Loss and Renewal

Willem sighed as he turned and saw the glazed eyes on his horses and pain ripped through his body. He clutched his chest and cried out in alarm. Liam ran to find Arnold and his mother, and the whole family gathered around Willem as he beckoned to Arnold feebly as he gasped with pain while one of the uncles rendered first aid and the other contacted a doctor in town. Arnold sped to his father’s side and bent to hear what his father said. Willem whispered.

“Son, you are now head of the Berg family. See to their welfare.”

They all watched silently as uncle worked diligently to save his elder brother’s life checking now and then for vital signs of life. But despite his lengthy efforts he finally quit in exhaustion and stared at his sister-in-law.

“I’m sorry Maaike I tried my best, but he’s gone!”

Maaike nodded and moved to replace him as she slowly sat by her husband. She lifted his head and put it in her lap. She shed no tears as her emotion was well past tears and she sat stroking his hair and staring straight ahead. It was only hours previously they’d stood on the veranda together looking over the farm they’d worked together, and she’d produced five beautiful children for him to carry on the name. Her whole life had centred around her husband and children. She had nothing to live for now as her other self was no more and she wanted to join him in rest together. He was not a demonstrative man, but he didn’t have to be because she could feel his love pull her to him like a magnet as they worked closely together all those years. Now it was up to Arnold, and he needed a partner to journey with him as he assumed responsibility for this large property. The others were well equipped to eventually make it on their own as Arnold produced children. An hour later their doctor arrived to make his way up the still smoking roadway into the property to pronounce Willem dead officially and took the body back to town to handle the official procedures before the body could be released back to the family.

A week later the body was released with legal certificate of death and the family gathered at the family burial site on their property to lay Willem to rest with his ancestors. Following the burial, they headed for their lawyer’s office to hear the will read. Willem had left the property jointly to Maaike and his son Arnold. The rest of his siblings were happy to acknowledge Arnold as the one to make decisions on their property and Arnold in turn promised to divide profits equally with his siblings willing to remain on the property so they could build equity for their own future until they were ready to strike out on their own as Arnold had children of his own or they decided to get married and locate somewhere else. He would help in their transition. Evi would remain to help her mother in the difficult adjustment to being without Willem. Maaike protested that plan as she wanted her daughter to follow her career path as originally planned but Evi firmly took control and insisted on deferring her planned entry into preliminary education work toward a nursing degree before moving into a hospital hall for nursing trainees.

Arnold put Eduard in charge of the property, and Eduard and the rest of the siblings began to inspect property boundaries to see to repair of fencing while Arnold delt with legal issues, banking and negotiations with the insurance company. To his surprise the insurance inspectors accepted the claim in full, but they had to wait for some months before the money would be released. That suited Arnold as the property would take months to recover from the fire before crops could be grown and breeding stock replaced. News from the weather bureau indicated they expected the drought had broken and rains could be expected to return to their usual seasons. The river running by the property was polluted and needed time to settle to its original pure state and some help was needed to remove burned trees now blocking its flow further up from their property line.

Arnold glanced at his watch. He could make time to go to the farmer’s cooperative and present a copy of his father’s death certificate and attested copy of the will to see to putting shares into the name of his mother and self. He greeted Eileen Cooper who was sitting behind the desk attending to accounting records. She jumped to her feet and came around the counter to pay her respects on the passing of his father. On impulse she hugged him and was surprised to see tears forming in his eyes. Beth Seely spied him as she emerged from the stockroom and sped over to pay her respects too. She also gave him a spontaneous hug as she expressed her sympathies. Customers waiting for their orders to be finalized looked up from their magazines in the waiting room and entered the reception room to also pay their respects. Eileen continued to study Arnold as she watched everyone gathering around him to acknowledge Willem’s demise and decided. She steered him over to the counter indicating Beth should start working on the list in his hand and turned to face him.

“Have you eaten lunch yet Arnold?”

Arnold shook his head trying not to look at her as he wanted to conceal the tears in his eyes as that was not the manly thing Berg family did.

“It will take a while for Beth to work with the different departments to get your order settled and it will go on your account with us. Now I have a special request to you which I hope you won’t let me down on. Can I trust you to say yes?”

Arnold looked at her in surprise forgetting about the tear stains on his face.

“Eileen, you know I’d do anything to help you if it were possible, but I need to hear what it is about as I obviously don’t know if I can care for what you want.”

“Oh, you can do it, it is a simple matter so trust me and say yes.”

“OK I’ll do it Eileen but why so secretive?”

“Good Arnold, I’m taking you to lunch at our cafeteria and I pay as I want to show my sympathy in a practical way.”

“That’s very nice of you Eileen and I’m really touched.”

Fifteen minutes later they were in the cafeteria and going through the self-serve while those behind the counter expressed their sympathy at Willem’s passing. They sat and consumed their food in silence and when finished Arnold reached across to take Eileen’s tray to deposit at the counter provided. Eileen put up he hand to indicate he should sit then sat in silence for a minute thinking. Then she smiled and looked up.

“I haven’t finished my request yet Arnold. We’ve been giving each other the eye treatment for a long time at school and later at the cooperative store when we left school. I think it’s time to move beyond that and I know you’d never ask. I’m a farm girl and here is a man now charged with being responsible for your family property not having someone to share the load with him. Arnold, I want you to marry me. You did say you’d say yes but I’d like to hear it again now that you know what’s on my mind.”

Arnold sat looking at Eileen with mouth and eyes wide open. This was something he’d been thinking of for a long time but never had the courage to put into words. Finally, he shook his head to regain composure and smiled.

“Thank you, Eileen I should have asked you this long ago and you’ve somehow captured my thoughts as well as my heart. I apologize for my shy nature where women are concerned but now that I have the courage can I ask you the same question?”

Eileen smiled.

“Of course, Arnold.”

“Will you marry me, Eileen? I’ll need you to help me to know how to deal with all the stuff associated with a wedding as I have no experience with that.”

“Of course, Arnold we are long overdue to be together in a marriage and I’m a little impatient to be with you as you deal with your new role. Seeing as you are in town would you take me to choose an engagement and wedding ring this afternoon if I can get time off and can I make an announcement to everyone we know at the cooperative? Now I have one more request before we go in to inform everyone.”

Arnold grinned.

“What now future Mrs. Berg.”

“Please get hold of your brother Edward when you arrive home and tell him it’s about time, he asked Beth Seely to marry him. Don’t you think they both have been making sheep eyes at each other long enough now?”

Arnold laughed.

“Gladly Eileen, now go see your administrator and ask for an hour off so we can choose those rings.”

Maaike had been in depression for weeks following her husband’s death but when Arnold and Eduard reported to her, they were planning on a wedding to be celebrated on the same day with same minister performing the wedding Maaike suddenly snapped out of her depression. She was overwhelmed with happiness when Eileen and Beth who she’d known from her trips with Willem to the cooperative came out to meet her at the property to invite her to be part of the planning for that wedding with their own mothers. They were all from farmer families so these would be marriages made in heaven from Maaike’s point of view. She made no attempt to take over planning as some mother’s do but respected her future daughter in laws wishes and was willing to work with them on preparations letting them take the lead. Eileen’s mother tried to impose her thinking on how the wedding should be conducted but Eileen gently put her in her place, and she fell into line with the rest as they planned the weddings together.

Both Eileen and Beth had agreed with the cooperative management to continue in their jobs for a brief time after their respective honeymoons training people to take their place. This required them to commute daily to town and back.

Things did get a bit crowded in the home they commonly occupied and this created tensions initially as each sought their own privacy. Arnold solved the problem by purchasing two demountable buildings and placing them on the property where they could hook into electricity the water supply and sewerage system. It was difficult getting building permissions from the regional council, but they were helped along with council regulations from cooperative store administrators who served on the regional council. The demountable buildings were quite spacious, and Liam and Noah were happy to claim them as they could come and go from town without disturbing anyone in the home. Considerable work was done on the large ancestral home dividing the upstairs into two separate apartments which Arnold and Eduard occupied with their wives. Eduard was committed to remaining on the property and formal documents were signed through a lawyer protecting each of Arnold’s and Eduard’s interests. Perhaps as each produced children there would be a future parting of the ways.

A spacious granny flat was created for Maaike under the main home where vehicles had been parked in the past with spare bedrooms so Evi could come and go as she pleased as she commenced her nursing training. It would be difficult for Maaike to climb those stairs as she aged so it was thought best to locate her on ground level and the women upstairs could keep an eye on her needs and comfort. Maaike was delighted with the whole reorganization and from her front room plate glass windows she could still look out over her beloved farmlands she and her husband had worked during their productive life together.

After considerable debate at political levels, it was decided to clear timbers on the lower reaches of the mountains surrounding this district to provide further fire breaks to protect town and rural properties situated at the foot of the mountain ranges. This would give some further confidence to property owners to invest in rural production and minimize future losses.

Eduard who was the driving force behind water supply and electrical support over the years ahead improved storage facilities underground as the fire that had taken their father’s life had almost depleted the water supply in underground tanks and drawn down their deep well’s capacity to keep up with the supply. Arnold who developed into a gifted administrator sent the family fortunes higher as the years went by and began to buy up rural properties between them and town to expand their interests and perhaps give Eduard a property of his own in future. Liam and Noah were interested in going into business in the electrical and refrigeration trade in town eventually and their elder brothers encouraged them to do that. They were committed to helping with property needs in an emergency. Evi was into her hospital training by this time and only visiting the property when she could get time off.

Arnold learned both Eileen and Beth were expecting their first children and was excited at the anticipation of holding his first child and nurturing them as they grew. Eileen wanted five children, and he reflected that his father and mother had produced that same number over the years. He was so proud of his siblings and their accomplishments and looked forward to seeing his own sons and daughters grow to continue the Berg name too.

The meetings of the clan during his father’s time had now fallen away. His uncles and aunts were now aging, and his cousins were now scattered around the nation following their own trades and professions. Some had even ventured overseas to work and lost contact. But he still had his siblings and their families as they married and looked forward to reviving the practice of their annual meetings. As he stood looking over the Berg property he reflected on those times when his father and mother would stand side by side doing the same thing as they surveyed the land, they’d worked so hard to develop together. Now it was up to him as head of the family to see that prosperity continued for the family.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked around to see Eileen join him to survey the property. She put her arm around him, something his mother would never have done as they thought it unseemly to parade their love in front of everyone, but Arnold felt quite differently. He wanted people to know this was his woman and placed his arm around her too. He glanced down at her baby bump now quite prominent and bent down to kiss that bump while Eileen looked on happily. This was her man, and she would be by his side to share whatever was to befall them together.

They heard a voice behind them and looked around to see Beth and Eduard coming to join them on the veranda. It was Beth speaking.

“Eduard, I think you should take Arnold’s example and give our baby some encouragement.”

She indicated her own baby bump and pointed to his lips. Eduard laughed sheepishly and bent down to follow her instructions. Then they all stood silently looking out over the property their children would play and work on in future with more safeguards in place now as they remembered that traumatic time fire exploded on the mountains and engulfed their property.

No matter the future the Berg family would survive whatever was ahead together.

Conclusion.

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