Morning Comes Early
June 21st, 1984
Dan lifted the last load of wood from his chopping block over to the neatly stacked pile near the back of Mr. Maypenny's cabin. With a sigh, he ran his arm across his forehead, wiping off the sweat that glistened there. He looked back behind him, making sure he hadn't dropped any pieces, when he noticed a glint of gold.
With a slight frown, he walked over and crouched down, grabbing the object from the ground. A low whistle escaped his lips. It wasn't every day that you found one of those lying under a wood pile.
Dan spun the band of gold around in the palm of his hand. It was solid and heavy, and caked with dirt. He pulled his shirt loose from his jeans, and used the tail to clean the ring. Within seconds, the ring was shining in the fading late June sun. Dan peered at the inside of the band. Etched inside were the initials T& D and the word Eternity. Dan chewed on his lower lip and twirled the ring onto his finger. A wedding ring. A man’s wedding ring, and an engraved one at that. He couldn’t imagine what it was doing buried in the dirt under a wood block. He glanced toward the cabin. Mr. Maypenny was inside making dinner. Dan removed the ring and put it into his jeans pocket. Maybe Mr. Maypenny could shed some light on the mysterious ring. Dan shook his dark head and laughed at himself, “Jeeps,” he thought. “I think I’m spending too much time around Trixie. I’m starting to find mysteries in my own backyard.” Chuckling, he headed towards the cabin.
As he entered through the back door, Dan’s senses were pleasantly assaulted by the delicious smells of fried chicken and cornbread. While Mr. Maypenny was well known for his hunter’s stew and doughnuts, in Dan’s opinion, his fried chicken was second only to that of Mrs. Belden. Removing his work boots, Dan washed up in the mud room sink and entered the kitchen. Automatically, he reached for cups, plates and silverware, and moved to set the kitchen table.
“Smells great.” He remarked.
“Tastes good too, young ‘un,” Mr. Maypenny replied. “Be ready in a minute. Got a pan of gingerbread for dessert. Did you get the wood put up all right?”
Dan groaned in mock horror. “Barely. But I can honestly say there isn’t an inch of space left in the woodshed.”
Mr. Maypenny chuckled as he set food on the table and took his seat across from Dan. “You’ll be glad of that wood in a few months when the snow begins to fall. And I’m grateful you got the job done before you leave for that camp job of yours. Eat up now, I know all that chopping takes a lot of energy.”
Dan helped himself to generous amounts of crispy fried chicken, freshly baked cornbread, early carrots, and mashed sweet potatoes. “I can’t believe we leave in less than a week,” he said between mouthfuls. “I really didn’t think I’d get to go.”
Mr. Maypenny responded seriously. “You deserve to go, lad. You’ve made great strides here, and everyone deserves a second chance. I think that judge has been too restrictive with you.”
Dan shook his head. “I don’t know. There were things I did...anyway, I’m just glad to get the chance.”
Dan had been surprised to learn he had been recommended by Sergeant Molinson for a counseling position at a camp designed for boys on the road to ruin. Nature Trek catered to boys between 8 and 12, many victims of abuse, some who already had had brushes with the law. Providing outdoor education, cooperative and integrated lodging, and counseling, the camp was located in Eastern Washington State. The fact that the camp was well out of Dan’s allowed probation area had caused him to hesitate before applying, but prompted by the sergeant, and his friend Jim Frayne, he had sent his application to the camp. Then he had applied to his probation officer, his social worker, and the judge who had imposed his sentence. To his surprise, he had been granted a waiver from the court three days before being accepted by Nature Trek. Jim too, had been asked to be a counselor, and Dan suspected that Matthew Wheeler had exerted some of his well-known influence to free up his son’s friend.
Despite his suspicion that Jim was going as his chaperone, and the tinge of annoyance at always being supervised, Dan was willing to set his irritation aside and take the opportunity before him.
Looking up from his food, he grinned and said, “I guess I’d better eat as much of your good food as I can. I have a feeling that six weeks of camp chow are going to be a big let down.”
Mr. Maypenny chuckled at the compliment, and they finished their meal in silence.
With their hunger sated, Dan cleared the table while Mr. Maypenny brought out warm gingerbread and vanilla ice cream. As he dug into his dessert, Dan remembered the ring in his pocket.
“I almost forgot,” he said, setting down his spoon. “I found buried treasure under the chopping block.” He pulled the ring out and set it on the table. He was not prepared for Mr. Maypenny’s reaction.
The older man’s face went nearly white, and he seemed to struggle to breathe. Tears welled up in his eyes, and choked his voice as he said, “I haven’t seen that in thirty years.”
“Mr. Maypenny?” Dan rose to his feet. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. This is just a little bit of a shock.” Maypenny reached across the table and touched the ring. “I never expected to see this again.”
“Is it yours?” Dan asked.
Mr. Maypenny nodded. “Yes. On the inside it says T & D Eternity, right?”
Dan nodded. “Yeah. What does that stand for?”
“Thomas and Damaris, Together for all Eternity.” Mr. Maypenny brushed his hand across his eyes. “My Christian name is Thomas. Damaris was my wife. Eternity ended much to soon.”
He pushed back his chair and picked up the ring. “Please excuse me Daniel, I need to be alone.” He turned and walked out the door, leaving Dan with more questions than answers.
It was near midnight before Thomas Maypenny returned to his house. Dan, curled up on the sofa with a book, simply looked up at the older man.
“You should be in bed, lad,” Maypenny said gruffly. “Morning comes early around here.”
Dan smiled at the familiar words. “I think you’ve told me that at least three times a week since I’ve been here.”
Maypenny’s expression lightened a bit. “Its no less true than it was the first time now, is it?” He inquired.
“No sir,” Dan replied. He hesitated before speaking. “You’ve also told me that talking about a problem is the best way to work through it. You tell me all the time that a burden shared is a burden halved. Right?”
“Aye.” Maypenny sat in his chair, facing the cold fireplace. “I suppose I have said that a time or two. Should have known it would come back to bite me.”
Dan bit his lip. “It’s okay,” he said. “It probably isn’t any of my business. I just thought...” his voice trailed off.
“Daniel.” Maypenny spoke gently. “I lived alone for a long time before you arrived. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you; I’m just out of practice. You found the ring. You deserve to know the story behind it. It is a hard tale for me to tell, but if you’ll bear with me, I’d like to share it with you.”
Dan nodded. “I’d like to hear it, if you’re sure.”
Maypenny gave him a sad smile. “I grew up in this cabin with my parents and my older brother, Stephen. I went to school in that little schoolhouse in the woods, and I never really wanted to travel anywhere. My brother did. He left when I was twelve, and never really came home again.”
“When I was eighteen I met the most beautiful girl in the world. Damaris Hastings was her name. Fifteen, with dark curls and eyes the color of the summer sky, and when she laughed I felt like my heart was melting in my chest. I loved her from the first.”
Maypenny closed his eyes. Dan wondered for a moment if the story was over, but after a few deep breaths, the old man continued,
“Her parents owned a large section of land down near the river, with a huge house. They had plans for their daughter, and they weren’t too pleased when she brought home a backwoods nobody like me. But Damaris, Lord that girl was stubborn. She set her mind on me, and she waited them out. They sent her away to school, she ran away; they tried to send her to her aunt in Pennsylvania, she dug in her heels and refused to budge.”
Maypenny grinned at the memory and continued. “She sat in that house and refused to cooperate. The day she turned eighteen, she very calmly told her parents that she was marrying me and they could be happy or be gone from her life. She was their only child, so they gave in.”
“She sounds like a spitfire,” Dan said. “She must have loved you a lot.”
“Indeed, my boy. Love, we had a lot of. We were married the next year at the little stone church in town, and we took the train to Niagara Falls for our honeymoon. When we returned home, we moved into the house her parents had had built for us on the edge of their property. I went to work for the Spencer and Frayne families. I took care of their gardens and whatnot. It wasn’t much money, but it was enough to keep us from being dependent on her parents. We were very happy, and then God blessed us with a son.”
Maypenny looked directly at Dan, his eyes dark with the memory. “We named him Jacob. I didn’t think life could get any better.” He looked away, silent.
“Sir?” Dan asked hesitantly. “I though you didn’t have any relatives except your nephew, David?”
Maypenny nodded. “We had just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. Jacob was nearly five, and such a bouncing ball of energy. Damaris was about six months along with our second baby. She would get tired in the early afternoon, so she and Jacob would nap together.”
Tears began streaming down the old man’s wrinkled cheeks. He didn’t appear to notice.
“I was away all day, putting in the Frayne’s garden. Our house was full of modern things, with a gas stove, state of the art windows and electricity. The pilot light on the stove must have gone out. Damaris didn’t notice, or maybe Jacob was playing with the stove. He wasn’t supposed to, but that boy did love the knobs. I’ll never know. All I know is that when I got home...” Maypenny’s voice choked, but he continued, “...I thought they were still sleeping. They looked so peaceful, curled up on the bed. But when I went to wake them, I knew. They were gone.”
Dan felt warm tears trickling down his own face, and brushed them away. Reaching tentatively, he touched his guardian’s arm. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “That must have been horrible.”
“I was devastated,” Maypenny’s eyes hardened. “I did things that were not right.”
“What?” Dan asked.
“I burned down the house.” At Dan’s shocked expression,, Maypenny explained. “I was mad with grief. I blamed myself. I blamed the Hastings for building the house. Mostly, I blamed God for taking everything that I had loved. The house seemed to mock me. So one night, I removed everything that meant anything to me, and I set the damned thing afire.”
“Did it help?” Dan asked.
“No. Fortunately, my in-laws didn’t have me arrested. It was reported as an accident, and in those days no one investigated. The Hastings moved back to Pennsylvania--the memories were too much for them, too. I moved here. The cabin had been empty since my parents died. Stephen didn’t want to have anything to do with the place. He came to see me about a year after Damaris and Jacob died. We argued. He left. I never saw him again either. I spent nearly five years angry at the world. One night, I’d been drinking too much, and in a fit of rage I threw my ring away. I spent most of the next day trying to find it, but I couldn’t.”
“It was then I realized how far I had fallen. I wasn’t honoring the memories of my wife and children. I was wallowing in my self-pity. So I stopped. Stopped drinking. Stopped wallowing. Stopped raging. It was what Damaris would have wanted.”
Maypenny briefly grasped Dan’s hand. “I gave up the anger, but I stayed away from people. I became a recluse. I figured that if I didn’t allow people close to me...”
“Losing them couldn’t hurt you,” Dan finished softly. “I know what that feels like”.
“I suppose you do,” Maypenny smiled, folding his hands together. “I thought I was content in the shadows that made up my life. But then a couple of years ago two young spitfires showed up on my doorstep and nudged me back into the world.”
“The way I hear it,” Dan grinned. “Those two girls thought you were a crazy, bloodthirsty, unicycle riding poacher.”
“So I gather,” Maypenny chuckled. “But they also brought a little sunshine back into my life. And a little later, another friend showed up on my doorstep asking for my help.”
“My uncle?” Dan asked.
“Exactly. Poor boy needed to bring his nephew, his only family, here to live. Regan worried though, that he was too young to raise a teenager, especially one who was considered troubled. So I agreed to give the lad a home.”
“I’m glad you did,” Dan said. “If I haven’t said it, I am.”
“So am I, Daniel.” Maypenny rose from the chair and placed a hand on Dan’s shoulder. “I think that may have been the best decision I’d made in a good thirty years. You brought light back into my home: Into my life. And now you’ve found the best part of my past, and returned it to me. Thank you.”
Dan rose, unsure of what to say. He shrugged, and said, “I’d better get to bed. Morning comes early around here.”
Thomas Maypenny laughed. “Indeed it does Daniel, indeed it does.”
Three days later.
Dan zipped the last pocket of his duffel and set it next to the open door. He cast a glance at the clock on the wall, and tried to confirm the time by checking his watch. It had stopped. Dan flicked at it a couple of times, to no avail. Sighing, he unbuckled the timepiece and set it aside. Jim was due any minute, and the two of them would be off to the airport. Next stop, Yakima, WA.
“Daniel?” Mr. Maypenny called softly from the porch. “Step out a minute. I’d like to have a word.”
Dan steped out the screen door and sat down on the step next to the older man. “Sir?” he asked.
“I’ve been thinking,” Thomas Maypenny stroked his chin. “And I want to make a proposition to you. Just something I’ve been churning around. I’ve spoken to Regan, and I’d like you to think about it while you’re away.”
“What?” Dan asked tentatively. His heart sunk into his stomach. Was Mr. Maypenny going to ask him to leave the cabin? Did he think it was time to change the arrangement? If so, why hadn’t Regan mentioned anything when they had said their goodbyes the night before?
Maypenny continued. “I know there’s a lot more to your story than you’ve told anyone. I think I know you too well to believe the drivel that came up in court. You’re not the villain of your story, of that I’m durn sure.”
Dan looked away, unsure of what was coming.
“I don’t have much in the way of family,” Maypenny said. “David has his own life, and he’s not interested in bringing it here. I’m the last of the Sleepyside Maypennys, and I’m not getting any younger. So, I was wondering if you’d be interested in going the route that Wheeler went with young Jim?”
Startled, Dan met his eyes. “I...I don’t think I understand.”
“I’m asking you if you’d consider being adopted. By me.”
Dan just stared. This option hadn’t even been on his radar.
Maypenny misunderstood Dan’s silence. “I’m not asking you to give me an answer right now. I realize there are issues involved. You’re nearly grown; you have your own name, a history. I understand that. I just thought that it’s worked out rather nicely for the Wheeler family.”
“Yeah,” Dan couldn’t quite keep the snide tone out of his voice. “But they adopted an heir, not some worthless street punk.”
“Don’t you talk like that!” Maypenny let his own temper flare. “Don’t you dare! If I thought you were worthless, I wouldn’t make this offer. Don’t insult me like that. I had a son. Believe me, boy, I’d not make this offer to anyone else.”
Dan bowed his head, partly in shame, partly to hide the surge of tears. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I just never thought...”
“I know. I probably should have waited, but I thought you being away would give you a chance to look at the possibilities; weigh and measure them if you will.” Maypenny patted the boy’s shoulder. “You don’t have to say yes,” he said. “Our situation doesn’t change if you say no. You still have a home and a job. Here. With me.”
Dan nodded. “Okay.” He chewed on his lower lip, then asked, “Would you want me to change my name?”
The old man grinned. “That would be up to you. I’d like to see my name live on, but not at your expense. Jim kept his name, and that adoption still stands.”
“True,” Dan said thoughtfully his head in his hands. “But Mangan isn’t even really my name. My dad changed his name when he left Florida. And it’s not like I’ve brought glory to the name or anything.”
He heard the sound of a car turning off the road. Rubbing his head, he rose from the step. “That’s Jim,” he said. “I’ve got to go.” He turned and looked at Mr. Maypenny. “I’m...I...I don’t know what to say.”
“Think about it laddie,” Maypenny told him. “That’s all I’m asking.”
The sedan, driven by Tom Delanoy, pulled up in front of the cabin. Jim Frayne’s red head popped out the window.
“Ready Dan?” he called.
“Just let me get my gear.” Dan responded.
He turned back to the house and grabbed his duffle and backpack. Jim got out of the car to help, shaking Mr. Maypenny’s hand on his way. Leaving Jim to load the car, Dan turned again to his guardian.
“I’ll give it some thought,” he said. “Thanks. Um...I’ll miss you.”
“Ha!” Maypenny said with a smile, clapping Dan on the shoulder. “You’re just going to miss my cooking. You go boy, and you have a good time. Make us all proud. I’ll see you in August. Everything’ll still be here.”
Dan looked at him for a moment, then nodded. Suddenly he threw his arms around the old man and gave him a quick but thorough hug. “Bye,” he whispered.
As the car pulled back out toward the road, Dan shot a quick look back. Maypenny stood tall on the porch step, hand held high. Dan turned his attention back to Jim, who grinned and asked, “So. Should we get out the map and start planning some hikes?”
Dan nodded. “Live in the now,” he told himself. “Think about the future possibilities later.” He took one of the trail guides from Jim.
“I was looking at the Southwest trail out of the camp...”
