Chapter Thirty: The Cool and the Quiet
By Jason Goldtrap
A few weeks later, Sarah got some terrible news: Kevin had been killed in an accident at the Army base. He was buried in a family plot in Eureka. Sam and Crystal stayed with their relatives another week. On Sunday, June 19th, they held a memorial for Kevin in Eagle Creek. Sam’s message was very moving. He spoke of hope, forgiveness and the power of community. He incorporated thoughts on Kevin into the sermon. This was the saddest service anyone could remember.
Sarah could not control her crying. She stood outside the church building by herself waiting for her parents. She was already missing Emily who had left with her father the day before for Helena. Her father was going to a baker’s convention and had planned on taking his wife; however, with her pregnancy she did not feel comfortable making the trip. This meant that Emily could spend an entire week with Jan.
When Sarah’s parents stepped outside she ran up and hugged her mother. Her father joined in the embrace.
“Sssh, it’s alright dear. Everything is fine.”
Her parents spent more time in the warm sun visiting with other church members. Sarah saw Crystal sitting by herself in the auditorium. She had been surrounded by a hundred or so friends and family members, somehow she stepped away for a moment and sat on a pew. She was lost in her meditation, staring at the empty pulpit.
Sarah sat beside her. Crystal did not say a word.
Sarah shared a few happy memories and for a brief second, Crystal was proud that her son had touched so many lives.
They hugged.
Other family members began gathering near Crystal, Sarah felt it was time to depart.
Sarah’s parents were already in the wagon.
Sarah stood on the top step of the church building for a moment and look around. She had been going there all of her life but this was the first time she noticed the view. She could see the park at the end of Main Street with its distinguished band shell and flag pole. She could see the Eagle Creek School, the playground, the ball field, all the buildings downtown including the train depot, Clementine’s Bakery, Montana Chemical Bank and folks coming out of the two other congregations. The flowers were in bloom outside the new apothecary; Mrs. Kennedy always had a green thumb.
“It’s not such a bad little town after all,”
she thought.
“Mother? Can I walk home?”
“Well, of course, if you want to be alone, I understand.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Sarah walked downtown. She checked on Mrs. Clementine who had skipped the memorial service. She was enjoying the cool and the quiet. Living over a bakery is noisy and the ovens kept their apartment very warm. But without Will there was no heat and without Emily there was no noise. She was reading another advice book, this one on marriage. She had not heard from her husband yet but she expected to receive a telegram later in the day.
Sarah continued her walk. She walked around the small lake in the park and then sat on the stage of the band shell, just thinking. She imagined that a large crowd was there to hear her. In her mind a disembodied voice shouted above the din,
“Who are you little girl? Why are you here?”
She did not have an immediate answer. She thought,
“I don’t have to take this sitting down, I’m not going to be still forever.”
She stood up and addressed the audience,
“I am Sarah Conrad from Eagle Creek, Montana. I am the daughter of Michael and Paula Conrad. I am a woman, capable of triumphs and mistakes. I am a child of the King of the Universe. I am here to do what’s right!”
The invisible crowd cheered, several hats spun into the air, streamers fell, red, white and blue spotlights highlighted the crowd. A massive marching band electrified the moment with victorious music.
“If only it were true. Let me rephrase that, if only it were true… at this moment.”
She smiled; confident in her own abilities and judgment.
As she walked down Elm Street, Sarah noticed a bright yellow house. It had been there for a couple of years but this was the first time she’d paid close attention to it. It had two stories. The white columns on the wrap around porch gave it a majestic but warm feeling. Whoever lived there was wealthy but it was easy to see that they were also friendly. Sarah could tell from the plethora of Adirondack chairs near the entry way. Eagle Creek had an abundance of talkative and helpful neighbors. She stood by the closed gate at the end of the side walk that connected to the porch admiring the beauty.
The front door opened. A hand appeared and let loose a tiny black kitten which began chasing butterflies near a blueberry bush. The door shut but in a couple of seconds it was open again. There stood Lynn Watson.
Lynn and Sarah carefully looked at each other wondering who would speak first. The silence was driving Sarah bananas, on the way over she had made up her mind to end the ridiculous feud the two girls shared, but still, she was hesitant about speaking up.
“Sarah?,”
Lynn said in a tone which implied that she already knew her identity.
“Hello Lynn. It’s a pretty day don’t you think?”
Lynn nodded.
“Warm.” 
Sarah nodded her head as well and then rolled her eyes.
She looked at the white picket, waist high fence. It was not so much that it was impregnable; rather, parts of her ego hindered any movements towards the Watson’s home.
She reached in and unlocked the gate. Lynn momentarily looked back inside, she was confused.
“Lynn, can I talk to you?”
Lynn said reluctantly,
“Um well, we just sat down for lunch.”
“It’ll only take a minute.”
“Ok.”
Lynn motioned with her right hand to a red swinging bench with blue and white striped cushions. They sat down.
Sarah sighed.
“Lynn, I’d like to apologize for the way I’ve been treating you.”
“Really?”
Sarah nodded.
“I’ve been a snob. Since the first day I met you, I’ve treated you like some kind of a pariah. All you did was answer twenty Bible questions correctly, I only got nineteen. I was angry at myself. Somehow, I turned it around to despising you.”
Lynn looked down.
“I never knew why you didn’t like me. I always thought it was something I’d said.”
“You did nothing. It was me. I even got Emily to try to hate you, but she has such a good heart about her.”
“Emily and I are friends. She said she tried to talk to you on a couple of occasions but you wouldn’t listen to her.”
“She did.”
Sarah sank back in the bench.
“I suppose I just really enjoyed the power I have over Emily. I guess I use her sometimes to make me feel better by pushing someone else out of our tree-house. But, life is too short for this nonsense. I want us to be friends.”
Lynn smiled and then reached out to hug her. They shared a long embrace. Both girls closed their eyes and thanked God for the moment.
“Would you like to come in for lunch?”
“No, thank you, I should probably be going, my parents expect me to be there for lunch.”
“Then, how about tomorrow, could you come over?”
Sarah replied,
“Sure. How about 10 in the morning?”
“Great. Would you like to go bike riding?”
“That sounds like fun.”
They hugged once more. Sarah stood up and walked down the steps to the gate.
Lynn picked up her kitten and waved one of her paws “bye-bye” from the porch.
Both girls felt as though a heavy weight had been removed from their backs. Tomorrow would be a new day in a new world.
