Chapter 13 | The Consummation
John really enjoyed his job on the Barnes Farms. He was totally at home at the mill, and quickly took on more and more responsibility. He even made some suggestions for improving the operation, based on the mill he worked at in Ansbach, and to his surprise they were accepted.
Mr. Barnes heard about John’s good work, and called him in on more than one occasion to compliment him. It was clear that Mr. Barnes was learning to trust John, and, if he kept up the good work, he vowed to give John a raise in pay.
After a few months, John began to feel that he was a part of the community. He had started going to the St. Paul’s Lutheran and Reformed Church near Clear Spring, and in his own mind made no bones about it that he would like to meet a good woman there who he might even marry someday. But so far he had had no luck.
He met Susan at a church potluck, but she seemed to be sewing her wedding gown the day after they met. He didn’t want to feel pushed.
He asked Edith to go with him to hear the band play, but Edith seemed to have no interests whatsoever except her quilt making, which she did every day and Sunday too.
And then there was Beatrice, who obviously had more interest in John than he did in her. She was nice, but a bit pudgy, and had a laugh that would scare the birds away. He turned down her hint that they go on a moonlight buggy ride.
John even frequented the local pub for a while, but he was not impressed with the quality of women who came there for drinks by themselves on Saturday night.
It was beginning to seem to John that finding a good woman in Clear Spring was a lost cause, and he found himself wondering if he wouldn’t be better off in a large city like Philadelphia.
John compensated by throwing himself into his work, and building a friendship with James Arbuckle, a friendly man who John worked with in running the mill. James had a wife and one teenage child, but he still had time for going hunting with John, and working with him on church remodeling projects.
James was not, by any measure, a good-looking man, but he had a heart of gold. He was skinny and short, and had a nose that was a bit out of proportion to the rest of his face. And even though his mouth naturally turned down at the corners, he had an infectious grin that told you that he really wasn’t as grumpy as he looked. John liked him because he was kind and easy to get along with. And also because he gave John some attention that gently pulled John out of his loneliness.
James’ wife, Rebecca, also liked John, and often invited him to join them for a meal. She had even tried to fix John up with one of her unmarried friends, but to of no avail. It seemed that John was getting along OK, but his dream of a wife and family seemed to be slipping further away. And remarks from James like “John, it looks like you have turned into a happy bachelor,” didn’t help a bit.
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Ellie actually found herself anxious to have William return from Philadelphia, and visit with him again in Waynesboro. They had met for lunch the next day after the dance, and learned more about each other. William, very excited about his trip, and immersed in what he thought should happen to the new Constitution, talked about things that Ellie found interesting.
On the other hand, Ellie’s life had been pretty ordinary, and it didn’t take William long to change the subject when she was talking about the children she was teaching, or her neighbors, Ida and Jarvis.
Ellie found William easy to look at, and she respected his knowledge and enthusiasm about government. William was simply very taken by this beautiful, but simple woman.
As spring turned slowly into summer, Mary told Ellie that William would be coming through Waynesboro in a few days, and wanted to see her.
Ellie realized that the knowledge that he was coming had changed her ordinary life to one of anticipation. It was not that she was madly in love with William, but rather that she needed something different to think about, and that was what William provided. Beyond that, she had to admit that she enjoyed being close to him, and had found his company satisfying.
But Ellie was not prepared for what William was bringing to their meeting. All during the Constitutional Convention, William couldn’t keep his mind off of Ellie. She was so different from all the other girls he had dated, and, as his mother would say about other young men in her neighborhood and their girlfriends, “he was smitten by her.” William was ready to settle down, and perhaps start a family. And, if he entered politics, a beautiful wife would be a great asset.
They had a fine meal at the local pub, and William talked excitedly about his experience in Philadelphia. He drew Ellie into his interesting world, and swept her away on the magic carpet of ideas, and plans for his future. Then he dropped the bombshell. “Ellie, I have been thinking about you and I, and what a wonderful future we could have together. I want you to marry me. I love you, and I hope and pray you feel the same way about me.”
You could have knocked Ellie over with a puff of smoke. Marriage this soon in their relationship was the furthest thing from her mind. And she felt that, in many ways, she hardly knew William.
But he was persistent, felt strongly about his proposal, and was thinking along the “why wait” lines. Ellie, on the other hand, was certainly not ready to say “yes!” immediately, and gently asked William for time to let the idea settle in, and to make a decision. They agreed that William would come back to Waynesboro in September, and she would have an answer.
As they left the restaurant, William helped Ellie into the buggy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man riding the opposite direction on an old grey horse, but she thought nothing of it.
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John was taking more and more responsibility at the mill, and Mr. Barnes entrusted him with increasing responsibility.
Now, after John had bedded Liberty down and fed him amply, he leaned back in his old chair, closed his weary eyes and thought back on the events of the past few days.
Three days ago, he had saddled Liberty, and threw his saddlebag over his back. He had been looking forward to completing his latest task. Mr. Barnes had asked him to ride across the border up into Pennsylvania, go to the manufacturer, and bring back a special gear that they needed to repair a part of the mill machinery. It wasn’t far from the Barnes Farms to the border, and he had figured the manufacturer’s shop was not more that 40 miles into the state. But he knew he would have to stay overnight, and he had been exited about the adventure, and pleased that he had been asked to go.
The day he started on the trip had been warm and sunny, and John had greatly enjoyed the ride. He had to coax Liberty on several occasions, since the old gray, deep down, would much rather eat grass along the trail than to keep up a pace.
It was evening when he had arrived in Waynesboro, a town north of the Pennsylvania state line. He had ridden on through the town, planning to stay at an inn about 5 miles north.
As Liberty trotted down the main street of the town, John had experienced something he had experienced before. He looked across the street and briefly saw the features of a lovely dark haired woman being helped into a buggy by a distinguished looking gentleman. His first thought had been “Ellie!” but he quickly put it aside. He remembered running after another woman he thought was Ellie several years ago, only to be embarrassed in finding that she was a stranger, and he wasn’t about to fall into that trap again.
Damn! He thought that he had put his obsession with Ellie behind him, and here it was rearing its shopworn head again, just when he least expected it. As he rode on, thoughts of Ellie were back in his mind, and he was not able to get them out.
John finally got past thinking of Ellie, and completed his mission without a hitch. He had brought the gear home, and had planned that he and James would install it the next day. He had felt satisfied on the ride back, knowing that Mr. Barnes would be pleased that the mill was operating full force again.
As John finished thinking about his adventure, and was about to go to sleep in his chair, it hit him out of the blue- with the force of a bolt of lightning. Irmgard had mumbled the word “Franklin” in the Newport asylum, as he was about to leave her. Waynesboro was in Franklin County, Pennsylvania! Maybe the old woman was trying to tell him where Ellie was! Or maybe she was just mumbling, as crazy women are wont to do, and the “Franklin” meant nothing. But maybe it really was Ellie who he had seen in Waynesboro!? Or maybe it was the source of another wild goose chase. Oh, when would this obsession end? As John fell into a disturbed sleep, he knew he would have to go back there and find out.
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On Thursday, as he headed for the mill, John was making plans to ride back to Waynesboro on the weekend and see if he could somehow find Ellie Rowe. He knew is might be a silly thing to do, but he also knew that he must satisfy his curiosity or he would continue to think about it forever. He highly doubted that he would find her, but he had to try.
James was the first person he saw at the mill, and, as he approached him, James shouted “ Hi John! I need to talk to you about something before I forget it. Rebecca wanted me to invite you over to dinner Saturday night. She thought it would be fun to get together for a roast and visit.” John was always pleased to go to James’ house for dinner. It was a way to get out of the servants quarters into a real cabin, and Rebecca always cooked such good food. But he tried to figure out how he could go there and still ride up to Waynesboro. “I need to think about it, and let you know, James. I have a little conflict and need to see if I can work it out.”
As the workday wore on, John wrestled with his decision. Finally, he decided that if he went to James’ house on Saturday night, he could get up very early on Sunday morning, ride hard, spend time in Waynesboro, and then ride back late Sunday night. He saw James dumping some flax seed, and said “ I’m in James. I look forward to eatin’ your grub on Saturday. Tell Rebecca thanks! You know Rebecca, John warned in passing, “The more the merrier! She’ll probably invite a few more before Saturday, so who else will be there will just be a surprise,” James said with a smile. John smiled back, and happily resumed his work, looking forward to the weekend.
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Ellie had been in quite a quandary since William left.
She liked William a lot, but she wasn’t sure that she loved him. He was interesting and considerate, but he did talk a lot about himself, and didn’t ask her many questions. But Ellie attributed a lot of this to the fact that he was so excited about what was happening in the new United States right now, and the important issues occupied his mind a lot.
Ellie knew that she wanted to get married someday, and she knew that someday couldn’t wait forever. She was 28 years old, wasn’t getting any younger, and she didn’t have a lot of other options at the moment. William cared about her, and he had enough money, inherited from his parents, to make their life comfortable.
William had told her that he was an only child and his father and mother had been killed in a freak boat accident. They had made a lot of money in the furniture business, and had left it all to William.
Anyone else would probably jumped at the chance to marry William Peterson, but even though Ellie saw all the positive reasons to say “yes,” she was held back by one simple fact. She remembered how she felt when she was around Wolfgang, at the redoubt, and before. It was a feeling of love for someone that she did not feel with William. Maybe it would come, after she got to know him better. And maybe, just maybe, this was her last good chance.
With all these and more thoughts running around in her mind, Ellie knew she needed to talk to someone, and went looking for Ida. She always talked to Ida about her problems, and boy, did she need her advice now.
She found Ida busily getting ready to go somewhere, and decided that this was not a good time to talk about her problems. But, as she approached, Ida saw her coming and shouted “Ellie! Just the person I wanted to see!” Ida must have known, from what Mary said after William had left, that Ida might be in a quandary. “Jarvis and I are going to visit my cousin in Hagerstown-Lucille-I think you met her last Thanksgiving- and want you to go with us.” At first, Ellie wasn’t sure she wanted to go, or that she should horn in on Ida’s visit with her cousin, but her mature inner voice told her that it would be a good diversion for her. She thanked Ida for the invitation, and to Ida’s surprise said “Oh, that sounds like great fun. I’d love to.”
As the drove their carriage south of Waynesboro, and over the Pennsylvania state line, Jarvis was thinking about how proud he was of his sorrel mare, and his well-polished carriage. It is a beautiful Saturday, and a good life, he mused, as Ida and Ellie talked busily about relationships and marriage.
About two hours into the trip, and for no identifiable reason, an idea popped into Ellie’s head. The thought that Ida was visiting her cousin reminded Ellie that one of her favorite cousins lived in Maryland, not far off the road they were traveling. Since hadn’t seen her cousin for several months, why not see if Ida and Jarvis would drop her off to visit her cousin on the way, and pick her up on the way back? It would be a surprise visit, but she knew her cousin pretty well, and they had always talked about the fun in “spur of the moment” plans. And, if they were gone, or busy this weekend, it wouldn’t have been far out of Ida and Jarvis’ way, and they could continue on their journey.
Ellie broached the subject with Ida, and was happy that Ida and Jarvis thought it was a good idea, too. Ellie was pleased she thought of it, since she thought it would also be good to get her cousin’s ideas about how she should respond to William’s proposal.
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Knowing that he would be leaving early Sunday morning to ride to Waynesboro, John got his saddle bags ready, bedded Liberty down with a full stomach, and laid out his riding clothes. One of his servant friends had agreed to take him to James’ house, and he was ready to go. Earlier, James had asked him to come early to pitch some horseshoes, and that they would have a late afternoon meal. That satisfied John just fine, since he would get home earlier, and get some sleep in preparation for his next morning ride.
It was June 21, 1787, and he had not told anyone that today was his birthday. He had reached a milestone. He was 40 years old today! A part of him was mildly depressed, since he sometimes felt that he had little to show for these first 40 years. He was a single man, with nothing to do but mooch off of his friends for a meal. But another part was optimistic, and looking forward to being with good friends and having a good time. He wondered if Rebecca had invited anyone else.
When John arrived, Rebecca was busily preparing the evening meal. It would be a scrumptious treat, with a beef roast, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Rebecca’s garden grown green beans and squash, a carrot salad, fruit, and a cherry pie for desert. Of course there would be homemade apple butter and some delightful jams and jellies.
Her thoughts were flitting from one preparation thing to another as she heard a carriage pull up in front of the house, and, knowing that the other friends she had asked could not come at the last moment, had no idea who it was. She wiped her hands on her apron, and went out to greet whoever it was.
John and James were pitching horseshoes in the back of the Arbuckle bungalow, and didn’t see the carriage pull up in front. But they heard a horse whiney, and slowly decided to stop their game, and walk around the house to see what was going on.
Rebecca got there first, and was flabbergasted to see her favorite cousin, Ellie, step out of the carriage. “Ellie! I thought about you just today! Oh, I’m so happy to see you!” Rebecca shouted excitedly. Ellie told her about her surprise plan to visit, and Rebecca welcomed her with open arms.
As James and John came around the side of the bungalow,
Rebecca started to introduce the “strangers,” “Ellie, I’d like you to meet ….” but never finished. She saw Ellie and John stare at each other for only a second, in stark disbelief, and then rushto embrace. As they held each other in their arms, Ellie was sobbing and tears came streaming down John’s face. “Oh, my God! It’s you, Ellie!” shouted John, “ I never thought I’d see you again!” “ Oh, Wolfgang,” sobbed Ellie, “This is the second happiest day of my life! I so hoped I would find you again someday!” As they held each other tight and their words cascaded out, James and Rebecca, as well as Ida and Jarvis from the carriage, were dumbfounded at what they were witnessing.
It didn’t matter that the supper was getting cold. It didn’t matter that no one knew Ellie and John’s story. It didn’t matter that over ten years had passed since they had seen each other- John and Ellie were so engrossed in just savoring the moment. John wanted to know how Ellie’s life had been, and asked over and over if she had been all right. Ellie wanted to know what John did in the war, and where he had gone after Newport. James, Rebecca, Ida, and Jarvis simply sat and watched and listened in awe, and waited a surprisingly long time for John and Ellie to notice that they were there.
After greetings and explanations, and time to understand this amazing turn of events, Ida and Jarvis took their leave. The others ate and talked late into the night, and the story of John and Ellie unfolded. At one point, Ellie’s dark eyes helped her flash a wonderful smile, as she looked at Rebecca and said, “Rebecca, I came here with a question as to whether or not I should accept a marriage proposal from a certain gentleman, but my question about marriage has now been totally answered, and I
am so happy that I now do not have to worry about it at all. And John knew exactly what she meant.
Rebecca, bowled over by the events of the evening, listened intently to Ellie’s explanation of what she had just said, and thought to herself, “Poor William.”
They all concluded that the story of the evening had a wonderfully happy ending, and as Ellie and John fell asleep- each had a dream of their own, but with a common thread. Ellie dreamed of a redoubt near Newport, of Wolfgang(John) and their happy future together. John dreamed of a wonderful end to a ten-year search, of beautiful Ellie, and, of course, of his wonderful Guardian Angel.