"You are wrong about Briar," Clara insisted.
Olivia giggled and held the screen door open for Clara. "Methinks the lady protests too much. Age before beauty"
"Sense before ignorance," Clara shot back.
Olivia just giggled again. Clara couldn't help but do the same.
Holding Libby by the hand, Briar marched up to the front door of the Morning Glory Inn. Blue blossoms unfurled slowly, bending their fragile necks toward the sun. The vicious summer heat had abated slightly and the trees had begun to put on their fall colored coats of crimson, tangerine and lemon yellow.
Libby didn't say a word and Briar could actually feel her nervousness. He was more anxious than he'd been back when he was fourteen and walked all the way across the barn to ask Janey Jones to dance with him. Libby squeezed his fingers as if she were telling him in her four-year-old way that being apprehensive was her job as a child. His, as an adult, was to be calm and collected. It was a good thing no one was paying him for doing his job that day or they would have fired him on the spot.
She doubled up her fist and pounded on the door. "I can knock"
"Yes, you can, but they might not hear you," Briar nodded.
When no one answered, Briar knocked heavily on the door frame.
Dulcie appeared and motioned him inside. "Mr. Briar, what're you doin' out and about this early? Folks is still eatin' breakfast, so if you're lookin' for Miss Clara she's in the dining room"
"Thank you, Dulcie. This is my daughter, Libby. And Libby, this is Dulcie. She can cook the best cobbler in the whole state of Oklahoma. Dulcie, I came at this time of morning because I want to talk to the whole bunch of the ladies, not just Clara," Briar said.
"You got a pretty little girl there, Mr. Briar." Dulcie followed behind them.
Olivia raised an eyebrow when she saw him coming through the dining room door. "Briar, what are you doing out and around this early in the morning?"
"I've come to talk to all of you. Good morning. This is my daughter, Libby. And this is Nellie, Cornelia, Bessie, Beulah, Olivia and Clara," he said, pointing out each person.
Libby eyed them seriously. To her, they looked like the ladies in Judy's Sunday School class. All old.
Clara arose from her chair and went over to bend down in front of Libby. "How nice of you to come see us. Are you going to work with your daddy today?"
She stuck a thumb in her mouth and hid behind Briar's leg. "Who are you?"
"I'm Clara," Clara said softly as she lost her heart. Not to a man like she'd hoped to do someday, but to a little girl with dark curls and big, round, blue eyes.
"I'm here to ask for some help," Briar said. "My sister, Judith, and Cecil want to marry next week. I've asked Cecil to move down near Wichita Falls, Texas, where our company will be buying leases soon. So this is the situation. I need a place to leave Libby in the day. She's never had a babysitter. Judith has lived with me and cared for her since she was a tiny baby. You folks are the only ladies in town I can ask. Do you have any idea who might be available?"
"Of course she can stay right here," Bessie said. "Me and Beulah can watch her in the mornings. Dulcie is here all day. Clara is in and out. And Nellie and Cornelia are home by four. Don't expect you'd pick her up until five, would you?"
"It could be as late as six," Briar said.
"Well, those days she can eat supper with us," Beulah said.
"Clara?" Briar expected opposition.
"Where is Judith this morning?" Clara asked Libby.
Libby sucked harder on her thumb.
"She's at the store picking up a few things," Briar said.
"I want Judy," Libby whispered.
Clara touched Libby's free hand. "Of course you do"
"We're going to get Judy in a few minutes. We just needed to talk to these ladies first." Briar squatted down on the other side of Libby.
"Will you stay with me and let Judy come after you in just a little bit?" Clara asked.
Libby stared at her, then slowly nodded.
"You will?" Briar was amazed.
Libby nodded again.
Clara eased Libby's hand into her own and carefully led her away. "Your daddy will stay, too, this time. We'll go in the other room and read a book. Do you like books?"
"A book about a duck?" Libby asked.
"A yellow duck that floats on the water in the lily pads," Clara said.
"Clara, are you sure?" Briar whispered as he followed them.
"Of course. The room you stayed in is still empty and that can be her room during the day if she wants to take a nap or play. You might bring some of her things to make it more like hers."
441511 pay-"
"You'll pay the price of a room. I don't think a fouryear-old child will eat enough to make a difference in our food bill. I suggest you bring her every morning and let her stay a little longer each day. A sort of weaning away process and getting used to us at the same time. It will give Judith some time to do the same. It can't be easy for her."
"Judith and Cecil want to get married on Saturday," he said.
"That's fine. Shall we shake on it?" Clara extended her hand. What she really wanted to do was lean forward and kiss him to seal the deal.
Briar took the proffered hand, wishing the whole time that he could use it to pull her to his chest for a hug. He'd never dreamed Clara would take care of Libby. He'd just hoped one of the ladies could recommend a sitter. The only difficult thing would be seeing Clara twice a day, five days a week, but he could even weather that for Libby's sake.
Libby pulled at his pant leg. "Do they have a cat?"
"Not right now, but if you want a cat I'll find one," Bessie said from the doorway.
"Clara?" Briar asked.
"We'll find a kitten. That way it can grow up with her and won't be so prone to scratching." Clara was fully captivated the minute she bent down and looked into those light eyes and in the twinkle of a child's big blue eyes knew she could never refuse her anything. She was so mesmerized that she'd even see Briar Nelson twice a day to get to keep Libby every day. Perhaps it would be a good thing anyway. She'd find out right quick that Briar had lots of horrible qualities that she couldn't abide. After all, there were two sides to every story, and surely his ex-wife would have her tale of woe to tell. Did his work consume too much of his time? Did he not pay enough attention to her? The days when a man treated his wife as chattel was long since gone and there was more progress on the wind called liberation and equal rights.
Clara picked a thick book of children's stories from the bookcase and read through the index to find the right page. "Okay, sweetheart, here's the book lyin' right here."
"These women are all very nice, Libby. They will be your new friends." Briar sat on the settee and picked Libby up and sat her on his lap.
"Will you come back?" she asked around the thumb in her mouth.
"Not today, but I'll be home in time for supper tonight. Today Judy will come and get you," he said.
She nodded.
"Then you will stay here with all these ladies?" he asked.
She nodded again. "Read to me?" she asked Clara.
"I sure will. You know if you would sit in my lap, I could read and you could look at the pictures," Clara said.
"Okay." Libby almost smiled.
Briar moved her and stood up. "Do you think it would be all right if I go to work now, Libby? Or should I stay until Judy comes today?"
"Judy will come?" she asked.
"In just a little while," he said. "Clara will read to you and then-"
Dulcie stepped into the room. "And after you read a little while, Clara can bring you in the kitchen and you can help me make cookies. Have you ever made sugar cookies?"
Libby looked at Dulcie for a long time before she answered. "Aunt Judy and me makes cookies."
"Briar, don't worry about Libby. Dulcie will dote on her. Bessie and Beulah will think they have a new toy" Clara stopped reading a moment when she realized he was leaving.<
br />
"What about you, Clara?" Briar asked.
"I will enjoy a child in the house."
"She's a handful at times," Briar admitted.
"Does she get that from her father?"
"Probably. I think I'll go to work, on that note" He almost smiled. Was Clara flirting or starting a fight? He wasn't going to risk his good luck by finding out which mood she was in that day.
"Have a good day, then" Clara's heart was lighter than it had been in years. For a moment, she wasn't a crazy old maid. She was a wife sending her husband off to work and going back inside to make sugar cookies with her daughter. Even if the bubble did burst before it was fully blown, she basked in the glory of it for a split second.
"So now you'll be seeing him every morning and night. That's more than I get to see Danny," Olivia said, peeking in before heading out to work.
"Oh, hush. I'm keeping his daughter, not dating him."
"Well, I'm not going to argue with you. I'm off to count money. See you this evening." Olivia pushed the door open and prissed off toward the bank.
"So?" Bessie said from a rocking chair she claimed every morning after breakfast.
"What?" Clara asked.
"So are you already whipping yourself for this decision to have a child underfoot all day?"
"No, I'm looking forward to it," Clara said.
"Good. It'll be good for you and all of us. That child will be a breath of fresh air for this old place," Bessie said.
"Tell me that when you're taking your afternoon nap and she's squealing up and down the stairs," Clara whispered, then went back to reading.
"I can sleep in heaven," Bessie smarted off.
"It might be the next chance you get at a nap." Clara actually laughed, her eyes aglitter.
And well worth it, Bessie thought as she picked up the newest edition of Woman's Home Companion. The cover depicted a man holding a child up in the air while his wife looked on. Bessie read an article about wives who were left behind as the menfolks went off to fight in the war across the seas. President Wilson had called for a draft of all eligible men back last spring and it had taken a few months for the magazines to find out they had a market in articles concerning the women who'd be left behind. Bessie sent up a silent prayer that they wouldn't want Briar Nelson. Take however many of those hoboes out there in tents and cardboard towns beside the railroad tracks that they wanted. They could hold a gun and fight the Germans all day, but Briar was needed in Healdton, Oklahoma, to rid the village of its famous idiot. Besides, with America getting ready to send troops over there, it surely wouldn't last long.
When Clara finished reading the story, she asked Libby if she'd like to go watch Dulcie make cookies. The child actually smiled that time when she nodded. They'd no more than left the room when Beulah shuffled in, carrying a bag with her crochet in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
"You look like the cat that just found the bird cage door open and the parakeet sleeping." Beulah settled down beside Bessie.
"Well, you look like a frog about to eat up a buzzing fly. It's working out and we didn't even have to meddle," Bessie told her.
"Yes, but if we hadn't bought that farm and then sold it to Cecil, where would they be? We set it in motion," Beulah reminded her.
"Well, Titus Lester's widow wasn't going to sell to anyone who hadn't lived in Healdton since the sixth day of creation. The only way Briar was going to get that land was for us to buy it and then sell it to Cecil. We might be old, but we ain't dead. We can still hear rumors and we can still meddle a little bit. I heard Titus' widow is still fuming. Never did like that woman. I'm glad she's mad"
"Good thing Olivia said what she did about Cecil wanting to buy a farm, ain't it?"
"God works in mysterious ways. That girl is a thorn in my flesh most days, but she does bring in a bit of something useful on some days. Now let me read what President Wilson is going to do about sending our boys off to be killed. Never did agree with war, but if they want it to end, they need to make a law that old women could go. We'd get it taken care of a lot quicker than a bunch of eighteen-year-old boys. We're already so close to death that nothing could scare the bejesus out of us"
"Ain't it the truth" Bessie turned to a page in her magazine that had a recipe for pumpkin bread using cold black coffee as the liquid. She'd have to show it to Dulcie before Thanksgiving.
Clara found Dulcie washing the breakfast dishes. She remembered another little dark-haired girl who stood on a stool beside Dulcie. And she remembered when she begged and begged until she was allowed to help dry dishes.
"Need some help?" Clara asked.
"Just finishing up, and then I'm going to be makin' up some cookies. You ready to cook, Miss Libby?"
"Can I help?" Clara asked.
Dulcie jerked her head around quickly. Surely, her old ears were failing her. She'd never thought she'd lose her hearing, but surely Clara hadn't wanted to cook. The girl had steered clear of anything that had to do with food preparation her entire life.
"You want to cook?" Dulcie asked.
"I do. Libby and I want to learn to make cookies, don't we Libby?"
"With sugar on top?" Libby asked.
"That's right. And don't you say a word, Dulcie. If she can learn, I can, too," Clara said.
"Four and forty in the same kitchen," Dulcie muttered.
"I am not forty!"
"No, I guess you ain't, but you must be getting dotty in your old age. Wanting to learn to cook? Next thing I know, you'll be wantin' me to play the piano or else be firin' me and doin' the work all by yourself," Dulcie said.
"I don't think so. I might learn to cook, but you won't ever learn that piano." Clara smiled.
"Well, I guess since you can read, you can try your hand at mixing up cookie dough. Lord, I do believe the world is coming to an end."
"Can I stir it?" Libby asked.
"Yes, you can" Dulcie took a big bowl from the cabinet and set it before the child.
"First, let's put an apron on you. We don't want to ruin your pretty dress," Clara told her.
Judy arrived as the first cookies were coming out of the oven, and by the middle of the week Clara had convinced Briar to let Libby stay all day so Judith could have time to get things ready for the wedding.
On Thursday he arrived at the door promptly at 5:00. Libby barreled through the foyer and jumped into his arms. "Daddy! Daddy! I can spell my name and I can write my name all by myself. Nellie showed me how. L. I. B. B. Y. And Dulcie said we can stay here and eat tonight."
He looked over his daughter's head to find Clara in the dining room archway. Several strands of hair had escaped the tight bun at the nape of her neck. There was a speck of flour or something white on her forehead. Her gingham checked dress was rumpled and she still wore a white apron that looked as if it had done war with something in the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow in question.
"You might as well stay and eat with us. Or has Judith already got supper ready?" she asked.
"No, she and Cecil are talking to the preacher right now. This has all come up so sudden. I asked Cecil to go to Texas and he was willing if Judith would go with him."
"Then you can eat with us," Bessie said as she made her way to the table. "Ain't no sense in you trying to cook when there's plenty here"
"Is that agreeable?" he asked Clara.
"Of course. Libby and I will go wash up. We helped Dulcie make biscuits," she explained. For a moment she'd panicked when he arrived at the door. Time had gotten away from her, but all Briar had asked was that she keep his child. He hadn't asked for another kiss or to see her socially, so it didn't really matter if he caught her wearing an apron and with flour on her nose.
"Good. I am hungry. So what did you do today other than learn your name and make cookies?" Briar asked as Libby led him to the table.
After grace, Libby tugged at Briar's arm. "I stirred the dough"
"Dulcie is going to teach you to be a good cook. I'm proud of you" Briar
could hardly believe that his daughter had adapted so quickly to the new arrangement. Judith was so busy she scarcely had time to think about how much she was going to miss Libby when she moved. And Libby was fitting in very well at the inn. Briar slid a slice of ham on his plate and a smaller portion on hers.
"Where's Judy? I miss her."
"Of course you do," Clara said. "And she misses you, too."
"Yes, she does" Briar's eyes met Clara's across the table.
"Me and Clara found toys up the stairs. A baby cradle and a doll. Clara says I can play with it."
"I bet that little baby doll has been looking for a little girl to come play for a long time," Briar said.
"So how many of your family are coming to this wedding?" Bessie asked.
"A bunch," Briar winced. "I'm wondering where I'm going to put them. The farm house can take care of part of the tribe. The barn can handle some of the boys. Got any ideas where a man could rent a few rooms for a couple of days? They'll arrive this evening and be there until Sunday. Oh, Libby won't be coming here tomorrow. There'll be plenty of help to take care of her, and besides, there's children."
Libby's eyes lit up. "The kids are coming? Judy said the kids are coming? Today? And Clara is coming to my house tomorrow?"
"Today, sweetheart. They'll be there by the time it gets dark," Briar said.
"And Clara is coming tomorrow?"
"Clara is busy, darlin'," Briar said.
Libby pushed herself back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Clara is coming tomorrow."
"But-" Briar started to reason with her.
"Of course I'm coming tomorrow. They might need me to help cook something. They might not even know how to make cookies with sugar on the top and Libby and I'll have to show them," Clara soothed.
"Okay," Libby was all smiles again and began to eat.
"Where they coming from?" Beulah asked.
"Kentucky. Every one of them settled right there
around where we were raised. Except for me. And then Judith. Mother had just died when Libby was born so Judith was free to come to Pennsylvania to help me," he explained.
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