AS PROMISED-ANOTHER STORY

III

Louise’s earliest memories were all centered around the family home of The Gillespie’s. The three Aunts, her Grandfather, and her Daddy all lived together in the large old rambling wooden house. There was a long porch on the front with rockers and cane-bottom chairs lining the floor between the wooden support pillars. The memories include sitting outside in the early evening enjoying the shade and escaping the heat of the house. Hours spent with family and friends discussing the news of the community and passing the time in pleasant communion.

Louise had no memory of her Mother, but only knew her by what she had been told by her Father and her Aunts from both her Father’s family and her Mother’s. She knew her to be a beautiful and gentle Angel. Her memory was a living presence in the house and her Daddy only spoke of her Mother with a quiet, but reverent tone. She was so proud to have such a Mother, but found it strange that she had no memory of the woman held in such high esteem by so many. One of the very effective discipline tools used by her Daddy was to remind Louise of the Saintly Mother that surely she would want to please and emulate.

Louise’s day to day life was shaped by the three Aunts and her Daddy. Daddy was gone to the Drug Store everyday except for Sunday and was often gone before Louise woke up until late in the evening. She missed her Father, but was left with instructions to obey the Aunts and follow their directions while he was gone. The Aunts all worked outside the home, which was very unusual for those days, but Grandfather not only approved, but also encouraged them to work in these female professions. He had encouraged their education and this education and their working made them intimidating to all of the local young men. The house full of strong willed and domineering women could intimidate even the men in their own family, much less any potential suitor.

While the Aunts were working, Louise was left in the care of the long time family cook and housekeeper, Lilly. Louise’s earliest memory of the household included Lilly. Lilly was an excellent “country cook” that kept wonderful meals on the table and kept the household running in good order. Lily had a sixth sense of anticipating what the family would need and had their needs met before they realized they had the need. Lilly treated Louise with tender kindness since she felt sorry for the motherless child. Louise had only to ask Lilly for anything and it was immediately answered, if it were in Lilly’s power. Life was sweet, but lonely without the nurturing Mother all of us need. Lilly loved Louise, but she had her own children to nurture and mother, while holding down a full time job. There was only so much Lilly to spread around and with a house to run and meals to prepare, there was not much time to hug or cuddle Little Louise.

Louise was a beautiful and smart little girl. She was kept neat as a pin and always the consummate “young lady.” She was eager to please, but found herself the constant center of attention in the household. The family expressed their delight in her beauty and her good manners and she came to relish and savor the praise so lavishly poured on her. Years passed with Louise being the center of not only the household, but also the center of each and everyone’s life within the household. The devotion of the Gillespie’s was a treasure that Louise came to expect as a normal part of her everyday life, but change would surely come.

Aunt Zula was the oldest of the sisters, and the sister with the meekest personality. Zula helped Will A at the Drug Store, but she was also in charge of the operation of the household. Aunt Zula could be relied upon to offer plenty of hugs and kisses and was the nearest thing to a “Real Mother” that Louise had. Zula’s true aspiration in life was to be a wife and a mother. Being the eldest, she was also the first of the Aunts to leave the family home and marry her beau, Tom. Louise missed the day to day mothering that Zula had given and in some ways felt like she had once again lost her Mother, but the other two Aunts doubled their efforts to meet the void in Louise’s life.

Aunt Kate was the middle child and in the usual middle child role, the peacemaker in the family. Kate felt the responsibility of soothing hurt feelings or calming tempers when emotions were high. She was Louise’s protector and “watched” over her when the rules of the house seemed a bit harsh. Kate worked for a local attorney and spent the remainder of her life in the business world. A kind and genteel “Lady” Kate would always have a special place in her heart for Louise, but just as Zula had married and left the family home, so did Kate. Louise was left with Aunt Lora, and clung tenaciously to the remaining female household member.

Aunt Lora was the teacher in the family. She was somewhat distant and emotionally removed, but loved Louise in her own way. Ever the “Proper Lady” she felt responsible for not only Louise’s traditional education, but also her education in the “social graces”. Many of the local townspeople felt that Lora put on “Airs”, but no one ever questioned her dedication to Louise and the family. Lora was the last to marry and only after Will A had announced his plans to marry Ora. Knowing that she had lost her “ultimate authority” as far as Louise was concerned, it was time for her to also marry and leave Louise. Louise, in the deep recesses of her soul, felt abandonment once again. Why did all of the important women in her life always leave her?

Will A.’s grief abated with time and after many years, he began to court one of the local ladies, Ora Warren. Ora was another tiny beautiful whisp of a woman that had caught Will A’s eye at the local bank where she was employed as a teller. Ora had a soft-whispery voice, a beautiful smile and a twinkle in her eye. She was quite a bit younger than Will A., but he was once again smitten with a lady. The aching loneliness of all the years had been filled with his love and admiration for Ora. In the back of his mind, he also thought Ora would make the maturing Louise a wonderful Mother during these years when a woman’s influence and presence were so important. Ora was delighted with his proposal and they were married in her parent’s parlor before family and friends.
At the tender age of ten, Louise was unsure and confused when her Daddy announced his marriage. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Ora, but she had grown to like her and her Daddy being in the house alone. The Aunts were all married and in their own homes and though still in her life, not in the intense day to day manner as before their marriage. It seemed that she had lost her Mother, lost her Aunts, and now felt as if she were losing her Daddy. Thinking she had been abandoned, yet again, Louise-the once center of her Daddy’s world, was re-living the sadness of her early years. The desperate and over-whelming grief enveloped Louise’s very being with the subconscious echo of her Daddy’s long ago request whispering in her very soul, “For Today, Keep Her Away.”