Sign In Sign-Up

Welcome!

Close

Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...

Yes, Please make this my home page!

No Thanks

  Don't show this to me again.

Close

In the weeks that followed, Seamus was busier than he had ever been. Besides doing odd jobs around the church, he finished the ten coffins that he needed to remove the graves of the priests to the new cemetery. That job finished, he returned to the lumber store and ordered an enormous quantity of lumber.

"Don't tell me you're building more coffins, are you," the clerk wondered.

"Indeed I am," Seamus smiled. "Gotta do something to stay out of trouble you know!"

"Perhaps, but isn't there something less 'deadly' you can do?"

Seamus was not sure how to answer the clerk. He found it odd that the clerk would even be concerned about what he was going to do with the lumber. After all, the lumber store was going to make a handsome profit with his order so why was the clerk worried? Finally he looked the clerk straight in the eye and said,

"Well, you see, my father taught me how to be a carpenter and so this way I am doing something that I like to do."

Seamus thought that by saying he was doing something he liked would end the clerk's questioning, but it only seemed to increase the clerk's interest in Seamus' project.

"So, why don't you build chairs and tables and things like that? They're useful and coffins are just for dead people that don't care anymore. So just wrap them in a sheet and get rid of them."

To Seamus this seemed like a sacrilege. He thought back to his father's death and how he almost ended up as food for the creatures of the Irish Sea. Fortunately, he washed up on the beach in Cahirciveen and Mr. O'Connell was able to prepare his body for a decent Christian Burial. Sure, they had to wrap him in a sheet, but then he was put in a fine coffin. If Seamus had had the time, he would like to have built his father's coffin himself, but at least he was able to dig his grave and then to take care of it before he left for America. He knew that his father was with God in heaven, and somehow he thought that taking care of his father's dead body and his grave not only showed his respect and love for his father. It also said something about what he believed about how God was acting in all of this. Garbage was just that, garbage. You threw it out and that was the end of it. But to Seamus his father and now the dead priests and nuns were not garbage. They were part of God's creation and to him that meant special care must be taken for their bodies even after death.

Finally Seamus said,

"No, no, no! I can't take that. The priests were good men and now I am going to build coffins for the nuns at Saint Catherine's. I never knew them, but that is all right. They were teachers and tried to help people, so I am going to help them now. Ok?"

The clerk shook his head and said,

"Makes no sense to me, but if it makes you happy, I guess that's ok."

"Indeed it makes me happy. I just think that if you are going to do something there is only one way to do it and that is the best way possible. The new cemetery up there is going to look good above ground and I also want it to look good below ground. It will be perfect, that is my promise!"

When Seamus returned to Saint Dominic's he found Father Murphy and told about his conversation with the clerk at the lumber store.

"Well, it would seem that the poor clerk is missing out on something in life and death. You just keep doing what you're doing, that's all that is important here."

Seamus went off to the wood shop and began to plan what more he needed to build the coffins for the nuns up at Saint Catherine's. As he thought back to the twenty-one graves behind the convent building, Seamus could not help but think again of Kathleen O'Shaunessey. What a wonderful person she was. While he could not describe how he felt when he met her in the entryway of the convent, he did know that somehow he had to get back to Saint Catherine's and talk to her some more. "Oh, dear God, she was a wonderful person. Can you please make her like me too? I promise that I will be good."

Seamus was so distracted by his thoughts of Kathleen that he could not concentrate on his plans for the coffins. That would have to wait for another day. As he was looking at the leftover wood for the Fathers coffins he remembered that Father Murphy had said he could build a frame for the stone from Dromid Church back home, the stone that his friends had carved their names on to. He picked up some of the scrap wood and began to prepare it. However, he was still too distracted by thinking of Kathleen that he finally set it aside and decided that he was going to go up to Saint Catherine's and see if he could find Kathleen. He just had to talk to her.

AS he walked through the gates of Saint Catherine's he met two of the nuns who were heading down the stairs. He tipped his hat at them and said, "Good morning, Sisters!"

They nodded to him in unison and continued on their way while Seamus went and knocked on the main door. This time another young girl opened the door and Seamus looked at her in surprise,

"Oh, uh, I was looking for Kathleen O'Shaunessey, I mean, I need to see the Reverend Mother."

The girl smiled and said,

"Wait here and I'll get Mother Goemere for you and as for Kathleen, I don't know where she is, but..."

She smiled again and headed off to look for Mother Goemere. A minute later Mother Goemere came to the entry way and asked,

"What can I do for you, Mr. Gilchrist?"

Seamus bowed to Mother Goemere and said,

"Mother, I have ordered the wood for the coffins that will have to be built to move the graves of your nuns, but I came back to ask if I could again go up to the cemetery and check some things out and make some notes. If that is acceptable to you."

Mother Goemere looked into Seamus' eyes for a moment before she gave her permission. Adding,

"Let me find someone to take you to the cemetery"

Just then Kathleen herself came downstairs, acting as if she was headed somewhere else. Mother Goemere looked a little surprised to see her, but she smiled and said,

"Kathleen, my dear, will you please take Mr. Gilchrist here up to the cemetery? He needs to see the graves again."

Kathleen curtsied to Mother Goemere, "Yes, Mother."

As they headed out the door, Mother Goemere must have thought it odd that Kathleen happened to come by just at that moment. She certainly seemed pleased to see this young man again. She looked out the window in the front parlor and saw Seamus and Kathleen walking across the lawn. Just at that moment Seamus looked up to the window and saw Mother Goemere watching them. He tipped his hat to Mother Goemere and told Kathleen,

"Be careful, she's watching us in that window.

Kathleen smiled at him and said,

"You don't need to worry about her. She is really very kind."

"She looks pretty mean to me."

"No, really she is very nice. She just acts like she is so stern, but she is nice. Really."

"Kathleen, I was hoping that I could see you today and that is why I came here."

"What about the cemetery?"

Seamus waved her off and confessed that the cemetery was only an excuse to see her. Seamus was pleased that Kathleen just smiled at his confession. They walked a few more feet and finally Seamus asked her,

"Uh, where do you live, Kathleen, when you're not here?"

"Across the Strait in Crockett, My father works for the sugar factory there. Sometimes he gives the convent sugar."

Seamus was astonished at his incredible good luck.

"Crockett? I live in Port Costa!"

"Really, now?"

"When I came to America I was living with a friend named Paul Walsh who came there after his wife died. He died a few months ago and now I own his house. I work for the Fathers at Saint Dominic's and we are moving the cemetery to a new place on the hill up from the church."

"Are you now?"

For a moment Seamus did not know what to say to Kathleen. Finally he broke the silence and asked,

"What about the rest of your family? Do you have any brothers and sisters?"

"I have three sisters and one brother, but he is only three."

"Your mother, what does she do?"

"She's the housekeeper and cook for the doctor in Crockett. He's really very nice and he lets my mother bring John to the house when she comes to work."

"Oh, she's a cook. Is she a good cook?"

Kathleen assumed a playful, haughty looked and said,

"Only the best I would say!"

Seamus smiled remembering his going away dinner and how Brian McGinty had told him that he needed to find a wife that could cook Colcannon before he asked her to marry him.

"Does she ever make you Colcannon?"

"Only for special occasions, like when the relatives comes over."

"Hmmmmmmmm."

Seamus and Kathleen had been talking at the gate of the cemetery now for several minutes now. Worried that Mother Goemere would be watching them from the Convent, Seamus told Kathleen,

"We had better go inside so it looks like I really did come here on business. Maybe the Reverend Mother is watching us."

As she opened the gate she said, "In we go then!"

Seamus spent a few minutes looking at the graves and acted as if he was gathering important information. He was not paying attention to the fact that the walls of the cemetery were too high to allow Mother Goemere to be watching him from a distance. But that made no difference. He was with Kathleen and that made him feel happier than he had ever been. Finally he said to Kathleen,

"Kathleen, we'd better be getting back or else she's going to start fussing. I don't want to get into trouble or make trouble for you."

Kathleen assured him that everything was going to be all right and that he should not worry about Mother Goemere. As they walked across the lawn back to the front entrance of the convent, they made plans to meet again as soon as it was possible. Seamus waved his good-bye to Kathleen as she stood at the main door of the convent. Seamus jumped for joy as he waved again and again at Kathleen. When he was finally through the Convent gate he swung his hands at an invisible target and said,

"Damn I'm the luckiest person here in this place, for sure!"

Seamus was so excited about his second visit with Kathleen that he did not notice the black clouds that were coming across the hills from San Francisco. Just as he reached the Church, thunder and lightning disturbed his peace and the skies broke open. Rain poured down heavier than he had ever experienced it before. By the time he reached the wood shop he was soaked to the bone, so it seemed to him. It wasn't very warm inside, but he took off his jacket and hung it on a nail and began to build the frame for his friends' stone from Dromid Church. He was so taken with Kathleen that he worked, paying no attention to the time. When he finally heard Saint Dominic's bells ring calling the priests to Vespers, he realized that he only had twenty minutes to get to the docks for the last ferry back to Port Costa. Taking the frame he threw on his jacket which was still not dry, but it didn't make any difference to him. He was in love and that was to him all that mattered. The clothes would dry soon enough, but Kathleen, ah, Kathleen, she was something else for sure!

As he ran to Benicia's docks, he noticed, to his relief, that while it was still raining, at least it wasn't raining as hard. He barely made the last sailing for the day, and arriving at Port Costa's docks, he ran off the ferry and up the hill to his home. Changing into some dry clothes, he found his friends stone and the dirt from his father's grave. He sat down at the table and carefully, lovingly, put it all together. Since he did not have any wire to hang it on the wall, he put it on the mantle over the small fireplace.

"There, guys. This is perfect and this way I won't be able to forget you. And, Da, I hope you don't mind being with the rest of them. You know they were good, don't you?"

Seamus smiled at himself and took his rosary out of his pocket. He knelt down and began to say the five Joyful Mysteries. As he prayed the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the rest of them, he thought not only about Brian and Harry, Liam and Pat, but of his family too. He was so happy this day and he hoped that they were happy too. He wished that there was some way that he could talk to them right now and tell them about Kathleen and what a wonderful girl she was. He decided that when he finished the rosary he would write a letter home and tell them about Kathleen and the work that he was doing on the cemetery.

When he finished his prayers he found something to eat and then he got some paper and wrote to his family,

Seamus felt bad that it was only now that he thought about writing to Brian and Harry, Liam and Pat, but he hoped that they would not mind too much. He got another piece of paper and wrote,

Seamus reread both of his letters and, pleased with what he had written, decided that he would mail them the very next morning. Instead of going on the early ferry to Benicia, he would take the Noon ferry over to work. That would give him the time he needed to go to the Post Office and to buy some food at the store.

When he did arrive at Saint Dominic's that afternoon, Father Murphy seemed angry about something. Finally Father Murphy said,

"Seamus, I thought that you were coming here earlier today. We have a meeting at 2 O'clock with the people from the nursery to discuss the plans for the new cemetery and I want to make sure everything is ready. We can't be looking like a couple of fools."

"But, Father, I have all of my notes and plans for the cemetery in the wood shop. I measured all of the land up there and I know how much room we need for graves and everything so it's ok."

"Well, it better be. Go get your notes and we'll go there right now."

Seamus was very embarrassed and upset at himself. Father Murphy had always been so kind to him and he did not want him to be angry at him. When he returned with his notes he said to Father Murphy,

"Father, I'm sorry, I really am. I should have told you yesterday, but I wasn't thinking. You see, Father, when I went over to Saint Catherine's I met a girl when I asked for Mother Goemere and her name is Kathleen. I really liked talking to her and I hope that maybe someday I can meet her family. They live in Crockett."

"In Crockett? What is their name? I haven't been to Saint Rose's for awhile, but maybe I know them."

" O'Shaunessey, Father. Do you know her?"

" O'Shaunessey... O'Shaunessey? I think I know them. Does he work for the sugar factory or something like that?"

With great excitement Seamus said that Kathleen's father did indeed work for the sugar factory.

"Well, then, young man, you treat that girl with respect. I don't want to be hearing any stories about the two of you, do you understand?"

"Yes, Father, absolutely, Father. There will be nothing that I'll need to be going to Confession about, Father. Nothing!"

Father Murphy smiled and said nothing more. He was sure that Seamus would be honorable with this Kathleen. Maybe he would have made a good priest, he thought, but marriage was a sacrament too.

Once they arrived at the cemetery, Seamus explained his ideas to the nursery people. After asking some questions, they copied his plans and measurements and told Father Murphy that they would not only be able to find workers to prepare the grounds, but they would also make some suggestions for the plants that would adorn the new cemetery. They asked if they could meet with Father Murphy and Seamus in one week's time and by then everything would be ready.

When Seamus left for Port Costa that afternoon, Father Murphy, much to his relief, seemed to have forgotten that he had been late to work that day. Seamus resolved that this would be the last time that this would ever happen. From now on he would try to be on time.

That Sunday morning Seamus woke up early as he so often did. He was especially hungry that day, but he knew that he could not east until after Mass if he wanted to go to Holy Communion. To remove himself from temptation, he went for a walk until he heard Saint Patrick's bell calling the people to Mass.

When he heard the bell ring out across the town, he ran to Church and had the surprise of his life. Sitting there in the middle of the Church were Kathleen and her family. He sat in the pew behind them and when she sat down, he tapped her on the shoulder and mouthed a hello to her. She held her finger to her lips to keep Seamus quiet. That morning the new priest at Saint Dominic's, Father Ryan, came out for the Mass. He told the townspeople that they would most often be seeing him at the Mass and that he would be living at Saint Rose's in Crockett.

As he knelt behind Kathleen during the Mass Seamus could not imagine any better place to be. Here he was right behind the dream girl of his life. Of course, dear God, it's nice to be at Mass too, but being here with Kathleen is really something. Thank you, God, and I'll be good. I really will!

After Mass Kathleen introduced Seamus to her parents and family. Her father, Jack O'Shaunessey, said that his daughter had spoken about him and that they wanted to meet him immediately.

"And we're hoping that you will come to our house for something to eat. That way we can get to know you, if you don't mind."

"You are hungry, aren't you?" her mother added.

"Yes, ma'am. I am hungry for sure. It's a long time since midnight and something to eat sounds very good, ma'am. Thank you very much, ma'am."

Seamus felt like he was babbling like a little child, so excited was he to see Kathleen. As he road in their carriage up the hill towards he said very little to Kathleen. Her parents, on the other hand, whispered to each other that they were glad that their daughter had met a nice boy like Seamus. Anyone who would keep the Communion Fast so seriously must be a good boy for sure.

Seamus spent the afternoon with the O'Shaunessey family. He enjoyed talking with all of them, but it also made him think of his family back home. But, dear God, You brought me here to this place and I know that I have to do the right thing. Ma told me to have a better life here in America and I want to do that, just help me, God, ok?

When Jack O'Shaunessey took him back to Port Costa, Seamus had him leave him at the road leading down into Port Costa. He told Jack that he wanted this time to think and walk back to his place.

When they arrived at the road down to Port Costa, Jack shook Seamus' hand and said,

"It was good to meet you, Seamus, and we hope that you will come and see us again soon, do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir!"

Happier than he had ever been, Seamus fairly hopped, skipped, and jumped all of the way back to his home. Several of his neighbors looked out their windows and wondered what was wrong with him. I'm in love, he would have told them and some day I'm going to marry the best girl in town and her name is Kathleen!

Because of the number that he needed, it took Seamus much longer to build the coffins for the nuns. There were twelve priests buried in the old cemetery at the Church, but two of them had been buried only since he had come to work for the father. Of the twenty-one graves in the nuns' cemetery, he was going to need, sixteen new coffins. Five of the nuns had been buried with the past two years and he thought that their coffins would still be in good enough condition to easily move.

Meanwhile, the nursery not only made some suggestions for plants that could be planted in the new cemetery. They also found people to go up to Hillcrest Avenue and prepare the ground. Seamus went to the site of the new cemetery almost every day and watched the progress with great interest. When they planted the Italian Cypress along the path into the cemetery and around the circle where the priests would be buried, he mentioned to the workers,

"They seem awfully small, don't they?"

"They are small right now, but give them time and they will be as tall and grand as anything you would want. It just takes time.

The only thing about the new cemetery that Seamus did not approve of was that Mother Goemere had told him that the nuns' Chapter had decided that they wanted the graves in the new cemetery to be in rows just like they were at Saint Catherine's. Seamus had wanted to build a similar circle for the nuns, but Mother Goemere insisted that they wanted rows, not circles, for the nuns' graves.

For some months the work continued in the new cemetery. While Seamus continued to watch over their progress of the work up there, he did not neglect to work on the coffins for the nuns nor did abandon working as needed at Saint Dominic's. Most especially did he not forget about his dear Kathleen. He saw her once in awhile when he went over to Saint Catherine's and often her parents would come to Mass in Port Costa. Over the course of time Seamus began to spend most Sundays at the O'Shaunessey home. Much to Seamus' relief they accepted him as part of their family and he enjoyed the time that he spent with them. Most weekends Kathleen was at home, but every now and then she stayed at Saint Catherine's

One Sunday, as Jack was driving Seamus back to Port Costa, Seamus cleared his throat and said,

"Uh, Mr. O'Shaunessey, can I ask you a question?"

Taking a grunt for an affirmative reply, Seamus continued,

"Uh, sir, I was wondering if you'd mind if I, uh, asked for your daughter's hand in marriage. Uh, I'd like to marry her, sir."

Even though it has only taken a few seconds for Seamus to say this, he felt as though it had taken an eternity to get the words out. Jack O'Shaunessey rode on for a short distance in silence. He then stopped the carriage, looked at Seamus and asked,

"And what does Kathleen day about this?"

"Well, sir, I don't know. I just thought that I had better ask you first."

"Ask me first? Well,..."

Jack got the horse moving again but after only a few feet, he stopped again, looked carefully and seriously at Seamus and said in a very quiet voice, so quiet that Seamus could barely hear him,

"Young man, you may ask my daughter to marry her, but there are two conditions. Number one, I don't want any trouble with you. You respect my daughter, do you hear? If there is any trouble, I'll kick your butt all the way back to Ireland."

"Yes, sir, Mr. O'Shaunessey. Absolutely no trouble! None, sir!"

"Good! And number two, you may not ask her to marry you until she finishes school at Saint Catherine's. She said she wants to be a teacher some day and so her education is important. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir, I understand. Paul Walsh was a teacher and my friend Pat Mahon from my trip to America wants to be a teacher too. I will wait until the summer. I promise!"

When Jack O'Shaunessey left Seamus at the road down into Port Costa he smiled at himself as he watched what might be the most excited young man possible run down the road. Well, he's got his whole life ahead of him and why shouldn't he be happy? He'll be a good son-in-law.

Seamus was indeed at that moment the happiest person alive. He could not imagine how anybody could be happier than he was. Cows or no cows, dark or light, Seamus climbed his favorite hill above Port Costa and sat on a rock. The view was magnificent. There were just a few clouds in the sky and they were already turning wonderful shades of pink and yellow. Mount Diablo in the distance had just a few white, wispy clouds surrounding it. He could see a few boats on the water heading back to their docks and he heard the whistle from the sugar factory blow, signaling the end of the shift. But there on the top of the hill all Seamus could think about was how he was going to marry Kathleen and he could think of nothing better. Now he just had to pray that she would also not be able to think of anything better than marrying him. He was sure that God had planned all of this and so how could there be any dispute.

"And, Da," he said aloud, "I hope you like her too. She the best I am sure!"

With that Seamus headed back into town, a new man, so he felt, with a new reason for living. In time he was going to marry Kathleen. He was in heaven, for sure!