“I was there, as a matter of fact. Remember when I said I was going to go by there? I went by last week and tried to talk to him. At first, I didn’t think he was going to listen to me. I mean, his father is Old Man Jenkins, after all.”
They both laughed softly.
“But maybe I did have some influence on him after all. I mean. He wouldn’t have come up on this decision without me bringing it up to him. I don’t think the man ever thought about publishing anything other than what interests him and the other men in this town.”
“I think the mayor has a lot of influence too, doesn’t he?”
The memory of Mayor Hanover coming into the schoolhouse and upsetting the already grumpy Mrs. Edwards ran through Mary’s mind. Disgust crossed her face.
“Yes, I’m sure he has a lot to say about what’s printed.”
“That might be one thing that’s been holding Mr. Jenkins back.”
Mary noticed immediately when her friend referred to Philip by his proper name. It made her feel special, a warm feeling flowing through her.
“Yes, I suppose you could be right.” She was at the point where she wanted to give Philip the benefit of the doubt. She’d thought him most likely arrogant and uninterested in things women would more likely focus on. Now, she was thinking he might be more open-minded than she’d assumed.
“So, you’re calling him Philip now, are you?” Sarah asked, her lips twitching as she tried not to grin.
Mary saw the look and turned her eyes away, embarrassed, even though it still made her feel special. “Well, we’ve been talking a lot lately.”
“Yes, and you’ve been talking about him a lot, too.” Sarah didn’t sound disturbed by it. She was more amused than anything. Mary could tell by the twinkle in her friend’s eye.
“Stop it, Sarah.”
Sarah let out a quiet laugh. “I’m not doing anything, honey. You’re just embarrassed because you’re falling for an older man.”
Mary gasped and pretended to be offended by the remark, throwing one hand up in front of her open mouth and widening her eyes. But they both knew Sarah was right. And she wasn’t a good liar and couldn’t deny it.
“We get along well,” she said, keeping her voice low so as not to let everyone in the place know of her business. “I like talking to him. Sometimes, things he says bother me. But I don’t think he does it intentionally. He has a good heart and he’s a strong man. I think he might have more of a heart than many men. He would show compassion to others that people like Mayor Hanover wouldn’t throw a stick at.”
Sarah nodded. “This is true,” she agreed. “And I’ll have you know if you ever do get together with Mr. Jenkins, I’ll support whatever decision you make. If you do get together with him, though, do you think I could call him Philip too?”
Mary laughed while Sarah continued as if she was serious.
“I mean, I am your best friend. I’ll probably be your maid of honor. I’m a real nice person, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind being friends with me.”
By this time, Mary’s eyes were filling with tears and she was trying not to laugh too loudly. Holding it in made her shoulders bounce as she grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her eyes.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind that,” she finally gasped out. She’d almost stopped laughing when she looked at Sarah, who had a goofy grin on her pretty face. This sent her into another fit of giggles that she only got control of when Sarah’s mood abruptly shifted, her smile disappeared and her eyes lifted up to look over Mary’s shoulder.
Mary turned to see who was behind her as she wiped her eyes, her laughter dying down. It was Sarah’s mother, Constance, another one of the tall, dominating, influential forces in Glenwood. She ran several programs for mothers and children not as affluent as herself, contributed to and worked at the church with her own manicured hands, and spoke loudly for women’s rights.
If there was ever an advocate Mary could use for her campaign for women, it was Mrs. Marrow.
The woman spotted them immediately and crossed the room quickly. She was holding a folded envelope in one hand. She flapped it at her daughter when she was close enough. “You have an important letter, Sarah,” she said. “I had to bring it to you right away.”
Chapter 17
The reaction to the letter made Mary keep her thoughts about Mrs. Marrow’s help in her quest to herself. Sarah’s mood was ruined, her mother looked anxious and the air was thick with tension.
“Mother, why would you come all the way out here and ruin my lunch with Mary?”
Mary was a little surprised to hear her friend talk to her mother that way. Especially since Mary had a great deal of respect for Mrs. Marrow. She could only imagine what could be in that letter to upset Sarah so much that she would be disrespectful.
Mrs. Marrow took it better than Mary thought she would. She shook her head, placing the letter Sarah refused to take on the table in front of her daughter.
“I am sorry. This isn’t something I wanted to happen. But if it’s what your father wants, it will happen. You know how he is.”
“You know that’s not true.”
Again, shock ran through Mary as she listened to Sarah call her mother a liar.
Mrs. Marrow looked like she was about to lose her temper. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward so she could look Sarah in the eye. “I am not interested in listening to your back talk right now, young lady. This is tradition in my family and we’ll be carrying it out regardless of your feelings about it. Read the letter. You might find you like him very much.”
“This isn’t the first letter from him, Ma,” Sarah protested indignantly. “This is, I’d say, the fourth. I’ve read the other three. And while the man is not ignorant, I have no interest in marrying him. How many times do I have to tell you and pa that things like this aren’t done anymore? You don’t force your children to marry strangers they don’t know just so two families can be merged together. It isn’t fair to me.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have time to listen to this. You are just repeating yourself anyway. We’ll talk some more when you get home. But you need to read that letter. I believe things will be progressing soon and you need to know what you are to do.”
“Mother…”
“No more, Sarah!” Mrs. Marrow hissed. “No more.”
She turned away and left the restaurant in the same hurry as when she came in.
“I can’t believe they are doing this to me,” Sarah said.
Mary knew that Sarah was supposed to marry a man she hadn’t met. His name was Luke, as far as Mary knew. She didn’t know Luke’s last name. Sarah had told Mary their parents had made an arrangement when the two were born to marry them so each family could expand their industries in new places. Sarah didn’t understand why they had to have a marriage to do that. Why didn’t they just expand anyway? Was there some kind of clause that Sarah’s life had to be ruined in the process? And what about Luke? Would he be happy?
Sarah had posed all these questions to Mary when it had first come out that she was supposed to get married. She wanted desperately to find a man on her own, someone she could truly love.
Her parents were like stone about the topic. She couldn’t change their minds, no matter how hard she tried.
“You know, you are lucky you don’t have anyone trying to control you and marry you off,” Sarah grumbled. It only took a second for her to realize what she’d said and immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, Mary. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t… Oh, dear. I’ve really stuck my foot in my mouth.”
Mary, who had at first been taken aback by the sudden reference to her status as an unmarried, unengaged orphan, pulled in a breath and tried not to feel the pain that slid through her.
“I don’t have time for that anyway.”
Mrs. Nelson, who had apparently waited for Mrs. Marrow to leave before bringing their lunches, set the plates down gently in front of them followed by napkins folded around utensils.
“You are a be
autiful woman, Mary,” the older woman said. “You should have someone in your life. A man to keep you safe and comfortable.”
A feeling of dread swept over Mary. She knew what was coming next. Mrs. Nelson was about to offer, for the umpteenth time, the affections of her son, Andrew, who was a decent fellow but not much to look at and a little boring after about ten minutes. He was a quiet young man who just wanted to do his own thing and be left alone. His mother’s constant meddling and pushing him off on women must have been tiresome to him.
Mary was content leaving the man to his own devices.
“Perhaps,” she responded, hoping beyond hope the offer wasn’t coming next. People were always trying to set her up with their sons or brothers, as if she couldn’t find a man on her own. “But right now isn’t a good time.”
“You know, Andrew is still looking for someone to love.”
Mary kept her groan inside. She locked eyes with Sarah, drawing energy from her friend so she wouldn’t burst out laughing or crying.
“He’s just finished another class at the academy and should be returning home soon. I’m sure he’d like to have a pretty face meet him at the station.”
Mary turned her eyes to the woman, trying to be kind when she responded. “I’m afraid I’m much too busy for a man in my life. My time is occupied by my students.”
Mrs. Nelson looked like she wanted to say more. Instead, to Mary’s relief, she just nodded and turned away with a faltering smile and sad eyes. Mary wished she could comfort the woman but if there was no spark there when she spoke to a potential suiter, it probably wouldn’t be a satisfying relationship.
She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes when the woman walked away. Leaning forward, she whispered, “It almost makes me wish I was head over heels for Andrew. It always makes me sad that I have to keep telling her no.”
Sarah nodded. “I understand. I guess I should be less judgmental with mind. At least Luke is a good-looking man.”
“Andrew isn’t bad,” Mary wanted to defend Andrew but stop talking about him, too. She didn’t want to gossip. It made her feel bad. “I just don’t have those feelings for him. I never will.”
“Yes, especially not now. With Mr. Jenkins in the picture. Your Philip.” Sarah teased her with a big smile. Mary was glad to see her friend feeling better again.
Mary blushed furiously at the term. He was not hers. But that could change.
“So, are you going to read the letter?”
Sarah looked down at it with trepidation and little anticipation. “I don’t know. Maybe later. He’s a nice guy but I don’t think either of us really wants this. In fact, I’m willing to bet he’s telling his best friend the same thing I’m telling you.”
“Well, have you talked to him about it? Maybe he will back out, too. They can’t make you marry if neither one of you wants it, right?”
“There’s a pretty good chance our parents wouldn’t change their minds even if Luke and I ran away.” Sarah laughed. “Then again, we’d be running away together, which is what they want so…”
Mary grinned. “What if he falls in love with someone else? What if you fall in love with someone else? When are you supposed to be married?”
Sarah shook her head, shrugging. “No date has been set. Thankfully, our parents decided we needed some time to get to know each other. So that’s what we’ve been doing through correspondence.”
“And you haven’t discussed it with him? I mean, whether or not you want to marry?”
Again, Sarah shook her head, her mood darkening again. Mary immediately missed the funny side of her friend and wished they were laughing again.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sarah finally replied, sighing heavily. “I guess I could bring it up to him. Tell him I don’t really want to do this and see where he stands on it.”
“That would be a good idea, I think.”
Mary thought about Sarah’s dilemma as she ate her ham and cheese sandwich, the same meal she got nearly every time she came to Nelsons Restaurant. While she was glad that she wasn’t being forced to marry anyone, especially at the young age of eighteen, she was also sad that she didn’t have overbearing parents to complain about. She imagined her mother might have been a little controlling, but neither of her parents had seemed that type when she was young. They missed her teenage years, which was when she had needed her mother the most.
But Mrs. Marrow had been there for her and Mary had a great deal of respect for the woman. She respected both of Sarah’s parents for what they had done for her in the past. She would never forget it and hoped someday to give them back to them in some way, to show her appreciation.
Even though Mr. and Mrs. Marrow gave Mary a place to stay, they had never treated her as a daughter they could control. Only as a young, struggling friend who needed their help desperately at the time.
Chapter 18
It was an exciting day for Philip. The newspaper had gone out with the two articles he swore to himself he would publish come hell or high water. He had braced himself the moment he walked into the office, waiting for the backlash that was certain to come. There were plenty of big heads in Glenwood that wouldn’t want to see a story about a women’s theatre group on the front page of the newspaper.
His second article on the budget cuts wasn’t quite ready for publication. John wanted more time to find out information and clear up a few questions he hadn’t gotten answers to in time for printing. Philip was a little worried about the whole thing, because John was being very quiet about what he’d learned so far. He kept telling Philip, “I’m not done yet. I just haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet. I’ll let you know when I have something for you.”
So Philip wrote a shorter article, interviewing Mrs. Edwards and Mary to ask them to express their feelings on the cuts and to ask for reasons behind it. He didn’t implicate or accuse anyone of anything in the article. It was a straight cut-and-dry opinion piece coming from the viewpoint of the schoolteachers and some of the parents who tried to help the school run on its limited budget.
But he’d splashed a big title across the front page, announcing the women’s theater group coming to perform their very own play, called Out of the Wilderness. Philip had been given a description of the story and he’d interviewed several women who would be participating in the show.
He was proud of the story. He planned to stand by it, no matter what storm it brought on.
And storm was the perfect word for what happened. The mayor blew in like a tornado, huffing and puffing, sounding like thunder when he bellowed in his booming voice, “Jenkins! Jenkins! Where are you?”
Philip’s first thought was that was an ignorant question. If he wasn’t in the first room off the lobby, which was the printing room, he was in his office. It was easy to check either place without screaming his name like a bull in heat.
He stood up, steeling himself from what he expected from the mayor.
The stout man stomped into the room. Philip worried for the boards below his feet at every step. He scanned the man, who was dressed like he was ready to go to a banquet. His black suit jacket was made of a fabric that shined like satin and fit the hefty man well. It was most likely tailored to fit. The Mayor of Glenwood would accept no less.
“Jenkins! There you are!” He lifted one hand, which was clutching a crumpled copy of that week’s newspaper. “What is this outrage? This is not news!”
He crossed the room in three long strides and slapped the newspaper down on the desk.
He jabbed the paper with one thick finger. “This! You printed this for the front page?”
His Rainbow After the Rain Page 11