Measure of Grace

by Al Lacy

  “Hello, Jordie,” said a bright-eyed Belinda, drawing up. She turned toward the others, making sure her arm touched Jordan’s. “Papa, I’ll let you make the introductions.”

  Belinda’s bold move to press herself so close to Jordan made him nervous.

  Hyman introduced his brother and sister-in-law, Ralph and Claire Ashworth, to Jordan, saying they were from Lincoln, Nebraska. After Jordan politely greeted them, Hyman explained that they had just picked Ralph and Claire up at the railroad station. They had come to visit for a few days.

  Both Ralph and Claire were friendly to Jordan, and his stomach tightened the more when a smiling Claire said, “Jordan, Belinda has written us several times about you. I’m so glad to see that my niece’s young man is every bit as handsome as we’ve been told.” Giggling in a girlish way, she ran her gaze between Jordan and Belinda. “Are you two engaged, yet?”

  Jordan’s stomach wrenched.

  While he was trying to think of a way to react to the question without upsetting Hyman and Dorothy, Belinda slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “Now, now, Auntie Claire. We mustn’t rush things!”

  Jordan’s mind was racing. How was he going to bring this misleading “courtship” to an end? This horrid thing had to stop.

  At that moment, Jordan’s attention was drawn to a buggy coming from the direction of the railroad station, occupied by a young couple. Only the man was familiar. He was Del Forton. Jordan and Knight had gone all the way through school with Del, who had moved with his parents to the small town of Lost River, Idaho—some forty miles east—a couple of years after graduation. Jordan had seen Del only twice since then.

  In order to get away from the Ashworths, Jordan called out, “Del! Hey, Del!” and waved.

  Del heard him immediately, turned to see who was calling his name, and smiled as he pulled rein. “Jordan! Hey! Good to see you!”

  Quickly, Jordan turned to the Ashworths. “I’ll have to ask you to excuse me. This is an old friend I haven’t seen in a long time.”

  “Of course,” said Hyman.

  Belinda let go of Jordan’s arm, and he hurried across the street toward the buggy.

  Del Forton jumped out of the buggy and shook hands with Jordan. “It really is good to see you.”

  “Same here,” said Jordan, relieved to be away from Belinda and her family. He glanced at the lovely young woman. “And who’s this, Del?”

  “Someone I want you to meet. I just told her who you were. Jordan, I want you to meet Miss Sally Myers from Buffalo, New York.”

  “Proud to meet you, Miss Sally,” said Jordan.

  “Sally has come to be my mail order bride,” said Del. “I just picked her up at the depot.”

  Jordan’s eyes widened. “Your mail order bride?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” said Sally. “Del told me just now that the two of you went all the way through school together.”

  “We sure did,” said Jordan, then turned to his old friend. “Mail order bride, eh?”

  “Mm-hmm. I simply hadn’t been able to find a girl that suited me anywhere in this part of Idaho, so I decided to try the mail order bride system. I put ads in several eastern newspapers. I received a good number of letters answering the ads, but when I read Sally’s letter, I knew she was the one.”

  “Well, well, well!” said Jordan. He set his gaze back on Sally. “I’ve heard about women coming west from mail order bride ads, but I’ve never met one.”

  While climbing back into the buggy, Del said, “Sally is going to be staying with some neighbors while the two of us get better acquainted. If everything works out like we think it will, we’ll marry.”

  Rapid thoughts were flitting through Jordan’s mind as he said, “I have a feeling it is definitely going to work out for you.”

  Del and Sally told Jordan good-bye, and as the buggy pulled away, Jordan turned around and headed back across the street. Deep in thought about his conversation with Del and Sally while threading through the traffic, Jordan failed to see Belinda standing outside the mercantile, a half block down the street from the bank. She was waving at him, trying to draw his attention.

  She thought he looked her way a couple of times, but he proceeded across the street, mounted, and trotted his horse the opposite direction, heading north out of town toward Elkton.

  A pucker formed between Belinda’s eyebrows. I wonder, she thought. Did he really not see me, or was he just pretending? Giving horse and rider one last glance as they passed from view, she entered the store, seeking her mother and Aunt Claire.

  Totally unaware of Belinda’s presence in front of the mercantile, Jordan trotted his horse out of town, his mind still fixed on the chance meeting with Del Forton and Sally Myers.

  “A mail order bride, hmm?” he mused aloud, with only the horse to hear. “Is this possibly the solution to my problem? But … could I marry someone I don’t really know?”

  He thought on it a moment.

  “Well, I know Belinda, and I sure can’t and won’t marry her.”

  The bay gelding turned his head and rolled his eyes back as if to say, “Were you talking to me?”

  Jordan laughed. “It’s okay, ol’ boy. I was just talking to myself. I … I think I might have the answer to my big problem.”

  Arriving in Elkton, Jordan hauled up in front of the newspaper building, excited about talking to his best friend. He slid from the saddle, tied the horse to the hitch rail, and entered the office.

  “Hello, Jordan,” said Erline Tyler with a bright smile.

  “Hello, Erline. Is Knight in his office?”

  “He sure is. Go on in.”

  Jordan could barely contain his excitement as he knocked on Knight’s door and waited for a reply.

  “Come in!” came the familiar voice.

  The instant Knight saw the light in his friend’s eyes and the wide smile on his lips, he knew something good had happened. Rising from his desk, he said, “You look happier than I’ve seen you in a long time.”

  “Can we talk?”

  Piqued with curiosity, Knight gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. “Of course. Come sit down.”

  Jordan immediately began pacing the floor. “I’m too excited to sit, Knight. Go ahead. You sit down.”

  The pacing went on while a puzzled Knight Colburn returned to his chair behind the desk. “What in the world has got you so stirred up, pal?”

  Still in motion, Jordan’s words tumbled off his tongue one on top of the other. “I found the answer, friend. I found it! My Belinda problem is about to come to an end.”

  Knight jumped out of his chair, rounded the desk, and took hold of Jordan’s arm. “Come on,” he said, guiding him to the intended chair. “Sit down so we can talk.”

  With that, Knight pushed him down on the chair. Jordan remained where placed, and Knight sat on the edge of the desk. Lowering his head to look his friend straight in the eye, he said, “All right, now. Out with it. What’s this wonderful plan that is going to solve your Belinda problem? Give it to me slowly.”

  Eyes dancing, Jordan held his words to a normal pace and said, “Guess who I just saw in Ketcham?”

  “Uh … George Washington.”

  Jordan shook his head and snorted. “Come on. Be serious.”

  “All right. Who did you see?”

  “Del Forton.”

  “Del! Well, how’s he doing?”

  “Just great.”

  “Is he married?”

  “No, but that is exactly what I want to tell you about!”

  “What’s got you so excited? Has he asked you to be best man in his wedding?”

  “Aw, nothing like that. Listen to me, now.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Del had a pretty lady named Miss Sally Myers with him. He had just picked her up at the railroad station. She’s from Buffalo, New York, and has come to be his mail order bride!”

  Knight left the desk top, sat down i
n his chair, and chuckled. “Well, isn’t that something? A mail order bride.”

  Leaning over the desktop on his elbows, and looking Knight square in the eye, Jordan said in a level tone, “I want to place a mail order bride ad in several papers back east. You can wire them for me, can’t you?”

  “Why … ah … yes, but—”

  “But what?”

  “Well, this is all so sudden. I—”

  “Knight, I ran into Belinda and her parents in Ketcham. They had picked up Hyman’s brother and his wife at the depot. Belinda’s aunt told me right off that Belinda had written to them about me several times … then she asked if we were engaged yet.”

  “Oh no.”

  “Oh yes. That’s it! Knight, I want to order myself a bride from back east. That will solve the Belinda problem once and for all.”

  Knight frowned slightly. “You’re really serious about this.”

  “I couldn’t be more serious. When my mail order bride arrives, I’ll strut down the streets of Elkton and let all the busybodies see her. It won’t take long for word to get to Belinda, her parents, and my own parents. Nobody’s feelings should be hurt, because I’ve made no commitment to Belinda, and no promise to her parents or mine that I would marry her. This will settle the whole thing without my hurting anybody.”

  “All right,” said Knight, opening a desk drawer and taking out a sheet of paper. He picked up a pencil. “What do you want to say in the ad?”

  Jordan thought on it for a moment. “Tell you what, Knight. You’re the man of words. How about you write it for me?”

  “If that’s the way you want it.”

  “You’re the newspaper man. That’s the way I want it.”

  With Jordan looking on, Knight wrote the ad for him. When it was finished, Knight handed it to him and said, “Read it over carefully now and see if there are any changes you want.”

  As Jordan read the finished product, a smile spread over his face. Looking at his friend, he said, “Perfect! I like it very much. It’ll catch many a female eye.” As he spoke, he handed it back to him.

  “Okay,” said Knight, “I’ll wire the ad to a dozen eastern newspapers. From what I know about the mail order bride system, you no doubt will get many responses from eager young women. The ads should be in the papers within a week, and you will probably start getting letters within two to three weeks.”

  “Good,” said Jordan, rising to his feet. “What’s the charge?”

  “Nothing from the Sentinel. The newspapers back east will send their bills here to me. I’ll turn them over to you when they come.”

  Jordan grinned. “You should charge me something, too.”

  “Friends don’t do it that way.”

  “I appreciate it, ol’ pal. Now, just one thing …”

  “Mm-hmm?”

  “This must be kept a secret. Just between you and me, all right?”

  “Of course. Just between you and me.”

  As Jordan mounted his horse and headed for the ranch, he smiled to himself, knowing it would shock Belinda and both families when his new mail order bride arrived, but the stress he had suffered over the Belinda situation would be over.

  ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, at the same time Knight Colburn was writing the mail order bride ad for Jordan Shaw in Idaho, Martha Morrow was in the operating room at the Richmond Hospital in Virginia.

  Derick and Diana sat close together on a threadbare sofa in the waiting room. Hands clasped in their laps, shoulders hunched, they tried to encourage each other, but often slipped into deep thoughts of their own.

  Head bent low, Diana stared at the well-worn hardwood floor that had been paced and scuffed by countless feet over the years.

  Outside in the hall, Chief Constable Bob Perry stopped at the nurse’s station and was informed that the Morrow siblings were in the waiting room next to the operating room.

  When Perry drew up to the door, he paused as he set sympathetic eyes on Derick and Diana, who were the only ones in the room. They were not yet aware of his presence.

  Children should not have to suffer at the hands of a father who is out of control, he thought.

  Taking a step into the room, Perry was still unnoticed. Both young people were bent over, staring at the floor. The chief constable coughed lightly to get their attention.

  Both heads came up, and when Derick and Diana saw him, they rose to their feet in anticipation of the news he was bringing them in regard to their father.

  Perry moved up to them. “Hello, Diana, Derick. How is it going with your mother?”

  “Her shoulder is definitely dislocated, Chief Perry,” said Diana, “and the bone in her upper arm is fractured. They should be through working on her soon from what a nurse told us about twenty minutes ago. Of course, it will be some time before she is awake so we can see her.”

  Perry nodded.

  “So what about our father?” asked Derick.

  “He’s going to spend a month in jail for assaulting Tom Wymore, and Judge Weathers has ordered him to pay all of Tom’s medical bills.”

  Brother and sister exchanged glances.

  Derick released a weary sigh. “We don’t even have the money to pay Mama’s medical expenses. How will we ever pay for Tom’s as well?” he muttered. “And with Papa in jail, he can’t even earn any money.”

  Diana patted his arm. “We’ll make it somehow, Derick. Right now our biggest concern is Mama. Somehow we must protect her from this horrible thing ever happening again.”

  Derick set his jaw, rolled his narrow shoulders, and said in a brave, determined voice, “Papa better never touch her again, or he’s gonna answer to me.”

  Discreetly hiding a grim smile, Perry laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Judge Weathers told me if your mother will press charges against him, Derick, he’ll sentence him to a year in jail.”

  Derick looked at his sister again, then at the chief constable. “Mama won’t do that, sir. I know it.”

  “Right,” said Diana. “She knows if she did, when he got out, he would come after her with a vengeance.”

  Perry sighed and shook his head. “Well, I guess the best you can wish for is that the month in jail will be enough time for your father to realize his mistakes, and not let himself repeat them.”

  “We can only hope so,” said Diana.

  At that moment, the doctor who had been working on Martha came through the door. All three turned to face him.

  “Hello, Chief,” said the doctor.

  “Hello, Dr. Bates.”

  To Derick and Diana, Bates said, “We were finally able to get your mother’s nosebleed stopped. The puffiness around her eye has made it close completely, but it will heal in time. We put her shoulder back in place, and we set her arm. She has a cast on it and will carry the cast in a sling. It’s going to be quite a while before she’s back to normal again. She won’t be able to do much in the way of cooking and housework until the cast is off.”

  “We’ll see that she has all the help she needs,” Diana assured him.

  “Good. She is bound to get a little discouraged at times, so she’ll need all the encouragement you can give her.”

  The doctor turned to Perry. “Something has to be done about Mr. Morrow, Chief. Martha can’t take any more of this kind of punishment.”

  “I understand,” said Perry. “Stu can be jailed for a year if Martha will press charges. But that’s as far as the law can go. I’m glad, at least, that her injuries are not worse.”

  “So are we,” said Derick.

  Perry ran his gaze between brother and sister. “I’ll come back and see your mother tomorrow. I must, by law, ask her if she wants to press charges.”

  The siblings both nodded silently. Perry excused himself and left.

  Dr. Bates said, “You can see your mother in an hour or so. She will be in a room by then, and the anesthetic will be wearing off. One of the nurses will advise you as to what room they put her in.”

  Almost two hours had pass
ed when a nurse came into the waiting room, approached Derick and Diana, and said, “You are Mrs. Morrow’s children, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Derick.

  “She’s in room 212. You can go down there now, but you should only stay ten minutes or so. She needs to rest.”

  They assured the nurse they would make it a short visit, thanked her, and hurried to room 212. As they stepped into the room, they saw their mother in the first bed, and another woman in the bed by the window.

  Martha was still groggy from the chloroform, but she managed a weak smile. “Hello, sweet babies,” she said.

  They both greeted her quietly, saying they loved her, and bent down one at a time to kiss her cheek.

  Diana laid a hand on her mother’s good arm. “Dr. Bates said you will be fine. It’ll just take a little time.”

  Martha nodded slowly.

  “When you get home,” said Derick, “you are going to be a lady of leisure. You’re going to sit and rest while your daughters cook and your sons clean house.”

  Martha managed another weak smile, then looked toward her roommate. “Laura, this is my daughter, Diana, and my son, Derick. Children, this is Mrs. Laura Thomas.”

  Both greeted her politely, then Laura said, “I am recovering from surgery that I had three days ago. Your mother hasn’t been awake very long, so about all we’ve done is introduce ourselves to each other. I’m wondering what happened to her.”

  Brother and sister looked down at their mother questioningly.

  “You might as well tell her,” Martha said. “She will hear the nurses talking about it, anyway.”

  Derick stepped to the side of Laura’s bed, and in brief, explained that his father had lost his temper and beat his mother severely.

  Laura’s facial features tightened, and a compassionate look showed in her eyes. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Martha. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to pry. Please forgive me.”

  “You weren’t prying,” said Martha. “You were only being kind enough to show interest. There’s nothing to forgive.”

  “Chief Perry came to see us in the waiting room, Mama,” said Diana.

  “He told us Papa will be in jail a month for what he did to Tom.”