Part 2 (1/2)

Childhood, 1916

Barker Flett at thirty-three is stooped of shoulder and sad of expression, but woht easily becloth to that cheap worsted jacket he wears while lecturing to his students on the life cycle of the cyclamen or the prairie crocus His shi+rts could be fresher too, and his collars properly attached, and those scuffed oxfords of his are crying out for a coat of polish, and so forth and so on All Professor Flett needs is a little woh at him; pity hie, five or sometimes ten minutes late for his classes, a look of dazed surprise in his eyes as he peers out at the waiting faces and rues in his satchel for his lecture notes

There, he's found the His spectacles, he's forgotten his spectacles No, there they are, folded in his breast pocket He re the wire temples around his nicely shaped ears, first the left, then the right-then, with his s theins

His voice is beautiful Its texture is fine-woven wool If it had a color it would be a warm chestnut In tone, in fluidity, in resonance, it is all that a man's voice should be, with just that hint of Scottish burr, thinner than the skin of varnish on his oak lectern, giving necessary hardness He rides straight up the walls of his sentences His little pauses are sensuous gateways, without which his listeners would fall into a trance

As it is, they keep their eyes fixed on hi, scholarlytheir heads only when it becomes necessary to write down the lists of words he unspools for thema, style, ovary, stamen, anther, filament, petal, sepal, receptacle Often he uses the blackboard, but today, having forgotten to bring his chalks along, he sketches these shapes in the air His long fingers open and close around the airy forms What a pity his shi+rt cuffs are in such a state, and it looks as though-yes, definitely-there is a buttonfrom his left sleeve; but he is oblivious to its absence-which is precisely what his fe in Professor Barker T Flett, his fine etfulness

The time is autumn, 1916, and twelve out of the fourteen students enrolled in Introductory Botany are young woe, all except for Edward Wood, an epileptic, and tiny h with one foot bent out sideways-have put on the uniforone to war Why is it that Professor Flett is not hi at the Front?

Rumors abound It is hinted that he is perhaps a pacifist, but one who has yet to declare hiested by the near-translucence of his skin Or else his eyesight has disqualified him; a man ears spectacles can scarcely be expected to confront the Kaiser, and then there is the diaht be either an affectation or a necessity Or possibly his ongoing work on new strains of wheat has been dee for his Master of Science degree, Barker Flett helped perfect the new i wheat which he is now atte to cross with the remarkable ”Garnet” strain that can be harvested a full ten days earlier, thus avoiding daht by an early frost) Or perhaps he has been ruled ineligible for active military duty because he is the sole support of his elderly irl of eleven years (This last is the favored explanation and, moreover, it is true, or almost true) How is it his students know of the elderlyniece, for certainly he never mentions their existence? Because one of the students, the lively fair-haired Bessie Perfect, boards in a house on Downing Street, which is just two streets away from Simcoe Street where the three members of the Flett family reside

Another student, Jessie Saltmeyer, attends the First Methodist Church where the Flett fa

And then there's the student Miss Lena Ballentyne; Lena Ballentyne's father, a dentist, is acquainted with old Mrs Flett, and has in fact fitted her, twice, for false teeth And who else? Well, tiny Clarence Redfield, out for a weekend stroll, once encountered the threeon the banks of the Red River They were carrying a picnic basket and a folded bit of carpet to spread on the ground The feebleness of sht of their self-sufficiency

In the halls of Wesley College these scraps of information are pooled and savored It is pointed out by Miss Saltht, that Professor Flett'sthe spring and suood-sized crop of flowers on the vacant land next to the Simcoe Street house and purveys them to the various flower merchants who have opened shop around the city Someone else contributes the information that the ”niece” is not a true blood relation, but only the daughter of a family acquaintance whose wife died in childbirth All this lore is fascinating to the students of Introductory Botany, but chief a the fascinations is the fact that Barker Flett is an unmarried man This curious and wonderful anomaly offers them hope for their own lives: a handsome thirty-three-year-old man who has yet to find his life's coht not be a tragic broken engagement in his past-and this possibility has been so often discussed by succeeding waves of students that it has acquired by now the hard sheen of authenticity It exists in several versions: a sweetheart snatched froed unsuitable because of high church leanings, because of tainted character, because of madness in the fae would never stretch to agement in Barker Flett's past, no severed union of spirit and body Professor Flett, who is perfectly aware of the legends that roht His smile, like his voice, is beautiful, but it is a smile hatched from a frustrated asceticism, and the suspicion that love is no more than a diminutive for self-injury His own society is what he favors A quiet winter rooht, a comfortable austerity Or else a solitary hike in a su with just his pocket knife and speci and a sandwich or two for company True, he has three times in his adult life visited the rooens Avenue, but these he thinks of as educational episodes which touched nothing in hiht be termed authentic It may be that he is one of those men who feel toomen both a delicate sensibility and a deep hostility He is not, in any case, infor a lost love, as his students want to believe; he mourns only a simplicity of life that was briefly his, and now is lost

Never was happiness rasp as in the su alone in two back roo establish his dissertation on the western lady's-slipper, genus Cypripedium

He loved this flower (The ”lady,” of course, was Venus) He could have drawn its sensuous shape even in his drea bract, eye, and root A co to the exotic orchid family This delicate, frilled blossom was his He had worked on it (her) for months, and now he possessed the whole of its folded silken parts and the pure, classic regenerative mechanics that lift it out of the humble midcontinental clay and open its full beauty to the eye of mankind-and to his eye in particular (He believed this without vanity) The intensity of his gaze on this single living thing awakened in his He ached anew for release froens Avenue-and the obliteration of all he had found brutal in his life thus far, beginning with the duers of his parents and brothers, a family froe had been withdrawn He longed to separate himself from the mean unpaved streets of Tyndall, Manitoba, where he spent his boyhood, and fro for salvation and sex he apprehended everywhere around him Bliss lay in the structure of this si to reproduce on a sheet of white rag paper: a petalled organism, complete in itself, obedient to its own rhyth back, he remembers how tenderly he held the watercolor brush in his hand, how the sun falling through the pane struck the top of his wrist and the edge of the water glass, and how the whole of his existence lightened correspondingly

His euphoria was to be short-lived Principal MacIntosh at the College asked hirains, re hiion and thus concerned with the quality of human life-and here the old man underlined his words with fervor-hu, impressionable Barker Flett, he quoted the words of Jonathan Swift: ”Whoever could round where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together”

Young Flett was obliged to give up his dabbling in lady'sslippers and to concentrate on hybrid grains Moreover, as if that were not sacrifice enough, he was to be burdened with the teaching of introductory chemistry and physics as well as botany, and one year later, after poor Blaser was discharged (having been found to be a ”user of alcohol”), he was assigned to teach the eleleness of his concentration had been shattered

Worse, he returned to his roo in late September to find his mother installed On her lap lay a tiny infant, ars inflated, howling out against the injustice of the world

Have I said that Clarentine Flett deserted her husband Magnus in the year 1905? Have I mentioned that she took with her the s child of Mercy Goodwill, her neighbor who had died while giving birth?

The ht frosts had turned the air chilly, and the infant-a little girl of placid disposition-was clothed in a tucked nainsook day-slip topped by a plain flannel barrowcoat, which in turn was topped by a buttoned vest in fine white wool, and all these many layers rapped and securely pinned inside a co, 9:07 by the clock when Mrs Flett stepped aboard the Imperial Limited at the Tyndall station, certain that her life was ruined, but h an effort of will, to hold herself erect and to affect an air of preoccupation and liveliness Those who saw her purchase her ticket for Winnipeg-with a dollar bill taken the night before from her husband's collar-box-failed utterly to mark the fact that she paid for one-way acco close by, have sniffed about her person a sharp but not unpleasant scent, which emanated from the wad of cotton wool she had soaked in oil-of-cloves and packed tight against her throbbing lance, trimmed as it ith ordinary mercerized satin and japanese braid, but it was pinned nevertheless at a beco her the jaunty look of a reat armful of fall flowers she carried would have see inside her small valise would have found only a folded woolen coat for herself, a dozen napkinettes in fine canton flannel for the infant, and a baby's feeding bottle with three black rubber teats An aard ar, bouquet, and baby-but she took her seat by the ith an air of assurance

The journey was short, a h a series of sunlit villages-Garson, East Selkirk, Gonor, Birds Hill, Whittier Junction-and during that tianplans for her survival Her breakfast of oatination soared She saw that her old life was behind her, as cleanly cut off as though she had taken a knife to it (that note for her husband tucked under her handkerchief press, a single scratched word, goodbye) Ahead waited chance and opportunity of her ownShe would step from the train into the busy street in front of the Canadian Pacific Station in Winnipeg and offer her flowers to passers-by; city folks were fools for fresh flowers, even flowers as coion, though you had to knohere to look; she would make four separate sprays of them-these deep blue asters, or Michaelmas daisies as they were frequently called-then add a few thin leathery leaves and tie the and sell each one for ten cents, earning enough to hire a cab to take her and the child to the roo house on Simcoe Street where her son, Barker, lived

Once there, she would ascend the half-dozen wooden steps, knock on his door, and gain admittance After that she would wait, watchful and alert, to see what came her way

”My dear Mr Goodwill,” Clarentine Flett wrote in her large, loopy, uneducated hand, ”I thank you for yourat once to assure you that Daisy, as I have taken to calling her, is well looked after and in excellent health I areement with me that such a small infant will thrive , and I am only sorry thatpreventedyou a note of explanation You need have no worry about your dear child, since our situation in ienic Your present state of bereavement touches me deeply, for, as you know, I loved your dear wife Mercy with all my heart I have enclosed with this letter a lock of the child's hair which I trust will bring you some measure of comfort It is, I fear, a very small lock, only a half-dozen hairs in plain truth, for she has as yet little to spare”

Barker Flett, that tall, gaunt, badly clothed student of botany, sat hunched over his cluttered desk, the angle of his bent head signalingwith vexation, he picked up a steel-nibbed pen, dipped it in the inkwell, and scratched: ”My dear Father, I thank you for your letter, though it grieves ness to write tothat an appeal on your part, if sincerely expressed and softly worded, e her to reflect on her situation and eventually return ho out at the rain which was rattling against the ) ”In theyou to find it in your heart to make her some small allowance, perhaps one or two dollars a week As you know, I have had to engage an additional room to accommodate her and the child, and e scarcely covers these new and totally unforeseen expenses There have been a number of doctor's bills also, as Mother has suffered fro the extraction of her teeth, and the infant has been troubled day and night hat Dr Sterling calls a tight chest Perhaps you are aware that your neighbor, Mr Goodwill, has agreed to provide the suht dollars a month for the child's maintenance Generous as this is, it barely suffices I send you, and to ards Barker Flett”

My dear Mr Goodwill, Your monthly letter is alelcome, and I thank you most warmly for your Express Money Order, which is much appreciated

I am pleased to write that Daisy continues plu indeed My son and I are of the opinion that she will be walking before the ain I thank you for sending the necessary rapher has captured the exceptional curliness of her hair, which is of a very pretty color that I have heard described as ”strawberry” I am anxious to assure you that, contrary to what youis fresh and healthful In addition, we are fortunate in having a fine big garden next to our house where little Daisy will be able to run about when the suards, Clarentine Flett My dear Father, I have spoken to my Mother as you requested, but I am afraid she is firenerous offer to accept her back into the household, even forbearingabsence froretfully answer in the negative, for I think it would only excite her nerves to receive you here

Her state of mind is relatively tranquil at the arden and with running after young Daisy

We ive up hope of a future reconciliation

I regret, also, your decision in thesource of distress

Your son, Barker My dear Mr Goodwill, You will scarcely believe that Daisy is to start her first level at school in a mere ten days Already she has her alphabet by heart, also Our Lord's Prayer, the Twenty-third Psalm, and a number of simple hymns She is, moreover, able to recite the coarden, of which there are some twenty-five I am happy to say that these two ular application of a mullein-leaf poultice at bedtime As for myself, I keep very well

Yours faithfully, Clarentine Flett Dear Mr Goodwill, I thank you for yours of the 28th, and assure you that Daisy is in excellent health Her school recitation, ”A Sailor's La and enthusiasm

We were most interested to read of you and your famous tower in last week's Tribune My son, Professor Flett, regarding the tower's rather blurred likeness on the page, grew most curious to see it as it really is, but as you know he never travels anyone West

Yours ives ain apply to you for ive a thought to thewhich tiht of compensation Our day-to-day situation here is exceptionally insecure at the moment, and I now fear that my decision to purchase the Simcoe Street house, as well as the land that adjoins it, was pre southward, and now talk of war My actions, I assure you, proceeded fro girl, with a reliable and respectable home of which she need never feel ashamed It is true that my Mother does earn some income fro a greenhouse has been considerable It is also true, as you say, thatof the ”Marquis” wheat hybrid, but fully three-quarters of these earnings ree I look forward, with hope, to your favorable reply

You may be interested to know that ”Goodwill Tower,” as it is known in the city, is much talked of these days, and I aion, and even from the United States

Your son, Barker Dear Mr Goodwill, This little note will, I hope, bring you the assurance that Daisy is now fully recovered fro time, and very tiresome indeed for her to remain so many weeks in a darkened room, particularly as she is by nature an active and healthy child She was raph of you in the pages of last week's Fa in front of your tower ”Is that truly my father?” she demanded of me, and I assured her that indeed it was She beca else for days, but we believe, Professor Flett as much as myself, that such a visit would cause too much excitation in one so recently recovered frorateful for your e the best we can on a liinning to thrive It is as if all the world has discovered the happiness that si to an otherwise dreary wartime existence

Yours, Clarentine Flett Dear Mr Goodwill, I thank you most sincerely for your prayers and for your words of condolence I can tell you truthfully thatentered into a state of unconsciousness the moment the dreadful accident occurred Those friends and acquaintances who kept vigil at her bedside found in her repose a source of strength and inspiration She was laid to rest, finally, a from the West in time to pay their respects Our Father, as you know, remained hardened in his heart to the end, and it is for hi cyclist who struck my Mother down, he has been fined the sum of twenty-five dollars, and I am told the poor fellow is fairly ill with re much these last days about the question of Daisy, whom my Mother has loved as dearly all these years as if she were her own child-doted on her, in fact You will agree, I airl of eleven years to share a household with a man of age a person ould look after her needs In any case, it see very soon in order to pursue my ith the Dominion Cerealist and his coh to write hts on the subject of Daisy and e can arrange between us to ensure her future accommodation and happiness

Yours faithfully, Barker Flett Having known rapture, my father, Cuyler Goodwill, could not live without it

Once awakened, he was susceptible It ht have been poetry he embraced after the untimely death of his wife-or whisky or the bodies of other wo men of his ti in the form of a rainbow east of the Quarry Road, not far from the plot where my mother lay buried

This event occurred in the ht of heavy rain

In a cloth sack slung over his shoulder he carries an octagonalshaped piece of limestone (about the size, say, of a cantaloupe) which he intends to place on his dead wife's grave He clih a field of stubble, over the soaked uneven ground, when suddenly the sun bursts through, weakly yellow at first, but quickly strengthening so that the heat reaches through the fibers of his gray cotton shi+rt He looks up, and there it is: the rainbow

Of course he has seen rainbows before in his life, always stopping, in the way of country people, to admire the shoatery iridescence Rainbows, after all, do not occur so frequently in southern Manitoba that they go unremarked ”Look at that,” so skyward, and then a wishful thought ood fortune or at least an alteration of mood

At this ti immersion in Bible study, and could not have quoted, had you asked him, God's post-flood declaration to Noah: ”I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a Covenant between me and the earth”

At the sanorant or superstitious ), and he understands the general principles of rainbows, that the prismatic effect is caused by the refraction, reflection, and dispersion of light through droplets of water He understands, too, the evanescence of the phenomenon, its insubstantiality-he is, after all, a es and verifiable volume The arc of a rainbow cannot be touched; its dimensions are not measurable, and its colors fade even as they are apprehended There is a belief, for that matter, widely subscribed to by siraphed, that its fugitive and transitory co lens and the final proof of chemically treated paper

But the rainbow that appears beforein 1905, a mere three months after his wife's demise, is different, its colors more vibrantly distinct, its shape as insistent as a child's crayon drawing This rainbow seelass or a kind of translucent , and directed Directed at hi shape; he knows only that it is suddenly there, solid and perfect, and through its clean gateway shi+nes a radiant slice of paradise

At the , and the next rave of his wife, Mercy