The Old Cape House (10 page)

***

Within the hour, the three friends sat down to a satisfying dinner of meat stew laced with carrots, potatoes and onions. They cleaned their bowls with fresh bread. As it was getting dark, apple cider was heated over the fire and the women enjoyed their beverages along with sweet treats of maple sugar candy. Abigail had made them from the syrup that was harvested, several months prior, on their
property. A warm rosy color glowed on Abigail’s face from the
potent cider and warm hearth. She wiped her brow with a handkerchief and asked, “Now, Maria, where is my cloth?”

Maria blushed next. “I’m so sorry, I forgot to show you.” She stood to get her basket from off the floor where she had placed it before dinner. All eyes were focused on Maria as she unfolded the beautiful cloth. Its intricate woven patterns of blues and yellows were magnificent.

Abigail touched the soft linen, “I love it, Maria. When my new tea table arrives this will complement its surface. I’ll be the envy of the whole Massachusetts Bay Colony.”

As Maria’s teacher of weaving, Minda was very proud of her student and the well-made cloth.

Pleased with it herself, Maria put her basket back on the floor. “Now I have news to tell you. But you must hear me out until I’m finished and then tell no one.” She sat down opposite Abigail and looked over at Minda for approval.

Minda agreed with a silent nod of her head.

Maria took a sip of cider, then a deep breath, and began telling Abigail about Sam, her talk with Minda on the beach, her questions, and finally her decision to have Sam’s child.

Abigail sat quiet and listened. “You’ve delivered me news that is almost too much to grasp tonight.” She folded her hands on the table and looked straight at Maria. “Do you trust this Sam to come back for you?”

Maria replied with a sparkle in her eyes, “Yes, I trust him. I
trusted him right away. There was something about him and I knew he was sincere.”

Abigail cupped Maria’s hand with hers, searching for the right words. After several seconds, she spoke, “It seems that you love this Sam.”

“Yes, I do,” Maria replied.

“What if he does not return to you? Are you prepared to live with the consequences of your decision? You must realize many people like Hestor live within the colony. They are narrow-minded and blindly follow the laws of the church.”

“What do you mean?” Maria asked.

“Sometimes the good people of our community forget that we are all trying to survive as God’s family in this new land,” Abigail explained. “They become unforgiving towards people who don’t follow the rules, even if they are unfair rules. They often forget they need to keep love in their hearts for one another.”

Abigail took a sip of the strong cider. “Many times, because people’s own lives become difficult to live, they blame bad things that happen to them on the evil of the devil. Anyone they do not approve of or dislike, becomes, in their minds, servants of the devil.”
Abigail shook her head in disgust. “I’ve often thought this
misguided
reasoning takes the blame away from their own mistakes and
problems.” She touched Maria’s cheek. “You must remain strong and take very good care of yourself until your Sam returns. Attend church as usual and do not call attention to yourself. Remember that Minda and I will be here for you.”

The old PowWah placed her fingers over Maria and Abigail’s joined hands. The three friends were different in age, race, and social stature, but it did not matter, for they found that another bond was forming among them.

***

When Maria retired, the bed felt softer than hers at home, and the room smelled fresh. Happy that Abigail knew about the child, and pleased that she had some extra shillings to take home from the sale of her cloth, sleep came quickly to Maria that night. She dreamt of Sam holding her in his arms and speaking words of promise to her, “I will return for you, I love you!”

As dawn came, she could still feel Sam’s kisses and heard a
sweet, delightful song being sung close by. She felt warm and safe as the melodic sounds lulled her; she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to wake up. Warm tender feelings filled her thoughts, shifting between visions of Sam to her room, and then back to Sam again. In a dream-like state she called out his name, but there was no answer.

Looking around the empty room she realized it was just a
dream, but she could still hear the sweet sounds surrounding her. Peering
through the window, Maria saw a tree rustle in the wind with little
birds swaying on its branches, singing their morning song. It sounded like the music from her dream; everything had seemed so real, Sam’s touch, his words. Disappointed, she rubbed her eyes, surrendering
to reality. Turning back the covers, Maria rose from her bed and
walked
over to the window. Old Brother was tied to the fence and the
wagon was ready for the trip back to Eastham.

It is another day closer to when Sam comes home to me, she thought. Then with a deep sigh …it’s also time to return to Father.

Gathering up her few possessions that lay around the room,
Maria went down the stairs and into the kitchen just in time to see Hestor’s
cap disappear beneath the kitchen floor. Maria looked up to see
Abigail entering from the back door. “Good morrow, Abigail.” She pointed to the cavernous hole in the floor. “What’s that? I didn’t notice that opening before.”

“My new root cellar,” Abigail replied. “Nathanial thought it
would be convenient for storing our supplies in the house. When the
weather is cold, I will have no need to go outside for anything. I
keep the rug over it to hide the hinges, lest I trip.”

Maria peered down into the hole and saw flat stone steps
leading
into a small room. She couldn’t see anything else from up above
because Hestor’s behind filled up the whole space. She caught
glimpses
of wooden shelves that had been built on the sides of the round
cellar as Hestor ascended the steps.

“Out of my way girl,” Hestor called out from below.

Maria stepped back as Hestor lumbered up the flat steps
carrying
last season’s canned peaches into the kitchen. Maria twisted her
head, trying to look further into the underground room.

Hestor turned to face the young girl. “If you ask me, it was mighty wasteful to build those steps with such fancy stone pieces when wood is better and more practical.” She muttered loud enough for Abigail to hear her opinion.

Abigail, who usually ignored Hestor’s comments, shrugged her shoulders. She looked at Maria and smiled in resignation at the fact that Hestor always complained about something and felt she knew everything. Abigail motioned to Maria. “Let’s sit outside with our cider while breakfast is prepared. Minda is already awake and wandering in my yard for any interesting herbs.”

Trying to stay out of Hestor’s way, Maria did as she was told and joined Abigail on the bench in the back of the house. “It has been so pleasant here, visiting with you.”

“Well, it’s too short of a visit for me.” Abigail smiled at Maria. “I will count the days to the next time my two friends visit me from Eastham.” She drank her cider and watched the early morning breeze ruffle through the high oak leaves above her head.

Maria, also enjoying the fine morning, could not stop
daydreaming of Sam and the new life growing inside her.

***

They arrived in Eastham a little after sunset, when it was still in twilight. Maria’s father was not yet home from Barnstable. Matthew was waiting on the bench.

Maria waved and called out, “Hello there, Matthew.”

He placed his tankard on the bench and rose to meet the wagon. While tying Old Brother to the post, he watched Maria’s every move. “Did you have a pleasant trip?”

“Wonderful,” she answered. “Abigail’s new house is splendid, except for her housekeeper.”

Matthew helped her out of the wagon, eager just to touch her.

Maria laughed. “The woman never speaks a kind word, but surely delivers a fine stew.”

He held her waist and looked straight into her eyes. “It’s good
that you had an agreeable visit.” When he unloaded the weary
traveler’s bags, Matthew looked back at Maria. “I’ll take care of Old Brother. Go on in and get some rest. We’ll talk another day.”

Minda watched Matthew from across the other side of the
wagon and thought what a good man Matthew is... too bad that Maria does not see him as he sees her.

Present Day – July 2 & 3

BREWSTER – CAPE COD

IT WAS GETTING DARK BUT PAUL KEPT DIGGING.
I went to find a flashlight.

He called over his shoulder. “Bring one of my old paintbrushes?”

I was too excited to walk and found myself running to get the brushes from Paul’s studio and grabbing a lantern off a shelf in the barn. By the time I returned, Paul was down on both knees inside the cellar, digging around the wooden box.

I scrambled in next to him. “What is it?”

He brushed the dirt from his hands and leaned back. “It’s a box,
all right, a wooden box with writing carved on top.” Without
looking up, he asked, “Did you bring the brushes?” He held his hand out like a surgeon in the operating room.

With light from the lantern, I quickly picked the biggest brush to hand to him, then coaxed him on with, “Do the top first.”

Gently sweeping away the black dirt Paul whispered, “It looks like a letter D.”

I looked closer. “You’re right. I think I see something else.”

Careful not to damage the rotted wood, Paul’s gentle
movements
revealed two iron strap hinges across the wooden lid. “This is
awesome,” he said.

In less than a millisecond, the top caved in. “Damn it!” he
shouted.

“Crap,” I whispered. A cloud of crumbling wood and dirt
descended down upon the contents. Whatever was inside the chest remained hidden once again. I leaned in to touch the sides of the box. “It must have been beautiful at one time. I wonder how old it is?”

Paul ran his hands over the exposed sides. “I’m not sure–maybe a hundred years.”

The chest measured about 16 x 20 inches. “How far does it go down into the dirt?” I bent my head over trying to get a better idea of its depth. Neither one of us said anything for a few seconds, lost in our own curious thoughts. Standing up, I rubbed my hands clean.
“Paul it’s really getting dark. Maybe we better go in…should we
cover it with something?”

He looked down at the find. “Go get a piece of plastic and a couple of bricks to hold it down for the night.”

I left in search of what was needed.

After covering the chest and pushing the sawhorses close
together to guard the hole, we walked towards the garage. Paul carried the
lantern, and I held the brushes. I could sense the restlessness
between us as we hurried across the yard. I knew we both wanted to keep
digging, but it just wasn’t going to happen anymore tonight.
Anxious to tell the kids what we’d discovered, I wasted no time in getting to the house.

I dropped the brushes on the worktable in the garage, kicked off my muddy shoes then ran up the steps and into the living room. Paul stayed behind to clean up, as usual. I called out to the kids, “Guess what we found?”

They were all sitting in a line on the couch watching TV. I recited in one breath, “We found an old chest at the bottom of the cellar, but it’s so dark we had to stop digging. It even had a big letter D on it and it was about this big,” I showed its size with my hands. Then I
took another breath and continued, “It could be over a hundred
years
old, but the lid broke, so we’re not sure what else we’ll find, if
anything. We’re going to try to dig it out tomorrow.”

“Cool Mom,” Brian said, keeping his eyes on the screen.

Jim chimed in. “Maybe you’ll find treasure!” He tickled Molly, who was sitting next to him. “And then we’ll be rich!” She laughed and flung her legs up into the air, hitting Jim in the mouth with her tennis shoes.

“Molly, be careful,” I yelled out. “And don’t forget,” pointing at Molly, “it’s almost time for your bed.”

July 3

When morning came, Paul was up first. I stayed a little longer sleeping. As I stretched my arms above my head to wake up, Molly came running in next to the bed, “Mommy, come on. Let’s go! Let’s dig up treasure.”

“Okay. Okay. I’m coming!” I sat up on the edge of the bed,
dangling my feet. “Did you already eat your breakfast?”

Molly looked at me with wide eyes. “Yup, Daddy said I could watch and MAYBE dig a little.” She leaned close to the bed and fidgeted with her foot, then pulled it up against her back in a stretch, “…IF I was careful.”

Within the hour, the three of us were marching to the backyard armed with brushes, trowels and garden shovels, intent on resuming our dig in the old cellar.

“Molly! Until your brothers get home from work you’ll have to stay with us,” said Paul.

That was just fine with her.

After removing the sawhorse barricade, Paul pulled the tarp away to reveal the top of the chest and stepped down into the cellar. He began slowly to cut away at one side of the box. Molly sat on the edge of the hole with a pile of dirt, a pail and a shovel. I jumped in next to Paul.

We first worked at trying to clear away some of the wood and
dirt that had caved in on top of the box but before long, it was
evident that the contents inside the chest had disintegrated. Disappointed, I pulled my finger back and forth through the dust, trying to find anything. As I took one last swirl through the dirt, my fingertips brushed against two tiny pieces of paper. “Paul! I found something.”