Falling for the Enemy

Goodbye

                                                                            Henry

We stand on the veranda waiting for Catherine to return.  I know why Mary is leaving and I want to explain things to Catherine so she can talk some sense into her sister before she gets on the 2:30 train but Catherine is nowhere to be found.  

“Mary, she will come.  She may be angry but she will see you off.” Mr. Cooney says standing up from his chair to give his daughter a hug.  

“She is angry with me and she is very stubborn.  If she wants to run and wallow then let her. “ 

Mary says looking at her pocket watch.  Catherine has been gone all morning.  She left soon after Mary told her she was leaving.  Now that 1:00 is approaching it seems that Catherine is much angrier than anyone first realized.   Of course, she would be angry.  She has taken care of her sister for the last few months asking for nothing in return and now Mary is running away because of what happened last night between the two of us.  I didn’t realize that I had damaged Mary’s pride so terribly last night.  I could never have imagined that it would cause her to run away from her own home.  How could I have foreseen her making this decision to leave?  

“Mary, can I speak to you for a moment?”  I say gesturing for her to walk with me to the other side of the veranda where we can talk without being heard. She nods and joins me.  

“Mary you don’t have to do this.  This is your home, I will leave” I am pleading for her to stay.  “Nonsense Henry, what happened between us last night only cemented my decision to leave for Georgia, I have wanted to leave for weeks but I have been indecisive.  Last night only made me sure that I must leave.  I can be more useful in Georgia with my aunt.  I am not needed here” she says placing her hand on my arm.   

She looks towards the willows that frame the dirt road leading up to Moher.   I can see dirt being kicked up between the willows; this must be the acquaintance of Mr. Cooney’s that will be traveling with Mary to Georgia.  

“Tell Catherine that I love her, even if she does want to be a little brat about me leaving,” she says smiling at me.  

Mary walks over to her father and kisses him on the cheek and embraces him in a hug.  

“I love you father.  I will only be gone for a few weeks.  I just need a change in pace.” Mary then says goodbye to Samuel and his family and walks to the coach.  Playing the part of the mute cousin again I walk over and place her bags in the coach without saying a word.  Mary looks around once more, I am assuming she is looking for Catherine but she doesn’t come and with that Mary is on her way to Georgia.  

“I can’t believe Catherine didn’t see her sister off.” Mr. Cooney says shaking his head.  

“Sarah please help me to my room, I need to lay down, it has been an eventful day.”  Sarah takes Mr. Cooney’s right hand and I take his other and together we guide him to his room.  Mr. Cooney lies down and nods at both myself and Sarah. 

“Thank you” and he closes his eyes.  I return to the fields to tend to the crops that are beginning to spring up.  The thought that I have overstayed my welcome, keeps running through my head.  When the sun sets I am surprised that Catherine has still not returned.  I know she may be mad but this is verging close to childish and immature now.  This doesn’t seem like something Catherine would do.  My thigh is throbbing but the pain is bearable as I enter the kitchen to wash up. 

“Good Evening Sarah,” I say smiling in her direction.  

“Still no sign of Catherine,” I ask hoping that maybe she came back to the house without me noticing. 

“No, Mr. Washburne. This is very unlike Miss Catherine.” She says shaking her head.  

“Mr. Cooney and Susanah did not feel well enough for dinner tonight so with Miss Catherine still out, Samuel, Adam, and I ate some of the dried venison that was left over in the pantry.  I have left you some on the plate on the table.”  “Thank you, Sarah”   

“If there isn’t anything else you need I am retiring for the night” 

“No thank you, Sarah.  Wait, does Mr. Cooney know that Catherine is still out?”  

“We thought it better not to tell him, sir.  We didn’t want to cause him any unneeded stress.”  

“Yes, that is good thinking.  Good night Sarah.”  

“Good night Mr. Washburne.”   

Taking the dried venison in my hand I limp out onto the front veranda and take a seat on the stairs.  My leg always seems to hurt more in the evening when I have stopped the chores and activities from the day.  Resting my leg straight out in front of me, I sit and wait for Catherine to return. 

At some point in the night, I must have dozed off and am awakened by the sound of thunder clapping from above.  I look at the night sky and see a flash shoot across above the trees.  Standing up I limp into the house, praying that Catherine is asleep in Mary’s bed.  I slowly limp towards Mary’s bedroom door and open it gently, walking into the room and find the bed unslept in and still empty.  Another sound of thunder claps outside the window and the whole house vibrates from the sound.  Then the rain comes.  I lie down on Mary’s old bed and close my eyes, hoping that Catherine is spending the night in the slave’s quarters because she is too embarrassed to come back to the house tonight because of the way she acted.