“Where are we going, Daddy?” Jonah asks on the way out of the hotel.
“We are going into town to get Summer a surprise, but you must be a big boy and not tell her about it. Can you keep a secret?” He asks his son as he hoists him up into the carriage.
“Cross my heart and spit in your eye!” Jonah says, and Victor laughs.
“Well, okay then, let's go.” The ride into town only takes a few minutes, and soon they are passing down the busy main street of the small town. The general store is his destination, he just hopes they have what he needs. Jonah leaps down, and they walk inside, heading straight to the counter.
“Good day. Can you tell me where I can purchase supplies for art recreation?” Victor asks the clerk.
“Of course, this way please.” He leads Victor and Jonah through rows of items into the back room. “What exactly are you looking for?”
“I’m not quite certain. What would one need to draw, paint and or create a book?” Victor wonders.
“If one is a field or encamped somewhere, you would carry a sketchbook, some charcoals, pencils, graphite sticks, various brushes, and ink in various colors. Of course, Windsor and Newton watercolors. In either cake, ground pigment, or tinted, all encompassed in a high-quality art box which can double as a field desk. All of these we have in stock. If one would want oil paints or the like, I would have to order them. This would take a couple of weeks to receive.”
“Excellent,” Victor says, “I shall trust your excellent knowledge. Make me a full kit for a novelist and artist, minus the oil paints. I will be back to pick it up in say, one hour?” The skinny clerk twists his mustache and smiles at Victor.
“Wonderful, I shall do my best.”
Victor and Jonah purchase some necessary items to fish with and head to the post office to send a telegram to his office in New York. He informs them of a delay due to a robbery attempt and then sends one to a friend. His next surprise is something he hopes will touch her heart and convince her to stay with them.
When they return to the general store, the clerk is just finishing wrapping up the gift. “You're just in time. For the little man here, I have included a sketch pad of his own and pencils as a gift from us, for your generous purchase.”
Victor doesn’t even blink at the cost and thanks them profusely.
“Let's go, Jonah. Summer might be up now but remember we will not give it to her until our picnic. It's our secret.”
“Yes, sir.”
For the remainder of the night, Summer sleeps only waking to use the bathroom and to take her morphine with a drink. She sleeps and dreams of her family and seeing Alex again. The following day she wakes to Caroline throwing open the drapes to let the sun in.
“Oh, what are you doing?” She exclaims blocking her eyes from the sunshine.
“Good Morning, Mrs. Yates. Your husband and son have gone fishing. It's nearly lunchtime. Time to get up and get your muscles moving again.”
Summer sits up, and Caroline offers her some water. “I would love to get outside, but I don't know if I can walk very far.” Summer replies looking at Caroline for the first time. She appears to be the same age as Summer with beautiful dark skin and caramel colored eyes.
“The longer you take to get up the worse the pain will be. Trust me, you will feel better once you begin to move around.” She offers a hand to Summer and helps her to get dressed, then sit at the table. Next, she offers to fix her hair.
“Please, call me Summer. Victor says you have been helping with Jonah, thank you for that.” Summer murmurs while Caroline brushes her hair and twists it up off her neck.
“You are lucky to have such a beautiful family,” Caroline replies, putting the brush down on the table.
“They aren’t mine, Caroline.” Summer replies bitterly looking at the pine floor. “I lost my family at sea. I'm alone now.” A tear slides down her cheek and drops to the floor.
Before any more tears can follow Caroline pulls Summer up out of her chair and over to the window, ignoring her gasp of outrage. “You don't look alone to me. Look down there.” She points to the pond where Jonah is fishing with his Dad, and both of them turn to look at the window as though sensing she is there. They wave, and Jonah holds up a fish.
“Family is not who we are born into. It is who stays with us, loves us, protects us, hurts for us, and never gives up on us. If you look with eyes full of sorrow, you will miss it.” Caroline walks away to begin cleaning up her room.
“Caroline, forgive my hatefulness. I'm afraid to love them.” She presses a hand to the glass, “If I lose them as well, I won't survive it, and I am tired of being a victim!” Caroline turns back to her and joins her at the window.
“You and me both, Summer. My husband died during the war. He fought so we could be free, for a country who won't even acknowledge his sacrifice. Now, I am left with two children to raise on my own. My brothers are helping, but they have families of their own to worry about. You're only a victim if you act like one.”
“You’re right, I know you are, but I feel… shattered. How long will I feel this way?”
“I
