“Fiona, why is Mother alone?” Connor asked.
“I don’t know,” Fiona whispered.
Mother was carrying two old, battered suitcases looking around aimlessly. Fiona felt a pang of guilt. They should be welcoming Mother instead of just watching her and wondering where Father was. Mother probably had a long and tiring trip.
“Come on Fiona!” Connor yelled, snapping Fiona out of her thoughts. He was running towards Mother. Fiona laughed at his childishness and ran after him with Finn close behind.
Fiona was faster than Connor and reached Mother first, wrapping her in a tight hug. Her body was so thin compared to the last time she had hugged her Mother. Connor caught up and ran into Mother putting his arms around her waist in a hug. The three of them stayed like this for some time. All of them were overcome with emotions.
Mother pulled away first and took a deep breath. She looked at each of her children.
“You’ve both grown so much,” she said tearfully. The children smiled. They had grown quite a bit since they last saw their Mother.
Mother’s eyes landed on Finn who was standing behind the group awkwardly.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” she asked playfully.
“Of course!” Connor laughed, hopping over to Finn. “This is Finn, Mrs. Moorcock’s adopted son.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” she said kindly, extending her hand to him. Finn took it and gave her a firm handshake.
“We should go,” Finn reminded the group. “Mrs. Moorcock is expecting us to be home by sunset.”
Fiona and Connor nodded. Fiona grabbed one of Mother’s suitcases and Connor grabbed the other. They all walked home together.
“You can’t see the stars,” Mother noted wistfully. Fiona smiled sadly.
“That’s one of the unfortunate things about the city,” Fiona said sadly.
“Fiona! What happened to your hands?” Mother asked fretfully. Fiona’s hands were bandaged. She had a particularly bad blister that had been bothering her for the last couple of days.
“It’s nothing Mother,” Fiona assured her. “Just some blisters from work.”
Mother didn’t seem convinced but she didn’t say anything.
By the time the group reached the apartment it was already dark. Fiona hoped Mrs. Moorcock wasn’t too worried.
“We’re home!” Connor yelled into the hallway. Mrs. Moorcock ran down the hallway.
“Finally!” Mrs. Moorcock exclaimed. “What took you so long?”
“Look who came to join us!” Fiona said gleefully, stepping out of the way so Mrs. Moorcock could see her Mother.
“Oh goodness! It’s you!” Mrs. Moorcock exclaimed. She walked over to Mother and gave her a hug. “The children have told me so much about you!”
“All good things I hope,” Mother joked.
“Only the best,” Mrs. Moorcock assured her.
Dinner was ready and everyone sat at the table. The children were dying to know where Father was and why Mother had stopped sending letters for months but they didn’t want to overwhelm her. They decided to ask in the morning.
Mother was eating quite fast at dinner and had two helpings of food. Fiona loved seeing her Mother again but it made her a little sad. Mother was so thin and frail. She was also eating much more than she used to. It made Fiona feel guilty to think about how much Mother had to ration to stay alive while she and Connor were safe and amply fed. It wasn’t her fault that things happened that way but she still felt a little guilty.
Mother took the guest bedroom next to Fiona and Connor’s room. The children didn’t want her to spend her first night alone though. Connor would spend the night in Finn’s room while Fiona would share a room with Mother.
After dinner, Mother went to her room to unpack and get ready for bed. While she was doing that, Fiona and Connor talked about what they wanted to ask her. Fiona wanted to know why it took her so long to come to America. Connor wanted to know where Father was, and both of them wanted to know what happened during the absence of Mother’s letters.
They decided to ask Mother after breakfast the next morning.
Next morning came fast. Mother was well rested and in a good mood. The servants made pancakes for breakfast with French toast and fresh fruit from the market.
Breakfast went by quickly. It was time to ask Mother the questions. The children were nervous. Fiona wanted to know what happened but she didn’t know if she was ready for the truth. She was going to chicken out but it was too late.
“I bet you want to know what happened when I wasn’t writing the letters,” Mother said suddenly. This surprised the children. Of course they wanted to know but they didn’t think she would be the one starting this conversation.
Fiona and Connor nodded. It was now or never. They couldn’t chicken out.
“I bet you also want to know where Father is and why it took me so long to join you,” Mother continued. The children nodded again. Mother sighed and sat down on one of the couches in the living room. “It is a long story.”
“We have time,” Fiona said. Mother sighed again and nodded. She gestured for Mrs. Moorcock and Finn to join them.
“It started a week after you left,” Mother began. “Father had come down with pneumonia. The first paycheck Fiona sent me was used to pay for your Father’s medical bills.”
“The doctors were able to cure him so we went back home. We rationed our food and saved the money Fiona was sending us. But your Father fell sick again, and passed it on to me,” Mother said sadly, remembering the hard times.
“I used the majority of the money we saved for both of us. Many others had illnesses from lack of food or from the cold. It took the hospital a while until both of us were released. When we were finally cured, we returned to a ransacked house. Eviction notices were on the door and many of our possessions were missing. Your Father and I decided we had waited long enough and we used the remainder of the money to buy one ticket to America.” Mother stopped and closed her eyes. She was getting teary and her voice was cracking slightly. Fiona put her hand on Mother’s arm comfortingly. Fiona didn’t want to force her Mother to tell them anything but she needed to know what happened.
Mother took a deep breath and continued the story.
“Your Father gave me the ticket. He asked for Fiona to send more money so he can join us,” Mother concluded. She said two sentences but it felt like a bombshell for Fiona.
Father was in Ireland with no food, waiting for her to send money so he could join them.
Fiona jumped off of the couch and ran to her room. She looked under her bed and pulled out her suitcase. She took an envelope out of the suitcase and placed it on her vanity. She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note onto it. She opened the envelope from her suitcase and emptied it out. Finding another envelope in one of the vanity drawers, she quickly slid in the note and the contents of the first envelope, writing the address of her old home in Ireland onto the second one. She quickly sealed the envelope and stuck a stamp on it.
Running down the hallway with the letter in hand, Fiona grabbed her coat from the coat hanger by the door and slid into her snow boots. She ran out of the apartment and straight into town. She could hear someone behind her but she didn’t stop. She continued running until she reached the post office. Finding the letter slot she slipped the envelope in and finally took a moment to catch her breath. Only now did she notice how cold she was, and how hard it was for her to breathe. Each breath stung her lungs.
When she turned around she saw an out-of-breath Connor and Finn.
“What did you send?” Finn asked.
“All of the money I have been saving,” Fiona said. The boys widened their eyes. Both of them knew that Fiona had been saving money for a while. She had been saving for a summer dress she had seen in one of the stores.
“Will it be enough for a ticket?” Connor asked.
“Yes,” Fiona answered confidently.
But the real question was: would it reach Father in time?
A month and a half later
It had almost been two months and Father hadn’t sent a letter. Connor was slightly worried but Fiona was sure that Father would receive the letter and join them. She had a gut feeling that everything would be okay. Once again, the children would go down to the dock to look for their Father.
Honestly, Fiona was sick of the dock. She had been going there every day for weeks but Father never came. But she never gave up, and it paid off.
Two months after Fiona had sent the letter with money to her Father, a ship from Ireland arrived.
Lo and behold, there was Father.
Of course, Mrs. Moorcock welcomed him. Father shared a room with Mother now, and Mrs. Moorcock’s apartment was constantly filled with the laughter of happy residents.
Mother got a job as a seamstress in one of the local shops, and Father got a job at the post office. Fiona continued her job at the mill and Connor studied hard. Finn had completed all of his courses in school, and managed to obtain a job at the telegram office.
After a while, with Fiona and her parents working, they were able to buy their own apartment. It was small compared to Mrs. Moorcock’s but it was big enough for the family.
Things were perfect. Fiona was happy and life was good.
Sure, this wasn’t what Fiona imagined she would be doing at 16 years old but she was with her family, and after everything she had been through, it was enough for her.
Fiona and her family were living their happily ever after.
Sophia Elahi RPC Blog 