**
Leaving Bath
Moving can be a new adventure.
-Harry Finkle
“Mother, must we really move so far away from Bath? All of my friends are here. I’ve never even heard of Finkleton, and neither have they,” Jack said, rolling his eyes. He was helping to load the wagon for their journey across England to their new home. The horses tossed their heads, impatient to get on the road.
“Yes, my love. We have no other place to go. It was a sad day when we were notified by the solicitor that your father’s uncle had passed away,” Emma said, then paused in thought and frowned. “And on the very same day that our home burned to ashes. It was such a strange coincidence. I still can’t get my head around it.” Emma Finkle shook her head slightly and placed a hand on her son’s shoulder.
“On the brighter side, Uncle Harry left his home and shop to us. I believe that must be a sign of good things to come. We are most fortunate to have a place to live and the means to earn a decent living. All will be fine, Jack,” Emma said, smiling. “No doubt you’ll be quick to make new friends.”
Jack, at the headstrong age of 14, was the eldest son of William and Emma Finkle. Jack had big brown eyes and flowing brown hair that just tickled his collar. He resembled his father when William was a much younger man.
Jack was a very organized young man. He didn’t like clutter, believing all things had a proper place. And on a daily basis he made sure that he and his siblings completed their chores to the very best of their abilities.
“I assume Uncle Harry’s shop will be in a respectable condition when we arrive,” Jack said. “I mean, since it’s the only general store in Finkleton and all.” Jack’s mind pondered the possible condition of Uncle Harry’s shop. Despite not wanting to move, he was very curious about it. His father had told him that Uncle Harry had lived there all his life, so Jack imagined it must be a grand store.
“I must agree with you, Jack. It being the only general store in Finkleton, Uncle Harry must have kept it suitable for the customers,” Emma said, smiling. “Uncle Harry was very old, you know. He may not have been able to keep the shop spotless as one might expect, but clean nonetheless.”
Jack frowned, but did not respond.
“However, it may in fact need a good scrubbing and a bit of organizing,” Emma continued. “Things could possibly be scattered everywhere. It might be hard for customers to find what they are looking for.” Emma raised an eyebrow and waited for Jack’s reaction.
Jack’s eyes grew wide. “Do you think so, Mother? Maybe I could reorganize the entire shop. Wouldn’t that be grand?” Jack, thoroughly excited about the possible disaster he might discover at Uncle Harry’s shop, began to work a little faster in anticipation of their arrival.
Jack had two younger siblings: Lizzy, which was short for Elizabeth, and Robert.
Lizzy was 12, and a lovely girl who brightened up any room. Her wavy hair was long and blonde, just like her mother’s, and her petticoats were always clean and white. Her blue eyes and long lashes matched her mother’s features as well.
Lizzy was more intelligent than her peers. She was well-versed in her studies, and loved to read books. She felt a person’s true intellect was based on what she reads. Lizzy favored factual reading material, believing fiction an absurd waste of time.
“Father, did Uncle Harry by chance leave behind any books?” Lizzy asked, nervously twirling a piece of hair between her fingers.
“Well,” her father said, looking up. “It has been a rather long time since I visited my uncle. He was my father’s only brother. My father and mother used to take me to visit him, but only during the summer. They said it was because the summer roads were better for traveling, but I knew it was because my mother’s lungs were weaker in the cold. It was our yearly holiday.
“As a young boy I was quite bored when we visited Uncle Harry. He had never married and had no children, so there was no one with whom I could play. I used to explore his store and pretend I was on some sort of an adventure,” William said, smiling while he reminisced.
“What about the books, Father? What about the books?” Lizzy was growing impatient, although she did love to hear stories of her father’s boyhood.
“Yes, yes, the books. I’m getting to them,” William said, chuckling under his breath. He patted Lizzy on top of her head. “During my little exploring adventures through Uncle Harry’s store, I found an old room.”
Lizzy interrupted, intrigued. “What sort of room, Father?”
“Well, this particular room did not interest me at all. It was not an adventurous room for me,” William said, pleased that he had Lizzy’s full attention. “You see, the room was filled with dusty old things.” William waved his hand in the air as if he were dismissing the thought.
Lizzy laughed. “I daresay Jack wouldn’t appreciate dust on anything, Father.”
“No. No, he wouldn’t,” William said with a chuckle, agreeing with Lizzy. “However, my dear, you might actually be interested in that room.”
Confused, Lizzy scrunched her face and crossed her arms. “Why would I be interested in some old dusty things Uncle Harry had?”
William bent down to look Lizzy in the eyes, and smiled. “Because, my dear, the old dusty things in that room were books! Hundreds of them, as a matter of fact. I think you might be the only member of this family who’ll truly appreciate that dusty room. It’ll be your very own library.”
Lizzy squealed with joy and wrapped her arms around her father’s neck. He lifted her up and twirled her around before setting her back down.
“How wonderful, Father! How wonderful! I can’t wait to see Uncle Harry’s library. I’m utterly speechless.”
William nodded, pleased with her reaction. “Think of our moving as an adventure. You, my dear, get to explore an old room full of books.” He pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his trousers and wiped tears of happiness from Lizzy’s cheeks.
“Oh, thank you, Father. Thank you,” Lizzy said, grinning from ear to ear.
“You know, if you ask, you might find that your brother Jack will gladly assist you with cleaning up the dust. He might even help you organize the room as you see fit. It’ll give him something to do, and I do believe that’s the sort of adventure he’d enjoy.”
William smiled as Lizzy skipped away with glee.
Robert was age 8, the youngest of the brood. He had blonde wavy hair like his sister and mother, but with the big brown eyes of his father. Robert considered himself talented at mathematics. He loved to help his father with accounting work and was always captivated with the workings of machinery. Of the three siblings, Robert was the only one who needed to wear spectacles. He didn’t mind wearing them, though, because he thought they make him appear more brilliant.
“Mother, do you think that Uncle Harry kept good bookkeeping records?” Robert asked as he straightened his cap.
“I should think that owning a store would require a person to keep good records,” Emma replied, glancing over her shoulder at her son. “Why do you have such a glum look on your face?”
“If Uncle Harry’s records are flawless, then Father won’t desire any help with them,” Robert said, dropping his chin to his chest.
“Oh, my dear Robert,” Emma said, smiling. “I believe running a shop and keeping up with all of the records will be more than your dear father could possibly handle by himself. I am positive he’ll be in much need of your mathematical skills and advice. Math has never been his strong suit, you know. Might I add that Uncle Harry’s bookkeeping may not be up to date by way of using proper ledgers, and that could take quite a while to fix.”
“I never thought of that, Mother,” Robert said, his eyes widening along with a rather large smile. “It might very well take some time to sort through Uncle Harry’s many years of bookkeeping. Of course I should probably take a look when we arrive to help Father prepare.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Robert. Your father will be most grateful for your assistance. I’m quite sure of it,” Emma said. “Now scoot along. We’ll be leaving shortly, and we have much to do.”
“All right, Mother.” Robert began to walk away from his mother’s side, but before he left he turned back. “I believe I’m going to enjoy living in Finkleton very much.” He smiled and ran toward his father.