Musings...

Destiny Entwined

John Calaway walked into his house on Chestnut Street, arms full of presents. He'd been gone over two months - an unavoidable business trip which proved very fruitful in the financial aspect. Managing a shipyard business from his hometown hadn't been so bad, but at times he missed being on the open sea. The trip to France had been quite an adventure, even for him. Too bad his wife Madelyn and daughters couldn't come along. Perhaps next time.

"Mama! Daddy's home!" The younger one, Sabrina, screamed at the top of her lungs, making John jump in surprise, almost dropping the bags he carried. Even at eighteen, she still acted like a child most days.

She crossed the short distance between them and hugged him. "Welcome home, papa."

Before he could do anything, she grabbed the bags from him, set them aside, then hugged him again. It felt good to be home, John thought. Nothing in the world could replace the feeling of love.

"Sweetheart. So good to have you back." Madelyn walked into the hallway, wiping her hands on her apron. A thin white dust of flour covering her cheeks, her red curls in disarray, she looked a perfect mess. He smiled at his wife - a smile worth more than a thousand words.

Kissing her on the lips with a yearning he felt inside his heart, she blushed and looked up at him. "We've missed you."


They settled into the living room, chatting about John's trip, while Sabrina brought tea and sandwiches. She looked just like her mother, John thought, and smiled into her blue eyes as he thanked her.

"Where, mind you, is Tammy? I'm surprised she's not home at this hour." His oldest had a bit of a bookish personality. While she couldn't travel, she loved to read. It's the reason why he picked up so many books on his travels. Spoiling his girls had always been fun, but as they grew up, he started having a tough time figuring out what they liked. Sabrina couldn't wait to grow up so she can look for a suitable husband. Tammy shied away from the idea and hid herself in libraries at all times possible.

"Where do you think, papa?! She went down to the new book store that opened up on Richardson and Fourth. I went with her once, but I found nothing interesting there." She sighed as if the world had ended. Sabrina never thought she'd find what she's looking for in a book. To her, reading had always been a waste of time.

"That is wonderful," John said then looked at his daughter "I mean, the new book store, darling."

They continued talking about his travels as he told them of all the places he'd visited. Both Madelyn as well as Sabrina listened, but their interest didn't lie with his story. All they cared about was that he was home now. Not unlike Tammy, who'd hang onto his every word and ask a billion questions, interrupting him at every corner. He missed her.

The door opened and in fluttered a girl in a blue dress. Tall and lanky, her hair black as raven, eyes as green as the grass in a Scottish field. When she saw John, her eyes lit up and a huge smile broke on her face.

"Papa!" As John got up to greet his oldest daughter, she ran into his arms almost knocking him back into his chair. "Oh, papa, I've missed you so." Tears welled in the girl's eyes and John tried to keep his composure. His pride and joy, he thought.

Always unconventional, she plopped down on the floor next to him, her skits billowing around her like a soft cloud. Grabbing a sandwich off the plate and munching on it, she looked at him, eyes expectant. "I hope I didn't miss much! I want to hear all about it. Where did you all go? What did you see? What did you bring us? Me? Did you find any interesting books?" John laughed at her exuberance and Madelyn looked at her daughter with fondness. She resembled John so much in so many ways.

Seeing how the conversation would be a long one, Madelyn and Sabrina took their leave, leaving John and Tammy to their own devices.


~ * ~

Back in her room, Tammy sat on the floor, her legs crossed Indian style, as she looked through the bags of goodies her father brought for her. Books upon books, maps, souvenirs, she almost couldn't contain her excitement.

Flipping through pages at random and smelling the print of the books, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. How she wished she could have gone with him on this expedition, she thought.

In one of the bags, she found an old and worn out looking book with a pale cover, the title intangible to read. She opened it and out fluttered a note. You are destined to be together forever, it read. Her sister came to mind and she thought how Sabrina would like a love story, but knowing she wouldn't bother reading the book, she flipped through the pale pages.

As if conjured, Sabrina walked into the room, looking about. "God, what a mess. Do you ever clean up?" She raised her eyebrow to emphasize the point.

Tammy glanced around her and felt comfortable in the mess she was in. "I like it this way. Oh, hey. I found something." She raised the book in one hand and the little note in her other, trying to get Sabrina's attention to it, instead of her messy room.

"It's a book. What's so interesting about it?"

Tammy's heart sank a little but she decided not to give up. She opened the book to the first page and started reading aloud. The more she read, the more fascinated she became. The book had been written in the early 17th century, but it had been set in London. A girl named Tammy had met a handsome traveler by the name of Simon. What was interesting was that the boy lived only a few blocks from where they lived now.

Sabrina's ears perked up at that. "Perhaps we should explore this further." She was curious about it as was Tammy.

"You can't think they're still alive? It's a work of fiction, my dear sister." However, she had to admit to herself that even she wanted to find the address and more about this. What if the story was based on real life?

"Okay. Tomorrow then. We go on a mission!" Excited now that she and her sister found something to do together.


WC 1104