“Yes, but it was wonderful.” She looked up and said, “Thank you, Stuart—for everything.”
He did not answer but turned and left without a word.
Leah lay there, and her mind was full of the song, the last one that he’d played. It was the one he had written for her the night they had married—the one he called “Leah’s Song.” He had played it for her often during the first few months of their marriage, and she had always loved it. Now as she lay there the thoughts of those happy times came to her, but it was mixed with sadness.
She thought of what it had been like to be young and in love with no doubt, and she blinked back the tears, wondering if she would ever know a time of happiness like that again.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
A New Arrangement
“You really shouldn’t have brought all these presents, Mott,” Leah protested. “It’s really too much.”
“Well, I don’t think so.” Mott was smiling broadly and watching as Merry paraded with a new doll buggy back and forth over the living room floor. The Christmas tree was still up, and over to one side, under the window where sunlight streamed in, Raimey was building a complicated construction out of something called “Tinker Toys.” Mott had come in two hours earlier carrying a huge box.
Now as Leah sat smiling at the children totally engrossed in their presents, she repeated again, “You really did more than you should have.”
Mott was wearing a navy blue suit with a pair of shiny patent leather shoes and a dark maroon bow tie. As always, he looked good in whatever he put on, and now he said, “I’m sorry you got sick over Christmas. If I had known that, I would have stayed.”
“You had to go see your mother, Mott. You hadn’t seen her in six months.”
“Yes. She’s not doing too well. I tried to persuade her to come and live with me, but she’s too tied up with her life there in Atlanta.”
“What all did you do in Atlanta?”
“Oh, just visited around. Took in a new movie there. It starred that woman Theda Bara, the one they call ‘The Vamp.’ ”
“I really don’t like her much, Mott. She looks so awful.”
“Well, a lot of people don’t think so. The theater was packed. Anyway,” he said, “I didn’t enjoy myself as much as I would if I’d been here with you. Maybe I could have taken better care of you.”
“We made out all right.”
Mott studied her thoughtfully, and now there was a trace of jealousy in his tone as he said, “I understand Stuart did all the nursing. Was that necessary?”
“Why, Mott, somebody had to. I was absolutely helpless.”
“You could have gotten a nurse.”
“We couldn’t afford that. And with Annie sick and Merle down, I was glad that Stuart was able to help.”
Mott pulled a box out of his inner coat pocket and said quickly, “I haven’t given you your gift yet. Here.”
“Why, Mott, you shouldn’t have spent money on me.”
“Who else would I spend it on?”
Opening the box, Leah stared down at the glittering diamond that flashed with a thousand lights as the light overhead caught it. “Mott, I can’t take this.”
“It’s an engagement ring.”
Leah shook her head and closed the box. “Mott, I’m married. We’ve talked about this before.”
Mott shook his head, refusing to take the box. “You’ve got to be reasonable, Leah. You don’t have any life, and things are only going to get worse. You can’t keep this place up by yourself. You’ve lost money the last two years. How long can that go on? And you won’t let your father-in-law help you, so that doesn’t leave you many options.” Mott reached over and took her free hand. “I don’t ask you to love me as I love you, but I can make you love me. I know I can. And we’d have a good life together.”
Leah shook her head, but before she could answer, the back door opened and closed, and she drew her hand back quickly. “You’ve got to give me time, Mott.”
Stuart suddenly appeared at the door and stopped abruptly. He was carrying a bucket and said quickly, “I gathered all the eggs, Leah. I’ll leave some here and take some to Annie.”
“All right, Stuart.”
As soon as Stuart left, Mott said, “People are talking about you two.”
Leah suddenly laughed. “How can they be talking about us? We’re married.”
“Everybody knows you’re not really man and wife. He’s living out in the barn. You won’t let him in the house.”
“Well, let them talk,” Leah said. “Those who would say such things don’t really matter.”
Mott saw that he had pushed his case too far. He reluctantly took the box back and pushed it into his pocket. “This isn’t the end, Leah. I’m a stubborn fellow.” He rose and leaned forward, and when she stood up, he kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.” Turning, he said, “Kids, you have fun now.”
“Thank you, sir. Thanks for the Tinker Toys,” Raimey said. “Maybe you’ll help me make some things with it.”
“I’ll do that next time.” Turning to Merry, he said, “Good-bye, sweetheart. What are you going to name the doll?”
“Jezebel.”
Mott laughed suddenly. “You can’t name her that.”
“Why not? It’s in the Bible.”
“Well, she’s your doll.” Mott winked at Leah, put on his overcoat, and, clamping his hat down, left the room.
“Come and play with me some, Mom,” Raimey said. “Look. You can make a bridge or a castle or even an automobile with these Tinker Toys.”
“I don’t think I could ever get up once I sat on the floor,” Leah smiled.
Even though Leah did not have her strength back completely, she spent all morning doing what she could around the house. As she sat down in the kitchen mixing dough for biscuits, she thought about Stuart and his tender care of her throughout her sickness. She had never seen that side of him before, and it had shocked her. Her mind flickered back to the times when he had brought her fever down covering her with cool wet sheets, how he had dressed her almost as if she were a doll, and had fed her soup when her hand trembled too much to hold the spoon. These thoughts troubled her, and from somewhere deep within, the thought rose, Stuart always did well under pressure, but he always failed later. I still can’t trust him.
****
Late afternoon had turned out to be warm, and Leah, for the first time, stepped outside and inhaled the rich air. It was not really cold, and the snow had all melted, so there was a clean, earthy smell in the air. She sat down on the rocker and gazed out the window, taking in the farm. Five minutes later she saw Stuart ride in on Thunder, dismount, and lead him into the barn. He was gone for some time, and she knew he was brushing the horse that had become his favorite. Finally he came out and headed toward the house. His head was down, but he was whistling a song. He always knew all the latest songs, for listening to the radio, she knew, was perhaps his only entertainment. The one he was whistling now was, “When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose.” He would have passed by the house headed for the back when suddenly she called out, “Stuart!” whereupon he stopped and came over to the porch.
“Well, out for a little air. Good. It’ll put some color in your cheeks.”
“I haven’t really felt well enough to ask how things are going.”
Stuart sat down beside her and said, “Well, the stock is all healthy. The fences are getting pretty well mended. We’ll be ready for spring plowing, I guess.”
Leah sat there listening as he talked about the farm. She was thinking how little interest he had taken before, except for brief intervals, and finally without knowing why, she sighed deeply and spoke what was on her heart. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, Stuart. We’ve lost money for two years running. There’s only one end to a thing like that.”
Stuart lifted his head sharply and studied Leah. Her illness had planed her down, but he still admired the clean-running physical lines that had al
ways been hers. He also was pleased with the structure of her face that made a definite, appealing contour. Even as he studied her, he noted that her features showed the quick, swift changes of her mind, and he could not help but notice the self-possessed curve of her mouth and the richness of her lips. “I’ve been thinking about something, Leah,” he said finally.
She turned to him, and her lips made a small change at the corners. He thought again how she had a way that could charm a man or chill him to the bone.
“What is it?”
“Well, I’ve had a lot of time to think lately.” He grinned wryly and said, “About seven years with nothing else to do, and a few things came to me about this place.”
“What sort of things?”
“Horses and mules will be around for a long time, but the tractor and the automobile—that’s where the future is.”
“Well, we can’t go into the tractor and automobile business.”
“No, we can’t, but we can, more or less, get out of the draft animal business.”
Leah studied him carefully, noting the clearness of his eyes and the strength of his neck. He had always been a strong man and he still was. It troubled her that she would think of him in this way, and she said quickly, “What else could we do?”
“We could become pig farmers.”
Leah suddenly laughed aloud. “Pig farmers! What an idea!”
“I’m serious.” Stuart pulled his chair around so that he could face her. “Look, Leah, America’s going to enter this war, and it’s going to get in with both feet. President Wilson got reelected on the campaign promise that he would keep us out of the war, but he’s not going to keep us out anymore.”
“You really think so?”
“Yes. It’s going to happen. Now, I’ve been studying the market reports, and there’s going to be a tremendous call for meat for overseas as well as here at home. A lot of America will be going to work in factories. That’s going to leave the farms shorthanded.”
“But why pigs? Why not cattle?”
“Because it takes a long time to raise a beef critter,” Stuart said quickly. “But you can raise pigs almost like they were rabbits. You know how fast they grow and how big the litters are.”
“I hate pigs!”
“You don’t have to eat them.” He grinned. “You like bacon and pork chops and smoked ham and every other part except the chitterlings. I don’t care for those myself.”
“We don’t know anything about it, Stuart.”
“What’s to know? Here’s what it takes to raise pigs. You’ve got to raise corn to feed them, and you’ve got to keep them until they’re big enough for market. Well, we’ve got enough acreage here that we’re feeding these stubborn mules and expensive horses on to put in fifty acres of corn or more. What’s more, we wouldn’t have to buy a tractor. We have enough draft animals to do it easy.”
Leah sat there listening as Stuart continued and found herself interested. “But what about a place to keep them?”
Stuart shrugged. “Merle and I will just have to build some pig pens. They wouldn’t have to be very fancy. In this climate they don’t even have to be indoors, except for the sows. We’ll have to build some furrowing pens, but that’s my idea. We grow the corn, we feed the pigs, we sell the pigs and turn a big profit.”
“And get out of the horse and mule business?”
“We can keep breeding a few fine horses, but I think pigs are where the money is.”
“It sounds terrible. Pig farmers.”
Stuart laughed. “After you’ve been a convict, it doesn’t sound too bad. Of course,” he said quickly, “it might hurt your feelings, and the kids might be a little bit embarrassed by it. But I’m convinced it would get this place in the clear and be some security for the kids.”
Leah said quickly, “It’s too big a risk, Stuart. It would take so much work, and it’s not a thing you can get into and then drop out of.”
“Meant for me, I reckon,” Stuart said slowly. “Well, I deserve it. But this is your place, Leah. If you want to keep working with the horses and mules, I’ll stay with it. I’ve just thought about this a lot.”
Leah rose and said, “I’m feeling a little tired. I think I’ll lie down.”
“Take care of yourself. You’re still not strong yet.”
****
For two days Leah thought about little else but the plan that Stuart had laid before her. At first it had sounded fantastic, but she had talked to a neighbor, Don Zimmerman, who had raised a considerable number of pigs. He had told her, “Anybody can raise a few pigs, but it takes a strong constitution to raise a lot of pigs. Don’t think I’d care to get into it myself, but there is money to be made. If a cow lies down and dies, you’ve lost a heap of money, but with a pig there’s always ten more behind him.”
Leah did not discuss the plan with anyone else, but the more she thought of it, the more she was taken by the idea.
“I’ve got to do something,” she said to herself firmly and made up her mind right then that raising pigs was the only door that was open. As for Stuart’s character, whether or not he would stick with it, she could only hope.
Three days after Stuart had proposed changing their operation, Leah heard a knock at the front door. She had heard a car pull up and thought it might be Mott. Putting her book down, she went to the door and stood absolutely still, for Cora Simms stood there. She was wearing a dark green coat that came down almost to her ankles and a pair of buttoned boots that showed traces of mud left over from the thaw.
“Hello, Leah,” she said, surprised.
“Cora. Won’t you come in?”
“Just for a minute.” Cora came in and slipped off her coat and hung it on the rack.
“Come in by the fire,” Leah said.
“I can only stay a minute. I heard you’ve been sick.”
“I’m about over it now.”
“The flu’s about to get this country down.” Cora was entirely self-possessed, as always. After talking for a few minutes about the sick neighbors, she finally said, “Is Stuart around?”
“He’s gone to town to deliver some stock to the railroad. If you want to talk about buying some stock, I can help you with that.”
Cora smiled. There was a strange light in her eyes. “I guess I’ve been called a lot of things, Leah, but nobody ever accused me of being mealymouthed. No. I don’t want to buy stock. I just want to see Stuart.”
Anger suddenly ran along Leah’s nerves. She rose and said, “I think you’d better leave, Cora. Haven’t you done Stuart enough damage?”
Cora rose but stood there facing Leah. “I’ve heard you two are separated.”
“You hear all kinds of rumors.”
“I understand he’s just a hired hand and sleeps out in a little house by the barn.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
Cora had an enormous air of certainty about herself and a positive will. She was a woman of great vitality and imagination but of little restraint.
“Are you going to keep Stuart, Leah?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I think it is,” Cora said. “I want him if you don’t.”
The enormity of what Cora Simms said seemed to numb Leah. She could not answer for a moment, and a voice whispered in her mind, What are you upset about? If you don’t want him, let her have him.
“I’ve heard you’re going to marry Mott Castleton.”
“I’m not responsible for what you hear, Cora. I think you’d better leave now.”
“Leah, you know me for what I am. I’ve never made any secret of it. I’ve always cared for Stuart.”
“Leave my house!”
“It’s your house I’ll leave, but I’ll just say this. Stuart’s a young man and he deserves a wife. You’re not being one to him. From what I understand, you have no intentions of it. Turn him loose, Leah. If you don’t want him, let him have something in this life. I know I’m partially responsible for his being i
n prison. It doesn’t bother me that he’s an ex-convict. I don’t care a whit. I know your pride and your feelings are hurt, so let him go.”
Without another word Cora turned and left. She plucked her coat off the peg, and Leah heard the door slam. She was trembling so hard, she clasped her hands together to keep them still. Finally she went over and sat down in the chair and tried to regain her composure. Nothing had upset her this much in a long time. The thought of Stuart and Cora being together was unthinkable. She shook her head angrily. “Why do you care?” she said to herself. “You won’t have anything to do with him. You’ve told him that. She’s no good, but you’ve convinced yourself he isn’t any good, either. Let them have each other.”
****
Stuart looked up with surprise. He was eating supper, and as Annie opened the door, he saw Leah standing there. “I want to see you when you’ve finished,” she said, then turned and left.
Stuart exchanged glances with Annie and then turned to face Merle. “She sounded pretty mad,” he said. “I wonder what I’ve done now.”
“She did talk funny. Maybe you’d better go find out,” Merle said.
“Save some of that pie for me, Annie. I’ll be back and get it unless she runs me off right away.”
After Stuart closed the door behind him, Annie said, “What’s she thinkin’ now? I can’t keep up with that woman.”
“She better be careful. If it wasn’t for Mistah Stuart, this place would go down quick.”
As Stuart approached the house, he was puzzled but thought, I’ll never try to outguess Leah. Going to the front door, he knocked and stepped inside. Leah was standing in the hallway.
“Come back in the kitchen,” she said.
Stuart glanced into the parlor as they passed and called out, “Hey, what’s that you’re making, Raimey?”
“It’s a castle.”
Merry came running over holding up her doll. “Mama made me a new dress.”
“My, that is a pretty dress. Jezebel doesn’t deserve all these nice clothes.” He gave the doll a look of approval, kissed it on the face, then winked. “You be sweet now like me.” Then he turned and moved to the kitchen. He found Leah standing there before the table, and her face was tense.
The Glorious Prodigal Page 24