Pearl smiled. “Thank you, I was hoping for that very thing.” She sat on Matthew’s desk chair and took out her hook and thread, beginning on a pair of gloves.
“How do you enjoy living with my sister? Or shouldn’t I ask so you don’t have to answer that question? It might be awkward if you hate it.” Will chuckled.
“I’m liking it very much. Lillian is fun and easy to be with. Of course, it’s only been a week. Maybe in another week it will be awful,” Pearl teased. “How is your father? Lillian hasn’t said much.”
“Weak, but doing better. He’s not the best patient. Mother has come to the shop several times, just to get away from the growly bear, as she says. Lillian went to visit, so I anticipate Mother coming in for a while.”
Pearl nodded. “I was wondering where she was.”
A customer came in then, so Will went to tend to him. Pearl crocheted, listening to the conversation. The bell on the door jingled, and Mrs. Miller walked in. She came straight to the back.
“Pearl, good morning. Lillian mentioned how pleased she is to have you living with her.”
“I’m enjoying the change in living accommodations as well. This apartment is much nicer than my previous one.”
Luella preened at the compliment. “Thank you.”
“How is Mr. Miller fairing?”
Luella’s shoulders slumped slightly. “He seems to be getting stronger. It’s slow. Definitely slower than he’d like.”
The shop door opened and closed causing both ladies to look toward the front. Will stepped away from the cash register with a smile. “A very profitable way to start the day. I just sold an engagement and wedding ring. He also bought a pair of gloves for his fiancé”
“Congratulations.” Pearl dropped her eyes when Will’s focus centered on her.
“That’s wonderful,” Luella said. “That brings me to the topic I want to speak to you about, Pearl. Mrs. Bacher, the woman who purchased the sleeveless blouse; she wants a black shawl made. It’s to be of black silk thread. Also, she would like to meet you and discuss the design. Would you be able to go and meet her?”
Pearl hesitated. “If that’s what she wants, I suppose so.”
“I’ll go with you, but mustn’t stay for the entire discussion. Matthew will need me. Is now convenient?”
“Well, yes.”
“Good, I’ll call her and make arrangements.” Luella went to the back wall where the telephone was mounted and cranked the handle.
“Are you uncomfortable with going?” Will asked.
Pearl noted the concern in his eyes. “A little. I don’t know the woman. I’m not sure how to proceed.”
“Just follow Mother’s lead. She’s familiar with Mrs. Bacher. All you need to do is be your charming self.”
Luella finished her telephone call and came back to where Pearl and Will were seated by the workbench. “Good news. Mrs. Bacher is coming downtown and would like to meet us at the Tea Room. She’s planning on going shopping at Townsend and Wyatt. She will be there in a half an hour.”
Pearl stood, wavering just a moment when her head swam.
“Are you all right?” Will asked, reaching his hand out to support her arm.
“Yes, I just got up too quickly. I think it’s the excitement of a large order and going to the Tea Room.”
~~~~~
Will looked up when the door to the shop opened, setting the bell jingling. Pearl entered with a huge smile on her face. She ran around the counter, excitement radiating throughout her entire being. She looked so pretty in her pale blue tea dress with its puff sleeves and pink Irish lace on the yoke. Will thought it was a very smart way of highlighting how proficient Pearl was at making lace.
“You won’t believe this, Will. Mrs. Bacher wants me to make her a large shawl. She gave me the money to purchase the black silk thread. I’ll be able to get it at a discount because I work at Townsend & Wyatt. Your mother was very helpful. She suggested the price the shawl should be, and Mrs. Bacher agreed. She left to go home when we began discussing the designs.”
“That’s wonderful. How long do you think it will take you to complete?” Will asked.
Pearl’s eyes were shining with elation, making her even more beautiful. “Several weeks. That is, if I can work on it steadily. I need to figure the amount of thread I’ll need. Then, I’m going to Townsend and see if they have enough of the same dye lot. If not, I’ll place an order. I hope they have it so I can start today. I made sure all the motifs were simple ones for the design. That was your mother’s idea, also. She’s right. There’s no sense in making it more complicated than it needs to be. The general public doesn’t know a simple motif from an intricate one.”
Will grinned. Pearl was sounding like Lillian when she got excited about something. He liked seeing joy in her eyes. Too often Pearl’s grief showed. Maybe she was simply tired from the move, her job, and making so many lace items. Nearly every day she left a piece or two on the counter as she left to go to work. He’d find them, record them in the ledger and display them in the case. The shop’s reputation for having high-quality Irish lace was growing in large part because of the items she made.
“Do you want some paper to figure on? I have some scratch paper here.” Will opened a drawer and took out several sheets of paper with writing on one side. He laid them, blank side up and placed a pencil on them beside his workspace.
He’d done some rearranging of his work area during the past week. Lillian had been nagging him to clean the bench so she’d have more space to do the bookwork. That hadn’t been the motivation for him to get it done though. Will hoped Pearl would find the spot welcoming to spend her time crocheting there instead of up in the apartment.
Yesterday, Will had stayed later than normal claiming he had work to complete. Lillian had gone upstairs to fix supper, and he’d been invited to stay for it. Pearl had sat next to him making a lace antimacassar set. It now was prominently displayed in the case. Will expected it to be sold within a few days.
He’d enjoyed their time chatting as they both did their work. Maybe he’d do some rearranging of the entire space. The desk chair, used first by his father and now mostly by Lillian, couldn’t be the most comfortable for Pearl to sit in to crochet. Maybe he’d look into getting a sewing chair similar to the one in the apartment. That would be much more welcoming. It would also give Pearl somewhere to sit if Lillian was here.
“Well, I’m off. I’ve got the necessary yardage figured for the thread. If I hurry to Townsend now and I can get what I need, I should be able to start on the motifs and get several made today.”
Will watched Pearl leave. The more he saw of her, the more he liked her. The day she’d fainted in his shop had become one of the best days of his life.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Pearl, Pearl. Are you all right? Wake up.” Lillian shook her friend by the shoulder. She hadn’t realized Pearl hadn’t gotten up that morning. She was due at the dry goods store in a half an hour.
“What?” Pearl rolled to her back.
“You need to get up or you’ll be late for work. You only have thirty minutes.”
“What?” Pearl shrieked. She threw back the covers and jumped out.
Lillian watched as Pearl grabbed the clothing she needed. “Here, let me help.” Between the two of them, they soon had Pearl dressed. While she brushed her teeth and washed her face, Lillian arranged her hair in a simple style acceptable to Townsend & Wyatt’s dress code.
“Here.” Lillian handed Pearl her handbag and a piece of buttered bread when she straightened from buttoning her shoes. “Eat this on the way. I’ll come by later with some lunch for you. Now, go.”
Pearl flew down the stairs as Lillian watched. Something was wrong with her friend. This was the first time she had overslept, but she was always tired. They’d sit in the parlor after supper and chat while Pearl crocheted and Lillian sewed. Every evening she fell asleep within a few minutes. The shawl for Mrs. Bacher wasn’t progressing very quickl
y.
Lillian picked up the bag Pearl kept her motifs, hook, and thread in. Normally, she took it with her and crocheted during her breaks and her lunch hour. She’d forgotten to take it in her hurry to get to work on time. Lillian would deliver it when she took food for Pearl later this morning.
Lillian made Pearl’s bed and put away the nightgown she’d left on the floor. Pearl was definitely neater than Lillian. Her room had things lying on just about every surface. Everything of Pearl’s was put away. The contrast made Lillian smile.
Heading down to the shop, she found Will just arriving. She debated mentioning Pearl oversleeping but decided her friend might not appreciate something so personal being discussed with a man. She would tell him about Pearl not taking her lunch to work since Lillian would need to leave the shop to take it.
“Good morning, little sis,” Will said. “Beautiful June day, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Lillian said.
“I saw Pearl nearly running down the street. Was she late heading for work?”
“Yes, the morning just got away from her. She even forgot her lunch. I’ll take it to her later, when I go to visit Father.”
~~~~~
“I saw you rushing up the street, Mrs. Ward,” Mr. Dimmick said when Pearl came from the Lady’s Employee Lounge. It wasn’t a lounge in the truest sense of the word, rather a room for the female employees to place their coats, bags, and any other of their belongings while they worked. It was also where they took their breaks and ate their lunches.
“Yes, I didn’t want to be late. Time was a bit short this morning.” Pearl nearly reached up to look at the watch-locket she’d always worn pinned to her bodice. She stopped her hand just in time, her heart sinking. There was no way she’d be able to buy the locket back. Not with the expenses coming and her losing her job.
“Commendable, but a flushed and perspiring employee isn’t a welcoming presence for the customers.”
“No, sir.” Pearl couldn’t tell if that was the correct response or if Mr. Dimmick wanted a ‘yes, sir’ instead. He simply turned on his heel and walked away. “What a grouch,” Pearl mumbled as she went to the fabric department where she worked.
There was a shipment of new fabrics waiting to be placed in the racks. The ends needed to be labeled with the price per yard. As she did so, Pearl noticed a fabric she thought Will might like for the draperies in his parlor. Lillian and Mrs. Miller had completed the ones for his bedroom and the bathing room.
Just a few days earlier they had come and purchased cotton to use in the kitchen and washroom. Pearl thought lace ones would have been pretty in the kitchen but hadn’t suggested it. That left the parlor and the second bedroom still needing window coverings. This fabric was good quality and well suited for draperies in a parlor. She would show it to Lillian when she came with Pearl’s lunch.
It was a busy morning and Pearl was surprised when Lillian showed up. She looked at the clock above the elevator and saw it was nearly her lunch break. When she’d had her morning break a couple of hours earlier, she’d realized her crocheting had been left behind and mourned the loss of the few minutes she could have worked on motifs for the shawl. They were nearly completed and she would begin connecting them as soon as they all were.
The shawl was taking longer than Pearl had hoped due to her fatigue. Falling asleep in the evenings shortened the time she could work on it, and she’d made more mistakes and had to rip out the work and correct the stitches. That took time. Time Pearl didn’t want to lose. Couldn’t afford to lose.
“Hello, sleepyhead,” Lillian whispered as she gave Pearl a quick hug. “I’ve brought you lunch and your crocheting.”
“Oh, you’re a doll. Thank you.” Pearl placed the bags under the counter. “My break is in about ten minutes. Would you like to stay and eat with me? There’s a bench outside that’s in the shade.”
Lillian grinned and help up her handbag. “I brought my lunch hoping you’d want me to.”
Pearl showed the drapery fabric to Lillian, who bought a small piece to show Will and her mother. “I don’t want to choose something he won’t like and Mother won’t have input for. That’s a mistake I made with the bathing room. She was not happy not being included in the decision. I learned my lesson. I sort of pity the woman Will marries. It will be difficult for Mother to relinquish the control of his life she still has. He’ll need to set her straight about who is the most important woman in his life. Leave and cleave, the Bible says.”
“That was one of the reasons Patrick and I moved from Ohio.” They were sitting on the bench enjoying the fresh air as they ate. “Both our mothers were constantly meddling in our lives. They both thought we needed advice. It was causing conflict between him and me. Loyalty to our parent and resenting the input of the other. When we realized we hadn’t set the other as the most important person in our lives, we adjusted our perspective. It didn’t make our mothers very happy. We finally had to move away.”
“That’s sad. I hope that doesn’t happen to Will or me. Mary and Josey are both able to sort of ignore Mother when she gets into her moods. It’s harder for me since I’m the baby of the family. Will is the only boy. He’ll inherit the shop.
“It’s gone to the first boy in every generation since Wilhelm Mueller came to America from Bavaria in 1850. I think it goes even further back. Wilhelm wasn’t the first son. He got out of Bavaria before he could be drafted and have to fight in the battles that led to the Agreement of Olmütz. It has something to do with uniting Germany or something like that. Anyway, it’s why Wilhelm immigrated to America.” Lillian took a bite of her sandwich.
“Is Will named after your ancestor?”
“Yes, my grandfather Wilhelm married on the way over to Bridget Ryan from Ireland. Father changed the spelling from Mueller to Miller when he came of age.”
Pearl took out her crocheting as soon as she finished her meal. By the time her half hour break was over she’d completed another of the motifs.
“You do that so quickly. That hook just flies,” Lillian said.
“I’ve been crocheting since I was seven. My grandmother lived with us. My grandfather died in the Civil War. She never remarried, and she and her children lived with her parents until my mother married my father. She lived with us then. She and my mother taught me to crochet. ‘Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.’ That was my grandmother’s motto.
“We’ll need to finish this discussion tonight. I need to get back to work.”
They stood and Lillian took the remains of the meal with her. Pearl went back to work under the watchful eyes of Mr. Dimmick.
~~~~~
Lillian watched Pearl as they fixed supper. Her eyes had dark shadows under them. Her shoulders drooped. Something was definitely wrong, and she intended to find out what it was. She wasn’t her mother’s daughter for nothing. Determination was practically her middle name.
Only she and Pearl sat down to eat. Will was dining with their parents tonight. It seemed that he stayed late at the shop several times a week, joining them for the evening meal. Lillian knew he didn’t like to cook and barely knew how. She also wondered if Pearl was a draw.
Will had rearranged the back part of the shop, even moving the counter and several display cases forward to make more room. He’d brought an old sewing chair from home and set it at the end of the workbench. His end of the workbench. It was for Pearl to sit in when she was there on Saturdays. Lillian could sit in the chair during the week, but it seemed to be reserved for Pearl on the weekend.
“You go on to the parlor. I’ll just wipe the table and be in momentarily,” Lillian said. As she ran the dishcloth over the table, she watched Pearl walk into the other room, pick up her crocheting, and sit down. Rather than take her work from the bag, Pearl just sat, staring off into space. With determination, Lillian finished her task. She was going to get to the bottom of what was wrong with her friend.
Rather than settling into the sewing chair, Lillian sat next to Pearl on th
e davenport. Taking her friend’s hand, she looked at the pale weary face. “Pearl, what’s wrong? No, don’t deny it. I can tell something is. You come home from work exhausted. You fall asleep early in the evening, sitting here while we chat and do our handwork. This morning you overslept, nearly to the point of being late for work. I had to wake you up. I’m so worried. Are you ill?”
She watched as tears gathered in Pearl’s eyes. Her heart clenched. Pearl had become more than a close friend over the past few weeks. Lillian was beginning to love her like a sister.
She gathered Pearl into her arms. “What is it? Whatever it is, I’ll help anyway I can. I know Will would, too.”
Pearl drew back. “Oh, you mustn’t tell him. No, please.”
“Sweetheart, unless I know what’s going on I can’t promise anything.”
Pearl gave a small bitter laugh. “Patrick gave me something before he got sick. It’s something we wanted so much. Then he died. Now, I don’t know whether to be happy or sad. Thankful or terrified. I bounce between the emotions so many times each day. It’s going to be so difficult, but God will provide. He did with you wanting me to live here. Maybe I’ll be able to support myself only on the crocheting, but I don’t know. There’s just so much uncertainty. I’m just so tired all the time, it’s hard to think.”
“I don’t understand. You’ll have to be more specific. What is the matter? Are you ill?”
“No, not ill. I’m expecting.”
Lillian stared at her friend. Relief followed by joy swamped her. What a blessing. No wonder Pearl was so tired, after working all day on her feet. Then, Lillian realized why Pearl was concerned. “You’re afraid you are going to lose your job.”
“I’m certain I will lose my job. As soon as it becomes obvious that I’m in the family way, I will be let go. Then, how am I going to support myself and the baby? Even after it is born, I can’t be gone all day working. Who will take care of it? Where are we going to live? How will I make enough money making lace to feed, clothe, and afford a place to live?”
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