When the Lilacs Bloom

By Marie Elmen

Mary Kate is a serious young girl who has dreams of becoming a teacher. She comes from a large family and is closest in age to her brother, Hen and her sister Lottie. Lottie is Mary Kates exact opposite. She is a boy crazy flibberty gibbert and talks about nothing except boys and Uncle Edwards coming home from the marines and the gifts he will bring them. Hen talks about nothing except joining the Navy worrying Mary Kate tremendously. It is l9l6 and war has started in Europe.

Their best friend is their cousin Maria Schmidt who is the daughter of her mothers oldest brother Adam and his wife Hilda. Aunt Hilda is a little stuffy and Mary Kates father John is not too crazy about her, but he loves his brother-in-law Adam.

Their father, John, drives a horse drawn hearse, for a living. He has developed a cough, and has been losing work days pretty often. Mother, Catherine, works as a cook to supplement his salary, and as a cleaning lady at the girls Catholic school, to help pay their tuition.

After Johns cough worsens and he starts spitting up blood, Mother calls the doctor. He diagnoses T.B. and notifies the Board of Health since it is highly contagious. The Board of Health orders the house quarantined and tells Catherine, the girls mother, that the children must be removed and sent to foster homes.

Uncle Edward comes home to find all is not well. When Catherine decides to keep her family together, she seeks Edwards aid in setting up a separate home for her children in a nearby cottage.

One night after father has gone to bed, Catherine calls the older children and Uncle Edward together to discuss her plans with them. They are all heartbroken at the thought of leaving their parents, but take it well. Hen is working as an apprentice carpenter, he will help out financially, Mary Kate will have to quit school and stay home and be Mama to the little ones and Lottie will quit school and go to work in a local factory as a seamstress.

Uncle Edward and Hen work on cleaning up the cottage and the girls help furnish it. Lottie gets a job at Kleinerts factory and they settle in. Mary Kate learns that taking care of a two year old and an eight year old, as well as keeping house and cooking is a full time job.

Mary Kate grieves that she cannot finish high school since she is a senior and has only a few months to go. Their parish priest, and family friend, comes to call and tells Mary Kate that she can graduate with her class if she will study at night. He insists that Hen and Lottie can help with the little ones in the evenings.

Time passes and Mary Kate studies and worries about her fathers illness and Uncle Edward going overseas. The time comes and Uncle Edward must leave. They have a tearful parting. Mary Kate not knowing how she will cope without her Uncles guidance.

Lottie and Hen are both doing well at work. Once day a young man calls on Mary Kate to discuss Lotties future. Mary Kate offers him coffee and cake. She thinks he wants to marry her young sister because of the approach he uses and the fact that Lottie told her sister she met the man she would someday marry. Finally he explains that he wants to send Lottie to a special school in Canada. It is run by nuns who specialize in making lingerie and embroidering. Mary Kate has to decline. She says Lottie is needed at home but hopes he will ask again. As he leaves, Mary Kate gives him a slice of cake for his father because Daniel said it tasted like his mothers and his father would enjoy it.

One day in May, Papa dies. Mama is heartbroken and has to tell the children. Uncle Edward comes home for the funeral, but has to leave soon after. Mama has to make some more decisions once her family comes home.

Mama calls a family meeting and surprises the children by including Father Emil. She informs Lottie she is to go to Can

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 15, 2005
• ISBN: 9781477175354

Marie Elmen

Marie Elmen Upon retiring after working for forty years as an executive secretary, Marie found herself baby sitting a newborn. Boredom soon set in and she started taking correspondence courses with the Childrens Institute for Writers and completed them. Wanting to learn even more, she attended Dowling for further study. Marie has written two novels both published by Xlibris. The first was Jaguar. A story about a boy and the horse he purchases with his college savings without telling his parents. Then he discovers his horse is blind. This is a middle grade book. The other novel is for young adults and is about a family who are devastated to find their father has tuberculosis and the Board of Health wants to pull all the children into foster homes. Their mother vows no-one shall separate her children and she comes up with a unique way to keep them together.

Book preview

CHAPTER I

WHEN THE LILACS BLOOM

September, 1916

College Hill, L.I.

You’re what? I glared at my brother.

You heard me, Mary Kate. I’m going to join the Navy… as soon as I’m 17. His eyes were shooting sparks. He was looking for a fight.

Hen Schroder, you are without a doubt the silliest boy in the whole world. Where did you get such a crazy idea? What are you doing in town at this hour anyway? Why aren’t you at work?

I am working. I’m waiting for some supplies from the hardware store. Hen was apprenticed to our local carpenter, Mr. Johnson, and had worked for him for the past year.

Ohhh?

My temper was rising. I loved my big brother, but sometimes he drove me crazy. And, the rest? Where did that idea come from?

Well… I met some of the fellows who were standing around down at the corner, and we got to talking about war… He looked down at his boots. That was a sure sign he wasn’t comfortable with his words.

Down on the corner, huh? Wastrels. Not one of them has a job. All they do is hang around causing trouble. Why do you listen to them? What do they know about war?

I was angry at Hen, but I was even madder at his friends for encouraging him to forget his responsibilities. WHAT KIND OF MEN WOULD THEY BECOME? THERE WASN’T A DROP OF COMMON SENSE AMONG THE PACK OF THEM.

I stomped angrily toward the schoolhouse door to wait for my younger sister Lottie. I could hear the clang of the 4:30 trolley going down Main Street. It reminded me of the time. IT’S GETTING NEAR SUPPERTIME, AND I’M TOO MAD TO BE HUNGRY.

I looked down the street. Hen was standing there looking dejected. He was a year older than I was, but sometimes I felt like his mother.

His hair was blonde and flopped over his right eye. He wore wire-rimmed glasses and had shoulders a mile wide. These same shoulders made him look top-heavy because he was as skinny as a beanpole. He had big feet and was always tripping over something. Lottie knick named him Big Foot. He wore his every day uniform of a faded blue shirt, baggy overalls, and peaked cap. A red kerchief was tied loosely around his neck, and a hammer hung on his belt.

I was tapping my foot impatiently when the door flew open and Lottie erupted. Two books belted with a red strap dangled from her hand. She turned laughing.

Laden down with a dozen books, my glasses sliding down my nose, I admonished her. Lottie, for goodness sake! Stop leaping around like a jumping bean.

Can’t help it, she shouted. It’s Friday, and we have the whole weekend to ourselves!

Lottie never spoke softly, if she could bellow.

My sister was like a pretty china doll. She had long blonde curly hair, blue eyes and a voluptuous figure, for a fourteen year old. She was the image of Mama. The boys seldom took their eyes off her, and Lottie never took her eyes off them. At times, Lottie could be vain, selfish or flighty, but mostly, she was funny and kind.

I, on the other hand, am like Papa. Tall, long-legged and skinny; Mama says slim. My hair is black and tangled most of the time. My eyes are muddy brown. I’m usually pretty serious and always have a book handy. Papa calls me his little professor. I love to read and I dream of living in far off exotic lands and meeting all kinds of people. My two little sisters love it when I tell them stories about what I have read.

The only similarity between Lottie and me was our Catholic school uniform. It consisted of a white middy blouse, blue tie and pleated dark blue skirt. We wore black stockings and shoes. On top and back of our heads were tied huge navy blue ribbons. With my straight hair scraped back it looked sensible and business-like. With Lottie’s blonde curls escaping next to her ears and on her forehead, the bow gave the appearance of a huge butterfly poised for flight. In other words, it looked adorable.

Seeing our brother, Lottie hollered, Hi, Hen. What are you doing here?

Hen grimaced and snatched my books from my hands.

I thought I’d walk you girls part of the way home.

I wasn’t fooled. He wanted to get my support on this Navy business. NO WAY, I’D RATHER EAT WORMS. He was in for a big disappointment. I felt more like tearing his hair out Trying to sound unconcerned, I asked, Are you off for the day now?

No I have to go back and pick up my order when it’s ready.

Fine, then you can tell me what happened when you met your so-called friends.

Anyone tall, dark and handsome? asked Lottie, giggling.

Hen pulled his kerchief off and wiped his sweating forehead. It had been a hot day for September, and our arguing didn’t make it any cooler.

No, silly, it was just me and my friends having a serious discussion.

Lottie hooted, You? Have a serious discussion? That will be the day.

I’m not kidding. We were talking about the war, and then Ferdie Doan up and says, ‘I’m gonna enlist in the Navy.’ I was surprised but it seemed the right thing to do. Most of the other fellows agreed. Some of them even talked about going to Canada to enlist in the Air Corps.

War, I cried. No one has mentioned our getting into a war. President Wilson hasn’t said anything about war. It’s not our war. It’s in Europe.

It will be our war soon, Mary Kate. When it is, we will all be going, so… we just want to get in early.

Early? Like Ferdie Doan? For crying out loud, he should join the Navy. He has no home life. A boy like him needs something to belong to, but not you. You’ve got a family that loves you, and a job you love. What more can you want?

Hen’s face was getting red. I could see he thought I was unaware of what was going on. That wasn’t exactly true. The news was scary, but I hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t happen. Some of our family was still in Germany. What would happen to them? They were good people.

Mary Kate, I want to serve my country. It’s my duty.

What about your duty to your family? Now you listen to me, Hen. Don’t even think about it, and please… don’t even mention your plans to Mama and Papa. With Papa being sick so often, and Mama worrying about him and money, now is definitely not the time for one of your hare-brained ideas.

It’s not hare-brained. My country needs me.

Your family needs you, I shouted back.

I don’t care. I don’t want to miss all the fun, he roared.

Miss all the fun? You idiot! What’s fun about killing people, or being killed yourself? Do you think war, if it comes, is going to end in a week, or you can change your mind if you don’t like it? Once you enlist, it’s for the duration. For God’s sake, stop this silly talk and use your head. Please, don’t upset Mama and Papa.

We’re talking war, Mary Kate. They’ll know about it sooner or later.

No, you’re talking war. A war that may never be, so promise me you won’t mention it again… At least, until you are seventeen.

Okay, I promise, but it won’t be easy not to talk about it. Oh, what do you know? You’re just a little girl.

He shoved my books at me and strode off down the street.

I’m not a little girl, I shouted after him. I’m a woman and I have more sense than you.

Lottie slipped her hand through my arm. Come on, Mary Kate. Let’s go home. Don’t let him get to you. He’s such a baby. I can’t understand what the girls see in him anyway.

CHAPTER II

MAMA

Mama was the heart of our family, the glue that kept us all together, and the love of our lives.

She was a little whirlwind who flew from task to task, making light of each. Cooking was her joy, especially when we had a houseful of guests. She laughed and chatted with us while she worked, singing little snatches of songs from her childhood. Some were religious and some downright silly. Mama was a happy lady. She would