It was to this sad scene that the Pettibones arrived at King Farm. Originally, they were going to stop at their home and drop off their luggage, but Izzy was so eager to see Felix that she could not wait a single extra second, so the Pettibones drove to the King Farm directly from the ferry. Unknowingly, they had passed Felix on his trip to Halifax.
Clive knocked on the door, but when it was not answered quickly enough, Izzy threw open the door and called, "Felix! Felix!" The calls went unanswered and finally she turned to see the Kings sitting morosely at their table in the kitchen—all the Kings except the one she wanted to see the most.
Clive and Muriel followed the impetuous Izzy in the door, and upon seeing Alec and Janet began to apologize for Izzy’s rudeness in barging in the door. Before the words left their mouths, they realized that something was terribly wrong. Alec responded to their unspoken query. "Felix isn’t here, Izzy. I don’t think he’ll be back." he explained brokenly, and Janet’s sob cut off any further words.
"What! Where is he?" Izzy demanded, stunned, unable to believe that she had just hit a dead end, just when she was so close to seeing her beau again.
"Izzy," said Muriel, holding the girl’s shoulders in a silent warning to keep silent and give the Kings a chance to explain.
Izzy finally got the message that she was not the only one who was suffering, and went to hug Cecily, and the Pettibones sat down quietly at the table.
Gus sucked in a deep breath and began: "Felix took off yesterday morning. He was terribly wounded in the leg during a battle, but I think he’s got more scars on the inside than the outside," he concluded intuitively.
Felicity added, "You wouldn’t recognize him, Izzy. It’s not just how he looks, he’s become so bitter."
Izzy’s eyes teared up as she tried to absorb all of this information. She shook her head in denial; "It can’t be, not Felix!"
Clive, the only person at the table with a military background, informed the group knowledgeably, "Unfortunately, yes it can, Izzy. Some men can never get over the horrors they witnessed and the killing they had to do. Their experiences poison their entire future. It’s extremely difficult to go from an atmosphere filled with killing and violence back to the normalcy of home. It takes a long time before you feel like you fit in again."
Izzy persisted, "Other men, maybe, but not Felix. I need to find him, he needs me!"
Cecily responded, "We looked everywhere around here—he’s nowhere to be found. Nobody has seen him, we have no idea where he went."
Janet concluded despondently, "And we have no idea if he would stay here even if we did locate him and bring him back. Izzy, you didn’t see him, this farm was the last place on earth he wanted to be."
Izzy was silenced by the news, but her mind was working busily. She decided that she would strike off on her own to find him, no matter what it took. Deciding that it would be fruitless to remain and exchange useless trivialities, the Pettibones took their leave.
Close this window to return to the index