“Love in the Great Pine Woods”, Ch. 21 (PG-13, D): Going Home, February 08, 2016 by Gratiana Lovelace Post #870)

(An original story copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace; all rights reserved)  [(1) story cover, left]

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story characters with:  Richard Armitage as Sam Wakeforest, Marcia Gay Harden as Sam’s older sister Tessa Wakeforest Shoop Delaney, and Emily Deschanel as Tessa’s sister-in-law Olivia Delaney Wakeforest, Viola Davis as Pauletta Perkins, Cicely Tyson as Nellie Newton, Anna Sophia Robb as Alice Trent, Kevin Spacey as Roger Delaney, Sam Heughan as Todd Wakeforest, Idris Elba as Dominic Perkins  and others as noted.]

Authors Content Note: “Love in the Great Pine Woods” is a mature love story with dramatic themes of love and relationships.  It will mostly be at the PG and PG-13 movie levels. Specific chapters or passages may have a further rating of:  L for language, D for dramatic emotions, and S for sensual themes.  And I will rate the chapters accordingly. If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide for a chapter, then please do not read that chapter. This is my disclaimer.  And as is my habit, I will summarize the previous chapter’s events at the beginning of the next chapter.

Authors Recap from the Previous Chapter:   On Sunday, January 3, 1956—one day after Olivia’s surgery to repair her avalanche injured left lower leg—she developed an infection at her surgical site.  Happily, the Wakeforest County Hospital nursing staff and resident in training doctor acted swiftly with cleansing the wound and applying topical antibiotics to arrest the infection and its spread.  Later that same day, Tessa and Roger helped Sam break the devastating news of Nellie Newton’s death.

 

“Love in the Great Pine Woods”, Ch. 21 (PG-13, D): Going Home

Olivia Delaney Wakeforest feels as if the weight of the world is on her with so much loss and worry over her injury at the start of her marriage to Sam—which should be a joyful time for both of them.  But her husband Sam Wakeforest is right by Olivia’s side, assuring her of his steadfast love and devotion.  And Sam has agreed to the practicality of their moving into Delaney Manor for the two months of Olivia’s convalescence after she leaves the hospital—since the manor is fully staffed and Sam’s Wakeforest family home, though large, has been a bachelor’s slightly disheveled domain for a long time.

Olivia’s release from Wakeforest County Hospital  to go home, comes none too soon for her on the following Saturday, January 9^th, 1956.  Though the hospital had wanted to keep her a full two weeks to allow them to give her more time with daily physical therapy in a hospital setting on her healing surgery  from her left lower leg injured when the avalanche on Wakeforest Mountain overran part of their cabin, Olivia’s spirits were so low—despite her determined efforts with her physical therapy—that her husband Sam decided that Olivia continuing her physical therapy in a home setting would be best for her.  Olivia’s brother Roger Delaney begrudgingly concurred after a little cajoling from his nurturing wife Tessa.

Roger’s objection was not due to any worry on his part about the intrusion of Sam and Olivia on his family’s privacy, or that he would be required to do things for his sister.  On the contrary, Roger welcomes being of help to her.  But Roger wants Olivia to receive the best medical care possible—with medical professionals close at hand.  And Roger—and then by extension, Olivia’s husband Sam—are worried about surgical complications and setbacks that Olivia might experience out of a hospital setting—given Olivia’s earlier infection scare.  So, of course, Sam will line up a private nurse to also live in—with Roger’s and Tessa’s permission–since Delaney Manor is five miles away from the hospital.  They are fortunate to have the financial means to pay for this.

And then where to put Olivia and Sam in Delaney manor was the next problem—since they had decided early on that temporarily living with Olivia’s brother and sister-in-law at their manor with a full servant staff would be practical should any needs arise.  But Olivia’s pre-marital bedroom is not large enough for two people since her husband Sam will be living with Olivia in her bedroom—let alone the fact that Olivia’s old bedroom shares a bathroom with their teenage foster niece Alice, which made that bedroom arrangement wholly unworkable.  And though their late housekeeper Nellie’s first floor bedroom suite would have been ideal—mostly because it was on the first floor where most of the daily life of the manor occurs–the wound to Olivia’s heart about Nellie’s passing made her object to displacing Nellie’s memory by taking over her bedroom.  So that bedroom remains untouched, as if Nellie would be returning to it soon.

So a compromise was reached with Sam and Olivia being ensconced in another two bedrooms sharing a bathroom guest suite down the hall that had been Delaney Manor’s original master bedroom suite with adjoining nursery or sitting room accessed through the shared bathroom.  The bedrooms are large and comfortable.  Tessa had redone the bedrooms and the bathroom when she had initially married Roger—the design incorporating a mutedly soothing pale botanical green.  The drapes and upholstered furniture in a small sitting space carried on that theme with vines and sprigs of flowers curling around a lattice work pattern—but sparingly, not busily.  The accent seating furniture of a small couch and two club chairs are in complementary monochromatic shades of a darker green with patterned accent pillows—and also a large brown leather wing chair that is just right for Sam’s height, since Tessa does not do matchy matchy like one sees in hotel room decorating.

And Delaney Manor’s now second master bedroom’s bathroom was remodeled to be spa like with luxurious appointments such as his and her separate bathroom commode closets (with hers also having a bidet), a large whirlpool bath–which Olivia will enjoy soaking in after physical therapy in a few weeks—and a double wide walk in shower with dual shower heads and controls on opposite walls.  Sam had toured the now second master bedroom suite earlier in the week and found them to be quite comfortable.    And he thinks that he and Olivia will want to remodel their Wakeforest home’s master bedroom suite and en suite bathroom in a similar vein.  Sam ardently looks forward to the time when Olivia is healed and he will shower with her in spousal togetherness.

***

The somewhat smaller guest bedroom slash sitting area that adjoins their large and airy guest master bedroom at Delaney Manor will partly become Olivia’s physical therapy room with the bed removed to allow for more room to maneuver.  And since Sam is such an avid athlete at 45 years of age, he has a few workout benches with his weight sets at his home in Wakeforest that he brings over for Olivia to use for her exercises as they kit her out at Delaney Manor.

Olivia is still at the early stages in her recuperation—practicing lifting her straight leg 3 inches off the bed, with 3 sets of 10 repetitions—and a few other exercises involving a very slight but painful bending of her knee, and some pushing of her foot against someone’s hand (also very painful right now)—three times a day.  For the healing Olivia, these physical therapy exercises are gruelingly painful and part of the reason why her spirits are so low.  The simple act of lifting her leg is now no longer simple for her—but a struggle of pain and endurance.  However, Olivia wants to get well and to walk again—and to be less dependent upon everyone again.  So she is determined to do her exercises, no matter how painful they are–but she will need everyone’s support and encouragement.

However an initial hurdle surmounted by Olivia in her first week recuperating after surgery—at least in her mind—is that the hospital nursing staff finally allows her to shower and to wash her hair the day of her leaving for home, one week after her surgery.  The doctors had been concerned about getting her incision wet and having germs make an incursion and cause infection.  So before then she had to suffice with sponge baths.  But happily, Olivia’s skin wound/incision healed nicely on the surface—even with the stitches coming out leaving a few holes.  And they showed Olivia and Tessa how to shower Olivia—using a shower chair and a hand held faucet spray head on a long hose, both medical equipment items that they also purchase for Olivia’s and Sam’s bathroom in Delaney manor.

Since Olivia can still not bend her leg at the knee at a 90 degree angle, or at all–which is required for sitting in a car.  So she is treated to an ambulance ride home to Delaney Manor in the afternoon of Saturday, January 9^th, 1956.  The ambulance staff also transport Olivia to the second floor on a stretcher.  And then Sam gently lifts his wife Olivia up into his arms and carries her to their bed to have a lie down and rest.  After thanking the departing ambulance drivers, Sam and Olivia are alone in what will be their new home for the next two months while ensconced in the original Master Bedroom suite within Delaney Manor.

Olivia: “Did we bring everything of mine from the hospital?”  Olivia frets as she looks around the room curiously.

Sam: “It’s all here.”  Sam smiles indulgently [(2) right] as he places her purse on her bed side night stand.  Ladies always have to have their purses nearby.  And unlike some husbands, Sam has no aversion to carrying her purse—nor him being seen to carry her purse for her.

Olivia:  “Oh thanks, Sam!”  Olivia smiles up at her husband gratefully [(3) right]. And Sam leans down and he tenderly kisses her lips.

Sam:  “You’re welcome, My Love!”  Then Sam pulls a chair over to her bed side and sits down next to her, holding her hand in his.  “I believe that Tessa has already taken your clothes to be washed and put away your other things for you.”

Even in only a week’s stay at the hospital, Olivia had acquired several changes of clothes—which Tessa took home to wash for her every other day.  Tessa is a devoted sister-in-law and best friend to Olivia.  And Olivia has also received several floral arrangements while in the hospital—pink roses from her husband Sam, cheerful yellow jonquils from her brother Roger and Tessa and their family, and red and white carnations from her Wakeforest  in-laws—as well as, a very large signed get well card from her Wakeforest Orphanage students and fellow teachers and staff which has pride of place on the fireplace mantel in Olivia’s and Sam’s Delaney Manor bedroom.

But the card from the children at the orphanage–that her Wakeforest County Orphanage Administrator mentor and friend Pauletta Perkins delivered to Olivia during a brief hospital visit–is also a prescient reminder to Olivia that she will not be seeing the children for the foreseeable future, at least during the Spring semester. Olivia has had to take a leave of absence from her teaching duties during her convalescence and she will miss the children greatly.  Which also means that the Orphanage School Administrator Pauletta Perkins has had to hire another teacher.

Olivia:  “Sam?  It feels so odd to be back here.”  Olivia bites her lower lip.  This is how no one envisions starting married life—as an invalid and returned to living under her childhood home’s roof with her new husband.  “Do you mind very much?”  She asks him searchingly.  Olivia wants to please her husband.  But with her injury and long convalescence looming before her, she wonders if he will come to regret the imposition on what should have been a happy and carefree time for them.

Sam:  “It is true that our situation is less than ideal.”  Olivia winces. Then he smiles at her and squeezes her hand.  “But it is the hand we have been dealt.  And we will make the best of it.”  The taciturn Sam says stoically. Then his face softens and he brings her hand to his lips and kisses it.  “My main concern is for your well-being.  And I hate to see you in any pain.”

Olivia: She lowers her head.  “It is not so bad.”  She fibs.

Sam: “Olivia, look at me.”  Sam commands and Olivia hesitantly raises her head.  “I have been with you nearly all of this past week, I know the pain that you are in.  You need not hide the pain nor your tears from me, My Darling.  I will not think less of you when the stress and pain becomes too much for you to bear. Let me comfort you in any way that I can.  Though I may need you to tell me how to help you.  Tell me what you need from me and I will give it to you.”  Sam gazes at her earnestly.

Olivia: “Hhhhh!  Thank you, Sam.”  Olivia sighs and a single tear falls upon her cheek and Sam tenderly brushes it away with his thumb.  “I was afraid that I was letting you down.”

Sam: “Letting me down?  Be serious, woman!”  Sam says in a bemusedly curmudgeonly tone with an exaggerated incredulous smile that begets a smile from Olivia.  “We survived an avalanche!”  Then seeing her pale at the remembrance of that precarious and scary time, Sam adds more jocularly.  “Olivia, that avalanche was a 100 year occurrence.  Never before had that area on the mountain been affected –at least, not in my lifetime.  Hmmm.  Maybe we should have t-shirts made—We survived the Wakeforest Mountain Avalanche!  What do you think?  We could have a picture of the mountain and then two thumbs up.”  Sam smiles impishly.

Olivia: “Ha ha ha ha ha!”  Olivia giggles.  Sam has burst her somber mood.

Sam: “Ha ha ha ha ha ha!” He rocks his head back in laughter.   “I will have them made for us next week.  We can wear them in the Spring when we reopen the cabin.

But that was the wrong thing to say—given Olivia’s previous declaration to him that she never wished to go on the mountain again.  And Olivia recoils back from him and shakes her head in fright.  Sam closes his eyes, chastising himself for not treading more carefully with Olivia’s tender sensibilities.  She has been through so much and he needs to take things slowly with her.

Olivia:  “Oh Sam!  Please don’t make me go back there.  You promised.”  Her breathing quickens and shallows–she is starting to panic.

Sam: Sam hurries to reassure her.  “I know, I know.  I’m sorry.  I just thought that in the Spring—without the snow—that you might feel differently.”  He suggests hopefully.  But that line of reasoning doesn’t work.  And he needs to calm her breathing down so she doesn’t hyperventilate and faint.  “Shhh!  Shhhh!  We won’t do anything that you don’t want to do, Olivia.  I promise.  Now let’s take deep calming breaths.  In, out, in, out, in, out.”  Sam breathes with her as he watches her in concern.  And after a few minutes of slow breathing exercises with her husband Sam, Olivia calms down again with her breathing.

And Olivia feels grateful for the patience and love that Sam shows to her.  He had rarely left her side during her week in the hospital—caring for her, encouraging her, and tenderly showing his love for her with chaste kisses and embraces–but for two mornings while she was doing physical therapy and he had to go with his brother Kevin via a snowplow back to his cabin on Wakeforest Mountain.  Miraculously, except for a new window to replace in the back door—that currently has a wooden board covering the hole—the cabin is sound since it had not taken a direct hit from the avalanche, only  a glancing blow.  They unburied the generator shed as best they could and found the generator intact.  But the shed housing it will need to be replaced with something sturdier come Spring.  And they also unburied Sam’s new car—which he drove down the mountain behind Kevin in the plow after they jumped the car battery.

Then Olivia realizes that her reaction to the mountain is perhaps born of her fear of the danger that they had been in during the avalanche.  But she also wants to distance herself from having such strong reactions to that scary memory—in the hopes of coming to terms with it.  She must face what happened to her—to them–and to get past it.  They have their whole lives ahead of them.  It will not always be easy, but together, they can get through anything.  So Olivia shyly and hesitantly asks.

Olivia:  “May I still have my t-shirt?  In a light sky blue, please.”

Sam: “If you like.”  Sam smiles relievedly as he watches her with some uncertainty.

Olivia is so fragile at times.  And Sam can’t figure out what has made her so fearful of difficult situations in life.  Sam wonders if maybe he can so easily get past such things because he survived a war—and anything else is child’s play to him.  But then he wonders if that is truly the case?  Or maybe it is that he avoids thinking about difficult and distressing situations, under the guise of being stoic?  He thinks that maybe both he and Olivia have some things to figure out—together.

Olivia: Seeing Sam lost in thought, she asks him.  “Is everything alright?  Do you mind us being here for a while at Delaney Manor?”

Sam:  “Here?  Not at all!”  Sam assures her.  “These rooms look very comfortable.  So we shall no doubt get used to them fairly quickly.”  Sam knows that the situation cannot be changed, they can only accept it and work through it.

Olivia:  “I know, of course.  And it is nice of Tessa and Roger to put us up in their home …” her voice trails off.

Seeing Olivia wince in looking around her—what had been her parents’ bedroom, and then Roger’s and his wives’ bedroom, but now remodeled and redecorated by Tessa–Sam smiles lovingly and goes to join her on their bed—first doffing his shoes, then lying down beside her on her right side, away from her healing left leg.  He gently takes her upper body into his arms in an embrace and they kiss sweetly and chastely—which is all they will be allowed to do for 6 to 8 weeks per doctor’s orders.

Sam: “That’s better. I have missed being able to just cuddle with you.  That hospital bed wasn’t big enough.”  Sam kisses Olivia’s lips again, then he kisses the tip of her nose, then he nuzzles her just behind her ear.

Olivia:  Feeling tickled, Olivia giggles.  “Ha ha ha!  Now Sam, you mustn’t make me laugh too hard.  The vibration will make my injured leg hurt.”

Sam:  “Vibrations, huh? Well we can’t have that.”  Sam’s eyes twinkle wickedly.  But any romantic wickedness will have to wait until Olivia is healing nicely and she feels better.

***

The Sunday afternoon of the following week, on January 17^th , 1956—now that Olivia’s healing injury allows for some limited movement of her in Delaney Manor (her being carried by her husband Sam) with an occasional dinner downstairs with the family—the Delaney’s hold a Memorial Service in the large Living Room at Delaney Manor for the late Eleanor “Nellie” Newton, their retired 85 year old Negro Lady housekeeper/caregiver who died of heart failure and old age on January 2^nd, the date of the avalanche and Olivia’s surgery to repair her injured leg.  Olivia lies stretched out on the longer sofa’s chaise lounge with her injured leg elevated as Sam sits beside her on the sofa and holding her hand.

The Living Room is well lit, but there is a somberness of feeling in it as befits the reason they have gathered together today.  It has been two weeks since Nellie’s death.  And Nellie’s coffin has already been entombed in a crypt at the Wakeforest Mausoleum until the ground thaws and she can be buried in the Spring.  So they have a few pictures of Nellie—including the treasured picture of Nellie with a 6 year old Olivia [(4) right], placed together on a table in front of the fireplace.  This is Olivia’s copy of the picture—the picture copy that had been in Nellie’s bedroom was enclosed in the coffin with her.

And some of the older household servants who knew Nellie for so many years also attend the memorial service, as does Olivia’s friend and mentor, the Wakeforest Orphanage’s Administrator Pauletta Perkins and her husband Dominic Perkins, who is the Wakeforest Bank’s Vice President and Chief Loan Officer working alongside Olivia’s brother Roger Delaney.

It is a solemn Roger Delaney who stands before the small gathering of twelve or so individuals after the Reverend Grover Skinner of the local African Methodist Episcopal Church that Nellie was a member of finishes the religious part of the memorial service.  Now comes the time of remembrance of Nellie.  And with tears flowing from Olivia’s, Tessa’s, and even from Roger’s eyes, Roger begins.  And though being a banker businessman and not prone to sentimentality, Roger [(5) right] does a credible job of it.

Roger:  “We are gathered here today to remember Eleanor Newton, our Old Nellie as she preferred to be called.  She was a treasured member of our household—and of our family.”  Roger smiles caringly at his sister Olivia who is drenched in tears.  “I, perhaps knew her the longest—her having been hired by my parents when they built this home and set up housekeeping here over fifty two years ago, before I was born.  So like my sister Olivia, my life has always had Old Nellie in it.  She first came to us as our cook housekeeper after her husband died—her supervising a kitchen maid and two household maids.  You must realize that this was in 1904 and Nellie was hired in a supervisory capacity—when Negroes were not in such positions in service nor in society in general, but for few notable exceptions—which was rather bold of my parents and showed great foresight on their parts.   And Nellie also guided our mother in the running of this household since she was ten years my mother’s senior and had worked in service in other homes for fifteen years.  But apart from Nellie’s supervisory skills, she was also a kind and caring lady who graced our lives.  She was like a second grandmother to me—giving me treats when I would sneak away to the kitchen, or gently admonishing me to clean up my room because as she would tell me “Or you will never get on well with a wife, Master Roger.”  He finishes affecting a high Nellie voice and  everyone chuckles whilst his wife Tessa nods knowingly—and gratefully.  “Nellie loved us and we loved her.  So when she retired from our service fifteen years ago at the age of 70, it was only natural that she remain with our family and under our care for her twilight years.  Nellie’s influence upon us has been immeasurable—her lessons of unconditional love, of strength in adversity, and of the dignity of all individuals regardless of race, religion, or finances has shaped who Olivia and I have become as adults and citizens in our society.  We will miss Nellie terribly, but she lives on in our hearts and in our memories—and we are her legacy in the world.”

Roger ends with his hand upon his heart and gazing lovingly at his sister Olivia.  Olivia is weeping for hearing her brother’s heartfelt tribute to Nellie.  Sam tries to comfort her, but she is inconsolable.  Olivia is to speak next about Nellie but she is too distraught to speak. So Tessa stands up to speak for her.

Tessa:  “Olivia, shall I share some of your Nellie stories that you have told me, for you?”  Olivia nods through her tears. Tessa [(6) right] looks tearfully at everyone.   “Nellie and Olivia had a very special bond of love for all of Olivia’s life.  And though, Nellie always acted in a grandmotherly way toward Olivia—so as not to seem to displace Olivia’s and Roger’s mother from her rightful position—in truth, Nellie became Olivia’s mother as certain family tragedies occurred.”  Tessa glances at her husband Roger and then at Olivia to make sure that she isn’t speaking out of turn. But Roger smiles at Tessa and Olivia merely nods her head in agreement and then she buries her weeping face into her husband Sam’s chest.  Sam strokes Olivia’s hair, then looks up at his sister Tessa, nodding to her to continue.  Tessa walks over to the picture of Nellie and Olivia as a six year old. “You see, Olivia was not the youngest Delaney family child.  Her and Roger’s parents had a little boy whom they named Chester, born when Olivia was four—two years before this picture was taken.”  The non-family attendees look at each other in shock—they were unaware of another Delaney sibling, so private a grief was the memory of their lost sibling.  “It had been a difficult pregnancy and Chester was born early.  He had lung problems and heart problems and was in and out of hospitals—with them even taking him to the Mayo Clinic.  So Olivia came under Nellie’s constant care during that sad time.  And then when little Chester died from a  congenital heart defect when he was three years old, Olivia’s and Roger’s mother went into a deep depression.  She could not face a world without her baby boy.  And though Nellie had tried as best she could to lift Mrs. Delaney’s spirits, it became an impossible task and Mrs. Delaney was attended to by a registered nurse for several years while at home.”  Rather than her being institutionalized, but Tessa refrained from divulging this.   “And the young and tender hearted Olivia was in need of mothering.  So Nellie filled that role—taking Olivia to Girl Scout meetings, attending her school programs, and going to movies with her and such.  And again, this was a time when some people were prejudicial toward Negroes—even in the North where we live.  But Nellie always bore herself with dignity as Olivia’s caregiver and no one questioned her presence at Olivia’s side.  Even when Mrs. Delaney became better, that was only for a short time during Olivia’s high school years and Roger’s college years.  For after that,  Mrs. Delaney was diagnosed with cancer and died when Olivia was a sophomore in college. And once again, Nellie gathered Olivia and Roger in her loving arms—literally and figuratively.   The only reason this family stayed together and healed was directly due to Old Nellie’s loving compassion—because their father Mr. Delaney was too bereft with his own grief to tend to his children’s grief.  So Nellie comforted and bucked up my husband Roger when he was just starting out in business and taking over the bank after his college and graduate school years—encouraging him and showing her pride in him at every turn.  And for Olivia, Nellie became the only mothering influence in her life—though it was a loving position that Nellie had already held for many years.  And Nellie’s kindness to  me as a new member of this family is a loving memory that I will keep with me always.  Due to the tragedies the Delany family had experienced—losing little Chester Delaney as a toddler, the grief that overwhelmed Mrs. Delaney, and then Mrs. Delaney’s illness and death, followed by her husband’s death five years later—Nellie Newton has been the rock that has sustained this family for decades. And though Nellie is now gone from our lives—going home as she used to say–she lives on in our hearts, and most especially in Olivia’s and in Roger’s hearts.”

Tessa goes to Olivia and they embrace, Sam kisses Tessa’s cheek.  Then Tessa returns to her husband who embraces her lovingly before she sits down again.

Roger: “Thank you, Tessa—and Olivia.  That was lovely.”  Roger then turns to their guests.  “Nellie was always touting that education was the way to improve oneself—and she certainly encouraged Olivia and I in our schooling.  Yet Nellie always wished that she had had more opportunities as a young woman of Color to pursue her education.  As many of you know, Nellie had to quit school in 6^th grade to help support her family after her father died.  Yet Nellie was a life long learner—reading voraciously and pointing out my math and grammar mistakes on my homework for me.  So in honor of Old Nellie, Mrs. Eleanor Newton, Olivia and her husband Sam, and Tessa and I, have set up a scholarship fund at our family’s Wakeforest County Bank to help fund both a young woman and a young man of Color to attend college—with new Eleanor Newton College Scholarships to be awarded every two years.  This fund will support tuition and living expenses for all four years of college as long as the students maintain a C average.  All high school seniors of Color in Wakeforest County and surrounding area may apply.  In addition to we four—myself, Tessa, Olivia, and Sam—Mr. and Mr. Dominic Perkins and the Rev. Grover Skinner of the African Methodist Episcopal Church will serve on the Eleanor Newton College Scholarship Review Board.”  And then Roger uncovers another picture of Nellie that had been covered with a cloth—Nellie is in her Sunday best and smiling  [(7) right].  “This joyous picture of Nellie and a plaque detailing the Eleanor Newton College Scholarship with places to engrave student scholarship winners’ names will be installed at the Wakeforest County Bank that acts as the main conservator of these endowed funds—for all of our clients and customers to see–as a testament to this fine lady who holds an honored place in our hearts.”

It was a lovely Memorial Service for Old Nellie.  And the announcement of the college scholarship in her honor is a fitting and a lasting tribute to Eleanor Newton that will positively impact many generations to come.

And though Olivia cannot teach during her convalescence, she is gladdened to see and chat with her mentor and friend Pauletta Perkins.  Olivia working on contacting high schools and churches in the county about the new Eleanor Newton College Scholarship –when she is not in physical therapy or resting– will give her a much needed distraction and refocus for her time.

And yet, Sam knows that Olivia will need all of his love and tenderness to guide his wife Olivia to healing her body and her spirit. And today’s Memorial Service for Nellie has given him some greater insight into Olivia’s emotional scars with hearing for the first time about Olivia’s deceased little brother and about her parents’ illnesses and deaths in more detail.

And Olivia and Sam will have to remodel and refurbish their Wakeforest Family home to make it more habitable for a married couple hoping to have children, before they move into it several months from now.  So now the real healing of Olivia Delaney Wakeforest begins—but she will need a healing of both her body and of her spirit.  And it will be Olivia’s husband Sam who will help guide her to a more contented and calm state—as she will help him become more understanding and reflective about her needs and his own.

To be continued with Chapter 22

 

References for Ch. 21 by Gratiana Lovelace, February 08, 2016 (Post #870)

1)  The “Love in the Great Pine Woods” story cover is a composite of two images manipped by Grati:
a) the Richard Armitage portrait is from the 2011 Project Magazine photo shoot and article interview, that was found at http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/images/gallery/Richard/Promos/ProjectMagJuly2011/album/slides/ProjectMag-05.html;
b) the snowy Pine forest vertical image was found on Pinterest at https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/62/fa/ff/62faff1253d55f571eb3659cc7661e73.jpg

2) Sam Wakeforest (edited) is Richard Armitage from a 2014 The Crucible Stage Door fan picture shared Apr0515 by twerkingthorintweet

3) Olivia Delaney Wakeforest smiling  is Emily Deschanel found at http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2400000/Emily-Deschanel-emily-deschanel-2478681-497-600.jpg

4) Picture representing Nellie Newton and Olivia Delaney as a child  is Cicely Tyson as Sipsey in the  1991 film  Fried Green Tomatoes found on Pinterest at https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e0/2c/e9/e02ce97f070a0681bd4707df26f09966.jpg;  for more about the film, visit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101921/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

5) Roger Delaney upset is Kevin Spacey in Call of Duty found at http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/assets/uploads/2014/07/callofdutyadvancedwarfarescreenshotjuly294.jpg

6) Tessa Wakeforest Shoop Delaney is Marcia Gay Harden in 2011 that was found at http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2011+Winter+TCA+Tour+Day+3+-k0m4V09k94l.jpg

7) Eleanor  “Nellie” Newton image is of Cicely Tyson in her Tony winning role in The  Trip to Bountiful found at

http://d3rm69wky8vagu.cloudfront.net/article-photos/large/1.164671 dot jpg

 

Previous Blog Ch. 20 Story link:

https://gratianads90.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/love-in-the-great-pine-woods-ch-20-pg-13-d-the-day-after-february-01-2016-by-gratiana-lovelace-post-868/