My Hands Hold My Story (Rough Draft)

Chapter Five

Arm in arm, Father and Cordelia led the way. My stepmother had her toddler, Sam, on her right hip. Katie was next, holding Susan's hand. Anna was next to me, ignoring me with every step she took, and then Simon was behind us.

To be quite honest, it was the strangest walk to church I had ever been a part of. At school, there had been a chapel on school grounds, and the reverend had delivered his sermon in sign for us. In Springfield, I had always trailed behind my aunt and uncle. To be in the center of a group was disconcerting.

There was already a large group milling about the yard of the white church. I took a deep breath,, drawing on all my courage. Meeting new people had become a bit easier since I'd set out for Montana, but it still was not my favorite thing to do.

Father pulled his arm away from Cordelia and turned to reach his good hand out to me. Stepping around Katie, I went to him. He kept me by his side as he approached the closest man. They shook hands, exchanging greetings. My eyes went to the badge on his vest.

"Miss," he said, tipping his hat to me. "Welcome to town."

"—my daughter Ivy," Father said, making sure he looked straight at me as he made the introduction though I missed the first part of his sentence. "Ivy, this...Sheriff John Worth."

I nodded in acknowledgement. Father turned back to the sheriff and, I presumed, explained that I was deaf. The sheriff did a double take, looking at me a little closer the second time. I took the opportunity to study him closer. He was of average height, taller than me at least, and had a graying mustache over his lip.

As Father continued to talk to Sheriff Worth, I glanced around. Anna had found several of her friends and was gesturing dramatically as she spoke. They all glanced my way and then their shoulders shook with laughter. What was she telling them?

A touch on my arm brought my focus back to Father and the sheriff. Red-faced, Sheriff Worth said, with exaggerated mouth movements, "You were on the stage that was held up?"

It would have been comical if it didn't actually help me understand. I gave a brief nod in answer. Sheriff glanced at Father, who looked concerned. "I received a wire with the news," he said, without the exaggerated speaking. "There was mention of a deaf passenger."

My attention was caught by someone who passed behind the sheriff. It was the young man who had caught me! He nodded and tipped his hat when his gaze met mine. A blush heated up my cheeks as I nodded in return.

When would I know his name?

All too soon, it was time to enter the church and I hadn't even met the reverend. While I'd hoped to sit near my father for the service, I was squished in between Simon and Anna. Neither of them looked happy about the situation.

We were in the back pew, so it was impossible for me to see the reverend speak. Out of respect, I stood for the hymns and read along from the hymnal that Anna held in her hands. I didn't even attempt to join my voice with the congregation. That would have been a disaster given that I had little control over volume and pitch!

There was little to occupy my mind as I sat through the sermon. The walls were wooden planks and the windows were simple. In Springfield, stained glass windows had sparkled and held my attention whenever Uncle Richard sat us too far from the pulpit for me too read Reverend Weston's lips. Here, I was bored out of my mind.

Anna jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow when everyone bowed their heads for the final prayer. When I tried to step away from her, I knocked into Simon and he too elbowed me in the side. I glared at him, but he had his head down and his eyes closed.

It wasn't always going to be like this, was it?

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I had the feeling that Father and Cordelia noticed the little spat between the three of us. They were quick to lead us out of the church as soon as the service was over. There was no stopping to talk to their neighbors and we made the short walk to the house much faster than we had earlier in the morning.