Amaryllis (Suitors of Seattle)

by Osbourne, Kirsten

  Alex stepped to her side and took her hand in his, smiling at his parents. “We have news and wanted you both here for it. We’re getting married.”

  Mildred put her hand to her mouth, squealing in surprise. Alex’s eyes met John’s, and he knew that the older man had kept his confidence. “Oh, that’s wonderful!” Mildred exclaimed. “When? A Christmas wedding would be pretty.” She kept her gaze on Amaryllis who had forced a smile.

  “Saturday,” Alex told her.

  Mildred leaned back against the work table. “Saturday?” She looked between the two of them. “You’re not expecting, are you?”

  “Of course not!” Alex told her. “We’ve just been in love for four years. Neither of us see a need to wait, do we, Rilly?”

  Amaryllis hated deceiving Mildred, because she had a lot of respect for her. “We’re just ready to start our lives together.” She smiled at Alex, making it as genuine as she could.

  Mildred looked between them for another minute or two before saying, “Well, that’s wonderful then. Does your mother need help?”

  Amaryllis shook her head. “It’s just going to be family at my house at two on Saturday. I hope you’ll both be able to come on such short notice.” She bit her lip worried about whether or not they’d have time to make it.

  “Of course we’ll be there!” Mildred told her. “We wouldn’t let anything keep us away.”

  They talked quietly of wedding plans while they ate the cake Mildred had prepared. Amaryllis motioned to the upstairs. “No guests right now?”

  Mildred smiled. “Just three. A young mother and her two sons. They’ll be down in a bit for dinner. Will you stay as well?”

  Amaryllis shook her head. “My parents didn’t know I was coming here after work, so I need to get home.” She stood, having finished her cake and coffee. “I’m going to head there now.”

  Alex stood drinking the last of his coffee as he did. “I’ll walk you home.”

  She started to tell him to stay and visit with his parents, but decided against it. It would look bad. Once they’d hugged the older couple and started on their way, she said, “You don’t have to see me the whole way. You can just walk as far as your office.”

  He sighed. “I’ll see you home.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I know I don’t. I like being with you. I love you.”

  She shrugged, not looking at him. “Do what you want.”

  He took her hand in his as they walked. When she looked at him, he said, “You told me to do what I want. I want to touch you, and since we’re on the street, this is the best I can do.”

  She sighed, staring straight ahead again. She just wasn’t willing to argue with him.

  She blushed as they passed his office, thinking about what had led to their engagement. She still couldn’t believe she’d done that with him. What had she been thinking? Her whole life was changed because of an afternoon of insanity.

  He stopped at the front porch and kissed her softly. “I won’t see you tomorrow. I have some things to see to. I’ll be here Saturday.”

  She nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

  As soon as she walked into the house, her mother called her into the parlor. They’d had no time to talk after Alex had left the night before, and there was never really time in the mornings with the bustle of the younger girls getting ready for school and Amaryllis preparing for work.

  “We need to talk about the wedding,” Mary told her.

  “Mama, we don’t have time to plan anything special. The wedding is in two days!”

  “Sit down, Amaryllis.”

  Amaryllis sat with a huff, not even wanting to think about their plans. “Okay, I’m sitting.”

  “First of all, did you hear from Alex? Do you have a time for the wedding?”

  “Yes, it’s at two.” She waited for the endless details to begin.

  “Okay, we don’t have time to have a new dress made, but we can alter Rose’s wedding dress to fit you.”

  Amaryllis nodded. She had spotted the dress lying over the back of a chair and had guessed at her mother’s intentions. “Fine.”

  Mary shook her head. “I know you feel forced into this marriage, but you can’t blame just Alex and your father. You had a very active part in all of this. I need you to remember that.”

  “I know.” Amaryllis bowed her head, the emotions of the last two days weighing her down. “It’s so much easier to blame it all on Alex, though.”

  Mary nodded understandingly. “It is, but it’s a terrible way to start a marriage.” She stood up and walked over to shut the parlor door. “Let’s see how this fits you. I think it will be close, but you’re more slender than Rose was when she married.”

  Amaryllis stripped down to her petticoats and slid the dress over her head. It was beautiful, of course, because that sort of thing mattered a great deal to Rose. She stood still while her mother walked around her, pinning it in places. “Just a couple of tucks at the waist should do it. I don’t think I realized that your bosom was the same size as Rose’s. I thought I’d have to let it out there.”

  Amaryllis shrugged. She didn’t much care about the size of her breasts, and Alex hadn’t complained so she guessed they were fine. “I’m just thinner through the waist so it makes me look bigger on top, I guess.”

  “Okay, we’ve got it. You can take it off.” Mary helped her unfasten the buttons in the back before helping her step out of it. “How do you want to wear your hair?”

  “My hair? I guess in a bun like usual?”

  Mary sighed. “Why don’t you let Rose do your hair for the wedding? She’s very skilled with some elegant updos that will be perfect with the dress.”

  “All right.”

  Mary put the dress over the back of the chair and resumed her seat. “Let’s talk food for the wedding. I was thinking a nice supper of chicken and mashed potatoes? Nothing too fancy for just a family wedding.”

  “That works.” Amaryllis thought about the book she had left on the table in the entry way. How long would it be before she could escape and finish it? Sure, she’d read it several times before, but she loved the idea of losing herself in the dream world of literature again.

  “What flavor cake would you like?”

  Amaryllis stared at her mother. “Flavor of cake? Does it matter?”

  “It does if you’re going to eat it, and I assume you are. How about white? It’s a good cake for weddings.”

  Amaryllis nodded. “That sounds fine.”

  “What kind of cake does Alex like?”

  “I really don’t know. I guess I’ve never thought about it.” Amaryllis was surprised by that. She’d once thought she knew everything there was to know about Alex, but obviously she never had.

  “You only have one wedding. Are you sure you don’t want to make some of the decisions yourself?”

  Amaryllis hadn’t really thought of it that way. She was so upset with the reason she was getting married that she was denying herself a nice wedding. Of course, she’d never been one of those girls who spent all their time thinking about what she’d wear when she married and who she’d marry. She thought for a moment. “I want Daisy to stand up with me.”

  Her mother glanced up at her. “Daisy? Not Rose or Lily?”

  Amaryllis shook her head. “No, just Daisy.” She didn’t explain. Daisy had always been the quietest of the eight sisters, and she was often overlooked. She was right behind Amaryllis in age, and soon to be of marriageable age herself, but to her knowledge, she had no idea who she would marry or even had an inkling that she would. She was content to spend her afternoons helping at the battered women’s shelter after school. Amaryllis wanted her to realize that even though she was quiet, she knew she was a special person.

  “We’ll see if she has a special dress to wear then.” Daisy had dark hair and brown eyes. She was actually the darkest in looks of the sisters and definitely the quietest. What looked good on her rarely looked good on her sisters, so
swapping dresses wasn’t simple.

  “I’m sure she’ll have something that will work.” Amaryllis was almost getting excited at the idea now. She thought about what else she’d want for her wedding. “I would like Uncle Max and Aunt Harriett to be here.”

  “Of course. I sent Harriett a note earlier that you would be getting married on Saturday. We just need to send her the time of the wedding and she’ll be here.”

  “Good.” Amaryllis curled one of her legs up under her. “I really don’t think I want anyone else, though. Just us and Alex’s parents. No one else is important enough to me.” She briefly thought about her friend, Lawrence, but she didn’t really want him there. Alex wouldn’t like it, she knew. She thought about inviting him just to make Alex angry, but shook her head. No, she was better than that.

  Mary smiled, glad to see Amaryllis getting into the spirit of things. “Do you want anything else special? I don’t know about flowers…”

  Amaryllis laughed. “You’re the one who loves flowers, Mama. Not me. I’d rather carry books down the aisle.”

  Mary laughed. “I’m not sure how that would go over, but at least you’re marrying someone who loves books as well.”

  “But he loves non-fiction books.” Amaryllis shuddered. “I mean, I see the purpose in non-fiction books of course, but I can’t imagine actually reading them for pleasure.”

  “I’m sure you two will make things work, even with that huge division between you.” Mary stood. “I’m going to run into the kitchen and give this to the cook and then work on your dress. There’s no time to even hire a seamstress. We’ll have to do it ourselves.”

  “Are you sure you remember how to work, Mama?” Amaryllis teased.

  Mary glared at her daughter. “You know as well as I do that I made every dress for this family for years. I can do a little alteration for you!”

  Amaryllis hugged her mother tightly. “Thank you for making my wedding just as important as my sisters’ even though we only have two days to plan it.”

  “You’re just as important as your sisters. Therefore your wedding is just as important.” She pushed Amaryllis toward the door. “Oh, go read whatever you’re going to read tonight. I know you don’t want to be here with me for even another minute.”

  Amaryllis laughed as she headed for the stairs, stopping off in the entryway to grab her book. She was going to miss having her mother to help her when she needed it. As she climbed the stairs she realized she was only going to spend two more nights in the home she’d grown up in. What would life be like with Alex?

  *****

  The morning of her wedding came way too soon for Amaryllis. She’d finished her book and started another and done her best to bury her head in the sand and pretend nothing was going on around her, but she knew better.

  Daisy had been touched to be chosen as the maid of honor. Amaryllis could see it in her younger sister’s face and was happy to have her stand beside her. She’d chosen a peach gown that would have made Amaryllis look terrible, but really brightened up her sister’s face.

  Daisy came into her room at noon, just after Amaryllis had finished her bath to help her get ready. She herself was already dressed with her hair up in a way that made her look older than her seventeen years.

  “Did Rose do your hair?” Amaryllis asked.

  Daisy nodded. “She did.” She touched her hand to the side of her hair self-consciously. “Does it look okay?”

  Amaryllis laughed. “I don’t want Alex to see you before the wedding, because if he does, he’s going to realize he’s marrying the wrong sister and want to run off with you!”

  Daisy smiled. “Thank you for saying that. We both know it’s not true, but thank you.” She sat on the edge of Amaryllis’s bed. “Do you need any help getting ready?”

  Amaryllis was in her petticoats, but hadn’t bothered with pulling her dress on just yet. She didn’t want it to get wrinkled before the wedding. Her parents had hired a photographer for the event, and she didn’t want to be forever remembered as the bride with the wrinkled dress. “I don’t think so. Rose is supposed to come and do my hair.” Amaryllis was sitting at her vanity table, brushing through her long blond locks. Her hair was all the way to her waist and a medium blond color. She’d always wished it were dark like her sister’s.

  Daisy fidgeted, smoothing her skirt again. “So what happened when Alex came back that you’re getting married so suddenly? You took one look at him and forgave him for everything?”

  Amaryllis laughed. “I took one look at him and told him to get out of my life.” She looked at her sister sitting so innocently on the bed. There was no doubt in her mind that Daisy had never been kissed or even held hands with a boy. “Honestly? He kissed me. When he kissed me, I remembered all the feelings I’ve had for him for so long. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted him to kiss me forever.” She left out a lot of the story, but that part was the truth. Every time Alex kissed her she melted in his arms. She would never meet a man she felt more strongly about than Alex and she knew it.

  Daisy jumped up to open the door when there was a knock. Rose breezed in. “Are you ready for me to make you beautiful?” she asked.

  Amaryllis eyed her sister. “Are you saying I’m not already beautiful? What’s wrong with me?”

  Rose laughed. “I’m not going to let you bait me, Rilly. Today’s a day for celebration.” She walked over to stand behind her sister and took the brush from her hands.

  The talk turned to Rose’s little boys, Freddie and Matthew, after that.

  “When are we going to have another niece or nephew?” Daisy asked. “Freddie’s already two and a half and Matthew’s one.”

  Rose blushed a pretty pink. “In about seven months.” When the other girls squealed, Rose shushed them. “We haven’t told Mama yet, because we don’t want to upstage your day, Rilly.”

  Amaryllis smiled at her eldest sister in the mirror. “I’m really happy for you, Rose. I hope it’s a girl this time.”

  Rose nodded. “Me too! Lily should have all boys and I should have all girls,” she said referring to their tomboy sister. “I can’t figure out what to do with the boy I have, and I’m sure that Lilac, has never had her hair fixed in her life.”

  Daisy laughed. “I hope that someday women can do everything that men do and men can do everything that women do, and no one thinks anything of it. It’s not right that there’re so many things that we ‘shouldn’t’ do just because we’re girls.”

  Rose turned to her sister with surprise. “Are you a suffragette?” The shock in her voice amused Amaryllis.

  Daisy shrugged. “I think women should have the right to vote. The laws affect our lives as well.”

  Rose looked at Amaryllis. “I thought you’d be the one with forward-thinking ideas with all of the books you read. Never expected it of our little Daisy.”

  Amaryllis shrugged. “I think we all assumed less of Daisy because of how quiet she is. She’s the smartest of all of us.” Amaryllis grinned at her younger sister to let her know she wasn’t making fun of her.

  “I’m not smart. I’m just…someone who knows how to think, and I can’t see how keeping half of the adult population of our country without voting rights could possibly be a good thing.”

  Rose smiled. “Don’t let Alex hear you say all that. He’s a lawyer now, and he’ll try to keep you from getting the word out.”

  Amaryllis wondered how Alex really felt about women’s right to vote. She hadn’t given it a lot of thought, but she thought Daisy was right. Women were certainly just as capable of thinking as men were, so why couldn’t they vote and affect the future of their country?

  Rose finished with Amaryllis’s hair and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

  Amaryllis looked in the mirror. The careful work Rose had done made her look a lot more elegant. She stood. “How much time do we have before the wedding?”

  There was a knock on the door then, and Rose rushed to open it. “Lily!” The two sister
s embraced. “I’ve finished her hair. What do you think?”

  Lily shrugged. “I think she looked good before you messed with her.” She smiled at Amaryllis. “You nervous?” She walked over and hugged Amaryllis.

  “A little. How much time do we have before the wedding?” she asked again, wanting to know if it was time to put her dress on, or if she should wait a little longer.

  “About fifteen minutes.”

  Amaryllis nodded. “Time to put my dress on then.”

  With her three sisters helping her, Amaryllis donned the pretty dress and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a different person. Rose’s dress was beautiful, but she felt like she was impersonating someone else as she got dressed up for the big event. Once she was dressed, her sisters took turns giving her things.

  Rose gave her a necklace to wear. “Just for today. I want it back the next time I see you!”

  Amaryllis looked at the pearl necklace in her hand and turned so that Rose could fasten it around her neck for her.

  Lily held out a handkerchief. “I embroidered it myself, so don’t look at it too closely. I messed up on the ‘A’.”

  Amaryllis laughed, looking at the lopsided letter her sister had monogrammed into her handkerchief. “I love it. No one but you could make it so special.” She had always loved Lily’s homemade gifts, because they were always unique.

  Daisy held out a small book. “I thought you might like this.” It was a beautiful edition of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

  Amaryllis clutched it to her chest. “Thank you, Daisy. It’s perfect.”

  Another knock came on the door. Rose quickly opened it. Fred stood there in his best suit looking uncomfortable. “It’s time. Rose and Lily, go join your husbands.”

  Rose and Lily rushed from the room, and Daisy waited with Amaryllis. Amaryllis carefully set the book in the trunk that was packed for her to take with her at the foot of her bed. It wasn’t all her belongings, but it was most of them, and the rest could be picked up anytime.