Mittman, Stephanie (31 page)

It
wasn't the butter or the pie, though both were of the highest quality. It was
the cheery countenance, the efficient way she did a bit of straightening or
mending "as long as she was there," the pleasure of afternoon tea
shared with someone who hadn't come simply because he was the minister of the
Pleasant Township Methodist Church.

The
congregation sat waiting silently for instructions. "A hymn," he
suggested, then corrected himself. "That is, let us all sing together,
from page 462."

He
knew the words by heart, and he let them come forth from his lips without ever
crossing his mind, which was well occupied with other things. Mrs. Webb had
told him she had suggested that her niece Tessie, that unfortunate young woman
whose questionable habits and frequent absences from Van Wert were the subject
of more than one sewing circle in town, work for Mr. Eastman. As if the
troubles the girl had encountered so far were not enough for her to bear. He
had suggested that if Tessie were looking for work, he was in need of a
secretary.

"Lovely,"
he said. "Let us read now from Genesis chapter four, verse nine 'And the
Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I
my brother's keeper?'"

It
wasn't his responsibility to see to it that every poor creature in Van Wert was
kept away from trouble, but if he saw it coming, didn't he have some obligation
to try to head it off? And wouldn't allowing Miss Willis to ensconce herself in
Noah Eastman's house only lead to her own heartache? And if he could prevent
that heartache?

The
hiring of a secretary might be seen as an insult to Sissy, he conceded. But the
fact was she simply couldn't fulfill that part of Elvira's duties adequately.
Why waste her time on things she did so poorly when there were so many things
she did so well?

The
sermon went on by itself, the words leaping from the paper before him and
coming out of Miller's mouth while he pondered the questions that haunted him.
Mrs. Webb implied that Mr. Eastman might be looking for more in Tessie than a
caretaker for his children. Was that wishful thinking on her part? Or was Noah
Eastman looking for a woman despite his situation?

He
didn't like the idea that Sissy Morrow was spending her days out there at his
farm, even if, as Mrs. Webb pointed out fairly, her brother Ethan was there all
the time too. Ethan, humph!

He
made his way to the back of the church, shaking hands as he went. By the time
he stood on the porch, Bart and Willa Morrow were already in their wagon and
Ethan was helping Sissy into the back.

For
the first time in months, it appeared he wasn't invited for supper.

After
church on Sunday
,
Ethan got word from his sister that should Noah wish
her to continue watching the children while he searched further for a suitable
woman to take over her duties, she was not averse to the idea. Of course, the
way Ethan put it when he told Noah was more like "She ain't gonna let Tessie
Willis within ten feet of those precious girls of yours."

And
then, surprise of surprises, Tessie told Ethan that she had taken a job with
the Reverend Miller Winestock, putting her education to use. Both Noah and
Ethan resisted any comments regarding Tessie using in the minister's service
what she'd learned.

Things
seemed even better than Noah had anticipated when Ethan added that Sissy had so
much to do, being away from home all week the way she had been, that she was
forgoing the Sunday dinner ritual in favor of getting some work done at her
place. Ethan, not seeing what that implied, was naturally disappointed. But
when Noah pointed out that she wouldn't be cooking for Winestock, Ethan agreed that
missing one of Annie's meals was a high price to pay, but worth it to have her
forgo cooking for the minister.

Things
seemed to be going his way until Annie showed up Monday morning, the
Van
Wert Bulletin
and
The Outlook
tucked under one arm, a basket on the
other, and a determined look on her face.

"I'll
be leaving in just a moment," he said when he opened the door. "Do
you want to stand out there and wait?" She smelled wonderful, a sweet
scent on the crisp autumn air. She looked wonderful, in a deep brown coat
against a pale gray landscape.

"No,"
she said, trying to sound businesslike. "There's a matter I'd like to
discuss with you."

"Of
course," he said, holding the door for her and inviting her in. His shirt
was open and he fiddled with the buttons. She watched him until she realized
what she was doing and quickly looked away. He pulled up the straps to his
overalls. "Can I take your coat?"

She
worked the buttons, and this time it was his eyes that were glued to her hands.
He didn't have the courtesy to look away, but waited until she was done and
then helped slip the coat from her shoulders. "Thank you," she said.
With her coat off, she looked like she belonged there, like she was home. His
girls came running when they heard her voice, and she couldn't hide her smile.
Why should she? Did she really think he didn't know she was crazy about his
children?

"Were
you good since I was here last?" she asked, and the girls both nodded.

"I
didn't hear a peep out of either of you in church," she continued.
"That made me very proud. I told my sister-in-law, Mrs. Morrow, 'My girls
are being so good, they deserve a treat,' and she agreed."

My
girls. Mine.

"What?"
Hannah demanded, while Julia jumped up and down as best she could. "What
did you bring us?"

"Well,"
Annie teased, "she thought a head of cabbage was just the thing, but I
said, 'No, the girls don't want cabbage.'"

Hannah
and Julia shook their heads solemnly.

"I
didn't think so. My brother Charlie—do you know Mr. Charlie at the
mercantile?"

The
girls shook their heads again. Noah leaned against the wall and watched three
pairs of eyes all dancing with joy at the game they were playing.
This is
how it should be,
he thought.
Let it be like this forever.

"Well,
Charlie is my brother, just like Ethan is. And Charlie said—"

"We
want a brother too, right, Julia?" Hannah said and turned to her sister
for confirmation. Annie kept her eyes glued on the floor while Noah kept his
chuckle to himself.
Slow down, Hannah. We don't want to scare her away.

"Charlie
said you would like a nice piece of pipe, like your papa ordered."

The
girls made funny faces.

"You
don't?" Annie asked. Her hair was only half up, just the front and sides.
The back hung loose and free and nearly brushed the ground as she knelt beside
his daughters. "I didn't think so. I asked Cara. I know you met her at church
one day, 'cause I introduced you. Remember?"

The
girls both nodded enthusiastically. Now that his parents were gone, they had no
one in the world but him. No cousins, no aunts, no uncles, no one to get
together with at Thanksgiving or Christmas or just on a Sunday afternoon. But
once he married Annie, there would be family crawling over his house like bear
cubs over a honey hive. And Annie would be the queen bee.

"And
she said that there isn't anything she likes better than my cookies. What do
you think of that?"

"Gookies!"
Julia squealed. "Gookies!"

Annie
smiled at the child's pleasure. "But not just any cookies," she told
them. "These are Eastman cookies." She rose to her full height, which
was a good head shorter than his, and reached for the small basket she had
placed on the table. She reached in and carefully unwrapped two packages to
reveal perfect duplicates of his daughters, down to their dark brown hair and
bright blue eyes. Even their dresses were familiar. The cookie she handed
Hannah had a pink dress just like the one Hannah wore on the day she hid in
Annie's wagon, and Julia's was dressed in the wine dress she had worn to church
last week.

"Think
Tessie could have made those?" she asked, and rather snidely, at that, as
the girls oohed and aahed and compared treats. She pulled out two more cookies,
plain ones, and handed them to the girls, who rapidly put them in their mouths.
"And would she know that Hannah wouldn't eat hers? And if she didn't,
neither would Julia?"

"I
never thought she'd be better with them than you," he said. "This is
all your idea. I don't want to replace you."
I want to marry you, you
silly little ninny. I want you to raise these two and a dozen more. I want to
break my back in the fields every day to make sure you want for nothing, and
then I want to come home and rest in your arms while you read to me and I help
you with the words no one ever gave you the chance to learn.

"We
need to place an advertisement," she said, picking up one of the
newspapers from the table and showing him the page she had folded open.

She
stood close enough for him to read over her shoulder, so that her hair tickled
his nostrils and swayed at his breath. Her shoulder nearly touched his chest,
and he had to take shallow little breaths to avoid coming in contact with her.

"Look,"
she said, pointing to a small ad.

"Have
you got piles?" he asked.

"Not
that one. This one." Now she was touching him. Her back pressed against
his chest as she held the paper so close to his face he had to lean his head
back to see it.

He
read it aloud. "'Lady Agents. Make $18 a week easy. If you are in need of
employment, send us your address and we will show you how to make $18 a week
easy and sure. We guarantee it. You will be surprised how easily it can be
done. Send us your address anyway. It will be to your interest to investigate.
Royal Manufacturing Company, Box 44, Detroit, Michigan.' Are you thinking of
getting another job? I thought you didn't have time for this one."

"How
many people you think wrote to that company?" she asked.

"Do
you want to place an ad for something?" he asked.

"I
want
you
to place an ad," she said. "I'll tell you what to say
and you'll write it down and send it in. OK?"

"For
someone to watch the girls?"

"Yes."

"You'd
let someone we don't even know come and stay with Hannah and Julia? We knew
Mrs. Abernathy and look what happened."

"We'd
make them tell us who else's children they watched and check with them."

"References,"
he said and nodded, pretending to go along. "That could take a very long
time, Annie," he warned.

"But
we'd be sure to get the right one," she said, looking up at him. "Not
someone who falls off the sidewalk in bright daylight in downtown Van
Wert."

"Did
Tessie really do that?"

"I
heard she did," Annie said, seriously enough for him to believe it
happened.

"Ethan
says—" he began, but she cut him off.

"And
look at this advertisement in
The Outlook."
She shoved the paper at
him, ending any discussion of Tessie Willis.
"The Outlook
is a good
Christian paper, you know."

The
ad read
Young lady as resident or visiting governess. Piano,
singing,
English branches and kindergarten. French for beginners. Highest references
and
urged the reader to contact the newspaper.

"I
don't think a young lady," he said, "would agree to live here with a
single man. After all, you'll hardly come into the house, much less—"

"Yes,
but you could say all that in your advertisement. You could request an older
woman, one who could teach the girls to cook and keep a garden and sew."

Someone
like you, my Annie.

"Well,
if you think we should," he agreed, trying to sound as reluctant as he
could.

"Oh,
yes, we definitely should," she said, picking up Julia and balancing her
on her hip. "We can't let just anyone stay with them."

"No,"
he agreed. Not just anyone, at all.

***

The
advertisement proved harder than Annie expected. Finally, after much crossing
out and rewriting, it read:

Mature
loving woman needed to tend two small girls. Must be excellent cook, good
seamstress, clean. Also patient, kind, and friendly. Able to read and write.
Write to Noah Eastman, c/o Post Office, Van Wert, Ohio.

When
they were finished Noah reminded her that he had hay to haul, a field to
harvest, and Ethan waiting for him. As if on cue, there was a knock at the
door.

"Must
be Ethan wondering where I am," Noah guessed.

But
it was Mr. Kelly who stood on the porch, his hat in his hand. He seemed
surprised to see Annie at the door but only asked if he could speak to Noah.

"Come
on in," Noah yelled from the table. He had just added the fact that the
job was located on a farm. Not that he really expected to place the ad, but if
Annie insisted, it would at least buy him some time.