by Merry Farmer
Wren sent a worried glance to Louisa who returned it with a short shake of her head.
“Is this braggadocio a problem?” Jamie asked, straightening and pushing his rolled-up sleeves back as if about to start a fight.
Wren went as pale as a sheet. So did Warren, and Victoria looked like she was about to be sick. Mark sent Warren a smarmy smirk.
Andrew looked as though he was tempted to smirk himself, but instead said, “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
When he caught Jamie’s eye, some sort of unspoken communication passed between the two. They were going to win this race and beat Warren or die trying. None of them had time to take the matter any further. The announcer was calling for them to take their mark, and seconds later they burst forward as the race began.
In a flash, Louisa realized that Andrew was in the race to win. He gripped her waist tightly and all but carried her along as he fought to keep pace with Warren and his sister. With an excited giggle, Louisa worked her hardest to keep up with him. A rush of competitiveness narrowed her focus to winning the race, beating the Harrisons. They had longer legs than she did, but Victoria was beginning to fall out of step as she and Andrew caught up to them on one side, while Jaime and Wren snuck up on the other.
If she hadn’t had to focus so hard to keep her steps even with Andrew’s, Louisa would have gaped in awe at the fierce look of determination in Wren’s eyes. As it was, she laughed out loud at the scene unfolding before her. Wren strode across the field in perfect sync with Jamie, following his breathlessly counted “one, two, one, two.” His arm circled firmly around her waist and Wren, in turn, clenched a fist around a handful of his shirt.
It was Louisa’s shock at seeing Wren so completely lost in the race and twined with Jamie that made her lose her footing. One minute she was running along beside Andrew, and the next their legs were moving in two different directions. Laughter caught in her throat and her legs crumpled as Andrew’s hold around her waist tightened. They spilled to the grass together with a mighty thump and Louisa’s squeal of shock. Andrew managed to break her fall, hat sliding to the side of her head and elbow scraping across the grass. Louisa continued to laugh in spite of the fall. Andrew rolled her to her side to shield her as the bulk of the racers hurried past them, doing their best to avoid them and the other couples who had taken spills.
Louisa ignored them. She snatched her hat off of her head so that she could twist around and watch the end of the race. Wren and Jamie strode neck-and-neck with Warren and Victoria. The two couples inched closer to each other as they neared the finish line, so close that Louisa cringed, expecting Jamie or Warren or both to reach out and clock the other.
Her fears were justified when Warren took a swipe at Jamie. The swing set Warren off balance. When Victoria couldn’t make up for her brother’s stumbling, they both sprawled to the ground in a pile of arms and legs and skirts. Wren and Jaime surged forward and crossed the finish line amidst a swell of cheering and applause.
“They did it,” Louisa yelped, laughing and trying to clap her hands and struggle to a sitting position.
“Let me help you.” Andrew laughed along with her.
The strip of cloth tying their legs together had loosened and their ankles had crossed when they fell. It was a confusing mess to sort out how to sit so that Andrew could reach their ankles to untie the cloth. They both laughed and twisted this way and that, prompting more silliness, until Andrew finally scooped her around the waist and twisted her to sit in his lap so that he could reach across her to untie the strip. His arms were around her, his chest warm against her back. She could feel the pounding of his heart. She could have stayed there forever.
When Andrew finished with the strip of cloth, he didn’t push her away. She turned her face to him and was met with twinkling eyes and a glowing smile. Her breath caught in her throat. Unbidden, her eyes slipped down to his mouth, large and smiling and looking like it could easily be kissed. He leaned toward her.
Her heart dropped into her stomach when she noticed Gayle out of the corner of her eyes, standing over them with Mark on one side and C.J. on the other.
Swallowing, Louisa shot to her feet.
“What an exciting race,” she exclaimed, voice far higher than usual. What had she been thinking to get so close to Andrew, and in public too? Gayle fixed her with a wide-eyed gape that began to grow into a knowing grin. “Wren and Jamie won!”
She felt Andrew stand behind her, wishing he would move just a little farther away. She needed to avoid the temptation he presented. Gayle’s eyes flickered to him before focusing on Louisa.
“Yes they did.” Her grin grew even wider. She grabbed Louisa’s hand. “Let’s go congratulate her.”
She took off running across the field, leaving Andrew, Mark, and C.J. behind. Louisa glanced over her shoulder at Andrew, clutching her skewed and crumpled hat to her head and giving him an apologetic smile. All he had to do was smile back and her heart felt like it had wings. It was the most inconvenient burst of emotion she had ever felt.
Chapter 6
“I don’t think I can remember the last time I had such a fine day,” Andrew said to Jamie as they lounged on the porch of Cliff House with the other men that afternoon. “Signing all the paperwork for our business yesterday? The fun today? Perfect.”
And Louisa, he added to himself. She was most perfect of all. Two modest fishing boats now belonged to him and Jamie, as well as a tiny office by the marina, but they paled in comparison to the joy that had been in Louisa’s eyes that morning.
“I don’t think I can remember the last time I sang so much,” Jamie agreed, laughing. “Did you see those men we hired for our boats laughing and shaking their heads at us?”
“They can laugh all they want,” Andrew replied, “as long as they show up for the test excursion next week.”
“Do you Swedenborgians sing all the time?” Jamie asked, loud enough for the rest of the men to hear.
“Only when the sun is shining and there are pretty girls present,” Mark Jasper answered.
The other men laughed. Jamie and Wren’s victory in the three-legged race had called for a celebration. They had all decided to indulge themselves in a bit of harmless fun by walking back to Cliff House, singing at the top of their voices. C.J. and Mark had joined them, as did Louisa’s brother Henry and C.J.’s sister Emma. And Rowan, of course. There would be time enough to act their age and tackle the responsibilities of life later. Just then, in the sunny July afternoon, it only seemed right to talk loud, sing loud, and laugh loud.
“Wren was certainly in fine form this morning,” C.J. observed as he handed around glasses of lemonade.
The women had treated the men to a fine spread for lunch. They’d also left the men to clean up while they scurried down to the beach for a walk. Andrew noticed that Gayle had been particularly eager to whisk Louisa away. She wore a mischievous grin and hadn’t paid a jot of attention to any of the men at the picnic. It wasn’t unusual for Gayle to grin like she was up to something, but this grin had clearly been aimed at him half the time, and at Louisa the other half. He shook his head. Leave it to Gayle to figure out the undercurrents of any given situation.
When he realized C.J. had made a comment, Andrew pulled himself out of his thoughts with a quick breath. “Hmm? Oh, yes, Wren’s a good sport.” He hoped his comment fit as he tipped his chair onto its two back legs and leaned against the porch railing.
“I didn’t know she had it in her. She always seems so conservative. I like this side of her.” Mark’s eyebrow quirked as he rested against the post, glancing down to the beach.
“I knew she was like that,” Henry laughed. “Louisa spent all last year writing to me about the trouble she, Wren, and Gayle got themselves into.”
Rowan shifted slightly in his chair at Henry’s comment, but Andrew hardly had time to register the change before Mark continued with, “It makes one reconsider a few things.”
A lazy grin spread across Andrew’
s face and he glanced to Jamie. “You might want to reconsider the reconsidering,” he chuckled. “Something tells me my sister is spoken for.”
Jamie smiled and relaxed into his chair, taking a sip from the glass of lemonade he still had from lunch. His eyes followed the women on the beach. Mark blinked and glanced from Andrew to Jamie to the girls, but he didn’t have a chance to make a comment.
“So are you an Academian then?” C.J. asked Henry, arms folded, voice curious without being judgmental.
Henry drew in a slow breath and clenched his jaw for a moment before answering. “Yes, if you must know, I am.”
Andrew hoped that the conversation would end there. He glanced to Rowan for support but only got the same stoic frown that came to Rowan’s eyes every time the disturbances were discussed.
“So you really think that there’s only one way to interpret Swedenborg’s Writings?” C.J. pushed the conversation further.
“I do,” Henry answered with a nod.
“Why?”
A chill curled through the warm afternoon. Andrew glanced to Henry, waiting to see if he would answer or if some sort of intervention would be needed. As far as he was concerned, a man’s inner faith was his own business.
Henry sighed and finally took the bait. “I’ve studied the issues in question a lot in the last couple of years, and I’ve read some of the things that men like Benade and Pendleton have written. I think the matter is clear.”
“Well I’ve studied them as well, and I don’t think Benade’s group is right at all,” C.J. turned the statement around. “I’m not saying that there aren’t real doctrinal differences that need to be discussed and reconciled. I’m just saying that there’s so much more to faith and so much more in the Writings than you Academians try to say there is.”
The tension grew.
“Oh, so are you on Warren’s side now?” Henry shot back. “Calling people ‘Academians’ as if it’s some sort of curse word?”
“No, I never meant that.” C.J.’s eyes widened as he realized he’d insulted Henry. “I’m sorry if it sounded that way, really I am. I just … I just don’t understand why so many people are saying that the things our Church teaches should only be seen one way.”
“That’s just it,” Rowan spoke up, surprising them all. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees as he explained. “If you’re trying to see or not see something in the Writings or the Bible or any other religious work, you will either see or not see it based on the preconceived ideas you enter into the study with. The real trick, the trick that it is imperative for all of us of any faith, is to read our holy books without any preconceived notions. Especially the Writings. We shouldn’t be looking for the things that we want to see or that someone else tells us to see, we should be looking for the things the Lord wants us to see.”
Andrew sat back in his chair with a proud grin. Sometimes his brother surprised him with his wisdom. If ever a man were going to make a good minister, it was Rowan.
C.J. sighed, clearly still struggling with the point. “I agree with you, Rowan, really I do. But the fact remains that there is a major difference of opinion in the Church right now, one that has people deeply upset. I don’t think it’s going to work to tell people to look to the Lord for guidance, especially when both sides of the argument claim to be doing just that and coming up with drastically different ideas. How can the Lord be telling us two things that are so different at the same time?”
“Maybe we’re not hearing right,” Mark suggested with a half-hearted smile.
“Maybe we’re not hearing at all,” Henry added with a sigh.
Rowan shrugged. “Or maybe this is something that needs to happen for the Church to grow in the way the Lord intends it to, like a fruit tree that needs to be culled to thrive.”
Andrew’s back stiffened in alarm. “Are you saying that the Lord wants the Church to split like this?” The idea filled him with such revulsion that he had to stand and pace his way over to the patch of sunshine near the corner of the porch.
“Absolutely not.” Rowan shook his head. “But there’s a world of difference between the Lord’s Will and what He allows to happen for something better to happen. Maybe this potential division is opening the way for something good.”
“I hate the idea of a split of any sort,” Andrew grumbled, running a hand through his hair.
Jamie, who had sat quietly listening to the debate, soaking in the unfamiliar terms and information, suddenly laughed. He raised his glass to Andrew.
“That’s it. We’re naming the boats The Academian and The Convention.” When Andrew blinked in confusion he went on. “They work fine on their own, but they catch more fish when they work together.”
A smile split Andrew’s face. He even laughed. Jamie was brand new to the ideas of the Church, but he was as fast a learner as they came. And sometimes he could see things more clearly than anyone who had been born into them.
“You’re on,” he said, walking back to his friend and shaking his hand to seal the deal.
“Which boats are these?” C.J. asked, perking up now that the subject had been changed.
It was as good a time as any to make the announcement.
“Jamie and I are going into business together,” he told the others. “We’ve purchased two fishing boats and a small office. We’re planning to try to grow it into something much, much bigger using the latest fishing and refrigeration methods.”
Rowan knew all about their plans, of course, but the other young men were impressed.
“Refrigeration, huh?” Mark grinned. “You’re going to need more than two boats and a small office for that.”
“All in good time, my friend, all in good time.” Jamie saluted him with his glass of lemonade.
C.J. laughed. “And just yesterday we were in school together, dipping the girls’ pigtails in the inkwells. Next thing we know you’ll be married with six kids.”
Andrew couldn’t help himself. He smiled and arched a mischievous eyebrow, leaned against the nearest porch post.
“Something we should know?” Mark asked him, a grin spreading across his face.
Andrew refused to answer. Let them speculate all they wanted. His mind was made up. After the events of Sunday, after signing the papers to start his business and his future, after holding Louisa in his arms that morning, there was no question in his mind. Louisa would be his wife.
To his surprise Henry chuckled and shook his head. “Nothing, eh? The little minx.”
Andrew blinked, his own smug grin dropping. He glanced to Louisa’s brother, but Henry was shaking his head and didn’t meet his eyes.
There was a lull in the conversation. Each man was lost in his own thoughts for a moment. The moment ended when C.J. asked, “When do we get to see these boats of yours anyhow?”
Andrew straightened and put his hands in his pockets.
“They need a little work before they’re ready for a deep-sea trip. That’s what Jamie and I will be doing for the next month or so.”
“Then we’ll take them out to deep waters and see how they handle, see what other adjustments we might need to make,” Jamie added.
“We might have some sort of christening party in late August or early September. Before Rowan heads down to Philadelphia.”
“If you need an extra vessel for guests I’m sure I can convince my father to take our yacht out for your party,” C.J. added. “In fact, we’re taking it out to watch the fireworks tonight. You’re all welcome to come out with us. The ladies too.”
Whatever questions Andrew had about C.J.’s character were put to rest with the kind offer. C.J. really was a good man underneath it all. He could be a good man and still disagree.
“The ladies would love that.”
When Louisa, Wren, Gayle, and Emma returned from their long walk on the beach, the invitation was extended to them with exactly the results Andrew thought it would have. Gayle and Emma squealed with delight. Gayle cozied up to C.J.
to ask him every sort of question about the excursion that she could think of. Wren and Louisa smiled like women twice their age and cast bemused glances at Gayle.
Andrew watched Louisa closely. Her face was rosy with sunlight and walking, and perhaps with whatever conversation she’d had with her friends. She met his eyes with a welcome smile. She also kept her distance from him, sitting on the swing with Wren and Emma at the other end of the porch. In a way he was fine with that distance and her quietness. It gave him a chance to study her from afar while the others chattered away. She would be the perfect wife for him in every way.
The rest of the afternoon was warm and leisurely. They set up the badminton net on the lawn again, but the women decided it was too hot to play. Instead they watched from the sidelines as the men challenged each other. Andrew knew he should probably feel guilty for rolling up his sleeves and showing off with hopelessly masculine enthusiasm, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Especially since C.J., Mark, and Henry were doing exactly the same thing. Although by the time they finished the game, drenched in sweat, it dawned on him that Rowan and Jamie had outwitted them all by sitting in the midst of the girls, chatting them up without competition.
The rest of the family returned closer to supper time to share in the remains of the picnic while C.J., Emma, and Mark headed home. They all agreed to meet at the Wick’s dock at the marina after supper.
After supper, as they walked along the road into town, the lengthening rays of the sinking sun making everything seem golden and new, Andrew managed to slide up to Louisa’s side. He wondered if she noticed him walking close to her, wondered if she would take his hand if he held it out to her. Only the sharp glances of Gayle and Henry stopped him from giving it a try.
It was still light when the Wick’s yacht sailed out into the harbor and up the coastline near to where the fireworks boat was anchored. There was still time until total darkness, when the fireworks would begin.
“Look.” Andrew pointed over the stern of the boat, drawing the attention of Louisa and the other ladies. “See that yacht over there? That’s Jamie’s and my boss.”
