Maps, Mockingbirds, and Misdeeds by Mary Lucal

Author:Mary Lucal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mary Lucal
Published: 2023-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE that almost two years have passed since I first imagined a life beyond England. Yet here I am, a man on the verge of having everything he ever dreamed of, and facing my second New Canaan winter. Thank God—thus far, it is not so bitter as the last.

Much has changed since I last sat down to fill these pages. Most importantly, Double Oaks has moved from a dream to an almost completed reality. We raised the walls in November and the roof will be complete in another week. A bit later than we’d hoped, but still in time to shelter us from the bitter winds. While the men have worked like ants to complete the exterior, Susannah and other women from the community made the inside a home, adding horse hair and hay into the walls to insulate against the coming cold. It is dirty and difficult work and I credit these women with the strength of sturdy men.

The three of us have very few possessions to speak of; what furniture we have has been donated by our friends or purchased on credit. Mr. Daniels, the carpenter, has constructed fine beds for all of us and a dinner table besides. We will place it in Thomas and Susannah’s kitchen and share it until we can purchase a second one for my side of the house.

Susannah and I have taken to meeting privately, going to elaborate lengths to make these meetings appear coincidental. We make frequent trips to the mercantile where we “decide” to walk back to Double Oaks together. Thomas often skips church on Sunday, whereas I have become a dedicated attendee, and Susannah and I walk home together. Thomas has made his feelings on the topic of his sister known to me: she is too young to be betrothed and needs to marry into another German family. Yet I am as a firefly to a lantern and could fill this page reflecting on the color of Susannah’s hair.

We have been circumspect in stating our feelings for one another, but I feel sure she returns my affection. She is a good sister and does not wish to vex her brother, yet she shows up in the places she knows I frequent and seems to have a book at the ready for me when I come to the library in need of reading material. I have become a most voracious reader in the past few months.

Thomas cannot know of all the time Susannah and I spend together, though his attitude toward me seems markedly changed. Yesterday, as we rode hay out to the cattle, he said very little. I asked him what was the matter and he claimed a headache. I hope that is the case and that it is not Susannah coming between us.

Already I dread the winter to come, when we will all be kept to our houses with fewer reasons to venture out for leisurely walks and chance encounters. I hope that the library will stay open no matter the weather.

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