Mail Order Miller

by Kirsten Osbourne

  Doris grinned as Matthew sat down beside his brother. “Cookies for two. Tea or milk?” she asked.

  Matthew tilted his head to one side, as if considering the question. “I would like milk, please.”

  “Bobby?” Doris asked.

  “Milk.”

  She got cookies for all four of them and milk for the boys and tea for her and Gretchen. “How was school today?” Doris asked as soon as she was sitting down.

  Gretchen set her sewing aside and took a bite of one of the cookies, watching the boys to see what their answer would be.

  Bobby shrugged. “It was a good day, I think. We didn’t pull any pranks at all. We just did our work like we were supposed to.”

  Doris smiled. “I’m proud of you for not pulling any pranks. Just for that, I’ll let you decide what you want to eat for supper tomorrow night. Can you boys decide on something that sounds good to you?”

  The boys looked at each other with surprise. They hadn’t expected any sort of kindness just for not getting into trouble. They leaned toward each other and whispered back and forth for a moment. “Fried chicken and mashed potatoes,” Bobby finally announced.

  “That sounds delicious!” Gretchen said. “I love fried chicken.”

  Doris looked at her new sons. “What do you boys think? Should we invite Miss Gretchen to eat with us?”

  Bobby shrugged. “I don’t care if she eats here.”

  “Me neither,” Matthew answered.

  “Good. That’s settled then.” She stuffed the last of her cookie into her mouth and reached over for the first pair of pants that had been made. “Look what Miss Gretchen finished!”

  Bobby looked at them. “For me?”

  Doris nodded. “And!” She held up the other pair.

  Matthew grinned. “You do like us as much as the twins!”

  She laughed. “Of course, I do! I’m going to try to get new shirts made for you tomorrow, but I might not quite make it. Shirts are harder, and there will only be one of me sewing. I had a lot of help today.”

  Bobby looked at Gretchen. “Thank you for helping.”

  Matthew nodded. “Thank you.”

  Gretchen looked at Doris. “I can come back tomorrow. I have nothing else to do with my days. My mother does the housework and doesn’t let me touch anything for fear I’ll do it wrong. I’ve done all the sewing the baby will need. Until I actually have this little person in my arms, I’ve got nothing else to do.”

  Doris bit her lip. “I could use the help, but I would have to talk to Harvey about paying you for your time. I couldn’t let you continue to work for nothing.”

  Gretchen shook her head adamantly. “No pay. I need a place to go, and you’re providing one for me. Please.”

  “We’ll talk about it tomorrow when there are no little ears listening.” She wasn’t about to discuss financial matters in front of the children. Her parents never had, and she felt it was a good practice.

  “I won’t be able to come back if you insist on paying me.” Gretchen took a sip of her tea and watched Doris over the top of it, gauging her friend’s reaction.

  Doris frowned. “We’ll discuss it later.” She turned back to the boys. “Do you have schoolwork to do this evening?”

  Bobby shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

  “Then after you finish your snack, you may go outside and play.”

  “Pa never lets us play outside by ourselves,” Matthew said.

  Doris didn’t like that rule, but she also didn’t want to contradict her husband. “Then you both play in front of the house where I can see you. I’ll talk to your father tonight, and we’ll come up with a hard and fast rule.”

  The boys exchanged a look before nodding at the same time.

  As soon as the boys were out of the house, Doris turned to her friend. “I’m going to start supper and then check on the girls. Would you mind starting one of the shirts? I measured them both yesterday and cut out shirts for them.”

  “I’d be happy to!”

  “When do you need to be home?” Doris asked. She had a feeling her friend had to answer to her parents for her whereabouts.

  “By suppertime. I’ll let them know that I’m eating here Wednesday, though.” Gretchen picked up the pieces of white linen and carefully started basting two of them together. “I think you’re the best thing that could have possibly happened to the Butler family. And to me.”

  Doris smiled. “I’m happy to already have a friend here!” She stood up and cleared the table of the snacks. “I’m going to run a few cookies and some milk out to Harvey.” She’d taken him lunch at lunchtime as well. She had no idea who had fed him for the past few years, but it was her job to do so now.

  When she approached her husband with the jar of milk and a plate of cookies, he picked up a bandana and wiped his brow. “You’re spoiling me.” He set down the log he’d been working on and sat down. “To what do I owe this surprise?”

  She sat beside him, handing him the cookies and milk. “I needed to talk to you for a moment, and I thought you might be a bit hungry.”

  He shrugged. “I work hard. I’m always hungry. What do you need to talk to me about?” He took one of the offered cookies and the milk. Tilting his head back, he took a swig of the liquid, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he drank.

  “Gretchen has offered to come over every day to help me with sewing until her baby arrives. I would love the help, but I also think we need to pay her for her time. She says no.”

  “Can you pay her in meals? And maybe make her a gift for the baby?”

  Doris nodded, smiling. “I could make her a baby quilt for the winter. And I will feed her every meal while she’s here. Problem solved. Next, the boys informed me they aren’t allowed to play outside. I told them they could play as long as they were within plain sight of the kitchen window, so I may watch them.”

  He seemed to contemplate for a moment. “I think that’s a good solution. They could also play where I could see them, but I’d rather not have to worry about them.” He loved that she was thinking of ways to give the boys more freedom, while still keeping them safe and out of trouble.

  “No, that’s my responsibility. Third, the boys’ teacher sent a note home, asking if she may come over after work on Wednesday. I invited her to stay for supper. She wants to make sure there are no problems this schoolyear.”

  “Nothing happened today?” He looked skeptical.

  “The boys say no, and she didn’t mention any trouble in her note. She only wanted to talk to me, but I thought if she stayed for supper, you could be party to any decisions made.” She didn’t know if he trusted her to talk to the teacher alone or would want to be part of things. Either way, she was happy to do all she could.

  He shrugged. “You’re welcome to make all the decisions about their schooling. As their mother, that’s your job. I don’t mind if she stays for supper, but I don’t feel the need to be part of any decisions.”

  “All right then.” She stood up and dusted off the back of her dress. There was sawdust everywhere. “I’ll go in and start supper.”

  He caught her hand before she could walk away and pulled her to him. “How about kissing your husband before you head back to the house?”

  She blushed. “In the middle of the street?” Not that it mattered. She wasn’t there to please anyone but him and his children.

  “Everyone knows we’re married. Kissing me isn’t going to tell them we’re doing anything wrong!”

  She willingly went to him, stood on tiptoe, and brushed her lips against his. “There. Happy now?”

  He laughed. “Happy as can be. Quit distracting me and let me get back to work, woman!”

  She made a face as she hurried around the sawmill to the house. Gretchen was sitting where she’d left her, still basting the shirt. “I talked to Harv, and he said you may come every day and help, but you have to let me feed you.”

  Gretchen shrugged. “I think that’s fair.”

  “Good!” She
quickly put a pork roast into a pan and peeled some potatoes and carrots before stuffing it into the oven. “I’m going to check on the twins.”

  She walked into the room where they were playing together silently. It was almost eerie how well they played together—with no words spoken between them—but she’d been told she and Darryl had been just the same when they’d been small.

  They were both dry, and she praised them before taking them to the water closet. Training them was easier than she’d expected, but they were older than most children trained as well.

  She sat them both in chairs with cookies and milk while she worked on basting the other shirt. While they worked, she and Gretchen talked about Gretchen’s love.

  “What was his name?”

  “Reginald. We’ve loved one another since our first day of school. I always knew I’d grow up and marry him, and we’d have children together. I know I should be ashamed of the baby I’m carrying, but I can’t be, because I have something left of him.”

  “How do his parents feel about it?”

  Gretchen shrugged. “They blame my parents and call me a loose woman—said that if it wasn’t for me, their son would have been perfect.”

  Doris sighed. “Of course, he would have been. Because perfect men are everywhere.” She knew sarcasm wasn’t polite, but how could she help herself?

  “I know. I don’t know if they’ll have anything to do with the baby after it’s born…but if they don’t, it will be their loss. I’m going to love my child because it’s the last part of the man I love that I have left. I know what we did wasn’t right, but it was done in love.”

  “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Gretchen. I don’t judge. I’m just glad I have a friend here. And if you need help with the baby, know that I’m your friend as well.”

  Gretchen smiled. “Thank you!”

  Before Gretchen left, the shirts had been basted together, and all that was left was to sew them up, add the buttons and buttonholes, and hem them. Doris was thrilled with how much their two sets of hands had been able to accomplish. She wished she had a solution for her friend, but there was none. Maybe she could have Elizabeth help her find a groom for Gretchen.

  After the children were in bed that evening, Doris and Harvey sat in the parlor together. “You’ve done a wonderful job with the house,” Harvey told her. “I had no idea it could look this good in such a short amount of time.”

  “I want to do a great deal more, but I couldn’t have done all I have without Gretchen. Her friendship is going to be a godsend.” Doris only hoped she could be as helpful to her friend when the baby came along.

  “I’m glad. I know she needed a friend as much as you did. Working together will be good for both of you.”

  “Thank you for not minding that I befriended an unwed mother. I know everyone in town is judging her for what happened between her and Reginald, but I don’t feel like I have any right to throw stones. I’m far from perfect.”

  He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You’re very close to perfect in my eyes. You’ve come here, made my children your own, spruced up my house, made friends with the friendless…I could go on for a while. I didn’t have high expectations for the bride that was coming, but you are a special woman, Doris Butler.”

  She scooted closer to him on the sofa. “I think you’re awfully special yourself. The children are doing remarkably well for having no mother.”

  He shook his head. “Not the boys. They’ve been hellions.”

  “But they have good hearts. You can see it in their manners and the way they respond when given instruction. I can’t complain about that at all.”

  “You see the best in everyone.”

  She shrugged. “I guess it’s my gift.”

  He laughed, drawing her to him for a kiss. He needed to remember to thank Mrs. Johnson for sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. He may not love this woman beside him, but he knew it was only a matter of time. For now, the way she treated him and his children was more than enough.

  Chapter 8

  When the teacher came over Wednesday after school, Doris had cookies and tea waiting. She welcomed the woman with a smile. “You must be Miss Hughes. I’m Doris Butler. Welcome.”

  “Thank you for having me.” Miss Hughes looked to be around thirty. She had dark hair pulled back into a tight bun and a pair of glasses perched on the edge of her nose. To Doris, she looked like a caricature of a schoolteacher.

  “Please sit down. I hope you don’t mind that my friend, Gretchen, is here. She’s helping me catch up on my sewing.”

  Miss Hughes sat at the table and smiled a tight smile at Gretchen. “If you don’t mind her being party to our discussion, I certainly don’t mind her being here.”

  “Thank you. Would you like some tea and cookies?”

  “That would be very nice, thank you.” Miss Hughes had her hands folded properly in her lap, and she glanced out the window to see the boys playing catch with a baseball outside. “The boys seem different since you arrived, Mrs. Butler.”

  “Please, call me Doris. I can’t get used to my new last name, and I may forget to answer.”

  Miss Hughes smiled. “All right.” She took a bite of one of the cookies placed in front of her and smiled. “These are wonderful.”

  “Thank you. I enjoy baking very much.” Doris put cookies and tea in front of Gretchen, knowing her friend would enjoy them. “So, let’s talk about the boys. Have you experienced any bad behavior this year?”

  Miss Hughes shook her head. “No, I haven’t, and frankly, that frightens me. Last year when there was a short period of them being well-behaved, it was because they were planning the biggest prank of the entire school year.”

  “Oh, really?” Doris refused to be swayed by past behavior. She was worried about how the boys behaved now and in the future.

  “Yes. They…well, I suppose their past exploits are not of concern to you, are they?” Miss Hughes smiled tightly. “I hope you’ll partner with me this year. If I have to punish them at school, I’d like to know that you will punish them at home as well.”

  “My husband and I don’t believe in corporal punishment. But I promise you, if they misbehave at school, there will be repercussions at home as well.” Doris had no idea what she’d do if the boys misbehaved, but she’d think of something when the time came. She was very creative, after all. It was one of her skills.

  “That would be fine. I believe there is a place for corporal punishment, as most teachers do, but I will not criticize you for your views on child-rearing. I do think having you here as an influence has calmed the children down. I may be wasting both of our time by coming so early in the year, but I needed to talk to you for my own peace of mind.”

  “I understand. I’m afraid my brothers and sisters and I were much worse behaved than the boys could ever dream of being. Our teachers had many meetings with our parents to no avail. We never had a teacher come back for a second semester. I don’t want to say the same thing of my boys.”

  Miss Hughes took a sip of her tea. “I suppose you know how to spot it when the boys are planning mischief then.”

  Doris grinned. “There’s no one more qualified to spot a great plan, I’m afraid.”

  “I think we’ll do well together then.”

  “Are you staying for supper?” Doris asked. She wasn’t sure if she wanted the other woman to or not. Miss Hughes was a little too uptight for her tastes.

  “I would like that very much. Do you know in my year here in Salmon, this is the first dinner invitation I’ve received? It’s nice to be able to spend time with other ladies.”

  “Then I’m very pleased you’ll be joining us.” Doris looked toward the stairs. “I can hear the twins upstairs. I need to go and get them from their nap and give them their afternoon snack. Please excuse me for a moment.” With that, she left the two ladies together to chat.

  Five minutes later, she came back to the kitchen holding the girls’ hands in
hers. “Pris, Pauline, this is Miss Hughes. She’s your brothers’ teacher.”

  Pris, always the more outgoing of the two, smiled. “They don’t like school.”

  Miss Hughes smiled at that, her first smile that seemed completely genuine to Doris. “Is that so? I felt that may be the case.”

  Pauline, not to be outdone, nodded as well. “It is so. They want to stay here and play with us.”

  “Okay, girls. Sit down, and I’ll get your snack.” Doris put a plate of cookies in front of each of the girls, along with a glass of milk. “Would you like anything else, Miss Hughes?”

  “No, thank you.” Miss Hughes watched as Gretchen kept sewing away at a dress. She looked around and spotted another small dress that was half-sewn. “May I be of help?” She picked up the small dress and took the needle that was hanging from it. “I’ve always enjoyed sewing.”

  While the twins ate their snack and the boys played outside, Doris fixed supper and Gretchen and Miss Hughes sewed. “I don’t remember meeting you before,” Miss Hughes said to Gretchen. “Have you lived in Salmon long?”

  “All my life!” Gretchen frowned. “You don’t go to church here in town, do you?”

  Miss Hughes shook her head. “I usually go home on the weekends. My family lives about twenty miles away. It’s a long drive, but it’s worth it to be with people who love me.”

  “Maybe if you stayed here on the weekends, you would meet some more people,” Doris suggested.

  “I really haven’t found the community to be very welcoming. I know it’s sad, but it’s a true fact. Most of the mothers of the students I teach seem to resent me for some reason.”

  “I don’t resent you at all,” Doris said. “If you want to stay this weekend, I promise that you’ll have two friends.”

  Miss Hughes seemed to think about it for a moment, before slowly shaking her head. “Not this weekend, but maybe soon.” She looked over at Gretchen. “What does your husband do?”

  Gretchen frowned for a moment, seeming to have an inner debate. “I’ve never been married. My fiancé died at sea.”

  “I see.” Miss Hughes took a moment to process the information that she’d been given. “I suppose you’re having a hard time here in town too, aren’t you?”