Three Word Wednesday-Olive’s Hero

Prompts: Angelic; adjective: Of or relating to angels.

Foster; verb: Encourage or promote the development of (something, typically something regarded as good); bring up; adjective: Denoting someone that has a specified family connection through fostering rather than birth; involving or concerned with fostering a child.

Ruin; noun: the physical destruction or disintegration of something or the state of disintegrating or being destroyed; the remains of a building, typically an old one, that has suffered much damage or disintegration; the disastrous disintegration of someone's life; the complete loss of one's money and other assets; verb: Reduce (a building or place) to a state of decay, collapse, or disintegration; reduce to a state of poverty.

             Olive’s Hero

   Henry had friends growing up, but none as strong as his friend Clarence, who lived three farms over from Henry’s parents the Klein’s. Clarence supported Henry and protected him from bullies at school. They were the best of friends. Henry was grateful to support his friend, when he lost not one but two brothers, to farm accidents and then his beloved mother. Clarence's father had not taken the loss of those two sons well or his wife. He dove into the bottle and was a tyrant to his loved ones.

      When Clarence as the oldest reached eighteen, he expected him to take over the farm but Clarence had stood up to him, and said that he was going to work in the bank industry. There had been a fight and Clarence moved to town. They had made an even peace when Clarence married Mary at twenty -six, but Clarence’s Father, really wasn’t happy with his son’s career choice. Clarence however soon moved up the ranks, and now at thirty one he was the vice president of the bank.

     Henry too had enjoyed his career farming and growing fruit. Running the farm after his parents died had kept him going, but the one thing he missed was companionship and someone to talk to every once in a while. He missed someone to make his meals, and keep his clothes clean after a long day tending the fruit trees. He wasn’t a saint he’d been out with a few women, but none had captured his heart. He envied his friend and Clarence’s growing family to who he was Uncle Henry. Henry begged his friend Clarence to help him find a woman to marry. Even Mary started introducing her friends to him, but none were a woman he felt he could marry and stay married to. It was really too bad he couldn’t find someone like Clarence’s angelic sister Olive. She cooked cleaned and she would make some lucky man and great farmer’s wife; but the great drawback was she was much too young at only sixteen. Henry respected his friendship with Clarence too much to go after his little sister. He had even confessed this to Clarence just the other day. Clarence had laughed and said it was too bad his father had told him just today, that Olive had gotten engaged. Clarence admitted he would have been happier to have Henry as his soon to be brother-in-law. Clarence didn’t know the fellow that Olive was marrying all that well, and when he had met him he had taken a rare dislike to him. He had spoken to his father but his Father told him he was just jealous, because his new brother-in-law would be a partner in the farm. Clarence told Henry he was still worried he just didn’t like the man, and felt that in some way he was taking advantage of Olive. Clarence explained to Henry that he felt that his mother’s death had made his father’s alcoholism worse. Clarence was sure Olive had gotten engaged just too get away from their father. He only hoped it wouldn’t be the ruin of her glowing spirit, His Father refused to speak to him now, and he couldn’t even see his sister as he wasn’t allowed on the farm. He wished he could help but Clarence’s father wouldn’t even speak to Henry either.

       Now it was six months later and still Clarence and his Father weren’t speaking. Henry felt bad for Clarence. He knew what it was like to be torn from family, but at least he had his foster family. Clarence was lucky to have his wife Mary and his three children, Henry was sure that helped.

Henry had made plans to go into town and meet Clarence and Mary, who had yet another candidate to be his wife. He’d dressed carefully as Clarence had said this one was refined and a school teacher. As he drove his wagon towards town; he said a silent prayer to God, that he would soon find a woman who could make him whole and give him the family he so desired. Time was getting short after all he was now thirty-one.

     He drove a short distance from his farm, he saw in the distance what looked like a bag of rags by the side of the road. When he got closer, he realized it was a not a bag of clothes, but a person. He got down from the wagon to see if there was anything he could do to help them, and to his surprise he found it was a woman. And not just any woman it was Olive, Clarence’s sister who lay there battered and broken by the side of the road. He lifted her up carefully as to not jar her, and take her to the hospital in town when he noticed that she was pregnant. Who could have done such a thing?

“Hewy?”Olive said through cut lips and a broken jaw.

“Who did this to you Olive?” Henry asked enraged.

“He was so mad like I did it. Why?” Olive replied the words hard to understand

“Who Olive?” Henry asked again.

“Daddy. Was so mad. I didn’t know he would do this. Why did Amos steal and leave me?”

“Are you saying your father beat you Olive?”

“Yes.” Olive answered then started crying.

      Henry tried to comfort Olive and get her to the hospital. Arriving there he was met by a police officer who kept him, until they got the story from Olive. Olive it seemed had been beaten and battered by her father. Poor innocent Olive had fallen for the oldest story in the book. A traveling salesman had wooed her, gotten her dowry in farmland from her family, sold it and left with the proceeds. The monster had left her to face the consequences and had made her pregnant. Olive’s father had blamed her and beaten her within an inch of her life. Olive would recover and her baby seemed to be okay, but social services because of her age and her unmarried status, wanted to take her into custody. She would be placed in an unwed mother’s home when she left hospital. 

    Henry told Clarence what had happened and Clarence not only rescued his sister taking her into his home, but saw that his father was charged. Unfortunately a judge who thought Olive’s father was within his rights to discipline Olive for getting pregnant, let him off with a fine. Olive’s father disowned her and Clarence, their siblings refused to speak to either Olive or Clarence. They sided with their Father, saying Olive had brought in this man who took valuable property from their Father and sold it. They claimed they also had brought shame and ruin on the family, with the pregnancy and the subsequent court case for the assault.

    Olive was suffering and Clarence though he didn’t say anything, was angry at the siblings who sided with his father. Henry’s heart went out to Olive and Clarence. Henry found himself visiting Clarence’s home more often over the next few months. Olive was a sweet girl and tender hearted. Henry looked at Olive and saw a Madonna. She was petite barely five feet tall weighing all of 110 pounds even heavily pregnant. Her stomach though pushed out with the pregnancy, looked like a small ball. She’d cut off her long light brown hair, and wore it in the new fringe style of the twenties. It suited her delicate features making her lovely blue eyes sparkle. Olive loved to cook like his foster mother Frieda and she made amazing food. When Henry would drop by the house she worried about his well-being, and that he had enough to eat. She was exactly what he needed in a wife he decided, but she was embarrassed to be bearing another man’s child and even though he got the courage to ask her to marry him she continued to refuse his proposals. Clarence was very encouraging, he wanted Henry for his brother-in law, but Olive wouldn't seem to budge. 

       Henry continued to woo her despite her refusals. Henry was even there in the waiting room when her son was born. The nurse was sure he was the father and invited him in to see the boy. As Henry held the boy, he felt his heart was totally lost. This boy might not be of his blood, but he was his son in the same way he had become the Klein’s son. He knew he could be not just a foster father, but a real father to this boy. Olive looked over at man and baby boy and smiled. When Henry asked again she agreed to marry, and they put Henry’s last name on the boy’s birth certificate. A year later they had a daughter and three years later, a boy they would call Henry Jr. Henry Jr. who would go on to have six children of his own. One of them me.

© Sheilagh Lee   February 15, 2012