by Annie Boone
“I suppose it’s the least I can do. I’m certain you picked out something lovely.”
Mary nodded but didn’t reply.
After their brief stop at Prater’s Haberdashery, they were on their way home. June didn’t mind Mary driving, for this gave her the freedom to look around. They passed the Silver Dollar Inn where she waved to a few familiar faces.
Before long, they passed the little red chapel sitting proudly at the bend in the road. It was a cherished building for the town, and everyone was mighty proud of it. June smiled as her heart warmed, thinking of all the weddings and happy events that had taken place in that beloved building.
When they arrived home, Mary took the packages into the house as June tended the horses and put away the cart. She brushed down the animals and gave them oats before stepping out of the barn. They had a well-worn path leading towards the white clapboard house which stood in the shelter of several evergreen trees. It was the only home she had ever known, and she loved it dearly. After giving the horses their oats, she turned her face to the sunlight and headed in to help prepare supper.
Chapter 3
When she finally trudged inside, Mary discussed the state of her boots with their mother. “Just look at them,” she held them high for convenient viewing and pointed. “Soaked all the way through the moment I stepped in a puddle.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t go stepping in puddles, dear. It’s not what a lady would do,” her mother stated pointedly. She was a round woman now after years of marriage and hard work making the best pies in the territory. But no matter where she was, Mildred Pershing wore her grandmother’s pearl necklace and took care to keep her figure neat and clean. Her face featured a pretty delicacy in her blue eyes and a rather pointy chin that raised high when she was out and about, proving how a mayor’s wife should look and act.
“That’s beside the point,” Mary rolled her eyes as she set the boots down, now settled in her slippers. “They’re not sturdy. And they’re out of fashion, too. I can’t be seen wearing just anything anymore, not if I’m going to be getting married.”
June couldn’t resist. “To whom?” The door shut behind her as she smiled at her glaring elder sister.
Mary turned back to her mother, her face a picture of hurt innocence. “I just think that I need new boots. If I keep wearing this pair, I’ll get sick and die. You don’t want that, do you?”
The younger sister was going to say something, but their mother paused and went over to pat Mary’s arm. “Don’t you worry, dear. When your father returns home, we can have a talk about this. And if you do die, we’ll make sure you’re dressed in the current fashion in your casket and your funeral will be a stylish affair. How does that sound?”
“Much better, Mother,” she beamed.
It was hard to suppress an eye roll at her sister’s silliness, but June managed as she began to help set the table for that evening. While she enjoyed having nice things, it wasn’t as though it were a life-or-death sort of matter. Things were just nice and made life easy. And she did feel good in pretty clothes, granted. But whenever she thought about using her allowance on laces and ribbons, June regretted it, knowing in her heart all she wanted was books, books, and more books. An education, even—something more for her life beyond just being a wife and mother.
June halted suddenly, nearly dropping a glass. That thought had materialized in that form for the first time, and she wondered if anyone had noticed. Was it wrong? Her eyes wandered as her sister began to oversee her mother in the preparation of the meal. Hurriedly, she ducked her head and returned to her task, feeling as though she had done something wrong.
But she couldn’t help but wonder about it for the evening, making her toss and turn all night until it was time to rise for the Sabbath. After all, women wanted to be wives and mothers, and that was supposed to be enough. Wives and mothers had real purpose. They were critical to society. There was no reason for a woman to need a higher education. The idea made her blush, just thinking about it.
“We’re going to be late,” June sighed when she found her sister still seated by the mirror as she finished brushing her hair. “Do you really need to put in that much effort? Especially when you’ll probably leave your bonnet on for the entire time?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she finally replied to her sister’s agitation. “I assure you, my hair demands the utmost attention and effort. After all, June, even God wants us to look our best. For church, it’s important to be clean, physically and morally.”
Physically was a definite, but when it came to morals, June wasn’t sure her sister was focused on the holiness of the Lord and prayer. Not when it meant choosing between holding the hairbrush or the Scriptures. Sighing, she leaned against the doorway and fiddled with her coat again.
“Mother and Father are waiting for us,” she said after a minute when the pins were all in Mary’s hair. “Aren’t you ready yet?”
Mary shrugged. “It takes time, you know that. Well, what do you think? Am I missing any spots? I don’t want a hair out of place, June, and I mean it.”
She couldn’t imagine why it would matter as she studied her sister’s elegant face, her slender nose, sky-blue eyes, and thick lashes, all framed by soft, golden curls. But June nodded. “Everything is neat and tidy, of course. You look lovely. Now may we go? One of these days someone will take our pew and then where will we be? We can’t expect people to not sit there just because we haven’t arrived yet.”
Her sister walked past her, grabbing a coat on the way. “What are you talking about? Father’s the mayor. He has a pew that is claimed for life. There’s no way anyone would ever take our pew.” Pausing to put her arms through the sleeves, Mary checked again on her hair and June could see she was rethinking her look.
Grabbing an arm, June pulled her sister towards the door where their parents were waiting. Down onto the porch, they found their parents riding in the front of the cart in their Sunday best. June grinned at them and headed down, tugging her sister along.
“About time I had my three girls here,” their father boomed proudly. “It’s a fine Sunday and you all look as beautiful as the sun.”
“Thank you, Father,” June said automatically as Mary smoothed her dress and checked her bonnet. “We won’t be late, will we?”
He chuckled. “Don’t you worry about that, June. They would never start the sermon without us!”
It was the singing she didn’t want to miss. She did want to avoid the sideways looks for when they walked in after the service had already started. Everyone received the exact same look if they were late, with folks wondering why they hadn’t been there on time. While it wasn’t a bad thing, she just didn’t like the attention drawn to them.
But then again, Father was the mayor and he liked the attention. June wouldn’t be too surprised if he kept the horses at a slow pace just to allow them a dramatic entrance. Holding back a sigh, she fiddled with her personal hymnal from her pocket on the way there, eyes wandering from tree to tree as they rode. When they fell upon the little red chapel, she couldn’t help the smile and eagerly climbed down once they stopped moving.
“Thank you,” she told her father and stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Did anyone tell you how handsome you look today?”
“Not enough,” he winked at her and led her up the stairs. “Come along, come along, now.” And he bustled them up the steps and inside.
June’s eyes searched the congregation, finding that while several looked their way, the service hadn’t quite begun. The pastor was already making his way up to the front so he couldn’t personally welcome them, but they weren’t considered late. The tightness in her shoulders fell away as she followed her family to their usual pew.
Chapter 4
Sometimes the younger girl just didn’t get. Though June was twenty, Mary wondered what had changed between them that June didn’t understand the importance of always looking her best. Even now, Mary could see a few ink
stains blotting her sister’s fingers. That had to be a reminder of her visit into town recently to their grandfather at the law office. What did she even do when she was visiting there? Mary couldn’t begin to imagine.
She touched her hair again, feeling several loose tendrils, but there was no telling which ones weren’t tight without a mirror. That is, she couldn’t fix them without a mirror, and she wasn’t about to try and fix it in the middle of a sermon. Mary held back a blush at the very thought. Discreetly looking around, she gazed at the bonnets and pinned up braids of the women in church. Were their curls much tighter? She had just so much hair, she didn’t like having to use every pin.
After a moment of proudly realizing her hair was still the best kept of everyone else’s in the room, Mary was about to turn back when she noticed an unfamiliar head of hair. It was cropped close to the neck and recently trimmed, and very dark. Inhaling sharply, she grabbed June’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
“Ow,” the girl gritted her teeth and elbowed Mary in response. “What was that for?” she whispered quietly, eyes darting in the hopes that she hadn’t been heard. Somehow she didn’t understand the eager grin on her older sister’s face.
Another nudge and Mary subtly pointed in the direction of the hair. The figure was halfway across the chapel with his back to them. But something about that head of hair sent a thrill up her spine that Mary couldn’t possibly ignore. “Look. Would you just look?”
“At what?” June didn’t understand.
It was hard to suppress a groan. How could she not understand? A few years ago, June would have known right away what Mary spoke of, but they had grown ever so slightly apart and the gap seemed to yawn wider with every passing day
She turned to her sister and whispered low in her ear, “There’s a new man in church today.” Pulling back, she beamed broadly, unable and unwilling to hide it. Just when she thought she would die of boredom, this happened. How lucky was she!
After wrinkling her nose lightly, June turned to look again, eyes wandering to see whom the elder sister had clearly spotted. She had the eyes of a hawk, after all, and was rarely wrong when it came to things like this. Mary had made it her mission to know everyone and everything in Cutter’s Creek, which meant if there was someone new, then there was someone new. Especially if the new person happened to be a handsome man.
A moment later, Mary saw June cock her head carefully, a sure sign that she had seen the figure. Looking over again, she began to take in more details and prayed over and over for the chance to see this person’s face.
“He’s seated with Mrs. Miller,” June whispered, something that Mary hadn’t noticed. She’d been so focused on trying to see the person’s face. But all she saw so far was a decent sized ear and the tip of a pointed nose. Her sister didn’t sound too impressed, but Mary’s heart blossomed.
Suddenly it struck her that she knew who it was. Mary found herself grabbing at her sister again, ignoring the expression of annoyance beside her. “It’s Zeke, Zeke Miller. He’s come home.”
“Where was he, then?” June didn’t seem to recall the man.
Mary realized her sister probably really didn’t care where the man had been, especially since she didn’t even remember him. But Zeke was the same age as herself, and they had gone through school together. There had been a split for two classes and she had ended up in the older one and June had remained in the other. Mary definitely remembered Zeke from school.
Finally leaving her sister to pay attention to the sermon, Mary settled back on the uncomfortable pew and started to think back in time. It would have been years ago—close to six years, since that’s when schooling finished. But she’d been tutored for some time after that, as had a few other families. Had Zeke done that?
Rumor was that he’d left for college. Slowly the information was coming back to her, piece by illusive piece. Where he had gone, she wasn’t certain, but his father had left him a sum of money meant for his education. It was fair to assume, in that case, Mary assured herself, that he had completed his time in college and was returning home.
There were only a few other men in the town who had ever been to college and her heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t brought a woman with him, so surely he had to be single, hadn’t he? And what else would he be doing now but looking for a wife? Mary straightened up, smiling to herself.
By this point, there was no possibility of attending to the sermon. She liked the pastor so she was certain it was a good one, especially when her mother subtly wiped away a tender tear. But right now, all she could think about was Zeke Miller.
Why wouldn’t he turn around? She pinched her cheeks, praying repeatedly that he would. Surely he wanted to have a good look at the town, for it had grown vastly over the time he had been gone. Had he visited at all in the four years? She suddenly was certain that if Zeke had been in Cutter’s Creek over the past four years, then he hadn’t come to church when he was here. At least not when she was in attendance. After all, she would have remembered him.
She was a beat late standing for the final song, and Mary tried to sing soprano as beautifully as she could, as loudly as she could manage. This garnered a glower from June, but she didn’t mind. The moment the hymnal closed, Mary grabbed her sister eagerly and pulled her out of the aisle as everyone began to move about.
“We have to find out everything,” she announced.
June only looked confused. “What in the world are you talking about?”
Mary wondered how she could be so distracted and struggled against the urge to shake her sister madly for acting like this. Still, she gritted her teeth and smiled sweetly. “I’m talking about Zeke Miller, June. I told you he’s back.”
The younger girl just sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I honestly am not certain of whom you speak. I’m assuming of some relation to Mrs. Miller? I don’t recognize the name, though.”
Mary paused to smile at Mr. and Mrs. Todd. They were always so sweet. Almost like grandparents to everyone in town and they never missed a service.
Then Audrey Norris stopped her. “Mary, your hair looks lovely today. I can tell you put extra effort to look your best on this Lord’s Day.”
Mary fought the urge to return her comment with a smug smile. She was in a hurry, though, so she needed to not linger in the compliments Audrey was dishing out. “Well, thank you, Audrey, that’s kind of you to notice. Happy Sabbath.” She turned back to her sister, quickly dismissing Audrey who lightly shook her head and moved on to speak to the Todds.
“Mary, don’t be so rude to people. You know everyone greets each other after services. Don’t embarrass Mother and Father this way.”
“Don’t be silly, June. Now about Zeke. He was with me in school and left for college. Can you imagine? And there isn’t another woman with him, either.” A small squeal escaped her lips.
Her sister looked over. “Well, Mrs. Miller is there.”
“That’s his mother,” Mary said sharply. “How do you not understand? June, there’s a new and eligible bachelor here in Cutter’s Creek. Do you not know what this means?” Her heart surged as she looked over in his direction again, watching him take his mother’s arm. He looked taller than she remembered, broad-shouldered and confident in his suit. And those warm brown eyes. Absently she touched her hair again and looked back at her sister. “It means I could be married this very spring.”
“I, um, well, I guess I see what you mean,” June answered finally. She glanced around. “Though you’d best be sure he actually isn’t courting anyone, here or elsewhere. I’m going to go say hello to the Garretts. Can you spare me in this, um, enthusiastic moment?”
“Fine,” Mary grumbled and let her go.
She watched June for a moment, wondering why the girl would do that to herself. Being so friendly to the man whom she could have, actually should have, married. It was almost like June just couldn’t move on. Then she noticed her talking to Felicity and Josh with what seemed to be genuine glee.
Who could figure that mess out?
But, she consoled herself, once she was married, then she could help her little sister find someone as well. Who knows? Perhaps Zeke had a friend who might visit town. A small voice in the back of her mind reminded Mary of what June had mentioned, about him possibly courting someone already. Hurriedly she glanced around with narrowed eyes, watching for anyone standing too close to him.
Chapter 5
As far as Mary could tell, no one seemed too close to the new young man. Hurrying down towards the door, she hurriedly greeted the pastor with a plan budding in her mind. “Good afternoon. I wanted to thank you for such a lovely sermon today.”
He beamed through watery eyes. “My child, you are too kind. It is always a pleasure to be of service to good people who are simply trying to do His will each day. It’s especially heart-warming to see you young folks paying attention and getting involved.”
For a moment, Mary faltered, but she pushed the smile back on her face. She didn’t have a single clue about anything that had been said for the last hour. Blinking rapidly, the young woman hurriedly shook her head. “Oh, well, your message was splendid. I was touched and um, well, my mother took it all in as well, you know. In fact, the entire congregation did. It’s all I’ve been hearing since the benediction song ended.”
“What a pleasure it is to have such a good people gathered here,” he started, but the moment he paused, she took her chance and continued.
“And what a congregation it is,” Mary sighed. “I do love our town. Cutter’s Creek truly is filled with wonderful people and doesn’t it just make your heart glad being part of such a close-knit community? Everyone is already friends with everyone. Although, I must say, I did see a new face today,” she hinted broadly.