by Leah Atwood
“Look here in the corners,” he said. “It’s the same embroidered initials.”
“No,” Jenny gasped, connecting the pieces.
“You are Jenny Lane, my best friend from childhood.”
“And you are Johnny Grayson, my best friend that I’ve never forgotten. But how could this be? What are the chances? And you told me your last name is Thomas.”
“Thomas is my biological father’s last name. It’s the name I’ve gone by for years now. And what about you? How’d you get the last name Mason?” John asked her.
“Mama remarried shortly after you moved west. Mr. Mason was the gentleman, and I took his name. He was a good Pa,” she explained, smiling at the wonderful memories she’d had with him.
The exhaustion they felt earlier was gone, replaced by the excitement of rediscovering a best friend. They moved back out to the living area, and Jenny put some hot water to boiling for tea. For hours, they talked and reminisced. John already knew through her letters what had happened to Mama.
“What happened to your mother?” Jenny asked. “My mother lived for her letters and was distraught when they stopped. I always wondered myself.”
“Mother got sick with the influenza one year and couldn’t recover from it. She’s buried a little past the barn if you’d like to visit her grave.”
“I’d like that,” Jenny told him. She’d like to pay final respects to her mother’s best friend. “How come your Pa never wrote and told us?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. He was rather distraught for some time though, and my assumption would be that he just didn’t think about it in his grief. I was so young when it happened. If I had been older maybe, I would have thought to write."
Jenny reached over and patted his shoulder. He looked so contrite. “Don’t pass any blame on yourself. It’s no one’s fault. And who’s to say if a letter had been written, that it would have reached us?”
“You do have a point. Part of me is still in disbelief at this turn of events. When I first saw you today, I didn’t feel as though I’d met a stranger. And every time you smiled, I knew I’d seen that smile before,” John confessed.
“I felt similar. My nerves felt like butterflies in my stomach, but once I met you, I felt a peace I couldn’t understand wash over me. I think our Mamas are looking down from Heaven, singing praises right now.”
“I would venture to say you’re right. And to think, it was those quilts they made while in the family way with us that told us. Do you believe in destiny my dear Jenny?” he questioned, pulling her to her feet.
Her heart fluttered at his touch. “Maybe now I do,” she answered with a smile.
“Would it be alright if I kissed you now?” John asked.
“Perfectly, alright,” she answered, wrapping her arms around her husband.
Chapter 4
Three Months Later
Jenny could scarcely imagine a life that could be more perfect life. John and she had settled into a comfortable routine, enjoying the bliss that came with being newlyweds. He would find any excuse to pop into the house during the day, just to see her and maybe sneak a kiss.
She had fallen completely in love with her husband; a man who’d been her best friend as a child was now her best friend as an adult. There was no doubt in her heart that she loved him with everything in her. She suspected he also felt the same, but as of yet, hadn’t said the words. How she longed to hear them come from his mouth.
Tomorrow they would be making a trip into town. Jenny was so excited because this trip she had some extra materials to buy. This winter she’d be having a baby, and she’d like to start on some clothing now. She hadn’t told John and was planning on telling him tonight after their evening meal. There was also something else she had to tell him.
She’d yet to disclose the money she had in the bank back home. In the excitement of everything, it had slipped her mind. The second she discovered that he was her Johnny, it was never a matter of not trusting him. But now so much time had passed, that she was afraid he might think that, and that’s the last thing she wanted. So she decided she would tell him tonight to clear the air between them. She desperately loved him and wanted no secrets between them.
She went outside to hang their laundry on the lines. A sudden wave of nausea swept over her, and she moved to the side while her stomach purged. She’d been fortunate so far to not experience much of the sickness a lot of women spoke of, and what she did have she was able to keep from John. From the little she knew, most men didn’t deal well with seeing their woman sick.
This bout of sickness stubbornly refused to go away, and now Jenny also felt light-headed on top of everything else. The world seemed to spin around her and she wiped her face with her apron. She started back toward the house, but collapsed and everything went black.
***
John felt something amiss. Gut instincts told him to get back to the house and now. Forgetting the fence he was repairing, he dropped the tools and ran home. His heart dropped when he saw Jenny crumpled on the ground a few feet from the door.
“Jenny! Jenny! Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he shouted in vain. He shook her and saw her eyes flutter, but no verbal response.
“Jenny, sweetheart, wake up love. Please wake up,” he begged.
“Baby,” she murmured, fluttering her eyes again.
“What happened, Jenny?” he asked again, though she was still basically unresponsive.
He slid his arms underneath of her and carried her inside to the bedroom. She was starting to come back to life. Quickly, he went and dipped a cloth into the water pitcher returning and dabbing it against her pale skin.
“What happened?” she asked as she came back to full consciousness.
“I’m not sure,” he answered. “I felt something telling me to come back to the house, and I found you crumbled a few feet from the door.”
“I remember doing the laundry and feeling sick. Dizziness started taking over, and that’s the last thing I remember.”
“We need to get you to a doctor,” he demanded. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so frightened. The sight of Jenny laying on the ground just about brought him to his knees with terror. He loved her so much- more than he ever thought possible to love someone. In that split second, he’d understood the grief his step-father had experienced over his mother’s death.
“I don’t need to see a doctor, John. Everything is coming back to me now. From what I understand, it’s a normal part of pregnancy,” she told him.
“I’d still feel better if you saw a doctor. What if it happens again and I’m not around.” No matter what she said, he’d feel much better after she saw a doctor. That’s when her last words finally hit him. “Wait a minute- What? Did you just say what I think you said?”
“Yes, John. We’re having a baby. You’re going to be a father.”
He sat down on the bed beside her, smiling as wide as his mouth allowed. “If you hadn’t just passed out, I’d pick you up and swing you around,” he exclaimed.
“So you’re happy?” she asked him.
“How could I not be happy? I have a wife I love, a place to call our own and now a little one that we created on the way. I don’t think life could get much better than this.”
“You love me?” she queried softly.
“Of course I love you, sweetheart. You mean the world to me.”
“You’ve never said the words before.”
“I’m so sorry, my love. From this day forward, not a day will go by that I won’t tell you I love you.” He leaned over and kissed her gently. “But we’re still taking you to see a doctor.”
“Can it wait until tomorrow? I’m so tired, and I have something else to tell you.” She sniffed, and he saw a tear roll down her cheek.
“Jenny, sweetheart, why are you crying?”
“I’ve been hiding a secret from you?”
John paused for a moment. He couldn’t imagine what she could hide from him that could cau
se her such distress.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“I have a good sum of money in the bank back in Pennsylvania. Before I knew who you were, I didn’t want to tell you in case you weren’t the man I thought. Then we realized who we were, or are, and I got so excited I forgot. And by that time I didn’t want to tell you and risk hurting you because you thought I didn’t trust. But that’s not true. I trust you completely and love you…”
John thought Jenny was adorable with her rambling, but he wasn’t about to tell her that when she was so worked up. He’d been around some pregnant woman before and knew the least little thing could upset them. So he just did his best to put her at ease.
“Sweetheart, it doesn’t upset me that you didn’t tell me right away. A woman can’t be too careful when she is moving across the country to marry a man she only knows through letters. What matters is that you told me now, and we’ll have no secrets.”
“I love you, John.”
“And I love you too, Jenny.”
“When we go to town tomorrow I’ll wire the bank to transfer the money.”
“There’s no hurry sweetheart. That money is yours. Maybe you could use some to bring the Murdocks out for a visit. I know you’ve been missing them something fierce.”
“Really, John? Oh, that would be wonderful. I’d be so happy to see them again,” his wife exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “You will love them. Remember the Millers? They remind me a lot of them.”
“I already love them, because they took care of you when you needed them,” he told his wife lovingly. His smile widened again; partially due to his wife’s happy state and partially in amusement to her rapid mood swings. From what he understood, he’d be seeing a lot of that in the upcoming months, but he’d welcome them all.
Epilogue
Seven Months Later
John stood outside his house, pacing back and forth on the newly added porch. Mr. Murdock came up and placed his hand on his shoulder to still him.
“Everything will be fine, Son,” the older man tried to offer comfort.
“But she’s in so much pain.”
“It’s all a part of the process. Mrs. Murdock says once the baby comes, the pain is forgotten.”
John wasn’t so sure about that. All he knew was his beloved wife was screaming and moaning in the bedroom. The doctor had arrived a few hours ago and was in there with her, along with Mrs. Murdock. Being a single woman, Abigail wasn’t permitted in the birthing room but was assigned to the task of keeping water boiling.
Just when he thought he would lose his mind, John heard the tiny cry of a baby. He went bursting into his house and into the bedroom. Jenny was propped up in bed, holding a tiny bundle. Her hair was damp with perspiration and her face pale from her labors, but she was smiling and he thought his wife had never looked so beautiful.
“You have a daughter,” she told him, handing the bundle towards him.
“She’s perfect,” he proclaimed looking at her tiny fingers and button nose. “What shall we name her?”
“I was thinking Mabel Elizabeth after our mothers,” Jenny said.
“I love it. Hello, Miss Mabel Elizabeth,” he greeted his daughter.
“We’ll leave you two new parents alone to get acquainted with your daughter,” the doctor said, excusing himself and Mrs. Murdock.
Alone in their bedroom, John sat next to Jenny, pulling their mothers’ quilts over them. He wrapped one arm around his wife, who was holding their daughter again.
“I’m so glad I answered your letter,” John whispered to his wife.
“Me too,” Jenny replied and snuggled closer to her husband as they stared in amazement at this beautiful little girl that joined them together forever.
The End
Dear Reader,
Thank you for joining me into this first foray of a historical romance. I have long since been fascinated by stories of mail-order brides, both in fiction and reality. My hope is you’ve enjoyed this short story.
Until next time,
Leah
Now Available from Leah Atwood:
The Not Quite Mail-Order Bride:
When Wyatt Lance's housekeeper announces she is returning home, he decides that it's time to settle down and find a wife instead of another housekeeper. He enlists the help of longtime friend, Caroline Franklin, to assist him in finding a mail-order bride.
Caroline is in love with Wyatt. He is the only man to attract her since her husband passed away several years ago. When Wyatt comes to ask her a question, she is completely surprised by his request. What will she do when faced with losing the man she loves?
Unlikely Substitute (Mail-Order Husbands):
Once widowed, once duped Anne Marie Meadows has no desire to be married, but she is down to her last option. In order to save her farm, she sends for a mail-order husband.
U.S. Marshal Jude Malstrom is a loner dedicated to his work, but when a dying man asks him to deliver a letter, he reluctantly carries out the task.
When nature unleashes her fury, Jude and Anne Marie find themselves in each other's company for longer than they wish. Can they see beyond obligation and find an unlikely love?
Their First Noelle: A Mail-Order Holiday Romance:
Coming November 2013