A Bride's Agreement

by Elaine Bonner

  The meal was very quiet. No one seemed to know what to say or do. Emily wasn’t even sure of what she was eating. She and everyone else went through the motions of the meal.

  Steven finally spoke. “What’s your usual routine around here after dinner?”

  Bitterly, Matt replied, “We do our chores.”

  “I was hoping you’d be a little more specific,” Steven replied.

  “Okay. Mark and I have been trying to fix the fence around the garden. Some of the posts have rotted out and the fence is falling down. We were going to work on it this afternoon.” In a short tone, he added, “Is that all right with you?”

  Looking him in the eyes, Steven answered, “It’s fine with me. Do you need some help?”

  Staring right back at his father and never batting an eye, Matt replied, “We’ve gotten along without your help for all these years. I think we can manage this afternoon just fine! We can certainly mend a fence without your help!”

  Nothing more was said. Steven finished and left without saying anything to anyone. Emily was probably the only one that noticed he barely touched his food. He certainly didn’t have the appetite of a farmer. Alice began clearing the table. As soon as she and Emily had washed the last dish, she turned to Emily and said, “I sure hate to do this to you, but I have to get home and care for my own family. They made do with sandwiches for dinner, so I need to fix them a good supper. You should have plenty of leftovers for supper. You’ll just have to heat them up.”

  “Thank you for everything,” Emily told her. “I do hope we can become friends. I know I can’t take Rebecca’s place, and I don’t want to. I would like to create a place for myself, though, and I hope folks will give me the chance.”

  Alice just smiled. Emily could tell she had reservations and that it would take time. Based on the brief time she had known Alice, though, Emily believed her to be a fair-minded person. “If you have any questions, give me a holler,” Alice said. “I just live up the road a piece.”

  Emily walked Alice to the front door and watched as she disappeared down the road. Now she was truly on her own, and she was terrified. She turned around and wondered what to do first. She was sure Steven had brought in her trunk, but she had no idea where he had placed it. It would feel good to get out of her traveling clothes, but she didn’t know where to go. This was supposed to be her new home, and she had never felt more like a stranger anywhere.

  The front door opened into a large hallway. In the hall was a daybed, hat rack, and small dresser, neat but dusty. She turned and to her right was a large family room, with a big fireplace on the opposite wall. A large braided rug lay on the floor in front of it, with a sofa, two big overstuffed chairs, a rocking chair, and several straight-back chairs scattered throughout the room. The room looked lived in but not messy. It, too, was a little dusty.

  Pictures stood on the mantel. One of the whole family showed that Rebecca had been a pretty woman, small, a little frail looking in the picture. Steven had been a handsome young man. He didn’t smile in the picture; as a matter of fact, only the children were smiling, while Steven and Rebecca looked very solemn. Emily wondered how long before he left this picture had been taken. Sarah was in the photograph, so it couldn’t have been long, Emily deduced.

  Another picture caught her eye, a wedding picture. In this picture the two people had big smiles on their faces. Steven was even more handsome here and Rebecca more beautiful. Emily knew she could not compare with Rebecca. Emily was anything but beautiful, and she certainly wasn’t small and frail, though she preferred to think of herself as being from much hardier stock. She could just hear the folks now, asking each other what Steven could have seen in her when he had Rebecca waiting for him at home. Oh well, somehow she would get through all this and folks would realize she didn’t steal Steven away from Rebecca.

  She walked across the hall and opened a door. Her trunk sat in the middle of the floor, near an iron bed. This must have been Rebecca’s room, Emily realized, looking at the silver comb and brush with a small hand mirror that lay on a dressing table. The room Steven had shared with her when he lived here. She opened the wardrobe and found it filled with clothes. The room had apparently not been touched since Rebecca died.

  A trunk stood in one corner, and Emily thought about exploring it, but she decided against it for now. The wardrobe was full, so she would just leave her things in her trunk for the time being. As she removed one of her work dresses from the trunk, she knew she would have to talk with Steven about Rebecca’s things. She frowned uneasily while she changed her clothes. This must be the room Steven intended her to use, but she wasn’t sure it was big enough for both her and the memories she could feel here.

  Exploring the rest of the house, Emily found one other small bedroom downstairs that appeared to be Sarah’s. Upstairs were two rooms where obviously the boys slept. She decided to look around outside next. She would have liked a guide for this tour, but apparently that was not to be.

  She found the well-stocked smokehouse, then walked through the chicken yard. From the looks of things, fresh eggs and fried chicken would be plentiful. She could see a couple of milk cows out by the barn, so there would be fresh milk and butter.

  Emily could see the two older boys working on the garden fence, but she decided not to approach them. She heard children laughing in the distance. The noise sounded as though it was coming from the front of the house, so she moved that way. When she rounded the corner, the children spotted her and immediately stopped their play.

  A big collie dog was in the yard with the children. “What’s the dog’s name?” Emily inquired.

  “Precious,” answered Sarah. “She’s my dog; we got her when she was a baby and I help feed her and take care of her, so she’s mine.”

  Emily smiled. “She’s a beautiful dog. It looks like you’ve taken very good care of her. I can tell she loves you very much.”

  “She follows Sarah everywhere she goes,” Luke added. “Momma always said she didn’t have to worry about Sarah if she was off somewhere because Precious would take care of her.”

  “It’s nice to have a friend like that. One you can depend on to always be by your side,” Emily replied. She had a sad faraway look in her eye. Right now she would love to have a friend, just someone she could talk to.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by Sarah’s voice. “Since our father married you, are you our mother now?” All three children looked very anxious to hear the answer to that question.

  “I know you children loved your mother very much, and I know I could never take her place,” Emily said gently. “I just hope that in time I can become your friend. I would like for each of you to be my friend. I don’t know anyone here, and I sure could use a friend right now.”

  John looked very puzzled. “I didn’t know grown-ups had friends,” he remarked. “What do they do with friends? They’re too old to play games.”

  “There’s lots of things to do with friends besides just play. Friends are people you can share all your secret thoughts with. Someone you can just talk to when you’re lonely. Grown-ups need friends just like children do,” Emily answered.

  The children sat in silence, then Luke finally spoke. “I guess maybe we could be friends. What is it you would like to talk about?” he asked.

  “Why don’t each one of you tell me about yourself and what you like to do. What foods you like to eat. Just anything you can think of about yourself,” Emily said.

  The children started sharing their likes and dislikes, and Emily was enjoying their visit so much that she completely let the time get away from her. Suddenly, she realized it was getting late, and she had better get supper on the table.

  She had just gotten everything warmed and ready when Steven came in, followed closely by Matt and Mark. Matt yelled for the younger children and soon all were seated around the big table. Supper was just as quiet as dinner had been. When they finished eating, only Sarah stayed to help Emily with the dishes. Emily wondered
where Steven was; she really needed to talk with him and get a few things settled.

  She found him sitting alone on the front porch and she cleared her throat before she began. “I don’t mean to intrude, but there are a few things I need to know. Little things like what time do you want meals served? Where am I to sleep? Also, how much authority do I have with the children and assigning them chores? I just want to get things clear from the start so we have as few problems as possible.”

  In his usual monotone fashion, Steven began, “We’ll get up about sunup, and you can start breakfast. We’ll eat after the milking’s done. Dinner will be about noon and supper about sundown.”

  He let out a long sigh, then continued. “You’ll sleep in the front bedroom, the first door on the left. You have complete authority with the kids. You can assign them whatever chores you feel necessary. You’ll run things like the lady of the house would do.”

  Steven had answered all of her questions, but he never looked at her. He just sat there staring down the road. Emily wondered if he was wishing he could take off down that road again and never look back, because right at this moment that was what she would like to do.

  Emily decided this was not a good time to approach the subject of Rebecca’s belongings. She sat in silence, looking up at the heavens and thanking God for getting her through this first day. She was dreading going to bed in that room.

  CHAPTER 4

  Emily lay in bed for hours wondering how she would ever make things work. She may have made a little progress with the three youngest today, but she knew it would take a long time to make friends with Matt and Mark. Steven, well, that was a whole different story. How would she ever break through the barrier he had built around himself? Even though Emily considered this a job, she hoped to bring the children and their father together, but she could not foresee this group becoming a family anytime soon.

  The loud crow of a rooster awakened Emily the next morning. She found Steven straining milk as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Good morning,” she said. “I’m sorry if I overslept.”

  “You didn’t. I’m just up a little early,” he replied.

  “I’ll get breakfast started.” Emily put the coffee on to brew, found the flour, and started to make biscuits. The door opened and in walked Matt. He grabbed the milk pail and started for the back door.

  Steven stopped him. “The milking’s done for this morning.”

  Matt gave him a long, cold stare, then turned and walked out of the room. Steven poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

  Emily fried bacon and scrambled eggs. Her biscuits turned out exceptionally well, she thought. The kids straggled in one by one and seated themselves at the table.

  “Momma always gave us a choice of how we wanted our eggs cooked,” said Mark under his breath. “And her biscuits were a lot better.”

  “I’m sorry if the breakfast is not to your liking. No one was here when I cooked the eggs, so I couldn’t ask anyone how they wanted them,” Emily said as nicely as she could. “Mark, how would you like your eggs prepared next time?”

  Mark flushed, and his eyes shot daggers at her. “I prefer them fried.”

  “If everyone will be patient with me, I will try my best to learn your likes and dislikes.” Emily’s voice was polite but firm.

  Steven acted as though nothing had transpired. Emily knew for now she was on her own with the children. He certainly wasn’t going to help her in any way.

  Pausing between bites of egg, Steven said, “I noticed all the fields have been plowed and planted except that back five acres. Is there some reason it was left out?”

  “We’re not going to plant it this year. The cotton we planted back there didn’t do good,” Matt answered. “Uncle Clyde said to let it rest a year, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”

  “What kind of deal do you have with ‘Uncle Clyde’ on the rest of the crops?” Steven inquired.

  “A seventy-thirty split. We get the seventy cause we take care of the fields. He just helps us till and plant and harvest,” Matt replied. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No, I don’t have a problem with that. But now that I’m home, I think we can do the work ourselves and we won’t have to impose on him.” Steven’s tone was firm. He then added, “And we are going to plant the back five acres.”

  Matt’s face turned red. He slammed his fist on the table and yelled, “We haven’t been imposing on him. He has been paid for his help from the sale of the crops. Uncle Clyde said let those back five acres rest this year, and that’s what we’re gonna do. I think he knows more about farming than you do. He didn’t run away when his farm flopped the way you did!”

  Steven just sat there and let his son finish. Then he spoke. “I think you’re forgetting who owns this farm, young man. And I also think you’re forgetting who the father is around here. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior from you.”

  Infuriated by his father’s remarks, Matt blew up again. “Me and Mark have been doing all the work around here while you’ve been gone. And doing a good job of it, too. Now you just waltz in here and take over and expect us to bow to your wishes and respect you as a father. Well, that’s not gonna happen, mister. You walked out on us and left us to fend for ourselves, and we did. No thanks to you.”

  Matt had to catch his breath, but he continued. “You couldn’t handle it when things were bad. Now that things are going good, you expect to come back and take up where you left off. You weren’t man enough to turn things around yourself. You let us do it for you. Now you want the benefits from it. We’ve worked hard for this place, and we’re not gonna let you ruin it or take it away from us.”

  Matt was shouting at the top of his lungs. Steven didn’t try to defend himself. He didn’t do anything. Matt stomped out of the room and slammed the back door. Steven sat there a moment, then he, too, got up and left. Emily noticed his shoulders seemed to sag a little lower than usual. She couldn’t help but wonder why he had let his son talk to him that way. She surmised that Matt had probably put into words a lot of the feelings Steven had about himself.

  Slowly, everyone filed out one by one except Sarah. “I’ll help you with the dishes,” she said. “I always used to help Momma.”

  “Thank you, Sarah.” Emily smiled. “I would love to have your help and your company. After we finish the dishes, maybe you could help me round up the dirty clothes. I need to do some washing.”

  “I’d be glad to, but we shouldn’t have too much. Miss Alice washed day before yesterday,” Sarah said. “You should know that Monday is wash day.”

  True to Sarah’s word, the children didn’t have a lot of dirty clothes, but Emily needed to wash hers anyway. She was sure Steven had some as well. She saw something sticking out from under the daybed in the hall. Pulling up the spread, she noticed Steven had pushed his things under it. This must be where he had been sleeping. Emily was surprised to find it a little unnerving to know that just a wall separated them at night. She pulled his clothes out and added them to her pile.

  Sarah helped her gather wood for the fire and get the wash pot set up. After an hour, the washing was finished, and it was time to start dinner.

  “Sarah, would you like to help me get dinner ready?” Emily asked.

  “I sure would! I like to cook.” Sarah grinned from ear to ear.

  It was the first genuine smile Emily had seen in quite a while, and it was really nice to see. “Since you’re gonna help me, I think I’ll have time to make a big peach cobbler for dessert.”

  Sarah’s smile got bigger and brighter. “Oh boy. Let’s get started. I can hardly wait for dessert.”

  “Sarah, don’t you kids go to school? I love having your help, but isn’t this a school day?” Emily inquired as they began their meal preparations.

  Softly and rather shyly, Sarah answered, “We do go to school, and this week is the first time we’ve missed in a long time. Uncle Clyde found out in town last week that Da
ddy should be getting here real soon, so Matt said we were gonna stay home for a few days and keep an eye on things. I don’t know what we’re supposed to keep an eye on, but I guess Matt and Mark do.”

  Emily got Sarah started washing potatoes. “Miss Emily,” Sarah asked after a moment, “what is my daddy like? I don’t remember him at all, and Momma never talked about him much. I used to ask Matt about him, but he would just say he didn’t remember. Will you tell me about him?”

  Emily was silent. She didn’t know how to answer the child’s question. She didn’t know Steven herself. What could she say to this little girl? Sarah looked at her with such a trusting face. Emily couldn’t tell her she just married her daddy without knowing him and came here to take care of them—or could she? She said a quick prayer and asked the Lord for guidance.

  Emily began, “Sarah, I haven’t known your father very long. He is a very nice man, and he loves you children very much. Right now he just doesn’t know how to show it. He has been away so long and all of you are kind of like strangers to him. Just like he’s a stranger to you. You’ll have to give each other time. You’ll all have to try to get to know one another again. Just like you will all have to get to know me, and I will get to know you. We all just have to be patient.” Emily knew she had not answered the little girl’s question, but she hoped Sarah would drop the issue.

  “I like you, Miss Emily,” Sarah said. “But I’m not sure about Daddy. He doesn’t seem very friendly. He seems mad all the time. And Matt’s mad now, too, since Daddy got here. I don’t think Matt and Mark like him very much.”

  The child seemed to have a lot of insight into the situation. “They have a lot of things to work out between them. I don’t think your daddy is mad, Sarah. He just has a lot on his mind right now.” Emily added, “We’d better get that peach cobbler started if we want it to be ready for dinner.” She hoped that would get Sarah’s mind on a different subject, at least for a while.

  After they had gotten the cobbler in the oven, Sarah set the table. “Would you like me to ring the dinner bell?” Sarah asked. “I’m really getting hungry.”