"Eliza... Come here, my dear." My mother weakly called, I was in the foyer of the house after just coming home from the general store.
"I'll be right there, Mama. " I said as I placed my baskets of produce and baked goods on the counter. I walked into the living room to see my mother knitting a pale yellow scarf, her hands trembled but when she saw me walk into the room she placed them in her lap. "Come, sit with me." She said as she patted her hand next to her on the sofa. I sat next to her and faced my body in her direction.
My mother looked so beautiful even when she was sick. She's been fighting off something for the past few months now and it's made her very weak, but somehow she keeps a smile on her face. Because I've been caring for her all this time, I can tell by now that she's not getting better...
"Eliza, you understand what I've been going through, yes?" My mother asked as she held my hands in her cold ones. I nodded and she continued, "I think we both know that my body is not going to recover, that's why I'm proposing a new adventure." I looked over her, she almost had a look of pity on her face. "We have been in Tampa all our lives, times are changing, and I want to have a change of scenery before it's too late. I also want you to see what the world outside of this town has to offer. " She said with a sad smile.
"Where would we go? " I asked.
"Concord Massachusetts, a small town with hills, wildflowers, and animals. It's a place of natural beauty. Your grandma moved there when she immigrated from the Netherlands, then she met your grandpa and moved here to Tampa. She told me many stories about her old home there." My mouth opened in awe. My mother grabbed a key from the side table, "I have the key to the cottage where she lived. I know this is a lot to ask a ten-year-old little girl, but would you be willing to move, my dear?"
Tampa is all I've known, I was born here, raised here. But my mother never expressed to me what she wanted, and if this is where she wants to live, I won't be the one who holds her back.
"When would we go?" I asked.
"I'm starting to feel a little better so as soon as we pack our trunks, we can't take our furniture with us, but we must take our clothes and our prized possessions." She said.
I smiled and held her hand, "Then let's pack!"
For the next two days, my mother and I loaded up our five large trunks with our clothes, keepsakes, bedding, crafting supplies, and necessities for the long journey ahead. I felt a ping of sadness as I looked back at our home when we had made it to the street.
My mother must have noticed. "Eliza, as long as we have each other, we don't need possessions. We have love and that's what makes a home."
She's always had a way with words that made me feel better.
After four days of taking multiple trains, sleeping at inns, and waiting for the next train, we finally made it to Concord. I must say, it was an tiring trip. I can't even imagine how my mother felt by the end of it. But she was right, Concord is beautiful. There was luscious green grass, colorful wildflowers, and open blue skies.
We stopped in town first to grab some food to tide us over for the next week or two while we settled in... As my mom was shopping, I embraced everything I could, it all just felt so different, even the air! The streets were busy with life yet it had a calm atmosphere.
Once my mother was finished, we proceeded into a carriage with our luggage. For the next half hour, my mother and I talked about the scenery. She said she loved the way the rolling hills and how refreshing the new scenery was. Her face lit up when she looked out the windows. For the first time since she got sick, she looked full of life, wonder, and hope.
The coachman helped us take our many trunks off of the carriage, then trotted off down the road. My mother and I stood in front of the land that the cottage was on in awe, for me it was a mixture of amazement and worry. We had about two acres, trees and flower bushes scattered around. But the cottage had seen better days, the grass was very overgrown, the outside brick was covered in vines and dirt, and the paint was chipping.
Mother understood what I felt, "With a little love, this place will become a lovely home for us. Now, wait here while I clear us a path to the door." I watched her thin figure as she laid down one of the trunks, pulled out a scythe, and began hacking away at the very overgrown grass. Even when she was sick, she always puckered up some energy to do things she was determined to do.
"Eliza! Fetch me a pair of gloves, dear!" She said as she was getting close to the door. I pulled out a pair of leather gloves from the trunk and ran towards her. She took the gloves once she was directly in front of the door. My mother handed me the scythe, pulled on the gloves, and retrieved the key in her dress pocket. With a click, the lock fell to the grass and my mother tried to push open the door.
It didn't budge. Mother continued to pull and push on the wooden door. In a final attempt, she used all her strength and pushed. It squeaked loudly and flew open, it was very dark and there were sheets over the furniture that was left behind. My mother walked in with her hands on her hips
"This will make a fine home for us, Eliza, I can just picture it!" She said with confidence as she turned to face me, her face red and slightly sweaty. "Let's get our trunks inside, shall we?"
After we dragged our trunks inside the main room, my mother asked, "Dear? Can you help me pull back these curtains?"
"Yes, Mama!"
The curtains were quite heavy and stiff, but we managed to pull them all off the rack. She had asked me to take the sheets off of the furniture and place them in a pile on the floor along with the curtains while she made another path outside to the water pump. As I worked, I sneezed quite a bit because of the dust that hadn't seen the light of day in over thirty years. The furniture appeared very old-fashioned but they were comfortable.
The cottage was small but it was all we needed, it had two bedrooms, two washrooms, a family room, a kitchen, and a small cellar for cold goods and added storage.
For the next few weeks, my mother and I cut all of the overgrown grass, cleaned the bricks outside, washed the floors, dusted, rearranged all the furniture, put away our possessions, and painted the walls. She had painted the walls herself along with my help. Mother even let me pick the colors and what patterns we would paint them. The kitchen had light green walls with leaves painted on them, the living room had cream walls with painted birch trees that went all the way up to the ceiling, and my room had light blue walls with doves painted around the trim. My mother kept her room simple but she did add some grey clouds to the white walls.
Our little cottage was perfect, it was our personalities combined into one building. By the time we were done with it, it looked completely different from when we walked in for the first time. It was full of life and color, some could say it was odd, but to my mother and I, it was home.
One Saturday afternoon, my mother had just finished teaching me how to bake cookies when there was a knock on the door. I stood behind my mother as she opened the door, there was a woman and four girls standing there.
"Hello! I'm Margaret March, these are my daughters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. We live about a good 10-minute walk to your left."
My mother replied with a smile. "Oh, lovely to meet you! I'm Fiona Jansen and this is my daughter Eliza." I peeped behind my mother to wave at them, three of the girls waved back while one of them giggled. "Come in out of the sun! It's quite hot today." My mother invited as she opened the door wider, I noticed her hands were shaking again, was she feeling sick again? These past few weeks have been exhausting and I would imagine it's taken its toll on her...
"Oh, it's lovely to see someone in this house again!" Ms. March said as she looked around.
"This was my mother's house, she immigrated from the Netherlands. We just moved back here so we could have a fresh start." My mother smiled with satisfaction, she looked pleased to see the young girls looking at the painted walls.
"Is that a birch tree Ms. Jansen?" The tallest of the girls asked, she had brown, wavey hair and hazel eyes.
"Yes, it is! I painted it myself." She said as she sat down, Ms. March sat next to her and smiled at her daughter's curiosity. One of her other daughters sat next to her and held her mother's hand.
"You painted these yourself!" The smallest girl asked, she had short blond hair and blue eyes.
"I did! What's your name again sweety?" My mother asked.
"Oh, I'm Amy! I'm 7!" She introduced herself with enthusiasm. She pointed to the girl who sat close to Ms. March. "That's Beth, she's 8!" Amy pointed to another girl who was staring at the walls. "That's Jo, she's 10!" Amy then pointed to the tallest girl. "And that's Meg, she's 11!"
"Amy, dear! It's rude to point. " Ms. March mentioned calmly. "Sorry, Marmee."
Ms. March and my mother talked for a couple of minutes before she excused herself to take out the cookies. Ms. March smiled at me and asked, "How old are you dear?"
I looked at her nervously. "I'm 10."
"Oh! Jo, come here, Eliza is the same age as you."
Jo skipped over from her spot next to Meg. "Hi! I'm Jo! I like your name, Eliza! It's very unique, do you like to write?" She spoke quickly, I was a little stunned at her demeanor but I came back to my senses.
"I'm more of a knitter myself but I do love poems!"
"Oh! I tried to learn how to knit, but I couldn't focus long enough to learn. I can write poems for you if you want! I think you and I will be great friends Eliza! " Jo quickly said as she looked over me with her light blue eyes.
My mother came back with a plate of cookies, but I noticed that she had become pale. She set the plate down and excused herself, "I'll be right back." She quickly walked away towards her room.
"She looks sick, is she-" Meg started to say but Ms. March interrupted and said, "Meg! You can't just say someone looks sick! That's-"
"No, it's fine. My Mama is sick, she swells up sometimes and she gets tired really easily. She's been feeling alright while we've been fixing up the house. But lately, her hands have been shaking and-" I was interrupted when I heard a loud crash coming from her room. "Mama!" I yelled as I ran to her door.
"Jo, watch your sisters, Meg, come with me!" Ms. March ordered as she followed me.
I opened the door to see my mother on the floor unconscious. Her head was bleeding from a cut on her forehead. "Mama!" I yelled as I flew down, next to her. Ms. March and Meg gasped.
"Does this happen often, Eliza?" Ms. March asked.
I began to cry. "No, it's never happened before."
Ms. March told Meg, "Go fetch your father and tell him to get the doctor! Hurry!" Meg ran out of the room. "Eliza, can you get a bowl of water and a rag please?" I nodded and ran to the kitchen.
"Eliza? What's going on?" Jo asked as Beth and Amy sat on the sofa.
"My Mama fell, Meg is getting your father. " I spoke through tears as I poured open the water jug into the bowl, I threw a rag into the water and walked to Ms. March who had moved my mother off the floor and onto her bed.
"When does your father get home?" Ms. March asked.
"I don't have a father. " I told her.
She gave me a look of pity. "How long has this gone on for? Her sickness I mean?"
"About 7 months ago is when it started, Mama said she was just sick and that I shouldn't worry about it. " I said as I wiped my eyes. Ms. March patted the rag onto my mother's cut.
About a half-hour later, Mr. March walked into the room with a doctor. "Eliza, this is Dr. Bangs. He's going to help your mother, tell him everything your mother has been dealing with." Ms. March instructed.
I nodded, "She says her heartbeat is fast sometimes, her legs swell up, she gets tired quickly, she says she gets dizzy, and sometimes her skin turns blue in some spots. " The doctor goes up to my mother and examines her. I watched him fearfully, my mother said that it was nothing to worry about, she told me it would go away... I don't understand what's going on, its scaring me...
"Ms. March, you might want to take Eliza out of the room." Dr. Bangs said with a sorrowful look on his face. I walked out the door to see Jo standing there with her sisters. I held my finger up to my mouth and I leaned my ear against the door to hear what was going on.
"I'm presuming it's a form of heart failure, it affects the pumping of your heart muscle. It's when fluid builds up in the heart and causes it to pump ineffectively. She will wake soon but from what I'm hearing from Eliza and how long her mother's been sick, I'm expecting her to live for no more than 3 weeks. " Dr. Bangs informed, Ms. March gasped.
Mr. March replied, "We can take Eliza in with us when the time comes, let's just take care of Ms. Jansen. "
"Are you sure Robert? You've only just met Ms. Jansen and now you're agreeing to care for her and her daughter? You have your own children!" Dr. Bangs said with surprise.
"Well of course doctor, I would want someone to do the same for me. And besides, we'll manage with one more girl.." Ms. March spoke.
" Trust me, doctor, I have a feeling I was called to aid this family... What would keep Ms. Jansen comfortable for the rest of her time here?" Mr. March asked.
"Well, turmeric, ginger, and coriander tea should help. Warm bottles of water on her swollen areas will reduce the risk of her being in pain, and light exercise will help circulate the blood flow in her body. I'll go ahead and give you the herbs for the tea. Half a teaspoon of each in tea or soup should do, I'll be back in a couple of days to check in." The doctor explained as I heard him open his bag.
"Thank you, doctor. " Ms. March replied.
"Let me know if she gets worse. " Dr. Bangs said as he closed his bag.
Tears were silently flowing down my face as my heart dropped, my Mama was dying...
I ran past Jo and her sisters and went to my room. I collapsed onto my bed and sobbed into my pillow, we were supposed to live here together, to have a fresh start. I don't understand, she was doing so well while we were working on the house, what happened?
I continued to sob until I heard a knock on the door, "Eliza? May I come in?" Ms. March softly asked. I stood up and opened the door then I walked back to my spot on my bed. The woman walked into my room and sat next to me. She took one of my hands and placed it in hers.
"I assume you heard what the doctor told us?" Ms. March asked. I nodded as I wiped my eyes with my other hand. "Meg, Jo, and I will come every day and help care for your mother. We already know what to give her if she starts to feel worse too." She told me with reassurance.
"I just don't understand, she told me she was going to be fine. " I said with confusion and sadness in my voice.
"I think your mother thought that too, but all we can do now is take care of her and pray for the best." Ms. March informed me with a slight smile.
Mr. March or "Father" is what the girls called him, walked to my doorway and asked, "Is it ok if I come in? I like to ask because one's personal space is their sanctuary..." I nodded and he kneeled in front of me. He looked around and softly noted, "You have a very beautiful room." "
Thank you, my Mama painted the doves and sewed my quilt. " I gratefully explained.
"I can already tell that your mother is a woman of many talents. " Mr. March noted with a warm smile, there was something about him that just made me feel comfortable.
"Eliza, I want you to know that you can come to us for anything. A rough road lies ahead and we have to stay strong. " Mr. March said.
"What do I need to do for her, as in what medicine do I need to give her?" I asked.
Ms. March rubbed my hand and answered, "You won't have to worry about that. If you don't mind, I can stay here with you and your mother. I can help take care of her."
"What about at night?" I asked.
"I'll stay up with her at night and make sure she's ok. Meg is good with medicine too, so while I rest, Meg can step in and help care for your mother." She spoke to me with a slight smile.
"You guys are so kind to us and we've only just met... Why do you care for us so much?" I asked.
Ms. and Mr. March chuckled a little, and then Mr. March explained. "As a minister, I believe God has sent my family to help you and your mother. I have a feeling that you are a deserving little girl who needs some help, and that's why we have agreed to aid you during these troubling times."
"Thank you, Mr. and Ms. March. I don't know how to repay you." I said while looking at both of them.
"You don't have to, and you can call me 'Marmee' like how my girls do, if you would like. " She suggested with a smile and I smiled back at them.
There was just something about the March's that made me feel safe, welcome and loved. I knew I could trust them with my mother and myself.