1939: A War and a Runaway

For Anna, having the house to themselves feels weird and strange. Since they moved here there as always been people around. Kids playing in the yard or doing homework in the living room, Josephine milling about in the kitchen, Nash working with the ranch hands in the field or repairing something in the house... But now the house is empty and Anna is the one who is expected to arrange dinner and clean and do all the 'wife' things that Josephine usually took care of. She's not sure how she'll find the time for that with three horses to train.

But for now there is something else is occupying her mind, as her predictions about Germany are proven right. On September 1st 1939 ar breaks out in Europe.



"I told you he wasn't done!" Anna says to Johnny as they listen to the news on the radio. "How Chamberlin could be so stupid as to believe him I don't know, but now look!"
"Maybe it will be quick, maybe the others will fold like last time," Johnny says.
"I doubt it, not now, but even so that wouldn't stop it! No, this will spread. It won't end until all of Europe is on fire. They should have disposed of him earlier, when Germany wasn't so strong. Mark my words, this is going to be bad!"




She writes to her friends in Glimmerbrook:

I'm sure this is as much news in France as it is here, probably more so. How are you holding up? I know Germany hasn't moved on France yet, but I worry its only a matter of time before they do. It scares me more than I can say. You're all right on the border, I urge you to move before it's too late. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Sincerely your friend,
Anna



In Oasis springs, Thomas is trying his best to adapt in the small apartment. It's not proving easy. It's not just that the apartment is tiny, he's shared rooms with his siblings more or less all his life, it's the norm of the time, but there is no outdoor space. He feels cooped up trying to read in the living room, or study at the kitchen table (which is also in the living room). He misses the horses, the air, the ability to move. Yes there is a communal pool here, but how fun is that in winter? He tries to reason with his parents, but end up only sounding whiny and getting told off by his father. After dinner, he cries in his room.






Finally he makes a drastic decision. If his parents won't listen to him, he'll just have to make them. And so he packs a backpack with some clothes and his books, takes some money out of his father's wallet and hops on a bus back to Chestnut ridge. He arrives the morning after, finally at home again. Or so he hopes. It feels strange knocking on the door of what he thinks of as his home, but here he is doing it all the same. 

Anna is surprised by his arrival, but listens patiently as he shares his grief and his hopes.
"You know you're always welcome here, but it's not my decision nor yours. You'll have to get your parents to hear you out."

"But they never listen! Dad just calls me ungrateful and tells me to man up!"

"Either way, it's their call. Until you're 18 it's not yours. I need to call them to let them know you are here and that you are okay."

"Please, don't!" 

"You're mother is worried sick right now, of course I have to call her!" She feels his forehead. "You're all hot with fever. Take some medicine and go and rest in your room until they are here." 

Nash and Josephine arrives some hours later, tired, annoyed, heartbroken and furious. Well Nash is furious, Josephine mostly heartbroken. "I can't believe he'd just run away like that!" she tells her sister as Anna greets them. 

Nash is steaming, and the moment he sees his son he explodes, talking about respect, about how he scared his mother, his poor influence on his siblings... But Thomas is angry too, and bites back, which in turn makes Nash even more angry. 

Eventually Anna has to step in and stop both. She sends Thomas to the stables to tend to the horses, while taking Nash and Josephine inside the house, trying to calm down her sister and her brother in law. At first it seems hopeless, but bit by bit she gets them to a point where talking is actually an option. 

"I don't see why he has to make that much fuss! The others don't, and they're in exactly the same position," Nash points out. 

"But they're not, really," Anna counters. "They haven't changed schools nearly as often as Thomas, in fact Arthur and Barbara never has, it's their first time. And the twins are only on their second change, and they're going to be ready for high school soon so then it's a new school anyway. But for Thomas, it's his forth time if you count starting high school, and he's never been allowed to finish school in the same place he started it."

"Well life isn't always easy, it's time he learns that!" Nash bites back. 

"Don't you think he's learnt that already?"

"But it's my baby boy!" Josephine complains. 

"Look, Christmas is coming up soon, right. So let him end his term at least, then he'll be with your for Christmas, and then you can make up your mind for next term. Either way, he's going to be a young adult then, and after that he'll find his own way anyway, be it college or finding a job."

"As if we could afford college!" Nash snorts. 

"If you can't, I can," Anna retorts. "It's not like I have my own kids to send anyway. I'll happily pay for Thomas. If he stays here and helps out with the horses that can be his salary. See his staying here as doing me a favor. Three horses are a lot of work. I can use the help."

Grudgingly, Nash and Josephine agrees to let Thomas stay. "Just until Christmas!" Nash insists, "until you can get new help in place." They bring in Thomas and lets him know. He's relieved, and grateful, but Josephine's heart is still aching. 

"It's not that I don' t love you mum. I do!" Thomas promises, hugging his mother hard. "Thank you!" Anna watches the two from the sidelines. 




It's already dark when Nash and Josephine are ready to head back home. 

"Who is watching the kids?" Anna asks. 

"A neighbor," Josephine answers. 

Thomas gives his mother another big hug, and then, on Anna's insistence, his father too. "He is angry because he loves you," she says. She's not certain Thomas understands it, or that Nash appreciates the effort, but the two hugs briefly all the same. As they drive off, Thomas draws a breath of relief. At least until the end of term, he is safe. What happens after Christmas remains to be seen, but he hopes it will work out.