Home Front by John A. Bray

Author:John A. Bray [Bray, John A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Deirdre approached her mother with a proposal which she believed would not cause an objection.

“Mama, I’ve saved a few dollars from the quilts I’ve sold. I’d like to use the money for a train ticket to visit the convent of the Sisters of Charity, the order of nuns that taught me in school. They accept postulants for formation before they enter the order. It’s up in the Bronx. They wrote to me and said I could come for a visit any time. Maureen said she would come with me.”

“Of course, dear, that would be lovely. Now aren’t ye glad I started ye quiltin’ over to the Church?”

“Yes, Mama, it will come in handy just now.”

“Will ye be staying overnight, when ye go up to the convent?”

“Yes, they offer overnight stays for girls who might be interested. Maureen would go along to keep me company. I don’t really think she’s interested in a vocation, but she said she would go with me.”

Maggie with the innate wisdom of motherhood and her years of experience knew better than to question Deirdre’s sudden turnabout. She suspected that something had gone amiss with her daughter’s infatuation with her mysterious soldier-boy, but chose to remain silent on the matter. Her instinct told her that to bring up a sensitive subject at this point would only result in another emotional scene.

“When will ye be takin’ the train?” she asked to keep the conversation on a neutral plane.

“We checked at the station, Mama. There’s a train to Kingsbridge on Friday afternoon. We’ll stay the weekend and be back after Mass on Sunday. That will give me a chance to see if it’s the right thing for me.”

“That’s very nice, dear. I’ll help you pack a bag come Friday.”

“Thank you, Mama.”

Deirdre went for a stroll along Canal Street with Maureen. Deep in thought, Deirdre kept her silence for several blocks as they weaved among the crowds of people and the heavy wagon traffic on the busy thoroughfare.

Finally, Maureen said: “I’m happy to keep you company on this visit, Deedee. But are you sure you aren’t being a little too hasty? Johnny might come back with a perfectly reasonable explanation.”

“I’m not sure about anything right now. That’s why I want to go someplace and try to sort out my feelings. If Johnny is gone then I need to know what I’ll do. He could be lost in the war. He may get sent someplace far away and I’d never see him again, or he could be off with that – that woman.”

She said this last with a vehemence she had seldom before expressed.

Maureen chose not to attempt to brighten her friend’s mood with any further words of encouragement that she knew might sound hollow at this moment. They walked along in silence until Maureen suggested that they stop and buy something to eat from one of the street vendors that proliferated on the busy street. Thus preoccupied, neither girl saw Nate Boyer pass by driving a wagon with

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