By Any Other Name

Chapter 8

In the following weeks, I became much more comfortable in my role as teacher. It actually felt natural now and the children were really making progress.

Oliver was reading with almost no assistance. He'd only taken on the primary readers and simple Bible passages, but his progress was undeniable. The other children didn't have the motivation that Oliver did, but they were all doing well. Each of them improved in arithmetic and English, and we were beginning to delve into the science book.

Minnie seemed to improve too. Obviously I hadn't known her long, but something about her just seemed lighter. She looked more relaxed and not as overworked as when I first met her. She had bad days sometimes, when she said her knees acted up so badly that she couldn't be on her feet for more than a few hours a day, but I was glad that I was able to offer some help in return for all that she'd done for me by taking me in.

As she initially told me, the children mostly cleaned up after themselves so all that was left was some house cleaning and cooking. I didn't mind doing either of those things when I wasn't occupied with teaching the children. Or I should say that I didn't mind doing it when Minnie would actually allow me to help. Which almost never happened. She was not an idle woman and didn't enjoy sitting while others did the work. It looked almost painful for her to let me take over when she just couldn't handle something.

Unfortunately, my outlook on the church hadn't gotten any brighter. The sermons were just as bland and superficial as that first week, and if anything, the people had gotten more odd.

Mr. and Mrs. Snedeker didn't approach me again, not that I minded all that much. But Grace and the other ladies seemed to keep their distance as well. Aside from a few brief encounters, the reverend didn't acknowledge me, and in general, the people weren't nearly as open and friendly as they'd seemed to be at first. I would swear some of them were whispering about me too.

I told myself that was nonsense though. Why should they talk about me? I certainly hadn't done anything to merit gossip since I'd arrived in town, or even since I set foot in the country. And there was no way for any of them to know anything about Charles or my past. So what would they gossip about?

I just wished their behavior made some sort of sense. It was such a drastic change from before. I wouldn't let rude or unfriendly people drive me from church though. I'd just have to wait them out. Maybe they were wary of foreigners, or new people to their congregation in general. I was confident that they would come around eventually. Until then I'd have to pretend I didn't notice and continue to attend with the children.

I'd become accustomed to the necessity of Levi's presence to and from church and at certain meal times. I didn't really appreciate it, but he was too big a part of Minnie's and the children's lives, and it wasn't my place to try and disrupt that.

I still would have preferred to walk to church but the roads were usually just as promising as that first week. Besides that, my shoes were not up to the task of walking any great distances, let alone doing it week after week. It might prompt too many uncomfortable questions from the children if I suddenly decided to go alone anyway, so I accepted the fact that I'd have to sit beside him on the small wagon seat twice a week. I could ignore him well enough any time he visited the house. The children primarily took up his attention, making it an easy task on my part.

Thankfully there hadn't been any more outrageous suggestions from Oliver, but something told me that he hadn't abandoned his ideas altogether. While he wasn't as downtrodden as he'd been at first, he still seemed wistful sometimes. He clearly idolized Levi, and as much as it pained me to admit it, I could understand why. Levi was kind to him. He listened to the boy and made him feel important. And it was hard not to notice that other than his apparent fascination for abominable places, Levi was actually a good person. I'd really tried to find other despicable things about him but I couldn't pinpoint any true fault in the man. Which sincerely irritated me.