A Salem Awakening

Chapter 17

Saturday began with the hope of new beginnings for Abi. The birds were chirping so loudly and happily she was certain they must know it was a weekend. The air smelled fresh and clean and there was an ocean breeze providing relief from the heat of the day. In the morning, Abi helped her mother with the chores while Father went to work in the field. "There's always work to be done and there's no rest for the weary," Mother told her. Father left for the field without his hat, which Abi thought to be rather unusual. He never forgot his hat, but it was too nice a day to give the hat much thought.

The major chores were complete by ten thirty and the newly washed clothes were hanging on a line outside, drying in the breeze. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Abigail asked her mother. "No, dear. You've been a big help. You should go enjoy yourself outside until you need to leave to meet Christina."

"Oh, right. Christina," she thought. Abi forgot the story she told her parents, but she was relieved her mother remembered, even though she felt a tinge of guilt for lying.

Abi took her mother's advice and went outside. She considered going to the ocean, but decided against it. The walk from the Sampson home to the water was only a few minutes, but Abi knew if she sat by the sea for any amount of time, she would want to let the breaking waves spray against her face. She did not want her clothes or hair to get wet before her lunch with Will, so she thought it better to stay home. Abi found a comfortable patch of grass not even a minute from their house. She laid down to enjoy the glow of the sun for a few minutes. At first, she sat face up, leaning back on her bent elbows, to let the sun's warmth bask onto her face. After a couple of minutes, she turned over and laid face down with the sun beaming on the back of her head.

"This is such a rejuvenating feeling," she thought. "Ha! Another 're' word to explain how much I love the sun!" She did not know she was not the only Sampson being rejuvenated by the sun today. Samuel lived in predictable routines and would never forget his hat for a day in the field.

A little after eleven o'clock, she stood and brushed herself off. She wanted to make sure there were no signs of grass on her clothing. That would be unladylike. She went inside, and with her mother's help, made two egg sandwiches for her and 'Christina'. She packed the sandwiches in a satchel, along with a couple of apples and some fresh berries Mother picked earlier. Mother gave her a blanket for the girls to sit on while they ate.

"Have a pleasant lunch, and say hello to Christina for me," her mother told her. And with that, Abi left in an excited frenzy to meet Will.

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Saturday was Tobias Warnock's errand day. He was always busy during the week with village matters and Sunday was for church. So any personal business needed to be done on Saturdays. They were always the busiest of days for him. He made it a point to stop by every business in the village and spend at least a few minutes with the shopkeepers. He hadn't announced it yet, but he hoped to be selected by the Church as a freeman to join the colonial Council of Assistants, where he would have a say in who became the Governor of the Massachusetts Territory. Eventually, he would be eligible for consideration for the office, and upon winning the seat (he believed there was no way he could lose) he would have the influence needed to rid the colonies of all witches. Tobias was skilled at executing long-term plans based on even longer-term visions.

On this particular Saturday, he was making his normal rounds in the village center. He already stopped in to see Thomas Miller, proprietor of Miller's Apothecary. Most residents of Salem regularly visited Miller's, so Thomas was always a superb source for the local gossip. Today Tobias learned James Patton was taking medicine normally prescribed to prevent uncontrolled shaking. Often this was a sign of possession by the Devil. "We'll see if the medicine helps Mr. Patton," Tobias schemed. He planned to keep that information stored away in case it ever became useful to him.

Tobias' favorite store was Cooper and Cabinets, coincidentally owned by Albert Cooper. He made many types of furniture and containers for various uses, like buckets, barrels, desks, cabinets, and caskets. The latter was of particular interest to Tobias. While most people possessed a natural fear of anything related to death and dying, Tobias was more curious about it. He was not at all looking forward to dying, quite the contrary, he intended to live as long as possible. But the idea of a body being placed in a box underground waiting to rot away fascinated him. If he was going to spend his post-living life in a box, then he wanted to do it in a box made by Albert. He was possibly the most talented carpenter Tobias ever met.

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Abi arrived for lunch a few minutes early. She found a place to sit, which was conspicuous enough for Will to approve, but still under the shade of a large sycamore tree so they would not get too hot. She laid the blanket down, took the food out of the bag and tried a few different sitting positions to determine which Will would like the most. "I can't believe I'm being so silly," she smiled to herself, but she couldn't help it. She wanted everything to be perfect when Will arrived.

A few minutes passed, and Abi was wondering when Will would show up. She peered out, looking in the direction leading toward his house, to see if she could see him coming. But there were only other people walking back and forth, doing the things people normally did on a Saturday.

After thirty more minutes, she was upset. It was a mix of anger and hurt. It was a feeling she had not felt before and she did not like it one bit. "Why would he not show up? I thought he liked me, but even if he didn't, he mustn't just not show up like this." She was having a distraught conversation inside her head, but her face could not hide her feelings.

Mr. Warnock left Cooper and Cabinets and was on his way to visit Milner's Milliner, to see if there was any new clothing or hats since last weekend. On his way, he passed by a large sycamore tree and noticed the uncomfortably unhappy expression on Abigail's face. He saw the food for two on the blanket and could clearly see she did not intend to be alone.

"Are you waiting for someone, young lady?"

He was most definitely not the person she wanted to speak with at that moment. She did not want him to perceive her as weak or fragile and attempt to get her to accuse someone, as he did with Christina. She felt it was safest to tell him an adult was coming to join her. It seemed safest to tell him the truth, at least a version of the truth.

"I'm waiting for Mr. Putnam. We are going to review some assignments and I am going to help him grade papers."

"Grade papers?" he asked incredulously. "This seems more like a romantic picnic lunch than some official school business." He paused for a painfully long time, waiting to see if Abigail would respond in any way to his fishing expedition. She did not. She simply stared back at him, waiting for his next comment. It was as if they were having a completely silent intellectual battle of wit and neither would allow the other to win.

"I see," he said finally, attempting to break the silence. He thought to himself, "There is another way to see if..." He was always on the lookout for personal details he could use in the future.

He continued, "Well, I'll be on my way then. Please pass on my regards to Mr. Putnam." Tobias then leaned in and fixed his stare on Abigail's face to make sure he did not miss even the slightest twitch of a muscle. "He is quite a man, is he not?" he asked Abigail.

Abigail's demeanor softened as she smiled and replied, "He most certainly is." Tobias leaned back with a satisfied grimace. He got the answer he was looking for. Abigail's face gave away her true feelings about Mr. Putnam. Tobias set the perfect trap, one Abigail could not resist, and she walked right into it. Tobias decided to save this bit of information for a time he might need it. He could not have realized that time would be just hours away.

"Good day, my dear," he said as he nodded his head and walked away, leaving Abigail still angry, curious, and most of all, worried about Will.