Summer End

Summer End

By Heather Ann Martinez

Summer End lay in the heart of the quiet northern England villages. There weren’t many motorcars or telephone boxes in Summer End. The county preferred to leave modern technology at a safe distance. Most of the residents thought indoor plumbing was the only extravagance they needed. They were welcoming to visitors and held tours frequently. The residents never expected any one to stay longer than the weekend at the hotel. They never thought any one would actually want to live in Summer End after living in the cities. It was three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon when two weary travelers walked through the main intersection. The man and woman were both carrying suitcases. The man was sweating profusely and the woman looked as if she were going to faint at any moment. They were both out of breath by the time they reached The Lucky Horse Shoe Hotel. Many of the locals watched from the café across the street and from the post office window next door to the hotel.

The man went up to the counter and rang the bell. An elderly woman made her way to the counter and greeted them.

“Vera and Joshua Lantham. We have a reservation for two nights.” Joshua said patting his forehead with a handkerchief.

“Ah, yes. We were expecting you. Your room is number three just down the hall to your left. Here is your key and there is complimentary hot coffee in the parlor to your right. You sound American. Are you on your way to London?” The elderly woman asked. She smiled and tipped her glasses to the edge of her nose.

“No, we actually just came from London. We are from New York City. My wife saw Summer End on a painting in her doctor’s office. He suggested we move here. He said Vera needed to live in a quaint village away from a lot of noise.” Joshua explained.

“I don’t like a lot of commotion.” Vera timidly piped up.

“Well, you have definitely come to the right place. I’m Eleanor Chase. I own the hotel and the pub next door. Both have been in my family for generations.” Eleanor stepped around the counter and took Vera’s hand in hers. “Don’t worry pet. You’re safe now.”

Vera smiled. Joshua snatched the key from the counter and took all the suitcases to the room. He thought there was something soothing about Eleanor’s voice. Joshua left the women in the lobby while he unpacked the suitcases and looked out the window. There was lush green grass, hills and ponds and lakes in the distance. There were a few scattered locals and he could hear the sound of birds. He thought to himself, welcome to hell.   He reminded himself many times over that he was doing this for Vera, but Joshua hated quiet idyllic landscapes. He wanted to be in the center of a bustling city. He wanted to be one of the first people to test a new piece of technology. He was an engineer and a writer. He had taken leave from his previous position in New York City to care for Vera.  She had not taken the disappearance of their eight-year old daughter well. It has been twenty years since that day but Vera replays it over and over in her mind daily.

It was late in September when Vera and their daughter Hannah were walking in a park just outside the city. Vera was holding Hannah’s hand as they were crossing an intersection near a construction site. Vera heard a loud sound and dropped Hannah’s hand to cover her ears. When the noise subsided, she looked for Hannah’s hand. She turned around and realized Hannah was gone. Vera looked everywhere for her. She contacted the police and Joshua searched for days with his colleagues. There was no trace of Hannah. Vera spent months in a psychiatric hospital. She became withdrawn and blamed herself for losing her little girl. Joshua did not blame her. He lost interest in many of his favorite activities. He worked. He drank. He stumbled over Vera’s nightmares both day and night. He consoled her as much as he could and threw his fist through the living room wall. He was angry and frustrated.

Joshua was hurting too. Unfortunately, he was not as supportive as Vera’s physician would have liked. Vera needed a change of scenery. Living in an apartment in New York City that had all kinds of noise only reminded her of what happened. Vera did not leave the apartment much after she was released from the hospital. Eventually, Vera’s physician convinced his mind about leaving New York City. Joshua had a distant cousin in London who was happy to help them relocate to Summer End.

As they were walking to the hotel, Joshua stepped in cow dung and puddles. He sat at the edge of the hotel bed and tried to scrape off some of the cow dung. He just kept thinking about how much he loved Vera. He wanted her to be well even if that meant he had to be miserable. He didn’t mind the fresh air that Summer End offered. He hated the fact that there weren’t any scientists, researchers, professors, or people making fantastic discoveries that would change industry. The locals in the pub talked about newborn calves and barn raisings. There were widows like Eleanor Chase that needed their fences mended and their roofs patched before winter. The locals placed bets on cricket matches in neighboring villages. No one talked about innovation or industry trends. No one was interested in learning how to plow a field in less time. Their way of farming had not changed for many years. They respected their animals and the land.

Eleanor Chase watched Vera come out of her shell after a few months. Vera and Joshua moved into a small three room cottage close to the edge of the village. Joshua complained that it was too quiet. Vera loved the peace it brought her. In addition to taking care of all the daily chores, Joshua took to writing. He decided to write a memoir about his years as an engineer. He hoped that remembering what he gave up would bring him peace about present circumstances. A few days later, it began raining. The roof of the little cottage sprung a leak. Joshua decided to inspect the damage and climbed a ladder. He didn’t want to tell any of the locals about it until he knew what he was dealing with.

Vera sat in their living room sewing. She and Joshua exchanged words as needed. The nightmares that came between them had greatly subsided. Neither one of them was anxious about having a difficult evening of sleeping, crying, and swearing. They were coming to terms with what had happened, and they were developing new patterns of living.  As Joshua attempted to climb down the ladder, his foot slipped. He fell the rest of the way to the ground and broke his leg. He was unconscious when Vera found him. She called out to one of their neighbors and Joshua was taken to the local doctor. He was told that he would not be able to walk on his leg for a few weeks. The doctor knew that Joshua took care of everything for Vera and he suggested that he hire a caregiver while he recovered. Vera was not yet strong enough to go into the village on her own to purchase supplies or visit the post office.

A couple of days later, a young woman appeared on their doorstep. Joshua hobbled to the front door to let her in. She said her name was Honey and she lived on the opposite side of the village. She didn’t have as strong a British accent as the others did. Joshua asked her where she was from. She told him she grew up all over. Her mother brought her to Summer End a couple of years earlier at the suggestion of a doctor in New York City. Honey’s mother suffered from severe depression and anxiety. The doctor told her a change of scenery would be helpful in her recovery. Unfortunately, she passed away in a motorcar accident in London.

When Vera saw Honey, she smiled. She wrapped her arms around Honey’s neck. Joshua tried to pry Vera’s arms off of Honey’s neck. He stammered through apologies but then saw it too. Honey had a purplish birthmark on her neck shaped like the continent of Africa. He grabbed Vera’s hands as tears welled up in his eyes. Vera broke free of Joshua’s hands and grabbed a black and white photograph of their daughter Hannah. Vera showed Honey the photograph of their eight-year old daughter with a birthmark shaped like Africa on her neck. Honey took the framed photograph. She told them how much she hated the dress she was wearing and how much the wool stockings itched. The three of them were speechless for a minute and Vera gathered all of the photographs they had of Hannah. Honey remembered posing for each one. As time went on, Honey remembered Vera dropping her hand to cover to ears. Honey said she remembered wandering through the park and the woman she came to know as her mother took her to Spain, then England, back to New York City and finally to England.   

A month later, Joshua contacted the Vera's physician in New York City. He asked the physician if he had known all along that Honey was his daughter. He said he was not positive until two years earlier when the woman who abducted Hannah showed him her photograph at the age of ten. Vera had showed him a photograph of Hannah at the age of eight in a session earlier that same day. He knew he could not disclose information on one to the other in New York City. The physician knew that somehow the truth about Hannah would come out and healing would occur in the small quaint village of Summer End.