msjerushabbott - Tumblr blog

msjerushabbott · 2 years

Text

JERVIE:

try as he might to convince himself — and his wife, at that — that he was absolutely horrible with children, there had yet to be a child that jervis could not handle. of course, the running joke of his disdain for his niece aside — there was yet some truth to the story ; he had taken one look at julia as an infant and decided he had no interest … he was also a young boy, of what, six? seven years? hardly something worthy of blame.

still, jervis played his role as a trustee very well : he visited every first monday, without fail. never faltering — even when called upon for business out of the town, state, country — always a priority. it always had been one of his … jerusha’s involvement n his life only added yet another layer of dedication. JERUSHA ABBOTT PENDLETON : the first female trustee of the john grier home — at least to the extent of his knowledge ; he’d asked his fathers, and his fellow trustees prior to jerusha being appointed to the board, and none had any recollection of such a feat. ( no reason it should be a feat : jerusha was just as capable as any of the men, if not certainly moreso. ) and furthermore — she had found her way onto the board without any help ; the first married couple to serve together, each of their own merit. far be it from jerusha to ride another’s coattails to see through her own ambition.

no stranger to the john grier home, he follows behind jerusha, weaving around children, careful to keep her padfolio close to his chest, lest he either lose it to sticky fingers or worse — he lacks jerusha’s grace, if he held it any lower, it might just make contact with a head … he’d like to postpone inevitable embarrassment as long as he could. ‘ have you already started your list of repairs? i’m already seeing quite a few that we might want to look into … i’ll get in touch with an inspector soon enough, but these windows ought to be replaced. ’

SUCH AN EFFICIENT PAIR THEY MAKE : jerusha concerns herself with matters of the heart, with the treatment of the children, the staff, the education and daily routine. jervis occupies himself with the concrete, the tangible … budgeting, repairs, the material aspects. make no mistake, the care of the children came first and foremost for both of them, illustrated clear as day by the way jervis hangs back behind jerusha, crouching down to a small child — no more than five years — who tugged on his jacket, calling for his attention. no qualm found as he’s asked to sit with the child, a simple — i can catch up! — offered jerusha’s way.

they had only just barely broached the idea of children themselves. they were young, yet, and jerusha especially had so much more left to pursue with her career — careers, jervis would argue — that this was hardly a pressing concern. HE LIKED TO IMAGINE HIMSELF AS A FATHER ONE DAY, would love to spoil a child of his own. perhaps they would have his eyes, blue and wide … or better yet, jerusha’s smile, radiant as any star in the night sky. would they take after their mother, with a gift for literary expression, and a friendly, soft heart eager to befriend and impress? or their father, more comfortable on the sidelines, reserved, far more shy than outgoing? he would hope they would take more after jerusha, at the very least in her kindness, her selflessness, her unlimited imagination.

he was never under any sort of illusion that he was anything but soft - hearted. take the way he sits on the heels of his feet on the floor, happy to listen to the child, alix, she told him her name was, tell him about what she had learned in class the day before. he could always pretend he was only interested to better reshape their curriculum, but the fact of the matter was that he had always had a soft spot for the orphanage. it had existed long before jerusha, but her entanglement in his life had only served to make that fondness grow.

when alix lets him go, he finds jerusha not far ahead on her way to the office. IDLY, he can’t help but wonder if jerusha had remembered to tell mrs. lippett that they were going to be stopping by. this thought is followed just as quickly by the question : did it matter? one of the first concerns that jerusha had expressed was an overhaul of management. and from what he had heard from her, small glimpses into her childhood and adolescence offered up while sitting on the porch under the night sky, or as he brushed her hair on a lazy weekend afternoon, he was entirely in agreement.

A PERFECTLY AWFUL DAY, that was what jerusha had told him she’d think about the days the trustees came to visit. he wonders if any of the children that had seen either of them had thought the same. a spidery ( not old! ) man and his charming wife, the latter of whom stopped to speak to some of the older children, the ones she’d recognized — and the ones she didn’t, all the same — with the warmest air of kindness he’s ever seen from a person.

‘ do you suppose, ’ jervis asks, as he truly catches up with jerusha, who has only just finished speaking to ellen, a young teenager who had been a small child when jerusha still called the asylum her home. his hand finds hers, fitting her palm in his own as if they were always made to be together, as he continues, the slightest tug at the corner of his lips, ‘ do you suppose we were expected to phone ahead that we were dropping in? don’t get me wrong ; i definitely think it better for us to have shown up as is — it’s … it’s been different, for me, to see things as they are here, on the day - to - day. it was always so, well, polished, i guess you could say, on those mondays — no doubt your doing, of course. ’

he doesn’t quite smile — that’s an expression reserved for jerusha’s eyes only — but even in her presence, it’s something close. it’s provoked by the warmth in his heart when he sees the light in her eyes, and the tender way she speaks to the children. he thinks about his next question, about whether sallie was meant to meet them today, or even if jerusha was still considering asking sallie to run the building … after all, she did have quite the talent for working with children. he almost envied the ease both women had with them. as if he wasn’t just warm enough himself. instead, he surprises himself, a question drawn from his lips that he wasn’t expecting to voice. but it’s about jerusha, it’ll always be about jerusha … for even when he knows just about everything jerusha says she has to offer, jervis finds that he’s never quite satisfied with just that. ‘ has it changed much since you were last here? ’ / @msjerushabbott

jerusha knows exactly what to expect when walking into the john grier home that tuesday morning. it’s nine a.m., meaning breakfast would just be getting over with. next on the agenda would be cleaning, preciously why she insisted on arriving before the switch. morning is arguably the busiest time for the orphanage, certainly the most chaotic of any time. perfect for an observation, no? ms. lippett would absolutely disagree. even more of a reason to do so.

it was vital when the previously titled oldest orphan of the john grier home earned her spot on the trustee board that a complete overhaul of management be set as the highest priority. no one knew better than her of the horrors that went on within those four walls. a daunting task for a woman to show up and demand, however, no one could stop jerusha if they tried. a force of nature with the more grace in her pinky than most men had in their entire skeletal frame. she felt incredibly lucky to have jervie by her side in everything, a devoted husband and fellow trustee without a doubt. never a worry in her mind that he wouldn’t believe what she spoke of ms. lippett or any other matron; supportive in every way that mattered, and even still in ones that didn’t.

weaving through swarms of children with trash to throw away came second nature to her, easily side-stepping and even spinning to avoid an oncoming collison. practice makes perfect, and jerusha had eighteen years of experience. she hums naturally in response to her husband, glancing at the windows he’s pointed out. ‘ i have! i’ll have to look to see what other repairs may be needed today; a lot of it is based in memory, but i’ll be sure to triple check before we leave today. ‘

IT WARMS HER HEART to see how much pride and care jervie has taken to the orphanage. not to ever suggest it lacked before her; clear in the way mr. pendleton had previously funded several other children through their education and the lack of absence every first monday for the duration on the board. but it was in the way his eyes shine, observing everything with a different, more personal light than before. he fills in the gaps she’s missing ( logistics, budgeting, connections ), always willing to hear more inane ramblings on her grandiose dreams for the orphanage. jervie cares quite possibly even more than she, a hard feat to manage. and once alix manages to grasp onto his jacket, jerusha knows she’s lost him for a solid couple of minutes, the soft-hearted teddy bear of a man. that was quite alright; ellen has caught her attention immediately with her warm smile and pleasant conversation.

there has never been a time jerusha didn’t feel like she already had the experience of raising a child, multiple children in fact. ninety-seven orphans who look to her for guidance, kindness, and love. she’s enjoying a life without the constant need for her attention to be divided elsewhere; but, the thought of holding her own child, wide blue eyes that matched jervie’s perfectly, paired with the faintest twitch of lips, made her heart swell ten times it’s normal size. she immediately wants five any time the thought crosses her mind; any way to be able to have more jervies out into the world to make a difference in others lives the same way he had for her.

her conversation with ellen didn’t last for too long, knowing what was expected of the older teenager. the girl seems to be more at ease, indicated by the glint of relief when the pendletons had walked in the building. that’s what jerusha wants the orphans to feel when the trustees walk in; protected, not disgusted. just as their conversation came to a close, a familiar hand slid into hers, immediately garnering her undivided attention with a soft, loving grin. jerusha has many smiles - truly, it was a feat to see her without even a tug of her lips. but none were like the one reserved for jervie; if lips could hold all of the love in the world, her jervie dedicated grin would hold the entire universe.

‘ well, i certainly know ms. lippett expected a phone ahead. GOOD THING WE DIDN’T. the kids would have been scrambled to clean the hallway. ‘ not a knock on the way the orphanage looked, just a clear observation as the two strolled hand-in-hand. the woman would kneel over once the two trustees stepped into the office. ‘ scrub the floors, clean the windows above ... a perfectly awful day. ‘ her tone is a bit sharp, an edge the soft-hearted woman held for no one except her previous matron.

ms. lippett truly is the devil in disguise. tight lipped and pleasant on the first monday of every month, but wicked all the rest. one might think of her granting jerusha’s stay at the orphanage past sixteen a miracle, but really, free labor is too hard to turn down. it’s impossible for jerusha to forget the vigorous hours she spent scrubbing the floors, becoming more a matron than the evil witch had ever cared to attempt. truly a cluster of memories that the woman would rather not relive if at all necessary.

but then jervie smiles, or a poor attempt under the scrutiny of others, and jerusha is brought back to the present moment. he has a funny way of doing that; bringing out stillness in the woman who always seems to be moving. it was useless to mourn the past when the present had so much to offer her; a career only waiting for her next steps toward something bigger, money that provides the opportunity to give back to those who truly need it, and a husband who she loves more than jerusha ever imagined she could bear. the correlation is there, however; jervis pendleton is the first person to ever show her true kindness. the least she could do in return is love him with all of her heart. ( he makes it incredibly easy, does he not? )

‘ .... NO, i don’t believe it’s changed all that much. it certainly looks DIFFERENT from an outside perspective. ‘ this is what jerusha settles on, her curious eyes twinkling as they sweep the orphanage. it’s obvious she’s searching for something; all jervis has to do is wait for her to find the answer. ‘ THERE. ‘ slender finger points indiscreetly to a clear crack in the wall that normally would be covered by a cheap painting. ‘ that’s where tommy dylan accidentally threw his shoe too hard when we were placing catch. - and there’s the stain in the carpet when suzie hawthorne laughed so hard milk came out of her nose. ms. lippett made her scrub the carpet for a week straight. ‘ even through such a thought as that, jerusha’s lips gave way to a soft, reminiscing grin. clear as the day, jerusha abbott pendelton holds so much love for the children here at the home. ‘ things can take a different shape, and yet, it’s still the same on the inside. you just have to look for the little details. ‘

#ic.#arc v. / i'd be a fool to let you go.#mrgirlhater

2 notes · View notes