To the Copper Country by Barbara Carney-Coston

Author:Barbara Carney-Coston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wayne State University Press

10

Post Office and Rain

As Mama drove the wagon down another street to the post office, Mihaela looked around her. There were several people walking, but they didn’t seem to be in a big hurry like the people in New York. Most of the men wore suits. Some of the women wore long skirts with high-collared ruffled blouses, but there were others who dressed more plainly, like Mama. And everyone was wearing a hat. Mihaela saw her mother reach up and touch her bare head. Would she and Mama be expected to wear such hats, too? They often wore kerchiefs to keep their hair out of the way when doing farm chores, but these were fancy hats with brims and ribbon. She wondered what other customs were different here. And why didn’t she see any children her age? There were just a few babies and toddlers with their mothers.

Mama stopped the wagon in front of a small wooden building. “I think this is the post office. Mihaela, can you manage alone in there? I don’t want to leave the boys or these groceries.” She handed her the letter she had written along with a few US coins.

Mihaela entered the building and tried to remember the writing she had seen at the mail window when they had gone through immigration in New York. She squeezed her eyes shut, picturing the word in her mind. “Let-ter!” she finally said. She showed the man behind the counter the envelope and started speaking rapidly to him in Croatian.

“Letter, I understand.” He took the envelope. “Mail this?” He waved it back and forth.

Mihaela nodded.

“All right.” He put the letter on a scale. “Postage to Croatia … thirteen cents.” He held up two hands, squeezed them shut, and then raised three fingers on one hand.

Mihaela handed him all of her coins and he gave her change. She looked at the postman. “Levak?”

He seemed puzzled.

Mihaela pointed to herself and tried to say the new word again. “Let-ter?”

“I get it.” He reached into a bin under the counter and took out several letters. “You are a Levak?”

Mihaela nodded.

“Let’s see here … Banyar, Dresich, Udovic …” he read. Looking up, he shook his head. “Sorry. No Levak.”

Mihaela’s face fell.

The postman shrugged. “Maybe next time.”

As she returned to the wagon, Mihaela saw that the blue sky of early morning had changed to a threatening gray. She quickly climbed onto the seat.

“We need to hurry so I can take the wash off the lines before it starts to rain,” Mama said. “Hold on tight!”

They were halfway to the cabin when the winds started howling, strange and mournful, through the woods.

Mihaela glanced around uneasily. Mama snapped the reins to make the horses go faster.

A bolt of lightning lit up the sky in front of them, followed by a large roll of thunder.

“Bad noise,” Blaž whimpered.

“We can’t let these provisions get wet.” Mama pulled Blaž close to her side. She flicked the reins again, and the horses started to gallop.

The cabin was in view as rain splashed down in big, fat drops.

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