Texas Girl Grit

by Shelley Stringer

  Coming to my senses, I couldn’t wait. I stood and shakily put the key into the old-fashioned lock. The lock instantly clicked and the ancient door swung open. Light flooded in through the large floor-to ceiling windows across the porch, streaking the newly-finished oak floors. The living room was essentially bare, the walls glowing in a soft buttery yellow. I walked through slowly, making my way to the hallway and staircase beyond.

  I heard the screen door slam behind me.

  “If you’ll go back to the kitchen, I think you’ll find a few things you recognize,” Liam said behind me.

  I rounded the staircase and doorway underneath and stopped still. My eyes filled with moisture as I gazed at my grandmother’s large farm table. The top had been sanded-down and restained with a dark walnut stain, but the sides and legs had been left alone. The robin’s egg blue paint peeled along the carved legs, revealing shades of red and white underneath. The entire thing had been glazed-over to protect the original paint. Twelve new chairs stood sentry down the sides and at either end.

  I slid my hand lovingly along the top. Memories from my earliest childhood swirled in my head…a vision of my grandmother, sitting with me in her lap, letting me play in dough as she showed me how to roll the rolling pin through it.

  “Liam, where did you find this? It wasn’t even here in the house when we left it last,” I said in disbelief.

  “It was in an outbuilding. The legs had been removed. I hired some guys to search the buildings and find anything they thought might be original to the house. I just wish there had been more.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I choked out, turning to throw my arms around him.

  “Hey, Baby…I didn’t mean to upset you. Are these memories good?” he asked, concerned.

  “The best,” I whispered, clutched close with a surprised Masen into Liam’s chest

  He released me and chuckled, reaching with his free hand to wipe the tears from my eyes. “Let’s go and search the rest of the house.”

  We retraced our steps and mounted the staircase. I paused on the third step, bouncing a couple of times to emphasize the squeak I remembered from my childhood. A slow grin moved across my face, replacing the tears.

  “Another memory?” he asked, pausing behind me.

  “Yep. If we played hide-n-seek in the house, I always knew when Dana went upstairs. She’d always forget to hop over this step…but I never did.” I smiled widely at the memory, and after a beat continued to the top.

  The staircase was positioned directly in the middle of the house, and there was a sort of square hallway surrounding it, with four doors leading to bedrooms. A large window with a window seat sat at the head and foot of the staircase opening. I went to the left first, to the bedroom Dana and I had shared when we lived with Aunt Deb. Pushing the door wide, I gasped at the sight. My grandmother’s iron bed stood watch, made up with quilts and linens I remembered from my childhood. The plump, lumpy mattress beckoned me.

  Scurrying across the creaky floorboards, I launched myself, twisting in midair to land on my back and proceeded to make a “feather angel” in the center of the bedlinens.

  “You and your sister did that a lot,” Liam guessed, his grin wide as he dropped Masen down beside me.

  “Our favorite thing to do. My grandmother would always scold us when we were little…this was her bed. We weren’t allowed to play on the beds when she was alive. But when we came back to live with Aunt Deb after mom died, she made sure this bed was in our room so we could ‘dive in the feathers’ anytime we wanted to.”

  Looking around the room, I was lost in my memories. Books lined an old shelf. It was not a shelf I remembered, or the desk sitting nearby. But I remembered the books. They were time worn, well read and loved, all the childhood classics. Some had belonged to my grandfather, but many were Aunt Deb’s. The ones that were too advanced for us at the time, she’d read aloud to us. “Huckleberry Finn,” “Little Women,” “White Fang,” “Treasure Island,” – they were all here, beckoning me from the overstuffed shelves.

  “I asked your cousins who were living here when I bought the house, if there were any family heirlooms they could find and part with that might go with the house. I offered to sweeten the deal if those heirlooms might mean something special to you. Those obviously did,” he commented, settling down beside me and leaning over to kiss a fussy Masen on the head.

  I stood, moving to the bookcase. Pulling a couple of the books off the shelf, I flipped the pages, inhaling the scent. The scent was familiar…one I associated with Aunt Deb. I could feel the crisp, cool sheets she’d made the bed with, and the layers of heavy quilts over us as we snuggled down beside her each night.

  I turned to gaze back at Liam. He had a sleepy Masen curled against his chest, his fingers lazily circling on our son’s back, lulling him to sleep.

  “Every memory I have in this house is a happy one. Even when Aunt Deb was sick…those are bittersweet, but happy. We were together, and Dana and I knew we were loved.” I paused to place the books back on the shelf and turned back to him. His eyes were deep blue, sparkling in the light shining through the lace curtains at the window. His gaze was so full of love, it made my heart hurt. I moved back to him as he stood up to meet me. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I tiptoed up to whisper in his ear.

  “You gave me my childhood back. You gave me my happy memories back,” I managed to choke out.

  “I’m glad, Baby. That’s what I’d hoped. And my mom helped too. She made suggestions of things I might ask your family for, and they complied. Things they didn’t have, she used her own imagination. She even visited with a couple of women from the Lutheran Church who’d attended with your grandmother. They gave her some pointers on colors to choose for the interior, and about the furniture they could remember.”

  “Please tell her thank-you,” I murmured into his shirt, now wet with my tears.

  “You can do that yourself tomorrow. My family is coming tomorrow night to spend the night and we’ll all cook Thanksgiving dinner together here at the farm. Our first in Fredericksburg!”

  “Really?” I asked, unable to hide my excitement.

  “Yep. My mother said it was the best way to get to know her new daughter-in-law. They want to see where you grew up, and share in your childhood memories. She and dad want to be the best grandparents possible for Masen and this little one,” he added, placing his hand on my tummy. “They want to connect with your past and help to give that history to Masen and our new baby,” he finished.

  “I’m…overwhelmed. This is great,” I said breathlessly, turning once again to look around the room.

  “Why don’t I go and put Masen down in our room. He’s out. You explore the house, and I’ll see if I can find something for us to eat for dinner. By the way, part of your birthday surprise is shopping downtown tomorrow. Any furniture you want, we’ll be buying tomorrow and have it set up. We’ll have a full house of company tomorrow night, you know.”

  Liam exited the room, leaving me to chase more memories while he went to tuck Masen in. Room after room was explored. One of the other bedrooms had an old wooden full bed and antique dresser. It wasn’t one I recognized. Another had a large queen bed with a four-poster cannonball frame, and a chest-of-drawers and highboy I remembered as being my grandfathers. As far back as I could remember, my grandmother and grandfather had slept in separate bedrooms. I’d always thought it was strange, and I wished I’d asked my Aunt Deb why they did. Maybe that was a question I could ask the church ladies. I giggled out loud at the thought of asking the blue-haired ladies who sat on the third pew every Sunday morning.

  The sound of my own giggles startled me. I paused, my hand over my mouth. I couldn’t remember any time in my life I’d had this many memories flood back – memories I could smile and giggle over, and share with someone. And today I was flooded with so many, I wanted to write them all down so I wouldn’t forget.

  The last door in the front corner of the house, the one beside my and Dan
a’s room, was my grandmother’s. It was the room she died in, and the last room Aunt Deb slept in. I pushed the door open slowly. The bed was gone as was the dresser. But an old stand-up mirror stood in one corner. It was the one thing I’d hoped to find besides the old feather-tic bed in our room. It was my grandmother’s mirror. Dana and I had stood for hours, playing dress-up with my grandmother’s fancy dresses, draping pearls around our necks and trying on her old lace hats. I could almost hear Dana giggling as I ran my hands around the smooth frame.

  “Kelly, I’ll be back,” Liam called from downstairs. I whirled, rushing out into the hallway and scurrying down the stairs.

  “Where are you going?” I asked breathlessly.

  “Called in an order to Auslander’s. I remembered you told me you loved their Rueben sandwiches,” he said, tugging on his jacket.

  “Oh my gosh…that’s perfect,” I said, rising on my toes to kiss him. He grasped my neck, pulling me in as he sealed his mouth to my lips. His tongue flicked playfully over mine, stirring up all kinds of emotions.

  Pulling away first, he smirked. “If that’s my kiss for a Reuben, what’ll I get for red cabbage?”

  “Get it and you’ll find out, darlin’, I replied as he pulled the door shut with a grin.

  I whirled, taking in the house once again. I was home!

  Chapter Sixteen

  S itting in my grandmother’s kitchen at her mammoth farmhouse table, I contemplated the grocery list I’d made. I searched through her cabinets and found most of her cookware and serving bowls. Her china had even been returned to the built-in, glass-front cabinets on the wall in the dining room. Her ancient mint-green stove, the one she’d cooked on when I was a small child, was still in good working order, and Liam had bought a new refrigerator and microwave. It seemed I was all set for cooking on Thursday morning. I paused and looked out the window, now reflecting lights from the yard in the dark after the sun had set. As my mind wandered, I couldn’t remember ever having so much fun making a grocery list.

  Strong hands surrounded me from behind as Liam placed a kiss on my neck.

  “That’s a lot of groceries,” he murmured, moving his lips lightly over my neck.

  “Yeah. I think I need to get started. Do you think HEB is still open this late?”

  “Don’t worry, I have someone coming in the morning to shop for you and to help you get things ready. While she makes use of this list, you and I are going antiquing and furniture shopping. Sound fun?”

  I turned in my chair, and then leapt into his arms. “Sounds fun, but,” I said, drawing his attention away from my lips. “You’ve spent a ton already, buying the farm back,” I argued.

  “Oh, no. We are doing this right. My dad is even excited. I told them this could be a get-away for the whole family. He’s always wanted to buy a place here. He said he’s always wanted a place where he and mom could get out of Austin and just relax. He would go on and on about going to Fredericksburg on the weekends in early summer to pick peaches. Now he can grow his own if he wants,” he said with a smirk.

  I threw my head back and laughed. “Somehow, I can’t see your dad in overalls, on a ladder with a bushel basket.”

  “Well, believe it. He’ll be wanting you to plant an orchard, just wait and see.”

  Liam placed me back on my feet, and I leaned into him. “Your dad can do anything he wants to do here. I’m bursting to share this with them,” I said enthusiastically.

  “Now, about payment for the red kraut,” he said, his eyes sparkling. I bolted around him and made a dash for the stairs. Liam caught me at the bottom, swung me up in his arms, and bounded up the stairs. The third step squeaked in protest, but neither one of us noticed.

  * * *

  I’d forgotten how much fun you could have weaving in and out of all the shops on Hauptstrausse in the quaint German town. We bought bed linens, quilts, towels, a king replica iron bed for my grandmother’s bedroom, and reupholstered armchairs and sofas for the living room. Per Liam’s instructions, everything was to be delivered before three o’clock that afternoon.

  When Masen began to fuss, we stopped for a bite to eat in a cute sidewalk bistro.

  “Your cell hasn’t rung once this morning. What did you do, threaten the office staff?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow as I pulled a warm pretzel apart for us to share.

  “Nope. I told them anything that came up after I left yesterday could wait until Monday. Absolutely nothing interferes with family time.”

  I leaned in to kiss him and missed, as he moved at the last minute to lick a bit of mustard from the corner of my mouth. He smacked his lips and grinned at me. I sat back and crossed my arms, grinning back at him.

  “What? Do I have mustard too?” he asked, licking around his own lips. Masen continued to fuss in his lap, and Liam pulled his teething ring from the diaper bag.

  “No. Just looking at my man.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You know, I didn’t think you could get any sexier. Just when I thought I knew everything there was to love about you, you take me antique shopping, and you seemed to enjoy it. What man does that?”

  “Did I earn more points today than I did with the Rueben and red kraut?” he asked playfully.

  “Oh, yeah. Shopping with no complaining and acting as if you enjoyed it…Huge points. Ginormous. Earth-shattering.”

  Liam stood and grabbed Masen’s bag.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, confused.

  “Home. I’m ready for earth-shattering.”

  I giggled, he was so serious. “Sit down. No earth-shattering anything before I’ve had some hot German potato salad,” I warned.

  He sat as our waitress brought our food. Liam strapped Masen in a high chair, and we fed him mashed bits of meat and potato salad from our plates. The sidewalk was populated with birds and squirrels fighting for the bits of food Masen dropped, and it soon became a game for him.

  “We need some animals at home,” Liam observed as he finished his beer.

  “What? Why?” I asked.

  “Cleanup is easier,” he nodded down at the sidewalk that had been cleared of all of Masen’s debris. “Maybe he needs a puppy,” he suggested. Before I could let the panic of that plan set in, we were interrupted.

  “Kelly Catherine…is that you?” I turned to find one of the blue-haired ladies from my grandmother’s church standing outside the gate to the bistro.

  “Mrs. Schaeffer?” I asked, standing and moving to the short iron fence surrounding the biergarten.

  “Yes, dear. I went to church with your Oma Belle. I’m overjoyed to hear your husband bought her house back,” she said sweetly, taking my hand in hers.

  “So am I,” I replied. I experienced another rush of memories as I caught a whiff of her perfume, Este Lauder Youth-Dew, the same as my Oma Belle wore. I think it must have been a requirement to wear it if you sat in the fourth pew on the left aisle in the Lutheran Church. I could swear, as I’d stood in my grandmother’s closet that morning, the essence lingered there as well. The scent had been cloying when I was younger. Now, it brought tears to my eyes and a longing to be held by my grandmother’s frail arms.

  “I have a house-warming gift for you. Will you be celebrating Thanksgiving here?” she asked.

  “Yes, that’s the plan. Liam’s family is coming tonight, and we’ll cook together tomorrow.

  “That’s wonderful, sweetie. I’ve been making homemade egg noodles this week, and I’ll bring a batch over to you tonight. No Thanksgiving feast in your Oma and Opa’s house would be complete without German egg noodles,” she said. Waving over her shoulder as she got in her car, she added, “I’ll see you this evening.”

  “Egg noodles?” Liam asked, his eyebrows wrinkled.

  “Not just any egg noodles. If you’ve never had homemade egg noodles prepared by Lutheran church women, you haven’t lived,” I explained. “You’ll understand tomorrow.”

  He gave me a chin lift with a half smirk. “Oohhh-kaaay, then.”


  We finished our lunch, packed up a sleepy Masen, and headed back to the farm. We’d barely gotten him down for his nap when the first of the furniture arrived from town. It was amazing what money could accomplish in a day. Of course, Ellen had seen to the repainting of the entire house, and it was a blank canvas in the living room and bedrooms upstairs. But when the last of the delivery trucks left late in the afternoon, I turned to survey the living room. It looked as if we’d lived there for years. Every table had a lamp, and there was now a beautiful brindle cowhide rug on the floor. Liam had a cozy fire crackling in the limestone fireplace. He’d bought me a leaded-glass fire screen at the Granite and Iron Works store downtown, and the glass threw sparkles dancing across the room, reflecting the fire. The large Texas star in the center glowed warmly. I’d worked all afternoon, making the beds upstairs with all the cool linens, quilts and pillows I’d bought that morning from the quaint linen store downtown. I’d even placed a picture book about Texas Travel, decorating, etc. in every bedroom, as well as bottles of linen spray, luxury soaps, and fresh flowers on every dresser. I didn’t get the chance to play when we’d moved into our house, because Tana, Jen, and Sunni had everything done when I’d come home from the hospital after the shooting. So, I’d more than made up for it today with our vacation farmhouse. I hoped Aunt Deb was proud.

  “It’s beautiful, Baby,” Liam called out from the doorway.

  “It is, isn’t it?” I answered, turning to him.

  He crossed the room and folded me in his arms. “Yeah, and just in time, too. They pulled up in the driveway,” Liam whispered, kissing me on the neck.

  “Oh my gosh--my hair,” I worried, pulling away. I hurriedly pulled the red bandana off my head I’d pulled it up with, keeping it out of my way as I’d cleaned and readied the house.

  “You’re fine. You’re adorable as always,” Liam teased as we heard a knock at the front door.