Entangled Hearts

Chapter 18

Eight-thirty the next morning found Laura Mae and Gene again at the Kingsford station. Uncle Everett would arrive before the second train passed through, so Laura Mae thought it best to leave on the earliest one. The sun was hidden behind black clouds, as if it hated to see the young couple say goodbye and be parted for heaven knew how long. A strong wind howled outside the station, sending dust high into the air and bending treetops with its mighty strength. Large raindrops began to patter on the window panes; Laura Mae saw them and wished they would stop falling; they looked like big tears there on the glass. She did not want to cry; she wanted to be brave and smile when she said goodbye to her lover.

She suddenly felt small and weak, afraid in a world so large. What would she do without Gene? She looked around; no one was in the station except Gene and herself and the janitor, who came and went, intent upon his work. Young couples waiting in the station were such a common sight to him that he did not take the slightest notice of them. After Gene bought Laura Mae's ticket to Denver, they were free to visit while they waited for the train.

They were both deeply wrapped in thought; for some time neither spoke. Gene took out his checkbook and wrote a check for one hundred dollars to Laura Mae Porter, signed Eugene Whitmer. He would have liked to have written Laura Mae Whitmer on it, but what if the aunt in Denver should have to help her cash it? She would know their secret. As he handed it to his wife, he said, "Take this, dear, you may need some little thing in Denver. I wish you would decide to spend a good deal of your time in the Whitmer Mansion; it will cheer Uncle and Maria while I am away."

"Gene, you have been so wonderful to me!" Laura Mae brushed away a tear and smiled up into his face as she accepted the check. "I am sure Father will send for me to come home as soon as you enlist. It will be useless for you to write to me while I am in Denver because Auntie will do as Father told her, and any mail from you will either be destroyed or mailed back to him for inspection. I will get your address from Uncle Everett as soon as I get home and write to you, so you will know when to start writing me. I often get letters from girls I knew from school; maybe Father won't get suspicious. If he says very much, I will have my mail go to the Whitmer Mansion."

"It will be a long time to have to wait for word from you. I swear I will always love you, Laura Mae." The train whistle sounded very shrilly as Gene clasped his bride in his arms.

"Gene, you will always be my prince, but I must remain as the farmer's daughter for a while longer until you come back. I pray to God to keep you safe over there and send you back to me," she said as bravely as she could. For a brief minute, the whole world was forgotten as the lovers were carried into a land of bliss, only to be brought back to reality again as the train stopped in front of the station, as it had done hundreds of times before. The kiss that would long be remembered ended, and Gene picked up Laura Mae's baggage and went to the train with her. After she was seated comfortably, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss and pressed her hand, then hurried down the aisle and out of the train. He did not turn to see his sweetheart drying her tears. She would go to her aunt in Denver, and he would wait in the station for his uncle. Gene watched the train until it looked like a huge black worm crawling down the slope to fade away in the distance with only a line of gray smoke to mark its path.