“And for minimal pay,” Maureen added.
“Do you really believe you can support a wife and any children
you may have?” Connie asked Tom.
Jessica could only stare at the woman in horror. Not for a
single minute did she ever think Peter’s mother could be this
rude!
Tom looked taken aback by the question before he cleared his
throat. “My father owns a farm and has done a fine job of
raising me and my five siblings.”
Maureen looked him up and down in obvious disapproval. “At
least your clothes don’t have any holes in them.”
Jessica scrambled for something to say but her mind drew a
complete blank.
“Why would we have holes in our clothes?” Tom asked, even as
he shifted again from one foot to another.
Maureen looked as if his question surprised her. “Don’t
farmers’ wives spend their free time sewing patches onto their
children’s pants?”
“No.”
“Well, just what do they do?” Connie asked.
Before he could answer, a squirrel darted across his path. He
was in the process of shifting to his other foot—again—when
he tripped on the squirrel and fell forward.
Maureen gasped and stepped back just in time for the startled
squirrel to leap onto Connie who lost her balance and fell on her
rear end in a puddle. The squirrel bounced off Connie’s hat and
raced up the nearest tree.
Jessica clasped her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.
“Oh! Are you alright?” Tom asked, reaching out to help Connie
up.
“Don’t touch me!” she shrieked and slapped his hand away.
Maureen offered her hand, which the woman accepted, and
helped brush the leaves off her wet skirt. “You should change
at once.”
Red faced, Connie nodded. “Yes. I must.” She adjusted her hat
and straightened her shawl. Lifting her chin up, she told Tom
and Jessica, “It seems that I am in need of a new dress. Good
day to you both.”
“Well, shoot, my ma doesn’t bother changing when squirrels
jump on her. She just laughs and plays in the fields with them,”
Tom replied. “Says it’s good for the soul to get along with the
critters.”
Jessica glanced at Tom. Was he being serious?
Maureen blinked. “She doesn’t do such a vile thing.”
He shrugged. “You wanted to know what farmers’ wives did.”
Connie huffed. “There’s no need to be flippant.” She shot
Jessica a meaningful look. “Peter is always polite.” Then she
pressed forward and hobbled down the sidewalk with Maureen
who talked to her in soothing tones.
Tom sighed. “I probably wasn’t as gentlemanly as I should
have been.”
Jessica burst out laughing. “Are you kidding? That was great.”
Then she quickly sobered. “Your ma doesn’t allow critters into
the house, does she?”
“That depends on what you call a critter. Some days she says
that my brothers are no better than a pack of wild animals.”
She smiled. “Who knew you had it in you?”
“Had what in me?”
“That you had such wit.”
A slow grin crossed his face. “There’s lots you don’t know
about me.”
“I look forward to finding out,” she shyly replied.
“Mind if I take your arm?”
“No.”
He gently took her by the elbow and they continued their walk.
Chapter Fourteen
Jessica’s mother rolled her eyes when Jessica lifted her new veil
for her to inspect. “You’ve only been courting for one month.
It’s much too soon to think of weddings.”
Jessica set the veil back on her lap. “He’s going to propose.
It’s just a matter of when.”
“And ‘when’ isn’t going to happen any time soon.”
Rolling her eyes, Jessica turned her attention back to pulling the
pink thread through the needle.
Her mother crossed the parlor and fiddled with the curtains. “I
notice you put in red and pink roses.”
“Of course. I asked him what he thought of those colors, and he
said they were fine.”
“You didn’t tell him what you were doing with those colors, did
you?” She put a hand on her hip and studied her daughter with a
disapproving look.
“No. I just said I liked those colors together, that’s all.”
“Hmm...” Her mother didn’t look convinced.
Shrugging, she tied the thread and got ready to add more to the
rose she’d just started on her veil.
“The poor boy doesn’t stand a chance.”
She gasped. “Why would marrying me be a burden to him?”
“I didn’t say it would be a burden. I feel bad because he doesn’t
have a chance.”
“Why would he want a chance to avoid marriage to me?”
“You know what I mean.” She chuckled as she shook her head.
“I hope you’re letting him believe that he’s the one leading this
relationship.”
“You know I do. I learned from watching you. You made Pa
think he made the big decisions around here.”
“He did make the big decisions.”
“Deciding what to eat for supper is not a big decision,” Jessica
said.
“It sure was. It made a huge difference as to how long I spent
in the kitchen each day.”
Jessica laughed. “If you say so.”
Before her mother could protest, there was a knock at the door.
She glanced out the window. “We’re not done with this
conversation, young lady.”
“Who is it?”
“Margaret.”
“Oh good! I want to talk to her about putting those red roses
back onto her bridesmaid gown.”
Her mother groaned but opened the front door. “Come on in,
Margaret. The bride is right over there.”
“The bride?” Margaret entered the parlor and looked at Jessica.
“Did Tom propose already?”
“No,” her mother said. “But he certainly would have if Jessica
here had her way.”
“He’s planting apple trees for me,” Jessica told Margaret.
Margaret’s eyes grew wide. “Is he really?”
Jessica’s mother frowned. “Just what is so important about
that?”
“Nothing. It’s just nice to have fresh apples, that’s all,” Jessica
quickly answered.
Giving a loud sigh, her mother said, “I suppose ignorance, in
this case, is bliss. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“I’ll join you soon,” Jessica promised. She glanced at her
friend. “Will you stay for supper?”
“I suppose I can.” Margaret took off her coat and hung it on the
hook by the door. “So, you’re really going to marry Tom?”
“It’s a sure thing. He’s a lot better than Peter, and the best part
is Tom’s mother isn’t controlling like Connie is.”
“So he isn’t clumsy all the time?” She sat across from Jessica
and folded her hands in her lap.
“He’s clumsy when he’s nervous. Otherwise, he handles
himself quite well.”
“Is he nervous around you?”
“Only when I go to kiss him.”
She gasped. “Who would have thought you could be so bold!”
Jessica giggled. “What? If I waited for him to make the first
move, it’d never happen.” And how delightful those kisses
were. She supposed that it was unladylike to instigate kisses,
but the reward was well worth it—and he certainly didn’t seem
to mind. “I’ve never felt a desire to kiss Peter like I do to kiss
Tom.”
“You never smiled as much when you were with Peter, so
obviously, you’re better off.”
She blinked in surprise. “Then you no longer detest Tom?”
“I never detested him,” Margaret argued. “I just wondered how
he could possibly be near a woman without knocking her over.
Plus, I thought you loved Peter and didn’t think it was right for
you to entertain Tom while you were engaged. But since I
realized how things really were between you and Peter...” She
shrugged. “Well, what’s the point in fighting fate, right?”
“Right.”
“And since things do look promising between you and Tom, I’ll
remove the white roses on my dress and replace them with the
red ones.”
“Thank you.”
Margaret chuckled. “You know, Connie’s sorely disappointed.
She’s been bedridden.”
Jessica glanced up from her veil. “Is she sick?”
“Crying. You ruined her special day, you know.”
Forcing aside the urge to roll her eyes, Jessica returned her
attention to pulling the thread through the veil. “I’m sure she’ll
find another woman to marry her son.”
“Sadly, it won’t be him making that choice.”
“It wasn’t his choice to pick me either. I didn’t realize it at the
time, but she was the one who selected me.”
“I wonder what kind of woman he might pick if he had the
choice.”
“Who knows?” And who cared? Then she glanced up at her
friend. “You aren’t thinking of—”
“Oh, of course not!” Margaret shivered. “I watched what you
went through, and there’s no way I’d deal with that. But I was
thinking of taking your advice.”
“Really? What advice is that?”
Her cheeks grew pink as she fiddled with her skirt. “To post an
ad for a mail-order husband.”
Jessica nearly dropped her veil. “An ad for a husband?”
“Is that really so unusual?”
“Well...” Jessica thought about it. “I don’t recall seeing any of
those ads, but once in awhile, I hear of a woman out west
posting for one. Mostly, they have children and need a man for
financial support and protection. But I don’t see why a single
woman can’t post for one. Actually, there’s no reason why a
woman can’t take matters into her own hands and post an ad.
After all, men do it all the time. It’s only fair a woman be
granted the same right.” She finished sewing one of her rose
petals before she looked back at Margaret. “Have you posted
the ad yet?”
“No, not yet. I was hoping you could help me. I don’t know
what to write.”
She smiled. “I’d be delighted to help.”
Margaret relaxed and smiled back. “It’s scary but also
exciting.”
“We’ll get started on it once I finish this rose,” Jessica
promised.
Then she picked up the pace on getting her work done. It was
an exciting prospect to find a suitable husband for Margaret,
and she couldn’t wait to see what type of men would respond to
a woman asking for a husband. She hoped there would be some
good ones to choose from. And, as an added benefit, she’d get
to see her dearest friend get married too.
***
Tom stacked another dirt brick onto the wall that would finish
the last side of his new home. “You did mix the dirt with the
right amount of straw, didn’t you?” he asked Joel who was
snickering beside him.
Joel turned to him with wide eyes. “Of course I did. The
sooner I get rid of you, the better.”
“Then why do