Mail Order Miller

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “Oh, yes. But it’s my home. I don’t know where else I’d go.” Gretchen looked down at the dress she was sewing for a moment. “Doris has been the first to offer me a hand of friendship in about six months.”

  “Allow me to be the second then. Doris and I are outsiders because we’re not from here, but you’re an outsider because of circumstance.”

  “Yes. We were to be married less than a week after he died. I found out a month later that I was expecting.” Gretchen smiled sadly. “Thank you for accepting me as I am, Miss Hughes.”

  “Please, call me by my Christian name. It’s Rica.”

  “Rica?” Doris asked. “That’s unusual. I like it!”

  “It’s short for Frederica. And so much nicer than being called Freddie all the time.”

  “I would say so!” Gretchen said. “Well, I’m glad we’re friends, Rica.”

  “Me too!”

  Doris grinned at them both. “And now I can tell the boys that if they misbehave at school, they’ll upset my friend. I really don’t think they’ll be pleased with me starting a friendship with their teacher.”

  Rica smiled. “Maybe your mother should have tried that!”

  Doris giggled. “My mother never much cared what mischief we got up to. She thought children should be allowed to run free and get into trouble at will. So we did.” She turned from where she was peeling potatoes at the sink. “My sister watched us when I was about seven, and my brother and I decided to paint the cow. We put her on newspaper before we did it. I’m still not sure why we were worried about the barn floor as we painted the cow.”

  Rica shook her head. “I think I would have quit if I was your teacher. How many children are in your family?”

  “Fourteen!”

  “Oh, just shoot me. I wouldn’t have made it through a whole semester.” Rica seemed horrified at the mere prospect.

  “Many teachers didn’t. My younger brothers and sisters are still causing problems today. The locals referred to us as the demon horde.”

  Rica frowned at her. “That’s as bad as the Butler brats.”

  “The boys hate that name.”

  “Me too!” Pris said. “I’m not a brat!”

  “I know you’re not, baby,” Doris said to the girl. “We’re trying to turn their reputation around. Hopefully it will work.” She knew that she had never been able to rise above the demon horde though. Hopefully the people in this town were less judgmental than they’d been back in Massachusetts—but so far, it certainly didn’t seem so.

  The boys rushed into the house then, stopping short when they saw their teacher sitting at the table. “Are you staying for supper, Miss Hughes?” Bobby finally asked.

  “Yes, I am. Would that be all right with you?”

  Bobby shrugged. “Now that I don’t get in trouble at school, I guess it’s all right.”

  Matthew stared at Miss Hughes. “I think so.”

  “Go wash up for supper, boys!” Doris instructed. “Make sure your papa remembers that it’ll be suppertime in twenty minutes as well. I don’t want him to be late, since we have guests tonight.”

  “Guests?” Gretchen asked. “Am I staying too?”

  “I certainly hope so!” Doris answered, a smile on her face. “Will your parents mind?”

  “I told them I might stay tonight. I wasn’t sure. I’m still not. What are you making?” Gretchen’s eyes twinkled with laughter as she asked.

  “Because you’re only staying if it’s something you like?” Doris asked.

  “Of course! I’m expecting, after all!”

  Rica laughed. “You’d better make the most of that excuse while you can. You won’t be expecting for much longer.”

  “No, I guess I won’t.” Gretchen patted her belly. “I want to get this dress done before supper. I only have to finish the hem.”

  “Do you come here every day?” Rica asked.

  Gretchen nodded. “This is my third day in a row. Doris said I’m welcome anytime. I’m sewing for my supper though.”

  “I think that’s very nice. I may join you both some afternoons. Not for supper, but for the company.”

  Doris nodded. “We’d love that. I’m so glad I found such nice ladies here. After my first couple of days, I was sure I wouldn’t have any friends at all. I was even missing my sisters in the demon horde.”

  “Well, we can’t have you missing them!” Rica said with a laugh.

  The boys came back a short while later with their father in tow. He nodded at Miss Hughes before kissing his wife quickly. “What’s for supper?”

  He didn’t understand the laughter that came from his casual question, but he didn’t ask either. His house seemed to be full of women every time he came home, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. At least they were all pleasant women.

  When everyone was seated, Doris served their supper—stew—and he prayed for them. He was surprised at the lively chatter around the table. It was as if the three women had known one another for years. While he was pleased that his wife was friending people others didn’t, he was surprised by it.

  The boys were understandably quiet as they tried to get used to their teacher chatting away happily at the table. Doris noticed that Rica’s hair was even escaping the bun. It was a mess of dark, curly tendrils. Doris thought her friend might be quite beautiful with her hair down.

  After supper, the three women did the dishes together. One cleared the table, one washed, and one wiped the dishes. When he saw how effortlessly they worked together, Harvey left the room, uncomfortable in his own home. How was it that women who had never eaten a meal together before could just jump up and work together so quickly?

  He stayed in the parlor with the children, reading them a chapter of the book Doris had been reading to them every night. It was a book she’d brought with her entitled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. He’d never heard of it, let alone read it, but the children seemed to enjoy it a great deal.

  As he was finishing the chapter, he heard the door close. Doris came and stood, looking at him from the doorway. She had a soft look on her face. He put a piece of paper in the book to mark his place before closing it.

  “It’s time for bed! Everyone use the water closet, and then up we go!” He was amazed that the twins were already trained. He hadn’t had time to work with them at all, and it took her less than a week. He glanced at Doris. “Are you coming up with us?”

  She nodded. “Bedtime is one of my favorite times of day.”

  After kissing all four of the children goodnight, they went back downstairs together, sitting close to one another on the sofa. “So how did you become best friends with the boys’ teacher?”

  “Rica? She’s very sweet. I think the three of us mainly bonded over the fact that we’re all outsiders here. She’s never been included in anything in town, because she’s not from here. I’m treated strangely—in part because I’m not from here, but mostly because the boys have an interesting reputation. And Gretchen is out of favor, because she’s pregnant and her fiancé died.”

  “So the three outcasts are becoming friends with each other? Is that due to really liking each other, or desperation?”

  Doris shrugged. “I don’t know about the others, but I genuinely like them both. They’re kind and non-judgmental. That’s all I need in a friend.”

  “I’m glad you found them then. You’re settling in nicely.”

  “I am. I didn’t think I would at first. Everyone treated me badly for the first day or two. I think I knew I belonged the moment I met Gretchen.”

  Harvey traced her cheek with the back of one of his fingers. “I wish you’d known the moment you met me, but I guess I understand.”

  “Oh, I knew I wanted to belong the moment I met you. Your big brown eyes make me think of chocolate. I could lose myself in them.”

  “Is that so?” He leaned forward and stopped any answer she may have made with his lips. “Are you ready to have a real marriage yet, wife?”

 
; “You know what? I think I am!” Doris surprised even herself by getting to her feet and holding her hand out for him. She pulled him toward the bedroom they shared and shut the door firmly.

  Chapter 9

  Doris started having both of her new friends over most afternoons. At first having Rica there was intimidating for Bobby and Matthew—but after a while, they realized she was going to be around fairly often, and they stopped worrying about it so much.

  It was during their second week of meeting every day, while Rica was stitching madly on a new dress for little Pris, that there was a knock on the door. Gretchen was taking a quick break because the baby wouldn’t stop kicking. When Doris opened the door, she stood face-to-face with someone she’d never seen before. “May I help you?”

  The older woman on the other side of the door nodded, looking a bit angry. “Are you Doris Butler?”

  “Yes, I am.” Doris was certain she’d never seen the other woman before, but she obviously knew who Doris was.

  “I’m Janice Lindon. The women of town decided together that we were shunning one of the friends you are harboring here. She’s not to be spoken to.”

  Doris blinked at the other woman a couple of times. “I will speak with whomever I please. I’m sorry if you don’t approve, but both women here are my friends. Is there anything else I can help you with?” She stayed as calm as she could, but she wanted to hurt the older woman. And her brothers had taught her to fight dirty.

  “You’d allow yourself to be an outcast with her? You wouldn’t mind if your family became outcasts as well?”

  “Are you telling me if I keep talking to my friend—someone whom I think of as a sister—you would stop people in town from talking to me? And my husband and children?”

  Janice crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  “You’re being ridiculous. You have no right to tell anyone who they may or may not talk to! Do you think that’s Christian behavior or something? I assure you, it’s not!”

  The older woman gasped, obviously shocked someone was standing up to her. “You dare say this to me?”

  Doris shrugged one shoulder. “I really don’t care if you shun me. I have two good friends whom I love. I have a husband and children I adore. I don’t need you!” Before the other woman could say a word, Doris shut the door in the horrible woman’s face before turning to her friends. “Do you believe that woman?”

  Gretchen stared at her friend for a moment before bursting into laughter. “You’ve just signed your own social death warrant in this town. Mrs. Lindon would have been my mother-in-law.”

  “And she’s the one who shunned you? That old biddy! I have half a mind to chase her down and tell her exactly what I think of her!”

  Gretchen shook her head. “Don’t do it, Doris. She’s truly not worth it. Let her do what she will. We have each other.”

  Doris huffed out a breath and sat down heavily in a chair. She looked over at Rica. “What are we going to do about this?”

  Rica shrugged. “I’m pretty much shunned as well. Do people talk to you?”

  Doris thought about it for a moment. “Not usually, now that I think about it. Mrs. Gottweiler talks to me when I go to the store for supplies. The pastor’s wife nods at me and tells me she’s praying for me every time she sees me. Other than that, no one speaks to me at all.”

  “How’s it going to hurt you then?”

  “I guess it won’t. Not that I’m worried about me. I can’t believe they shunned our dear, sweet Gretchen!”

  Gretchen laughed. “They shunned me a long time ago. I’m not at all worried about it. You do realize that the two of you have changed my entire life? You talk to me every day, and you don’t judge me for getting myself in trouble. I’m happy!”

  “Well, if you’re happy, then I’m happy.” Doris crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t imagine this is going to change our lives at all.”

  Gretchen bit her lip, thinking about the situation. “I wouldn’t count on that. Watch yourself, my friend.”

  That Sunday at church, Rica sat on one side of Gretchen, Doris on the other. Rica and Doris each held one of the twins. Gretchen offered, but Pris complained there wasn’t enough room on her lap because her baby was using it all up.

  After the sermon, Doris glanced around the church, noting that not one woman in the congregation was even looking at her or her friends. “They’re all doing exactly what Mrs. Lindon says, aren’t they?” she asked Gretchen, slightly awed at the power the woman wielded over the others in town.

  “Yes! They always do. I’m not sure why, but they’ve always done whatever she wants them to do. At first, when news got out about my pregnancy, people were at least friendly still. But after she told them all to shun me, not a single woman would speak to me—except my mother, and she really only says horrible things. I hate it, but I have nowhere to go, so I endure.” Gretchen patted her belly, looking straight at Mrs. Lindon, the child’s grandmother. “I love this child, though, so what am I supposed to do?”

  “She’s an evil, spiteful, old harridan. I don’t care what people say and think. You’re my friend and always will be.” As Doris sat there with her friend, Harv talked to the men of the church while the boys raced around the pews with some friends from school.

  One by one the mothers snatched up their boys and told them they weren’t allowed to play with those awful Butler brats. As Doris watched, she became angrier and angrier. The boys weren’t brats. They had learned to sit as quietly as boys their ages could be expected to sit through church. No, they weren’t perfect, but they were much better behaved than they’d been when she’d arrived in town just weeks before.

  After lunch, Harv asked Doris what was happening. “I know most of the mothers in town don’t care for my boys, but they’ve never been so downright rude before. Do you have any idea what’s wrong with them?”

  Doris sighed. “Mrs. Lindon came over the other day. She told me that she and the other ladies in town had shunned Gretchen and unless I did the same, my family and I would be shunned as well.”

  “She said what?” He stared at her in disbelief. “The women in town can’t just choose to shun someone. That’s a matter for the church to decide. Not the women!”

  “Do you think I don’t know this? I told her that very thing, and I slammed the door right in her face. Then I sat down with my shunned friend and our other friend, who hasn’t been shunned but no one talks to anyway, and we all had a nice time together.”

  He ran his hands through his hair. “I’m going to talk to the pastor.”

  She sighed. “Not yet. Give me a little more time.”

  “It’s already affecting the boys. I can’t let that continue.”

  “Rica told me the boys have as many friends as they ever did. If that changes at school this week, she’s going to let me know. We’ve talked about it.”

  He looked skeptical, but finally he nodded. “All right. I just don’t want them to be hurt by this.”

  “I won’t allow that to happen. If the boys start being shunned, we’ll go to the pastor.”

  Harv didn’t like the situation one bit, but so far, she seemed to have navigated the tricky waters of Salmon very well. He could only assume that would continue.

  Before Gretchen arrived on Monday morning, Doris set out for the general store. She needed to get some fabric so she could start sewing some new clothes for Harv. Finally, they’d made enough new things for the children, and it was time for her to put her needle to work on shirts for her husband. Without her friends’ help, she knew she wouldn’t have even touched the surface of the work she had ahead of her.

  She walked into the store, leaving both twins on the bench out front where she could see them. She smiled at Mrs. Gottweiler and headed to the back of the store where the yard goods were.

  She turned when Mrs. Gottweiler tapped her on the shoulder. The older woman’s face was sad as she said, “I can’t let you shop here.”
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  Doris frowned. “I can’t shop here? This is the only store in town. Where do you expect me to shop?”

  Mrs. Gottweiler wrung her hands together in front of her. “Doris, you’ve always been kind to me. You’re careful to make sure the girls don’t touch anything they oughtn’t, and you ask about my grandbabies. But you’ve made Mrs. Lindon angry, and she’s told all of us that we have to shun you.”

  Doris tilted her head to one side, thinking about the situation. “And you’re just going to obey her? You know that’s not how a shunning works. You don’t just stop talking to people because someone tells you to! What would Pastor Savoy say?”

  “I don’t know! I do know that Mrs. Savoy has said she’s obeying the shunning.”

  “Why does everyone follow Mrs. Lindon and her silly edicts? She’s not even a nice person!”

  Mrs. Gottweiler frowned. “Don’t say that! What if someone hears you?”

  “What would happen if someone heard me? Does she have spies? An army that will hurry out and shoot me? What can she do?”

  “I don’t know, but it will be something! I don’t want to be shunned!”

  Doris sighed. “Mrs. Gottweiler, I promise you this right now. If Mrs. Lindon tells the others to shun you, you’ll have three friends. Me, Gretchen, and Rica. We will be by your side. And I can also promise you that we’ll be much better friends than Mrs. Lindon has ever dreamed of being. She’s a mean, spiteful woman. We’re kind, caring people. Why would you choose to be her friend when you can be ours?”

  Mrs. Gottweiler studied her for a moment. “Does that offer include the other women in town?”

  Doris shrugged. “If they want to continue to speak to us, we’ll be happy to call them friends. All of them. Some of them. I think all the ladies in town need to stand up to that woman! I don’t know why people give her the power they do.”

  “Give her the power? She demands it!”