The Widow's Choice (18 page)

“Well, it was just for a short time. Jason did the best he could, I’m sure. But we’ll be on an even keel now that I’m back.”

****

The matter of the noise in the pool room came up the next day, when the boys were playing and shouting as they usually did over a game of pool. Oscar walked into the room and raised his voice to get their attention. “Boys!” When they were quiet, he said, “Mrs. Darrow is very disturbed about the way you act in this pool room. If you can’t behave like gentlemen, I’m going to have to have the pool table taken out.”

“Please don’t do that!” Tim said. “We’ll be quiet.”

“Will you?”

Zac, who loved pool most of all, said, “We’ll be real quiet, sir.”

“Yes we will, Mr. Moran,” Carl agreed.

Oscar frowned slightly. “Okay, then. Make sure of that. We don’t want Mrs. Darrow to be upset. And I also wanted to talk to you fellows about what you should call me.
Mr. Moran
is a bit too formal, don’t you think?”

“We talked about that, sir,” Tim told him. “We kind of would like to call you Mr. Oscar, if that would be all right.”

He considered it, frowning slightly, as if he had wished for more. “I guess that will be all right, at least for the time being. Now, you finish your game, but you’ll have to be quiet about it. Mrs. Darrow’s nerves are on edge.”

“Yes, Mr. Oscar, we’ll be quiet,” Zac assured him.

As soon as Oscar left the room, Zac said, “It’s not going to be as much fun now that he’s here.”

“Well, there’s no getting around that,” Tim said grimly. “So we either have to play quietly or we’ll have to wait until he’s gone.”

“That wouldn’t do any good,” Carl said. “Old lady Darrow would tell on us.”

“What fun is shootin’ pool if you can’t whoop and holler!” Zac said with exasperation.

****

Later that day, Alona was unpacking her things in the master bedroom. She looked out the window and saw Jason coming in the front door. It was almost dark, and she quickly went downstairs and opened the door. “Hello, Jason.”

“Hello, Alona.” He stepped inside and pulled off his hat. “You all settled in?”

“I’m getting there.”

“I stored all your things like Oscar asked me to. I was real careful with them. Oscar says any of the furniture you want, he’ll have me bring it and put it where you want it.”

“I don’t think I’ll need much. Oscar has everything I could imagine. Jason,” she said, “thank you so much for taking care of the boys. They told me about how you did everything they wanted. Tim said he’d never had such a good time in all of his life.”

Jason smiled. “I guess I haven’t either. I wish I had a steady job doing nothing but having fun with them.”

“They’d like that.”

Jason turned and faced her squarely, a serious expression on his face. “How are you, Alona?”

“Fine,” she said quickly. “I’m just fine.”

She dropped her eyes. She knew that he had seen something in her, and she turned quickly and walked away. She went back to the bedroom and closed the door, then she sat down on the bed and clasped her hands together tightly. For a long time she did not move. Then she whispered as she had done many times in the last week, “It’s for my boys!”

****

Alona was thrilled to get back to choir on Saturday morning. The singers were gathering for their final rehearsal, as were the members of the five-piece string ensemble that would be accompanying them.

“Welcome back,
Mrs. Moran,
” Paul said as he came into the sanctuary with a music stand in each hand. “Congratulations on your marriage.”

“Thank you, Paul.” She quickly changed the subject. “It looks like everybody’s going to make it for this rehearsal.” There was a buzz of activity in the room as people greeted each other and made their way to their seats.

“Do you think we’re ready for this?” he asked.

“I certainly do. You’ve done a wonderful job with the rehearsals, and the extra people who have joined the choir have given us a nice balance.”

He set the music stands down in front of the chairs for the violinists. “I couldn’t have done it without your help at the sectionals. Thank you for pitching in like you did.”

“You’re certainly welcome. I loved every minute of it.”

He checked his watch. “Ten o’clock. Time to get started.”

As the rehearsal progressed, everything went even more smoothly than Alona could have imagined. And the string instruments added such richness to the piano and organ accompaniment. When they stopped for a break at eleven o’clock, the woman sitting next to Alona leaned over and said, “What a blessing this will be. I know the Spirit of God is going to be moving in this place tomorrow!”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A Different Kind of Marriage

Alona stared at the price tags on the knickers she was holding up.
Five dollars! I can’t pay that much for a pair of boy’s knickers! That’s ridiculous!
Quickly she put the knickers back on the rack, then began searching for something a bit less expensive. But then she remembered Oscar’s words when she had told him she was going shopping for the boys: “Get some nice clothes for them, Alona. These boys of ours deserve the very best.”

She picked up the knickers again and checked the size to be sure they would fit Carl, then placed them on top of the other garments she had chosen. Although the nearly two months of her marriage had changed her in many ways, still the old habits of frugal economy died hard. Oscar Moran had the reputation of being tight with money where his business was concerned, but he was more than liberal toward his new family. He had, in fact, grown impatient with Alona on one occasion. She had mentioned that she couldn’t afford to buy the best brand of shoes for Tim because they were too expensive. Oscar had frowned and shook his head. “You’ve got to change your mindset about things like this. We need to be careful with money, of course, but not that careful. When I was a boy, I had to wear hand-me-down shoes that were too small for me. They just about ruined my feet. We don’t have to skimp on buying things for our boys. I wish you would understand that.”

“Could I help you with anything, Mrs. Moran?”

Alona turned to see the saleswoman standing there, a bright smile on her face. Alona remembered a time when she had come in trying to find a bargain in socks for the boys. The same woman had not been smiling that day. As a matter of fact, she had given her a cold reception and turned her back on Alona. Evidently being married to the wealthiest man in town made quite a difference.

“I think I’ve got everything I need.”

“Shall I ring it up then?”

“Yes. That would be fine.”

She waited until the purchases were totaled up, and it came to thirty-one dollars. As she removed a wallet from her purse and pulled out a fifty, she thought how that would have been half of her monthly income at one time. She took the change, nodded to the woman, and then turned to go. She had just reached the door when she nearly bumped into her pastor, Byron Sandifer.

“Why, hello, Alona. Doing a little Saturday morning shopping?”

“Yes. Buying some summer clothes for the boys. Are you doing some shopping too?” she asked, although she couldn’t imagine he was.

“Actually, I’ve been wandering all over town trying to think of a good gift I can give to Hazel.”

“Is it her birthday?”

“No, it’s our sixteenth anniversary.”

“Have you come up with any ideas yet?”

He shook his head and grinned ruefully. “The only thing I can think of is a new vacuum cleaner. The old one hasn’t been working well for a while.” He lifted his eyebrows as though a thought had struck him. “Say, I bet you could help me. You know Hazel real well. Do you think I should go ahead and get her a vacuum cleaner?”

“Oh, Brother Byron, that is the worst idea I’ve ever heard!”

“What’s wrong with it? She would use it all the time.”

“It’s a great idea to get her a new vacuum cleaner, but not
for your anniversary—and not for a birthday either! You need to make this a very special day. She’s a wonderful wife, and I know she makes such a good home for you and your boys.”

“You’re right about that. None better than the woman I married.”

Alona thought quickly. She had grown very close indeed to Hazel Sandifer and knew more about her, in some ways, than her husband did. Hazel loved her husband dearly but had often complained,
“He’s so
practical,
Alona! He loves me, but he forgets to say so. And he doesn’t do those little things that a woman would appreciate.

An idea leaped into Alona’s mind, and she said firmly, “I know exactly what you should give her. But it might be a bit expensive.”

“I don’t care about that. I’ll take out a loan at the bank if I have to. What is it?”

“You should take her on a trip—maybe to Atlanta. Go to a first-class hotel and get a really nice room. Surprise her with some flowers or maybe just a single flower. Take her out to a nice restaurant, and tell her that she’s prettier than she was when you married her. And write her a poem, telling her how much you love her.”

“I couldn’t write a poem if my life depended on it!”

“Sure you could. Just use the words
moon, June,
and
spoon,
and say you love her. Borrow a couple lines from Shakespeare. Write it on some beautiful paper using your neatest handwriting, and she’ll love it.”

He digested all that she had said and finally proclaimed, “Those are all
great
ideas, Alona! I’ll do it.”

“Make her feel loved, like you did when you first married her.”

The pastor smiled broadly. “Anything else?”

“I think that’s enough suggestions from me, but I’ll guarantee you one thing. She’ll like this a whole lot better than she would a new vacuum cleaner!”

“I’ll do it! I’ll make it a surprise.” Despite his height and
broad shoulders, he seemed like a small boy. “I’ll get her some little something and make her think that’s the present. Maybe some perfume or something. And then I’ll sweep her out of here before she can figure out what’s happening.”

“And your boys can come and stay with us while you’re gone.”

“That would be asking too much.”

“Not a bit. They’ll have a great time. You know how much our boys like to do things together.”

“If you could do that, it would make things perfect. I’ve got to go,” he said. “I’ve got to find out about reservations. Thank you so much. I’m going to let you handle all my anniversaries and birthdays from now on.”

Alona was happy for Hazel as the minister turned and hurried out. She laughed when she saw him break into a run. “Hazel Sandifer, you’re in for a big surprise!” She got into the car, and as she drove home, she thought about her own life. Just a week ago the pastor had said to her,
“Your life must be a lot better now, Alona.”

It’s not better,
she thought.
We just have more things and plenty of food on the table.
She remembered her honeymoon and how from the first moment she had understood that Oscar did not have the gentleness she longed for in a man, and he never would.

She also thought of the two occasions in the last two weeks when Oscar had suddenly been seized with a sharp pain in his chest. She had immediately moved to call the doctor, but he had grabbed her, saying, “No, just get me one of my pills.” After he had taken it, he had lain still, not moving and his face pale. She had repeatedly urged him to go to the doctor, but he had refused. He seemed to believe that physical ailment was a weakness and it was best to simply ignore it.

Of one thing she was sure: she could not make Oscar into the kind of man Truman had been. She was trapped in a marriage that had no joy for her, and there was no exit. Pushing
those things out of her mind as much as she could, Alona pulled up in front of the house and went in.

She was putting her purchases on the kitchen counter when Jason came into the room.

“We’ve got a little problem here, Alona.”

“What is it? Something wrong with the boys?”

“In a way.” He was chewing his lower lip as he always did whenever he was upset. “It’s Mrs. Darrow. She made Tim tie Buddy up.”

“Tie him up! Why, we’ve never needed to tie him up! What’s wrong?”

“He was in the house and Mrs. Darrow didn’t like it. The boys are pretty upset. She forbade them to untie him.”

At that moment the housekeeper came in, her face set in an angry cast. “I suppose he’s telling you about the dog.”

“Yes, he is. What’s this all about, Mrs. Darrow?”

“The boys brought that dog in, and he tracked muddy footprints all over my kitchen floor. And then Timothy took him into his bedroom. I won’t have that dog in this house.”

Alona stiffened. She was not argumentative by nature, but this woman had a way of setting her teeth on edge. Mrs. Darrow despised her and her boys and worshiped the first Mrs. Moran. Alona had not been in the house a week before she discovered that despite her best efforts, she and the housekeeper would never get along. Up until now she had simply given in to the woman’s “suggestions,” but now she suddenly understood that if she was ever to have any authority in her own house, she would have to draw a line.