Sarah's Obsession: The LC Stories

By K. L. Frase

"Sarah's Obsession" delves into the extraordinary journey of love, family, and art spanning over 200 years. In the early 1800s, a man paints 12 heartfelt pictures, each a tribute to his children and a beloved pet. These masterpieces, soaked with individual sentiments and familial ties, scatter across time, serving various purposes in the lives of those who come to own them.

From becoming cherished family heirlooms to emotional pillars for those grappling with life's upheavals, to the survivors of disastrous events, the paintings leave a unique imprint on each holder.

Fast-forward to the present day, Sarah, a young girl, stumbles upon one of these precious canvases in a quaint antique store. Intrigued by its history and emotional depth, she develops a relentless obsession with finding and owning as many of these paintings as she can in her lifetime. Her fervent quest forms the crux of this enchanting narrative, binding the past, present, and future in a beautiful interplay of art and human emotions.

Keywords: Historical Fiction, Art, Family Heirlooms, Emotional Journey, 19th Century, Personal Quest, Interconnected Lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350910131

Book preview

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Outside of the names of certain historical past events such as the great Chicago Fire and the Pony Express, this book is fictional. As such, names, characters and events are fictional in nature. While historical events are referred to, the people, their actions and outcomes within a historical event are also all fictional in nature. Therefore, nothing in this book should be considered factual outside of the names of certain historical past events. Any resemblance to actual people, names, events, items or cows is purely coincidental. This book, whole or in part, may not be copied or reproduced by any means, including photocopying or any type of storage or retrieval, without the express written permission of the author, except as permitted by law or contract.

Sarah’s Obsession

The LC Stories

K. L. Frase

ISBN (Print Edition): 979-8-35091-012-4

ISBN (eBook Edition): 979-8-35091-013-1

© 2023. All rights reserved.

Some Microsoft 2016 clipart/stock images may have been used in developing cover art.

Dedication

Thanks to all who gave encouragement and so freely of their own time. Special thanks to J. Curtis, a friend who gives so much in so many ways, one who provided encouragement to write such a different story. To my daughter, K. Hodgins, who gave her time, during a difficult situation, my love and thanks. To my mother, J. Parkinson, my heartfelt thanks for taking time to read each chapter and for providing invaluable criticism and suggested improvements, for her dedication and support in finding just the right expressions and the right turn of a phrase. To my husband and other daughter, thanks for being there in many large and small ways. To everyone who voted on which cover to use, it helped. Without everyone’s encouragement, this book would have remained just an idea, never to see the light of day. To all my friends and family who have been there when I needed them or, better yet, been there when I did not, to each of you, Thank You!

Can a picture really be worth a thousand words? Yes. Indeed.

Paintings are sometimes worth way more than just words when your heart and soul become entwined in a vision of love exquisitely painted. Such was the impact of twelve pictures, painted by a very gifted but humble man in the early 1800s. Join in journeys over two centuries, from the time paint was first put to a canvas to the current time. Find out how a love so strong and painted so vibrantly deeply impacts those lucky enough to hold these almost miracle paintings. Will you be almost as fascinated as Sarah and others by the love embodied and events occurring over time?

Contents

Sarah’s Obsession

Little Cow Lives

Jealousy Reigns

The Mansion

Tribulations

A Hero

Fine Art

River’s Inspiration

Stubborn and Abused

An Exceptional Cook

The Wedding Gift

Unrequited Love

Shipwrecked

Frank’s Frame

Sarah’s Gems

The Final Piece

Sarah’s Obsession

November 11 was a terrible day and a worse night, weather-wise. It was that night when Sarah’s wind-swept mother made her way, alone and unloved by another person, to the small hospital in the town of NoWhere Big. She was about to give birth to a child. A child that she feared she would not be able to love, would not be able to care for or feed. A child that she was afraid she was not wise enough to raise or smart enough to educate. How would she know what to teach a growing child so it would learn how to know right from wrong?

After all, she knew she had not been doing a great job of that for herself. She had barely survived the attack that had resulted in her current condition and was deeply afraid for what the future might bring. She feared she could not protect a baby from the hardships and harm that her world offered up on nearly a daily basis.

She desperately wanted to have her family by her side, badly wanted to say she was sorry for things she had done and said before leaving them behind. Regardless, Sarah’s mother knew it was too late now as her contractions were almost constant. Any such desires would have to wait. Maybe someday, she hoped, although she knew deep inside herself that she would never take that step, would never subject another to the abuse she herself had suffered.

Sarah’s mother entered the small hospital, a free clinic for those who could not pay for services, just in time for a midwife to run to her aid. She was put into a clean bed, sighing in relief since that was something she had not had in her life for months. Then she felt the need to push the child out. The midwife did not even have time to gather together materials generally needed such as hot water, rags and needle and thread, due to the clear urgency at hand.

A few moments or maybe a few minutes later, the midwife handed a baby girl to the exhausted mother, exclaiming what a perfect child she now had. The midwife, however, was not greeted with a smile of happiness but rather with tears born of dread. Sarah’s mother knew she needed to give the child to someone else to raise and planned to do exactly that, even if it meant her heart might break in the process.

However, upon holding the baby girl in her arms, Sarah’s mother knew that she would keep the child, that they would manage to survive together somehow. How, she did not know but she would do her best. With that decision made, she gently whispered, Hello, Sarah. We shall have such an adventure, you and I together. You may not have everything other children do, but I promise we will do ok. Somehow! I promise you that!

The following morning, Sarah and her mother left the clinic even though the midwife tried to get Sarah’s mother to stay a bit longer. Sarah’s mother would not remain as she was too afraid of what other people might be thinking about her keeping Sarah. Sarah’s mother feared that someone might try to take the child away from her since she was barely more than a child herself.

For weeks, Sarah’s mother struggled to ensure they both survived. She used cloth from a shirt she found in a trash bin to fashion a couple of diapers for Sarah and stole a blanket from a stranger’s clothesline, promising to someday pay them back for their unknowing donation. Any needed laundry and bathing of Sarah was done as quietly as possible in a nearby gas station restroom.

To Sarah’s mom, both days and nights were nightmares to be survived. The nights, however, were so much worse than the days as that was the time when Sarah’s mother lacked enough distraction and therefore suffered through her fears, often cold and always alone - except for the bit of sunshine Sarah brought to her life.

Sarah’s mom found a piece of wood which she tried to carve into the shape of a dog but gave up when it looked more like a small cow than a dog. Sarah’s mom decided that Sarah could love a toy cow just as easily as a toy dog and gave the newborn one of the few toys she would have for years to come.

With each passing month, Sarah’s mother grew up a little more and so did Sarah. Just before Sarah turned six months old, Sarah’s mom managed to get a job doing janitor work at a general store; a job where she could put Sarah in a nearby box while she worked. Sarah and Sarah’s mom’s lives grew easier after that, although making enough money to buy even the bare necessities remained a struggle.

No matter how hard it was, Sarah’s mother kept the promise she made at Sarah’s birth. She always managed to get enough money to ensure that they were both fed, although there were a few days when Sarah got most of the food and her mom’s tummy rumbled throughout the night. Having the steady income from the janitorial job made things much better. The money was enough so that Sarah had what she needed, although she rarely got something just because she wanted it.

Sarah slowly grew up, always knowing that although she did not have much, she had her mother’s love. Sometimes Sarah would have to wait for hours for her mother to finish whatever tasks had to be done that day. From her mother, Sarah learned the art and value of patience.

It was the small carved cow that Sarah played with during those times. She would talk to it, describing everything around her, or often hugging it in her arms for the comfort it gave her. Perhaps it was this cow that was the start of Sarah’s obsession; an obsession that was to last throughout Sarah’s long life. Perhaps it was this cow that later made Sarah so appreciate and, yes, truly love, Little Cow’s pictures.

Sarah’s obsession with Little Cow began on an ordinary day. Sarah was nine when she was walking home from school on a blustery day, similar to the day she had been born. To get out of the weather for a moment with the hope of warming up some before going further, she quickly entered a nearby door of an antique store.

Sarah had never heard nor seen an antique store before; in fact, Sarah would not have understood the value people sometimes place on these sundry antique items. After all, what good were they as one could not eat them, use them to keep warm, or hold them to keep one safe throughout the night.

Upon entering the shop for the first time, however, Sarah was immediately fascinated by all the useless, unnecessary items it contained. She was completely mesmerized by everything she saw. Initially, she stood slightly inside the doorway but eventually started moving around the room, being very careful not to touch anything but gazing with wonder struck eyes.

She knew that if she broke something, she would be expected to pay for it (a lesson that had been drilled into her from a very early age) and she had nothing of value that she might use to pay with anyway. This alone gave proof to the success of Sarah’s mother’s efforts to teach Sarah the difference between right and wrong.

Sarah gazed at all manner of items and imagined what they might be used for. It was evidence of her environment that nine-year-old Sarah had no concept that some people might value items for anything other than what they might be used for or how they might make work overall easier to do.

At that moment in her young life, she had only her hand carved cow that had no purpose other than to provide joy. Intellectually, she knew other children generally had lots of toys but could not understand why. After all, she thought to herself as she gazed at a stuffed teddy bear, You can only play with one toy at a time, so why do you need more? With a shake of her head in response to her silent thoughts, she continued her perusal of the shop.

After several minutes, during which the store clerk kept a very close eye on her activities, Sarah sighed and decided it was time to finish walking home. She had homework and a lot of cleaning to do before she would be able to make a meager supper and go to bed for the night. Regardless, Sarah felt that leaving the store behind was difficult, a fact she did not understand at the time. To make it easier, with a soft smile on her face, Sarah promised herself that she would come into the store again someday soon, the next day if possible.

However, Sarah was not able to return for a couple of weeks as she had too many other things to do before she would fall exhausted into bed to enjoy some well-deserved sleep. Sometimes though, she visited the store in her dreams, where she always got to first touch and then sometimes hold items for several minutes.

Upon Sarah’s second visit to the antique store, the clerk took pity on the young girl and let her wander quietly through more rooms than before, although he did get a promise from her first that she would touch nothing. Sarah left that day, happy and with a strange feeling of contentment.

It was on her fourth visit to the antique store that she saw and was immediately drawn to a small picture hanging on the wall near the back corner. Everything else in the room disappeared from her focus for several minutes. She was enchanted. All she could see was the small picture with a roughhewn frame, covered in what appeared to be deep pock marks even under a coat of grime. The frame had three stones visible at the top, although they were so covered in the filth accumulated through centuries of time that there was no shine or sparkle about them. It was not the gems buried in the frame, but the love shining from the eyes of a small beige cow with spots that drew Sarah forward, mesmerizing her.

Indeed, Sarah knew that she was not allowed to touch but she could not help herself. Very slowly, her hand crept forward to gently rub the wooden frame, almost with a sense of reverence. At the bottom of the frame was the word Sarah. In that moment, Sarah’s obsession blossomed into being, a force that would only strengthen over her lifetime. She knew with every part of her heart and soul that fate had intended the picture of the little cow especially for her.

At that time, she did not wonder why the frame had her name on it but accepted it as a sign that she needed to buy that specific piece of art, even if it was a frivolous item that had no intrinsic value to her current life. That was when Sarah learned the difference between need and want and discovered how strong desire could be. On that specific day, although Sarah did not yet understand it, she learned that people must sometimes feed both their hearts and minds.

Trembling, she looked for the price tag, which read $5.00. Sarah’s heart sank. $5 may not have been much to others, but it was a fortune to her. The most she had ever had at one time was 50 cents and she could not imagine how she would ever get so much. I will return to buy you! Sarah promised the picture she so desperately desired before turning away.

Once home, Sarah waited impatiently for her mother’s return. Glancing at the clock every few minutes, Sarah tried to figure out how she could get her mother to give her the five dollars or otherwise earn that much money. Maybe she could get her mother to give her an allowance like other children talked about. Maybe she could do laundry for the lady next door even if her arms were spindly and not very strong. Sarah made and rejected many plans but for most of them she was just too young. She waited and fretted. She simply must have the painting. Her heart and soul demanded it.

Once home, Sarah’s mother listened quietly when Sarah tried to explain how badly she wanted the picture. Although Sarah’s mother secretly wished she could buy the picture, she knew they did not have the $5.00 to spare. Holding Sarah close, she sadly told Sarah that she thought she would need to leave the painting in the store and suggested that maybe Sarah could just visit it occasionally. Sarah went to bed and cried herself to sleep, unknowingly nearly breaking her listening mother’s heart.

It was at school the next day that Sarah found out how she could make some money. A boy (who was often unkind to Sarah), one whose parents had more money and lived just a few blocks away from Sarah, was complaining that he had to take his dog for a walk every day after school. He could not understand why his parents felt that HE had to do that, especially since he had to pick up after the dog, a smelly and disgusting job. He was quite irate and verbal about it, almost yelling at his friends in his disgust and outrage that