I didn’t so much as touch Eliza. I met her at the train station, took her there, dropped everybody off, and came straight home. I didn’t even stay long enough to go in the house, and I told her not to expect me back for another two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” Martha Mae screeched. She kicked him in the shin.
Martin reached down and rubbed his leg. “Gimme a break. I’m doing my best. What more can I do?”
“You can divorce her, that’s what.”
He shook his head, gave a bone-weary sigh, and turned away. “Be reasonable. My trying to divorce her would only make things worse. First off, I’d be hard pressed to show cause, and then it’s almost certain to come out about us already being married.”
Martha Mae took another swing at him and went back to arguing that he should have divorced Eliza years ago.
With alternate bouts of screaming and crying, the fight continued for three days. Finally he bought her a gold bracelet and swore he’d keep his visits to the bare minimum.
“Just enough to keep Wolff from making trouble.”
“Forget about him and worry about me. You only go once a month, never stay longer than one hour, and give me advance warning when you’re planning a trip.”
“The train ride there and back is two hours! Don’t you think that’s a bit—”
Her glare made him stop.
The thought of being bossed around did not sit well with Martin, and a new kind of anger started to simmer beneath his skin. At work he flew off the handle at the slightest provocation, and at home he grew sullen and moody.
Every time he went to visit the kids, he had to hand Eliza another 30 dollars. In his estimation, there was little appreciation on her part. Sure, she said thank you, but that was it. Back in Coal Creek, he’d given her 10 dollars and she’d welcomed him into her bed. Now they were living high on the hog with his money, and he got nothing.
——————
AFTER ELIZA SETTLED IN, SHE found she could be happy in Barrettsville most of the time. The house was at the far end of a street and there were few neighbors, so she missed Caldonia something fierce, but it was a small sacrifice compared to the hardships she’d suffered in Coal Creek. The children kept her busy throughout the day, but at night she missed the sounds of the mountain and the feel of home.
On nights when the loneliness seemed to penetrate her skin and take hold of her heart, she left the lamp burning and sat in bed reading the letters sent to Sarah Alice Bligh. They were letters filled with longing and words of love. William spoke of the seemingly endless march down Pennsylvania, the drenching rain, and worn boots then said he could endure anything knowing he would return to her when the war was over.
Your love warms me in the dead of winter, feeds me when there is little to eat, and will be the wings that carry me home when this terrible business is done. When I close my eyes at night, yours is the face I see. I fear nothing, for you, my darling, make me strong.
Countless times she read that sentence, wishing that it had been meant for her and trying to imagine her husband’s hand holding the pen.
After six months, she came to dread Martin’s visits. He was always angry and in a foul mood; there was no way of pleasing him. One month she’d baked an apple pie, the one that was his favorite, but he sneered at it, said it wasn’t worth 30 dollars, and left without even tasting it. The next month she didn’t bother, and he criticized her for not making one.
“I didn’t think you cared for it anymore,” she said.
“The problem is you never think about anything but these damn kids. If you cared a rat’s ass about me, you’d never have embarrassed me by going to Wolff and begging for help.”
She tried to explain about their condition after the tornado came through, but he had little patience for anything she said. In time, she simply gave up trying. He’d come in, slam an envelope down on the kitchen table, spend a few minutes with the kids, and leave. He complained about everything the children did, said, or wore. On the day Margaret Rose wore her dress from the attic, she twirled around in front of him and asked if he liked it. The only