by Naomi Musch
Marilla had finished her wash, but she didn't like taking off without having planned the day better. There would be dinner to get ready, and both the babies needed baths. She would need to squeeze in another milking of Fancy after supper. "I don't know."
Delia's glance shifted, and Marilla turned. She didn't hear Lang's approach beside her and startled at his nearness.
Delia glanced between them. "Mother said she'd be happy to watch the little ones today while she washes up her canning jars. She thinks you need a break."
Lang looked at Delia with an expression Marilla couldn't read, but it provoked her suspicion. "I'm not really ready to go anywhere."
"Go get ready then. It's only into Shell Lake. Lang, tell her."
"It's all right. Go if you want. I'll take care of the children. I can change them and take them to your mother's."
"I'll help too," said Theo.
There was that look again. She saw it on Lang's face before he noticed her watching. Something passed from him to Delia, and instantly she made up her mind. She was mad. "Sure. Why not? I'll go change out of my apron and brush my hair."
"Just wear a hat."
She scooted inside the house and closed the door, setting her basket on the floor outside their bedroom. Her thoughts whirred between frustration at a husband who only felt partly hers, and her sister who seemed aware of his attraction, yet acted bright as a daisy in his presence. She stood in front of her bureau mirror and loosened her hair to brush out the snarls. Oh, to have Delia's waves of gold instead of her own straw-straight locks. She re-braided it and wound it around her head before pinning it back into place.
"Good enough." She plucked her sweater off the hook behind the door and carried it along should she need it later, though she doubted it. It was still plenty warm out, and they would only be gone an hour or two.
"Be good for your father," she said with a kiss to Dora's cheek before she climbed into the car. "Bertie's asleep. He'll wake soon and want something."
Lang nodded. "All taken care of." He waved them off, and she settled in with Delia without a backward glance.
"What's all this about?"
"About?"
"Yes. You running me off to town."
"It's not about anything. I just thought you'd like to come along. When is the last time you've been to town?"
Marilla had made plenty of excuses for not leaving home, which wasn't hard to do. She hadn't gone to church in three weeks, too afraid to run into Jacob after the way she had walked out of his apartment and store last month. Yet, here she was, riding off to town with Delia where she was certain to have to see him and even speak to him.
"It's been a while."
"Yes. I bet it has. You didn't even see Jacob's black eye."
She spun her head sideways. "Black eye?"
"I noticed some cuts on Lang's knuckles a while back."
Those cuts on Lang after he'd come home from town! "What are you saying? You don't think..."
Delia shrugged. "I don't know. I'm only pointing out that you can't stay secluded at the cabin forever. Summer is fleeting. Face up to your problems, little sister."
"What problems?"
Delia smacked the steering wheel and shook her head. "What problems," she mumbled. "Have you and Lang patched things up?"
"Why? What has he told you? Clearly the two of you still talk." Her irritation rode out on her words.
"Yes. Lang did talk to me a couple weeks ago."
She shot Delia a look. "And?"
"He apologized."
"What for?"
"You know what for. For the letter and for everything else he could think of."
"You said he told you to forget it."
"And I did, but apparently he didn't think it was enough. He needed to set things right—"
Marilla harrumphed. "Sure he did."
"Marilla!" Delia braked the car and stopped in the middle of the road. She turned to Marilla. "You stop that. He did apologize, and he meant it."
"How do you know?"
"He hasn't acted—you know—out of place toward me in word or deed since he's come home. It's been three months. When are you going to forgive him?"
"Me! Forgive him!"
"Yes. You're only hurting yourself you know."
Marilla set her shoulders and pinched her lips, but Delia's words had already found purchase. Part of her longed to forgive Lang and even believe him. The other part of her still hurt too fiercely to consider it.
"Well. Do what you want. But I'm only going to say this once." Delia put the car into gear and moved the lever to accelerate down the road. "Lang knows he made an error. He said so. He's in love with you, Rilla. Throw that away if you want, but I fear you'll regret it."
He's in love with you.
How the years of wanting flashed through her mind. She'd hoped and cried for Lang's love. She had even prayed for it. Now Delia—Delia of all people—was telling her she had it. Could it be true?
"And while you're at it, you might consider thanking God and asking Him to forgive you for your stubbornness and pride too."
Marilla shifted to rebut her, but they were coming into Shell Lake, and she couldn't drive the words from her mouth.
Delia pulled to a stop in front of Jacob Hessman's Store. "Hey, would you look at that?"
A large white-lettered sign was on display inside the window. "For Rent or Sale". Marilla climbed out of the car, staring at it. She clutched her purse and followed Delia to the door. The bell jingled the welcoming sound she'd grown to love as they entered.
Jacob stood up from behind a tall display on the far end of the store. "Hello."
"Oh, there you are." Delia marched over. "I have a short list of things I need today, if you have the time."
Jacob's gaze drifted to Marilla. He nodded. "There is always time enough. Else I would be in the wrong business."
Marilla narrowed her glance, unable to tell if Jacob still retained any signs of injury around his eye. He turned away and walked past them to the space behind the counter. "I am glad you came, Marilla. An order arrived for your husband. I didn't think he would send you for it." He turned toward them, settling a large box on the counter top.
Marilla shook her head and frowned. "He didn't send me, Jacob." She thought of the look Langdon had given Delia before they left and then of the conversation in the motorcar. Perhaps that look meant something other than she had thought. Was he expecting Delia to help him win her forgiveness? Was he worried about what she might do when she saw Jacob?
"Jacob." Delia stepped forward. "We noticed the sign in your window. What's going on? Are you leaving?"
He pinched his lips and then hissed out a sigh. "Yes. My brother-in-law Karl did not come home from the war."
Marilla's heart lurched. "Oh, Jacob..."
"So, I am going to South Dakota to stay with my sister for a time. Perhaps for good. She needs my help more than I need the store right now."
"But how will you live?" Delia asked.
"Karl and my sister own a large farm. I will help her take care of it as long as she wishes, and I will live there with her and her children."
"I'm so sorry, Jacob, but..." Marilla glanced around the store. It had belonged to his family for a long time. Surely it must hurt him to leave it. Yet, for her to say so might make the pain sting more. She shook her head. "We will miss you." Confusion coursed through her at his tender glance. Yes, she would miss him—miss him terribly, but not so badly as she might have only weeks ago. Why was that?
"I will miss you too." He looked to Delia. "Both of you and your family. Very much." He reached for the box to unpack it. "Still it must be done."
Jacob pried the small nails from the crate and loosened the top. He folded back brown paper to reveal a black telephone handset.
"It's a telephone!" Delia clasped her hands together.
Marilla's attention had drifted. What would she do without Jacob's presence? Then she thought again of Delia's words to her in th
e car.
He's in love with you.
Could it be true? Did Langdon want her after all this time? She shook herself into the present, finally aware of Delia's proclamation. "What for?"
Jacob looked at her again. "Langdon plans to put it in your house. Perhaps I should have let him tell you."
"Theo said we'll get a telephone soon. His parents just had one put in too. Just think, Rilla, we'll be able to call each other. I won't drive in and surprise you anymore. I'll call to let you know I'm coming."
"He's putting in a telephone?" Marilla couldn't quite grasp the concept of Lang giving them something so modern. She had seen the lines going in down their road when the Stroms installed a telephone on their farm, but it had meant little to her at the time.
"It would be nice if Mother and Dad had one at the farm," Delia said.
Jacob repackaged the crate. "Soon enough everyone will have one."
Delia nodded toward a small stand behind the counter. "You won't be the only one to have a telephone anymore."
He nodded. “Very true.”
Delia sighed. "So many changes."
He slid the box closer to Marilla. "The telephone is paid for. He will have to call the servicemen to install it."
She lifted the box off the counter. "I will tell him."
Delia had shuffled off to look around the store. Marilla took the box to Delia's car and returned with a few things in mind she should pick up. Jacob gathered Delia's list of goods together and added Marilla's items to the stack, all while Delia wandered the store. Finally, they paid their bill and left.
"A telephone." Marilla ran her hand over the box on the seat between them.
He's in love with you.
She still couldn't get over it.
~~~~~
Langdon drove from the farm back to the cabin. The day had been long enough. Now he needed to get cleaned up and changed, get Rilla and the kids, and take them to Theo and Delia's for dinner before milking. He really would have rather had dinner at home with Rilla and had the chance to work for a while on the house before going back to milk. All this extra running around came at a bad time. The potato crop was ready to harvest along with the oats cut and straw needing to be baled. The house wouldn't be finished by November if he didn't get more time to work on it, and he was determined to have Rilla moved in as an anniversary gift. This was one anniversary he wasn't going to mess up.
The windows had arrived a few days ago, and Rilla's father promised to help install them. Then they were going to dig the new well. If everything worked out, Rilla wouldn't be going to the outhouse this winter. Someday the farm was going to be theirs, and it was going to be first class if he could help it. His wife was going to be as proud of him as she was of all the things her own father had accomplished. Maybe they could rent out the old farmhouse of her folks' someday. In the meantime, her folks could grow old there, and he and Rilla could help take care of them.
Between him, Theo, and a technician from Rice Lake, the telephone would be installed by the end of the week. He knew it would take her some time to get used to using it, but he hoped Marilla would come to appreciate the convenience of his gift as she had the automobile.
He found her changing the children into clean clothes. She herself had already gotten ready. Her silky hair was drawn up and he could swear she'd rouged her cheeks and lips.
"You look nice."
She glanced at him and turned back to her task of wrestling Bertie into his clothes. Was that a real blush on her cheek as well?
"Thank you."
"I'll get cleaned up so I don't look so bad next to you at the table."
"There's hot water on the stove."
Lang went to the sink and set a small tub in it. He stripped off his shirt and poured the water into the tub, adding a half pail of cold water that sat on the sideboard to cool it down a little. Then he doused his head and washed his face and upper body. When he rinsed and toweled, he turned around and saw her looking at him. She quickly turned away.
"Been a while since we've gone anywhere to eat. Seems a shame it's only to your sister's. Maybe we can go on up to Spooner one of these days and get a real nice dinner out."
She nodded. "That would be fine."
For the moment, they almost seemed like a normal family, like a real, true husband and wife. They were talking, and she wasn't ignoring him anymore. It felt like a step anyway.
Lang moved passed her into the bedroom and changed into clean pants and a fresh shirt. He combed his hair and hurried back out to help Rilla with the children. "We'd better not be late. Theo said they have something they want to tell us."
Marilla nodded and picked up Bertie. The little boy was growing out of his infancy. He looked more like Lang every day, despite his lighter brown hair. "Go with Daddy, Dora."
Dora reached for Lang and he scooped her up into his arms. She squealed as he carried her out of the house.
"It's too bad there isn't time to walk over."
He glanced over the hood of the car at Rilla. How pretty she looked in her sky blue, flowered dress and light blond hair. Her eyes, as ever, seemed an ocean to him. "Maybe we can take a walk tonight."
As they got into the motorcar, she glanced at him but didn't answer. At least it was better than an outright no. Moments later, they were headed off to the Strom's. Both Rilla's parents and Theo's had already arrived, as well as Theo's brother William. Theo greeted them at his front door.
"Come on in." Theo had gotten his peg. While he wasn't quite used to it yet, he was determined to become adept at maneuvering with it. Now he thumped awkwardly across the room, leading them inside to the kitchen. He and Delia had put the leaf in the kitchen table, making plenty of room for everyone around the big circle. He and Rilla greeted Theo's parents as though they hadn't seen them in years, and his brother William shook Lang's hand too. Delia set a pot roast on the table's center and encouraged them to all find a seat.
"Will?" Theo nodded at his brother who produced a bottle of homemade dandelion wine.
"What's the occasion?" Delia's father asked.
"We have some important news. William already knows, but we wanted to tell the rest of you all at once."
Delia clasped her hands together. "Well, it's this. Last week when Marilla and I went into town together, we discovered what you all know already, that Jacob Hessman intends to let out his store."
"Or sell it," Theo added. He glanced at his wife and at the others. "You can probably guess where this is going."
Delia grinned as she took a deep breath. "Theo and I, well, we're going to rent it."
Marilla's mouth dropped. "You're going to run the store?"
"Yes ma'am," Theo said. "I can't go back to the railroad, not with my new accoutrements," he said, referring to his peg good-naturedly. "And I can't just sit around here. I think I could do pretty well as a storekeeper. So? What do you think?" He reached for the wine and poured everyone enough for a few small sips. Delia laid a hand over her glass and shook her head.
"What about your home? Will you drive back and forth every day in your condition?" Delia's father cut to the question that Lang wondered. How would Theo handle that?
Delia leaned forward. "Well, Daddy, you see, Theo and I thought we'd stay in the apartment behind the store for a while, at least until we understand what we're doing."
"Yes, Mr. Eckert." Theo took Delia's hand. "It'll take time to understand everything there is to know about running the store, and it'll be best if we're right there, at least for the time being. That's why Will knows about everything. He's going to rent this house and take care of it until we get things settled, and he marries his girl next spring."
Delia nodded, her excitement reflecting her husband's. "It's possible we'll come back here after that, or...we might stay in Shell Lake."
"And if Jacob sells the store to someone else?"
"He won't sell it as long as we're there," Theo said. "It's in our agreement."
Mrs. Eckert touched h
er daughter's hand "Are you sure you want to do this? Leave your fine house, Delia?" Theo's mother nodded in agreement with the question.
"Yes, Mama. I'm sure."
"If it's what you want."
Theo's face grew somber. "I have to do something more than what I'm doing now. You understand, right Pa?" He looked to his father. "I can putter around here, but I can't farm anymore. Not really. And like I said, I'll never be able to return to the railroad. But I think I can run a store. We can hire a boy to help with the heavy work."
"And I can help too. It'll be like a dream come true," Delia said. "Something for us to build on as our own—if we should end up buying it, that is."
Mr. Strom pinched his eyes shut for a second and nodded. "You don't know how happy I am, son, to see you have a dream still. Your plan is a sound one."
Lang raised his glass. "I'd like to make a toast then, to the new Strom Store."
The others lifted their glasses.
"There's one more thing." Delia halted them, and a gleam shone in her eyes. "We have something else to tell you. Go ahead, honey."
Theo stood. "We're going to have a baby!"
Lang looked at Marilla, whose eyes widened with delight. She clasped a hand to her mouth, and his own heart leapt, just as he was sure everyone's did. Yet it wasn't so much for Delia and Theo as it was for the thrill at seeing such joy on Marilla's face. When she lowered her hand, he reached beneath the table and clutched it, willing her not to pull away. She didn't, and for the space of a brief glance, he reveled in her gaze.
Then she turned to the others. "When?"
"Not until late winter. Sometime after Bertie's birthday. A couple weeks or so."
Lang let go of her hand so she could hug her sister. Everyone rose and clamored to congratulate them.
"I suppose you'll be closer to the hospital if you're in Shell Lake," Mrs. Strom said, and Mrs. Eckert agreed.
When they all settled down again, Lang leaned close to whisper in Marilla's ear. "No one will ever be a prettier mother than you, Rilla."
He was rewarded when she bent her head and smiled.
Chapter Thirty-Nine