“Certainly. We’ll go with you tomorrow,” Flynn said.
“I thought Viktor and Isak might be of help too,” I said.
“They’ll be willing t
o help without question,” Theo said. “We’d all do anything for the Cassidys. We all go back a ways now, don’t we?”
“I wish we’d known sooner,” Flynn said. “I hate thinking about them feeling alone out there. That’s what community is for.”
“Not every place is like this,” Phillip said. “I wouldn’t have believed it to be true until I came here and saw it with my own eyes.”
“Indeed. This was my intention when I dreamt of the future here.” Papa beamed at us from his place at the head of the table. “I’ll rest easy knowing we passed that value on to you children, which you, in turn, will pass on to yours.”
“What can I do?” Fiona asked. “I’d like to help too.”
“I have an idea of what you and the rest of the women in our group can do,” I said. “Throw a party.” I presented my idea for a gathering to raise money for the Cassidys. “We’ll have it here at the house. Desserts and punch and dancing. We’ll invite all our old schoolmates and whomever else we’d like, with a gentle suggestion that whatever they can spare would be appreciated, no matter how small.”
“Li Wu will be back from school in a few days,” Fiona said. “He and I could play the music for dancing.”
“Splendid idea,” Papa said. “What a treat for everyone to hear him play.”
“And you, too, Fiona,” I said. There would be much merriment with the two of them playing together.
“To make a dance floor, we’ll have to move furniture around in the parlor,” Mama said.
Our parlor was at the back of the house. Other than Fiona, who practiced at the piano in the formal room, none of us spent much time there. However, whenever we had a party or other grand occasion, we had it in there. We’d never had a dance before, but why not? I could already imagine the couples twirling to the music.
“We’ll put the desserts on a table here in the dining room,” Mama said. “And the sitting room can be for anyone who wants to talk quietly.”
We all started chiming in on ideas for the gathering, excited to have a plan to help the Cassidys. I agreed to handwrite the invitations and deliver them at church this coming Sunday.
“I’d like to go out and see Moira tomorrow,” Mama said. “I’ll have Lizzie put a basket of food together.”
Phillip
There were five of us that morning to repair the roof of the barn. The Olofsson brothers, strong as a pair of oxen, had readily agreed to come. We started by assessing the damage. The trusses had not been strong enough to support a roof heavy with snow and had splintered or broken in half, which had caused the roof to collapse. After determining what we needed, Flynn and I took the cargo sleigh out to the mill and purchased thick pieces of fir to replace the broken ones. We also made an order for shingles and plywood, which we would come for the next day.
When we returned, Josephine and Quinn had come and gone with sandwiches and thermoses of hot tea for our lunch. We ate on the covered front porch of the farmhouse sprawled out on low-slung chairs and the porch swing. I’d just finished my second sandwich when Shannon came out from the house.
“I can’t thank you boys enough,” Shannon said. She had an apron on over a faded dress. Her curls were swept back in a messy bun at the nape of her neck.
The men all ripped off their hats and jumped to their feet.
Flynn stared at her for a second longer than was polite. “Shannon, you’ve changed since the last time we saw you.”
“I know, I look awful. This place has robbed me of my youth.” She smiled and gestured toward the barn. “I’ve practically turned into my father. All bones.”
“My brother simply meant that you were a girl the last time we saw you,” Theo said.
“Yes, that,” Flynn said.
“It’s wonderful to see you all,” Shannon said. “Doesn’t it seem so long ago we were all students together?”
“It does,” Isak said. “A lot’s transpired since then.”
“Again, thank you for your hard work. I’ve been despairing of late. Mam’s talking about returning to Ireland. Nora and I can’t bear to think of leaving our sister and all our friends. Whatever you can do to help us stay here—I’ll be indebted for life.”
“We’ll do whatever we can,” Flynn said.