Chapter 2: The Lord giveth...

The next morning Maggie left, knowing that Grace's time with her brother and burgeoning family was destined to be difficult at best. She wanted to stay longer, but her brother wouldn't have it for long and being the only midwife in the county, her skills were in great demand.

Grace sighed deeply as she watched Maggie ride away on horseback, she knew keenly that her protector was gone. She loved her sister-in-law and had a hard time fathoming how her husband and sister could have possibly come from the same family. She hugged little Marion to her breast, "It will be different for you, I promise it will be different for you." Grace was not unintelligent, just limited in her options.

Cyrus hadn't looked at his daughter yet, he barely paid attention to his sons, except when they were loud or underfoot. His sensitivity got worse when he drank, which was often. Grace tried to shield the kids from his anger by bearing the brunt of it herself.

The drudgeful cycle of days continued for Grace and her family. Marion and the boys grew, as children will, despite hardship or other obstacles. Cyrus continued to be unreasonable, but mostly seemed to leave her and the children alone, including his insistence on sharing her bed. Grace was actually hopeful that he was sharing someone else's bed since that meant he would leave her alone and she wouldn't have any more babies. There was no sadness in her thoughts, more a sense of resigned peace.

Marion was just over a year old when news of something called the Spanish flu made its way to the tiny town of Steelville, but nobody thought much of it since it was all taking place on the coasts, especially in Philadelphia and many far away places like that. But as the spring and summer of 1918 passed, the news of the epidemic got closer and closer. However, Grace and her fellow Crawford Countians were still convinced it was a city disease. Fall came and the news filtered in about people getting sick in St. Louis, but that still seemed too far away. Grace's parents lived there, but she rarely saw them. She certainly didn't have the money to make the journey, let alone take herself and her 4 children out of their situation. Cyrus had blessedly remained mostly away with his women and his alcohol, which was fine with her. She managed to eke out a living from her small garden and cow... and Cyrus brought some money by to help out.

Grace only began to become alarmed when people in Cuba began to become ill... that was only 8 miles from Steelville. It also frightened her because it was the younger people who were dying... those close to her own 24 years. She feared what would become of her children should something happen to her. Early in October, townspeople began to fall ill and she tried to keep herself and the children away from anyone they thought might be ill... even to the point of keeping them in the house.

However, it was to no avail. Wayne was the first to fall ill, followed closely by Jackie and then Jesse. Strangely enough, Marion did not contract any sickness whatsoever. At first the boys just seemed to have colds, but they quickly developed pneumonia. Grace couldn't afford to call the doctor, but called him in anyway... unfortunately he couldn't do anything except offer some patent medicines that never worked anyway. Maggie came and suggested folk remedies, but those didn't work any better.

The trip to the hospital in Salem, 35 miles off, was too long and rough for the sick boys, so Grace just did her best to nurse them at home. But one night, Jesse's breathing became labored and ragged... then faster and faster... and then he was gone. His poor little body couldn't fight the Spanish influenza any longer. She was heartbroken over her youngest son's death, but the sorrow wasn't to end there for her. Several days later Wayne died, followed closely by the death of Jackie.

Strangely, Cyrus returned home at this time, not so strangely, he was drunk. He flew into rages and beat Grace severely and forced himself on her. He suddenly was full of grief for the sons that he cared about in name only while they were alive. He still had nothing but disdain for his Marion, his remaining child. It was almost as though he held her survival against her.

Blessedly for Grace, Cyrus' attentions were short-lived and he finally departed for the last time at the end of 1918, leaving her and Marion to fend for themselves.

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Real World

Steelville, MO. A small town of no consequence, except for those lucky enough to have been brought up in it. Marion J. Snow-Essex was just one of those lucky people, at least in her own eyes. She felt her birth in a rustic, rural Missouri town gave her stronger roots than her big city compatriots and a deeper appreciation of the world in general. Especially since she was compelled to leave it much sooner than she would have, had she been making the choices in the matter.

Marion entered the world April 7, 1917 in a small shack on the outskirts of the small town, with the assistance of Maggie Snow, the local midwife. Her sheen of red hair just matched that of the midwife, who also happened to be aunt, but her eyes matched the shape of her mother Grace's. Grace was an interesting woman, a mix of typical small-town wife and forward-looking thinker. Marion was her 4th child, having had 3 sons in each of the 3 years previous to her daughter. She knew clearly what a woman's role was supposed to be but didn't much like it and hoped to raise her daughter to something more than the drudgery of small town or farm wife life. She didn't plan to have any more children and intended to drill them all in the importance of education as their way to rise above the seemingly impenetrable walls of Steelville & Crawford County, Missouri.

As Marion emerged squalling in the early morning hours, her father hadn't yet headed to work at the grain elevator on the edge of town. Cyrus Jesse Snow was quite angry that he'd had to make his own breakfast, "That baby was born by the time I was getting ready for work, my wife ain't some kinda' rich woman who gets to lie abed. Besides, what good is a daughter who can't work?" However, Maggie had elsewise to say about it and Grace remained in bed cuddling the daughter she'd always wanted.

Maggie busied herself and got a meager breakfast together for her nephews, ages 1, 2 & 3... like steps in the mansions downtown. Jesse, the oldest was first up.... followed closely by Wayne, the two year old and Jackie the youngest. They were all in their night shirts with hair askew, not sure of what was going on. The Aunt got them cleaned up and dressed in at least in a slapdash manner, but they were dressed and fed and she was able to check on her sister-in-law in the next room reasonably often. She also introduced the boys to their new sister before sending them out to play.

Grace looked tired, as any woman who'd just had a baby would, and no worse for the wear of having had 4 babies in as many years. Her blood loss was normal, leaving nothing for Maggie to worry about. Since this was her relation, she was going to stay the night unless called away to another birth. Maggie liked her position as midwife in Crawford County, it gave her access, information and freedom that few women in that time and place enjoyed. She also saw clearly the position of women at all levels of society, rarely did privilege make women more free, it just determined the restraints under which they lived. She had chosen not to marry and stay an active midwife and she liked it that way. For now, Maggie was going to do what little she could for Grace and her new niece Marion.

Cyrus returned home after a long day at work to find the boys happy as pigs in the dirt... and his sister trying to corral them back into the house to sit down to a supper of soup and bread. His wife was still abed, which spurred him to even greater anger, "Grace! What the hell are you still doing in bed? My sister is working her fingers to the bone, when you know she has others to attend to?"

At this, Maggie flew into an equal fury, "Brother, you stop talking that nonsense! You infernal fool! Your wife has just had YOUR 4th child! You act as though she had worked all day for a simple wage, rather than had her body turned outside for the 4th time in that many years. She stays where she is! And everyone in town knows where I am tonight if I am needed!"

Cyrus turned squarely to face his sister, raising his hand, "If you weren't my sister..." and his voice trailed away knowing that Maggie would fight back like a mad cat. His hand lowered slowly and his fury dwindled to a slow burn... but he didn't forget. He liked his women docile, not like his sister, who shared his fire.