Finding Home

Chapter 10

By the third day, Olivia was ready for a roof over her head and something other than stew to eat. It was early evening when they pulled into a small clearing located down a hidden path about two miles off the road. In the middle of the clearing sat a cabin made of large round logs notched together to fit like a puzzle. The roof was made of simple planks of timber and at one end stood a sturdy chimney. On the front of the house was a small porch, which sat two old wooden rocking chairs.

            To the right of the cabin was a rectangular patch of dirt surrounded by a handmade wooden fence. Olivia believed it was for a garden that would be planted in the spring. To the left of the cabin sat a platform with a small wooden pump on top. Behind the cabin she could somewhat see a smokehouse, small barn, and privy. There were also a few more fenced-in gardens and an orchard that contained two rows of small trees bare in the winter breeze. A dog ran out from behind the cabin barking and wagging his tail.

            Suddenly, they could see the front door slowly creak open and a woman's head appeared. As soon as she saw them, she flung the door wide open and stepped onto the porch. Behind her came two young children. Olivia knew this must be Margaret and Alexander with their mother, Imma. Gibbs stopped the cart in front of the cabin. The dog ran up to him and jumped excitedly as Alexander and Margaret sprinted over to hug him.

            Margaret was tall and wore an evergreen, long-sleeve dress with a white apron tied around her middle. Alexander was smaller and dressed in breeches with a white buttoned up shirt. Imma was wearing a beautiful flowered long-sleeve dress adorned with a white apron. On her head sat a white linen bonnet. She stood at the door rubbing her hands on her apron.

Gibbs introduced Margaret and Alexander to Olivia, after scooping them up into his arms for a long-awaited embrace. He then walked with the children up to the front porch as Olivia trailed behind.

            Gibbs stepped towards Imma as tears began to well up in her eyes. He leaned in, wiped away a tear that slid down Imma's cheek and swept her up in his arms, giving her a long tender kiss. Olivia blushed and turned away – a little embarrassed to watch their private moment.

            When he finally let her go, she stepped back, wiping her face. “Ezekiel, it has been too long!”

            Gibbs caressed her cheek with his thumb removing the remainder of her tears, her cheeks a little flushed. “I know my sweet Imma, but I am here now and that is all that matters.”

            She touched his hand and closed her eyes as if to freeze this moment in her memory forever. “I am glad you are home. I have missed you so.”

            Alexander, becoming increasingly impatient, interrupted them. “Mama, Papa brought home a boy from his ship!”

            She looked towards Olivia and after some time said, “A boy from Papa's ship you say? Well, you are welcome in our home. Please come in and warm up. Alexander, take the mule out back to the barn and feed him some grain. He is probably hungry after his journey.”

Alexander took the mule by the reins and walked around to the back of the house, the dog at his heels. Imma ushered everyone else inside.

            Olivia was surprised at how large the cabin looked from the inside. There were two windows, one on each side of the front door with shutters that were closed for the winter. The large fireplace caught her eye as its flames danced under an oversized cooking pot hanging from a long metal arm attached to the wall. 

In front of the fireplace sat two wooden chairs and two small stools. On one side of the fireplace was a spinning wheel and under it, a basket full of wool. On the other side was a tiny door where Olivia believed they must store their different foods for the winter.  

            Across from the fireplace sat an open door to a small room. Inside the room, Olivia could see a bed, big enough for two people, and a petite writing desk and chair. Next to the door hung an oversized blanket pulled back to reveal another two-person bed wedged close to the corner of the cabin. Close to the bed sat a small wooden handcrafted cradle. Across from the front door was a back door leading to the backyard. In the middle of the room stood a table and two benches, reminding Olivia of the tables in the orphanage. Close to where she stood was a wooden ladder that led up to a loft area where Alexander and Margaret slept. Hanging from the rafters were bundles of different kinds of sweet smelling herbs.

            Imma walked over to the ladder and looked up into the dark loft. “Emmett, Josephine, it is all right. Our Ezekiel has returned home. You can come down now.”

            A man looked over the edge of the loft and saw Gibbs. “Ezekiel, is it really you?”

            Gibbs nodded. The man scurried down the ladder, took two giant steps over to Gibbs and wrapped him in a bear hug. He went back to the ladder and helped a woman down. In one arm, she was carrying a bundle wrapped in a blanket.

            When she saw Gibbs, she smiled, “It is so wonderful to see you again.”

            Gibbs returned her smile and turned towards Olivia. “This is Imma's brother, Emmett and his wife, Josephine, but I don't know this little one.”

Josephine peeled back the top layer of blanket to reveal a tiny sleeping face.

            Emmett touched Gibbs’ shoulder. “This is your new nephew, Samuel. He was born just last fall.”

Gibbs was overjoyed for them. He ran his rough finger over the infant's cheek and the baby cooed. They admired the handsome little man before Josephine placed him in the cradle. Gibbs and Emmett then went out back to the barn to empty the cart.

            After some idle chatter, Imma and Josephine started on supper while the children showed Olivia their favorite things to do. Once they returned from outside, the men sat by the fire discussing the war effort and exchanging news they had heard.

Following supper, everyone sat around the fire talking and telling stories. Imma sent Alexander off to bed. Emmett and Josephine also turned in for the night. Margaret had moved to a chair in front of the fire and was practicing her stitching on her sampler.

            Olivia sat in the chair across from her. “May I see what you are working on?”

Margaret handed her the sampler. She admired Margaret's work. The stitches were tight, straight, and even.

Without thinking, Olivia blurted out, “Back in England, I had to practice my stitching over and over again, but it was nowhere near as wonderful as yours.”

Margaret wondered, “Why would you need to work on a sampler?”

            Olivia realized what she said and thought quickly, “Well, at the orphanage I was at, they thought it was best if everyone knew how to stitch.”

Olivia swiftly returned the sampler to her. Margaret watched Olivia for some time. She then reached into a basket sitting next to her chair and pulled out a second sampler. “I have an extra if you want to try.”

Olivia glanced at her trying to decide what to do. After a moment she shrugged her shoulders.

What could it hurt?

She reached out and took the sampler. “Thank you.”

Margaret smiled at her.

Meanwhile, Gibbs was sitting next to Imma at the table facing the fire. She was sewing a pair of Alexander's breeches.

             He laid down the paper he was reading and looked at her. “Where should we put Oliver for the night?”

            Continuing her sewing, she replied, “In the loft.”

Gibbs glared at her trying to read her thoughts. “Imma, that is inappropriate. Margaret and the boy are of the same age!” 

She placed her sewing on the table and looked at him. “Have you taken a good look at Oliver?”

“Of course, I have,” he said.

            “No, I mean have you taken a really good look at Oliver?” she urged.

            Gibbs was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Imma gestured over to the two sitting in front of the fire, “Watch Margaret. Watch the way she speaks, sits, stitches. Now look at Oliver and observe the same.”

He sat for a while examining the two. As if suddenly lighting a candle, he glanced back at Imma, eyes wide. “Are you telling me that Oliver is a girl?”

Imma smiled. 

            “How do you know?” questioned Gibbs.

She picked her sewing back up. “Call it a mama's intuition. I knew the second Alexander introduced her.”

Gibbs scratched his head. He had spent months with this child and not once did he consider that his young friend might be a girl. She sure didn’t fight or shoot like any girl he knew.

The next day, Olivia shared in the cooking and cleaning around the cabin. That evening she was able to spend time with baby Samuel. She loved making him giggle. After a while, he became fussy and Josephine came over.

            “It looks as if this little bundle is getting hungry,” she said as she picked him up.

            She turned to Olivia. “You seem to be quite the natural with little ones.”

            Olivia blushed. “Thank you. Occasionally we would have a baby or toddler dropped off at the orphanage where I grew up and I helped take care of them.”

            “That is a very nice thing to do for those little ones,” said Josephine smiling.

She turned and took the baby to the bed in the corner, closing the curtain behind her.

            Olivia sighed and looked over at Margaret who was helping her mother. They were laughing and talking while mending dough for bread. Close by Gibbs sat reading a book to Alexander. She suddenly felt alone and longed for the family she no longer had. She wondered what her life would be like if her mother and father were still alive.

Would they be living in a cabin or in a town like Boston? Would she have a younger brother or sister like Margaret and Alexander? Would their afternoons be filled with laughter while mending dough or sewing? Would they sit by the fire in the evening and listen to her father read?

Tears began to swell in Olivia's eyes. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she decided to retire to the loft to be alone.

            The loft had two small chairs right in the middle and a chest on the back wall. There were two small beds, one on each side of the chest. On top of the chest were a few folded blankets. Olivia had been using them as a make shift bed. She sat in a chair facing the back wall and pulled out her locket, squeezing it tightly in her hand. Tears were now flowing down her cheeks.

She didn't hear Margaret step into the room.

“Are you all right?” Margaret asked concerned.

Olivia was startled and turned towards her. “Yes,” she stammered, “I am fine.” She wiped her face with her sleeve.

            Margaret stepped towards her and sat in the other chair, “I saw you go up the ladder. You looked upset.”

Olivia smiled, still trying to convince her she was all right even though she was heartbroken on the inside. Margaret looked down at her hand.

            “Why are you wearing a locket? Is it yours?” she asked with a puzzled look.

Olivia was not in the mood to make up some story and decided to tell her the truth.

            “Margaret, I haven't been completely truthful with you.” Olivia stopped and looked over at her, who seemed to be listening intently. “Everything I have told you about my past is true, but my name isn't Oliver. Not really at least. It is Olivia. I am actually a girl.”

Margaret sat for a moment then smiled. “I knew that.” Olivia was puzzled. “How did you know?”

            “I guess it's the way you talk and act. Besides, I know that, even in England, boys are not required to learn how to stitch,” teased Margaret.

Olivia blushed knowing her cover had been easily blown.

            “You know, Mama knew right away, too. Why do you think she is letting you sleep up here with us?” she continued.

She sighed. “I wondered about that,” said Olivia. All that time on the ship, and no one ever suspected. The instant she walked into Gibbs's house, she couldn't hide the truth. 

            Concerned, Margaret moved closer to her. “Now do you want to tell me what is making you so sad?”

            “I truly don't know. My mother and father died in a fire when I was four. I guess watching you and your brother with your mama and papa made me long for my own mother and father and what could have been,” Olivia said, looking at her locket.

            Margaret glanced at the locket. “Have you ever opened it?” 

“No, I have never tried. I guess I have been too scared.”

“Well, now is as good a time as any,” stated Margaret, scooting closer to Olivia. 

Olivia continued to stare at her locket and thought for a moment. She thought about her life with her parents and at the orphanage. Then she thought about her new life with the crew and coming to the colonies. She knew then that now was the right time to find out what secrets were hidden on the inside.

Olivia smiled at her, “My mother and father wanted to come to the colonies and given the chance, I am sure they would have fought for the rights of the colonists. I am here, and I am fighting for the colonies. I have fulfilled their dreams. Margaret, you are right. Now is a perfect time as any to open my locket.”