A STORY FOR YOU!

I have often thought about writing about my mother's life, but somehow just never got around to it. I became inspired and wrote a short story about the first two years of her life. I am placing it on the blog to see what you think. It is fiction based upon fact. When I read the story to BC, he asked how I knew all of this-I know the story told by my mother, and this is an adaptation of her facts into a story. BC assured me that if it was boring, that you would quit reading and hope for a better blog tomorrow. So feel free to surf away, if I lull you into dreamland.

Overton was a sleepy Texas town built along the railroad surrounded by farms and cotton fields. The dirt road through the middle of town was bordered by the railroad on one side and the row of wooden stores and businesses on the other. The town existed to furnish the supplies and needs of the farmers that surrounded it with the merchants and professionals being the aristocracy of the town.

The Gillespie family fit into this aristocracy since Dr. Gillespie, the patriarch, was revered and loved by all of the local families. His horse and his buggy were his mobile office and the bedrooms of the town and surrounding farms the hospital. The medicines available were primitive and few, but the doctor was a fountain of book learned medicine as well as old time folk remedies. The community depended upon his care and compassion and he grieved along with the families when a patient was lost.

Dr. Gillespie’s clan included two sons and three daughters. Will A, the oldest was the heir apparent, and shared the responsibility of the family with his busy father. The three girls, Zula, Kate, and Lora were their mother’s helpers who cared for little brother, Paul as well as helped keep the household running. There was a definite division of labor and the men, including the boys, were the ultimate authority.

The family attended the local Methodist church as did most of the town’s “aristocracy”. The larger Baptist church was just around the block, but during these early years of township, the farmers and laborers were the majority of the Baptist membership.

All of the young ladies of Overton were greatly disappointed when they found that Will A. had gone to nearby Gladewater to court the daughter of the Phillips family. A proud and old family, the Phillips heralded not only from Revolutionary War veterans, Civil War veterans, but also Texas Revolution veterans. The distinction of the Texas Revolution ancestry was by far the most important badge of pride for the Phillips family.

Annalu and Will A. courted in the traditional style of the south with only chaperoned visitation until there engagement and even then someone was always nearby when the couple were together. Will A. was instantly smitten with Annalu, a beautiful whisp of a young lady with wavy, dark, hair which was swept up high on her head in beautiful waves. Never an unkind word was heard uttered by Annalu about another and her sweet reputation made her beauty almost angelic. Will A., ever the southern gentlemen, treated Annalu like a prized piece of china. Their marriage before a parlor full of family only lead to the continued reverence of Miss Annalu and thus their lives together began blissfully.

Will A. & Annalu learned early in their marriage that they were to be parents. What a proud moment, and hopefully the next Gillespie male heir would soon be coming. What a surprise when the baby came into the world a soft, round, sweet, miniature Annalu. Will A. wondered how he could have wanted anything other than this angel sent to them.

The next two years were a blur of bliss as the new family grew in love and adoration for each other. The news that another Gillespie baby was on the way was met with delight and glad anticipation of the blessing to come. Life was truly better than they ever dreamed it could be. Tomorrow seemed bright and full of promise. As for today-they savored the blessings so abundantly bestowed on the young family

II

The house was quiet with a hush that you usually hear only in a church. The occasional whisper from the long hallway or the soft fall of a footstep upon the rug covered wooden floor would creep into the dimly lit parlor, but the air was filled with the awareness of impending sorrow.

The sisters were all gathered in the parlor with the sweet, petite niece in their charge. A beautiful child with dark thick straight hair worn in a bowl cut with bangs falling just above her eyes, the niece was the precious child of their brother and sister in law. None of the sisters were married and though head strong and independent, they still held their older brother in high esteem and held close to his counsel. They all took turns reading to the child and keeping her quiet as the muffled sounds from the bedroom down the hall strained through the evening shadows.

The child’s Mother was in the process of leaving those that held her dear. Her Father had driven all over the country-side in a desperate search of a miracle, when the doctor had shared his wife’s fate. There was no miracle to be found, so they returned home to the sisters, the two year old child, and the certainty of the day that would come. The miracle of the child’s birth and the ensuing sweetness of life with her had stirred the desire for another such miracle. The day had come when the miracle to be had been announced, but the thrill of two children had soon been stilled with the tragic news of what would come.

The Father’s grief and desperation were a palatable presence in their life everyday as the day neared that they all knew was coming. How could he live with the knowledge that his precious wife that he loved more than his own life would be slipping away. What desperation he felt as he searched for anyone or anyway to stop what was rapidly approaching, but the desperation only deepened with each and every hour that passed.

The daughter, the sweet beautiful daughter was a constant reminder of her mother. When he gazed into her eyes, her mother’s eyes looked back at him. When he heard the tinkle of her laughter, her mother’s laughter echoed in his mind. Every facet of this wonderful gift from his wife reminded him of her mother. The pain of her presence was more than he could bear as his wife slipped away. He asked the sisters to keep her occupied and away from his bedside vigil. Her presence was too painful as he watched her mother slowly slip away. There would come a day when he would once again relish every moment with the sweet daughter, but for today-keep her away.