Though Waters Roar (51 page)
I thanked Grandma for forgiving me and went home so she could go to bed. I tried to sneak into the house and go upstairs to work on my lesson, but my father must have heard me because he came out to the hallway.
“Where have you been?” he asked.
I was about to give a sarcastic reply, asking the reason for his sudden concern for my welfare, but he broke into a smile.
“I’ve been waiting all evening to tell you the good news. Look, your mother sent us a telegram.” He waved a yellow paper in the air. “It says, ‘Tennessee voted to ratify. Suffrage amendment passed!’ ”
I could see that Father was proud of my mother, happy for her. He loved her. And maybe the fact that he could celebrate Mother’s victory meant that his attitude toward women was slowly beginning to change. Grandma was right; he was a good man at heart.
“That is good news,” I said.
“Yes . . . and perhaps Lucy will stay home from now on.” He didn’t add
where she belongs
, but I could tell that he was thinking it. I thought about all the changes he had endured since my mother became a suffragette, and I felt sorry for him. Sympathy was a tiny step toward forgiving him.
“Thanks for waiting up to tell me the news,” I said.
I went upstairs to my room and opened my Sunday school book to tomorrow’s lesson—and I laughed out loud at God’s timing. The lesson was on one of Jesus’ most famous parables. Two men decided to build houses, one on a rock, the other on sand. The storms came and the floodwaters rose—just like the great flood that had taken Grandpa Horatio’s life. The foolish man’s house, which must have been built in a place like The Flats, was demolished by the floodwaters. But the wise man’s house, built high on a ridge like the Garners’ home, was able to withstand the deluge.
This was the lesson that Grandma Bebe had been trying to teach me all along. It wasn’t enough to build my life on doing good deeds and heroic things such as helping Bertha and Lyle. I needed to get to know Jesus first, and obey His commands.
And I knew very well that one of those commands was to forgive my father the way God had forgiven me. I closed my eyes and prayed—a real prayer this time.
I had just finished dressing for Sunday school the next morning when I heard a knock on our front door. I sprinted down the stairs and opened it to find Tommy O’Reilly on my doorstep. I was surprisingly happy to see him. And judging by the grin on his face, he was happy to see me, too.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you’ve come with leg irons to haul me back to jail?”
“Not at all. I’m supposed to be watching you so you don’t flee to Canada, remember?”
“Well, you’re just in time to help me repair my still. I’m turning grain alcohol into gin down in the basement.”
“Very funny.”
“How did it go last night?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe.
“The federal agents were quite impressed. The warehouse you led us to was a speakeasy, and we found a lot of valuable evidence inside. We uncovered a large rum-running operation, involving people in several communities. Yes, I would say it went very well.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Tommy had an incredible smile.
“Now, if you’re really intent on watching my every move,” I told him, “I’m on my way to church to teach my Sunday school class.”
Tommy hesitated, ducking his head as a shy grin spread across his face. “Listen, Harriet. May I come with you as a friend and not as your jailer? I would really like to be . . . um . . . friends.”
Now it was my turn to hesitate. I knew I had foresworn love and marriage and all the rest, but Tommy O’Reilly had changed a lot in the past few years. And my attitude toward him had changed, as well.
“I would like to be friends, too,” I finally said.
I could almost hear the roar of a waterfall in the distance and Grandma Bebe laughing as she said,
“We shall see, Harriet, my dear.
We shall see.”
1. Throughout the novel, Harriet is trying to answer the question, “How did I end up here in jail?” What insights does she gain from recalling Great-Grandma Hannah’s story? Grandma Bebe’s story? Her mother Lucy’s story? How does she ultimately answer the question?
2. What strengths did each of the four women—Hannah, Bebe, Lucy, and Harriet—possess? What were each woman’s weaknesses?
3. Which woman did you identify with the most? Why?
4. Hannah tells Bebe, “ ‘Smooth seas don’t produce skillful sailors.’ . . . God uses the turbulent times in our lives to prepare us for His purposes—if we’ll let Him.” What were some of the rough waters in each woman’s life that led them closer to God?
5. After the episode with the bounty hunters, Hannah tells Bebe, “Someday . . . God is going to give you a task to do in your own time and place. Then you’ll have to put your faith in Him as you follow your conscience.” What tasks did each woman feel God was giving her to do? How did the circumstances in her life lead her to this task?
6. Near the end of the book, Grandma Bebe tells Harriet, “Our short time here on earth isn’t about what we accomplish, but about what sort of people we become.” What are your thoughts regarding her comments? What other insights did Bebe share with Harriet regarding each Christian’s task?
7. Grandma Bebe is born on the same day, month, and year that the first Women’s Rights Convention was held. The story ends with the news that the suffrage amendment has passed. How did each woman’s “cause” contribute to its passage: Hannah and the Anti-Slavery Society? Bebe and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union? Lucy and her women’s club? Harriet’s job and the need for workers during World War I?
8. What was your reaction when Harriet’s father “fired” her from her job in the department store? How would you have reacted in that situation? As a young woman living in 1919, what recourse did she have to fight his decision? What other instances of discrimination against women did you see in the story?
9. What was the prevailing attitude toward women and their roles in each generation throughout the book? Did you see a change in any of these attitudes? If so, what caused it?
10. What qualities did each woman see in the man she married: Hannah and Henry? Bebe and Horatio? Lucy and John? What qualities do you think Harriet and Tommy are beginning to see in each other? Do you think Bebe should have married Neal MacLeod? Should Lucy have married Daniel Carver? Why or why not?
11. What do you think the next chapter in Harriet’s life will be?