“So? If people stop listening to and obeying her demands, she will lose all that power. Trust me on this. I will be a better friend than she could ever dream of being.”
After a moment of consideration, the older woman nodded. “I will continue to be your friend, and you may shop here.”
Doris realized then that Mrs. Gottweiler would be a good ally. Everyone in town had to shop at the store. Why not let her spread the word that they weren’t going to kowtow to Mrs. Lindon’s demands for another minute. “Spread the word that there’s a mutiny in town, and Mrs. Lindon is no longer the dictator.”
A slow smile spread across Mrs. Gottweiler’s face. “I will do just that. Should I send them to you if they want more instructions about the uprising?”
Doris shook her head with a laugh. “Uprising? Is that what we’re calling it?”
“I think it is! Do you prefer the word coup?”
“I think I do. We’ll call it the courageous coup. Tell all the women that if they have courage to join us in our fight against tyranny!”
Mrs. Gottweiler nodded with a grin. “I’m going to do just that. I wish I had a flyer I could hand out to send people to your house for a secret meeting of some sort.”
Doris sighed. “There’s nothing secret about what we’re doing. We’re taking the town back from that crazy old woman. No more bowing to her demands. No more acting like she’s the queen of us all. We’re in America, and everyone is equal here, whether Mrs. Lindon likes it or not!”
Chapter 10
When Doris got back to her house after shopping, she found Gretchen waiting for her. “Good morning!”
Gretchen looked up from where she’d been staring at the group. “Good morning. Did you enjoy your shopping excursion?”
“I did, but it was very unusual.” Doris briefly explained what Mrs. Gottweiler had said to her. “She’s going to recruit people to join our rebellion against Mrs. Lindon’s rule.”
Gretchen put her hand over her mouth, staring at Doris in shock. “You have no idea what that woman is capable of.”
“I know that if she’s no longer backed by all the women in town, she won’t have as much power. The less power she has, the more we have. It’ll work, or it won’t. Let’s see what happens.”
Gretchen was obviously skeptical as she followed Doris and the twins inside. “We’re starting shirts for Harv today. I have an old one torn up to use as a pattern. Do you mind cutting the fabric and getting started while I bake bread?”
“Not at all.” Gretchen was always willing to do whatever her friend asked. She enjoyed the meals she cooked, but more than that, she enjoyed their camaraderie and friendship.
As they worked, the twins played, with both women keeping half an eye on them, and together that made a whole eye. Not too terribly bad. The women started coming to the door at just past ten. Doris hurried to answer the first knock, having no idea who it could be.
“Mrs. Jensen.” Doris couldn’t imagine why the woman was there. She’d talked to her a few times at church, but she wouldn’t have said they became friends.
“I’m here to join the rebellion.” Mrs. Jensen, the mother of one of the boys’ friends from school, didn’t wait for an invitation. Instead she walked right in and plopped herself down in a kitchen chair. “What’s our plan of action?”
Doris and Gretchen exchanged looks. “We don’t really have a plan of action. We just want the women in town to stop listening to everything Mrs. Lindon says,” Doris responded as she pulled a loaf of bread from the oven. “Would you like to stay for lunch?”
Mrs. Jensen nodded. “That would be wonderful. I haven’t had lunch with a friend in ages.”
“Why not?” Doris asked, truly confused about how these women lived their lives.
“I don’t know. I tried to visit other women when I first came to town, but Mrs. Lindon told me that my place was in my home, cooking and cleaning. How many hours a day does she think it takes to take care of my husband and my son, who is in school most of the day? I spend a lot of hours sitting around doing nothing.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t volunteer to cook for my family before my arrival then.”
“I did!” Mrs. Jensen protested. “Many times. Mrs. Lindon kept telling me the schedule was full, and I wasn’t needed.”
Doris frowned. “Much more help was needed.”
“My mother was told the same thing,” Gretchen said softly. “Mrs. Lindon was in charge of scheduling help, you see.”
“That’s sad.”
By lunch time, there were four more ladies in Doris’s kitchen, each of them with a similar story. Doris cooked a huge pot of soup and gave some to each of the ladies, along with some dinner rolls she made. It wasn’t a perfect meal, but at least it was filling.
As they ate, Doris thought about their plan of attack. “Are all of you ladies willing to continue talking to my friends and me? To balk Mrs. Lindon?”
There were four nods in response. “I’ll do it, but it scares me,” Mrs. Jensen responded.
“There’s safety in numbers. You were safe acting rudely when you were part of Mrs. Lindon’s horde. Now you’re part of my circle of friends. And we’re growing by the minute.”
As more and more women filled her kitchen throughout the day, Doris realized she wasn’t the only woman who was unhappy with the way things were in Salmon, Oregon. When school let out, more than half of the mothers who had school-aged children were gathered in her home. All of them agreed to stand up to Mrs. Lindon and support Gretchen.
When they boys came into the house, they stopped short, surprised at all of the people sitting there. Doris acted like nothing was out of the usual. “Do you want your snacks?”
Bobby nodded, his brow furrowed. “There are a lot of moms here.”
“There are. Did the other kids play with you at school today?” Doris had to ask. She needed to know that her actions weren’t affecting her boys.
Matthew shrugged. “As many as usual. It was a good day. I think Miss Hughes is coming to see us again tonight.”
“Oh, good. I was worried about that.” Doris put cookies on a plate and then poured two glasses of milk, sending the boys into the parlor. She didn’t normally let them eat there, but there was no room at all around her kitchen table.
Mrs. Smith looked at Doris, as if she had every answer. “What are we going to do when Mrs. Lindon comes here.”
“Do you think she will?” Doris asked. She hadn’t considered that possibility.
“Of course, she will! She knows you’re at the heart of the rebellion.” Gretchen nibbled on a cookie, watching her friend.
“I guess we’ll all stand up to her together. Remember, there’s safety in numbers.” Doris had a hard time believing so many women had allowed themselves to be bullied and controlled, when they could have made a stand together years before.
There was a knock at the door then that was more like a pounding. Someone was angry and wanted in. Gretchen answered, because she was closest to the door, and Mrs. Lindon flew into the house, already yelling. “All of you women need to go home! These women have been shunned!”
Mrs. Jensen stood up, surprising Doris. “You have no authority to shun anyone. You’re not in control of this town.”
Mrs. Lindon looked as if she was going to hit Mrs. Jensen for a moment. “Is that how all of you feel?”
The women all stood, nodding. Doris took a step forward. “We’re united in not letting you control or bully us any longer, Mrs. Lindon. Thank you for stopping by so we could all tell you.”
“I’m shunning every one of you!”
Doris simply laughed. “What you don’t understand is shunning doesn’t hurt if you have a good friend by your side. Gretchen and Rica have become like sisters to me. As long as they’re still talking to me, nothing you do can bother me.”
The look of hate in Mrs. Lindon’s eyes was almost frightening. “You’ll regret this.”
Doris shrugged. “Maybe I will. Right now, I’m happy for t
he whole town that your power has been broken.” She saw her husband standing behind the mean woman, a bit embarrassed about her behavior, but she refused to back down.
Harvey stepped into the kitchen. “Mrs. Lindon, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave. We have nothing to say to you any longer. I’ll be speaking to the pastor about the way you’ve treated the women of this town.”
Mrs. Lindon’s face turned a deep shade of red. “You will rue the day you said that to me!” She rushed out of the house, hurrying out of town.
Doris shook her head. “No one says ‘rue the day’ anymore. She needs to learn what century we live in!”
The kitchen quickly emptied after that. Even Gretchen went to check on the children in the parlor. “What made you come home in the middle of the day?” Doris asked.
Harv shrugged. “I saw many of the ladies come here today, and then I saw Mrs. Lindon. I was worried they’d gathered together to bully you and Gretchen. I guess not.”
Doris grinned. “I talked to Mrs. Gottweiler about the situation this morning, after she told me I was no longer welcome in the mercantile.” She quickly related the events of the day. “So by the time Mrs. Lindon came, my kitchen was full of women who were willing to stand up to her.”
He smiled, reaching out to caress her cheek. “You are amazing. You’ve calmed the boys. You’ve trained the girls. You’ve made friends with the friendless. And me…what you’ve done to me is just amazing.”
She took a step forward into his arms. “And what exactly have I done to you?”
“You’ve made me the happiest man alive. You’ve made me realize that even though I lost my first love, I have another love that’s just as strong. You’ve made my boys happy.”
She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. Was he giving her the words she needed to hear so badly? “What exactly are you saying, Harv?”
“I’m saying I love you. I love you with everything inside me. I love you because you’ve changed my life. I love you because you’ve changed my children’s lives. But most importantly, I love you because you’re you. Who would have thought one of the demon horde could tame the Butler brats so thoroughly?”
Doris grinned. “I love you right back, Harvey Butler. Thank you for inviting me into your life!”
“Thank you for changing my world!” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Now if we could just figure out what to do for your Salmon sisters.”
She grinned. “You mean Rica and Gretchen?”
“Yes! They need their happily ever afters too, don’t they?”
“They do. And I think I’m going to help them find them.”
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