Summer In Iron Springs (10 page)

             
A great weight had settled on Phoebe’s shoulders. Howard, a perfect stranger, knew more about her mother than she did. How could she live with that? As she thought about the life she’d lived up to this point, she made a decision to change. She would strive to be more like her mother. She would use the time she had left in Iron Springs to learn all she could about her mother. If she had a question, she would ask it. Nothing would go unasked. Nothing would be ignored. There would be no more pretending.

             
“I have something for you Phoebe,” Anna said when she returned a few minutes later. “I always imagined I’d give this to you on your wedding day but I think this is a better time for you to have it.”

             
Phoebe turned and faced her aunt. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and rested her body against the headboard.

“Your mother made this,” she said. “I want you to have it.” She handed Phoebe a beautiful dark blue quilt. It was made up of an intricate pattern of brightly colored butterflies in various sizes and shapes. The vibrant design was stitched together to form an exquisite work of art.

“My mother made this?” Phoebe’s eyes were glued to the quilt. She sat cross-legged on the bed as she admired the beautiful gift.

             
Anna nodded. She ran her hand softly over the beautiful quilt. Her eyes admired it lovingly. “I hope it will bring you comfort.”

             
“Thank you,” Phoebe said. She put her arms around her aunt. Anna returned the embrace and held her niece for as long as Phoebe would allow.

When Phoebe released the embrace,
Anna stood and walked slowly toward the door. “I’ll leave you alone. Please call me if you need anything.”

             
Phoebe covered herself with her mother’s quilt, curled up in a ball, wrapped her arms around her legs and wept.

Seven

When Phoebe emerged from her room, her eyes were red and puffy and her head ached. She headed downstairs to the living room.
Anna stood up from her spot on the couch.

             
“Hi Phoebe, are you feeling better?”
              Phoebe nodded. She didn’t trust her voice to speak.

             
Anna walked over and put her arms around Phoebe. Phoebe rested her head on her aunt’s shoulder. “I know it hurts.” Anna gently ran her hand over Phoebe’s back.

             
Phoebe nodded and wiped the tears from her cheek. “Do you mind if I get some air?” Phoebe motioned her arm toward the front door.

             
Anna looked into Phoebe’s swollen eyes. “Of course not,” she placed her hand on Phoebe’s arm. “You go right ahead. Would you like me to come with you?”

             
Phoebe shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

Billy stood when Phoebe walked outside. The anxious expression on his face told her he was aware that she’d seen her mother’s grave.

He walked over and stood before her. “Hi.” He ran the back of his hand over her cheek. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. She was happy he stayed instead of leaving with Norm and the others.

“Let’s take a walk,” he said, gently taking her hand in his.

Phoebe nodded and followed Billy down the porch steps. She needed to get away. She was cried out and tired of being cooped up in her room.

              They headed into the heavily wooded part of the forest and walked until they reached the willow tree they’d sat beneath after their date.

             
“Let’s sit here,” Billy said. He helped Phoebe to the ground and then he took a seat beside her.

The sound of leaves rustling through the trees and a calm evening breeze filled the air. Crickets chirped their customary song and far off in the distance, an owl called out. Phoebe relaxed to the peaceful sounds of evening.

              “Are you cold?” Billy asked after Phoebe shuddered.

             
“A little.”

             
Billy removed his jacked and helped her to put it on. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a warm embrace. He looked into her eyes as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m so sorry, Phoebe,” he whispered. Phoebe buried her face in his chest and stayed there for a long moment.

“It just took me by surprise,” she said. She swallowed hard and tried to stop the flow of tears from starting up again. “I didn’t know where she was buried . . . I just . . .” Her voice trailed off.

              “It’s okay,” Billy said softly. He held her in his arms. “I know it’s not easy to talk about.”

             
“It’s not,” she said. “I’ve never talked about her. My dad never . . .” She glanced toward the sky. “. . . He just couldn’t talk about it at all.”

The moon’s vivid glow shined through the trees and Phoebe’s eyes were drawn to it.

              “It’s nice out here, isn’t it?” Billy whispered softly.

             
Phoebe nodded. “It’s beautiful.” Being there with Billy made the place even more beautiful.

             
“I wish I could have been with you today,” Billy said, staring into her eyes. “I’m sorry you had to have that experience alone.”

             
“I wish you could have been there too,” she whispered.             

“Will you tell me about her?” Billy’s words broke the silence.

              “About my mom?” Phoebe asked, even though she already knew the answer.

             
Billy nodded. “I’d like to know about her. I mean, if you want to talk about it.”

             
“I don’t remember much about her. I was only three when she died.” A tear trickled down Phoebe’s cheek and she wiped it away. “I hate being so emotional.”

             
“I’m so sorry Phoebe.” Billy pulled her closer and wrapped his arms tightly around her. “I’m sure being in Iron Springs is hard for you.”

             
Phoebe nodded. “She spent her life here.” Phoebe’s heart ached as she pictured her mother’s grave. “It’s hard being surrounded by so many things that make me think about her.” She paused for a moment, wiping away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “But, at the same time, I want to learn all that I can about her while I’m here.”

             
Billy leaned close to her and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I know it’s painful, but I think you’ll be happy you had this time in Iron Springs.”

             
Phoebe nodded. She looked into his eyes. “I agree, and not just because of my mom.”

             
Billy smiled and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Oh yeah?” he said when the kiss was over. “And just what else does Iron Springs have that makes you happy?”

             
Phoebe glanced at the sky and smiled. “Well, there’s this guy . . . and he’s kinda nice and not bad to look at.”

             
Billy laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. “Is that right?”

             
“Uh huh.” Phoebe laughed.

***

Phoebe removed the painting of the cottage from the wall. She stared at it for a long while, examining the great detail of the beautiful scene. In the distance, she noticed a tiny squirrel rushing across a telephone wire; seeing it made her smile. Her eyes were drawn to a small white mailbox that was situated atop
a wooden pole at the end of a long sidewalk. There was writing on the mailbox.

“It’s the address,” she said aloud.

Her eyes squinted, trying to make out the words. “112 Blue Beth Lane.”

She hurried to
Anna’s office and entered the address into a search on the computer. She was sure it would be easy, especially after how quickly she had been able to locate the address of the church. But, none of the results made any sense. There were plenty of addresses that matched, but none of them were anywhere near Iron Springs and none of the images matched the one in the painting.

             
“Hi Phoebe,” Anna said, entering the office. How’s your day going?” Anna sat down in a leather chair that faced the large wooden desk.

             
“Fine,” Phoebe said gloomily.

             
“That doesn’t sound good,” Anna said.

             
Phoebe glanced at the computer screen. “Well, I was looking at one of my mom’s paintings. It’s the one of the cottage—I want to visit it, but I can’t find the address.” Phoebe turned the computer monitor and held up her hand to show the multitude of results. “I searched for 112 Blue Beth Lane, since that’s what it says on the mailbox, but none of the searches returned any results that were helpful.”

             
Anna smiled. “Follow me, Phoebe,” she stood up and walked toward the office door.

“Where to?”

“Trust me,” Anna said as she headed out the door and up the stairs.

She walked to Phoebe’s room where she removed the painting from the wall and sat down on the bed. Phoebe sat beside her.

              “This says Elizabeth Lane, not Blue Beth Lane.” Anna paused and gave Phoebe a sideways glance. “Although, I can certainly see how you came up with that. I wouldn’t have been able to make it out either if I hadn’t already known what it said.”

After examining the words more closely, Phoebe could see the word
Elizabeth
. “That’s right! Thank you!” She threw her arms around Anna and then, after a brief embrace, she darted out the door and down the hall.

             
“You don’t need to do that,” Anna called after Phoebe causing her to stop midway down the stairs. “I know right where it is.”

             
“You do?” Phoebe whirled around to face Anna who was now standing at the top of the stairs. “Will you tell me?”

             
Anna smiled. “I’ll do better than that, I’ll take you there; right now if you’d like.”

             
“I would love that,” Phoebe said. She tore out the front door and headed for the car.

Anna
drove them down a bumpy dirt road until they came to a long narrow lane that took them into an area densely populated by giant evergreens. Tiny houses were nestled amongst the trees. Phoebe surveyed each one and compared it to the cottage in the painting.

“Can I ask you a question?” Phoebe said when
Anna turned and headed down a long narrow dirt road.

             
Anna glanced at Phoebe. “Of course you can.”

             
“My mom . . .” she paused and swallowed the emotions that were mounting inside her. “. . . She liked butterflies.” Phoebe took a moment to form her words. “She made the quilt of butterflies and Stephen told me that she taught him about caterpillars and how they turn into butterflies.”

             
Anna stared out the window. A smile crossed her face. “Bessie loved butterflies.” The cracking in Anna’s voice caused Phoebe to feel guilty for asking. She could tell how hard it was for Anna to talk about her sister. “And she was Stephen’s very best friend.”

             
“I can tell. He talks about her a lot.” Phoebe’s gaze moved to the floor. As she focused on her shoes, she wished it didn’t feel so awkward talking about her mother. “Why did she like them? I mean, what was it about butterflies that meant so much to her?”

             
Anna slowed the car to a stop on the side of a narrow dirt road. She looked at Phoebe and smiled. “Well, we grew up at the orchard. So we got to see a lot of butterflies. Your mother saw beauty in everything around her. She believed that the transformation a caterpillar underwent before becoming a butterfly was one of God’s sweetest miracles. “Anna glanced away briefly, blinked away a tear and looked back at Phoebe. “Your mother was a very special person.”

Phoebe’s heart swelled as she listened to her aunt’s words. She wanted be like the woman
Anna described. She wanted to find beauty in the world. She wanted to be happy about what she had; not angry and bitter over what she didn’t have.

             
“There it is.” Anna pointed out the car’s windshield to the tiny cottage. It looked just as it had in the painting.

“Did my parents live there?” She knew the answer to her question but she needed
Anna to confirm her gut feeling.

             
“Yes, they did. And so did you,” Anna smiled as tears filled Phoebe’s eyes.

             
“I lived here?”

             
Anna nodded. “Go ahead. Take a look around. I’ll wait here,” she shooed Phoebe from the car.

             
Phoebe stepped out of the car and slowly made her way toward the white picket fence that surrounded the property. She glanced over her shoulder and Anna motioned for her to keep moving. She was anxious about knocking on the door—about facing the stranger who now lived in her parent’s first home. She took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet scent of lilacs. She crossed the lawn and stepped onto the covered entryway. She exhaled slowly as she pressed the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened and an elderly man peered out at her. Phoebe immediately recognized Howard.

             
“Well, hello again, young lady,” he beamed at her. “What brings you all the way out here?”

             
Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief. She was happy it was Howard, and not a stranger, living in her parent’s home. “My parents lived here,” Phoebe said. She was not sure how much Howard knew about her situation. “And I . . .” she glanced behind the old man, her eyes absorbing every detail of her surroundings, “Well . . . I was hoping I could take a look around.”

             
“My house is your house, young lady,” Howard said. He moved to the side, and motioned for her to enter.

             
He shuffled into the small living room. “This room is very much the way it was when your parents lived here,” he said. The room was attached to an even smaller dining room. Phoebe glanced around and was surprised by the sense of familiarity she had with the house. She didn’t have any memory of her current surroundings but she felt at home in the cottage.

“This is the kitchen,” Howard said, tapping his hand on the arched doorway. “I haven’t changed a thing since I moved in.” As Phoebe stood in the small cozy room, she imagined her mother, standing at the old fashioned oven while preparing dinner for her father. She looked out the kitchen window and pictured herself as a toddler playing under the large tree that dominated the tiny back yard.