The Hard Land-Part 23
A story of love and survival
Thomas read the last letter from Amanda and tucked it into his textbook like a precious treasure. He opened the door to a winter scene with several inches of new snow covering the ground and large flakes falling from the sky like feathers. He returned to his room and grabbed a scarf, wrapping it around his neck to keep out the chill. He waded through the snow in front of the boarding house, which smelled of bacon and hot chocolate, and found a path made by four hundred students making their way to campus. Tucking his books under his arm and tilting his head forward, he trudged to class, his cap shielding his face from the snow that stung his eyes.
He took a seat in the stuffy classroom and placed his books on the desk. He was about to pull Amanda’s letter from the book when the professor stepped up to the podium.
“Turn to page sixty-three and do the even problems,” the professor said in a monotone voice.
Thomas sighed and opened his textbook. What had been enjoyable a month ago now seemed like torture. His lifelong ambition had been to become an accountant and use his mind to earn a living, but now he doubted his dream. He thought about the summer spent working on the threshing crew and that reminded him of Amanda’s letter in his textbook. However, he pushed the thoughts aside and concentrated on the problems. He managed to work through several before thoughts of the letter crept back into his consciousness. He imagined Amanda’s smile and sweet voice.
Meanwhile, the professor was walking around the classroom observing the student’s work. Suddenly he stopped at Thomas’s desk and looked at his paper.
“Mr. Jolley, will you please explain problem ten to the class, and be prepared to defend your answer.”
Thomas stood, shocked to have been called on, and grabbed his notebook. Problem ten was the last one he’d completed before his mind went to Amanda’s letter. Glancing down at his paper, Thomas quickly ran through the solution in his mind. Struggling to get his thoughts back to the present, he lifted the textbook from his desk and read the question aloud.
“Mr. Jolley, we can all read. What I want is your understanding of the problem.”
Thomas’s face turned red. “Yes, sir.” He placed the book back on the desk. “May I use the chalkboard?” The professor nodded, and Thomas picked up a piece of chalk.
Working through the problem in front of the class helped him understand the concept, but it was a small victory when the professor turned to the class and asked, “Can you critique Mr. Jolley’s work?”
The comments came fast. Many of them found issues with his assumptions, others pointed out calculation errors.
“Thank you, Mr. Jolley. You may return to your seat.”
Thomas dropped the chalk into the tray and rushed back to his desk.
He worked through the rest of the problems, tore the page from the notebook, and moved to the front of the classroom to hand it in.
“Good work,” the professor said. “It is hard to defend your answers. You made a calculation error or two, but you presented the concept well even when your classmates were hard on you.”
“Thank you, sir.” Thomas dropped the assignment into the wire basket and stepped into the dimly lit hallway crowded with students. He pushed his way through the press and sat on an oak bench under the window. A few minutes ago, he was ready to leave school and head back to the farm, but the professor’s comments got him thinking again. Maybe he should finish school after all.
He slipped the letter out of the textbook and unfolded it. For the third time since the letter arrived, he read it in its entirety. He quickly skimmed over the usual news of life on the farm and slowed his reading when he got to the part about Karl Miller. After pursuing Amanda for the last several months, it appears Karl had taken an interest in the first-year schoolteacher, Miss Anderson. That was the best news in the letter. His main rival for Amanda’s affections, though according to Amanda, Karl was never a threat, had moved on to a new girl.
Thomas ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and dashed off a letter. School was going well, he hoped to see her again soon. If she ever got to Salt Lake City, she should look him up. The letter contained all the normal things that he wrote about. What he wanted to say was that he missed Amanda, but he didn’t know if he could write those words without sounding trite. He closed the letter, “I Love You,” signed his name, and stuffed it into an envelope.
On his way home he stopped by the post office and mailed the letter. The instant he dropped it in the slot, he regretted his declaration of love. Was it too much? He tried to reach through the brass slot to retrieve the letter, but it was not large enough for his hand. He turned on his heel and left the post office in a panic. There was nothing he could do about it now.
For the third day in a row, Thomas was disappointed when the mail arrived. There was no letter from Amanda. Had he ruined their budding relationship by writing that he loved her? He descended the concrete steps of the brick post office and trudged on toward campus. He managed to drag through classes, but thoughts of Amanda forced themselves into his mind.
As soon as he arrived home, Thomas wrote a short letter updating Amanda on the growth of Earl and Elizabeth’s baby and a few other items of interest. He avoided the word love in his signature, simply closing with “your friend.”
A week later, Thomas opened the post office box and found a letter from Amanda inside. He tore open the envelope and read. There was no mention of his profession of love, just the local news. He turned the letter over to find a PS. “Pa has business in Salt Lake City and has invited me to go with him. If your invitation to visit still stands, we will be there from February 27 to March 1. Let me know.”
Thomas’s heart leaped. He was the happiest he had been in days. February 27 was less than two weeks away. He ripped a page from his notebook and dashed off a quick reply. “I got your letter. In response to your PS, I would be honored to show you around.” He stuffed the letter into an envelope, bought a stamp, and dropped the letter into the outgoing mailbox.
Elizabeth coughed nervously. “Mother and Father, we need to talk to you.” She held Earl’s hand tightly.
Mr. Walker sat back down in his chair. “What about?”
Elizabeth spoke up bravely. “Spring is coming, and Earl needs to get back to the farm.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. We can help you take care of little Benny.” The baby’s name was William Benjamin Jolley, but Mrs. Walker had shortened it.
“That’s what we want to talk about. I want to go back, too.”
“And take my little Benny?” Mrs. Walker exclaimed.
“Of course, we’ll take Benny. We can’t leave him here when we go.”
“How can you take the baby to that awful place?” Mrs. Walker asked in a faint voice.
“It’s not an awful place, Mother. It’s a wonderful place for a child to grow up. Anna can help me with the baby, and he will have cousins to play with him.”
“But I won’t get to see him.”
“You’re always welcome to come to visit, and we can come to Ogden once in a while,” Earl added gently.
“That’s not the same as having him with me every day.”
“I know, Mother, but we have our life to live. We don’t want to be a burden on you and Father.”
Mrs. Walker stood abruptly. “I’ll not talk about this tonight.” She pushed open the dining room door and nearly knocked Cora down.
“I’m sorry, Cora”, Mr. Walker said to the cook. “My wife is a bit upset.” He left the room.
“That didn’t go well,” Earl said.
“About like I thought it would. Mother has been upset since you turned down Father’s job offer.”
“I know,” Earl said, “but I can’t sit in an office all day. I need to be out in the open spaces doing things.”
Elizabeth patted his arm. “Mother can be stubborn, but she’ll come around.”
“I hope so. We need to be gone by the first of March.”
There was no school on Washington’s Birthday which fell on Friday. With the long weekend, Thomas made the trip from Salt Lake City to Ogden to visit his parents and see Earl before he returned to Idaho.
As soon as Earl and Elizabeth entered the house, Thomas reached out his arms for the baby. “Can I hold Billy?”
“Billy?” asked Elizabeth. “Doesn’t anybody want to call this boy by his name?”
“Billy is short for William, isn’t it?” Thomas asked.
“It is, but his name is William Benjamin.”
“No offense, but no kid wants to be saddled with a moniker like that.”
“That’s probably true,” Mary Jolley said. “What are you going to call him?”
“My mother calls him Benny. That’s been the nickname we’ve used since he was born,” Elizabeth said.
“He could be W. B.,” William Jolley suggested.
“Too stuffy,” Earl said. “I think we will stick with Benny for now. Maybe he’ll shorten it to Ben when he goes to school.”
“Well, he’s still Billy to me,” Thomas said as he placed the baby on the floor and stroked his tiny hands.
“Dinner’s ready,” Mary announced.
Earl scooped up the baby and placed him in the cradle before he took his place next to Elizabeth at the table.
“When are you heading back?” Thomas asked.
Earl swallowed the piece of meat he was chewing. “March first.”
“Did you know Harry Nash is going to be in Salt Lake City? He’s planning to go back on March 1, as well. You could travel with him,” Thomas said.
“That’d be great.” Earl said, then asked, “Is Amanda with him?”
Thomas blushed. “She says she will be.”
“How are things with the two of you anyway?”
Thomas shrugged. “I don’t know exactly.”
“What do you mean? How can you not know, if she is coming to see you?”
Thomas explained his declaration of love and the long time it took Amanda to respond. “Then I got a letter with only normal news in it and a PS saying she was coming to Salt Lake City with her father. I honestly don’t know where things stand.”
Earl shook his head, and then said, “When you see her and Harry, tell them we’d like to travel with them if it is alright.”
“Will do.”
Earl leaned in close and whispered in Thomas’s ear. “If I were you, I wouldn’t let Amanda get away.”
