My Whole World. Episode 13.

My Whole World is the sixth series in the Dusty Town original historical fiction sequence written by Mary Ann DiLorenzo. Set in rural Kansas just prior to the turn of the century and continuing through the early 1900s, the series follows the Strong family through the challenges and joys of life in Midwest America.

Remembering. Episode 13.

The setting mid-April sun was painting their rural Kansas sky bright and vivid yellows and oranges and reds when Jacob, Betty Lou, and Miss Morgan got back to their dusty little town and unloaded the wagon.

The trip back had been quiet. Miss Morgan tried her best to make conversation, but it was hard for her even to try to make things feel easier to Jacob, and to Betty Lou too. It was not just Willie’s leaving, but also the uncertainty of what the future held for Willie and his family.

“Thanks for letting me come along with you all. You wait, they’ll all be coming back one day, you’ll see. Try not to fret none about that.” Miss Morgan’s throat caught just then. She hugged Jacob and Betty Lou and began her dusty walk into town and home. Jacob and Betty Lou would sit on the porch for a spell before going inside.

The sun had just about given way to twilight when Jacob began. “It’s funny how when you’re missing someone, all of a sudden you’re missing other ones too. I’m remembering my brothers Jesse and Matthew, gone for so many years now since the war. Ma and Pa, my boy Robert, and mostly my sweet Maddie. My, I loved her so!”

“I know Jacob, I know.” Betty Lou reached for Jacob’s hand and held it tightly.

“I know my boy has to follow his heart, go where he needs to go, do what he needs to do. But you know Betty Lou, selfishly I want him to find his way back here. Like Jake is his whole world, Willie is mine, has been for a long, long time.”

“I know dear, I know.”

They sat alone for awhile like that in the twilight. It was a day for remembering. In her mind, Betty Lou went back to the days before the war, and her Jason and the bright future they looked forward to together. Then he went to war and was killed at Gettysburg. Her Jason was gone.

For the longest time, she would still look out her window facing the street and peer all the way down it for a brief moment, just wishing she would see Jason coming down that street again like she had every day before the war. But all she would see through her tears was the dust being whipped up by the wind.

“Betty Lou, you alright? I can see your faraway look even in the twilight.”

“Just doing some remembering myself Jacob. That’s all.”

“Jason?”

“Yes.”

“Should we go in?”

“Not yet Jacob, let’s sit some more. I want to hear the crickets tonight.”

Jacob squeezed Betty Lou’s hand tighter and they sat for a while longer.

When it was time to go inside, Betty Lou hugged Jacob and told him, “I’m hoping Willie will find his way back to our little town. I know this, you did Jacob, you did.”

Previous Episodes of My Whole World
And Just Like That, Everything’s Changed. Episode 1.
Feeling a Glimmer of Hope. Episode 2.
Uncertain About Everything. Episode 3.
“Don’t Forget Me Dad.” Episode 4.
The Weight of Jake’s Letter. Episode 5.
Months Go By. Episode 6.
Time to Act. Episodes 7 & 8.
Leaving. Episode 9.
Moving Forward. Episode 10.
I’ve Been in Your Shoes. Episode 11.
Meeting John Devan. Episode 12.