for the class she would be teaching the next day. Although she had just graduated from high school and hadn’t attended normal school, the district was short of teachers and hired her part time for one of the schools nearby. Two hours later, she figured it was safe to go out and finish washing the car, but just in case the young man happened to be looking out his window, she wore a more flattering hat and coat. As soon as she opened the door, she saw the car and could hardly believe her eyes—it was spotless! There was no sign of the young man, but her bucket and sponge were sitting on the bottom step of the porch. When she went down to get them, she noticed there was a note in the bucket. She opened it and burst out laughing. The note said, “Now, will you marry me?”
As soon as Bert saw Nell, he had fallen in love. Thus, when she threw the sponge at him and ran into her house, he decided to wash the car himself, but first he had to share his news with someone. Running back into the fire hall and up the stairs to the living quarters, the first person he saw was Ada. “Vousey, I’m getting married!” he announced as he grabbed her and swung her around.
Ada, thinking he had decided to marry a girl he had met while in Saskatchewan, was very pleased for him, but he had gotten the front of her dress all wet. She backed away and said, “You are soaking wet!”
“Yes, isn’t it wonderful? I’m in love.”
“Congratulations, Bert, but shall we have a chance to meet your young lady before we leave? Or has Ernest already met her?”
“I doubt he has. I haven’t formally met her myself, but she lives across the street, and she is an angel.”
“Oh, that must be the young girl who lives with the Fields. She’s only been there a few weeks. I think she is Mrs. Field’s sister.” Ada, knowing how impassioned Bert and Ernie could be whenever they decided to do something, didn’t take him seriously. “I shouldn’t get your hopes up, Bert. She may be far too young for you. I see her going off to school most days.”
“Are you sure she goes to school? She doesn’t look like a schoolgirl to me, but if she is, I shall wait for her to grow up. I love her, Vousey. Now I have to get that car washed.” Bert didn’t wait for a reply. He changed his clothes, slid down the fireman’s pole again, despite Ada’s protests, found a hose and went across the street. When he finished the car, he came in, had dinner, then feigning an upset stomach, didn’t go to church with Ernie and Ada. Bert could hardly wait to see the look on the girl’s face when she saw what a good job he had done cleaning the car but, when he looked out his window, she was no where in sight and neither was the car. She’s probably gone off to get it dirty again, he thought.
Nell had told Jean about the young man and why he had cleaned the car; she didn’t mention the note. Jean was usually very proper, but she had a good sense of humour and couldn’t help but laugh when she heard Nell had thrown a sponge at Bert because of his cheeky remark. On the other hand, she was very pleased with the job the young man had done cleaning the car, especially since she and Nell were taking it to the train station to pick up her husband, John. Although Jean had a housekeeper, she enjoyed cooking the odd meal and always liked to have a special dinner ready on the day John came home. She had a roast of pork cooking in the oven and just before they left for the station, she added some potatoes and carrots so a complete dinner would be ready when they returned.
When John got off the train, they were waiting for him. He would have liked to grab Jean in a big hug, but knowing it would embarrass her, he just kissed her cheek and said hello while winking at Nell. John was a flirt and Nell thought he was great.
“Well, you certainly did a good job, Nellie girl,” he said, when he saw the car.
Nell waited for Jean to tell him that it was someone else who had done it, but Jean just smiled, and said, “Now you will have to teach her how to drive.”
“No time like the present. Here, Jean, you sit in the back and, Nellie, you sit up here with me so I can show you how everything works.”
By the time they arrived home, Nell was allowed to lean over John and handle the steering wheel and the throttle. She did such a good job that he said if it wasn’t too dark after they ate, he would take her out for another lesson. Thus, directly after they ate, John insisted they all go for a drive and a lesson and leave the dirty dishes for the maid. They were just about to get in the car when Bert came across the street.
Oh dear, Nell thought, now he’s bound to tell John I didn’t clean the car, but Bert just smiled at her, giving her a sensation of being inundated with bubbles—a feeling she had every time she saw him, and according to the note he left for her, she suspected he must feel somewhat the same.
“How do you do, Mr. Field, my name is Bert White, and I am at present living across the street from you with my brother and his wife. I hope you don’t mind but I had to come over and tell you how much I admire your automobile. I am a mechanic, so if you have any problems with it, I shall be pleased to help.”
“Do you drive?”
“Yes, but I’ve never driven a car as fancy as yours.”
“Well, Bert, we are just going out to give my sister-in-law a driving lesson. Why don’t you join us?”
Bert said he’d be delighted. John and Jean sat in front until they got out of town and on a country road and then he told Nell to get behind the wheel, and Jean to get in the back with Bert. With John’s instructions, Nell did fairly well, and they all congratulated her. Then John surprised them and insisted that Bert have a go at it, so Bert changed places with Nell. After they had gone a few miles, John said Bert drove like a professional, and despite Jean’s protests, he told Bert to stop the car so he could trade places with Nell and sit in the back with his wife.
When Jean objected, John told her to just relax and enjoy having a chauffeur. When they were all settled, he sat back, put his arm around Jean and said, “Home, James!” Surprisingly, Jean didn’t object.
“Very good, your lordship,” Bert replied. Then he smiled at Nell and drove on.
The more John and Jean saw of Bert, the better they liked him. Although Jean would have preferred Nell fall in love with a man of means, or at least someone from a prominent family, she couldn’t help but be impressed with Bert’s musical talents and his charming personality. As for John, he would have liked his little sister-in-law to marry a man whose hobbies were hunting and fishing rather than playing musical instruments, but he had never met a man as versatile as Bert, and he instinctively knew that if Bert ever did decide to become a woodsman, he’d be a damned good one.
Nell wasn’t as well received by Ernie and Ada as Bert was by the Fields, even though she politely laughed at Ernie’s practical jokes, and praised Ada’s cooking, which she found rather bland. Nell was raised with four brothers and felt at ease around men so perhaps she was too friendly with Ernie, and that may have bothered Ada, who’s only apparent fault was over possessiveness of her husband.
She also thought Nell was a little too modern, and at times, lacked propriety. Nell was petite—only five feet tall. She had a good head of dark brown hair with enough curl to add softness to her face. Her nose was a tad too big, but she did have beautiful eyes; eyes that were blue if she wore blue, and green if she wore green, and they were dotted with flecks of gold. She had a large generous mouth and smiled often. She had curves in all the right places, and although she wasn’t what one may describe as beautiful, she certainly was attractive.
As soon as the courtship began, Nell talked Bert into going to the Presbyterian Church with her, instead of the Baptist church. She also declined when Ada asked her to attend their weekly bible studies.
“I go to church every Sunday, I teach Sunday school, belong to the Ladies Aid and work for their teas and other functions. I’ve read my bible, and I think that is quite enough to ease my conscience,” she insisted when Ada hinted that she might find the bible studies beneficial.
Ada was shocked! Then, when she found out that Nell didn’t belong to a choir, and didn’t even sing, she was even more convinced that her brother-in-law had chosen the wrong girl. She said as much to Ernie and begged him to persuade Bert to return to England with them so he could find a proper English girl. Ernie did his best, but Bert wouldn’t hear of it, saying he intended to marry Nell as soon as she would agree to it. Ernie and Ada left for England hoping that Nell would refuse Bert’s proposal so there would be no wedding, but Nell loved Bert as much as he loved her, and she said yes.
However, Nell insisted they wait at least six months before the wedding. This wasn’t easy for Bert or her. Bert was a romantic and it was becoming more and more difficult to refuse his advances, especially since she had passionate feelings of her own. She did her best to limit their dates to two a week, and on those two occasions, she invited others to join them. It helped when she went north for a month with Jean and John. According to Bert, it was the longest month he would ever spend. The wedding was planned for April the 25th 1915.
Jean hadn’t found Peace River as lonely as she had thought, but perhaps having Nell with her had helped. Anyway, she agreed to take a leave of absence from her job in the Health Department of Alberta and go back to Peace River with John as soon as the wedding was over. This meant that after they were married, Bert and Nell would be on their own. As much as they would miss their siblings, they both looked forward to it. Besides, Bert had read an ad in the paper stating that a man who owned a garage in Olds, a town sixty miles north of Calgary, was looking for a mechanic.