Celestial Springs

Chapter 9-2

The medicine in one hand, a glass of water in the other, Ginny paused, studying them both. She was certain it was the medication that was making her forget, confuse people’s names, think she was one place when clearly she was somewhere else. She had always protested taking the medication. Hazel seemed kind. Maybe she would understand if she did not want to take it. However, when she glanced back up at the face above her, Hazel had a no-nonsense expression in her eyes, so Ginny complied and swallowed it down, chasing it with a bit of water, causing the face to shift to a smile.

“Thank you, madam,” she said, setting the water glass back on the table.

“Hazel, have I ever told you about how I met Mr. Hayes?” she asked, a pleasant lilt in her voice for once.

Hazel looked at the door, looked at the supper plate, looked at the bed, and then replied, “No, madam, I don’t think you have. However, I have several other duties….”

“It was a beautiful summer day,” Ginny began, turning her attention back to the window as if she could see it before her now. “The sun was hot, as it always is in the summer, but we were walking along the beach, and the breeze was so cool, and occasionally, when my parents weren’t looking, my brother, Jacob, and I would step into the waves just enough to cool our ankles.”

Despite her tight schedule, Hazel caught herself listening intently, no longer pressed to escape. “It sounds delightful,” she chimed in.

“It was. It really was,” Ginny agreed, looking at Hazel only briefly before shifting back to the window. “My parents were quite far behind us when I began to see a couple coming towards us, off in the distance, trailed by what I could only assume was a complacent chaperone who didn’t really want to be there. The woman was rather tall and slender; I could see that from afar, and she carried a parasol in one hand; the other was resting on the gentleman’s arm. I couldn’t yet see his features, but I could tell, even at such a distance, there was something special about that man. He carried himself with such grace and dignity. I knew he was someone distinctive before I could even see his face.

“As they grew closer, I noticed that the woman, while quite pretty, had a sharp nose, and when she darted her eyes in our direction, she looked down that pointy proboscis at us, as if to say she knew she was better than my brother and me. I only glanced in her direction because I wanted to see if she was as special as the man. I had already ascertained from afar that she couldn’t possibly be, but then once I saw her haughty attitude, I knew for certain she was not worthy of being in his presence despite her expensive gown, the parasol, and those remarkable shoes which certainly were not appropriate for beachwear.

“And then I looked at him.” She paused, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly. “Hazel, have you ever glimpsed a face so perfect you caught your breath? Have you ever looked into eyes so serene you thought you were looking into a person’s very soul?”

At first, she thought the questions might be rhetorical, so Hazel waited a moment before answering, but when Ginny looked at her expectantly, she replied, “No, madam, I don’t suppose I have.”

“Well, I did that day. He was so handsome, so beautiful. With sparkling blue eyes that made the ocean look dull and inconsequential. And then he smiled at me, and I felt my face turn crimson. I know he said good day, or something like that, as we passed, but I could say nothing, and in those few seconds as they walked by, I felt my whole world both melding and disintegrating all at the same time. I felt that he had come into my life for a reason, and while he was passing next to us, it was as if the universe was in full alignment, but as he drew behind me, and I walked out of his proximity, everything came crumbling apart.

“I wanted to say something, to ask his name, to cause him to pause, but my voice was caught in my throat, and despite the fact that I could feel him slipping away from me forever, there was nothing I could do to prevent it from happening.

“And then, as I began to realize I would likely never see him again, that beautiful breeze kicked up, and with all the purpose of a guided hand, it lifted my hat from my head and sent it sailing directly at him. He had turned for some reason, perhaps to lift his face to the wind, although I often wonder if it wasn’t some sort of a fleeting glance in my direction, and he agilely caught my hat in one hand. I stopped in my tracks, turning to watch where my wayward accessory had drifted off to, and when I saw him approach with it extended, I still couldn’t speak, but I did smile. I’ll never forget what he said, ‘I believe this belongs to you, my lady,’ as if he were a prince, or some sort of a knight. And I suppose he was, at least to me. I took it and righted it, with a smile, assuming he would fade away again, but he didn’t. He stood there for a while, staring at me with those intense blue eyes. Eventually, my brother said thank you in my place, since my voice was still caught in my throat, and they introduced themselves. My brother introduced me as well, and when he reached for my hand, I gave it to him. He pressed his lips to my hand, despite that woman still lingering off in the distance, along with my parents who had nearly caught up to us. I giggled, unleashing my voice at last. Once I was able to speak again, the flood gates opened, and I felt as if I was rambling on like an i***t before my brother interjected himself into the conversation. I still remember how it felt, though, the first time Spencer touched my gloved hand. I may as well have had no gloves on at all. I knew then and there my destiny had changed and that my world could not continue in its previous trajectory without Spencer in it.”

A glance in Hazel’s direction indicated that she was still listening intently, though Ginny realized she was speaking more to herself now than to her captive audience. “My father was very interested in speaking to him, once he realized he had an opportunity to talk to the son of the great Alexander Hayes. Spencer humored him as he rambled on about flour and shipping—my father owns a flour mill and was in the process of expanding at the time. He said how he would love to do business with Hayes Shipping Company, and Spencer told him to call on him at his office. That’s when I realized he was truly a man—not a boy, but a real, grown man. You see, I was only fifteen at the time, and Spencer was nearly twenty-two. He was already doing business alongside his father, while I was nothing but a school girl. I thought for certain he would only see me as a little child, but, perhaps, if my father continued to do business with him, maybe one day Spencer would see me as a young woman, and it would be I who was strolling along the beach on his arm instead of the haughty lady who stood in the background the entire length of our conversation as if she were too good to talk to a flour mill owner and his family.”

“And is that what happened, then?” Hazel asked, her eyes sparkling with interest. “Did Mr. Hayes grow to see you as a young woman?”

“Yes, he did,” Ginny replied, a smile on her face. “Although I secretly think he always saw me as such, from that first moment he laid eyes on me. I think he knew that we were destined to be together. Before my seventeenth birthday, he formally asked my father if he could call on me, and my father gave him permission. By then, we had spent many afternoons together in the company of my brother and my parents under the pretense that Spencer was simply there to speak about the business to my father or visit the family. But I knew differently. I knew in the way he greeted me, in the way he said my name, in the way he glanced in my direction when no one else was looking. It was just a matter of time before he and I would be able to proclaim our love for each other. And when it finally happened one evening, when we were out on the pier, quite a way ahead of my family, beneath the beams of moonlight and amongst the sparkling waves, I was overjoyed to know that he and I could never be separated, that we would be together always.

“Our love story began beneath the moonbeams, and he promised to return to me from this very voyage sitting alone beneath the same silvery light. I have no reason to doubt that Spencer will make his way home one day—soon. I can only assume that the reason for his delay is because of that same shining orb, that it isn’t Spencer who has been dishonest, but it is the moon who should hold blame. And so, even as I feel the glow above me, even as it illuminates your pretty face, my friend, I know that it is not to be trusted, that the moon is a fraud, and I expect my husband to return to me soon not because of the waning moon, but in spite of it.”

Hazel stood staring at brown eyes glazed over in deep thought. She would have struggled to formulate any sort of response, even if it weren’t for a sharp knock on the door. The sound brought her back to the reality that, not only had she engaged Mrs. Edwards in impermissible conversation, she was late in fulfilling her other duties. As she gathered the supper plate and made a hasty goodbye, she prayed that the soul on the other side of the door was only Joanna and not someone even more stern and angry.

She approached the knob with caution and was relieved to see the older blonde-haired woman standing there. “Joanna,” she whispered, as she stepped into the hallway, latching the door behind her. “I’m so sorry.”

“Where have you been?” Joanna interjected. “We have been waiting on you for going on quarter of an hour.”

“I apologize. She was very… chatty this evening.”

“You are not to engage her in conversation,” Joanna reminded her as she led the way down the hallway, Hazel following behind. “If she tries, you simply tell her you have no time for such frivolity and you hurry out upon your way. You certainly don’t acknowledge anything that she says. Do I make myself clear, Hazel?” she asked, stopping and turning in her counterpart’s direction.

“Yes, of course,” Hazel replied, dropping her head. “It won’t happen again.”

“Very good,” Joanna nodded. “Now, please finish the rest of your responsibilities. We have a great deal to do before bedtime.”

Hazel nodded and hurried off to finish the rest of her duties, the haunting look in those brown eyes staying with her as she did so. Despite the fact that no one else was willing to talk about Mrs. Edwards, Hazel felt compelled to find some answers, one way or another.