Raging Nightmare

By Carol Marlene Smith

It's 1935 and Alice Dunbar is a new teacher. It is her first year in a one-room school. She attends the local dances and has given her heart to a young fisherman named Raymond Sweet. Her journey is long and sometimes turbulent in the small fishing village on the shores of Northern Nova Scotia. Times can get tough when Atlantic storms take your husband to sea and you wonder if he is ever going to return to you. After three kids, trouble multiplies when a raging storm blows up the Atlantic and threatens to change the young and once again pregnant Alice's life forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carol Marlene Smith
• Release date: Apr 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311208866

Carol Marlene Smith

Carol Marlene Smith was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia on a hot August day. From an early age, writing, drawing and singing were her favourite things to do. Carol was a loner who liked to imagine her friends rather than make real ones.Today Carol spends her time writing novels and short stories and painting animals. Some of her novels are Heart of Winter, Angel's Blessing, and Heart of the Story, all set in Nova Scotia. Carol enjoys writing poetry, romance, mystery/suspense and mainstream.Carol lives in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia.

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RAGING NIGHTMARE

Carol Marlene Smith

Copyright 2024

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THE DREAM SERIES

1964: CHASING A DREAM

FACING REALITY

MISSING LINK

AFTER GLOW

RAGING NIGHTMARE

Books by Carol Marlene Smith

Angel’s Blessing

Angel’s Retreat

1964: Chasing A Dream

Facing Reality

Missing Link

After Glow

Court of Two Sisters

Who Wants to Murder a Millionaire?

Heart of Winter

Death and Deceit

Who’s Colleen Sutton?

The Vampire and the Lady

A Bunch of Short Stories

The Positive Power of Writing

Ruby’s Ring

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The Snore Score

Good Choices, Bad Choices

I’m Not Different, I’m Just Me

POETRY

Painted Words and Music of Fire

By the Entrance to the Harbor

The Evolution of Me

Old Hippie Poems

Inner Warrior

Rimes of an Ancient Rhymer

Poems for Ukraine

Train of Thought

PROLOGUE

My name is Alice Dunbar and I am scared to death. I am twenty years old and I have just graduated from teacher’s college in Truro, Nova Scotia. It is actually called the Provincial Normal College. I am leaving home for Cape Lochland, a place I have heard of but have never been there in my life. I hear it is a fishing village, which will be so unlike the farming area where I grew up. I will be teaching school for a one-year term there, which is like most of the teaching positions.

I grew up on a farm just outside of Truro, and that is about fifty miles from Cape Lochland. I am the oldest girl in a family of three boys and a younger sister. My brothers are all older than I am, and they are farmers with wives and children, well, two of them have wives and children, but so far Arthur is not married. He is next to me in age. He is twenty-three. He bought some acres of land adjacent to our farm and is the family bachelor, I guess.

My sister, Annie, wants to be a nurse. I would hate to be a nurse. It is not that I do not like people, but I would rather be around healthy children than sick ones. When I was growing up, I was always teaching Annie something or other. But when Annie played by herself, she would play with her dolls and line them all up in bed, while she took their temperature and covered them with blankets.

My mother and father, Grace and Thomas Dunbar, are taking me to the train today so I can arrive in Cape Lochland before dark. I have to walk from the station to my boarding house, which Mrs. Sutherland told me was about two miles down the dirt road from the station. I am to look for a large, white house with a veranda on the front of it. And the name on the mailbox would be Mrs. Elvira Sutherland.

I gather up my few belongings in my one and only suitcase that is so old and had been rescued from the attic for me. It’s sort of a dirty brown-beige colour and has been battered and bruised over time. It is not the prettiest thing but it will do. My heart is fluttering and Mama says it is just that I have butterflies in my stomach.

Mama and Papa are here now, standing in the door of my bedroom. Papa wants to know if I am ready. Yes, Papa, I tell him.

Well, come on then, pumpkin. You don’t want to miss the train.

Mama gives me a look and I jump down from my bed and grab my coat. I’ve packed you a lunch, Mama says. I smile at her and we leave the bedroom.

We all get in Papa’s old truck. I am squeezed in the middle. Neither of my parents are big people. Both of them are short, but they’re not fat. We fit well into the cab of the truck. Mama rolls the window down as it is a hot day for the first part of September. As we bump along the old country lane, Mama’s auburn hair bounces also. Usually, she wears it tied back in a severe bun, but today she has let it down and it is wavy and pretty. Mama is pretty also. Her eyes are the bluest blue and even after having five children, she is still slim and young looking. Papa, on the other hand, has lost his hair, except for a ring around the back and it is all grey. The top of his head is as tan as his arms. He sits with one arm resting on the rolled-down window. The hairs on his arm gleam a golden colour, as did his hair before it turned grey. I was told that I look like my mother but have a temperament like my father, so I guess I am a bit like both of them.

The truck arrives way too soon at the train station to suit me. Those butterflies are coming back again. Papa jumps out of the truck and grabs my suitcase from the back. Mama and I get out and head into the station. We just arrive in time because we can see the train approaching.

We just made it, Papa says.

I take a deep breath and turn to Mama. She has tears glistening in her eyes. She grabs me and hugs me.

Mama, I am scared, I whisper.

Mama draws back from me and looks me in the eye. You’ll be fine. I hear that Mrs. Sutherland takes real good care of her guests and that she’s a good cook too.

Papa hugs me next and the train has come to a stop. He picks up my suitcase and carries it to the platform and sets it beside me. I pick it up and take two steps forward then turn.

Goodbye. I will be home for Christmas, I hope.

They stand and wave to me. Papa slips an arm around Mama’s waist. She does not have her housedress on, but rather the best dress that she owns. I turn and make my way onto the train and sit in the first available seat. I am on my way. I am a teacher now.

PART ONE

CHAPTER ONE

Cape Lochland

1935

I closed my register book and slid it into the desk drawer. Just five minutes earlier, the school was buzzing with children eager to be set free. Now, all was quiet. I looked around the one-room schoolhouse, no larger than around five hundred square feet. There was an entry way outside the door and it was divided into two parts. The one part was for entering the school, while the other was where the children hung their coats. It was also used to store wood for the wood stove.

Outside, there was a shed where a bigger supply of wood was stored. The boy, who looked after the making of the fires each morning, would bring in enough wood for a few days’ supply. During the day, the teacher could fill the stove, or mostly it was left up to the older boys to keep the fire going in the colder weather. Right now, we did not need a fire in the stove and the second entry wood pile was stacked neatly against the wall.

The stove was a box type cast iron model, and since it was situated in the middle of the room with the long stove pipe going straight up through the ceiling, I was told, it would heat the room well during the cold days. Outside, attached to the woodshed, were two outhouses. They were actually attached with nothing more than a wall between them that did not even go right to the ceiling.

There were three rows of seats on each side of the stove. The desks were on metal frames and fastened with screws to the floor. Two students occupied each desk. Each desk had a compartment just under the top of it, like a small shelf. It was divided in the centre, and each student had their side to hold their schoolbooks, scribblers, and pencil boxes. They also kept an eraser inside each pencil box. Each morning, the students were required to go to the pencil sharpener at the back of the room and sharpen up their pencils for the day. The students that were older used ink from a bottle to do some of their work, and they used fountain pens which they filled each morning from the black ink bottle. There were four electric lights in the ceiling that hung down and all turned on with one switch near the door. If a bulb burned out, a tall ladder from the shed was brought in and one of the older boys would climb up and change the bulb.

The walls had two windows on each side. Between the walls were two blackboards, one for each side of the room. At the front of the room, behind my desk, were two more blackboards. The blackboards had a small shelf at the bottom where my chalk and chalk brushes were kept. At the end of the day, one or two of the older girls were assigned to stay after school and to erase the day’s work and wash the blackboards to be ready for the next day’s work.

I put my register in the bottom drawer and smiled, as I recalled the dance Saturday night. My mind pictured the face of Raymond Sweet. His auburn hair grew down long on his neck, turning and twisting into gentle curls. His eyes were brown and serious at times. He could dance! But he smelled of liquor. It was the only thing about Raymond Sweet that I did not like.

It seemed that everyone around the village went to dances on Saturday. Mrs. Sutherland urged me to attend also. I had just arrived the week before and was a bit reluctant, but my roommate, Hannah Keith, who worked at the five-and-dime, encouraged me to go also. So, I ended up at the dance in my only good dress that was usually kept for Sunday.

It was light blue and had ruffles on the neck and the sleeves and at the bottom of the hem. Hannah said it brought out the blue in my eyes and enhanced my auburn hair. She worked at the cosmetic counter and knew just everything about makeup. She offered me a lipstick which I had not ever even worn before. I saw girls at the teacher’s college wearing it, but I never had any and no money for frivolous things like that. At least that’s what my mother said.

I stuck close to Mrs. Sutherland and Hannah when I arrived at the dance. There was a fiddle, a guitar, a harmonica player, and a fellow with a big bass fiddle. There was a platform built for them and they were all up on the stage. They were dressed in dark suits with string ties, and they all had their hair slicked back with grease, or so it looked.

Hannah was out dancing so I continued to stand close to Mrs. Sutherland. She was a widow but she said she did not have time for men. I was watching the dancers and when I turned to comment to her, she was not beside me. I felt alone and afraid then. I was very shy in those days.

But soon I heard my name being called and Mrs. Sutherland was standing before me, and beside her was a tall, gangly young man. His eyes appeared to be laughing at me, but I thought it was in a friendly manner.

Alice, I want you to meet, Raymond Sweet. He’s one of the best dancers around here.

How do you do, I said in a very low voice.

Raymond smiled and said, Just fine.

He shook my hand and Mrs. Sutherland said, Go on, Raymond and ask her. Then she turned to me and said, He’s been standing over there looking at you and I just knew that he wanted to ask you to dance, but you young people are so shy. So, I went over and told him that he’d never get you to dance from way over there, and if he didn’t hurry up someone else was going to latch on to you.

Raymond looked embarrassed and that was just how I was feeling too, but he put out his hand again and this time he said, May I have this dance?

I barely knew how to dance and I hesitated, but Mrs. Sutherland said, Well, go on.

I took his hand and he led me onto the dance floor. Well, when we got to dancing, it was easy. Raymond was so fast on his feet that he just twirled me around and guided me through all the steps. I felt as light as a feather in his arms.

When the dance was over, we went to the table for refreshments. I said, What do you do, Raymond?

I’m a fisherman, he replied. My daddy is a fisherman; my granddaddy was a fisherman, so that’s what I be.

I wondered how long Raymond had gone to school. I was getting so used to correcting the children’s grammar, that I almost corrected Raymond. But I stopped myself, as I thought it would be impolite and might hurt his feelings. That night, he walked me back to the boarding house. We walked along though with Mrs. Sutherland and Hannah and some fellow she had been dancing with. They all went inside but Raymond said he had to get up early and go out fishing. So that was when he asked me to go to the dance with him the next Saturday night.

****

I picked up my sweater and walked to the door of the one-room school then raced down to the wharf. I looked out to sea and wondered which fishing boat was Raymond’s. Since he had asked me to the dance on Saturday, I was already wondering what I would wear, even though it was only Tuesday. I walked to the boarding house and after supper I wrote a letter home, but I did not mention Raymond.

As I was sealing up my letter, I told Hannah, I need to buy something new for the dance. What do you have at the store?

Oh, my, Hannah said. A new shipment of fall stuff just came in today. I wasn’t busy at the counter so I helped Peggy to sort them out and hang them on hangers, the dresses I mean. You should see them. All the latest fall colours. I bet there’s something there that would fit you fine.

Maybe I can drop by after school tomorrow and have a look. Can I use the layaway plan?

Sure. Everyone does. But I thought you wanted it for Saturday?

Oh yeah, that’s right. Darn. I do not have enough money yet and I will not get paid until the end of the month. I sighed. I guess I will just have to wear a school skirt or my same old blue dress.

Hannah laughed. Come on upstairs. I might have something you can borrow. You and I are about the same size. You might be a tad bit smaller, but maybe we could take it in.

Oh, Hannah, I do not want you to do that.

Oh, don’t be silly. It won’t hurt it. I can let it out again. I’m pretty good with a needle and thread.

I hate to bother you.

Hannah eyed me. Stop it now. You don’t want to lose that good- looking guy just because you haven’t got anything nice to wear. I’ve been working for two years now. I’ve been able to buy a few things. Besides, I’m getting tired of some of them. So maybe if you find something you like, I’ll just give it to you.

Hannah, I cannot ask you to do that.

Oh, come on, let’s go up and you can have a look.

Hannah dug into her side of the closet and started throwing dresses out onto the floor. I swept them up as fast as she tossed them out. I spied a pretty green one and laid the others aside on the bed.

You like that one? Hannah asked. It’s old but still looks pretty good. I bet it’ll look good on you.

I stripped my sweater and skirt off and pulled the dress over my head and smoothed it down over my slip. It was not as heavy as most fall dresses but it was early yet and the weather was still nice.

Wow! That sure fits you fine. I think I’ve gained a couple pounds since I wore it last. You like it? You can keep it.

Hannah, are you sure?

Just call it an early Christmas present.

Well, you can be sure I will be getting you something nice.

You still should come down and look at the new dresses tomorrow. If you put one away, you can probably get it out by the end of the month. And maybe you could pick out a new blouse or something and wear one of your old work skirts. The blouse would make it look nice.

I might be able to afford a blouse, I said, feeling giddy.

I helped Hannah pick up the remaining dresses and hang them back in the closet. Happily, I placed the green dress on my side of the closet. Hannah was rummaging through her jewellery box. She turned and handed me a pair of earrings. They were little red apples and they matched the dress perfectly.

Here, she said. I won’t give these to you because they were given to me, but I’ll loan them to you for Saturday night. I used to wear them all the time with that dress.

I hugged her. Oh, Hannah, you are just the best friend. Thank you and I promise to take good care of them.

Hannah smiled and we got ready for bed. Hannah grabbed a book and sat in bed reading, but I was tired. The children at school wore me out. I wasn’t used to being around so many of them, and the questions they asked everyday kept me reading and looking up answers in my spare time.

But I was so far enjoying living in Cape Lochland. I had a nice room with a nice roommate, and I had met a nice fellow. I had never had a boyfriend before, so it was pretty exciting to me. I wondered when he might get around to kissing me goodnight. I wondered if he tried on Saturday if I should let him or not. That was something I would have to think about.

Wednesday after school I walked into town and to the five-and-dime. I went straight to the cosmetic counter to talk to Hannah. She was sort of busy with customers but she stopped long enough to point me over to the dresses.

Look for Peggy, she said. Tell her I sent you over.

There were two girls working around the dresses and I walked up to them and said, Which one of you is Peggy?

A short, plump girl with black eyes and even blacker hair said, I am.

I smiled and stuck my hand out, like I had with Raymond. I’m Alice Dunbar, a friend of Hannah’s. I would like to look over the dresses, the new fall ones?

Sure. Peggy laughed. I guess you know my name then, and this here is Marion. Peggy stood back and looked at me. What size do you think she would wear, Marion?

Marion spoke up, The smallest size we have.

Peggy laughed again. Marion is very good at sizing people up. Let me see what we have here.

I tried on about ten dresses and finally settled on a long-waisted wool one that had a lot of tiny buttons down the front. It was a light beige colour and both girls said it really looked good on me. Then they complimented my auburn hair. Marion had sort of dull brown hair, but she had it done up in a nice, modern style.

I, on the other hand, felt a bit embarrassed over my hairstyle, which was really not a hairstyle at all. I mostly tied it back in a knot when I was teaching. But on the Saturday that I had gone to the dance, I had just washed it and it was a mass of curls. I really did not care for my curly hair, as it was hard to manage and I could not seem to twist it into any of the modern styles like the girls with the smooth sleek hair could. When I was not teaching, it was just more or less hanging there around my face.

I did up the business of the layaway and could not wait to get the dress out at the end of the month so I could try it on again. I thanked the girls and went back to the cosmetic counter. Hannah was just about to take a break, so she and I went to the lunch counter and sat on stools and shared a large milkshake. I told Hannah about the dress and she said she remembered hanging that one up.

After Hannah had to get back to her counter, I looked over the dress patterns. I ended up buying a Simplicity package with three dress patterns inside. One pattern had long sleeves, while the other two had short sleeves. One was capped while the other one had butterfly style sleeves. They all had material covered belts and two had bows.

I decided that spending my money on store-bought dresses would not be something that I could do often, so I decided that purchasing the material and patterns would be far cheaper for me. I purchased a few yards of different patterned rayon and some viscose for the lining. Surprisingly enough I got it all for a similar price than I would have paid for the new blouse that I was thinking of buying.

I knew that Mrs. Sutherland had a treadle sewing machine that I could probably use. I had one pair of nylon stockings which I washed out every night. I hoped to be able to soon purchase another pair.

After that I went back to the boarding house, but on my way, I walked past the wharf and looked at the fishing boats that were in. I wondered if one of them was Raymond’s, but I did not see him around anywhere amongst the men.

CHAPTER TWO

The Dance

Finally, Saturday night came. In the afternoon, Hannah and I worked on each other’s hair. She was so good at it, and she smoothed mine out as much as she could and rolled it up on the sides to give me one of the latest hairdos. Hannah said that she always wanted to be a hairdresser.

Then why don’t you?

Because it costs money to take the course and I have to stay working in order to eat and live.

I felt bad for her. She was very talented in her own way. She had a flair for make-up and dressing up. Maybe, I said, you could save up.

Not very likely. The course costs a hundred dollars. Now where am I going to get a hundred dollars?

Your parents?

Hannah laughed. Sure. Like they have any spare money? I’m the oldest of eight kids. They have a hard enough time feeding and clothing them. That’s why I got out when I was just sixteen.

Were you finished school?

I was done grade ten. That was enough for me. And it’s enough for me to take the hairdressing course, but…. She shrugged.

Maybe someday you can get enough saved up.

Not very likely. But I do like working on the cosmetic counter. I like giving advice to the ladies, and you wouldn’t believe how little most of them know about makeup.

I laughed then. Oh, yes, I would. Take me for example. I never even wore lipstick until last Saturday night.

Well, you can have that tube I gave you. Keep it. Looks good on you.

When I got my dress on and the little apple earrings, I looked in the mirror and gasped. I could not believe it was me standing there. Mostly it was the hair. I looked so sophisticated. Oh, Hannah, I said, my hair is so beautiful. How did you do that?

She was pulling her dress over her head and trying not to mess her hairdo. Same way you did mine. You’re not too bad at doing hair either. I’ve always wanted mine in braids like this, but I never could do it right to myself.

We stood there in front of the long wall mirror admiring ourselves. I was starting to get those butterflies again, thinking about seeing Raymond. And this time he would be calling on me to pick me up.

I told Hannah that she could walk along with us, but she said she didn’t want to be a third wheel and that she would wait and walk down with Mrs. Sutherland. We spent the rest of the afternoon tidying up our room and then it was supper time.

Mrs. Sutherland had chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans from her garden, and for dessert she had apple pie topped with ice cream. She certainly was a good cook.

At seven, I sat in the kitchen looking out the window, and Hannah was teasing me because I was so nervous. My goodness, Mrs. Sutherland said. That boy is going to be so proud tonight. Why if you aren’t just the prettiest thing. And to think I introduced the two of you.

Mrs. Sutherland went about the kitchen cleaning up after the meal, walking back and forth to the dining room, putting some of her best dishes away in the china cabinet. I would have offered to help her as I often did, but I knew that she would only say that I paid my board and didn’t need to be a maid to her.

I continued to sit and soon I saw him. His long legs were hiking up the driveway and he had a straw hat on his head, but it was not a country boy kind of straw hat that my brothers and I had worn fishing, more modern looking and the dress-up type. My heart raced and I jumped up. Oh, he’s coming, I called.

Mrs. Sutherland came running from the dining room. There now, you just sit back down.

What?

I said, sit. You don’t want to appear too anxious. Let him come to the door and I’ll get it.

I sat as I was told, while Hannah appeared in the kitchen doorway. She was standing leaning against the door frame with her arms folded over her chest and she was giggling.

Now girls, Mrs. Sutherland scolded, stop that and act like ladies.

I put on a serious face but Hannah was having a hard time not chuckling. She put her hand up over her mouth, but the devilish grin was still in her eyes. He knocked and Mrs. Sutherland, who was now standing by the stove holding a dirty pot, had her back to the door. I wanted so badly to jump up and fling open the door, but I sat as I had been told to do.

Raymond knocked again and this time Mrs. Sutherland turned and walked towards the door. Oh, it’s you Ray. Well, come on in. Your date is all ready to go.

I still sat as I was not sure if I should get up or not yet. Then Mrs. Sutherland said, Well, come on girl, don’t keep your young man waiting.

So, I rose and grabbed my sweater from the back of the chair. I glanced at Raymond and smiled but I did not say anything. I turned to Hannah and Mrs. Sutherland and said, So, I guess we will see you at the dance.

You surely will, Mrs. Sutherland replied.

And as I reached the door, Raymond had it open already and he placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me outside. We walked along side by side and for a few minutes, neither one of us spoke. My mind was racing, trying to think of something to talk about. That was when I realized that I barely knew Raymond Sweet or anything about him except that he was a fisherman. I said, How was the fishing this week, Raymond?

Good, good. The weather cooperated and we got a dandy catch today.

We?

Yep. I work for this other feller. Someday I want my own boat. I can make way more money that way.

I see.

Raymond finally looked over at me. That was when he said with a smile, You sure look pretty tonight, Alice.

I knew that I blushed because my face was as hot as a stove. I felt my cheeks burning but I did not forget my manners. Mama always said, when you get a compliment always remember to say thank you.

Thank you, Ray, you look nice also. And I like your hat.

Raymond smiled but he kept looking straight ahead, as if he liked the compliment but maybe did not know quite how to take it. As we got closer to the hall, I could already hear the music blaring out through the doorway, which was hanging open. Just as I turned to mention it to