Uncertain: Day 14

Word Count: 84,060

Summary of Events:

Joseph, Hazel, and Mr. Averill arrived in the town where the trapper lived very late; so all they did was find a place to stay the night. The next morning they sought out the sheriff, who led them to the home of the trapper, where they found the children, who initially mistook Hazel for their mother before recoiling upon her informing them she was their aunt. As Joseph learned from the trapper, Ruby and Teddy had run away out of fear of Hazel after having met an aunt of their mother's pupils who had frightened them severely. After talking with the trapper Joseph discovered Hazel still not having success convincing the children to come to New Jersey with her, and so took Hazel aside to ask her why her husband couldn't come out to Cimarron to stay with her and the children until they were finished grieving before taking them to New Jersey, only to have Mrs. Chalmers inform him that her husband was dead . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“Why you miserable prude,” Joseph spat.

Mrs. Chalmers looked startled.

“When we was at Yates Creek you went up one side’a me and down the other ‘cause I’d just assumed everyone in Cimarron would figure out I was a Confederate because I never denied their accusations of as much,” Joseph said, his voice trembling with barely-restrained rage. “Yet here you’ve been the whole time talking about yourself as Mrs. Chalmers and just assuming I’d figure out that you was widowed.”

“Why else would I have come out west unescorted?” Mrs. Chalmers asked.

“Eastern men is businessmen,” Joseph replied coldly. “They don’t necessarily have time to drop everything and come out west for a few days or weeks to track down their wives’ nieces and nephews. You said your husband worked for the police. Crime don’t take no vacation, so why should men in the business of stopping it?”

“Not every crime is a murder,” Mrs. Chalmers replied.

“I’ll give you that much,” Joseph snapped. “But I ain’t cutting you no slack for upbraiding me for assuming things about people when you done did the same thing back to me again. If’n you’re going to preach the sermon you’d better be doing what it says, after all, there’s a saying I’ve heard what says actions speak louder’n words.”

Mrs. Chalmers lowered her head contritely. Joseph relished in seeing the action, seeing how she’d been the one upbraiding him and tearing him down for most anything she could find for the most part since she’d arrived in town. 

In light of all the condemnations thrown at him thanks to Lavern’s efforts it actually felt extra good to know that someone regretted what they’d done to him and recognised that he was right on something.

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Chalmers said quietly. “I’m sorry for assuming that you would know I was widowed by the fact that I was unescorted and not wearing a wedding band, and I am especially sorry to have upbraided you for having complacently assumed only to be proven false when I was, myself, complacently assuming, only to have now, in this moment, been proven false. Will you forgive me?”

Joseph startled. The last time he’d heard those four words they’d been wheedled out of Irene by Ma because Irene had followed him and Odelia off to their secret talking spot before proceeding to laugh at their conversation.

Now he was actually being asked to forgive someone who’d not had to be coerced to ask; someone who was really, truly, genuinely contrite, without Ma there giving him a look that told him she expected him to say yes just as much as she’d expected Irene to ask for his forgiveness — even though neither had really wanted to make things up to each other.

He didn’t know what to do. He’d never been genuinely asked by someone for forgiveness. Mrs. Chalmers’ green eyes gazed at him expectantly. Joseph felt on the verge of panicking, but it wasn’t like he could ask Ma for help anyways, she’d been dead eleven years now.

“I’ll think about it,” Joseph finally said.