The rain pounded the pavement, rushing to the drains where it could. Marcy pulled her raincoat up against her neck to shield herself from the downpour. A quick glance at her watch told her she had five minutes to get to class. She paused at the edge of the sidewalk to avoid the approaching car speeding along the road. At the entrance to Shattuck Hall, Marcy met Claire shaking off her umbrella.
“Lovely morning we’re having,” Marcy remarked reaching for the door.
“Nothing like November weather to appreciate going home for Thanksgiving,” Claire answered following Marcy into the building.
“Just one more week until break. Are you going home or staying with your Aunt?”
“Home sweet home, this time. I love my Aunt, but Wilbraham isn’t New York. Plus, Charlie will be home from Dartmouth and Rob is on leave. What are you doing?”
“Home for the holiday, and then to Boston to meet Ewan’s parents for the weekend.”
“Not terrible. Here we go, a thrilling lecture on Italian Renaissance Art. How many altar pieces today?”
“Ten, minimum.”
Claire and Marcy found a pair of seats in the back of the lecture hall just in time for the lights to dim and Professor Starr to project the first slide of Mosaccio’s Holy Trinity.
An hour later, 50 women emerged from lecture hall, readjusting their eyes to the lit hallways. Marcy and Claire made their way through the hallways, filled with students reluctant to exit the warmth and dry conditions of the building for the downpour occurring outside. Accepting the fate that their next class was in the art building, they tugged on their raingear to face the elements. The temperature seemed to have dropped significantly since first leaving her dorm earlier, and Marcy regretted not wearing thicker tights. She picked up the pace to reach refuge in the art building. Claire sensing the urgency, trotted along beside her, content to be dry and warm sooner.
Early for their 9:30 class, Marcy and Claire joined their classmates by the radiator, adorned with soaking mittens, hats, and scarves. The topic by the radiator was of the upcoming Thanksgiving break and the locations of departure for the holiday. New York city, Boston, Concord, Hartford, Portland, Brattleboro, and Nova Scotia were the most exciting places named for the holiday. Their classroom door opened up and the waiting students filtered into the art studio, dispersing to their cubbies for works in progress. Miss Bauer, the teacher, had added extra lamps around the studio, providing extra warmth to the normally bare room. Claire and Marcy set up their easels next to each other, clipping their photographs to the top right hand corner of their canvases.
“So class, with less than a week until Thanksgiving break, and only two studio classes until that point, I would like you all to complete your paintings before you run off to enjoy home cooked food and long mornings. Most of you look ready to finish, so don’t be worried. I look forward to getting a closer look at your completed projects over the break. We will be starting with a new medium after you return from the break. Now, I will let you all get on with your work and find a record for today’s class, ” explained Ms. Bauer. She then wandered off to her office to locate suitable music for the class.
“I’m glad we’ll be starting on a new medium after the break. I’ve grown bored with this project, I feel we’ve been painting these National Geographic photos for ages,” Marcy remarked, watching Ms. Bauer float around the studio, exotic jewelry announcing her movements.
“Me as well, I don’t know how much longer I can look at this white rhino photo. I mean are they REALLY white, or is that just a loose term, ” Claire responded.
“Beats me, I only had a semester of biology and we learned about plants for the most part.”
“I know, I’m an art history major, but I sometimes wish I had taken a few more science classes, just to understand what is going on in the news today. DNA is all over the news these days. And there is some controversy about who actually found the structure.”
“Really? How so? I spend my days in the library reading about architecture of the past and completely uninformed of what is going on today.”
“Well, apparently a woman, Franklin, found some form of the structure in photos she took, and then these two men, Watson and Crick, are getting most of the credit, while their research is based upon her findings. Or something to that extent. Isn’t that great, a woman in science? Just think, one day this school could produce great scientists who go around finding important things.”
“Wow, that is incredible. Well I’m sure Mount Holyoke is jumping on the Women in Science wagon and already has plans for a new biology building. That’s great, I’m sure Katie would love to study biology, all she wants to do is be a veterinarian.”
“Ladies, while I’m sure your topic of DNA would be welcome in the biology lab, here you have some work to do. I don’t mind you chatting as long as you finish your projects before Thanksgiving break. And from the looks of it Miss Preston, you have quite a bit to do on your rhino, ” cut in Miss Bauer.
“Yes, Miss Bauer. I was just providing the great news of women in science today, ” Claire replied. With that Marcy and Claire returned to their paintings for the remainder of the class listening to Bud Powell on the record player.
Claire and Marcy joined their dorm mates in Pearson’s Hall for lunch, all discussing the torrential downpour, wondering if it would ever let up in the afternoon for P.E. classes. They speculated the possibility of freezing rain, if the evenings continued on these near freezing temperatures. The thought of the damp and cold made Marcy tug her sweater sleeves down to her wrists. Claire and Marcy planned to spend the free hours after lunch in the library working on their French and Italian essays, respectively.
Sitting in the great hall of the library, Marcy situated herself underneath one of the stained glass windows near a radiator. The language dictionaries and rough drafts formed an arch around her. Claire seated nearby was mouthing the words of her French essay to herself, scratching out and replacing words as she went along. The library echoed with papers being shuffled, book trolleys being pushed, the tap tap of the librarians typewriter, and the occasional sneeze. The rain whipped against the stained glass, threatening to break in and wilt the delicate books into pulp.
Ruth, Marcy’s roommate, shook off the layer of ice which had adhered itself to her rubber boots. Her hair glittered with icicles, melting from the heat. Hanging her coat up to dry, Ruth announced, “Well the rain has started to freeze and it’s now flurries. Winter is officially here. Time to break out the wool socks and tights.”
“Oh it really isn’t snowing, is it,” responded Marcy lifting the curtain to peek outside. Seeing the snowflakes float past the window, toward the ground, she pulled her sweater tighter around her, as if to prevent the snow flakes from stealing her warmth. “Maybe they’ll cancel class tomorrow, if this continues,” she added. “I would love that, but just in case I am still doing all my work, so if we are lucky enough to have class cancelled tomorrow, I can enjoy the freedom,” Ruth answered pulling her English books from her bag. Marcy turned back to her art history notes and book, trying to recognize the difference between Bellini and Caravaggio.
Half an hour later, Georgina knocked on the door looking for Marcy. “Phone call for you Marcy,” she said poking her head in the room. Marcy slipped out from her desk to follow Georgina back down to the common area, where the dorm phones were located. Claire was curled on one chair wrapped in a blanket, no doubt on the phone with Charlie in their usual evening phone call. Finding an empty chair in the corner, Marcy sat down.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me,” Ewan’s familiar voice said.
“Hi! How are you? I can’t believe this snow. Do you think they’ll cancel classes tomorrow?”
“I’m good, how are you? I don’t know, the coaches were talking about it at practice today. If it continues to snow like this, I doubt we’ll have the game against Williams tomorrow night.”
“I’m well, just studying and being distracted by the falling snow. It always seems new to me. How was practice? It would be nice to have a snow day tomorrow, it will be like being back at school.”
“ That would be fun. I know I could use some extra sleep tomorrow. Say if we don’t have class tomorrow and it clears, I’ll take the bus over and we can have an adventure in the snow. If you provide hot chocolate, I’ll bring Judy’s donuts.”
“Sounds like a deal to me. You won’t have hockey practice tomorrow even without class?”
“Probably not, coach lives up in Montague, I doubt he’ll be able to get in, especially it this keeps up.”
“Great, I can’t wait. Definitely something to make me get all my work done tonight. Speaking of which I should probably get back to it soon.”
“Alright, yeah I should crack onto some work, can’t procrastinate much longer I guess. I just wanted to say hi and hope you had a good day. Also everything is set for next week with my parents. I told them you would take the bus to Boston on Saturday morning and I’ll meet you there.”
“Yes, that sounds great. I’m a little nervous about seeing them again, but I’m sure it will be fine. I am really ready for this break to arrive. Hopefully we will have a snow day tomorrow and we can relax for a bit.”
“I feel the same way, but I hope we can see each other tomorrow either way. Find an adventure somewhere, stay warm. Maybe find some quiet time before the hectic holiday season begins. My house will be a madhouse, just as a warning. Nancy and Phil will be there with the twins, and Kathleen will be home from Bates. Plus my mother’s parents will be staying as well.”
“Okay, no pressure or anything, ha. Alright I really ought to get this work done so that we can see each other tomorrow.”
“Good call, good night. I love you.”
“Love you too, good night.”
With a click the phone call ended and Marcy got up to stretch her legs. As she walked out of the common room, she saw Claire still curled up in the chair on the phone. A nod of acknowledgement as she passed her. When Marcy returned to her room, she found Ruth curled under her blankets sipping a mug of hot chocolate, the steam disappearing into the chilly air. Knowing she would most likely fall asleep if she used a similar solution to keep warm, Marcy located her extra quilt to wrap around herself as she sat at her desk. Back to pictures and notes of baby Jesus surrounded by golden framing.
The loud ringing of the alarm rocked Marcy out of her deep sleep. Reluctant to remove the downy duvet, Marcy pulled it further over her head for a quick snooze. She woke later than she had planned to Ruth jumping up and down in front of the window. “SNOW! Look at all the snow! It’s all covered, it’s so beautiful,” Ruth exclaimed. “Huh,” Marcy responded drowsily. “Come look. There is no way we will have class today, ” Ruth replied. Marcy extricated herself from under her warm covers, slipping her feet into the protection of slippers against the cold wooden floor, shimmying up next to Ruth to get a closer look out the window. A white blanket as far as her eyes could see. Someone had taken a mold and made snow cars lined up on the street outside. Clumps of snow drifted from the trees toward the ground. Whirlwinds of snow drifted along the sidewalks while singular flakes fell toward the ground in front of faces pressed to the glass.
Rustling and giggles of delight could be heard throughout the dorm as people woke from their sleep to find the entire world outside blanketed in snow. Friends alerting those who had been slow to wake and rumors of an official snow day began to circulate. Marcy pulled on a sweater to wander down to the front desk and find the official word on the day’s status. She was not the only one to want to know the truth behind the rumors, as she walked down the steps a large crowd had formed around the dorm-mother’s desk. Chatter filled the foyer as the women waited impatiently for the announcement. Finally, after what seemed for be too long, Mrs. McDougall emerged from her apartment with a note in hand. The crowd parted like the Red Sea to allow Mrs. McDougall to the front desk. She was bombarded with questions regarding classes and the day’s events, refusing to answer any questions until she read her announcement.
“Ladies, I have an announcement regarding the snow and classes from the President,” she rang out.
Silence moved across the crowd, all ears were intent on knowing.
“Friday, November 18th 1955, all classes will be cancelled for the entire day due to the heavy snow fall. The dinning halls will be open for regular meal times and hot drinks will be available throughout the day at the following locations: Pearsons Hall, Mary Lyon Hall, and Skinner Hall. Snowshoes and cross-country skis are available at Blanchard Gymnasium. Enjoy the three-day weekend; classes will resume to regular schedule on Monday, November 21. President Ham.”
A cheer of excitement rose from everyone in the hall, followed by clapping and the immediate ideas for ways to spend the free day. “Well, ladies enjoy the free day, keep warm and come in if you get too cold and wet. Breakfast will start as usual in about twenty minutes,” Mrs. McDougall replied, posting the note to the bulletin board for all to see. Marcy ran back up to her room to give Ruth the great news, finding Ruth already wrapped up in her winter clothes ready to explore. Marcy laughed at the sight of her roommate the size of a marshmallow trying to walk around. Marcy wasn’t quite ready to embrace the chilly winds of November, and planned a leisurely morning of warm breakfast and a book, at least until the roads were clear enough for the buses to start running.
Claire came rushing into the room full of energy. “Did you hear the news? Isn’t it fantastic! An entire day to play in the snow and relax and drink hot chocolate.”
“I did indeed hear the news, I think I’ll keep warm inside for a bit,” Marcy responded smiling at her friend’s obvious merriment. They headed down to the dinning hall to enjoy the comfort and good spirits filling the dorm. The talk at the table was about all the options for the day: sleep, read anything non academically related, snowshoeing, finding trays to sled down the hill with, and endless games of mahjong. Marcy was looking forward to an adventure with Ewan, hopefully off campus. Nothing like a snow day to give one cabin fever, she thought listening to all the proposed ideas.
Walking back to her room, Marcy figured Ewan had slept in late enough and would give him a call.
“Hello, ” a scruffy Ewan managed at the other end.
“Hi, it’s me. Sleep in late enough?”
“Just five more minutes, please! So I take it since you are calling me at this hour you aren’t in class either.”
“Exactly my dear Watson. So what kind of adventure are we planning? I’m antsy to get out of the dorm. The mahjong is already on the tables. Come save me!”
“Hahaha, alright not to worry I’m just going to attempt to get some pastries, and the buses start running in about an hour. Can you arrange some snowshoes?”
“Sure, peculiar request, but not a problem. Should I bring a thermos too?”
“Yes, good idea, and lots of warm clothes. Sorry to rush, but I need to get going to get to you as soon as I can. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
“Great, can’t wait.”
Marcy wandered to Claire’s room in a daze, asking herself: where were they going, what was this adventure that required snowshoes and a thermos. Surely not a snow picnic, she thought. She had walked past the open door to Claire’s room and only knocked out of her trance like state, when Claire poked her head out the door to ask Marcy where she was headed. Sitting in the lounge chair, Marcy recounted her perplexing conversation with Ewan to Claire. Claire, equally baffled by the request, was stumped for advice. Claire could only offer to aid Marcy in securing snowshoes and a thermos for the adventure.
The bus pulled up to the stop just in front of Pearsons Hall, and Ewan was the only passenger to disembark, leaving only the bus driver behind. Shaking his head at Ewan as he stood in the knee-deep snow, the bus driver pulled the door shut and drove off. Ewan managed to make his way through the snow to the main entrance to Pearsons Hall, his snow-dusted trousers becoming damp from the melting snow as he entered the warm building. He found Toni, the student on duty for the front desk, and announced his arrival. Marcy made her way down the stairs tugging on her winter coat, picking up the snowshoes at the end of the stairs as she walked toward her boyfriend. A quick kiss on the lips, as she weaved her arm into his hooked arm. “So where are we heading,” she asked blinking her eyes. “Well there is a bus that is heading toward Northampton in 15 minutes and I thought we could catch that for now, the rest is an adventure,” Ewan answered. “But I thought we needed snowshoes. The streets of Northampton would surely be cleared by now,” she replied as they walked out the front door, snowshoes in hand.
After 15 minutes on a slippery bus ride along the hilly road linking South Hadley and Hadley, Ewan indicated their departure in the middle of a field, with just a dirt road leading up to Mount Holyoke, the damaged Summit House impossible to spot in its white surroundings. Marcy looked up trying to spot the top in the mid-day sun, which had finally made its way out. Fond memories of past Mountain Days and hiking up the mountain in the summer with Ewan came back to Marcy as she looked around. The place where they met, Marcy hiking with her friends on a free afternoon in their second year, while Ewan was evading physics at Amherst to breathe in the crisp autumn air. His gregarious personality and clear interest in a group of three unaccompanied women.
A snowball grazing her arm brought Marcy back to the current time and Ewan already racing through the powdery snow. Quickly pulling together artillery, Marcy snuck up on Ewan, pounding his back with snowball after snowball. A return fire from Ewan lead to Marcy side tackling him, a trick she learned from two older brothers. Her agility and sneaky tackles always took Ewan by surprise. The pair slowly made their way up the road leading around the mountain. Their snowshoes threw a dust of white powder in their wake. Despite the cold temperatures, their steady movement kept them warm, only chilled on their exposed noses.
Reaching the summit, made them feel as though they were Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay at the top of Mount Everest. The sunshine lit up the valley below as they looked across the snow-covered landscape. The snaking Connecticut River cut through the mountains and hills of the Pioneer Valley. Smoke rose from chimneys all around them, heating the occupants. A light wind blew across the mountaintops, scattering dustings of snow like fairy dust. Marcy and Ewan made their way up the rotting steps of the Summit house. The windows were boarded up years ago and the state had ignored requests for funds to refurbish the deteriorating house. While this was true for the upper part of the house, the covered balcony was still holding strong and had limited the amount of snow that had landed on the balcony.
Ewan found a clear spot in the northwest corner of the building. Drifts of snow hung over the covering. Snow peaked tops as far as the eye could see past Northampton, the University of Massachusetts, past Deerfield, and into Vermont. Ewan was thankful the sun had finally peeked out behind the snowy clouds and was illuminating the valley. He was also relieved to see they were the only ones at the Summit House to enjoy the view and calm.
Marcy removed her snowshoes as she sat down next to Ewan, releasing a sigh of relief. The warm aroma of melted chocolate emanated from the thermos as Marcy poured herself a mug. After some well deserved pastries and hot chocolate, they huddled together to keep warm while enjoying the tranquil afternoon. Marcy always enjoyed coming here on quiet days. Having the summit to themselves, made her nostalgic for all the hiking she had accomplished in her three and a half years at Mount Holyoke. She could see most of the peaks she had climbed from where she was sitting, all of them done with Ewan at various times in their relationship. They had always managed to find time for Summit house at least once a semester. “I wish we didn’t have to go back down,” Ewan said breaking the quiet. “Me too. I just know the dorm will be a hubbub of people who stayed inside all day, having cabin fever, ” responded Marcy.
“It is so calm up here, it is so much easier to think without people shouting and slamming doors.”
“Oh yes, the library is usually a pretty calm place to work, but not really think. I get distracted and daydream what is going on around me.”
“Hahaha, you would do that.”
“Oh thanks, ” Marcy said giving Ewan a small shove.
“And I love you because of it. You bring all the creative juice to this relationship.”
“You do as well. You thought of this adventure and I just supplied the goods,” lifting the thermos of hot chocolate.
“Luckily we are both outdoor people and willing to put in a little physical effort. I don’t think I know anyone else who would have gone snowshoeing up a mountain on a day off.”
“Me either and I am so glad we did.”
“So...uhm… I was…uhm…gonna…”
“Yes,” Marcy prompted, unaccustomed to Ewan struggling for things to say.
“I.. ah…I should start over.”
“Okay…”
“I was going to wait until you came to visit in Boston, but I know how hectic it will be and this seems like a better time to ask. Marcy Harvey, will you do me the great honor of marrying me?”
“I…ahh…uhmm… wait what?”
“I believe I just asked you to marry me.”
“Oh right… yes… YES, of course.”
“Phew, thought you were going pass out there for a second.”
“It just took me a few minutes to process the words that had come out of your mouth. Hahahaha”
They embraced and enjoyed the tranquility for a few moments before Marcy brought up the subject of their parents. Ewan had already told his siblings that he would be asking her at Thanksgiving, and he would announce it to his parents and grandparents when Marcy came to visit them in Boston. Marcy debated whether to call her family after their return or wait until she went home next week for the holiday. When the hot chocolate ran out, they decided it was time to head back. They snow shoed down the mountain in tandem, embracing the remaining calm until they reached the road. After a few minutes of waiting for a bus and realizing if was probably not going to come, Marcy and Ewan walked along the road to McTully Farm. As they approached the farm, a truck was pulling out of the driveway, ready to plow again. Ewan ran toward the truck waiving his arms to grab the driver’s attention.
Having procured a ride toward South Hadley, the couple squeezed into the cab with the driver and his son. The melted snow and plowed roads made it a quick, smooth ride back to South Hadley. Thanking the driver for the ride, Ewan and Marcy hopped out of the cab in front of Marcy’s dorm. Music was flowing from an open window; two students were leaning out smoking a cigarette. The yellow squares were projected onto the snow, with shadow puppets moving across as students moved across the rooms inside the dorm. Knowing he couldn’t stay much longer, Ewan helped carry the snowshoes back to Blanchard Gymnasium with Marcy before catching a bus back to Amherst.
As Marcy walked back to her dorm, she felt elated with the thought of being engaged to Ewan. There was also a tinge of doubt, however; would she become just another Mount Holyoke student who spent four years working hard to then end up married and never using her degree? Her art classes and work at the museum had inspired Marcy last summer; she had already begun to look for museum curator positions. Would she be able to work at the museum and have a family with Ewan? She knew he would support her desire to work, but how long would that last? Would his co-workers convince him otherwise? His co-worker’s wives would no doubt shake their heads at her.
Claire arrived as Marcy was hanging up her wet clothing on the radiator. “So how was the adventure? Where did you go? Tell me the details, the day has been incredibly boring without you,” Claire asked, seating herself in the lounge chair. “Well, we ended up going up to Mt. Holyoke and the Summit house to escape for some peace and quiet. Annndddd…Ewanaskedmetomarryhim, ” Marcy replied quickly.
“Excuse me? Come again, marry?”
“Yes, we are engaged!”
“Oh my goodness, Marcy that is incredible! Congratulations. And you had no idea? Have you called your parents yet? When are you getting married? I am the maid of honor, obviously.”
“Hahahaha, slow down there, we just got engaged three hours ago. I have not called my parents; I will probably wait to tell them until when I am home. I am still trying to process this myself. And of course you are the maid of honor, that wasn’t even a question.”
“Hahahaha, this is delightful. I cannot wait to start planning this with you. Will you marry before graduation? Okay, too many questions. I am so excited for you though!”
“Great, you more than I.”
“Wait, why?”
“What if this means the end of working with art? I spent my entire summer at the museum learning all the restoring techniques, for what? So that I know them and will never get to use them because I’m stuck at home ironing my husband’s shirts, who I once loved dearly, but now resent.”
“Oh. Listen Marcy, Ewan has always been supportive of your non-traditional ways in the past. Why wouldn’t he support you now? He loves you for who you are and not what he wants you to be.”
“What if that changes? I mean if I wanted to teach or be a nurse it would be perfectly fine, but an art restorer is not something women do. I feel like I’m letting him lead by this and it just feels strange.”
“Marcy, I hate saying this, but it is true. Being an unmarried woman in the working world today exposes you to a lot of criticism and condemnation. We were lucky to study here, where being educated and pursuing your dreams is completely encouraged, but this is not the real world. You are so lucky, your mother has encouraged you to study whatever you wanted, and work during the summer in a field you want to eventually work in. Your fiancé is smart and loving and completely loves that you have your own separate goals that you actually work towards. He always has and will rally behind you when you want to challenge the system.”
“Yeah… I guess. I’m afraid of what people will say. I feel everyone will be so supportive of the marriage and not my desire to be at the museum.”
“Well you won’t know until that happens. You will always have support from here to be at the museum. Someone has to break the mold Marcy, and this time it is you.”
In 1985, the refurbishment of the Summit House was completed with the aide of state funds and local volunteers. The children of Marcy and Ewan Edwards took part in the rebuilding of the original structure by donating a bench for the Summit House, in honor of their parents engagement on the northwest corner of balcony.
No comments:
Post a Comment