Read Online An Elderberry Fall by Ruth P. Watson - Free Book Online Page A

set before putting on her hat for the trip home. Mrs. Ferguson was an uppity white woman. I never cared for her, and especially the way she’d look down her finely chiseled nose at the people making her life easier. I doubt she liked me either.
    The trip was quick. And when the train screeched as it came to a stop, the lady sitting with me adjusted her hat, picked up the bag in between her legs, and headed to the door.
    I arrived in Petersburg about forty minutes after the train had pulled off from the depot in Richmond. The train made multiple stops along the route picking up people who were either going to Petersburg to work or to Norfolk for an extended stay. All of the riders in my car were colored. The white patrons were in the train up front. Even though they were separated from the coloreds as if we were diseased, I could see them through the train window smiling and talking. As I was getting off the train, Jessie rushed over to assist me down the steps. “I hope to see you again soon,” he said, as if he really meant it.
    â€œWe will probably see a lot of each other, since I will be going to school down here.” He turned and smiled.
    â€œBy the way, when will you be back in Richmond? I see your wife and children almost every day sitting on the porch across the street.”
    He seemed a bit rattled by my comment. A frown seemed to appear immediately above his thick eyebrows. “Nadine is not my wife, and they are not my children.”
    â€œI’m sorry. I just thought…” He cut me off.
    â€œDon’t be. She had the children before we met. I was going to marry her, but she turned out to be a different kind of woman. She’s not the marrying type. Now the children, they are some good kids.”
    â€œSorry to hear that. You take care,” I said, in an attempt to end the conversation. I could tell he wanted to talk more. He moved in closer to me and whispered in my ear, “You are a beautiful woman.”
    I shrugged my shoulders and struggled to release a smile. His manner seemed a bit inappropriate, since I was a married woman. So I said, “See you later,” and took off in a rapid stride down the road in the direction of Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. When I reached the corner, I turned and glanced back at Jessie. He was still watching me, peering straight at me.
    The school was set up the same way the Union school had been. It was a short walk from the train station. Most, if not all, of the students were women. All of them yearning, like me, to teach school. I sat with my legs crossed and poured my heart out to the administrator. She was a serious woman. Had walked down Pennsylvania Avenue in the Women’s Suffrage March in 1913, and understood how it was for women and young people of color in America. “Women need a purpose in life. We’re not secondhand citizens,” Mrs. Middleton said.
    â€œYes, ma’am,” I replied. “I want to help the people around me to learn, so they can dream bigger than the farm.”
    She was a founding member of a women’s organization called Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
    â€œBeing on a farm is somewhere to be proud of living. Most of us come from farms,” she added.
    â€œI’ve always wanted to teach, and I can’t wait to get started.”
    â€œFirst, you need to fill out these forms for our records.”
    She handed me two documents to fill out. As I sat at the desk answering questions, Mrs. Middleton watched me. I felt she was analyzing me, sizing me up. I sat as poised as possible, and tried to be as ladylike as I possibly could. Momma always said appearances were important. In Mrs. Middleton’s office were books on everything, from geography to mathematics.
    When I turned in the last form with my address and family information on it, she gave me a book to read. She told me to come back in two weeks when classes started. I smiled.
    I stopped by a rooming house