Chapter 8
Mixed Homecoming
I’d been so engrossed in the conversation with Edie that I hadn’t even noticed that we were approaching the claim.
Suddenly there were Tad and Becky running toward us, followed by Almeda carrying Ruth. I expected to see Zack come out of the barn any second, but he never did.
We jumped down, and there were hugs and greetings and questions. Pa kissed Almeda and stretched his long arms around her and Ruth all at once. “How’s my little daughter?” he asked, looking from one to the other. “Marcus said she wasn’t feeling too well.” He felt her forehead with his big rough palm.
“She was so hot yesterday,” said Almeda. “I was worried and took her in to see Doc Shoemaker. “He thinks it might have been a spider bite.”
“How is she?” said Pa, looking concerned. “She does feel warm.”
“Better today. She’s cooled off considerably and seems to be getting some of her spunk back.”
All this time Edie had been standing beside the wagon. A brief silence followed, and Pa seemed to suddenly remember our passenger. He turned back toward her and motioned her forward. “But I plumb forgot our guest! Almeda, you’ll never guess who we picked up in Sacramento,” he said. “This here’s Katie’s sister! Edie, meet my wife, Almeda.”
Almeda came forward and greeted her warmly. “Surely there is some logical explanation,” she said, laughing. “This must be more than an accidental meeting.”
Edie told about her husband’s death and her decision to come for a visit, followed by her version of running into me and Pa in Sacramento. “So where do Katie and Nick live?” she said, looking around.
“Not more than a quarter mile upstream,” answered Pa. “Come on everyone, into the wagon. Let’s get Edie on to her reunion with her sister!”
We all scrambled back in. Pa gave Edie a lift up into the back with us kids, then took Almeda’s hand and helped her up to the seat beside him, with Ruth in her lap. Then he clucked to the two horses, and off we lurched up the road alongside the creek toward the mine, where we would cross over into the woods on the other side.
What a reunion it was! I don’t think I’d ever seen Aunt Katie so much at a loss for words. She was so surprised she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so instead she just stood there with a look of silent disbelief on her face. By the time we left them half an hour later, the two sisters were talking so fast we could hardly understand them. Pa gave Uncle Nick a smile, almost as if to say, You’re gonna have your hands full now with two Virginia women. Uncle Nick watched us go with a shrug and look that said, What do I do now?
When we got back to our place, Tad handed our two bags down to Pa, and we all went inside.
“Well, tell us all about San Francisco and the fancy gathering you two important Hollisters went to,” said Almeda, pouring Pa a cup of coffee from the pot on the stove. “We’ve all been praying for you, and we’re anxious to hear how God answered. So . . . did anything exciting happen while you were there?”
Pa and I glanced at each other. Pa gave me a wink, and I burst out laughing.
“What is it?” said Almeda with a curious smile. “Something must have happened!”
“Naw, nothing much,” said Pa, “not unless you count getting asked to help Honest Abe Lincoln get elected and run for state legislature all within the same hour.”
“What!” exclaimed Almeda. “Who asked . . . somebody asked you?”
“There was a man named Dalton,” I put in. “I didn’t know who he was at first, but Pa told me later that he was the most important Republican in the state. He asked me to help with the election in November.”
“Help . . . how?”
“Writing . . . I don’t know,” I answered. “I’m not quite sure what he wanted.”
“Corrie’s being modest,” added Pa. “I told you, Corrie, that you’re an important person in this state. There was even some talk,” he said, turning to Almeda, “of her making speeches on behalf of the Republican ticket.”
“Corrie, that’s wonderful! What do you think—are you going to do it?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Pa and I talked about it, and prayed together. We were both saying how you never know where something’s going to lead. But Pa’s news is even bigger! They asked him to run for the legislature in Sacramento!”
“Drummond!” exclaimed Almeda. “Is it true?”
“I reckon they figure there ain’t no harm in asking,” answered Pa noncommittally. “So ask they did.”
“What did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything. Just like Corrie, I said I’d think about it. I ain’t about to pick up stakes and disrupt my family again. So I don’t rightly see as how I could do it. But I didn’t tell them anything definite.”
“My husband and daughter—the politicians!” laughed Almeda. “I can hardly believe it!”
“You started it with all your notions of running for mayor!” joked Pa. “Now look what you landed me into!”
“And giving me that journal,” I added in fun.
“You two aren’t fooling anybody. You love every bit of it, and you both know it!”
“Corrie, tell Almeda about the new friend you met there.”
“Oh, Pa, why’d you have to bring that up?” I said, blushing.
“What’s this?” asked Almeda and Becky at the same time.
“Just some important young man who took a fancy to Corrie.”
“Pa, he did not!” I said.
“Don’t lie, Corrie,” teased Pa. “You should have seen them, Becky,” he went on, “together nearly the whole evening. Why, Corrie deserted me, and I was alone for most of the reception.”
“Pa! Now it’s you who’s lying.”
“Well, maybe exaggerating just a tad.”
“I want to know all about him,” said Almeda.
“There’s nothing to tell. He’s a friend of Mr. Denver’s, and he’s the one who took me to meet Mr. Dalton, that’s all. I’m sure he was just doing what he was supposed to do and nothing more. I’ll probably never see him again.”
Finally Pa figured I’d had enough of the ribbing, and he turned toward Almeda. “Where’s Zack?”
Her face fell and the room suddenly got silent.
“Zack and Almeda had a big argument, Pa,” said Tad finally.
“Is that true?” said Pa, his forehead crinkling as he turned toward Almeda.
She nodded. “I’m afraid so, Drummond.”
“What about?”
“Something he wanted to do. I told him he’d have to wait until you got back and talk it over with you.”
“What was so all-fired important that it couldn’t wait a couple of days?” asked Pa.
“I don’t know what got into him. He just exploded. I’ve never seen him like that before. He stormed away, talking nonsense about always having to go along with what everyone else wanted and nobody ever asking him what he thought. I don’t know where it all came from, but from the sound of it, it must have been pent up a long time.”
“I’ll take his breeches off and tan his hide but good when he gets home!” said Pa. It was clear he was angry.
“Don’t do anything rash, Drum. Zack’s not a boy anymore.”
“He’s my boy!”
“He’s your son. But he’s grown, and whatever this storm is that’s built up inside him, it’s not something to be taken lightly.”
“What was it he got in his head to do?”
“He said he was going to join the Pony Express, Pa,” said Tad.
“That true, Almeda?”
“That’s pretty much the gist of it. They were offering good money, he said, and he and Little Wolf had both decided to go. There were some openings between Nevada and Utah.”
“What about Lame Pony? What does he think?”
“I haven’t seen him since. It only happened two days ago.”
“And Zack hasn’t come back?”
Almeda shook her head.
“He’s probably up the hill at Jack’s. I’ll ride out there and see what’s up.”