The Widow's Mail Order Husband (Mail Order Brides)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  Emily said, “It started to fly back to the tree, but he dropped the ground hog and it got away,”

  “Were you glad it got away,” Mary asked. Emily nodded her head. “I’m glad too,” Mary said. “Are you ready for some more of Thumbelina?” Emily nodded, and she led the way upstairs to her room, while Mary retrieved the book from her bedroom.

  Back in Emily’s room, Mary sat in the rocking chair and opened the book. “Would you like to sit in my lap while I read?” she asked. Emily shook her head and climbed onto her bed. Mary said, “Maybe another time.” She continued the story of Thumbelina and how she found the small prince, who was just her size and then fell in love and got married, and lived happily ever after. “I have more books with lots of stories,” she said. “Would you like for me to read you a story before you go to bed?”

  Emily nodded her head, and Mary said, “Okay, we’ll do that, starting tonight.”

  When Tom came in that evening after a long day with the cattle, he said, “Some big, black clouds are building from the west. I think we are in for a storm before the nights over. I hope it doesn’t spook the cattle and scatter them all over the prairie.”

  “I guess Mother Nature is a major source of trouble for you?”

  “Yes, but she’s also the source of our bounties. When it rains, the grass grows and the cattle can graze longer before we have to move them. It’s a trade off.”

  “I don’t want to take you away from the things you need to be doing, but I would like for you to explain what you do and show me around. I’m totally ignorant of the entire ranching business. If I’m to be part of your life, and I want to be, then I need to know what you do,” she said..

  He reached over and took her hand. “Thank you for that. It is just about the nicest, most thoughtful thing you could have said. I appreciate it. I appreciate what you’re doing with Emily. She needs someone.”

  “She does, and it’s going to take some time. She may be afraid I’m going to leave her. She doesn’t understand death, she just knows her mother is gone, so she’s built barriers to protect herself. It’s only natural, but maybe I can break some of them down.”

  Chapter 8: The Storm

  Later that evening…

  Boom! A loud clap of thunder shook the house and woke Mary from a deep sleep. It was quickly followed by several more loud cracks, with brilliant flashes of lightning, lighting the room as bright as a sunlit day. Mary was on her side facing Tom. He had not stirred.

  May sensed someone by her side of the bed. She turned over to find Emily standing there. She was trembling and each peal of thunder caused her to shake more, Mary pushed back the covers and extended her arms. Emily accepted the invitation immediately and climbed into the bed, and crowded close to Mary.

  “It’s all right, ” she whispered to Emily. “It won’t hurt you”. Another loud crash, and Emily crowded closer. Mary wrapped her arms around the frightened child. “You can stay in here with me until it’s over.”

  After a few minutes, Mary felt the tension slowly leave Emily’s body as she fell asleep. Mary lay awake with Emily in her arms and thought, “So this is what it feels like to be a mother. I think I like it.” Then, she too fell asleep, not waking until Tom got up and got dressed.

  As he pulled on his clothes, Tom took in the sight of his daughter snug in the arms of his new wife. He smiled to himself. “This is going to work,” he thought.

  Mary made her way to the kitchen before Tom left. “I saw where you had company during the night,” he said.

  “The thunder woke both of us up,” Mary said. “Emily was standing by the bed trembling, she was so frightened. When she got in the bed, she couldn’t get close enough. I’m surprised you slept through it. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard thunder that loud before. The sky was full of lightning. The bedroom was as bright as day, and you slept through all of that? I hope I never have to wake you in an emergency.”

  “You’ve never seen Texas lightning before. Come outside and smell the air. After a lightning storm, the air just plain smells good. I hope we got some rain out of it. There are quite a few storms with all noise and light, but no rain,” he said. He turned, said, “I’ll see you after a bit,” and went outside.

  “I heard it raining, but after it quieted down, I went back to sleep, just like my little companion.” She turned to Rosa and asked, “Is there anything I can help you with this morning?” When Rosa shook her head, Mary said, “Then I think I’ll go back and make up what I missed. Rosa, would you please see that I’m up when he comes back for breakfast please? I would like to take breakfast with him.”

  She went back to the master bedroom and got into bed on Tom’s side without disturbing Emily and promptly fell asleep, willing herself to wake in time for breakfast with Tom.

  The first rays of sunlight were beginning to sneak past the curtain when Mary got out of bed again. Emily was beginning to stir, so after dressing, Mary went to the side of the bed. “Emily, would you like to have breakfast with your Papa and me?”

  Mary could see Emily was puzzled by what she was seeing. She wasn’t in her bedroom at all. Mary sat on the bed. “The storm frightened you last night, didn’t it? It scared me too. I’m glad you came in to help me during all of the thunder and lightning. Sometimes, sudden, loud noises scare me so much, I almost peed on myself. Do you ever get that scared?”

  Emily giggled and shook her head. Mary reached out and touched her face. It’s okay to be frightened. It’s our body’s way of keeping us away from things that can hurt us. Are you afraid of snakes? I am, I don’t mind telling you.”

  Emily said softly, “I don’t like snakes.”

  “What else don’t you like?” Mary asked.

  “Carrots,” said Emily.

  “Come on, let's get you dressed and hope Rosa didn’t fix carrots for breakfast,” Mary said.

  Emily took Mary’s hand and led her to her bedroom, and helped her dress in the clothes Rosa had laid out for her the night before. Then they went to the kitchen to wait for their husband and father to show up for breakfast.

  Tom came into the kitchen and said, “Good morning, Emily, Mary, you too Rosa. Did the storm wake everyone but me last night?”

  “It woke me from a nice dream,” said Rosa.

  “It scared me Papa,” Emily said.

  “Did you crawl under the bed, sweetheart?” he asked Emily.

  “No, I got in the bed with Mama.”

  Tears immediately welled in Mary’s eyes. “I was scared too,” she said, “but Emily hugged me really tight and I wasn’t scared anymore.”

  He picked Emily up and gave her the usual swing in his arms. “You look beautiful this morning, princess, did you get dressed all by yourself?”

  “Mama helped some,” Emily said.

  “I did and she helped me make the bed, didn’t you?” Mary said.

  “Uh huh,” the little girl said.

  “We got a nice rain out of the storm, but lightning struck one of the trees down by the creek and split it open from top to bottom. I’m glad it didn’t hit the house,” Tom said.

  “Tom, do we have a horse tame enough for me to ride,?” Mary asked.

  “I think we can probably find something around here for you. I don’t think you should go off riding by yourself though. I’d hate for the Comanches to find you alone.” Tom answered.

  “Is there a lot of risk of that happening?” she asked.

  “You just never know with the Comanches. They’re sneaky and mean. They also are just about the best horsemen around,” he answered. Tom finished eating, kissed Emily and Mary goodbye and went back to work.

  “Rosa, is he just trying to scare me or has there really been problems with them around here. I thought all of the Indian problems were past.”

  “No Senora. They raided a ranch a few months ago to steal some cattle. When the man saw them and tried to stop them, they killed him and his wife and son,” Rosa said.

  “Well, I have to do something, I c
an’t just sit around here looking pretty all the time. Where is the family cemetery? Could I walk to it from here?” she asked.

  “I’ll show you,” Rosa said and went to the front door, which faced east. She pointed to some trees to the north of the house and said, “It is there.”

  “I’m going to get my bonnet and walk up there,” Mary said.

  “I don’t know if that is a good idea, Senora. Senor Tomas said…”

  Chapter 9: Mary Cleans Up

  “The red bonnet will be just the thing to keep me from getting sunburned,” Mary thought as she rummaged through her things. With it tied under her neck, and wearing a pair of old, comfortable shoes, Mary set out walking toward the trees Rosa had pointed out as the location of the Hartness family cemetery. It turned out to be further than she had first thought and she was winded when she arrived. The small cemetery was surrounded by a faded, waist high picket fence. She sat in the shade of an elm tree until she caught her breath. As she sat, she looked around, and saw the cemetery was in need of some care.

  She walked among the graves, and saw the markers for Tom’s parents, indicating they both had been killed the same day by Comanches. She found the markers for his grandparents there also. The most recent marker was for “Caroline Hartness, Beloved Wife of Thomas Hartness.” Mary also found the marker of a small child’s grave, showing a life of only three years.

  She began pulling the weeds from the grave of Caroline Hartness. Since it was more recent than the others, along with the effect of the rain, the weeds were easy to pull. She cleared the grave, and threw the pulled weeds over the back fence of the resting place. Next, she began clearing the graves of Tom’s parents. By the time she finished, the sun was fairly high in the sky, and she decided she should head back to the ranch house. “Next time I come up here, I’m going to bring a hoe,” she thought.

  As she walked into the yard, she saw Tom coming from one of the pastures. She waited for him and greeted him with a cheery “hello”.

  “What have you been doing?” he asked.

  “I went to the cemetery, and it looked kind of shaggy, so I pulled some of the weeds. Why?” she asked.

  “I told you I don’t like the idea of you going off by yourself. I don’t think it is safe,” Tom said.

  “I’m not one of your cowboys and you can’t tell me what I can and what I cannot do,” she said.

  “You haven’t lived here long enough to realize the dangers that exist,” he said.

  “I wasn’t even out of sight of the house. You could see for miles and there wasn’t anyone in sight,” she retorted.

  “I still don’t like it,” he said.

  “You’re able to get out, do things, and talk to people. I want that too, but there’s nothing for me to do. Rosa does nearly everything in the house and even though I try to help, there’s nothing to do. I’m a teacher. I like to be around people, I like people. I read to Emily, and show her things, but she gets bored with long sessions of it. You’ve got to help me here.” She finally ran down, allowing him to get a word in.”

  “I don’t know what, but I’ll try to help you figure out something,” he said.

  “Just don’t plan on bossing me around,” she said with a laugh.

  Two days later…

  “Tom, where did you and your brother go to school?” asked Mary?

  “There was a one room school near here and later we went to the school in Grapevine, why do you ask?” he said.

  “I guess the school there is larger now?” she questioned.

  “I believe it’s held in the old Masonic Building. They have two or three teachers and between fifty and one hundred students,” he answered.

  “I wonder if they need a teacher,” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but you couldn’t go off to Grapevine by yourself and I can’t spare the time to take you,” he said.

  “There you go again telling me what to do. This is not going to work, we’re not going to work if you keep trying to tell me what I can and what I can’t do,” she said.

  “Look, it just isn’t safe, and I’m not going to allow you to go off by yourself,” he said.

  “And just how do you propose stopping me?” she asked. “Are you going to tie me up? Lock me in?”

  “You are just about the most exasperating woman I have ever met,” he said.

  “You have some decisions to make then. You can either agree to help me find something to do with myself, or you can take me to Fort Worth where I can take a train back to Hagerstown,” she said.

  “You don’t mean that.”

  “I do mean it. I’ve grown to care about Emily, but I will not stay with a domineering man that will not allow me to think for myself.” She left the room, leaving a puzzled Tom, standing in the middle of the floor.

  “Mary, I’m just trying to look out for your safety and doing what is best for you,” Tom said.

  “No,” Mary answered. “You’re trying to control what I do and I won’t have it.

  “Maybe we rushed things here without knowing each other well enough. I’m beginning to think both of us might be better served if I just went back home,” she said.

  “You can’t do that,” he said.

  “Why not? You won’t allow it? You’re doing it again. I think I would like for you to take me to Fort Worth and I’ll go home. If you don’t want to do that, then I’ll go to Grapevine and hire someone to take me. It won’t cost you a thing. Until you’re willing to share, and be a partner, you’re not ready to be married.”

  Getting more and more incensed, Mary went to the bedroom and began putting her things into her trunk.

  Tom came into the bedroom. “You’re serious about this aren’t you?”

  “As serious as a heart attack. I’m a thinking type person that sets goals. When I left Maryland, I had a goal to meet a man I could learn to love, and who would love me and be my partner for life. Once I got to the ranch, I set another and that was to be a good mother to Emily. Another goal was to be a good wife to you, to work with you and share your problems and triumphs.

  “So far, my evaluation is I’m well on my way with Emily. She likes and respects me and trusts me to take care of her. As far as us, physically, things are great. From an emotional standpoint, I feel you are controlling and that doesn’t work for me. Sitting around looking pretty isn’t enough for me. I want to contribute and have not found a way to do that. Cleaning the cemetery is an example. It needed doing and I did it. You did not utter one word of appreciation. Instead, you told me you didn’t want me doing it.

  “Do you understand what I’m getting at? If you want a wife that bows to your every wish, you married the wrong woman,” she concluded.

  “So what do you want?” Tom asked.

  “I want to be treated as an equal. I want my ideas and opinions respected. Tell me about things that need doing, but don’t tell me what to do.”

  “My mother existed to keep my father happy. I never heard a cross word between them. There were things he expected her to do and she did them,” he stated.

  “Did he tell her to do them, or ask her to do them? There’s a difference,” she said. “You can ask me to fix your pants, and they’ll probably get fixed. If you tell me to fix them, they probably won’t, Maybe my living alone for twelve years after Josh was killed made me too independent, but I am what I am.”

  “If you want to pack up and run, then I’ll take you,” he said quietly. “If you want to stay and try to make a life with us, then I will do my dead level best to try. What I don’t want, is a continual threat to return to Hagerstown. I don’t respond well to threats.

  “I think I have the responsibility to warn you about life here and the dangers it holds. I feel a duty to protect you, Emily and Rosa from these dangers. I take the responsibility seriously.”

  “I would like to work things out. I think we could have a good life together if we respect each other’s feelings, and I’m willing to try,” she said.

  “Good, I
was hoping you would say that.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close.

  They had both dodged the same bullet.

  Chapter 10: Tom and Mary Agree On A Plan

  The next morning…

  Mary and Rosa were having a cup of coffee in the kitchen when Tom came in from his early morning chores. “Good morning, girls, I trust you slept well?”

  “I was sound asleep when some clown shook the bed, and rattled around making noise while it was still the dead of night,” Mary said.

  “Well, some of us don’t have the luxury of staying in bed until mid-morning. Some of us have to get out and work so the slackers can stay in bed.”