He stood staring at her in shock. “A wedding gift? You really meant it to be a wedding gift?”
“Why is that so hard to believe?” The tears were back in her eyes. Whether they were tears of anger or frustration, she was uncertain, but she dashed them away with her fingers as she turned to face him. “Can you even remember how it used to be between us, Alex? We used to live for the moments we could be together, and we’d sit and hold hands and just be thrilled to sit and talk and listen to each other. I want us to be like that again.” Her voice was barely a whisper as she said the last of the words.
He stared at her, realizing she was right. What had come over them to make them bicker so much? They both wanted happiness, and here they were, doing nothing but screaming at each other. He crossed the room quickly and pulled her into his arms, dropping to rest his chin atop her head. “You’re right. I’m so sorry, Rilly.”
Her shoulders were shaking by this point. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck, but said nothing.
“I’m sorry that I got angry over the sign. I’m sorry that I went to the library and yelled at you. I’m sorry that we’re fighting so much.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry that I don’t treat you like I used to.” He sighed. “Thank you for my wedding present. It’s exactly what I had in mind to buy as soon as I had saved enough money. Now I don’t have to worry about it.”
She sniffled and pulled away from him, looking up into his face. “You really like it?”
“I love it. It’s perfect. I had two new clients walk in off the street today when they saw it. It’s already helping my business.”
“I’m glad.”
He walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, pulling her down beside him. “When I was growing up, my father found something new to be angry at my mother about every day. I’ve always promised myself that I wouldn’t be like him. I would make sure that I only expressed anger with words, but that I would also make sure to look for the best in my wife, instead of deliberately seeking out the bad. I’m going to try harder to do that. I need to look at the things you do and be thankful for them, not get angry because I don’t want you to do them.”
Her eyes met his. “Thank you.” It was the closest he’d ever come to telling her that his father had beaten his mother. She’d known that there had been problems for years. She waited for him to tell her the rest, but he didn’t.
He stroked her hair away from her face where it had fallen from her usually neat bun. “Are you getting hungry? I made a nice thick chicken stew. It’s starting to get cold outside and I thought it would be good.”
She stood up, walking toward the stove, knowing then the moment was lost. He wouldn’t tell her about what had happened tonight. Maybe he’d learn to trust her soon. “That sounds good.” She took down bowls and served him one, before remembering the list she’d made in anger. She rushed to the bed and tore it up, hoping he wouldn’t ask what it was.
Luck was not with her. “What was that?” he asked.
She shrugged, sitting across from him and taking her first bite of the stew. “This is really good.”
He watched her, raising an eyebrow. “What was that, Rilly?”
“I made a list of all the reasons you make me crazy.” She stared down into her stew and waited for his anger.
He laughed. “Are you serious? You actually listed the reasons? How many were there?”
She sighed, her eyes meeting his. “I got to four before you came in. I’m sure it would have been much longer if I’d had a little more time.”
He laughed even harder. “And that’s why I love you so very much. You don’t pull punches, and you tell me what you think. Do you have any idea just how wonderful you are?”
She laughed. “My sisters have let me know exactly what I should think of myself, I assure you.”
He took her hand in his. “They weren’t seeing you through my eyes.”
*****
After supper the following evening, her sister, Daisy came to the house with a big smile. “Aunt Harriett just had the baby. It’s a girl!”
Amaryllis squealed. “A girl? That’s wonderful! What did they name her?”
“Florence Mary. Isn’t that lovely?”
Amaryllis smiled. “It’s better than another flower name!” She grinned at her sister. They’d all hated having flower names as they’d grown up. It wouldn’t have been bad to be named Rose or Lily if all their sisters hadn’t had similar names. Amaryllis had been a silly name to begin with, in her own opinion.
“Anything is better than another flower name!” Daisy agreed. She backed away from the door. “I need to get back home.”
“You won’t come in for a cup of coffee?” Amaryllis asked her. She was sorry she didn’t have a cake or cookies to offer to go with it.
Daisy shook her head. “No, Mama will worry if I’m gone too long. She wants me back before dark.”
“Do you want Alex to drive you?”
“No, I like walking in the evening. It’s going to be too cold for good walks soon.”
Amaryllis hugged her sister. “Are we all meeting up at Aunt Harriett’s tomorrow afternoon to see the baby then?” Every time someone in the family had a baby, the entire family gathered at their home the Saturday afternoon following the birth. She wasn’t sure why the tradition had started, but they’d enjoyed it.
“I’m sure we will!”
“I’ll see you then!”
She hurried to the back to tell Alex the news. He smiled and nodded. He’d been a member of the family for as long as Higgins had been married to his mother. “Are we all meeting at Harriett’s tomorrow then?”
Amaryllis nodded. “We are.” She looked around their small house. “How are we going to host everyone when we have our first baby? I can just see us having everyone sit on the floor.”
Alex laughed and pulled her close to him. “If all else fails, we’ll go stay with your parents or mine. We don’t have to worry about what will happen when it’s our turn.”
Amaryllis wasn’t willing to let a child be born in their tiny apartment anyway. If and when it came time to worry about that, she was going to insist they use the money she had saved for something bigger.
*****
The walk to her aunt’s house the following day was filled with excitement for Amaryllis. She loved holding new babies, but wasn’t ready to have one of her own. They were so small and smelled so good. Except when they’d filled their diapers, of course, but when that happened she would smile and hand them back to their mother to be changed. It was one of the benefits of being the auntie or the cousin.
She held Alex’s hand as they walked, enjoying just being a couple for a change. They’d been at an impasse for a while, not worrying overmuch about their problems and instead just adjusting to being together. The walk to Max and Harriett’s house only took about ten minutes, but Amaryllis was so excited to see the new baby, she half-dragged Alex, rushing him along.
She was excited to see her sisters as well. They’d always seemed like an annoyance, but somehow she missed them. Even Jasmine. She grinned as she thought of her annoying sister. It wouldn’t be long before Jasmine would be looking for a husband. She was going to enjoy watching that.
When they arrived at the house, it wasn’t quite as chaotic as it had been when Aunt Harriett had her first baby. Of course, that had been five years ago. They’d all done a lot of growing up in the five years since.
Rose sat sedately on a sofa, holding little Carrie while Freddie played at her feet. Lily was holding Lilac, while Bart sat on the floor staring at his older cousin. Lily looked much different than she had five years ago. Her red hair was no longer hanging in braids, but was instead arranged neatly atop her head. She was wearing a skirt, which her mother had always made her do when she left the house, but Amaryllis didn’t think she was wearing boy’s pants under it, which was definitely new.
Daisy, only six months shy of turning eighteen, was dressed beauti
fully, but obviously a little overwhelmed by the crowd; that much hadn’t changed. She did fine at parties as long as there were one or two people in a small group for her to talk to. Talking to everyone at once was too much for her still. Amaryllis made a beeline for her shy sister, hoping she could make her feel more at home.
Amaryllis hugged Daisy, leaving Alex to talk to whomever he wanted. He knew everyone there, and his parents were there as well, so she didn’t have to worry about him.
“It’s good to see you!” she said as she hugged Daisy.
“Good to see you, too. Mama wasn’t sure if you two would make it. She said this isn’t something newlyweds are really expected to take part in, but I told her you’d be here.”
Amaryllis smiled. “I’m happy to be here.” She looked around the room to make sure no one was close enough to listen. “So tell me more about how you feel about women’s rights. I’ve been having some thoughts of my own.”
Daisy laughed, her eyes sparkling as she began sharing what she thought. “I’m a complete radical. I not only think women should have the vote, but I think they should be able to work outside the home if they choose to. And I think they should earn equal wages! Most places pay men more than women for doing the same job, because men are the ‘breadwinners.’ What does that matter? If a man chooses to stay home and take care of children while a woman works, would that be such a terrible thing?”
Amaryllis covered her cough as a laugh. “You know, I thought Alex was forward thinking before we married, but I’d love to see you talk with him. He’d have no idea what to make of your ideas.”
Jasmine walked over and joined them then. She eyed Amaryllis carefully, looking her up and down. “You seem the same.”
Amaryllis made a face at Jasmine. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Jasmine shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seems that being married would radically transform you. Are you still a bookworm?” she demanded.
Amaryllis sighed. “I still read every chance I get. Who I am hasn’t changed just because I married Alex.”
“Well, you do kind of have a glow about you. Why’s that?”
Amaryllis didn’t respond, but turned to Daisy and sighed. “Do you think Aunt Harriett would send her East to be a mail order bride?”
Daisy laughed. “Probably not. There are too many men here in Seattle who need wives. It wouldn’t make sense to send a perfectly good… What am I saying? Let’s go beg her to send her away!” She linked arms with Amaryllis, and they headed off together to find Harriett, both of them doing their best not to giggle until they were out of Jasmine’s earshot.
Amaryllis leaned against the wall grinning in the parlor they’d ended up in. “How many parlors does Aunt Harriett have?” she asked in wonder. “I’ve never been in this one.”
Daisy shrugged. “It’s a big house.” She smiled happily at Amaryllis. “That was really fun! I’ve become her new favorite victim at home, because I’m the next in line to marry.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! She’s the biggest annoyance!”
Daisy nodded emphatically. “I love her, but I may have to kill her someday.”
Amaryllis giggled. “Well, killing her may not be the answer, but you could certainly start playing pranks on her to get her back.”
Daisy’s eyes sparkled with laughter. “Like?”
The two sisters laughed and came up with ideas for tormenting Jasmine until their mother found them twenty minutes later. “What are you two doing hiding in here?”
Both girls burst out laughing at the question. “Nothing, Mama,” Daisy said as soon as she could speak.
Amaryllis shook her head, refusing to even respond to the question.
Mary shook her head. “What am I going to do with you two?” She put her arm around each of them. “The baby just woke from her nap. Do you want to see her?”
They went with their mother to see the baby, but the two sisters exchanged one more look and dissolved into laughter again. Jasmine wouldn’t know what hit her!
Hyacinth, Violet, and Iris were all crowded around Aunt Harriett and the baby when Amaryllis arrived with Daisy and their mother. Iris, the youngest of the eight girls at eleven, was stroking the baby’s cheek. “I love babies.”
As Iris stood there, Amaryllis noticed something moving in Iris’s pocket. She quenched her giggle and looked at Daisy, who had obviously noticed as well. “What is it?” she asked in a whisper.
“There was a lame kitten on the ground on the way here. Papa told her not to touch it, but she lagged behind. I knew she had it!” Daisy shook her head. Iris had never been able to stop helping small children or animals. She wanted to be a doctor someday, but they all knew that she’d really just end up being a nurse, because only men could be doctors.
Harriett’s eyes met Amaryllis’s over the heads of her sisters. “I hope your first comes soon!”
Amaryllis shook her head madly. “Maybe in a few years.”
Harriett laughed softly. “It’s all in God’s timing, Rilly.” She used her left hand to completely cradle the baby, and patted the spot next to her on the sofa. “Come sit next to me and hold her.”
Amaryllis moved past her sisters and took the infant from her aunt’s arms. “She’s beautiful.”
Harriett smiled. “All my babies are beautiful.”
Amaryllis had never been crazy about babies. She liked them as much as the next woman, of course, but she wasn’t one who was determined to have a dozen of them, and she was never the first to rush toward a baby when they were born. Yes, she liked to see them, and she loved the parties her family did as soon as a baby was born, but she loved the parties almost as much for the time with her family as the time with the baby.
This one was sweet, already sleeping peacefully in her arms. So many babies cried all the time, so Amaryllis thought she liked her. “What’s her name?” She knew Daisy had told her, but it had slipped her mind.
“Florence Mary. I think we’ll probably call her Flo.”
“Flo. I like that.”
She looked up and saw her three youngest sisters still watching her. Hyacinth stared down at the baby with a dreamy expression. “I want to have a baby someday,” she announced.
“I’m sure you will someday, Hyacinth,” her aunt told her.
“I want to have an art studio, but no babies,” Violet announced loudly. She turned to her mother, who was a few steps behind her. “Instead of getting my own room, can I have an art studio instead? We haven’t done anything with Rilly’s room yet.”
Mary patted Violet on the arm. “We’ll talk about it when we get home.” Mary hated talking about personal things at gatherings like this. She felt that the small details of running her home should be between the people who lived in the home.
The afternoon flew by for Amaryllis. She loved her job, but sometimes it was nice to have the weekend to spend with family. She couldn’t wait until Thanksgiving, because that would be the next day the whole family would get together like this.
There was a small meal served, but they didn’t sit at the big table and eat together, it was more a case of everyone grabbing something when they were hungry.
There were tears in Amaryllis’s eyes when it was time to leave. She knew she was only a ten minute walk from her parents’ house, but she missed the day to day chaos of living in the huge home she’d grown up in. Mary hugged her close, understanding with no words being spoken. “We all miss you too. Why don’t you come to lunch after church next week?”
Amaryllis nodded. “I’ll have to talk to Alex, of course, but I don’t think he’ll mind.”
She hugged everyone before leaving, while Alex stood patiently waiting for her. He obviously understood her dilemma and wanted to make it as easy for her as possible. She thought again about what a good man she’d married.
When Mildred hugged her goodbye, she whispered, “Come over for lunch again tomorrow, and we’ll have another quick cooking lesson. You can learn to make another meal.”
“I
’d like that,” Amaryllis whispered back, happy to have a mother-in-law who was so willing to help her in the areas she lacked in. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chapter Nine
As she and Alex walked toward their apartment, they held hands and talked about the afternoon. Every time there was a gathering like that, the men disappeared for hours, while the women stayed in the house and talked about the baby and played with the small children. She’d always wondered what the men did during that time.
“What did you and all the other men do while the rest of us were with the babies?” she asked.
He laughed. “We just went to the backyard and talked about how we didn’t want to be in the house with all you women. We talked politics some. Really had a nice time.”
She grinned. “So you don’t want to be around us?”
He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “I don’t want to be around a bunch of women. I want to be around my wife.”
She smiled up at him, happy to be with just him again. Glancing over past him, she saw a small yellow house for sale. She stopped and walked toward the sign. It didn’t give a price, but it couldn’t be too terribly much, could it? She didn’t say a word, but walked toward the house, peering in the window. It was five times the size of where they currently lived, but still very small by her standards. She didn’t hear Alex as he called to her, but instead wandered around to the back of the house to see if there was an outhouse. When there wasn’t, she knew the house had a real water closet. It was all she could do not to jump for joy. This was the house she wanted.
Amaryllis (Suitors of Seattle) Page 11