Mail Order Man

by Heather Gray

  Samuel’s face had a thoughtful look on it as he nodded in understanding. “I apologize if I sounded sharp. I see you have thought this through and that these letters, and the men who wrote them, are in the best possible hands.”

  Mrs. Smith jumped in. “What do you mean by vulgar letters?” Motherly concern was written all over her face. Sarah felt her face heat with a blush. Sure that her cheeks were stained scarlet, she said, “Uh, well, some of the letters are not suitable for an unmarried woman, or any woman for that matter…”

  “Excuse me,” Samuel interrupted again. “Are you telling me some of these men wrote letters of a nature that…” He could not think of a delicate way to say what he was thinking. “Are you sure it is proper for you to be reading these letters?”

  Sarah shrugged and said, “We have to be practical. Someone has to read them, and I can’t allow the women of this town, some of whom are young and impressionable, to read through these letters willy-nilly. In addition to those letters, there are some that sound as though the writer may have a violent bent, and I am including those in the vulgar pile. I will not release those letters to the women of this town. Once I have sorted through them all, I will have to find someone else – perhaps Reverend Green – to take another look at them to make sure I didn’t judge someone too harshly.”

  Samuel appeared to be ready to say something more but seemed to change his mind. When he did not speak, Sarah continued, “In any event, once I have the letters sorted into those three categories, I will take the letters from the educated men and the uneducated men and will do my best to divide them by age. Not every letter includes a man’s age, but I think I can get a fair idea. Some of the men are clearly quite young, and some are clearly older. In this way, I hope we can better help facilitate positive matches.” Sarah exaggerated her voice, hoping to lighten the mood. “It would not do if 16-year-old Drucilla falls in love with an 82-year-old man via the post.”

  When Samuel and Mrs. Smith both tried to hide smiles of amusement, Sarah held her hands out, palms up, as if in appeal, and added, “It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s the best I could come up with. I am open to suggestions if anyone has a better idea.”

  Right at that moment, the mayor arrived home. He greeted his wife with a kiss to her cheek. Mrs. Smith stood to prepare a cup of tea for him. As she came back into the room with his tea, Minnie came down the stairs. To Sarah’s eye, Minnie appeared plumb ready to faint. Sarah was torn, wanting to go to her friend but not wanting to draw undue attention to her. Minnie seemed quite distressed, and Sarah watched her closely. The two made eye contact, and Sarah understood Minnie’s silent signal in the kind of way only a lifelong friend could understand. Sarah remained seated and sent up a silent prayer for her friend. Minnie had something she had to get off her chest, and it might get her in a bushel of trouble.

  “Mum and Dad, I have something I need to tell you.” Minnie’s voice was soft, lacking its usual vibrant ring.

  “Of course, Minnie. What is it?” spoke Mrs. Smith kindly, her face open and welcoming. Minnie’s father watched her with love, but his face told the story of a life lived as Minnie’s father. The mayor’s expression shared the tale of many such times when his unpredictable daughter had come to him with news of her exploits. Love for his daughter battled with expectant dread for command of his features.

  “Everything is my fault.”

  Mayor Smith was the first to speak. “What do you mean by that Minnie? What is your fault?”

  “The mess in town, all the men. I placed the ad.”

  Sarah heard Samuel’s sudden intake of breath. How could she have forgotten he was there? If he spread this news around town, Sarah knew her dear friend would suffer greatly for it.

  Mayor Smith placed his teacup in its saucer and set it down. Much to his credit, he kept his seat and did not immediately jump up as Sarah was sure he must have wanted to do. “Minnie, why would you do such a thing?” The mayor’s voice was tight with strain.

  Minnie started crying as she tried to explain. Her words came out between gasps and sobs. “I never thought of the unsavory element that would come to town. I only wanted to take care of Sarah. She’s worked so hard, and I know she enjoys her job, but she deserves to have a husband and children of her own, and there aren’t any eligible men in town that have taken her fancy. I only thought there would be a couple of letters, and they would all go to Sarah because she handles the mail. I figured when the letters came, she would tell me about it, and I would persuade her to read them and reply to one of the gentlemen. I meant only good by it, honest! I didn’t realize so many men would reply, or that men would begin coming directly to town without writing first, or that bad men would read the ad. The whole town and every woman in it, is in danger, and it’s my fault!’

  Sarah’s mouth had long ago dropped open. When Minnie stopped speaking to gasp for breath, Sarah realized how unladylike she must look and closed her mouth, bemused. Mrs. Smith seemed as though she were about to have a fit of vapors. Samuel stood there, having given up his seat for Minnie when he saw her coming down the stairs. His expression was inscrutable, and Sarah wished she knew what he was thinking.

  Mayor Smith was again the first to gather his senses enough to speak. He stood up, walked over to his daughter, and wrapped her in his arms.

  “Minnie, you must learn to think through your actions beforehand. I hope this will be a lifelong lesson learned here today.” Setting her away from him, he peered kindly into her eyes and spoke softly to her. “Please go upstairs and ready yourself for bed. I will be up to speak with you in a bit. I need you to wait up for me.”

  As Minnie shifted to go upstairs, Mrs. Smith stood and trailed behind. Sarah swung her gaze back and forth between Samuel and Mayor Smith, not sure if she should go or stay. She eyed Minnie’s father questioningly.

  The mayor appeared to have aged ten years since coming in the door a few moments before. All of the events of the day had not shown on his face the way Minnie’s confession did. Sarah’s heart went out to him as he stood there, haggard. Moving his eyes back and forth between Samuel and Sarah, the mayor seemed to struggle for words before speaking at last. “Please, both of you, take a seat. I need to speak with you.”

  Samuel sat on the divan next to her while Sarah kept her seat. Both faced Mayor Smith as he again picked up his tea and took a sip. Sarah’s heart ached for Minnie. She hoped the mayor would not be sending her friend away.

  “Sarah, Samuel, thank you for staying so that I could speak with you.”

  He was using his formal mayoral voice, and Sarah realized the mayor didn’t want them to know how upset he was.

  “I wish Minnie’s admission had come in private. Since you both heard it, though, I need to ask you for secrecy. As mayor, I can speak to the sheriff and tell him the perpetrator came to me and confessed, and that it was an innocent mistake. The sheriff will trust my judgment. No one need know it was Minnie. If word gets out she caused this, I am afraid I may not be able to keep my wife and daughter safe in Larkspur. Tonight’s meeting went well, but if the visitors in town begin to cause problems for the townspeople, some will seek vengeance.”

  Samuel quietly questioned, “If it had not been your daughter but someone else who came to you with such a confession, how would you have handled it?”

  Mayor Smith nodded thoughtfully and answered, “I believe I would have handled it exactly the same, as long as I could say the character and intent of the perpetrator were honorable. If I felt someone had malicious intent by placing the ad, then I would do whatever needed to be done to bring that person to justice.” The mayor nodded as though settling the question in his own mind. “Yes, I do believe I would have handled it the same, even if it had been someone other than Minnie.”

  Sarah spoke up, “Mayor, if people know you know who placed the ad and you refuse to give them a name, you may never get re-elected here in Larkspur. Your career could be on the line.”

  This man, who Sarah had known fo
r years, met her gaze with a tired but peaceful smile. “Sarah, dear, I will do what is right without bending to public demand. That has served me well in office thus far, and I believe it will continue to do so. If I lose my position as mayor, then I will go back to being an attorney and provide for my family in that way. I may answer to the people of Larkspur as mayor, but I have to answer to God as a man, and I need to do what is right in God’s eyes, even if there is risk involved.”

  Sarah hurt for the man she had grown to love over the years. She had seen Mayor Smith handle her spirited friend’s sometimes peculiar actions, always with love and grace. While some parents might have lost their temper and yelled at Minnie until her spirit had broken, the mayor and his wife always treated her with tender love, trying to guide her high-spirited nature in the way of the Lord.

  Sarah believed what the mayor had said was right. This incident would likely change Minnie forever, causing her to give more careful thought to her actions in the future. Sarah hoped this would be a good thing and that, as Minnie learned from this, she would not lose the impulsive and sometimes impetuous nature so uniquely her own.

  “You have my word, Mayor. I won’t say anything. I trust your judgment on the matter. May I go up to check on Minnie?” When the mayor nodded, Sarah rose and left the room. As she climbed the stairs she felt the oddest tingling sensation down her left side. With a shake of her head, she tried to dismiss it. Surely this could not be because she had been sitting so close to Samuel.

  ****

  “Sir, I admire your commitment to your daughter,” spoke Samuel softly. Mayor Smith simply watched him, apparently waiting for whatever else the young man had to say. Samuel had the feeling that more than his words was being gauged by the mayor. “I do not know you well enough to know whether or not I can take you at your word. You seem to be highly thought of, though, and so I will trust you. If you say you would have handled this situation the same, even if it had not been your daughter, then that’s good enough for me. I won’t say anything to anyone. You have my word.”

  Mayor Smith visibly relaxed upon hearing Samuel’s statement. He sat back in his chair and said casually, almost too casually, “So what business brings you to Larkspur?”

  “I was in the area on business and stopped by to visit my cousin, Ida, and her husband, John.”

  “Ah, I see. Are you going to tell me what the business is that brought you into the area, or will you tell me to drop the subject?”

  “Are you asking as the mayor or a kindly neighbor?”

  A twinkle entered into the mayor’s eyes, “Ah, well, son, I am asking as an adult who cares greatly for one Miss Sarah Jenkins. I think you may have intentions toward her and want to know whether I should allow you some leeway or run you out of town.”

  The men talked a bit longer before Samuel left to return to John and Ida’s house for the night. He chuckled to himself as he walked down the moonlit boardwalk. There may have been a lot to deal with that day, but the mayor was still plenty full of spit and vinegar. Samuel had, of course, dodged the question when asked about his intentions toward Sarah. Mayor Smith would have none of it, though. His eyes saw something between Samuel and Sarah that Samuel hadn’t even admitted to himself yet. Samuel was attracted to Miss Sarah Jenkins, no doubt about it.

  Chapter Five

  Sarah and Minnie had both readied for bed by the time the mayor came up to speak with his daughter. Sarah wasn’t sure if she should stay or go, but this time it was Minnie who told her to remain, saying, “I shouldn’t have kept secrets from you to begin with.”

  Minnie was seated on the edge of her bed, and Sarah was a few feet away over on the window seat. Mayor Smith sat down next to his daughter on the edge of her bed and took her hands in his.

  “Wilhelmina Abigail Smith, whatever am I to do with you?”

  The softness in his voice was Minnie’s undoing. She launched herself into her father’s arms and cried, “I’m so sorry Daddy. I didn’t mean any harm.”

  Sarah, by herself on the window seat, choked back sobs of her own. How desperately she missed her father! He had always been such a stalwart part of her life, much like Minnie’s father. He’d been calm and gentle and rarely ever raised his voice. Of course, Sarah had not given her papa the fits Minnie gave hers, but still, Sarah could not remember one time in her life when her father had yelled at her or had raised a hand to her. He’d spoken firmly when needed, but Sarah would have done anything her father had asked of her. She had always wanted to please him for as long as she could remember. It had never occurred to her to do anything contrary to her father’s wishes.

  Can you tell me, God, why I am so different from Minnie? Sarah had always thought her desire to please her father had been scriptural obedience. Something about that had always nagged at the back of her mind, though, like a puzzle that needed closer examination. Sarah watched the stars as Minnie and the mayor spoke. Sitting there and watching the wonder of God’s creation, she began to understand why she had never seriously examined her motives for obedience. She had avoided taking a closer look because she wasn’t sure she would like what she might discover about herself. As the conversation behind her continued, Sarah’s eyes were fixed on the stars, but it was inward that she was truly looking. She studied her heart with God’s guidance and realized part of the reason she had always been so compliant with her father was because she’d been afraid of losing him. Having lost her mother at a young age, she had never wanted to do anything to anger her father for fear she would also lose him.

  This was a blinding revelation to Sarah. Her mother had died when she was but six years old. For the next twelve years, it had been she and her father. Two peas in a pod, her Papa used to say. He had never remarried, and she’d never had a beau. Thankfully, he’d been a wonderful father who had loved the Lord. Sarah shuddered to think what would have happened to her if her father had been a brute of a man who could never be pleased. What would have happened to her tender and broken spirit then? Sarah’s father had filled up so much of her life that she had rarely stopped to think about the emptiness left by her mother’s death.

  Sarah had to admit her father had never given her cause to believe he would ever leave or turn his back on her. Something in her six-year-old mind must have decided she needed to be good or she would lose him too. Unraveling the tangle of memory and emotion buried within her mind seemed too much at present, but Sarah recognized enough of it to know much of her obedience had been from fear rather than love. She realized she had been carrying on this philosophy even after her father’s death. She lived her life in a way that was rather staid and boring. Was it fear that had shaped her? Fear of God abandoning her if He grew displeased? Had she misunderstood and thought obedience to God meant being dull and quiet and never experiencing or giving in to the stronger emotions of life?

  Sarah was certain neither her earthly father nor her heavenly father would have ever wanted her to live like that, haunted and shaped by fear rather than love. Not that rebellion was a good thing. Sarah did, however, wonder if she had missed out on some of the joys of life by being so predictable all the time. Perhaps if she had grown up with two parents and without the firsthand knowledge of such a painful loss, perhaps then she would have been more rebellious, more inventive, more adventurous… more secure.

  “Is everything alright?” The mayor’s voice broke into Sarah’s thoughts. She saw that he and Minnie had finished talking and that he was looking at her expectantly.

  “Yes, sir. I was only contemplating some of the differences between myself and Minnie and wondering about them.”

  The mayor chuckled at her statement. “Well, my dear, someday when this present situation is behind us, come and talk to me about that, will you? Your father and I discussed that topic on more than one occasion, and I would be happy to share his thoughts with you.”

  “Papa talked about those things?” Sarah wasn’t sure what to think.

  “Ah, Sarah,” the mayor said fondly. “Your p
apa and I had many talks about the wonder of raising daughters. I don’t know why I’ve never thought to share those talks with you before. He was a single man raising his only child, a daughter. And there I was with a houseful of women. There wasn’t much I hadn’t seen or heard. I’d always known and respected your father, but after your mother died, he and I became friends. We found we had a lot in common, not the least of which was daughters.”

  The mayor’s eyes took in two young women before him. He gave them both an affectionate smile as he slowly spun toward the room’s exit. “You both get some good sleep tonight. Tomorrow is likely to be a busy day.” The door gave a soft pthunk as the mayor closed it behind him.

  With that, the mayor was gone. Sarah was full of questions. She wanted to know about the conversations with her father. She wanted to know what first prompted the two men to become friends. She wanted her father back for one more day so she could hug him fiercely and never let go.

  “Are you alright, Sarah?” Minnie asked.

  Sarah nodded. “I miss Papa right now is all. I’ll be okay.”

  “We are both blessed, you know, to have had two such wonderful fathers. I can’t imagine losing mine. You have always been so brave.”

  Sarah swung her gaze to Minnie. “We need to talk about why you placed the ad, but I’m too tired right now. Can we save it for another day?”

  Minnie’s relief jumped across the room and wrapped Sarah in a hug, it was so palpable. “It can definitely wait!” Minnie’s smile stretched wide enough to bring out her dimples. Sarah wanted to know why Minnie believed placing an ad was the only way to find her a husband. Not yet prepared for that conversation or what it would reveal, though, she opted for postponement. In light of her minutes-ago revelation, Sarah needed to take some time to figure out who she wanted to be. Once she had a grasp on that, asking Minnie about the reasons behind the ad would not seem so daunting.