Goodbye, Nauvoo Page 16

  “Worthy,” Lydia began, hoping he knew the answer, “will there ever be endowments for the dead? Or sealings for the dead?”

  “I’m sure of it,” Worthy replied quickly, “but with how many living people who need such ordinances completed right now in Nauvoo before we leave, it's not a priority yet to do such ordinances for the dead. One day the temple will be rebuilt and…”

  Lydia interrupted. “But what will happen to Danny? My husband before you. And your wife? They haven’t been sealed to anyone. If we can’t do the work for them, if a temple never gets rebuilt, will they ever have it done?”

  Worthy’s knuckles turned white as he held his hat in front of himself, and he wore a look of deep perturbation with his brows furrowed and head downcast.

  “The thought has occurred to me as well. The Lord will provide for them in some way, I’m sure. But it is better not to dwell on such things, don’t you think?” Then he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a white folded letter. “If you are to dwell on anything, dwell on this.”

  “What is it?” Lydia asked, grabbing the letter from Worthy’s hand.

  “Read it!” Worthy said giddily.

  Lydia unfolded the letter and read it over silently, then aloud. “Worthy Henry Clark, having paid his tithing in full to date, is entitled to the benefits of the endowment and sealing rooms in the Nauvoo Temple.”

  Lydia looked up to Worthy with a giant smile. “Is this what I think it means?” She received an almost identical invitation after meeting with a church authority who interviewed her and reviewed her temple worthiness. She had been waiting for Worthy to receive an invitation, too.

  He nodded. “Now, we can go to the temple."

  Lydia echoed him with a grin, “Now, we can go.”

  Worthy stuck his hat back on his head and picked up his wheelbarrow. “Well, I must be getting back to work. I will come calling this Sunday evening.” He gave her a little wave as he left.

  Lydia watched him go, her thoughts again turned to Danny and what Worthy said. The Lord will provide for them. That was the beauty of the restoration of the gospel. The Lord was going to provide for the Saints by bringing them the blessings that had been lost for generations of time, since Christ’s death. Why wouldn’t He have a plan for those people who didn’t have a chance to be endowed or sealed in a temple?

  Chapter 23

  Another Birthing

  Lydia looked beautiful in her light green pleated frock. It was her wedding dress to Danny, but after years of use it was frayed and discolored. To hide its age, she had sewed lace on the cuffs of the dress and on the bottom hem. She saved the dress for special occasions. This time, it would be worn for her wedding to Worthy.

  “You look gorgeous,” Annie said, watching Lydia admire herself in their bedroom.

  Surprised by Annie’s compliment, Lydia turned on her heel and blushed. “Why thank you, Annie. You don’t think it looks too much with the lace?” She spun herself around, the fabric becoming a blur of green.

  “No, it's lovely.” Annie smiled. “One day when I get married, I hope I can look as pretty as you do.”

  “You will,” Lydia replied, taking her hand. “Except you will look even prettier.”

  Annie frowned. “Do you think I’ll have a chance to get married in the temple like you?”

  “One day, perhaps,” Lydia replied. “Come, what shall we make for supper? Your father has had a hankering for a chicken pot pie lately. Does that sound good to you? If you make the dough, I can help pluck the chicken.”

  Just then, a knock on the door downstairs interrupted them.

  “I wonder who it could be?” Lydia thought aloud. She raced downstairs and found a stranger at her doorstep.

  “It's Fiona,” the man cried, panting. “She’s having them woman pains.” The man must have noticed the look of confusion on Lydia’s face for he added quickly, “I am her husband, Henry. You are Lydia, correct?” When Lydia nodded, Henry continued. “She said you could help. You must come quickly.”

  As fast as she could, Lydia changed dresses and left Annie in charge of supper. Lydia followed Henry to his cabin where she found Fiona laid out under a blue quilt, her two sons frolicking wildly on the bed next to her.

  “How long have you been having pains?” Lydia asked Fiona.

  “It's been about a day and a half,” Henry replied for his wife.

  Lydia glared at the man. “A day and a half and you didn’t come for me sooner?”

  Henry shrugged. “It's not my fault. Fiona didn’t want to bother you until she had to.”

  “Oh, poor thing,” Lydia sighed, brushing the hair away from Fiona’s sweaty forehead as she gritted her teeth through a painful contraction.

  “I thought I could manage,” Fiona stated after the pain subsided. “At least we have so far, haven’t we, Henry?”

  He nodded. “We’ve been able to get by. It hasn’t been too bad until now.”

  “Alright,” Lydia said, taking a moment to assess the situation. “I’ll need some scissors, and twine, and clean rags, and if you can find any newspapers, I could use those for the afterbirth. And if you can find another woman to help me, that would be greatly appreciated. I know a midwife if needed. It's not a man’s place to be here when the baby comes. I’ll need you to take the children away as well. Can you help me with those things, Henry?”

  The young man nodded dutifully, then departed from the cabin. Lydia turned her attention back to Fiona.

  “It's important for you to breath right now, long breaths in and out when the pain comes. It’ll help make it more bearable.”

  Soon enough, Henry returned with a short, middle aged woman with a crooked nose. “Sister Reeves is here to help,” Henry said before he was dismissed.

  Lydia had forgotten all about supper, but felt no hunger. Her full attention was focused on Fiona, who in that little cabin, was experiencing the fiery pain of contractions. With the help of Sister Reeves, Lydia worked to make Fiona as comfortable as possible, placing hot bricks by her feet to keep her warm and kneading her back.

  The next few hours were long and tedious, but Lydia worked quickly and efficiently, recalling what she could remember from helping with Martha’s births and the birth of her stillborn child. Sister Reeves, who Lydia learned was a timid mother of three, allowed Lydia to take lead. Lydia was a conductor over the orchestration of Fiona’s birthing, and with a nod of her head would signal when Sister Reeves would need to take hold of Fiona’s hand, or bring clean rags and other supplies. Soon enough, the shrill notes of a child’s cry pierced the winter air, followed by calm silence. Fiona’s beautiful baby girl, Angela, was a masterpiece.

  By the end, it seemed as if what transpired had been a blur. In her arms Lydia held the new, little child. Instead of sorrow or the longing for what she could not have, she felt elation. It was as if a beautiful rose had bloomed inside of herself, and out poured love for this little babe and for the mother who had entrusted Lydia to birth her. Instead of jealousy when Fiona introduced Angela to her father, Lydia felt privileged to behold such a sweet, tender moment between parents. And she was proud that she could be partly responsible for ensuring that meeting.

  Lydia sat with Fiona before she left. Lydia didn’t know when she’d see Fiona again and wanted to visit with her while she could.

  Fiona smiled up at Lydia. “You remind me of my dear sister Sophie. She is a lot like you.”

  “Daniel didn’t tell me much about her, except that she stayed in Ireland. Why is that?”

  Fiona sighed. “She stayed in Belfast to watch over Ma and Da. If only her husband would have converted. He was a Catholic. The only one in the family. The rest of us were Protestant, that is until the missionaries visited us. We had hoped that Shane would convert, too, that way we’d be united for once. But Shane, he had other plans. He hoped Sophie would become Catholic, like him. My was he angry when she got baptized into our church. Then he took her away to another part of Ireland and I haven’t seen
her since.” Fiona looked down at Angela, who was fast asleep in her arms.

  “Ireland,” Lydia said dreamily. “Danny always talked about the green rolling hills there. He made it seem like it was the Garden of Eden.”

  “It is quite a lovely place, I miss it. And I miss Sophie and Ma and Da. Da sent me on a ship to America, to join Zion. I was the only one he could afford to send. Danny paid his own way. Da didn’t want me to meet a Catholic boy who’d steal me away like Sophie was stolen by Shane. I was lucky to meet Jacob, may he rest in peace, so soon after arriving here in America, but it has been a lonely time of it. I am happy to be here, but sometimes I want to go home.”

  “I understand,” Lydia replied gently. “I want to go home all the time, but home would not be home for me anymore.”

  “Why? What happened to it?”

  “After I met the missionaries and converted, I discovered what I was missing and came here. And now I can never go back home to Canada. I’m not wanted there anymore. Because of my faith. Not that I would go back. I’ve got a new life here now.” Lydia wondered if she should tell Fiona about Worthy, then decided there was no reason not to. “I met a man named Worthy. We’ll be getting married sometime soon in the temple.”

  Fiona’s face lit up in pure joy. “Lydia, that’s wonderful! I am so happy for you.”

  “Thank you.” Lydia smiled. It was relieving to see Fiona sincerely happy for her.

  “Danny would be proud of you,” Fiona said.

  “I hope so.”

  “I know so. This is a blessing, Lydia. Don’t be guilty for remarrying.”

  Lydia stared at her in unbelief. “Really?”

  Fiona nodded. “I know what it's like,” she began, almost as if she were reading Lydia’s mind. “I know how hard it is. You can love Danny and Worthy at the same time.”

  “Danny wouldn’t have been upset? Or jealous?”

  “No. He would have wanted this for you, Lydia. He told me so.”

  From across the cabin, Henry cleared his throat, signaling that it was time for Lydia to leave. It had grown late and Lydia had still not had supper. At any rate, Lydia was ready to go home and have whatever leftovers she could scrounge up.

  “I must be going,” Lydia said. She squeezed Fiona’s hand and rose from her chair.

  “Wait!” Fiona cried, refusing to let go. “Before you go, Henry and I wanted to thank you for all you’ve done.”

  “You’re welcome, although you’ve done most of the work birthing that baby. I stood by and watched is all.”

  “You’ve done more than that,” Fiona replied. “That land saved us. You saved us. We traded that land for a new milk cow and a new wagon and team. That land is going to help us get West, Lydia. If it wasn’t for you...”

  Lydia blushed. “If it wasn’t for Danny...”

  Before she could finish, Henry stuck out a hand to Lydia and she shook it. His grip was much firmer than she expected for such a scrawny man. “Thank you for helping Fiona,” he said. “For helping us. You’ve done more than we could ever repay you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Lydia replied before saying her final goodbyes to the couple. She wondered what would happen to Fiona and Henry on their journey West, but she was grateful that she could help her husband’s sister in some way.

  Chapter 24

  The Sealing

  Martha twisted Lydia’s golden locks into a chignon on top of her head. Lydia had come to her house earlier in the day to get ready for her sealing to Worthy.

  “It's such a blessing that the temple is finished enough to complete our ordinances,” Martha said with a hairpin between her gritted teeth. She took the pin and patted it into Lydia’s hair before grabbing another one from the dresser top in her bedroom. “President Young told us it would happen, but so many people doubted him. Sidney Rigdon was wrong. He said not one more brick would be placed upon the temple. Ha! And now, look at you, going to get your endowments today. And sealed! Did you think it would ever happen?”

  Lydia shook her head. “No, although I never thought I’d be getting married in January, either. Neither of us got the spring wedding we hoped for, did we?”

  “No, we didn’t.” Martha smiled. “Do you remember how we would gather yellow forest flowers to make bouquets?”

  “Yes, and we’d braid fresh flowers into our hair.” Lydia had a far off, dreamy look.

  “And we imagined ourselves wearing lacy, pink wedding dresses.”

  Lydia looked down at her green frock. “I guess this’ll have to do instead.” She and Martha laughed.

  “You really do look wonderful. Much better than I did on my wedding day.” She put another pin in Lydia’s hair. “I am just so happy for you, Lydia. It’s a blessing you’ve found someone who’ll take care of you and love you.”

  “Thank you, Martha. It means a lot to me to have your help.”

  “Of course. I just wish I could go inside the temple with you today.”

  “Me, too.” Lydia frowned. “But I understand why it can’t be.” Lydia’s quiet voice voice hinted disappointment. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror in Martha’s bedroom. “You’ll have a chance to go inside soon, I’m sure.”

  “I hope so. I pray every day for the patience to wait.” Martha picked up Asenath, who had crawled over to her and grabbed hold of her skirts. “And yet I see the crowds of Saints waiting to get in and fear that the lines will never subside. That’s why I’m glad a new temple will be built one day. President Young said so. Can you imagine all the Saints who won’t have the chance to get endowed and sealed in the Nauvoo temple? A new temple in Zion will give them that chance.” Asenath squirmed violently, so Martha set the child back down.

  “Yes, like my mother?” Lydia replied. “Not that she would ever join the church and come to Zion with us.” She sighed and fell back into her chair. “I wish I knew what became of her. I had always imagined her being the escort at my wedding.”

  Martha scoffed sarcastically. “You, wanting your mother to be your escort? I don’t believe it.”

  “I did at one time. This was before she wanted me to marry Wilbur, of course. I sometimes wish she could have been there for my wedding to Danny. I wish she could be here with me now. I don’t know why. Silly, isn’t it? I know we didn’t have a perfect relationship, but she is still my mother.”

  Martha placed her hands on Lydia’s shoulders. “Well since your mother isn’t here, I could be your escort.”

  “What do you mean? I thought you couldn’t be there for the sealing.”

  “I can’t, but I can escort you and Worthy to the temple doors. I’ll even wait for you to come out.”

  “Not in this weather! It's much too cold for you to wait outside. It's generous enough you would want to come with us,” Lydia said shaking her head.

  “Yes, but it's not every day your cousin gets married. And it's not every day a temple is built. You’ll just have to tell me what it's like getting your ordinances, in case I don’t get to go.”

  Lydia reached up and touched her cousin’s hand. “You’ll have a turn to go inside, Martha. I promise. There are blessings waiting for you there. They were promised to us. To all of us.”

  ✽✽✽

  Martha waited with Lydia and Worthy in the long queue to enter the temple. Even with the implementation of an invitation system, there were still hordes of people waiting to get their endowments.

  It seemed like time stood still as they inched forward in line until the grandiose temple doors were inches away. The doors opened, and Lydia was seemingly engulfed by the crowd entering the temple, but not until she turned back to her cousin with a sweet, knowing smile and squeezed Martha’s hand.

  Once Lydia disappeared inside of the temple, Martha remained staring up at the edifice. She admired the round stained glass star windows, beautifully backlit so that the blue stars shone as bright as the day. This temple is operating on borrowed time, Martha thought sadly. What will happen to it when we are gone? Finally, she
continued on her way home where Samuel anxiously waited with their children. The family would be hungry for supper, but Martha was brewing a wedding dinner for Lydia and Worthy. Samuel and the children would just have to wait until it was finished stewing. Samuel had butchered a fat hog before winter and preserved the meat in a barrel of salt, and Martha used part of the meat in anticipation of the wedding celebration. The tender morsels would be a welcome delicacy on such a cold winter day.

  As Martha neared home, she watched as snow blew quietly over her little property, piling its white debris onto the wooden fence that lined her land. Smoke billowed out of the tall chimney in purple, puffy wisps and disappeared into a white sky. Old Meggie slept peacefully in the small cabin-turned-barn behind the Wilcox home waiting out the cold, perhaps dreaming of grazing in green spring pastures. Martha likewise dreamed of a green spring, wishing her cousin would have been able to have her wedding when the trees were full of blossoms and fragrance instead of icicles.

  Martha couldn’t deny her contentment in Lydia’s decision to marry Worthy, but Martha selfishly thought that Lydia’s marriage made her winter even more sorrowfully serene. Martha did not expect she would see much of Lydia after her wedding. And who knows where Lydia would end up once the Saints left Nauvoo? Lydia would follow her new husband, no doubt. In that case, Martha lost her mother, sister, and now her best friend. If Faddy and Annie wouldn’t come with her when she left Nauvoo, Martha feared she would lose them, too.

  Martha tried her best to take in the beauty of the icy wonderland while she could; the snow that shrouded her home and land seemed to her like a sacred memory she needed to keep safe. She loved the beauty of snow covered Nauvoo, no matter how frigid it was. She would miss it dearly. Martha also thought of her mother’s and sister’s graves, hidden away under masses of snow. Their simple wood markers were never converted into permanent headstones due to the cost, and now, the wood would most likely be lost by the time the snow melted in the spring. Martha had tried returning after the first snowfall to find the graves, but had no luck. Trees had been downed to make room for more deceased Saints, and the landmarks she once used to find her family’s graves were gone. Martha stopped returning to the cemetery after that. She knew that she would never return to those burying grounds once she left Nauvoo anyway. It was either goodbye now or later.