Emily laughed. “Yes, of course. I’d forgotten we had to do that. You go right ahead.”
Sarah went to the back porch and gave the dinner bell a nice long ring. Emily dreaded for everyone to come in. So far mealtime had not been the most pleasurable of experiences around here.
The boys all came in, washed up, and took their places at the table. Steven was nowhere in sight. They waited a few minutes for him until finally Emily asked, “Whose turn is it to say grace?”
“It’s mine,” Sarah said, and she began. “God is great; God is good; let us thank Him for our food. And please help Daddy and Matt not to be mad at each other. Amen.”
Emily looked up and saw Steven standing in the doorway. “We waited, but the food was going to get cold, so we started without you. I hope you don’t mind.”
Visibly shaken by his daughter’s prayer, Steven took his seat at the head of the table. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
He picked up the ham, took a piece, and began to pass it around the table. He said nothing else. No one talked. You’d think that the silence would be better than the yelling at breakfast was, Emily thought, but it’s the loudest quiet I ever heard. If this continued, no one would ever get to know anyone around here.
“Can we have dessert now?” Sarah asked with a big smile on her face. “Miss Emily made peach cobbler.”
“Of course we can. Will you help me serve it?” Emily asked.
“Boy, that sure was good,” Sarah said as she finished her cobbler. “It was as good as Momma’s.”
Matt shot daggers at Emily and shook his head. Under his breath he mumbled, “Not everybody will be that easy to win over.”
Another appetizing and nourishing meal was over. Once again, Steven had eaten very little, and Emily’s appetite certainly wasn’t what it had been. At this rate she and Steven would both lose a few pounds. She did note that although Matt and Mark were not friendly toward her or complimentary to her food, they left little on their plates.
By twilight, the kids were all in their rooms. Steven had disappeared right after supper. Emily went out on the front porch for a while to get some fresh air.
She was sitting in the porch swing when she heard someone whistling, not a tune, just a monotone whistle. She looked up and saw Steven come around the corner of the house. As he rounded the corner, he spotted her and stopped.
“Beautiful evening,” Emily observed.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he hesitantly answered as he started to walk off.
He stopped when Emily spoke again. “Steven, could I talk to you for just a moment?”
He turned. “Go ahead.”
“Steven, I feel uncomfortable in Rebecca’s room. All of her things are still in there. Her clothes are in the closet and even her comb and brush on the dressing table.” Emily didn’t know what to say now. She hoped he would jump in and help her out.
After a considerable silence, he finally said, “I’ll take care of it.” Then he walked off.
Steven would take care of it—but when? She would just have to wait and see. She got up and went to her room. She read her Bible, then turned out the light. As she lay in the darkness, she once again asked God to help her through another day. She also prayed for Steven and each one of the children. She asked God to please help Steven show some love and affection toward his children.
She heard the front door open and footsteps in the hallway. Steven was going to bed right outside her door. She had gotten that strange feeling again that morning as she washed his clothes with hers. This cold, seemingly unfeeling man was causing her all kinds of grief and discomfort.
She couldn’t help but think about him lying in this very bed with another woman, and that disturbed her. Why should that bother her? She had no claims on the man. With the darkness surrounding her, she wondered what it would be like to be held by Steven. She tried to make the feelings go away, but loneliness lay heavy on her heart. Emily began to pray for God to keep her heart pure. Although legally she was married to the man, she wasn’t sure she was in God’s eyes.
Emily was awake early. This morning she would start her duties on time. She was glad there was a connecting door from her room to the kitchen, so she didn’t have to go through the hall and pass Steven’s sleeping form if he were still in bed.
She was making biscuits when Matt came in with the milk. He had apparently been determined Steven wasn’t going to do his chores this morning.
“Good morning, Matt.” Emily smiled warmly. “How would you like your eggs this morning?”
Matt grunted something unintelligible without looking at her. He finished straining the milk and left the room without a word.
Watching him as he exited, Emily whispered to herself, “Good morning, Emily. I’ll take my eggs any way it’s easier for you to fix them. You’re so kind to ask.” Then she thought, Lord, please keep me from popping that rude young man up beside the head.
Steven came in and poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. He looked very tired, like he hadn’t gotten much sleep either. She couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone look so unhappy.
“Good morning, Steven,” she greeted. “Did you sleep well?”
After a big yawn, he said, “Morning. I slept okay.”
She would ask him the magic question and see what kind of response she could evoke from him. “How would you like your eggs cooked this morning?”
“Any way’s fine with me,” he responded, not to her surprise.
The children all wandered in as she set a plate of fried eggs on the table. Mark looked at the eggs, then at her, but there was of course no thank you from him. After the first bite, he did whisper softly, “I prefer them sunny-side up.”
There was just no way to please this crew, so why did she try? She might as well make some more trouble, so she remarked, “I know this may be none of my business, but today is a school day. Since all of you have missed the last couple of days, don’t you think you should go today?”
“We’re taking the week off,” Matt quickly replied.
“Is this some kind of a holiday?” Steven inquired.
“No, we’re just taking the week off to be around here,” was Matt’s response.
“Well, that’s very kind of you to want to be home with me and Emily, since we just got here,” Steven said nonchalantly. “But I would much rather you kids go to school. An education is very important.”
Emily was stunned. Was there a hint of humor in his voice? This was wonderful. She couldn’t help but throw a little smile his way when he glanced at her. Be still my heart, she thought. Was that a little grin she saw almost touch his lips?
Matt started to argue, but Steven stopped him before he could begin. “There will be no discussion. You kids will go to school today.”
They all got up to leave, but Sarah was the only one that said anything. “The breakfast was real good, Miss Emily.” With her head down as she passed her father’s chair, she said, “Bye, Daddy.”
Steven turned her way. “Bye, Sarah.” His voice trembled.
After the children left the kitchen, Emily prepared lunches to send with them to school. Steven rose from the table when the front door slammed behind the children. As he started out the back door, he called, “Don’t fix dinner since the kids aren’t here. I’ll grab something when I come in later.”
Emily watched him go. Then she turned to her chores. After spending the morning cleaning, she decided to take a break and explore the lane she had seen behind the barn.
Steven came in to grab himself a biscuit and a piece of bacon and found the house deserted. This would be a good time to clear Becky’s things out of the bedroom. He found an empty trunk in the attic and took it into Becky’s room. He took down her dresses one by one from the wardrobe and neatly folded them and placed them in the trunk.
Lying on the top shelf was something wrapped in an old sheet. Pulling it down, he accidentally dropped it on the floor. As he picked it up, he noticed it was Becky’s
wedding dress. Holding it, he remembered how beautiful she had looked wearing it the day they were married. They were so happy then. What had happened to them? Fighting back the tears, he knew the answer to that question and blamed himself for the whole thing.
He had to finish this task before Emily returned. He cleared off the dressing table and looked around for anything else that might need removing. He picked up a small box from the table and looked inside. There he found a small locket. Opening it, he saw a picture of himself and one of Matt. He had given this to Becky right after Matt was born. More tears threatened.
He sat down in the rocking chair, clutching the locket in his hand. He and Becky had been happy at one time. The day he married her, he thought, was the happiest day in his life. But the day Matt was born, that was so special. When he held that little bundle in his arms, he had never felt such joy and love.
They had a good happy life until he forced Becky to move here to the farm. This had been his dream, not hers. He had wanted a farm and had sold everything they had to make his dream come true. Then he had run out on his dream and his family. Tears flowed freely. How could his family ever forgive him? How could he ever forgive himself?
Quickly, he closed the locket and tucked it back in its little hiding place. He put it away inside the trunk. Seeing nothing else he felt he should remove, he closed the trunk and carried it up to the attic.
As Emily sat in the living room that evening, mending a pair of John’s overalls, Sarah came in and asked, “Emily, do you go to church?”
“Why yes I do, Sarah,” Emily replied. “What makes you ask that?”
“Well, we go to church, too, and this Sunday is Easter. I was hoping you would go with us.” Sarah took a long breath, then began again. “I usually get a new dress for Easter. Momma always made me one, but I guess this year I’ll just wear my old one.”
Emily looked at the little girl standing there so innocently. She was the only friend Emily had here, and Emily could already tell she was a treasure among treasures. Emily had a lump in her throat when she responded to Sarah’s plea. “Sarah, I would love to go to church with you Sunday. I appreciate your thinking about me and asking me to go with you. Maybe if we talk to your daddy, he would give us enough money to buy some material, and I could make you a new dress for Sunday.”
“Oh Emily, that would be wonderful! But we don’t have to talk to Daddy. Momma had lots of material. It’s in a trunk in her room. Come on, I’ll show you.” Grabbing Emily’s hand, Sarah pulled her through the door into the bedroom.
Sarah walked to the trunk sitting in the corner by the fireplace and opened the lid. She began pulling out piece after piece of material. The little girl’s excitement grew with each new discovery. Emily wondered why anyone would purchase so much material, but she guessed that didn’t matter. Sarah was so excited that Emily couldn’t help but get carried away in her enthusiasm.
They looked at every piece in the trunk. There was every color imaginable, plus the notions to go with them. Some of the material looked to be the weight and texture for heavy curtains or upholstery. Sarah finally decided upon a piece with small pink flowers in it. It was a good choice because it would be lovely with her soft blond hair and her sky blue eyes.
Sarah smiled. “There should be enough material here for you to make you a dress, too. Momma and I always had a dress alike on Easter.”
Emily was completely caught off guard by Sarah’s comment. The little girl was so sincere, and she surely didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Sarah, that is very sweet of you. I would love to have a dress to match yours, but since this is Friday, I’m afraid I’ll only have time to make one dress. I want you to have a new dress, and I’ll make me something later.”
That satisfied Sarah for now, and Emily was grateful for that. Emily took Sarah’s measurements, then asked the little girl to bring her one of her dresses so she could fashion a pattern. Sarah rushed from the room and was back in no time with her Sunday best in hand. Emily noted the stitching; Rebecca had been very handy with a needle and thread. Well, Emily would just do her best and she considered that to be pretty good. She had never sewn for a little girl before, but she looked forward to the challenge.
Sarah told her good night, and Emily decided to start her project tonight. Her little nap after her walk had rested her, and she wasn’t tired right now. She had noticed the treadle machine sitting in front of the window, and now she would check it out and see if it was in working order.
As she walked toward the machine, she noticed Rebecca’s vanity set was missing from the dressing table. She opened the wardrobe and found it empty. Steven must have cleared everything out while she was gone this afternoon. He said he would take care of it, and he had wasted no time in doing so. She must remember to thank him for his consideration.
She quickly unpacked her belongings, hanging her clothes in the wardrobe. She placed her comb and brush on the dressing table, and she gently picked up the wedding picture of herself and Jim. Running her fingertips lightly across Jim’s face, her mind began to wander again to days gone by. The what-ifs came back. Like, what if Jim hadn’t died? Would they have had a place like this, maybe a little girl like Sarah? What if Jim were here right now? She knew her life would be different. Happiness would have filled her life if Jim were here.
Stop it! she said to herself. Jim was gone; she was here, and she would have to make the best of things. Emily could not change the past and had very little control over the future, but she could do something about the present. She could get started on a dress and make one little girl very happy.
Emily found the sewing machine in good working order. That would make her job much easier. She began to fashion a pattern in her mind, and using Sarah’s dress for guidance, began to cut what she saw in her mind’s eye. She got each piece cut to her satisfaction, then moved a lamp close to the machine and started to put the pieces of her puzzle together.
She heard the screen door open and knew that Steven was going to bed. She couldn’t stop her heart from skipping a little beat, but she did try to ignore it. She forced herself to keep her mind on her sewing, not on Steven.
The clock struck 2:00 a.m., and she realized she had been at this for about six hours. She was pleased with what she lay out on the bed. This morning she would have Sarah try it on so she could pin up the hem and make any alterations that might be necessary. Emily could hardly wait to see the expression on the little girl’s face. But right now she had to get some sleep.
The rooster crowed all too early. It seemed Emily had barely laid her head on her pillow when she heard his unwelcome cry. It was Saturday, and the morning routine would be the same except that the children would not be going to school.
Steven was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee when she walked into the kitchen. “Sorry if I overslept,” she apologized.
He looked up from his coffee and remarked, “I heard you up late last night. I thought I heard the sewing machine.”
“You did. I hope it didn’t bother you. I was making Sarah an Easter dress.”
“Easter dress. Is it almost Easter?” Steven queried.
“Tomorrow’s Easter Sunday,” she answered. “Sarah invited me to go to church with her. I’m thankful she’s warmed up to me. She is really a precious little girl.”
Emily finished the biscuits and slid them into the oven. The kids straggled to the table one by one, except for the twins, who always came in together.
When breakfast was drawing to an end, Steven said, “I would like you boys to help me finish plowing and planting that back five acres this morning.”
Then came the expected silence. Finally, Matt broke the tension by saying, “I thought I told you Uncle Clyde said not to plant that part this year.”
“Matt, I thought I made it clear to you that I’m the father around here. I know what Clyde says. I agree that we don’t need to plant cotton in that area, but I was thinking of planting corn there. And that’s what we’re gonna
do.”
“If you want to plant it, fine! But don’t expect us to help you,” Matt argued.
Steven looked at Emily, then around the table and said, “If you’ll excuse us, Matt and I need to step outside and have a little talk.” Steven stood and motioned for Matt to join him.
“What’s he gonna do?” asked Sarah after they had gone. A look of fear showed on her face.
Mark mumbled something about his father trying to prove who was boss. The twins looked almost as frightened as Sarah. Emily tried to calm their fears by saying, “It’s okay. Your dad just wants to talk to Matt, and he didn’t want there to be any more yelling at the table. You kids go on and play while I clean the kitchen.”
Outside, Steven and Matt stood toe to toe and stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. Steven finally began. “Matt, we need to get things straight right now. I know you’ve been the man around here for quite a while. And from what I can tell, you’ve done an excellent job, but I’m back now. I’m back whether you like it or not, and we need to learn to work together.”
Steven stopped. He really didn’t know what to say to the young man at this point. He remembered a lot of long talks they had when Matt was a boy, but now he was grown. He wouldn’t have let any man talk to him the way Matt had talked to him, but Steven couldn’t help but think that he deserved Matt’s wrath. For the sake of the farm and the others, though, they had to at least come to an understanding.
Steven started again. “Look, I know you’re mad at me and probably at this point you even hate me. And I can’t say that I blame you. But we need to learn to at least work together. We both want to be able to take care of this family, and for that to happen, this farm has to make it. Let’s just try to work the fields together and harvest the crops when the time is right. You don’t have to like me to do that.”
“I don’t have to do anything with you,” Matt responded. “You have no right coming back here and trying to take over. You walked out on us without so much as a good-bye. We never heard from you until you showed up here Tuesday. Don’t expect me to welcome you with open arms.” The contempt in his voice came through loud and clear.
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